The Seven Years Princess by BRITTANY FICHTER

Author:BRITTANY FICHTER
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BRITTANY FICHTER

Chapter 14

Hopefully

Maleen didn’t sleep well that night, so waking up with the others the next morning wasn’t difficult. What was difficult, however, was the moment Maleen realized, bucket in hand and standing in front of the well, that she had no idea how to get water herself.

It had looked simple enough when the women in front of her were doing it. Put the bucket on the chain and lower it into the well. But when her turn arrived, she realized that she didn’t know how to attach it properly to the chain itself. Panic drove her breath in short, tight bursts as the women and girls behind her began to grumble and complain while she fumbled with the chain and the bucket handle.

“Come on, already!”

“Did yer mother drop you on yer head?”

“What kind of idiot–”

“Here.”

Maleen looked up to see Jim’s aunt at her side. “It’s this way, love,” she said in a low voice, turning it to reveal a small hook that had gotten caught on one of the chain links. Maleen wanted to disappear as she watched Jim’s aunt lower the bucket down quickly and pull it up nearly as fast. She was thin but strong, unhooking the bucket and holding her head high as they walked back to the little room above the bakery. Maleen just looked at her feet.

“I’m sorry,” Maleen mumbled as they made their way up the stairs. “I…I’ve never had to do that before.”

“Of course you haven’t. It would have been a shame if the kingdom had been reduced to sending its princess to fetch water from the well.” She pursed her lips and glanced at Maleen. “As it has now.” Then she shook her head. “You’re up earlier than I expected.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Well, if that’s the case, here’s a rag. Wash up as well as you can. The men will be back to eat breakfast in about ten minutes, so unless you want to wait until everyone else is gone, which you can if you wish, I’d be quick.” She handed Maleen a dark blue woolen dress. “Not anything fitting your station, but…a good measure better than the rags you’re wearing now.”

Maleen thanked her meekly and set to washing as well as she could. The water was freezing cold, and she was shivering by the time she pulled the dress over her head. Not a minute too soon, either, because Jim and his uncle knocked on the door with firewood a few minutes later.

How good it felt to have clean hair! It wasn’t anything like it had once been, silky and golden, tied up in ribbons the way Emille had told her servants to fix it. But at least it wasn’t so oily or dirty.

Fixing it up, however, was another story. They had no mirror, and after Maleen twisted and rolled it this way and that for several minutes, she gave up with a huff. She had learned how to tie it back with a simple cord, but nothing appropriate for meeting with a foreign dignitary.

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