"MAID!!"

I hear as I'm rudely awoken. Unfortunately, I'm used to the Queen's blood curdling screaming in the morning. I groggily get up from my red mat on the familiar dirty tiled floor, making sure I don't fall on my face in my rush. I quickly put on my worn out burgundy dress made from the lowest of quality linens as I attempt to tie the back. The door suddenly swings open as I see the woman who's taken care of me since I was a baby.

"Lily! Queen Madia is getting extremely frustrated, you better get out there!" She urges, tying my dress tightly for me.

"I know, I know. I accidentally overslept," I say, ashamed of myself.

"Don't get like that. That woman is crazy to expect you to work until 2:00 in the morning and magically wake up at 5:30." Vicky reasons with me.

She always sticks up for me and talks sense into my closed mind when I need it. Even though she isn't my real mother, she might as well be. I never knew my parents and I've worked in the castle all my life. The second I could walk, I was immediately put to work. As I got older, the work became heavier and life became filled with dread as the years dragged on.

Vicky wraps a girdle around my waste whilst I put my shawl over my long, wavy, dirty blonde hair. As soon as we're done, I give Vicky a tight hug before rushing out the rusty door.

"Good luck!" I hear vaguely as I scurry up the steep dark stairs that creak with every step.

They've helped me to stay in shape, but I hate running. It's not my cup of tea. I'd much rather walk up the stairs, but that's a rare occasion. I'm always running around the castle, doing chores every five seconds. I push open the door at the top of the stairs, then run through the large hallway full of paintings of past kings and queens.

"MAID!!" I hear for the second time, her voice becoming more agitated.

I finally make it to the throne room where the queen is located, obnoxiously sitting on her golden throne in her red and gold dress. King William sits on his own to the left of her with great posture. He wears a white suit with golden embroidery, showing his authority. She rolls her staggering green eyes as I stumble in, covering my eyes with the shawl. The queen forbade me to show my face to anyone, saying that no one should need to see my disgusting self. I've also heard that it's so gross that it can put a curse of death on anyone who looks upon it.

"Maid, what time is it?" She says in a calm tone of voice, talking to me as if I'm a child.

"6:30, my queen." I reluctantly answer.

She gets up from her velvet seat and stoops down to my level.

"And, when are you supposed to wake up?"

Here it comes...

"5:30," I say, my voice shaking tremendously.

"Do you think I have time to wake you up?"

I don't answer.

She grabs a belt, which is somehow always next to her throne, and raises it in the air. I close my eyes tightly as she gives me my first whipping of the day. I fall to the floor as the pain shoots through my back, making me arch my spine in agony. Even though I don't cry or scream any more, it still hurts.

And can you guess what the King is doing throughout all of this? Absolutely nothing! He just sits there and watches me suffer. He's an extreme doormat, especially when it comes to his wife. Right when she was going to whip the same spot on my back again, I hear the large door to the room creak open. This results with the queen hiding the belt behind the large skirt of her dress, as I stare at the red carpet that lays across the white marbled floor. She discretely kicks me, telling me to get up.

"Hello Fredrick!" Queen Madia chirps, completely changing her tone.

Her once cold eyes become a fake soft at the sight of her son, a questioning smile stretching across her face.

I quickly stand up, brushing off my dress to make myself look somewhat presentable. I keep my head down, refraining from looking at the prince. I'm not allowed to gaze upon prince, nor am I supposed to talk to him. One time, I accidentally said "you're welcome" to him... Needless to say, that night was one of the worst nights of my 22 years of life. The prince has always been nice to me, but he's never witnessed his mother's abuse. She acts all 'innocent' around him, but she's actually a monster behind that facade of hers.

"Um, hello mother." He says, slightly bowing before walking to his seat next to hers.

He's wearing his shiny black shoes today. I've memorized the shoes he wears, due to me only being able to see just that. I can feel him staring at me, probably in disgust.

"Get out of my sight, maid, and get your chores done!" She whisper-yells.

I nod before speed walking away.

Making my way to the kitchen, I grab my only meal for the day. I scarf down my watery oatmeal and rush to get my chores done.

"I can't believe she did that!" My friend, Cara, rants with our friend Alice.

We always talk whenever we're washing clothes outside.

"I know, right?! She was absolutely dreadful!" Alice expresses, roughly washing a shirt.

"How about you, Lily? Anything new?" Cara asks, her straight blonde hair almost grazing the water.

"Not really." I shrug.

I don't really like talking about my abuse. The only one that knows is Cara. She gives me a knowing look, then a pity smile. I give her a small smile back, reassuring her that I'm alright this time.

"Have you girls heard about the prince?" Alice asks in her thick English accent, her brown curly hair bouncing as she moves.

Cara and I shake our heads in confusion.

"He's finally on the lookout for a fiance!" She says dreamily.

"Imagine if it were one of us?!" Cara swoons, giggling as she looks at Alice and I for a reaction.

"Yeah, right." I laugh, jokingly shaking my head.

Cara elbows me as I continue to clean a white dress that's probably more expensive than my organs.

"Did you guys see him today?" Alice whispers, smirking at the both of us.

"I thought I was going to pass out!" Cara puts her hand to her forehead dramatically, a hysterical laugh escaping her lips.

"How about you, Lily? What do you think about the prince?"

"Alice, she has no idea what he looks like. How on earth is she supposed to answer that question?" Cara scolds, lightly splashing Alice's work dress.

I snicker at their little water fight, noticing Alice's face of pure shock and hilarious annoyance.

"That's so weird. The queen has to have a reason for it," Alice ponders aloud.

"Are you sure she's never hinted at anything?" Cara speculates.

"I don't know what to tell you! She's never given a reason," I answer honestly, giving them the only information I have about the matter.

"That's way too weird," Cara shakes her head in disbelief.

"Well, I'll talk to you ladies later!" I call, making my way to the bathroom for my next chore.

Whenever I clean alone, I always sing to make myself feel better. It takes away all the pain and hurt the day brings. Thankfully, I'm never heard. I don't know what I'd do if someone were to ever hear me sing.

After hours of cleaning, it's finally time for bed. I slowly walk down the steps I ran up this morning and open my door to see a piece of cheese next to a note, that reads,

"Here sweetie, you deserve it!"

I love it whenever Vicky gives me scraps, which isn't very often. She must be careful or else the queen will speculate. I close my eyes as I eat the small and oh so delicious piece of perfectly aged dairy, taking in every bite. I take off my shawl, revealing my long hair that reaches my mid back. It has all sorts of colors, like golden blonde and dark brown. My eyes are a light lavender color with specks of periwinkle. My eyes are extraordinarily weird, and I've never known why.

After critiquing myself in the cracked mirror, I put on my sleep wear. It feels like sand paper against my skin, but I don't want to get my maid dress even more wrinkled and dirty. I lay on the cold mat that provides absolutely no cushion, feeling my back tense at the unnatural position. As I drift off to sleep to the song I was singing earlier, I whisper the only encouraging words that keep me going every day.

"It's going to get better."