a/n:

Sorry this chapter will be slow (but yaaaay! for a faster-than-expected update!). It's basically a day in the life of Zelda the serving girl and the nasty treatment she receives from her own family. Just a bit of 'before' before she transforms into the 'after'. :)


Routine


Zelda hurried home with the speed of furious winds. She did not want to be caught sneaking out. Her heart pitter-pattered like rain drops as she ran to her home, worried that her only chance of freedom would be taken away by her brief and happy encounter with the nobleman.

By the time she had gotten to the large cottage with its expansive gardens, thatched roof, and stucco walls, the sun swung in the middle of the fat blue sky, its golden glare chastising her for being so dreamy and caught up with her newly made friend.

The wood-panelled door swung open swiftly and quietly as she made her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. No one greeted her with shouts and sneers – a very good indicator that Cia, Kotake and Koume were still asleep, even when it was noon. Zelda sighed with relief, amazed at how wonderful her day had been so far, enchanted by luck's very own favour, and hung her drab grey robe on the wall.

As she cooked eggs and bacon, and as she squeezed oranges for juice, her thoughts always returned to the mysterious nobleman. It hadn't occurred to her earlier that she had never introduced herself nor did he. The thought quickly passed, though, because she knew it was so silly to dwell on the past, especially since they would never meet again.

"ZELDA!" Cia screeched, charging down the stairs – all her feminine beauty and grace vanished whenever her father went out for business. "Where is our breakfast in bed?"

"Please wait, lady mother, and I will present to you your meal in bed," Zelda replied.

"There is no reason to have breakfast in bed now that I am out of bed," Cia snapped, her green face mask smudging the collar of her silken robe. "Serve my darling little girls, will you? I will have a fruit instead of suffering from your disastrous cooking. Last time I ate bacon from you, my stomach rumbled so! I would blame poison and have your head cut off, but unfortunately I am still alive."

With a flare of fluttering burgundy sleeves, Lady Cia snatched fruit from the carefully decorated centrepiece Zelda had spent hours working on. Something like annoyance strained her temples, but she remained calm and still, watching Cia's accustomed behaviour and vehemence towards her for the thousandth time in her life.

"Stop gawking, Zelda. It really does make you look like a fish," Cia said, cupping Zelda's chin with sharpened claws. She turned away and looked out the window. "Now, I have a list of duties for you to do today while my girls and I go to yet another ball. So many men have asked for their hands thus far, but none are worthy of my darling little flowers. Do be a dear and start with their beauty routine after you serve breakfast, and after that, you must scrub every inch of this house until it sparkles. I never know when I might have a few guests."

Zelda said nothing, even though she was tempted to comment on how Lady Cia was too embarrassed by her father's cottage to host a party for the nobility. Although Cia came from a rich and prestigious family, she had married far below her class because she was an old widow. Zelda's father loved Cia, but Cia only loved him for his money.

"And do not forget to draw water for my darling angels' baths. Prepare the perfume and beauty powder as well."

"Yes, lady mother."

With that, the lovely Lady Cia glided to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her with a slam.

Zelda returned to her cooking, ensuring that Koume had exactly two slices of bacon and one egg and double checking that Kotake's plate consisted of two eggs and one bacon. Koume liked the yolks only; Kotake enjoyed the whites. Kotake wanted the fat skinned off her bacon while Koume wished for orange juice with exactly one teaspoon of brown sugar. It had to be brown. Koume, who enjoyed her sweets so, knew if Zelda had mixed it up with white sugar even when one drop of juice reached her tongue.

The door to the twins' bedroom loomed before her, the exact white painted door the same as it always been, when it was just her father and her. Zelda knocked on the door, balancing the two trays on one hand, and waited.

"What point of breakfast in bed don't you understand?" Kotake whined.

"Open the door yourself," Koume echoed.

Zelda obeyed their orders and entered, her eyes averted. She desperately wished there would be no mean comments to ruin her wonderful day.

The room was a pig sty. Dresses, skirts, jewelry, scarves, hats, feathers, and ribbons were strewn all over the place – on chairs, on tables, on beds, on the floors and walls – that it looked as if a travelling gypsy and her wagon full of tacky clothes exploded inside. Zelda didn't react; she knew she would have to clean their mess.

"Give us the food," Kotake barked.

Zelda walked cautiously, ensuring that her dirty shoes never touched their loving possessions they so carelessly stored on the floor, and took a step onto the dais, where their large queen-sized bed was elevated. Koume was on one side, Kotake on the other, and they sat snugly in bed in their night time clothes.

"We were the belles of the ball!" Koume said to her sister, and they both ignored Zelda as they chatted about the lords and ladies of the ball.

Zelda placed each customized tray on their laps and began to clean their room, putting each and every dress back into their walk-in closet, placing each and every item in their respective spots according to colour. She then did the same with the jewelry, the scarves, and the ribbons.

"I cannot wait for the prince's ball," Kotake sighed, changing the topic from the lesser balls to the grandest one of all.

Koume leaned against the bed frame, emitting an equal dreamy sigh. "The prince is so fair and handsome. I think I shall marry him."

Kotake's eyes widened then, a huge red sneer on her long face, as she gripped onto her sister's arms. "No," she howled. "I shall marry the prince."

They argued amongst themselves as Zelda swept away, thinking how useless it was to argue who was prettier. After all, Koume and Kotake had the same tanned skin, the same ash white hair, the same amber eyes. These features in itself were pretty, but their hooked noses, thin lips, and bug-eyes stood out more, making them ugly beneath their layers of makeup. They both were as skinny as ninety-year-old women, but that was only because they drank magical potions to keep off the weight from feasts.

"Imagine if the prince married her," Kotake chuckled, pointing a frail finger at Zelda.

Zelda ignored the comment, but the sentence did make her wonder what would happen if she were to be a princess. She'd get away from her mean step-sisters and her evil step-mother, she'd ensure that her father would come live at the castle with her, and then she'd share her riches with every poor soul in the kingdom. That was what she planned, should such a miracle ever happen to her.

Koume grew silent at Kotake's remark, knowing that if Zelda did go to a ball with the prince, her innate beauty would ensnare him. So she changed the topic, describing what a night it would be on the date of the ball.

"Caviar, champagne, cheesecake, shrimp, pies of meat and fruit…" Koume licked her lips.

"Pretty dresses!"

And both their eyes turned to Zelda, who still swept away at the dirty floor full of biscuit crumbs from midnight snakes.

"I'll have you make my fiery red dress even better," Kotake declared.

"And I'll have you make my platinum ice dress more beautiful," Koume added.

Zelda nodded, not daring to speak, for her voice – when singing, talking or even sighing – filled the twins with such envy. It was a beautiful voice, rich and melodic, like the strings on a melancholic violin, whereas Koume and Kotake croaked and crackled like witches.

She then excused herself with a curtsy and left the room as they finished their breakfasts. The well, which was in the middle of the backyard's gardens, looked stunning against the backdrop of golden green, and even prettier with the crawling ivy and flowerbeds nearby.

Zelda got four large buckets and pulled the water from the well, full to the rim. She carried them with ease, for her arms had gotten used to carrying large loads as a serving girl. She glided, not a single drop falling, for she learned to walk with grace and stillness that rivalled a dancer's.

The bathroom had only a water basin, which Cia had used judging by the green slime sticking to it, a chamber pot, which Cia had used again, and the large wooden tub, empty and on wheels for ease of transport. Zelda poured two buckets in and boiled the other two. Who would take a bath first was undecided. She then cleaned the water basin and the chamber pot, wrinkling her nose at the smell, and went upstairs again to check on her step-sisters.

"What shall we wear to tonight's ball?" Kotake asked to her sister.

They both vanished into the walk in closet.

"Green skirts?"

"No."

A pile of green clothes flew out of the closet's doors, landing on the clean floor. Zelda bit the insides of her cheeks in frustration, daring not to utter a sound, as she walked to the crumpled bed and remade it.

"Red?"

"No."

"Blue?"

"No."

"Purple?"

"No."

"I think I shall wear gold. It's such a joyous colour, and people will be happy and smiling at my stunning presence."

"Then I shall wear black. No one dares to wear such a risky colour at a ball full of rainbow dresses. I shall stand out tonight."

They chuckled, walking over to the vanity table full of neatly stacked jewelry and makeup. By the time they were finished choosing their dresses, which was rather quick, the floor was swept away in the sea of silk, velvet, cotton, and wool dresses. Zelda again tried not to scream out in anger. Instead, she tiptoed across the floor and exited with dirty trays in hand, avoiding the immediate destruction of jewelry.

She tossed the dishes into the sink, planning to clean them later, and took out the heavy cauldron and its hot water, carried it to the bathroom, and poured it into the tub. She placed a bar of soap, gathered the rose petals the twins so loved, and tossed them in.

"It's my turn to bathe first," Kotake argued as the two descended the stairs. She pushed Zelda aside with a shoulder. "Stop standing around and get to work," she barked.

Zelda scurried off and cleaned the kitchen from the cabinets all the way to the floor. She then drew out more water for the next bath and boiled half of it too. By the time she was done, Kotake had finished her bath and marched up the stairs, each step creaking from her large feet.

Zelda rushed back to their bedroom, placing the perfume bottles onto the vanity table, arranging the array of makeup as well, and then helped Kotake slip on her under skirts and her yellow dress. Kotake snapped at her and complained, saying that her golden corset wasn't tight enough to blend in with the new fashion. Zelda strapped the girdle of emerald jewels around Kotake's rather scrawny waist.

With that done, she ran down the stairs and prepared the bath for Koume, who waited in the kitchen and messed up the fruit centrepiece, munching on an apple.

"Am I not your favourite sister?" said she with a glare, and her only response was obedient silence.

Zelda rushed back up to their bedroom again and assisted in Kotake's makeup. She aligned her eyes with kohl, powdered her face with wheaten flour and reddened her lips and cheeks with rouge. She then braided her hair and sprayed generous amounts of rose scented perfume.

Koume appeared in the doorway, demanding her royal treatment. Zelda helped her dressed, helped her with hair and makeup, and sprayed her with perfume.

It took three hours, but the two step sisters were finished with their beauty routine. Thus, they sat in the parlour, snacking on almonds and chatting together, as they waited two more hours for the next lavish ball.

"Ladies!" Cia sang sweetly, arriving from the study. "Let us leave now and shop for more things while we wait for the ball. Zelda, here are things to do while we are away."

Cia shoved a crumpled piece of paper into Zelda's hands. With that, all three ladies, drowned in layers of makeup, spritzes of perfume, and bundles of jewelry and silk, left the house with another slam of the door. Their racket of chatter, wheels, and hooves declined as they rode away into the distance, leaving behind only Zelda with silence and the crumpled piece of paper.

Zelda opened it and read aloud: "The study room, the dining room, the parlour, the bathroom, the bedrooms, the kitchen, and the lobby must be clean from floor to ceiling. The windows need wiping, the gardens need snipping, and the animals need feeding."

She sighed. It would take her all day to clean, but it had to be done.

However, little did she know that Lady Cia observed Zelda's good heart and beauty. She feared that Zelda's virtues would ensnare any man who laid their eyes on her. Thus, for all these years and time to come, Cia enlisted large tasks for Zelda to tackle just to keep her occupied from venturing into the town. For, if she married, there would be a problem for Lady Cia. Who would be her gardener, her maid, her lady-in-waiting? Who would cook and clean? Certainly not her, nor her daughters, not even other servants whom she distrusted. But Zelda, the wholesome girl who never dared to steal.

Yet, as Zelda grew and cleaned and cooked and gardened, she became very experienced. So, Zelda did all on Cia's list swiftly, right before twilight. After all her work, Zelda always sat in the little alcove dedicated to a few animals her father kept – a couple of hens, a cow, a pig, a horse and a goat.

All sat around her, growing a love for her because she was the one who cared for them and didn't yell at them for being stinky. Zelda equally loved them, too, and considered them to be her friends since they didn't yell at her either.

The hens pecked near her feet, eating the seeds she had sprayed across the ground, and the pig laid on his fat belly, snorting against her hand in affection. The goat leaned against her leg, fast asleep, and the cow and the horse were behind her, looking over her shoulder and down at the book she read, as if they were reading along.

Zelda smiled, enjoying her little break.

"Would you like to hear a story?" she asked them.

A snort, a bleat, a moo, a neigh, and the clucking of hens all said 'yes' enthusiastically.

"Very well. Now, listen closely, for it is a very tricky story with lots of twists and turns," Zelda said, turning the first page. "It is about a lonely prince who seeks a princess bride, but little does he know that it isn't a princess he's searching for, but a woman who is kind and good-hearted…" she trailed off, laughing a little as the pig stood up and ate the seeds on the ground as well. A few angry hens squawked at him.

"Ladies, there is always room to share," she scolded, and the hens reluctantly drew away from the pig and ate elsewhere.

"Now, where were we? Oh, yes. A prince and his lady love… It all began on one spring day, when the prince heard beautiful singing in the woods…"


a/n: Follow me on wattpad AriettaSerenade ^~^ More to come! :)