11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqSq4o3UmiThe next Monday I woke up, and stepped outside to begin my work for the day.
I grabbed a quick breakfast from the leftovers of yesterday's royal dinner—a piece of bread with some chicken bones.
Erica looked at me, and casually whispered, "It would be nice if they would make you the heir. You would treat us nicely, maybe even as equals. Or will you act all awesome?"
She said it with a smile, but the words touched a nerve.
I didn't really want to talk about this, though, so I changed the subject, "What are the royals having for lunch today? I want some leftover fruit. I feel like having something good!"
"Ah, well, fortunately for you, they're having blueberry pie. Hopefully they'll leave a slice. That's why I'm helping the others make it extra large. All of us servants and chefs can share what's left. Don't worry, I'll save myself the last bite."
I smiled, "I thought you were going to say you'd save me the last bite,"
I drifted outside to clean up the grand hall. That was my first duty for the day.
As I bent down to dust the stairs, the youngest royal child, Prince Henry, stepped inside.
"Sophie, are you aware of what's for lunch?"
"Blueberry pie," I said quietly.
He smiled, "Do you want to have lunch with us today?"
"I, uh–me?" My heart began hammering in my ears, my breath becoming unsteady.
"Yes, of course. My dad told me to ask you. Do you want to do it?"
I took a deep breath, deciding not to overreact in front of the royal prince, "Okay."
Why would the royals want to have lunch with me, though?
As the prince left, my face turned tomato red.
How was I going to do this?
What would they say?
I went back to the kitchen and told Erica what had happened.
Her eyebrows launched to the top of her head, and for a second I saw a wave of envy on her face.
But it was quickly replaced by an expression of warmth.
"That's awesome!"
I smiled nervously, feeling my insides melt.
I dressed up in my best fancy gown, and even made sure to wipe off each speck of dust from it.
I knocked at the door to the dining hall, and walked slowly inside, my legs feeling like jelly as I looked around the grand dining hall I usually only entered to clean.
"Um, King Edmond, you wanted me to have lunch with you?" I asked tentatively.
Could this be a prank from the prince?
No. Why would he want to prank a servant?
Wait... what if he did this because he was angry that I got chosen?
I never chose that, though.
I sighed quietly.
But he just nodded and motioned for me to take a seat.
I shuffled clumsily into a chair at the edge of the grand table.
Maybe they just wanted to talk about increasing my duties or something.
I was overthinking this...
The princess walked in and sat right next to me.
My face heated up.
"Why is she here?" asked Queen Lara.
"Oh, this is Sophie," said King Edmond, his face flushed bright pink.
"Oh..." The queen blushed too.
But I knew my face was redder than all of theirs combined.
The king said I could have my own piece of blueberry pie, and after I hesitantly grabbed it, I just looked at it with disbelief for a moment.
I grabbed my spoon and took one bite.
It was scrumptious—fresh food had a different kind of taste.
Even though I wanted to devour the whole thing in one bite, I tried using a fork and knife the way the others were doing.
After I was done with the embarrassing lunch, the king spoke.
I expected it to be something about the crown, but he didn't mention it—at least not directly.
"Sophie, I think you should be the leader of all the servants now. If you want to, of course. Also, we should treat you all better from now on,"
I nodded, my heart thumping as if it were going to explode.
After the announcement was made, I went up to Erica, "Cook well, I'm your leader."
"Hey! You don't have to tease me about it!"
I sighed, "Yes, I know. But now that they want to treat us better, maybe we'll get fresh food. Perhaps they'll let us leave some of the fresh meals for ourselves?"
She smiled, "Even if this crown was broken, the mistake sure is causing the change we all need. But you as heir will make sure that change is permanent."
I swallowed, "Um, yeah. I guess..."
We found out at dinner that we actually got to cook a whole new meal for ourselves.
We could even choose what we wanted to make!
The food tasted different now—and all my friends got to experience it.
The blessing of fresh food was unlocked for all of us.
The royals were being generous.
A bit too generous...
I was happy, but also uneasy.
What... was going on?
In a few days, though, my question was answered.
The King called me for a private conversation.
"Sophie, today I'm going to tell you a secret we've been guarding for way too long," he said, "I trust that whatever I tell you, you will not let your emotions take control."
"Of course I won't,"
What was he going to tell me that be thought would trigger my emotions?
Would he just say he wasn't going to make me queen?
Why would I care if they would break the tradition?
I was actually expecting it.
Maybe they just thought I wanted to be the queen and expected to become the heir...
"Alright, listen to my story. Here, take a cup of water, "
He handed me a tray with a glass of water on it.
Why was he offering me water?
Embarrassment flared inside me as I reluctantly grabbed the water.
"If you're not going to make me the queen I won't care," I blurted.
"No, Sophie. I'm going to be telling you something different. Okay? Something a lot worse."
What?
I nodded with shaking hands, taking a quick gulp of the water.
I sipped on the cold, icy liquid, enjoying the taste of a lifetime.
Why did it taste so good? Was this the same water the royals drank?
I thought he had given me tap water.
When I noticed that there were ice cubes inside, King Edmond began to speak.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUNntNzKrl
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