There was a knock at the door. Three pairs of feet pounded down the stairs, snapping needle thin three-inch high heels and toppling their burdens heavily to the ground. In the end only one pair of feet made it to the entryway, carrying a now calm, stately, and slightly out of breathe, middle-aged woman to the door.
Suppressed energy and tension stressed the air as two young women arrived slightly windblown at the recently opened entrance. They watched their mother receive a small richly embossed envelope from a small richly embossed man, politely dismiss him and close the door.
(It was at about this time that the Butler arrived to fulfill his duties)
As soon as the messenger was safely on his way, the beautiful envelope was ripped to shreds as three pairs of hands tried to pull out the message inside. Consequently it took three times as long to actually get at it. Then, with a firm look of cessation, Lady Besser took complete possession of the card and read aloud to her daughters:
With the fondest of greetings,
His majesty, the King requests the presence of Lady Besser and her daughters at a masked ball this next Saturday in honor of his Highness, the Prince's twenty-first birthday. His majesty confidently entertains the hope of an engagement between his son the prince, and her ladyship's eldest daughter. He sends the grandest wishes of health and happiness to the entire household.
His Majesty, King Quite Charming
Absolute silence filled the entryway as this information was slowly processed. Eventually it sank in and with a shriek the eldest daughter, a Miss Vanity Besser, tore the letter from her mother's fingers and running down the hallway attempted to dance about and reread the note all at the same time, (A feat that should not be attempted without adult supervision). Meanwhile, Miss Verity Besser, the younger daughter, slipped quietly away to reflect on the matter within the confines of her slightly more peaceful bedchamber.
Once in the safety of her room she collapsed on her bed with tears of confusion spreading black make-up stains down her reddened cheeks and splashing into her open and empty hands. When she had calmed herself she stood resignedly and walked to her dresser where she pulled from a drawer a pile of plain paper tied together with a pink ribbon and adorned with a red rose. They were love letters, full of beautiful prose and melodic poetry in praise of her beauty, her grace, her temper... every one signed just the same
Prince Hector CharmingAs she stood rereading favored passages, there was a knock on the door. The Butler, finally allowed to complete his tasks, walked quietly into the room and handed Verity yet another letter. Then in a moment of uncharacteristic absent-mindedness, simply stood there gazing at her as she hastily unfolded the coarse paper and read the precious words:
My Dearest Verity,
When I found out the contents of the message my father sent your family I was mortified. I felt my heart sink from its usual place clear down to the floor. I have never loved anyone so dearly as I cherish you. The sun rises and sets on your golden hair lending a sparkle to your sweet and trusting eyes. I have never wished to disobey my father, but how can I give you up? Will you meet me at the ball? I cannot think what to do, but with your clever help we will find a way to be together. If you would dress all in white so I might find you more easily, we will come up with a plan. Don't worry my sweetheart; life is like a puzzle where all the pieces fit together just right. I know we are just right for each other.
With all the feeling I possess,
Your love,
Prince Hector CharmingAt the conclusion of this letter, Verity looked up to meet the eyes of the Butler who was still staring at her. With a start and a mutter of apology, he hurriedly left the room. Verity's heart swelled to an almost painful magnitude, and excitement turned her stomach into a mass of butterflies. Suddenly preparing for the ball had become much more enticing and she rushed out, dropping the letter on the bed, to join her mother and sister as they looked for new gowns appropriate for the festive evening fast approaching.
~*~
Small and rather dirty, a frustrated serving girl making her rounds (mostly to avoid the ruckus downstairs) entered Verity's empty room where her attention was immediately captured by the multi-flourished signature showing prominently at the bottom of the open letter on the bed. If anyone had been watching they would have seen the cogs turning at light-speed behind her eyes as she read the incriminating message. Finally her chance for retribution had arrived. A Lady forced to play the servant to those no better than herself, was at last going to rise above everyone. She hurried out of the room after a hasty clean up, to put her plans in motion. The first necessity was Vanity whose help was indispensable.
Vanity was at that moment dancing around in a new dress, being as useless as ever, and the serving girl, covered in cinders from tending the fire, was quite a contrast standing next to her finery and idleness. At first Vanity completely ignored her until she realized that the presumptuous girl was not leaving. She turned to look at the girl disdainfully and request an explanation as to why she was still there, but the serving girl didn't say a word, she merely handed her the letter. After a quick perusal, Vanity's gaiety turned to loathsome hatred for her poor sister, and after extensive flattery and debauchery, the serving girl disclosed her plan.
They would find Verity and lock her in the pantry when it was time to go to the ball, then with Vanity's help the girl would dress all in white and pretend to be Verity. At the ball the girl would send the Prince to Vanity, who of course would be able to convince him where his love really lay with just a few words. This decided, the day of the ball arrived. Verity was thrown kicking and screaming into the pantry when no one was looking, and everyone else went to the ball.
The servants left at home were having the time of their lives either at the house or in their own homes, grateful for the chance to serve themselves rather than others. The Butler, who had no family to go home to, was using his leisure time to read an excellent book when he decided he was hungry. To the pantry he went in search of his favorite cheese, only to find the door locked. He found this strange but since he had a key he didn't think much of it until he opened the door to find Verity sitting on a barrel eating the exact cheese he had come looking for. When the door opened Verity screamed, jumped up, and ran into the Butler's unsuspecting arms. Within minutes the entire story had been explained to him, and in a loss of what should be done the two sat on barrels and returned to the partially eaten cheese. In the end they only came to one conclusion and that was to get to the ball as fast as possible.
At the palace the serving girl was taking full advantage of her disguise. Vanity had run out into the garden to await her Prince, but the girl had no intention of sending him. Instead she was forming quite another plan and relaying it to his Highness, whom she had decided to fall in love with. This plan was that at midnight "Verity" would find some excuse to leave the ball, then accidentally leave her shoe on the steps. The Prince would take the shoe and leave with the excuse of returning it to her. They would meet at the clergyman's house and by morning be man and wife.
Vanity, whose attention span was rather short, came looking for the Prince just in time to over hear this plan and watch the serving girl run from the ballroom as the clock struck twelve. Not being particularly bright, Vanity simply stood there gaping as the Prince followed the serving girl out of the palace, and was only able to move when she saw Verity and the Butler arrive a few minutes later. Then in tears she hurried over to them and spilled out her story, asking her sister's forgiveness. Unfortunately, it took awhile for the other two to comprehend what she was saying, as she babbled and sobbed, repeated and whined.
Finally everything was thoroughly understood, and the three crashed out of the building running for some means of transportation and tripping over each other's feet until frustratedly the Butler sent Vanity home, and dragged Verity behind him to the clergyman's house. He determined that it would take longer to find an unused carriage than to run.
It was roughly 1:00 in the morning when the clergyman heard a knock on his door. A young man and woman stood panting on his doorstep, the girl's dress was a little torn and she had grass stains on it, but other than that they made a pretty pair. He ushered them in and brought out his scriptures for the second time that night. He figured the fancy ball had put romance into everyone's head, and naturally assumed these two wished to wed. The bride and groom wandered staring around his house as though they were looking for something, when finally the girl came to him with the million-dollar question.
They were too late. The Prince was not only wed but also gone. (This just goes to show that one should not sit around eating cheese while love is disappearing around a corner.) Verity collapsed for the second time that week but this time her despair was overpowering. She felt sick to her stomach, and was so distraught that she could not even cry. The clergyman sat confusedly waiting to perform a ceremony that was not in anyone's plan, while the butler knelt down beside Verity.
He stayed there for a moment wondering what to do, not knowing if he should touch his mistress or just let her mourn. He watched as a single tear dripped in slow motion down her cheek, before putting his arms around her and whispering, "Don't worry my sweetheart, life is like a puzzle where all the pieces fit together just right. Every thing will be alright." As he said this he kissed her gently on the crown of her head and squeezed her a little tighter.
Slowly she pushed her way out of his arms and stood determinedly looking down at him. Her voice was rough and soft, shaking slightly with emotion as she accused him. How could he read her letters? How could he repeat words he must know would be so painful for her to hear? How could he be such a liar, such a greedy and false friend? (At this point the clergyman decided he was officially lost, and that it was probably best if he left these two to work out their problems alone.)
The Butler blushed as he realized what he had done. Tears drowned her eyes and stormed down her cheeks as she tried to run past him, stemming any attempts he made to explain. As she rushed by he grabbed her and turned her to face him, placed a hand over her mouth, and forced her to listen.
He had once been the Prince's valet and confidant. When the Prince asked him to become a butler for the Besser family, he inconsiderately agreed to be a sort of courier for his love letters to Verity, who was in his opinion the most beautiful woman in the country. Unfortunately, the Prince was rather deficient in writing skills so the butler became not just the courier but also the author of all those letters. It was in the midst of this duty when he realized he was in love, and that he meant every word he printed.
This said, the Butler removed his hands and gave her permission to leave if she chose. He did not expect her to return his affections, he was her servant, and he had hurt her. He had allowed her to fall in love with a man who was not really worth loving (at least romantically, since platonic love should be shared with everyone). He turned away hoping to find some comfort from the clergyman, who he had just now noticed was no longer in the room.
"What is your name?" He turned again to look into her now clear but still reddened eyes. She didn't even know his name. What a ridiculous thing for him to do, falling in love with a girl who knew him as 'the Butler' and nothing more. He didn't answer her question but instead just looked at her until she explained her realization that she no longer cared that the Prince was married to someone else because she had found someone she liked rather better. However, she refused to be in love with a man who had no name.
The Butler's name was Jeffrey, as was soon acknowledged, and as this was the perfect moment for a love testifying kiss, that of course is what happened next. One could quite easily suppose that they lived happily ever after, and that they were probably married since they were making out at 3:00 am in a clergyman's house.
As to the other (romantic?) couple, one could suppose that they lived happily ever after as well. The first day was a little rough, but after the Prince discontinued his man-screams of shock, he decided that (let's call her Helen) was rather pretty. So at least in this particular world, life is like a puzzle where all the pieces fit together just right.
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