Emma in the middle- part 9
A guest asked for a oneshot of a 9th instalment acting as a prequel to all the "Emma in the middle chapters (the last being Ch2534) where we learn that during Emma's whole childhood, there was one maid who saw that Snowing favoured Emma's siblings and would try to take care of her when she felt left out and come to all her important events. Her death occurs a few months before the Ball incident, and is another reason why her parents' absence at her crossbow tournament hit her so hard.
The best thing about every day for Emma was getting ready for supper with her parents and siblings. Not the actual meal itself, no, that was often awful. She had to hear her parents gush over how any boy would be lucky to have Marali, or what a fine knight Neal was going to be. Often Emma was left to sit there for the duration of the meal and try and pretend she wasn't there at all. No, it was the actual getting ready Emma enjoyed.
With such a large staff team in the palace, there were different maids who performed different tasks throughout the day and night. There was a maid whose job it was specifically to get Emma ready for her daily family supper, Eleanor. Emma absolutely adored Eleanor. Unlike most of the people in the palace, Eleanor actually cared about what Emma had to say. She knew what Emma liked and didn't like, and made sure her outfits for these daily suppers matched accordingly. Eleanor knew everything about Emma. What she was excited about, what was bothering her. Emma felt closer to Eleanor than either of her parents. Eleanor also felt a close bond with Emma herself. She knew that the princess was often overlooked by her parents (however unintentionally). So Eleanor did her best to make up for this by attending the events Emma was entered in. Emma owed Eleanor a lot. She was the one who kept her from going off the rails over how frustrated she felt about being overlooked.
One day, Emma was looking forward to her time with Eleanor before supper. It was often the only time in the day the princess got to vent her frustrations. So Emma was shocked when it wasn't Eleanor who walked in, but another maid instead.
"Who are you?" Emma asked abruptly. "Where's Eleanor?" Emma knew she was being rude, but she had so been looking forward to seeing Eleanor that day. She had officially been accepted for the upcoming crossbow tournament. She knew her parents had known since early in the morning, but neither had so much as sent a message of congrats. The maid looked uncomfortable.
"I'm afraid it's not my place to discuss Eleanor, Your Highness, but I will be assisting you in getting ready for supper now. My name is Sadie." She explained. Emma instantly knew that something was wrong. Sadie made it sound like this was a permanent change. Eleanor wouldn't just leave Emma without telling her. She wouldn't!
"Why isn't Eleanor returning?" Emma asked, equally as abruptly. Sadie bit her bottom lip awkwardly. "Tell me, please!" Emma demanded. The maid shuffled about on her feet.
"Eleanor passed away suddenly this morning, Your Highness." She explained. Emma swayed on the spot. She felt like she was going to pass out. Eleanor was…dead? Sadie quickly came forward and tried to help Emma back to the bed to sit down. Emma brushed her off.
"Why did nobody tell me? Why was it being kept from me?" She asked.
"I can't answer that, Your Highness." Sadie told her. Emma understood. It wasn't this maid's fault. It was her parents'. Emma sped from the room, ignoring Sadie's pleas for her to come back. She had to find her parents. She had to know why.
Emma stormed into the dining room where the family had supper each night. Her parents and siblings were already seated.
"Emma?" Snow asked, alarmed by her sudden appearance. "Emma, why are you still in your day clothes? You know the rules about supper…"
"Why did nobody tell me about Eleanor?" Emma interrupted her mother. Snow raised her eyebrows. She didn't like being interrupted.
"Emma, we didn't get much notice either." Snow responded gently. She understood that Emma spent a lot of time with the maid. She saw that the pair seemed to enjoy each other's company. "We only found out a few hours ago. We thought it might be better to wait until tonight after supper to explain things to you. Obviously though, you found out earlier than we expected…"
"Did you expect me not to notice she was gone?! I'm not you two!" Emma yelled.
"Emma, don't raise your voice at us." Charming warned her. "What is that supposed to mean." Emma bit her lip. She wasn't getting into this with them. She couldn't believe Eleanor was gone. Emma stormed out the room again in tears.
"Emma, don't go!" Snow called after her, but Emma ignored her mother. Snow sighed, sitting back down slowly. Marali looked between where her little sister had gone running off and her parents, who seemed pretty lost.
"Aren't you going to go after her?" She asked. Emma might have thought she was the master of keeping her hurt to herself, but Marali knew her sister felt like her siblings were favoured over her. Sometimes, she understood why. Snow shook her head.
"You know your sister. She's a bit of a hothead."
"Your mother's right, Marali. Emma's better cooling off on her own. She'll come to terms with Eleanor's passing." Charming added. Marali pressed her lips tightly together. She had a feeling this "leave her be" approach was going to blow up in all their faces, and soon.
