Author's note: This is the next story from my collection ONCE UPON A TIME ANOTHER STORY. It's a shorter story with shorter chapters. I wrote it when i was in my teens but it has been updated since. I hope you enjoy it.
The Ratking
CHAPTER 1 – At the Eskmouth Academy for Young Ladies
ONCE UPON A TIME a princess came to the Eskmouth Academy for Young Ladies. This in itself was not unusual. The school of Miss Swann was the most exclusive and expensive anywhere. It was Also the largest. Not because of the amount of pupils but because of the size of the girl's rooms, apartments really. Let's face it; you can't put young noblewomen from the wealthiest aristocratic families in the known world in poky little rooms. The apartments ranged from the simple – parlour, bedroom with en-suite bathroom, living quarters for one maid – to the extravagant – entrance hall with separate door to living quarters for 10 servants, private kitchen, breakfast room, morning room, dining-room, lounge, night hall with access to master-bedroom with en-suite bathroom and 2 guest bedrooms with shared bathroom. The girls brought their own staff – depending on the size of the apartment they occupied.
Princess Clarissa was the only child of King Derek of Danali, rumoured to be richer even than the emperor of the Eastlands. To Miss Swann this was her crowning glory. Finally a princess of Danali came to her school. It was now official. Her school was the best in the world.
Of course Princess Clarissa had the largest apartment and the largest retinue. She had three ladies-in-waiting (to run errands for her), a maid to dress her, a maid to do her hair and a maid to do her make-up (or as they preferred to be called: personal fashion-stylist, personal hair-stylist and personal make-up artist). Further there was a house-maid, a cook, a cook's assistant, a kitchen-maid and a scullery maid.
"Your Highness, I think there's been a mistake," said Miss Swann when she saw there were eleven servants. "There are only sleeping places for ten in the apartment. It is our biggest apartment so I can't give you one with enough beds for all your servants."
"I won't send one of my servants away," snapped the princess. "Madeline, check out that hole I'm supposed to live in for three years."
Madeline, first lady-in-waiting to the princess, looked at the available rooms and came back satisfied.
"It won't be a problem, Your Highness. The apartment itself is adequate for your needs and the servants quarters will do nicely. There are two suites with three rooms and two rooms with two beds. Obviously we, ladies-in-waiting, will have the first suite and …"
"Don't bore me with trivial details, Madeline. If there is room for everyone then let's go in and start unpacking. I want to have a bath and get changed out of these impossibly dirty clothes. Come on, why isn't the bathwater running yet?"
While the princess had her bath and afterwards was dressed and coifed and generally pampered, Madeline divided the remaining rooms.
"Right, as I said we'll have the first suite. The princesses' personal maids (don't tell them I said that) can have the second suite. Cook, you and your assistant take the bigger one of the two rooms. The smaller one is for the house-maid and the kitchen-maid."
Nobody even thought about the scullery maid. She was too busy dragging trunks and carrying cases into the apartment and storing them in the storage room when they were empty to even have time to think about bedtime. By the time the last case was stored everyone had gone to bed and the poor scullery maid had the choice between sleeping on top of a trunk or on the floor of the storage room.
Early the following morning the scullery maid lit the fires in the different rooms of the apartment, starting with the bedrooms and the kitchen. Then she had to scour every pot and pan in the kitchen because they had been sitting in straw during the journey. After that the rest of the kitchen utensils had to be washed as well as all the china and cutlery. Soon the kitchen staff arrived to make the breakfast and the house-maid went to set the table in the breakfast room for the princess and her ladies-in-waiting. The fashion-stylist, hair-stylist and make-up artists (in other words the ladies-maids-but-don't-tell-them) had breakfast together in their suite before they went to assist the princess when she was ready to get up. Before she went out to do some shopping, the princess insisted the whole apartment be cleaned.
"I can smell the previous occupier," she said. "I'm sure it was never properly cleaned before I arrived. I expect it to be done this evening."
During breakfast Selina remarked, "At least Tilly has lit the fire in time. It's nice and warm here." This reminded Madeline that she hadn't told the scullery maid where to sleep. Having the extra servant really was an inconvenience but the princess had insisted that one person should do all the filthy jobs. Nobody else was allowed to touch anything vaguely dirty so an extra maid had been hired to become part of the princess' retinue.
If she hadn't accidently seen her later, Madeline would have forgotten again to inform Tilly of her sleeping arrangements.
"Ah, Tilly, finally I've found you," Madeline said as if she'd actually been looking for the girl. "I don't know where you slept last night but from now on you'll sleep in the storage room. I'm sure there is some space left for a mattress. Glad that's been cleared up." And Madeline left Tilly standing, never telling her how and where to get a mattress.
To make Tilly's life even more miserable an extra job was found for her quite by accident. At four o'clock every day the princess wanted cucumbers. Not for cucumber sandwiches but for a face mask. Madeline had sent Selina, the youngest lady-in-waiting, out to get some at the market but she came back empty-handed.
"Madeline, it's dreadful. There are no cucumbers to be had. They haven't got the warm Danali climate here. The grocer told me this time of year is too cool for cucumbers. He might have some hothouse cucumbers in three days' time but nothing till then. Somebody will have to tell the princess."
Neither the first lady-in-waiting, nor the second lady-in-waiting fancied the job. Selina, the third lady-in-waiting wasn't keen either and decided to tell someone else to take the message. She skipped the personal fashion-stylist, the personal hairstylist and the personal make-up artist – the personal trio had unanimously declared that they were not messengers – and told the house-maid to pass on the bad news. The house-maid told the cook, who ordered her assistant – or sous-chef as the assistant called herself. She passed it on to the kitchen maid, who ordered the scullery maid, Tilly, "Go and tell her Highness that there are no cucumbers today." And Tilly went and gave the princess the bad news and got a thrashing for her trouble. From that day onward Tilly became the messenger if there was bad news of any variety and Princess Clarissa showed her displeasure at the news by slapping and beating her.
For three years Princess Clarissa's stayed at the Eskmouth Academy for Young Ladies. For three years Tilly slept in the windowless storage room on a straw filled sack with a torn blanket for cover. For three years Princess Clarissa terrorised her schoolmates, her teachers and even Miss Swann herself until even for that lady having a Danali princess among her pupils had lost its lustre. Every tradesman in Eskmouth feared her temper. They'd rather lose the money than have to deal with her. Three years long she plagued the townspeople with her rudeness, her demands, her impatience, her sulking, her tempers, her anger… in short, the town had never seen a more unpleasant person.
But even the longest years have only twelve months. The people of Eskmouth, including Miss Swann at her Academy, were ticking off the last days of Princess Clarissa's stay on their calendars. The Princess had completed her education and would soon be gone. The Falcon, the proudest ship ever seen in Eskmouth, was waiting in the harbour. As soon as Princess Clarissa was on board it would leave, to take her back home.
When the Falcon had arrived two weeks earlier it needed some urgent repairs after the long journey from Princess Clarissa's home. It had taken seven days to finish them but convincing the princess that these repairs were essential for her safety had been nigh on impossible.
This was the conversation on the first day and typical for what happened every day from the moment the princess knew her ship had arrived: Madeline, the first lady-in-waiting asked the captain, "Will we be sailing today? Her Majesty, Princess Clarissa, would like to know."
"I'm sorry, madam, but that will not be possible. The ship is in dry-dock and not ready to sail." the captain answered.
The first lady-in-waiting said to Paula, the second lady-in-waiting, "Tell her Highness that we cannot sail today. The ship is being repaired."
The second lady-in-waiting said to Selina, the third lady-in-waiting, "You have to tell her Highness that the ship is not repaired yet and the captain won't sail."
From the third lady-in-waiting it passed through the servants' hierarchy until the kitchen maid ordered Tilly, "Go and tell her Highness that we cannot sail today. The ship is being mended."
Tilly had no option but to go and give the princess the bad news. And the princess would vent her anger on Tilly, because she was conveniently present.
When the repairs were done the departure was delayed because of the weather. Even Princess Clarissa could see from her apartment window how the trees bent nearly double in the wind and waves lashed the shore of Eskmouth. But she still beat up Tilly for daring to bring the message from the captain that leaving was impossible due to the weather.
The fortnight following the ship's arrival had been sheer hell, with the princess constantly demanding they start on the journey. Finally on the fourteenth day the captain said, "Tell her Highness we can sail in half an hour." This message was taken straight to the princess by the first lady-in-waiting herself and Princess Clarissa was happy and said, "Thank you, Madeline. That is great news."
The people on the quayside were waving as the magnificent vessel went on its way. They kept waving until it disappeared behind the horizon. Then there was a deep sigh of relief from the assembled crowd. Suddenly fireworks went off from the tower of the school. A band had appeared and started playing. From every house people brought out chairs and tables and dishes with all sorts of party food. It was the beginning of a street party that lasted three days ("one for every year the princess was here," somebody said later) and people remembered it for the rest of their lives.