Bian*, Maid in the place of Barahans scrubbed the stone floor of the kitchens with several friends who were having a good laugh about Princess Saphrina, who had, had another “fun” night with a visiting prince. Ketra held up a silk sheet that had been on the princess’ bed the night before.
‘Look, bourbon, red wine and’ she paused ‘you can guess what that is’ she pointed to the stains ‘no prizes for guessing what they were up to last night’ she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively causing the girls around her to burst out laughing again.
‘Put that away Ketra’ Bian said squeezing out the rag she was using to clean the floor and trying to recover from laughing ‘if Claritina finds out about you nicking the princess’ silk sheets she’ll do her nut!’
‘Oh relax B’ said to her best friend ‘I just took them off to give to the washing crew for today’ she continued ‘this is just a short detour’
‘You and your short detours’ said another maid called Liena** said
‘Last time you had a “short” detour -when you went into town- Bian basically carry you back from the pub’ a maid, Yasmine said
‘I was visiting my brother’ Ketra argued
‘Will you two quit arguing?’ Bian said ‘and Ketra put that sheet back into the washing pile’
‘Okay mother dearest’ Ketra teased ‘I’ll be back’ she said before walking out of the large stone kitchen that the girls had been assigned to clean because they snuck onto the roof of the palace to have a look at one of the balls that were going on through the highest windows of the ball room.
‘Hey I over heard last night that another prince- Zarhed or something like that- is going to come and visit with his family!’ Liena said
‘Oh, Joy’ Bian said sarcastically
‘What this is great news!’ Yasmine said excited
‘Yeah, great! More work for us, more fun nights when I have to drag Prince Karim back into his room when he has a nightmare and scared that his sister is getting brutally murdered in her bed room because of the shrieks she makes that keep the entire kingdom awake at night’
‘Oh quit being a pessimist Bian, besides you like it when prince Karim visits you he’s so cute’ Liena said
‘If only all 5 year olds were that adorable’ Yasmine said tucking her long dark brown hair behind her ear
‘Hey did ya miss me’ Ketra walked into the room wiping her hands on her already filthy apron, and reaching for her abandoned rag
‘Not particularly’ Yasmine said jokingly
‘Any way what I was about to say’ Bian started ‘I do like Karim’s visits but not a 2 in the morning when I have to wake up before sunrise anyway’
‘Don’t tell me’ Ketra started ‘visiting prince’
‘Good guess’ Bian said slapping her a high five
‘In my opinion I think that any prince is wasting their time around Saphrina’ she said scrubbing a particularly stubborn piece of dirt ‘last night was defiantly not the first time she’s done that with a prince’
‘Your telling us’ Yasmine said
‘And the prince before last got the same treatment, and the one before that, and the one before that, and the-’
‘We get the point Ket’
‘Any way my point is it’s a pointless waste of time to get involved with her’
‘We know that’ Liena said ‘the princes however haven’t got a clue’
‘I wonder what the rest of the Prince’s family is like?’ Yasmine said squeezing excess water out of her rag and slapping it down on the stone floor
‘I heard his father was a street rat’ Liena said ‘But that’s just a rumour’
‘Oh yeah right I can just imagine it’ Ketra said ‘“Hello I’m the prince of thieves I may pickpocket everyone in the palace but hey at least I don’t need cutlery”’ she began to laugh at her own joke and was joined by Yasmine and Liena, Bian however just rolled her eyes at their immature sense of humour.
‘You guys do realise that we’re like one step off a street rat’ Bian said ‘Think about it, we do one more thing wrong next thing we know we’re kicked out and we’re living on the streets’
‘Yeah but we’re not kicked out yet’
Bian was about to argue back when the one and only Claritina head of the servants in the castle of the Barahans stormed into the room looking stern as ever.
‘Did I hear talking?’ she asked furiously
‘Uh-’
‘That’s what I thought. You impolite youths have no respect for rules’ the girls all let out silent sighs and prepared themselves for the lecture. This was going to be a long day.
* prounounced: Bee-Ahn
** pronounced: Lee-na
Arabian Cinderella by Princess_Thalia