As her father threw something at her, she hunched down to avoid it. And it would have been a typical day if she had not suddenly woken up.

When Elisi opened the curtains of her room, she reminded herself that it's been a month since she got this new life, and although she hasn't changed physically, her perspective changed a little bit.

Today she was working outside in the garden. Summer already arrived, but it wasn't too hot. She enjoyed this kind of weather, especially when she was gardening. Planting new flowers and taking care of the existing ones was always a relaxing activity.

Every job the other maids didn't want to do always went to Elisi without complaint. Today, of course, they did not want to help the gardeners.

As for tomorrow, it was the day to clean the privy. However, she did not want to think about it just yet. It was better to focus on the lovely and fragrant flowers.

The garden always amazed her; indeed, it was a garden taken from fairy tales. Well, maybe not a fairy tale, but a book she read at the bookstore she used to work at, her only safe place.

The title was "The Daughter of the Cursed King".

As the title implies, the book was revolving essentially around the life of a princess. But Elisi's heart mainly ached for her father, the one they called the Cursed King. However, the Princess was not his real daughter but the child of his runaway brother.

His story felt very similar to her own.

Dalion Alaric Von Mort, the current King of Niacaris is part of a brethren of two brothers from different mothers.

A long time ago, when the late King was still a young prince, he tried desperately to bring an heir to the Throne. But to no avail.

This Prince, who later became a King himself, grew impatient of the many fruitless attempts to produce an heir.

The fact that there was no pregnancy insight made him grow resentful towards his wife, the Queen. Such a lack of conception was putting the kingdom in jeopardy.

As time passed, he thought he could wait no more and created a new law that would allow him to marry a second wife if the first one was not able to conceive in the first four years of marriage.

Later he married a new young and beautiful bride who could grant his wish, or at least, he hoped she would.

The King eventually grew tired of his previous wife, and even though she was still the First Queen, she would not be treated as such anymore. Her title and family no longer held any power over him.

Despite that, the King would keep visiting her to release his frustrations whenever he needed to. For the main reason that he viewed his second wife as a delicate flower. A fragile being who could shatter at any moment under his pressure. Fearing he could not do all the things he wanted, he would go to Rosalie, his first wife. Who he came to regard as a lower woman was the one he went to for that.

Then, as if life was mocking him, both of his wives became pregnant around the same time.

The pregnancies soon became a race as to who will be the firstborn. The first to come will become the next heir to the Throne. And of course, this was no laughing matter.

Undeniably, the King was rooting for the baby of his sweet flower to be born first.

But on a night full of moonlight, a little bud looking baby was born. He was so tiny and pale with little white hairs on his head that Rosalie, his mother, thought he looked just like a little fluffy dandelion.

"Dalion! My tiny baby" she said while hugging him with joy.

Dalion reminded her of the tiny flower she used to see around the garden and as for his middle name, she chose Alaric the sign of the king’s house. She thought it was a suitable name for the precious life she was holding in her hands.

Sadly, for the little Prince, he was the firstborn, although the outcome would have been the same even if he came second, his father was determined to resent him no matter what.

Dalion thought many times that maybe his curse was just being born. That thought crossed Elisi's mind many times as well, yet she continued living to the best of her abilities just like him.

"Oh! A Dandelion!"

Elisi picked it up and blew the seeds away. Little fluffy stars floated around until the Summer breeze swirled it away. She had just wished not to meet the King.

She just remembered the saying, "don't meet your heroes", and she certainly did not want to ruin the image she had of him. It was definitely not something she wanted to do.

She was yet to meet any of the other characters, for that matter. After all, she was just a maid.

A maid who had just finished her tasks and now needed to go back to the kitchen.

On her way back, she couldn't help but notice how big the palace looked with its numerous windows. Elisi was yet to be allowed into any of the exquisite chambers. She still hadn't even had the chance to see the main entrance.

She hoped that someday, she would be able to see more of the place she was now living in.

********

"Elisi."

Mirna called her right as she entered the kitchen, snapping her out of her daydream. She stiffened, wondering why she had such a serious expression on her face like she has been waiting especially for her.

"Starting tomorrow, you will have to clean the Lord of the tower's room."

"He doesn't clean it with magic?"

Norma, the cook, looked surprised when she heard about the request.

"I can't refuse him. The other maids don't want to work under him, so the only solution is to send Elisi there."

"He is not a bad person, but he is pretty strange at times. Too energetic for such an old man, that would be a better description" Norma said.

Of course, Elisi herself could not refuse either and ended up nodding in agreement. If the head maid could not help it, then how could she?

Mirna's eyes always reminded her of her mother's, and Elisi could not hold back from obeying her.

Even if physically, they did not resemble each other, their gaze and demeanour were almost identical. Elisi had a hard time distinguishing between the two.

"Elisi, help Norma... What's the use of you standing in the middle of the kitchen doing nothing?"

Like usual, Elisi lowered her head and went to Norma's side, who gave her some vegetables to cut.

She reached for the onions first and started to cut them as fine as possible, and to her, the tiny pieces almost looked like little snowflakes.

It was good to cut them as fine as possible to make the yummiest of meatballs.

She used to make them back home, even though she was not allowed to eat them. Sneakily, she would savour a few while preparing the meals. The only times she could eat was at school or when she was at work. However, now she could eat plenty, mostly soups, bread, and some leftovers.

She felt so lucky food was available to her, and the amount was enough for her too.

"Elisi! Are the onions too strong?!"

In a hurry, Norma went to open a drawer to get a clean cloth and then quickly went back to Elisi so she could wipe her tears away.

"Here... Good thing you're already done. Those onions were stronger than I thought."

"Thank you, Norma."

The cook smiled gently before going back to her task.

She wiped her wet face with the cloth, feeling embarrassed for crying in front of someone else. She couldn't even remember the last time she had cried.

She hid her face in the cloth. She felt thankful to the onions for giving her an excuse and saving her from such a shameful moment.

What would Norma think if she knew? Such an unprofessional person would not have their place in the palace.

Fortunately, Mirna wasn't present. The thought of the head maid ever seeing her like that terrified Elisi.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don’t press so hard you'll hurt your face!”

Norma took the cloth from Elisi's hands

When Norma was approaching her with the cloth, she knew she wouldn't hit her. She tried her best not to flinch in fear.

She closed her eyes, hoping she wouldn't get hurt by the palm of a hand.

But Norma pressed it softly on her cheeks with gentle taps.

"Done!"

Elisi felt like crying again, her watery eyes were starting to shine. No one had ever taken care of her like that. she wanted to tell Norma how grateful she was for her help, and how happy she was.

But her body froze, she could make no sound. Norma felt so distant even though she was just working peacefully in front of her.

She couldn't speak; her fear was greater than anything.