Beautifully Invisible #Wattys2019

Chapter 4

I run like there's no tomorrow, eventually stumbling into the throne room. I notice that all three of the family members are sitting in their respected seats, which sends a course of nerves through my body. After earlier's occurrence, I feel a bit awkward standing there.

"I thought you'd never get here," Queen Madia shows no emotion, but her tone tells all.

She slowly gets up, coming too close to my ear as she whispers, "Clean my bathroom, and make sure it shines! We are having dinner afterwards so make sure there is not a speck of dust when we get to the dining room, while we eat, and after."

"Yes ma'am," I nod before racing out of there.

Unlocking the Queen and King's bedroom with my bronze key, I haul my necessary cleaning supplies into the large room. The ceiling is abnormally high with the golden crown molding to match it's intricate design. The white walls have hand-embroidered swirls with roses, made from real gold leaves. Their bed is placed against the front wall, as it can comfortably fit 5 people. Their bathroom is a dream as well with EVERYTHING made of gold and white marble. The floor is marbled while the shower and bath tub are made of real gold. The sink is all white marble with golden spouts to accent it. I take a deep breathe and begin to clean, making sure to not leave any residue or dust.

At this point, I've been cleaning for so long that my knees are chalked and my hands are fire red.

"I HOPE TO SEE A SPARKLING BATHROOM THE SECOND I WALK IN!"

I grab my supplies and move them out of the way, making sure everything looks the way it should be. I scramble to stand as the queen makes her menacing entrance with her large, dark green dress trailing behind her. She stares at me, then looks around the bathroom, checking every corner and crease so that she can punish me in some of out of proportion way.

"Lily,"

She said my name... this is not going to end well..

"Come here." Her voice is dangerously calm.

I slowly step towards the spot on the shower door she's pointing at.

"Do you see that?"

Oh no.

"Do you have eye problems?"

This isn't good.

"Do you need glasses?"

Her face is way too close for comfort.

If you look REALLY close, you can see a hard water stain that I forgot was there.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am." I lower my head in shame, mentally preparing myself for the agony that is to come.

"How DARE you slack off! I WILL NOT tolerate this kind of behavior!"

She exits the room and grabs the all too familiar belt. She whips my side, immediately sending me to the floor. After hitting me various times and telling me how bad and ungrateful of a maid I am, she finally leaves me alone. As I'm kneeling on the ground, I can't help but believe what she said. I really am a terrible and ungrateful maid. She gives me a place to sleep and I repay her by not cleaning properly. I get up, refusing to let the tears leak out. Quickly grabbing the supplies, which I can barely do due to the excruciating pain, I run out and lock the door.

I make my way to the spotless dining room with the other maids, seeing that everyone is getting into the horizontal line next to the large dining room table. I carefully tie on my apron and stand in the line of maids waiting for the royal family to arrive, which should be any second.