What a long ride this was. Central Toad Town shouldn't take seven minutes to get to, let alone ten. For my sanity, I spent the minutes reading articles on my phone.

I had quite the comfy setup in the back of the bus. As this seat spanned the whole width of the vehicle, my legs took full advantage of that. I could even kick my shoes off and let my feet get some air. And after walking miles to the bus stop in stockings, they were in desperate need of that.

When I pulled my phone down, something caught my attention. Just a few inches or so from my feet, there was a kid staring me down.

You bet I was freaked out. But I had better things to do than escalate things with a kid. Plus, staring wasn't exactly an arrestable offence. Back to my phone, I went.

The article bombarded me with info on how to make sure my feet never stink. Eight-year-old me would've appreciated knowing this back then. And in this new profession, whatever it may be, the last thing I needed was mockery from a royal. Especially over something as preventable as smelly feet.

While I jotted mental notes, my toes spread out. My eyes unglued themselves from the screen, and the sight in front of me left me paralysed. This kid shoved his grubby tongue into my toes, licking them. Sick!

I slammed into the sidewall of the bus, shoving my stockinged feet back into my flats. That was clearly a much safer place for them. How messed up in the head do you have to be to lick a stranger? Let alone licking a stranger's nasty feet?

As my breathing ramped up, a lady sitting next to the boy grabbed him by the arm.

"I am so sorry for that."

A loud ding played over the bus's speaker, followed by a message.

"We've arrived at the western entrance of central Toad Town."

Good, my ride was coming to an end. I let out a nervous chuckle, grabbing my suitcase.

"It's okay, ma'am. Maybe I taste good today."

Finally away from that creepy boy, my stocking was still coated in his disgusting saliva. No, I wasn't going to the castle this unclean. Looking perfect was the only option I had. As I looked around at the various shops, I realised none of them would prove helpful. Most of these central stores didn't sell cleansers or anything of the sort. Well, one exception stood.

I entered the flower shop stepping ever so lightly. The wet sensation of my stocking made the simple act of walking vomit-inducing.

Minh T., the shop owner, slapped her heel against her flip-flop. "Hi-ya, Toadette."

"Can you get me some wipes?"

She hopped off the counter and picked up a box of disinfectant wipes. "You okay?"

I kicked off my right flat and peeled my stocking off, setting the piece of fabric on the counter.

"Try having some weird chubby kid lick your feet on a bus."

My arm nearly fell off with the intensity of which I scrubbed my stocking. Maybe this is what I deserved for foolishly taking my shoes off on a public bus.

Minh T. held my stocking down. "That wouldn't be the worst thing ever."

"Yeah right. You'd have to have a few screws loose to want to try something like that."

With my stocking as cleaned as it could get, I lifted my leg over the counter. My toes curled in anticipation for the wipe that would give them a hard scrubbing. Minh T.'s eyes oddly locked onto my foot. But I couldn't blame her. This was a really awkward situation.

"I can wipe it for you if you want."

I shook my head. "I'm good, thanks."

The tops of the toes had been polished, so now it was time to get those tight areas. I tugged both ends of a new wipe and flossed in between each one of my pinkish toes. If these wipes ruined my nail polish, I was going to be pissed.

Good that she had a bunch of these wipes, as I'd been grabbing bunches of them. And all just to serve as some toe-flossers.

"Hey, could you wipe my shoes off? No telling what that boy did to either of 'em."

I kicked my left flat a distance away to sit alongside its twin. Not missing a beat, Minh T. grabbed a wipe with a smile, rushing behind me.

Having to clean my toes like this was the last thing I wanted to do before meeting Her Highness. But as long as I got there within 40 minutes, all would be well. And if my shoes slip off, Her Highness might even be impressed with how clean my feet look and smell. Bonus points!

Voila! Finished. My foot and stocking were both ready to go. I turned around, expecting to see Minh T. scrubbing my shoes. My jaw hit the floor.

She was on all fours, kissing the tips of one of my flats! And her nose went deep in the opening of the shoe!

I screamed, "What the hell are you doing!?"

Busted! She sprung back up immediately, going red in the face, and fidgeting like a Fuzzy. "M-Making sure they're clean."

Time to put my hands on my hips. Lying was never this girl's strong suit, and she knew it as well as I did.

Minh T. sighed, rubbing her fingers together. "Okay, can I tell you something?"

"I'm out here in four minutes."

She got chest-to-chest with me, whispering to my face. "I have a foot fetish."

"A what?"

"Fetish. I like feet, okay? Laugh."

She backed up, wiping her hair. I'd seen her nervous plenty of times, but not to where she's walking around in circles. How is someone supposed to react to a gross confession like that? It wasn't even funny, just nasty.

I shook my head. "So, what've you been doing to my shoes when I WASN'T aware, huh? No, screw that, how about my feet?"

"Nothing, I swear! I've only looked at them!"

Really? Good luck getting me to believe it stopped there. If she was daring to kiss my shoes with me in the same room, where were her limits?

She stomped. "Ugh, fine! I smelt your P.E. socks a few times back in school. But I felt guilty and stopped doing it in seventh grade. Nothing else."

Stomping, she cried out, "Kyaa! Fine! I smelt your P.E. socks a couple times back in school. But I haven't done it since eighth grade. You gotta believe me."

"And even then," she continued, "You're usually wearing closed-toed stuff anyway, so I don't get many chances to even look."

Now Minh T. was in full sniffling mode. And we know what comes after sniffling. Unfortunately for her, I couldn't play therapist today. A real shame, considering she really needed one for this sick foot love.

I put my stocking back on, saying, "Foot freak or not, I'm not de-friending you or anything. Just don't get all creepy with me feet, got it?"

She nodded. "But maybe sometime-"

"No means no, Minh T."

She sat back on the counter, slowly dangling her flip-flops. Her incredibly filthy toes, mind you. She was a fool if she thought I'd put those things anywhere near my body. Thinking about it, when was the last time Minh T.'s feet were ever clean?

"Can you at least not tell anyone, please?" She remained unable to keep still.

I gave a thumbs-up. "I'm not on a mission to make you Toad Town's laughingstock."

Before I went through the door, I said, "Who knows, if I'm really tired at this new job, I might give you a minute or two to rub my feet."

Minh T. immediately perked back up to her typical cheery self, rushing over to the door. Even though I put my hands out to stop her, she broke through my defence and smothered me with a tight hug. Emphasis on tight. Without warning, she kissed me on my cheek.

"Good luck today."

Now all cleaned up, I just had to head north, and I'd be at the castle. I'm not ashamed to admit how nervous I was. Each step to the front entrance added an additional weight on my shoulders.

Once inside, I showed a Toad my invitation letter and he escorted me through a crowd of various castlegoers. Even though that letter came with a map, navigating this massive structure would be a pain for any newcomer. Doors and stairwells took space in every hallway, making this place the biggest maze I'd ever traversed.

The Toad knocked on the door. Then he did it four times in succession. Through the wall, I could hear a muffled voice.

"You may enter."

He pulled out a ring containing hundreds of keys and proceeded to unlock the door.

"Thank you."

"If you wish, I'll hold onto your suitcase."

Well, I usually put up a fight when anyone takes my stuff. But considering I'd been lugging this thing around town all morning and afternoon, I welcomed the break. Once he walked off with my suitcase, I peeked through the door.

There she was, Princess Peach. I held my breath stepping in the room, keeping my hands in my pockets. My fingers twitched back and forth like crazy. And in my shoes, my toes mimicked the same action.

I'd yet to see Her Highness in person beforehand, and it showed. She made me look like an ant. Even sitting at a chair, her tall figure could intimidate any Toad. Still, I kept a bright smile on my face. She wasn't going to see any weak side of me today.

"You're the girl who wanted to be a cook here, yes?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Her Highness trilled her gloved finger across various papers scattered on the desk.

"I hate to disappoint you, but all those positions have been filled."

I choked on my spit. If that were the message she wanted to relay to me, a simple letter would have sufficed.

She continued. "However, I do have an open position you'd qualify for. A recent position that only you would have."

"I'll do anything, Your Highness!"

Regardless of what the task was, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity wasn't going to slip out my fingers. I scooted my chair forward, putting my hands together on the desk.

Two distinct PLOP sounds came from under the desk, followed by Her Highness rolling her chair backwards. One by one, she placed her legs on the desk. And if her height had already put me to shame, the same could be said for her feet. Never from a human had I seen feet so large. But wait. What was she doing?

Her Highness snapped her fingers. "Open your mouth."

"Wha!?"

Open my mouth for what? She couldn't possibly be referring to licking the bottoms of her feet. Clean or not, feet are absolutely disgusting. Putrid!

"Could you please explain why, Your Highness?"

She put her hand to her mouth, laughing. "For years I've had to walk around in various footwear. From the stylish yet uncomfortable high heels to the accessible but very loose flip-flops. And rarely have I had the pleasure of having them attended to."

Her Highness pushed her feet further on the desk, wiggling her toes back and forth. "And with that pretty mouth of yours, your tongue could do wonders for my illustrious soles."

Unbelievable. All the potentially available positions in the castle and they stuck me at the very bottom of the totem pole. When will I ever catch a break in life?

But declining was not an option. It was this bottom-barrel job or back to the streets with me. So, I sat up straight, put on my big girl face and nodded.

"Understood, Your Highness."

The closer my lips got to that massive foot, the more my body trembled. Time to bite to bullet and get it over with. I stuck my tongue out and took my first lick across Her Highness's right heel.

Immediately after that lick, I smacked my lips. No, not to savour the flavour. But because it was so... yuck. While my brain fought not to process the exact taste, I went in for another quick lick. They only got quicker from there. With the faint heat that radiated from Her Highness's feet, it became obvious that they were sweaty. Luckily, it wasn't a major amount of sweat, but still abhorrent for my mouth.

"Hmm... You're much rougher than I expected."

Before I could respond, Her Highness wrapped her right leg around my neck and pulled me into her left foot. Four of her five toes penetrated my mouth halfway. If only you knew how badly I wanted to scream my head off. Her nasty toes went wherever they pleased. They yanked on my tongue, rubbed against my teeth, smacked against my gums, my poor mouth was getting violated in every way. And once the toes got just a little deeper than halfway, my eyes shot wide open. My gag reflex began to kick in!

After an agonising six seconds, Her Highness finally released her giant foot from my mouth. Her toes now sparkled with my saliva. I gasped for air as my own spit dribbled down my lips. I just wanted a clean shower.

"Your skills are quite abysmal, Toadette. But it's not something more training can't solve."

She pushed forward a very long, yellow-tinted paper. At the bottom was a blank line.

"Sign here, and you'll officially be my foot slave."

I picked up a pen and hovered it above the line. Like it or not, a job was better than no job. And if I could climb these ranks to something better, that'd be great. My time here might be a living Hell, but let's see how long it lasts. I signed my name onto the contract, to Her Highness's pleasure.

"I'm going to enjoy you."

She got out her chair and placed her feet back inside her shoes. "Follow."

As I followed Her Highness up many flights of stairs, she explained to me the basic idea of this foot slave position. In essence, my job would consist of serving Her Highness's feet at all times, be it putting her shoes on, massaging them in public, scrubbing them while she bathes, and other embarrassing stuff. I still kept a smile on my face, hoping she didn't see through my broken state.

In a hallway on one of the upper floors, Her Highness walked to one of the doors and unlocked it.

"Welcome to your room."

Inside, the blue walls immediately caught my eye. Along the bottom of the walls were hillsides and clouds painted on. Oh, and there was a bed! A big bed! Yes, no more sleeping on a small air mattress! And then to my right there was a bathroom, so no sharing.

So caught up in everything, I almost missed Her Highness's next comment.

"Tomorrow morning you're to see me at 7 AM. Don't be late."

"Yes, Your Highness."

She threw me a key and exited the room. Immediately, I rushed into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Thankfully, that Toad who took my suitcase had already set things up decently well. Maybe he knew I'd be in a rush to get the taste of foot out my mouth.

After washing my mouth out and having a nice, steamy shower, I curled up under the sheets of my new bed. This mattress was so firm... I immediately knocked out, not knowing what Her Highness would have in store for me tomorrow.