Maid For You 4

Chapter 2

"I speak English and Russian," Melaniya continued. "So I can also be a translator for you. I am happy to serve you in how you need."

I smiled, relieved that my servant could speak English. "Thank you, Melaniya. And I'm glad you speak English—I'm afraid I only know like two phrases in Russian and I'm 95% sure I'm butchering them." I chuckled ruefully. "I actually think I might take a bath, now. I have a lot of time to kill before dinner."

"Of course, Miss Carmichael. I will make a bath for you," she said with a nod.

"Oh no, that's alright," I said. "I can start the bath myself. I mean, I kind of like sitting there while the water slowly fills up, you know?"

Melaniya tilted her head and looked at me thoughtfully for a moment.

"Besides," I continued. "It was only a month ago that I was in your position. I mean, technically I have a servant back in Aregano, but Sherry's my friend. I don't like making her do too much either. It feels wrong."

"I understand," Melaniya said slowly, in a way that indicated that she, in fact, didn't quite understand, or at least, wasn't vibing with what I was saying. A memory came to mind in that moment, of the first day I'd met Nikolas. He'd essentially told me—if memory served me correctly—to shut up because I was a servant.

I wasn't a huge fun of his at the beginning.

I gave my warmest smile. "You can speak freely," I told her. "You don't have to hold your tongue with me."

She remained quiet for a moment. "Miss Carmichael," she began. "I know that you used to be a servant, but here, you are no servant."

"Well, yeah, I know that," I started. "Technically, I'm not a servant in Aregano either, well, not anymore."

She parted her lips, but shut them without a word. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

"Please, say what you're thinking," I said. "I mean, think of it this way, right? I'm here in a foreign country that speaks a language that I don't. I'm going to need to hear what you have to say, Melaniya."

She released a breath of air. "That makes sense," she admitted. "My thoughts are that, you used to be a servant in Aregano. And you are not a servant anymore, but you still were a servant before. It may be strange for you there." She looked at me in the eyes with her pale blue ones. "But in Nikoto, you are not a servant, Miss Cassie. You are the honored guest of our royal highness, the Crown Prince Nikolas. You do not have to be a servant anymore. I think, it would be better to not act like you were a servant. I do not think that is what Prince Nikolas wants."

I rose my eyebrows. Her words struck a chord with me.

"But I am your servant, Miss Carmichael. I will do what you want me to," she said.

"You make a good point," I conceded. I did think of Nikolas, the 'royal highness crown Prince of Nikoto' Nikolas. I remembered the way that he had refused to allow me to continue on as his maid after the Autumn Festival, and how he always encouraged me to progress in life. Perhaps I should let go of lingering parts of myself, of when I was a maid. Of course, there were things I would keep, that I would take with me to remember as life went on. To show kindness to servants or those with an "inferior" job, to respect them as people and to recognize their potential.

"Alright," I said. "You can draw me a bath. However, I still want you to say what you think. Really. Like I said, I just...I don't know. I don't know how to navigate everything in Nikoto. I don't know the customs and manners. And I know Nikolas would be willing to help me, but he's pretty busy. I need you to point me in the right direction. Can you do that?"

Melaniya smiled. "I would be happy to help with that."

"Good," I said. "Because I literally have no idea what's going on for the next two weeks and I need help!"

***

I took my lovely bath, and Melaniya helped me dry my hair before I took a short nap to catch up on some sleep that the plane had interrupted with. When I woke up, she helped me style my hair and dress me for dinner; she presented me a navy blue sweater with light grey checkered pants with a slim fit to them. She then led me out of the room and down the large marble staircase to a room with a rectangular table with two seats, one at each end. There was sparkling tableware already laid out upon the white tablecloth, ready for food to be brought out. A servant man with dirty blonde hair wearing a white shirt with a navy blue vest came out of a swiveling side door from the side the room and approached me before asking me something in Russian. I felt my mouth opening like a gaping fish, but my girl Melaniya came in clutch for me and asked me if I would like wine, sparkling water, still water, or juice.

"Still water's fine," I told her, and she (presumably) repeated what I said to the servant in Russian.

"Prince Nikolas should be here soon," Melaniya informed me. "His meeting is not much longer. But you can sit down. I will stay to help translate until he comes."

"Alright," I said, easing down into my chair. I looked at the empty chair across from me, and thought it interesting that Nikolas and I were to eat alone. What about his mother and father? I knew his father was ill, but was his health so poor that he couldn't eat with us?

The main door opened and interrupted my thoughts. Prince Nikolas walked in and smiled at me. And despite it being closed lipped, I wondered if I would ever get used to him smiling, because it still felt like I was somehow witnessing some rare miracle. Melaniya nodded at me and left the room, leaving the two of us alone.