Ch. 19: You're Fired!

I crane my neck to look at her brazen grin and I deliberately keep a blank expression on my face.

"Did you just laugh at me?" I ask slowly, my youthful voice quivering a little.

The maid lowers her hand from her face and just smirks down at me. She is taunting me, her left brow raised. The maid is Janice and she is very clean. Too clean. There is no dirt under her nails, her hair is neatly done, and her shoes do not carry the same wear and tear as other maids. It's almost as if she doesn't do any work here. Perhaps she bullies other maids into doing her work for her. When you're popular or pretty enough, it is easy enough to get away with. I saw enough of that occur throughout my life, though thankfully never to me.

Janice is similarly sizing me up at the same time. She had always been chased by men in her youth, making her feel like Aphrodite amongst the other women in her village. Yet she had always felt that none of the men were worthy of her good looks. She deserved the highest caliber of men the Empire had to offer and they were most easily found in the capital, Radovalsk, the crown jewel of the Empire.

Enrolling at the palace had been an arduous task, one that had required her to shed her virginity with the divorced courtier who was in charge of hiring maids. Yet despite her hard work, the slippery courtier had simply assigned her to the Rose Palace of the unfavored Princess Winter, rather than the Empress' Sunrise Palace or Princess Julia's Sunset Palace.

The odds of meeting any eligible bachelors, or even better wooing the emperor, had slipped from her fingers like sand. The two royal guards who patrolled the Palace kept a wide berth from the building forcing her to resort to creative means to run into them. There was a mouthwateringly handsome blonde knight named Sir Finn who looked so gallant, Janice had schemed and run herself ragged giving herself a job in the garden so he might glance upon her.

How was she to know that the glib-tongued philanderer would not only ignore her, but also glare at her so fiercely she was paralyzed to the spot? None of the boys at her village had ever thrown a single cruel look at her, all of them begging to pick up her dropped handkerchief of fill her water bucket from the well. But here, Janice was forced to be at the beck and call of a child who looked like an errant breeze could knock her over. It was too infuriating for a village girl who had given up everything to win everything.

Now, this bratty, little princess that no one in the palace gave a damn about ordered to her to line up like prime cattle right after she had laid down for a nap. Janice wasn't going to tolerate this anymore. If she managed to bother the little girl enough, she would be reassigned to another palace or department. From there, with all her Helio-given charms, she was certain she could find a place for herself in a position where she could meet all the noblemen she wanted.

The thought filled Janice with glee. She was almost certain it would be just like her village. Noblewomen were usually not very pretty, Janice would be a sight for sore eyes for many of the strapping young men in notable families. In fact, the village girl would probably even have her pick of them once she left this dead palace.

In her mind, Janice could already see Sir Finn from the garden gazing at her regretfully as she was, in the future, inevitably snatched up by an actual duke, or no even better the emperor himself. It made for a mental image so amusing she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Now that Princess Winter was standing in front of her and about to cry, this was her opportunity to piss the child off and get reassigned. Janice haughtily flipped her hair over her shoulder. This was going to be too easy.

"Yes I did, your highness," Janice replied confidently as if no consequence would touch her.

How curious. I marvel at how fearless this maid is as I make my bottom lip wobble more. It was one thing to laugh behind my back and another to admit to it. I wonder what her end game is. For now, I will just follow the script for how this scene would play out I was actually just a simple kindergarten-aged kid.

"T-that's mean!" I whimper, allowing the first tear to slowly roll out of my eye. I let out a quiet, little sob, then another. I don't have to turn around to feel Marie glaring daggers at Janice and wanted to pull me in for a hug. But I want to hold off on having Marie join this game of mine for a little while longer.

"I'm being mean?" Janice starts. I quiet down a bit because I can tell she is about to launch into a speech of some sort. "Your highness, I think it's mean how you called us out here at a whim. Are we just animals to be summoned when you feel like it? I think you must be the meanest mistress of all the palaces!"

"No I'm not!" I cry out, more tears falling. I cover my face to hide my smile underneath.

They don't say anything, but the rest of the maids in line are in utter shock. Even I'm a little surprised. While I haven't been treated like a venerated guest by most of them, they still would not dare to mouth off at me. This maid must really want to leave the Rose Palace with the way she is speaking to me. I suppose I'll have to grant her wish since she is working so hard to achieve it.

Janice is smirking down at me like the devil, her face contorting with a grin as I cry so pitifully. In reality, Janice's insults are like water off a duck's back, but if I fired this girl on the spot just for laughing, tomorrow's courtly gossip would call me an overbearing mistress who mistreats her maids at the slightest provocation. But with these tears of mine, no one would question a fired maid who made me cry so pitifully. Already, the fat drops of water are drawing gazes of sympathy from eyes that have only looked at me with loathing.

Janice is so wrapped up in her triumph that she does not notice the effect her half-baked plan is having on those around her.

"It's the truth," she says, intent on dragging more tears out. "You are such a mean, awful mistress. And I know that everyone else here lined up feels the exact same."

There was always so much gossip in the maids' quarters, disparaging everything about Princess Winter, from the way she talked to the way she drank her tea with too much sugar like a commoner. How Princess Winter, with all her nice clothes and fancy palace, had been no better off than the rest of them before she was discovered by luck. Her gold eyes were probably a magic trick that would get uncovered any day.

Janice swiveled her head side to side, expecting to see the girls who had cursed Princess Winter the most viciously nod their heads along with her, but they stood silent their eyes on the floor or shaking their heads. Janice sniffed indignantly and turned back to her tormentee. This was the difference between herself and the rest of the riffraff of the Rose Palace. She had a spine and knew how to use it to get what she wanted out of life. This was why she deserved a life of luxury compared to those quivering fools.

I'm no mind reader, but I'm pretty sure this maid is cursing the maids beside her for not backing her. I swallow down a laugh. Of course they wouldn't support her. As much as they may dislike me, I'm a steady paycheck that comes with minimal drama. Only an idiot would give that up.

"So you don't want to work for me since I'm so mean?" I whimper in a broken voice, my eyes peeking out over my hands.

Janice nodded triumphantly. I let out another loud sob. I don't want to overdo the crying to the point it is bothersome to one's ears, but I'm desperately trying to sell how 'terrible' this maid has me feel.

"Marie?" I ask quietly, tears still falling from my eyes. My nursemaid runs to my side right away, her soothing hands rubbing the wetness from my cheeks.

"I don't want this maid to be sad from working for me," I start, letting small hiccups interrupt each word.

"Since it makes her sad to work here then I will let..." I trail off and look at the rude maid in question.

"What's your name?" I ask, interrupting myself.

"Janice, your highness."

It sounds like she is mocking me with how diligently she has called me by my proper title throughout our conversation. She looks too smug, perhaps already contemplating what it would be like to work at another palace. Too bad this silly maid doesn't have a clear understanding of the rules of the palace, otherwise she wouldn't have attempted such a foolhardy move. For an act of severe disrespect to any royal, any maid, courtier, or steward can be kicked out of the palace if they haven't been otherwise punished first.

I pick up where I left off. "...I will let Janice leave the palace permanently."

Janice's smile freezes on her face.

I look at Marie, my little doe eyes on max effect. "Is that good, Marie? Now she won't have to deal with me anymore since I'm so mean."

"Y-Your highness!" Janice shrieks, thumping onto her knees. Now I don't have to crane my neck at her anymore.

"What's wrong?" I ask oh so innocently. My tears are quickly drying on my face. "You said that I'm too mean for you to work with so I am setting you free." My childish lisp makes free sound like fee.

"But.. But I-" she stutters out. Two of the stewards who usually stand near the entrance leave the line and move to remove her from the premises.

"If you don't want to work in the Rose Palace since I'm such a meanie, then you aren't qualified to work in the palace, where even the servants in the royal kitchen will be more mean. I understand now that you cannot bear it, so you won't be able to handle anyone else. Isn't that right Marie?"

Marie nods resolutely, as the de facto head maid in my palace.

"When I worked in the laundry department, our supervisor would beat the back of our hands with dried reeds and yell in our faces if we worked too slowly. Compared to them, you are so kind. Thus, if anyone cannot tolerate your temperament, they are much better off seeking work outside the palace."

Marie's quick response only solidified my underlying message. Anyone who doesn't work for me gets sacked from the royal palace. No ifs, no buts. I can spy beads of sweat starting to form on the foreheads of the more disobedient maids. No matter how much they acted like performing their duties is a chore, it is their necessary lifeline to feed their family. I hope they can all understand from now on that disrespect towards me will result in a quick removal from the royal palace altogether.

"Wait! Please! Just reassign me, your highness. I'm sorry! I didn't mean what I said!" Janice cried, flailing in the arms of the stewards as they began to drag her towards the exit.

It is amusing to watch this pathetic maid try to beg me after she so blatantly disrespected me to my face. Even if I don't care about what she says, it's about my reputation. How can I survive in this palace if any old maid can talk down to me as if I'm a beggar?

"Stop," I order

Hope rises on Janice's wild face and she throws herself to my feet. She even goes so far as to wrap her arms around my ankles. I'm ashamed at how impressed I was by her false confidence earlier. If you're going to say something with that much gusto, you'd better mean it. Otherwise, you'll just look like an insincere fraud.

I want to kick Janice off my feet, but I still would like to give her a few parting words. In the right circumstances, words can give the desired effect that even the most painful wounds wouldn't compare to.

I bend down a little, disgusted by the desperation of this maid. They truly assigned me the worst maids they could find in the palace. Marie and the lined up staff stand a good distance behind me and the stewards stepped back with a flick of my hand.

No one will hear what I say next.