May stood in line with the other girls the next day, Cynthia in front of them, the giant doors to the ballroom behind her. They'd been instructed to set out tables lining the room for those who weren't dancing. Once they were done with that, they had to report to the kitchen, where they'd help prepare food. Then they were to greet the guests, take their coats and hats to the cloakroom. Then they were to stand and watch the ball, serving anyone who needed it. It was going to be an extremely long day.
When Cynthia was finished explaining, and swung around to open the doors to the ballroom, May was completely blown away. The ballroom was the biggest and tallest room she'd ever seen in her life. Looking in at it, she could barely even fathom the sheer size of it. It was completely golden, with large arch windows lining the side walls. The floor was marble and reflected the lights positioned between the windows so the entire room had a warm glow. She wondered just how many guests there were going to be if the room was this gigantic. At the back of the room was a stage-like area with a throne for the King to sit, and two smaller chairs either side, for the princes. The Queen's one must have been removed already.
They began their work moving the tables and setting them, laying the tablecloths over neatly. May noticed she was quicker than the others, likely because she'd once taken a job similar to this, but in a much smaller setting, while she was still in Hoenn, when one of the lords was suspected of planning to commit treason. Once she'd finished, she helped Serena with hers. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to, but Cynthia didn't stop her, so she carried on.
Next they were led to the kitchens, where the chefs were already preparing food. They mostly had to chop vegetables, which May had already done before, so was fine with. A couple of the girls struggled a little- Whitney sliced her finger open and had to be taken away by Cynthia to bandage it up, and reappeared a while later, visibly embarrassed.
When they were finally finished in the kitchens, they were taken to the entrance of the castle, where they were instructed to wait until the guests began to arrive. Once Cynthia left them alone they all relaxed. May allowed herself to talk casually to Serena and Misty, and found she liked them both a lot more than she wanted to admit, despite them being from Kanto. She'd let herself become too relaxed, and was mid laughter when the side doors swung open and someone appeared at them. May didn't recognise the boy, but immediately knew it was the younger prince. His long red hair had been tied up behind his head into a neat bun, and he was dressed in an expensive suit, and the sight of him scared May to the bone. He looked displeased, and was mid arguing with whoever was behind him as he stomped through the doorway, his hands shoved in his pockets. He turned to face them all for a split second, scowled, and entered the ballroom, letting the doors slam behind him.
"Silver!" Someone called from behind him. A male voice. May stood up straight and tried to look more professional as he appeared at the door, but the sight of him made her falter. The eldest prince, Ash, appeared at the doorway and glanced over at them, apologising for his brother's poor behaviour, but May barely heard him. She was stunned by the sight of him- his tanned skin and incredible jawline. His curly raven black hair falling around his face a little. His dark brown, piercing eyes that were much friendlier than his brother's. He smiled over at them, and she turned away, despite it being impolite, to hide the heat rising on her cheeks. She mentally slapped herself, telling herself to get it together. She never swooned over anyone, male or female, and she had to pull herself together. When she looked back up, he was closing the ballroom doors behind him, and she relaxed, feeling as though she might fall to the carpet beneath them. Misty let out a long sigh.
"It should be illegal to be that attractive," Jasmine huffed. May had met a lot of attractive people, but none had struck her quite like he had. It almost made her feel sick to think of the enemy prince that way, and that was the only thing that saved her from thinking about him any further. She shook the thought from her mind and focused on the sound of the guests arriving on the other side of the door. Sabrina reached for the handle and pulled open the door and they flooded in so fast they could barely keep up. Lords and ladies of all ages paid them no attention as they glided in, chattering in excitement and practically throwing their coats over their shoulders. May tried to pick out which of the younger ladies might be in line for the engagement but they all moved so fast that it was impossible for her to get a good look at anyone.
She wasn't sure how long it took everyone to arrive, but before long they were in the ballroom with the rest of them. May looked around, at the people gathering around tables, nobody sitting but instead standing around. She was handed a tray full of wine glasses to hand out, and she weaved around the mass of bodies, offering anyone she saw a drink until her tray was empty. Nobody seemed to pay her any attention unless she offered them a glass, which was good. She reached the front of the crowd and looked across the giant area that had been kept clear for dancing once the dancing began, and saw the king for the first time, sitting in the centre of the stage, watching over the festivities. He looked haggard, as though he might fall asleep at any second. Beside him, Ash sat politely. In the brief second she looked at him, she swore she saw him look back. She quickly twirled and hurried back to the kitchen to get another round of drinks, gathering empty glasses as she went.
When she re-emerged, the king had stood and tapped his glass, letting everyone know he was about to speak. She paused at the door, scooting sideways a little to get a good view of him, and the two princes beside him.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he started, his voice booming across the room, "we welcome you to the palace today and hope you're enjoying yourselves. As you know, my son," he gestured to Ash, who's face didn't change one bit, like he was hiding any emotions he was feeling. "Ash, is to be engaged soon. Here's to him, and a long, successful marriage in the near future."
He raised his glass, and May wondered why he would use the word successful rather than happy. She wondered whether he'd even agreed to this, or had been forced into it. The king announced the dancing was to begin, and people quickly flooded onto the dancefloor. May hovered for a second, and noticed a lady stride straight to the stage, and bow before it. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognised the royal blue hair, this time in neat curls falling down her bare back. The girl from the bathhouse. She noticed the prince stand and take her hand, coming down from the stage to dance with her.
She shook her head clear and got back to work before Cynthia could see her standing around. For the rest of the night she wove around people, serving them where she could and keeping a close eye on the lords and ladies that might be of interest. The blue haired girl and the prince danced once more, but he danced with a number of other women too. Once a couple of hours had passed, and she was truly exhausted, she gave herself a minute to rest against a wall. Somehow all the guests were still lively, and she'd barely be visible through the crowd, so doubted she'd get in trouble. She let herself close her eyes, just for a minute…
"Excuse me," she heard from beside her, and jolted upright, terrified she was going to be chastised for her laziness, but as she turned to her right, ready to apologise, the words were lost. Her heart stopped in her chest and she met the eyes of the prince. He was standing before her, a polite smile on his face. The prince had caught her slacking off. She curtsied immediately, spluttering out a stumble of an apology.
"It's alright," he said, raising a hand. "I won't say a word." She rose, unsure of how to act at all, the whole situation was just so surreal. Why was he even here speaking to her? She noticed a twinkle of mischief in his eye. "If you do one favour for me."
She wasn't sure what to say or how to correctly respond to him, so she simply nodded, mentally slapping herself for being so pathetic around him. She was an enemy spy. This man was her enemy. She had no reason to look up to him at all. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note, and then grabbed her hands quickly. Her breath came faster as he pressed the note into her palm. She curled her fingers around it quickly. She had a feeling if she was caught in this situation, she'd be worse than fired, even if it was the prince.
"There's a man wearing a blue and black checked bow tie, with grey hair and glasses. Would you pass this to him?"
Stunned and unsure whether she wanted to agree or not, she stared at him for a moment, then swallowed hard. "Of course, your Highness."
He left her then, and she considered her options. She could do as he asked, pray she didn't get in trouble for it, or she could show someone. Or she could read the note herself. She was there to gather information after all. Could she risk the prince seeing her do that though? Her eyes darted quickly around the room, and she found the man standing beside the blue haired girl. She figured it was her father instantly. The note was likely something about the arranged marriage, then. Sighing, she headed to grab another tray of drinks, but poured one glass into another and discarded the empty glass. Once she'd gathered her nerves she crossed the room, making a beeline for the older man. He looked up as she approached.
She picked up the glass, slipping the folded up note under the bottom. "The extra large glass you asked for, sir." She stared at him pointedly as she handed it to him, hoping to get her point across. He narrowed his eyes slowly, and May tried not to look at his daughter, who she guessed was around the same age as her, as she turned to eye her suspiciously. The man nodded and she noticed him pocket the note. Her nerves dissipated and she relaxed a little.
After that, the rest of the night seemed easy. After a while longer the guests began to leave, heading back to their rooms or back into the city. May and the others stayed behind after, cleaning up the mess they'd left, and May didn't see the prince again. She was a little ashamed of herself for carrying out his order without question when she was supposed to be here to gather information to bring them down with. She just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite her later on.
She barely joined in on the conversation the rest of the girls started once they reached their rooms, and was asleep first too. She tossed and turned the whole night, fading in and out of a restless sleep filled with nightmares. She hadn't had nightmares in years. When Cynthia woke them all in the morning her whole body was heavy, and it felt as though opening her eyes wasn't even a possibility. After today, they'd be told who they were serving and which part of the castle they'd be staying in. She needed to perform well, regardless of how exhausted she was. She reminded herself it was just one day and forced herself up.
She secretly hoped she'd be given to the lord she'd passed the note to last night. Something interesting was going on there, and it might be easy to gain information if he trusted her even a little after the night before. The day passed by quickly, as May forced herself to push through the boring tasks Cynthia assigned them. She was never going to find any of them hard, it was just forcing herself to appear interested in the job to avoid suspicion that tired her out. By the end of the day, when they all gathered in the first building they'd met in, she was beyond done with the day. She prayed Cynthia wouldn't keep them for long so she could sleep.
Cynthia handed them all teacups and poured their tea for them, which May supposed would never happen again after that night. She sat beside Serena, who looked equally as tired.
"Alright. Well done for making it this far. You're all pretty good at this. Last time we had new maids, two had been kicked by the third day." Cynthia cackled a little bit as though she'd found joy in kicking them out. When nobody else spoke, she cleared her throat and carried on. She started to list who they were assigned to and where that person was, and who they were. May sipped her tea as she waited for her name, but of course she was last. When she reached the only other person that hadn't been called, Misty, the name caught May's attention.
"Misty, you'll be with Lord Berlitz and his daughter, Dawn." She peered over her paper and noticed the curiosity on the girls' faces. Berlitz was not a Kantonian name. "He's a foreign lord. A very, very wealthy one. His daughter is most likely to win the Prince's hand in marriage."
May knew she shouldn't pry, but she couldn't help herself. "Is she the lady with the blue hair?"
Cynthia raised an eyebrow, most likely because the unnecessary question annoyed her, but nodded anyway. Well, it explained the exotic hair colour and the strange but beautiful features on her face. So May hadn't been assigned to him after all. She sighed, resting her chin in her hand. Then Cynthia sighed and folded the paper up, and May's head shot back up. Was this it? Was Cynthia about to reveal that she was getting kicked? That someone had caught her slipping the note, or slacking off during the ball? Her heart hammered in her chest and Cynthia looked down her nose at her, clearly displeased with something.
"Now May, I know this might seem a little sudden and overwhelming," she started, sighing heavily. "But the prince has requested that you be assigned to him, and I'm in no position to deny him that, even if I don't understand it."
What Cynthia said didn't register to her. The words went completely over her head, and she stared blankly ahead. The rest of the girls turned to her, their jaws hanging open, and the words started to sink in. The prince had asked for her. Her heart quickened as she considered the opportunities she'd gained herself. She was going to gain some sort of access to parts of the palace that others wouldn't. She was going to be beside him, serving him tea, listening to his conversations. It was likely because he figured she was easy to manipulate and would do anything after she blindly followed his order to pass his secretive note, but that didn't matter. He could believe what he wanted about her, so long as she completed the job she'd been sent here to do, and could return home to her family.
"The Prince asked for you specifically, May. That means he picked you out of the crowd for some reason, right? Wow, you're so lucky." Misty swooned beside her, and the others were visibly jealous. The job was probably going to be more stressful, though. One misstep in front of the Prince could spell her end.
"I have no idea why," she lied, looking to Cynthia. "What does that mean for me?"
"It means your room will be close to the prince's. It means you'll probably be busier than the rest of us."
She shrank back into her seat and ignored the stares of the others as Cynthia moved onto explaining where each of them would stay. Then, without warning, a group of maids they didn't recognise entered from outside.
"Grab your things. These ladies will show you to your rooms."
They had very little time to grab what small belongings they had with them and go. The maid that beckoned for May was a tall lady with long, dark hair. She didn't speak a word as she led May through the gardens. May clutched her bag to her chest, breathing deeply to calm her racing heart. The palace grew closer and closer, until they were standing by the doors and the lady was gesturing for her to enter.
The royal wing was deep into the palace, and May couldn't help but feel like the walls were closing in on her as they went down hallway after hallway. She kept her hands clasped together in front of her, not even having to act like the shy maid she was playing. She really was intimidated by everything here.
"This is the Prince's bedroom," the lady stopped and gestured to the closest door. The door was shut, and she wondered if he was inside. She hesitated for a second, and had to skip to catch up. Down one more hallway, she was shown to her room. It was a good size for a servant's bedroom. She supposed the rest of the bedrooms on the hall belonged to other servants too. The lady gestured for her to enter, then bowed her head and left without another word. May sighed and threw her bag down on the ground. Pacing across the room, she sat on the bed. It was comfier than the one she'd slept in the past two nights. In amongst all her skirts and the bed sheets, she felt warm, and fell asleep instantly. She only woke the next morning, when an abrupt knock at her door echoed through her room.
A tall, older man entered without waiting for permission. May straightened her skirts out and looked up at him. He was clearly a butler, and probably here to tell her what her duties were for the day. She hoped he wouldn't notice she'd been sleeping.
"A copy of the prince's schedule for you, ma'am." He took a few steps forward and held out a sheet of paper. She took it and glanced over it.
"Thank you."
"I'm Max, his highness' butler. The Prince wishes to meet you formally now."
May swallowed hard, but stood, beginning to walk out with Max. "Is he always this considerate of his servants? I mean, I assumed he wouldn't bother to learn my name."
Max glanced over his shoulder at her, and she prayed her question hadn't been too disrespectful. "He's always been this way. In some ways, I consider him my friend as much as the prince."
It didn't take them long to reach the door. Once they did, he knocked on it twice. "The new maid for you, Your Highness."
"Come in," he called, and Max opened the door for her. She stood, hands wrung together in front of her, as the door swung open to reveal his room. It was gigantic, and she was sure his bed was bigger than her entire room. He was sitting at a desk in the corner of his room, reading a pile of papers, but looked up as she entered hesitantly. He smiled over at her, and she thought she might throw up as the butler closed the door behind her, leaving them along together. She wasn't sure where to go, or what to say, so took a few steps into the room and waited for him to speak, wondering if he was going to give her orders.
"Thank you for handling that thing for me last night," he started, putting his papers down.
"No need to thank me, Your Highness," she answered, bowing her head. It turned her stomach a little to bow her head to enemy nobility, but she could think of nothing worse than looking suspicious or disrespectful in this situation.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"May Embersong."
"Well, nice to meet you, May." Him calling her by her first name so formally startled her a little. Was he always this friendly with everyone? He stood, grabbing a paper from his desk, and she noticed his shirt was half unbuttoned. "You're coming with me." He walked over to her, and with every step she felt her heart quickening. He was quite a bit taller than her, and pretty muscular, too. He handed her the paper. "I have to attend tea with some ladies."
She much preferred him giving orders than being friendly. It felt more natural, and the tone in which he ordered her made her heart skip a beat, though she wasn't sure why. She nodded once. He buttoned up his shirt quickly and started to head for the door. She followed behind him quickly, nodding at the butler as they passed him waiting outside the door. She continued to follow him through the castle until they reached a living room where a table had been set out with a number of cakes and cookies across it.
He stated simply that she was to wait in the corner and serve them tea when they wanted it, or if they needed anything else. She felt weird standing in the room during his private affairs, but supposed nobility were used to their every move being watched, and having no alone time. He sat on one side of the table, looking displeased and bored if anything, until a lady entered in a magnificent red dress and red gloves, her black hair up in a neat bun. May watched them greet each other. She wondered how many of these he'd have to go through.
She watched as they made conversation and drank tea, and filled up their cups when they asked. She walked the ladies out when they were done and walked the next one in. It was a strange setup, but she supposed picking the next queen would be a long and very particular process. The time passed slowly and gave her no information. They talked of hobbies and land and general small talk each time, and May wondered how he wasn't bored out of his mind. She'd lost track of how many ladies she'd walked in when she went to greet the next one, and recognised her instantly. The blue haired lady.
As she entered, Ash actually smiled over at her genuinely. She smiled back, and they both continued smiling as she sat down. They started talking quietly and under their breath, so May could barely hear a word they said. She zoned out, and found herself staring at him. It was impossible not to when he laughed or smiled. She was sure she'd never seen anyone more attractive, and hated that fact.
When they called her over she kept her head down and moved as quickly as she could to get away again. She heard him call her Dawn. When the tea was over, she waved at him as she left, and he called out goodbye to her. She was the last one. When May re-entered the room, Ash looked exhausted.
"Do you want some?" He asked suddenly, gesturing at the cakes that were left on the table. They'd hardly eaten any. She froze.
"Your Highness?" She asked, confused.
"Well you mustn't have had breakfast, so have some if you like, before they send the others to clean it up."
She had been so tense she hadn't realised, but she was very hungry after all. She hesitated for a moment, wondering how she was supposed to respond. Surely it wasn't very fitting for a maid to sit at a table across from the prince and eat cake. He sighed and gestured to the seat. Swallowing hard, she sat across from him and picked up a cookie, nibbling on it carefully, scared this was a test and she was about to fail. He crossed a leg across the other and put his hands behind his head, watching her.
"Where are you from?" He asked.
"A small town called Lavender, Your Highness," she lied.
"Well, you can't have been in the city long," he speculated.
"I haven't. I arrived not long before I applied to work here."
"I figured." He sat forward in his chair. "If you had, some seamstress or agency would have scouted you already."
Her face heated up, and she almost dropped the cookie on the floor. She looked away, hoping to hide the red that was undoubtedly spreading across her cheeks. He was complimenting her. But why? The Prince laughed from across the table.
"No need to look so flustered. It's only a compliment."
She wondered if he was always this flirty with everyone. Surely he was, or he wouldn't have bothered to say anything about her looks. She was a maid, after all, and he was royalty, and if the rules were anything like in her own kingdom, she'd be beheaded for any indecent behaviour with him.
As she thought it the door flung open, and the younger Prince stood staring in, his eyebrow raised at her. She stood immediately, straightening out her skirts awkwardly. How awful it must have looked for her to be sat with him like that. Now her face was truly warm.
"Do you need something?" Ash asked calmly. Silver looked May up and down in a way that made her skin crawl.
"Father wants you."
Ash sighed and stood. "Lunch for the servants will be served soon, May, so you can go down to the servant's dining hall. I'll call for you later."
She nodded and waited for him to leave before slinking back against the wall, exhaling hard. That entire experience had almost been too much, and she was already exhausted. She left the room for the other servants to clean up and headed to the dining hall, where she ate beside Serena and Misty who questioned her endlessly about Ash. She didn't tell them about his compliment, or that he let her sit opposite him and eat. She mostly dodged the questions until it was time to leave. Cynthia requested her help in the gardens, and she worked out there until dinner. After dinner, she was sent back to her room, where she sat all night. He didn't call on her again.
