Chapter One: The Start
I gazed at him, sighing. My crush, Ray, was staring at her again. Mira, my best friend even though I'm supposed to be her maid. I don't come from much. My family consists of maids, butlers, cooks, and servants, always serving the king and queen of Lyre Kingdom. When I was five years old, I was getting bored and tired of my monotonous daily routines of cleaning and cooking and attending. Then I met Ray, who sneaked into the kingdom and claimed to be in the same situation as me. Ray and I hit it off well. We were both commoners, him being one year older than me, who loved to eat and have fun. We became pretty close friends. There would be days when he'd mysteriously disappear, for at least a month, and I'd be lonely, but he made up for it by always bringing me something yummy. Then she entered my life, resulting in her entering Ray's life, too. Mira Harmony. The princess of the Lyre Kingdom who was betrothed to Liam Jade, the crown prince of Emerald Lands, since birth. Mira was a reserved but intelligent princess, and was bright around the people she was comfortable with. How I became friends with her was quite interesting, for I was breaking the rules when I met her. That was the start of our chaotic and joyful friendship.
I was once called to serve Mira her breakfast. I was excited as I've never met the princess before. When I came in her room after she allowed me, I slowly walked in, holding a tray of yogurt parfait with blueberries, strawberries, and granola, fresh-pressed orange juice, and a plate of a fried egg with two strips of bacon on the side. I looked up to see the princess lying solemnly on her bed. She had shining auburn hair and was wearing a pink, frilly dress with a lot of bows. She seemed really shy. I remembered how when I entered the room, we were both 8 year olds. After I set down her breakfast tray onto her side table, I turned to her. I wasn't disciplined back then and dared to speak to her, the princess. My first words to her were, "HI!!! Nice to meet you! I'm Suri. You're really pretty! Wanna be friends?" She flinched at how loud I was, paused, then laughed. No one has ever addressed her like that before, and she found it funny. I joined her.
When she stopped, she nodded and said, "Sure, I'd love to be friends! You're my first friend!" My eyes glimmered as I felt special that I was her first one. My mother, who was walking the halls looking for me, gasped loudly when she saw me talking casually to Mira. I turned my face in the direction of the noise. My eyes widened when I saw her furious face, and I knew I was in trouble. I waved a quick goodbye to Mira, which she returned, before I was rushed out to my mother. She took my hand, did a quick curtsy to Mira, and dashed away.
After some time, she stopped and turned to me. "Suri! You absolutely can NEVER EVER do that! To talk to the princess in such a casual manner is not only rude but forbidden since we are commonfolk and she is royalty!" I looked up at her with my sparkling, disappointed, dark chocolate eyes.
"Mother, what is "commonfolk"? Is it beautiful people like you?" She laughed.
"Not really, my dear. You'll learn once you're old enough. Now, let's get to washing the clothes, okay?" I grinned.
"Okay mommy!"
Presently, I looked towards Mira again across the dining hall. 'A ball's coming up. I wonder what this Crown Prince Liam will look like. I wondered, 'Will he treat her well? They were betrothed at birth, after all, and they only met a couple of times...' sighing, I resolved that the prince better treat Mira very, very well, or I'll surely beat him up, no matter how forbidden it is. No one messes with my best friend. Mira glanced at me and flashed a quick smile. I smiled back from my corner of the hall, waiting to serve the royalty fresh food and drinks every time I think they're running low. As I went back and forth from person to person, multiple dishes in my hand, I thought, 'It's a wonder they're all as thin as they are, they eat A LOT!' As they were dining, I sort of eavesdropped on them as the subject of Mira's coming-of-age ball came up.