The King, the Maids, the Jester and the Stable Hand
By RabbitohsGirl
A/N: Yay! New chapter is up! I'm sorry if I kept anybody waiting, unlikely though. You guys need to send in reviews by the handful. It will make me feel like a butterfly. Alive for three days! That is my definition of sugar highs. Mine last for days.
Anyway, I got a whole 6 review for last chapter. Who is cool? I am! Sort of.
Thanks to my reviewers: cherry328, iluvreading, Ms Andromeda Black, leannie123, SharkiesGirl and MentalLady. You guys are the coolest.
Ok, I got quite a good reaction for this fic. And since I am such a lovely person (cough, cough) I thought to myself, "You know, you should update." So I did. And here it is...
Thanks: You rock, Jenna. I give you virtual cookie dough.
Lily woke up to find she was on Remus' bed, completely alone. She flung her legs over the edge and brought her feet to the floor. That is, if they made it. She heard a soft thud followed by a moan. Lily pulled her legs back up onto the bed and peered over the side.
"Whatdidcha do that for, Hun?" Jayne asked, tiredly.
Over the course of the night, she had managed to push both Remus and Jayne off the bed and into a pile of bed sheets. She had always been a restless sleeper. Jayne had wound up on top of Remus who, funnily enough, ended up tangled in the sheets.
"I'm sorry!" Lily exclaimed, waking Remus up.
"Ha?" he muttered, trying to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Jayne's attempts at getting back onto the bed.
"Sorry."
Jayne, after much effort, sat up on Remus' bed and reached a hand out to him. He accepted it and she pulled him up. The three of them sat on the bed, waking themselves up.
"What time is it?" Lily asked, yawning.
Remus looked over his shoulder to the old grandfather clock.
"Six."
They had one hour to get ready. The hour went slower than usual. The three showered, dressed, finished off any homework and cleaned up the room ready for the cleaner to mop the floors. It was only when the bell rang that they remembered why they were all in the same bed in the first place.
"I don't want to be sold as a slave," Jayne cried as they walked down to breakfast.
"None of us do, Jayne. I'm just wishing we will all still be together," replied Remus.
This sent shivers down Lily's spine. What would happen if they were separated? Lily had grown up with Jayne and Remus and she didn't want to think about life without them. They all sat down in their usual spots, all the other girls batting their eyelashes at Remus. He ignored them, as usual.
"Miss Evans, Miss White, Mr Lupin." The three looked up at Miss Beaumont and cringed. She was looking rather ghastly this morning. "I understand that yesterday was rather interrupted, but I still expected you to see me. This behaviour will not stand. If you could please see me before your classes commence, thank you." She slowly walked away.
"Old bat!" Jayne muttered under her breath.
Remus and Lily laughed. Jayne always criticised people behind their backs. Apart from that, she didn't have a mean streak in her. Lily always thought that when God was handing out meanness, she was off chasing a butterfly. The trio finished their meals and waited until classes started to see Miss Beaumont.
"Now children, why were you late yesterday morning?" she asked.
The group exchanged glances. Lily was the best liar of the group. Remus was pretty good but he took a few more moments to come up with a plausible excuse. Jayne was a terrible liar. She always told the truth out of guilt. Lily was yet to find out if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"I had a terrible morning, Miss," Lily said, coming to the rescue. "A boy broke my heart."
Miss Beaumont was a sucker for sympathy. She always thought that men were only put on Earth to break women's hearts. Alas, that is why she is a Miss, not a Mrs.
"Who was this boy, Miss Evans?" she asked, giving Lily a pitying look.
"The boy from the park, Miss," Lily replied, bringing fake tears to her eyes.
She copped it all. "Oh, there there. It'll be all better soon. You are dismissed."
The three teenagers walked out of her office beaming. Their classes – cooking, cleaning, care and English for the girls, English, building and business for the boys – came and went quickly. Too quickly.
"The bells rang earlier today," Remus pointed out during afternoon tea.
"I know."
Jayne always was the one to make short, pointless, obvious little comments. She had tried to stop once but she was either talking too much or being too silent. It just wouldn't fit in the balance if she didn't comment.
"Attention, children!" Miss Beaumont called out.
All the kids turned to face her, worry etched on their faces. If what she was about say had anything to do with King Sirius, they didn't want to hear it. They wouldn't allow themselves to hear it.
"I have some news."
"Well, duh," Jayne muttered.
"King Sirius," The Hall held its breath. "Has requested help for his Kingdom. There will be a range of different observers attending the School for the next week to choose who will be chosen to attend to our Majesty. I have requested that you be taken in groups, but I have yet to see through that plan. You are dismissed for today. The guests will arrive tomorrow morning and I expect the joint to be spick and span. Your chores are listed on your doors. God day."
The Hall cleared quickly. All the orphans walked to their room to check their list of jobs. Miss Beaumont was very strict about presentation and they were used to cleaning up around the place. Lily and Remus were given jobs out in the yard and Jayne was given the job of cleaning up around their room. She always got that job, being the cleanest of the three.
"What do you have to do, Remus?" Lily asked him as they walked down to the gardens.
"I have to mow the lawns, clip the trees and mend the fence. You?"
"I have to water the flowers, clean the windows and wipe down the tables."
Remus was always given the job of mowing. He was the eldest male at the orphanage and was very strong. He was the only one who could control the mower. Lily wasn't given outside jobs, usually. She was normally placed in the kitchens to wash everything down.
"This should be easy," Lily said as they grabbed all the appropriate cleaning equipment from the store rooms.
The mower was kept in the garden shed, along with the garden tools and watering can. When the pair stepped outside, they noticed that there were already people all over the place. Everybody had set to work to get their jobs done before sundown.
"What are you doing first?" Lily asked Remus.
"I always mow first. That way everybody can do the cleaning when I am done and aren't held up."
Lily nodded. "I'll water the plants first."
They set off to get the work done. By the time the orphanage was practically glowing with cleanliness, all the children under the age of twelve were asleep. Remus and Lily dragged themselves up the stairs to their room. Jayne was already in her flannelette pyjamas when they opened the door. She smiled and pulled them into a big hug.
"I cleaned the room and washed, ironed, laid-out and sorted the clothes."
Jayne could get a lot of things done in a short amount of time. It worried Lily. That was exactly what the observers were looking for.
I thought I would stop it there. The next chapter will start the morning after. You know the drill...
RG xoxoxox
