At The Utility Room
HOLY Moly! She couldn’t believe what she had just heard, that the little girl she saved from the woods months ago was the lady standing right before her.
And not just standing right before her, she was the royal Princess, the beloved daughter of the King. Oh jeez!
She looked at her properly to be sure, but she just couldn’t pinpoint, she couldn’t make out the face of the girl she had helped.
She looked at her again, she saw her grinning, her innocent face saying ‘I am’.
Rina closed her eyes and shook her head sideways, still trying to recollect.
“Maybe you just couldn’t remember, but I remembered fully well, you were the one”.
Rina sighed, opening her arms in surrender, her eyes still closed.
“So do you mean to tell me you didn’t go to the woods like months ago?” Prisha asked.
“That’s not what I am insinuating my Princess, I actually did go to the woods, I helped someone to the hospital too, I remember that”, she said, opening her eyes.
“Good, so you still couldn’t recollect my face, you couldn’t recollect I was the one?”
She nodded.
“I can’t remember my Princess, I can’t”, she said.
She really just can’t, she has tried to. Prisha smiled.
“Alright, I think I can help”, she rubbed her palms together, Rina watched her.
“The very day you went to the woods, you returned home, didn’t you hear people talking about the Princess being abducted?” She asked.
Oh! That was when it hit her, she could remember now, she could remember her mother and Zaina talking about the Princess being abducted… oh, why hadn’t she thought about that?
She looked at her, she was smiling and nodding simultaneously. She studied her face, and for the first time since she came into that palace, it was now she could recall some things.
Yes, the lady standing right before her was the little girl she had saved in the woods, oh my!
She almost fainted. How possible could it be? So she had saved a royalty without knowing?
She went on her knees instantly.
“My Princess I…”.
“Oh please, get up”, she interrupted.
“I’m actually the one who is supposed to be thanking you, and not you apologizing for not knowing it was me”.
“Huh?” She said, getting up.
“Yes. So, thank you very much Rina, for saving me from my abductor, dhanyavaad, I really appreciate”, she put her palms together.
Rina smiled, bowing slightly.
“My pleasure Princess”, she said.
The Princess smiled.
“I wonder what would have happened to me if you hadn’t showed up.
“You know I have been looking for you since then, but I couldn’t find you. At a time I was even thinking you were an angel sent to me”, she said.
“Oh”, Rina smiled.
“Always feel free to ask me anything Rina, feel free”, she said.
Huh? Did she just say that? That she should feel free around her huh?
She nodded with a start.
“Alright my Princess”, she said.
Prisha smiled.
“Would you like to join me for dinner?”
“What!” Rina shouted and immediately, closed her mouth with her right hand.
“I’m sorry my Princess”, she said.
“It’s fine”.
“But, I’m sorry I beg to refuse this offer, maybe some other time”, she said, pleading.
She couldn’t imagine a maid dining with a royal from the same plate, my gee… if the Queen finds out this one, she is gonna go crazy. So she better refuse.
Prisha shrugged.
“No problem Rina, maybe some other time as you said”.
“Yes my Princess”, she genuflected.
“Alright, you can get along now”, she turned back towards the dining.
“Thanks Your Grace”, she bowed and left the room.
Rina walked along the hallway, her thoughts in a far off wonderland, too occupied with the info she had just gotten.
That the little girl from the woods was her? My goodness, it wasn’t disputable now, she could believe it as there was much evidence.
There had been a case of the Princess being abducted the day she visited the woods, and now, the Princess saying it herself.
So she had helped a royal without knowing? Jeez, it was a mixture of emotions at that moment.
She shrugged as she found her way to the dining hall, she really needed to eat, she was damn hungry.
?Next_ Morning?
Rina yawned as her alarm chimed, she got out of bed without ado. For the few days she has stayed in the palace, she has now learnt how to wake at the first chiming of the alarm.
She instantly rushed into the bathroom and had her bath. Minutes later, she was out.
She then applied her lotions, put on her dress and was ready for the day’s job.
Alina walked into the kitchen that morning to behold the maids as usual, preparing breakfast.
She walked up to Prag to ask for the day’s duty, she didn’t want what happened previously to repeat.
She needed to find a way in tackling this.
“Morning Prag”, she greeted as soon as she got to her.
Prag looked up from her work, she was preparing toasts.
“Oh, morning Alina”, she turned back to her work.
Alina sighed.
“What’s the job for today Prag?” She asked, folding her arms.
“Oh alright. It’s the laundry today, the Prince’s clothes are to be washed”, she said.
Alina’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh”, she said.
“Yes and please…”, she looked up at her, “don’t leave the work this time around for Rina, you would incur the wrath of the Prince”.
“What!” Her brows furrowed, “what do you mean?” She asked.
Prag nodded.
“That’s the rule now. Do you know that he almost squeezed life out of me yesterday, when he thought I didn’t team his favorite up with anyone”.
“His favorite? Who?”
“Don’t tell me you are playing deaf to everything that has been happening. It’s Rina”, she said.
“Oh gosh!” She splayed her right hand on her face.
“So please, join Rina and do this job if you don’t want to get spanked on the ass”.
Alina was dazed for a moment, why was this happening? She wanted to remain his favorite alone, she wanted to. Gosh!
“And mind you, just the casual wears, no royal robes”.
“Of course I know”, she said. The royal robes were meant for the senior maids to do.
“What is the share please?” She asked, already getting frustrated.
“She is to get the clothes for washing from the Prince’s chamber, then you two do the washing at the utility room”.
“Must she be the one to get the clothes?” Alina asked.
“Yes, so she could learn and know her way around here”, Prag replied.
Alina nodded, know her way indeed, she was gonna do her own thing, of course.
She would never let anything which is gonna bring the Prince and Rina close happen, never.
“Alright”, she replied.
“So get going, after breakfast”, she said and Alina walked away.
After breakfast at the dining hall, she told Rina of the duty for that morning.
“You are doing the laundry for the Prince at the utility room…”.
“Utility room?” She asked interrupting, her eyes widened.
Alina looked at her and bursted into laughter, she doesn’t even know what a utility room is, oh, how bad.
Rina was taken aback by the laugh. What the hell was making her laugh?
“I don’t expect you to know that anyways, it’s a room for the laundry”, she snapped.
“Oh, alright”.
“I will go get the clothes, then you will do the washing, and mind you, don’t bother expecting a teammate, this task doesn’t need it”, she said.
Ohh, Rina rolled her eyes. Doing laundry doesn’t need a teammate? Hmm.
“So you walk down straight to the utility and wait for me”, she turned to leave.
“Where is that? I don’t know the way there”, Rina called back at her.
“Ask around Rina, don’t be dumb”, she said, not bothering to turn back.
Rina sighed, she didn’t know why Prag always let this girl be the one to inform her of her duties, why?
She recalled what happened the previous day and laughed, who knows? It might repeat itself if she isn’t careful.
She looked round, she needed to find the way to the utility, but hold on… was she really gonna do the laundry alone? My gee, her fingers are gonna peel.
She instantly engaged one of the lousy maids perambulating about the hall, then asked for directions to the utility.
*
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Alina briskly walked up to the Prince’s chamber and knocked on the door then waited for a response.
She had knocked twice before she heard his husky voice from within.
“Come in”, she heard.
She breathed in, exhaled deeply then turned on the door knob and went in.
Her eyes instantly fell on him as he laid on his bed, his eyes fixed on his laptop as usual.
“Good morning Maharana”, she genuflected, closing the door.
“Morning”, he grunted a reply, without looking up at her.
“Um my Prince, it’s me Alina”, she said.
“Of course I know, what do you want?” He asked, his eyes still fixed on the laptop.
“Uh… alright. I needed your clothes for the laundry”, she said.
“You know where to get it”, he replied, without looking at her.
Dejectedly, she walked towards his wardrobe and took out the clothes which needed washing, she already knew them.
Why not? It was like a job for her.
They were not that much this time around. She packed them all into a laundry basket and set to leave.
She then dallied behind, waiting for him to look up, at least to say something nice to her.
When he didn’t, she carried the laundry basket and began walking out the room, looking downcast.
She had gotten to the door, her right hand already on the door knob, when he suddenly asked.
“Are you the one doing the laundry?” He asked.
Gosh, she turned back, he had raised up his face. Her mouth was empty with words, not knowing what to reply.
Maybe if she says it was Rina now, he was gonna go meet her up there or something, she decided to lie.
“My Prince, it isn’t me”, she said.
“Oh alright, you can leave”, he said and turned back to what he was doing.
She opened the door and walked out of the room. Goodness, this was unlike the Prince, he didn’t even ask after her night as he always did, gosh!
She fumed, and hurriedly headed for the utility room.
***
Rina finally found her way to the utility room after much questioning, opened the door and entered.
Wow, it was a small but mighty room, it was an edifice. It wasn’t a separate building from the palace, no, it was even upstairs, just one of the many rooms whose doors lined the hallway.
This was the utility at their space, there were many others, and some downstairs as well.
Rina had never seen nor even heard of anything called a utility room, she even wondered what it was when Alina had told her about it.
Now, just right before her, was one. Not just one, it was right in the palace.
Wow, she looked round. It was a white room, more like a hospital room.
She saw washing machines scattered around, and wow, that was when it dawned on her she wouldn’t be washing with her bare hands.
There was a compartment or a closet where some folded clothes were placed, there were cloth dryers as well.
She noticed some well arranged taps on the wall by the right with hoses properly connected, this was needed for the washing.
Then they were ceramic made basins for putting in the clothes. Cloth hangers and pegs were neatly placed and arranged, washing detergents and soaps weren’t left out either.
Wow, this was really going to be fun, she chuckled and walked further into the room.
Just in front of the washing machine on the first line was a laundry basket, hmm, that must be the clothes she was going to wash.
She walked up to the basket and began ransacking the clothes.
She picked them up and studied them, they were just casual wears, no royal robes, thank goodness. She really was gonna faint if asked to wash those heavy looking royal robes.
Sniffing in the clothes like sniffing dogs, she inhaled the scent and cologne on the clothes, and truly, it was the Prince’s.
They all looked sparkling new like it was just freshly bought from the boutique, more like he had never worn them before.
Huh? Was this what needed washing? Like for real? They didn’t look dirty at all.
But thank goodness, it was work made easy for her, she chuckled.
She sighed, dropping the clothes back into the basket, then glanced at the washing machine.
She couldn’t use this, she had never used it before, how was she going to do this? Oh God, she needed guidance.
She was so stranded that she almost whimpered, just then, she noticed the door opened and she turned towards it.
Holy moly! It was the Prince!