Journal of a Servant

of a Fawn

March 25 – 4 o’clock

Dear Self,

This morning was the most beautiful of them all.

Like usual, I was meant to be taking care of the young Prince and his sisters as they got their morning recess. Pierce has been acting strange recently, but that might be because his father’s been ignoring him. He’s failing his history and math classes, you know. He doesn’t even go to them anymore. 

Anyway, as all three of us were out in the garden, they let me play ‘kick the can’ with them. Princess Hanna and I ended up both running into the maze of hedges and got lost together. She started laughing, saying that Lilith would never find us. We hid in one of the gazebos tucked into one of the hedge walls, being silent for a few minutes.

Ten minutes passed and we were sure Lilith had found Pierce at least, so we started talking. First about the castle and the things Princess Hanna had to do every day—I never knew she had classes on balance—then she asked me what I did all day.

At first, I wasn’t really sure what to say. I had never been asked before. Well, I said, I start by waking up before the sun and eating my breakfast quickly, then I help prepare the dining room for breakfast, then get myself dressed for serving, gather the tea tray to bring to the young Prince, wake him, help him wash, help him dress, tell him his schedule, accompany him to breakfast…

The princess stopped me before I even got to lunch with her mouth hanging open. She was shocked, she said, that my day was so full. She said she doubted that I had time to eat. To that, I laughed and said she must have forgotten when I told her my breakfast time. I suppose she took offense, because she stood from our sitting position and strode away a bit proudly with her head pointed up. She called me stupid and peeked out into the garden, looking for her sister.

I don’t know why, but I started laughing. She turned to me with a red face and punched my shoulder. We started a game of tag and I practically chased her all the way out of the garden. By the time we reached the end of the maze of hedges, she was laughing loudly. So was I.

When we got back, it turned out that the young Prince had been crying for us; he had thought we were lost forever I suppose. I laughed slightly, wiping the tears off his cheeks and standing him up for his class. He was so happy to see me, he didn’t mind going to his history class as long as I stood in the corner the whole time. I guess he’s needier than I thought. I also realized how much he needed me in particular. After naming off all the things I did for him even before lunch, I suddenly wondered if he would be able to tie his shoes without me, much less remember to get to his classes on time.

Daniel Xavier