Author's Note: Hmm… this fic seems to be MUCH popular than my other one… I didn't think anyone lese would dig the fairy-tale-ish thing much, because I thought it was just me… So now I don't feel alone! And a warning to anyone who reads this: this story will be incredible sappy and other things similar to that, so if that's not your style, read it anyways and don't flame me about that! And to Peachy Garlic- I guess it was kind of inevitable that she would become a Mary Sue. I mean, it's almost physically impossible *not* to make one with the quote I used. Lol, I hope everyone likes the story, cuz here it goes off again:
Linette looked around the dark shed. She saw many bags laid about, and looked up one a shelf that was nailed to the back. A few bags were on it, and she grabbed a random sack. She untied the drawstring pouch, and looked inside. It was filled with sand and a few pebbles, but that was not what caught her eye. She saw a glimmer, and grabbed at it to bring it out into somewhat better light.
It was a ring. A diamond ring, to be more precise. It sparkled in the dim light of the shed, a miracle in its own right. She doubted that it was a true diamond, but it never hurt to check. She slipped it into her apron pocket to have the royal jeweler examine later, wondering who could be careless enough to leave this in such an unthinkable place. She resigned to report it to the head servant, and looked back at the sand filled bag again.
There was no sort of label on it. The bag itself was identical to all of the other bags in the cabin. She tightened and tied the string back around the bag, and placed it back upon the damp shelf. She looked through a few more of the bags on the shelf before finding the almond bag, plenty large enough for any cook. She wrapped her arms around it, and used her uninjured ankle to kick open the shed door.
The storm outside was just as bad as before. The wind howled and whistled in her ears, but she ignored it as her mind whirled with confusing thoughts about the ring. She stumbled back into the kitchens, and felt the warmth of the ovens wash over her. She pushed her way back to Chavi and the other cook, and handed over the bag of almonds. The other cook took it without looking up at her, his eyes still fixed on the almond pastries he was shaping delicately.
"I'm back again." Linette informed Chavi of her presence while the cook continued to ice the cakes.
"So you are." I'm sorry, Linette, but there's really nothing for you to do right now. Perhaps you should go as Cecilia for cleaning work. There's a huge group of servants waxing the floor in the Queen's Ballroom. Should take you the better chunk of the day."
"I suppose you're right." Linette hating waxing the floors, but at least she could be useful. She knew Cecelia wouldn't mind, and didn't really care if she did mind. She shoved her way through out of the kitchens to hurry on to the Queen's Ballroom.
The way to the ballroom was familiar to her. King Jasson often held balls so that he could invite foreign ambassadors to them, to keep the peace within Tortall. This year was slightly different, however. King Jasson's only son, Prince Roald, was to be knighted that day, praying that he survived the Chamber of the Ordeal. The elaborate feasting and dancing would continue on for well into the night, usually only breaking up when the king would fall asleep.
Linette made her way to the halls, passing many people on the way. Some were servants carrying cleaning supplies, others were just maids like her, trying to find somewhere to work. All, she noticed, had the unmistakable scent of lye soap and wax. She wrinkled her nose as she passed someone with a particularly strong scent, and resigned to breathe through her mouth.
Linette turned the corner and came to a stop in front of the heavy wooden doors. They were carved with the most intricate designs from master artisans throughout the kingdom of Tortall. Towards the top, the doors were inlaid with a border of crystalline roses, and bore the insignia "Regina Saltatio Aedes." Linette gazed in awe for what felt like the thousandth time at the complexity of the design.
The doors slowly opened, forcing her out of her stupor. As another maid came out, Linette went in. She walked a few steps out, and gazed around. The ballroom was as impressive as the doors that led to it. The floor was cream colored marble, and in the center of the floor was a marble design of the Conte line's coat-of-arms. The famous Great Stair was another main focal point, ten feet in width and curved ever so slightly. A red carpet was rolled up at its foot, but Linette remembered how it was on the actual night of the ball. The carpet would be rolled out, and would lead to the platform where the king and queen's throne were placed.
Linette walked over to the center of the floor, where there was a large collaboration of servants. Quickly she inquired to where the buckets with lye were, and a relieved servant handed a bucket to her, and then went to get supplies to wax the floor. Linette got down on her hands and knees with the other servants. She reached into the bucket to grab the scrubbing brush, but quickly drew them back out. She bit her lip from the sting of the lye, and braced herself. This time she grabbed the brush in one swift motion, and began scrubbing the floor.
The calluses on her hands were used to the hard handle of the wooden scrub, but not to the lye. They stung as she scrubbed, the pain unrelenting. She glanced around at the other servants, and noticed that some had their hands beginning to bloody from the work. She wondered how it was possible for them to be bleeding, yet still get the floor clean. She internally shuddered at the sight of all of the bloody hands, and sent a prayer to the goddess that the same thing would not happen to her.
The servants began to separate and expand towards the outskirts of the room. Linette found a corner to herself. When she was sure everyone was far enough not to hear, she began to hum a tune to herself. Eventually the humming turned into a soft singing, and Linette felt more at ease with herself and the scrubbing. She didn't notice a man approach her.
"Hello."
Linette jumped, almost knocking over her lye bucket. She stood up, and gathered her skirt into her hands to curtsey. "Good day, m'lord. Can I help you?"
"Perhaps. You see, I have lost something precious of mine. A beautiful diamond ring, it was." the man told her. "Have you seen it?"
Linette was puzzled at the coincidence. She drew the ring from her pocket and held it up to the light. "Like this, m'lord?"
The man's face lit up with a grin. "Yes, that's it! Wherever did you find it?" He took the ring from her fingers and smiled again. Linette opened her mouth to answer his question, but closed it again when he continued. "Thank you so much. I'll remember your kindness—and your lovely singing voice—Linette."
Linette blushed as the man strode off, and she observed the same confident stride that she had seen earlier. She slowly attempted to piece together the puzzle, but nothing seemed to fit. However did the ring find its way to her? Still extremely confused, she went back down on her hands and knees to scrub, as she watched as the man walked away, turned the corner, and disappeared.
Thank Yous:
treanz-alyce- Good stalker! Thank you for all of your reviews!
Annonimous- Thank you for your review! I hope you liked this chapter!
krissi697- Hi Kristen! I can't believe you actually reviewed! Go review again!
Peachy Garlic- Thanks for reviewing, and if you didn't read the first AN, see above.
milky way bar- You're welcome. And yeah, I reviewed Flashback, thanks for reviewing my fic!
