Bjorn was checking the rooms on the second floor when he heard a crash from downstairs.
It sounded like it came from the floor below him which was supposed to be the kitchen. By the time he went down, nobody was there. He walked to the kitchen to find where the sound came from but there was no one there.
That's before he noticed that the door to the pantry room was open. When he walked towards it, he saw the princess hanging on one of the shelves and a wooden layer was on the floor. A chuckle escaped from his mouth when he saw her.
He leaned on the doorframe for a while with his arms crossed as he watched the princess dangling and trying to look for something to step on but failing. When he was satisfied he sighed and walked over to the princess.
"Do you need some help?" he asked, and the princess pretended not to hear. "Alright, I'll leave then."
Just as he was about the leave, the princess yelped, "wait! Wait!"
"Help me get down!" the princess said. "but don't touch me."
Bjorn's forehead creased. It was such a ridiculous favor, there was a way he could get her from up there without touching her. He looked down on her feet when he thought of something.
He placed the palm of his hands right below Tatiana's feet like he was waiting for water to pour down a faucet.
"Lower down your feet," Bjorn demanded. Tatiana was skeptical if she should trust his words. Maybe he was telling her to lower her feet as a prank and end up falling. "Just trust me."
She sighed and lowered her feet. She felt something warm underneath her sole which made her lift it up again and tried again after a while.
Meanwhile, Bjorn used his hands as a platform for the princess to step on. Bjorn wouldn't do it if the princess was barefoot because it would feel like he was violating her by touching her bare skin but since she was wearing socks, he didn't mind.
He stared down at the princess's feet slowly lowering down at his palms, her feet even smaller than his hands. The princess hesitated at first but decided to step on it, her body weighing down on his hands.
"I'm heavy," Tatiana gave him a heads up before letting go of her weight on the pillars.
"I know," Bjorn answered, "just get down from there."
Tatiana's face heated as she tightly shut her eyes in embarrassment. This was better than being carried down like a child, just bear with it, she thought. After the princess had steadied herself, Bjorn slowly started to lower the princess down.
"What are you doing?"
Tatiana squealed in surprise and ended up losing her balance, falling backward. Bjorn immediately stepped back and the princess ended up sitting on his shoulders, holding tightly to his hair.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Bjorn hissed in pain.
"Princess!" Emma gasped and immediately ran behind Bjorn to support her back. Bjorn immediately lowered her down to the ground where she jumped off of him.
"I'm sorry!" Tatiana gasped when Bjorn massaged his scalp.
"You grab my hair like you're trying to pull out weed!" Bjorn snapped, sounding angry and annoyed.
"I said I'm sorry!" Tatiana snapped back.
"Both of you stop, please," Morgan entered the kitchen carrying the stuff that they bought. Bjorn and Tatiana immediately stopped bickering and looked away.
Emma moved forward and started to unload the basket of goods. Tatiana glanced at Bjorn one last time and rolled her eyes, immediately running after Emma.
"What are we having for dinner?" Tatiana asked.
"I was thinking of mashed potatoes and pasta," Emma answered and started washing the potatoes. Tatiana followed and collected the potatoes that were washed and placed in a basket. She looked for a sharp knife and started peeling the potatoes.
"Princess, you mustn't!" Emma gasped, "you might cut yourself!"
Tatiana laughed and shook her head, "what do you think of me? A baby? I'm used to using knives because I started to cook at a young ageâ"
By the time she stopped talking, it was too late. Realization hit her too late.
"What?" Morgan asked, "princess, you cook?"
Tatiana froze and looked up. Everyone was looking at her with curious eyes. It was impossible for the princess to know how to work in the kitchen, she should not even know how to Wash dishes. She laughed out loud, making it even more awkward.
"You know, the toys, hehe," she awkwardly laughed, trying to convince everyone, "you know, when kids played and used toys?"
Everyone stared at each other and shook their heads.
"Play cooking is not the same as real cooking, your highness. You might hurt yourself," Emma told her and took the knife away from her. She noticed how the potato was neatly skinned in a spiral.
"You cut so well, though?" Emma squinted her eyes. "This is not a performance that a beginner could do."
"I told you," Tatiana said, "I'm a natural."
Emma made them leave to do other things while she was preparing for dinner. The three of them decided to start with the upper floors where the rooms were. After hours of cleaning, they were able to clean the rooms in the second floor. It did not take as long as they expected it to be since it was not that dusty and dirty.
That night, Emma and Tatiana slept in the same room while Bjorn and Morgan slept in a separate room on each side of the princess's room. Maybe it was because she was tired but Tatiana fell asleep immediately.
What happened that day weighed heavily on her mind and brought unpleasant memories with her. Back when she stayed at her first orphanage, the people there were cruel. They would hit children, starve them and lock them inside a cabinet in a dark room as punishment. Every time Tatiana thought of it, it sent shivers down her spine. It was an experience that she would not want other children to experience.
She had scars on her legs and back from getting hit by the people there. Some children made it out of there, and some could no longer bear it. Nightmares of what happened in that place would visit her from time to time and she would wake up soaked in sweat and tears streaming down her face.
Fortunately, it only happened twice when she was brought to this fictional world. Sometimes, she would even look at her reflection in the mirror to see if the scars followed her in that body but it didn't. Even though it was not there, she could still feel it.
On the next day, they worked outside the mansion, cleaning up the weeds and planting flowers as well. The place looked so much better and neater after they cut off all the grass. Emma and the others were shocked, yet again, at how the princess managed to pull out the weeds under the sun and raked the dried leaves that fell down from the trees.
Tatiana did not seem like a princess. She looked like a commoner doing daily chores. And while both she and Emma cleaned up the mess, Bjorn and Morgan moved and carried the heavy stuff as part of their training. They also noticed how the knights woke up early in the morning and trained with their swords outside, and by the time it was breakfast, they were both done training.
"Bjorn, any news about the children?" Tatiana asked over the table.
"The baby is in a stable condition but is still being watched over, the other toddlers are fine and the knights and servants you requested are already working."
Tatiana nodded approvingly and looked around, "we just need to find people who will run this while I am at the palace. Emma, do you know anyone?"
"I came from the outskirts of the kingdom. People there are illiterate just like me, there will be no one who can teach the children. I think nobles are the only ones who are capable of teaching, even just the basics, and scholars too."
"But I doubt they would," Bjorn added, "they will be against you providing education for children and girls, let alone orphans."
"It's not like men of noble blood are the only ones who have the right to study," disappointment was evident in her voice, "I will start it now and by the time I will be crowned queen, I will make the law."
Suddenly, everyone around her turned silent.
"Why?" she asked, "is it too impossible?"
"No, your highness, it's just thatâ" Emma paused in her tracks and looked around, unsure if she should say it.
"Once you are crowned queen, you are only queen by title. It will be your future husband that will take over the job." Bjorn's voice sounded like poison like he did not even hide the fact that he is not in favor of the fact that he will become king one day.
Tatiana's mouth tasted bitter. She had a plan but it suddenly started to feel like it was getting further from her reach.
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END