บท 11: Change in Life
The sounds of people moving about and chatting woke me up. My eyes snapped opened and I immediately began panicking at the unfamiliar surroundings. I was in a room that I did not recognize and a bed that wasn’t mine.
It took a short moment for me to realize that life had changed for me, drastically. I was no longer living my peaceful life with the other girls at the orphanage.
The clock that hung strategically on the wall at the foot of my bed told me that if I didn’t hurry, I was going to be late on my very first day of work. I bolted up in bed, surprised at the strength that had returned to my body. The deep sleep from last night truly helped and I felt very energized.
Life might be better. I still found it hard to believe that Lady Monica and Mister Helkins worked together to sell me. However, when I recalled seeing them together that night, a shiver ran through my body as my thoughts darkened. Time didn’t stop and wait for me to gather my thoughts and I quickly realized that I didn’t have time to think about anything just yet. I need to shower and get dressed!
Where did she say the uniform was again?
The wardrobe doors opened with a bang when I yanked them roughly open. My eyes fell to the row of black and white uniform hanging neatly in the closet. So, this is the uniform that I’m supposed to wear? There were precisely seven of them and they all looked the same. Seven uniforms for seven days of the week.
Perfect.
“Umm…” I murmured when I took out a uniform on a hanger.
The black dress with puffy short sleeves and a slightly puffy skirt hung to a few inches above my knees. It looked small and tight. Did they expect me to have a waist this small?
The black dress came with a white apron decorated with matching white frills and a pair of white long thin socks. Glancing down in the closet, I saw black leather shoes that were clearly part of the uniform. To finish off the look, I lifted up a white frilly headband.
I’ve only seen photos of it, so this was the first time that I was seeing this type of maid uniform in real life. Whoever designed this uniform was truly going for the full maid look. Noticing that I didn’t have a lot of time left, I headed for the bathroom. After taking a quick shower, washing my face, and brushing my teeth, I stood in front of the mirror next to closet as I tried to figure out how to put on my uniform.
The dress fit miraculously, and I was able to zip up the back. Putting the white apron on wasn’t a challenge but tying the bow beautifully at the back was. After putting on a pair of socks and then the shoes, I placed the headband on my head to complete the look.
“Wow…” I murmured at how strange I looked in the mirror.
My reflection stared back at me. The uniform truly made me look like a maid which was what I was now. I had no idea why the prince of this kingdom paid such a crazy-high price to purchase me. Were maids supposed to be that expensive?
Working as a maid isn’t an uncommon job. I wondered what it would be like to work as a maid in a palace like this one, though.
Time to find out. After taking in a deep breath while standing in front of the door to my room, I grabbed the door handle firmly before turning it. Pushing the door opened, I walked through the doorway and found myself in a grey stone hallway.
“Line up here, quick!” a young woman who must have been around my age hissed to me.
My eyes widened at the sight of so many young women dressed in the exact same uniform that I had on. I had no idea that there were this many maids living in this building with me. Just like Madame Cassandra had instructed, everyone was dressed in their uniform and had started forming a line. Quickly, I joined in and stood in line with the other girls.
The door opened and Madame Cassandra walked it. It must have been 6AM sharp already.
Phew!
I breathed a sigh of relief before I closed my eyes for a second. I made it. I made it on time for my first day on the job.
“Breakfast will start now. Finish eating in 15 minutes and then check the board for your work allocation for the day. You may start now,” Madame Cassandra announced authoritatively.
Breakfast time?
I had no idea what to do so I just followed the other girls into a large room that served as the canteen. Food was already laid out on the table for us. It seemed like all the food was the same and it didn’t matter what I sat. I took a random seat next to a random girl that I didn’t know.
“New maids, please follow me this way,” Madame Cassandra announced after breaktime came to an end.
A small group of maids gathered around Madame Cassandra including myself. I was glad that I wasn’t the only new girl. Including me there were three new girls. Something told me that I was about to make new friends. The situation that I had found myself in was truly unexpected and far from ideal; however, I knew that I had to be brave, and I had to find a way to make the most out of it.
“Introduce yourselves,” Madame Cassandra ordered.
“I’ll go first. I’m Jessie. It’s nice to meet you all,” Jessie said.
Jessie spoke with so much confidence that I was stunned. Her dark red hair was braided into two thick braids on the side of her face, and she had very wide green eyes. She turned to smile at me and the other girl after introducing herself.
“Next,” Madame Cassandra urged.
--To be continued...
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