The rest of Ro's week was slow and full of Evangeline's nagging. She was incredibly angry that Ro got a seat at the Kings table, and Theodosius seemed to be entranced by her. The morning after the meal, she stormed into the maid's quarters to fish out Ro, who was exhausted considering she did not collapse into bed until the early hours of the morning. Ro thought Evangeline was going to strike her as she stormed up to her with fury in her eyes, but strangely enough, she did not punish her. Instead, she declared that Ro was now going to be her full-time personal maid.
However, this proved to be a trial in itself, as Evangeline expected Ro to attend to her at all hours of the day and night, and she had to put up with the constant moaning and berating's delivered by Evangeline making her feel worthless at times. Ro took it with dignity though, and knew that Evangeline was just jealous, as Theo had called her beautiful and talked to her all night, whereas he hardly even looked at Evangeline who kept inserting herself into their conversation desperate for his attention.
Whilst Evangeline was always putting Ro or somebody else down, Ro was expected to complete frivolous tasks such as rearranging her wardrobe in colour order, then as soon as she was done, rearranging it by item. Ro just did everything she was told and listened, relieved when she had a few minutes to herself as Evangeline was meeting with her friends or dining with the Royal Family. Evangeline had banned Ro from even stepping foot in the majestic dining room ever again. However, even through all her faults Ro was sure Evangeline had a good heart, as she believed there was goodness in everyone, which she was sure her mother installed in her as a child. The face of her mother was blurred in her mind, as if she were under water, but Ro took hope in the fact that she knew she had a loving family somewhere out there.
Dionne was ecstatic when she realised she no longer had to serve Evangeline, but made sure to warn Ro not to take any other of her jobs. She did not want to be replaced by the new girl! Viola sympathised with Ro and often waited up until she returned to bed at night. She was confused and in awe of her continuous positive attitude – so much so that she had started to call her Sunny. On the odd occasion Ro had a spare moment, Viola had taken to re-teaching her how to read and write. Ro made sure to pour over the book Viola had given her to practice her reading, and found that she was starting to get the hang of it again. Her love of stories rushed back to her making her determined to learn the skill properly.
Ro stifled a long yawn as she brushed Evangeline's hair for bed. She had to have one hundred strokes every night to keep her hair silky and shiny. She did have beautiful thick hair falling to her tiny waist, and it was dead straight without a single kink. It was a deep chocolate brown in colour, and glowed like roasted honey in the soft candle light.
"I have lovely hair, would you not say so Ro?" Evangeline questioned whilst staring at her reflection in the ornately carved mirror.
"Yes... you are indeed very beautiful Evangeline." Ro replied friendlily.
"Oh you are too kind, but I already knew that Ro." Evangeline giggled as if she were not expecting a compliment.
"Ninety-nine... one hundred." Ro finished with a bright smile, dreaming of her dinner that she had yet to eat.
"Right, well I need to sleep now, so scurry back to whatever hole you crawled out from this morning." Evangeline sighed whilst still absorbed in herself, dismissing Ro with a lazy waft of her hand.
"Of course Lady Evangeline, sleep well." Ro curtsied before making her way out of the room.
Slowly she made her way back to the servant's quarters, feeling quite exhausted and ravenous after a long day of attending to Evangeline's every wish and whim. Her body ached because of the late, disrupted nights, and because the day before Evangeline had asked her to clean the ceilings, which she could not reach, so she had to stand on a chair and stretch upwards, but unfortunately she slipped onto the cold, hard stone floor. She hoped that the other maids had not thrown out or redistributed her dinner yet, although it was bound to be cold considering she was hours late.
As she made her way into the kitchen, she was surprised to find that the vast space was empty... apart from Theodosius. She had not had time to talk to him since he escorted her back to the maid's quarters after their semi-disastrous meal, and was conscious that if Evangeline found out Ro would be on the receiving end of her wrath again. He was sat at the large wooden table where the kitchen staff hurried around to prepare fine meals everyday eating an apple. The white shirt he had on was slightly crumpled and the top buttons were undone, making Ro flush. He was just so handsome. She debated whether to sneak back out and just go to bed, when their eyes met, brown on blue.
"Ro! How are you? I have been looking for you." Theo exclaimed as he rose to his feet and beckoned her in.
"Hello Th... your highness." Ro stuttered, remembering Evangeline instructed her to call him only by his title from now on. "I am well, how are you?"
"Fine, fine. Are you sure you are ok though? You look awfully tired." Theo commented with a concerned frown.
"Oh I am fine, I am happy to be here, it is much better then with the pirates." Ro replied politely.
"Well I would hope so." Theo chuckled and smiled at her, and Ro felt her heart flutter. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Erm no, I believe my meal is around somewhere... oh yes it is being kept warm above the furnace."
"Well do not let me stop you!" Theo exclaimed and moved aside.
Ro's stomach grumbled embarrassingly, so she decided she should just eat, and once she had fetched her stew and warm bread roll, she slid onto the stool opposite Theo.
"I cannot believe it has been two whole weeks since we arrived home." Theo reminisced as Ro struggle not to moan at the delicious warm liquid running down her throat. "I know!" He exclaimed suddenly, causing Ro to snap her eyes up to him.
"Tomorrow we shall celebrate our return to Yemini, and you can have the day off. I will let Mrs Bennett know right away. You can have the morning to relax, and in the afternoon I want to take you somewhere." He revealed with a handsome grin, not caring that he was playing a dangerous game.
Ro went pink at the thought of spending the entirety of the day with Theo... Alone. She tried to hide her excitement, but the wide smile bubbling over her features was not going to fool anyone.
"Well I will have to talk to Evangeline first, as she will be expecting me to help her get ready for the day and fetch her breakfast." Ro replied.
"What? You are not a personal maid Ro, especially not to her - who asked you to do that?" Theo asked with a frown, knowing how rude and what a handful of negative energy Evangeline was.
"Evangeline requested it." Ro shrugged, not wanting to get anyone into trouble.
"Is she nice to you?" He questioned, a grim look appearing on his well-defined features as Ro struggled to answer him.
"Erm... sometimes." She stumbled out, not wanting to lie but also not wanting to upset Theo. "But I am fine and happy." She hastily added in.
"You are amazing, you know that? How are you still so kind, even when you have been treated awfully?" Theo asked in amazement.
"Well..." Ro begun slowly as she put down her half eaten roll. "I believe that you should treat others how you want to be treated, and must always be kind because you never know why someone is being... less then nice."
"Those are lovely words to live by Ro. Nevertheless, you should not have to deal with unkindness. You do not deserve it. I can deal with Evangeline... if you don't want to be her maid I will make sure she never bothers you again." Theo promised.
"Thank you, but I will be fine. I do not want to cause any trouble." Ro shook her head adamantly.
"Ok Ro, if you are sure, but if you change your mind do not hesitate to tell me. Anyway, I will let you finish your meal in peace, and I will see you tomorrow after lunch. Please rest, and do not worry about her high and mighty Evangeline – I will deal with her." Theo promised as he stood and put a touching hand on Ro's arm.
She got the feeling that Theo did not like Evangeline much, which pleased her more then she thought it should, and in turn made her feel bad for her wayward thoughts.
"Thank you Theo." Ro accepted shyly as she nodded in approval, excited for what the next day would bring.
Aww they are so cute!! So they are going on a sort of 'date' tomorrow... what do you think will happen? Please vote! xoxo
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