" Lenny!"
Oh shoot, she's coming!
She threw her jars under the bed and jumped out the window
" Lenny!"
Trying to get to her post before Nana finds out. She ran threw the crowds of maids and through the rows of hung blankets
" There she goes again", a girl with freckles chuckled as a man with short brown hair dropped a huge basket of laundry next to her, " She does more exercise than me"
" Thanks, Ben", the freckled girl smiled, " No need to thank me as long as you keep your end of the bargain, Mary", he replied with a mischievous grin. Her eyebrow perked up while she spoke " Nope! I am not- "
" LENNY!"
Nana's voice cut through the air, making everyone freeze,
" Where in the world is Lenny!"
Everyone glanced at each other before going right back to work. Nana stomped through the bustling yard and stopped right in front of a hung blanket. She just stood, staring at it; suddenly, she yanked it off the line with a loud grunt, " Lenny!"
Nana's yell forced Lenny onto her legs, she tumbled onto the sandy ground with an awkward smile, " G-good morning, Nana. How are you doing?"
" What do you mean ' How am I doing'?! You should've been at your post an hour ago!", Nana's veins buldged as she spoke, "Sorry Nana, I overslept", Lenny replied, embarrassed as she stared at the ground
" Overslept!? You overslept!? I would've believed you if this wasn't the fifteenth time!"
Nana placed a hand on her head, clearly exhausted from this child's carelessness,
"Don't be late if you want to keep your job, Lenny", Nana growled
" C'mon, don't be so hard on her", a male voice rang out as two huge arms wrapped around Lenny's shoulder, " She's still getting used to her job here", he continued with a foxy grin, his long blonde hair wrapping around his face. " She's been here for two months, Charlie, there's nothing to get used to", Nana shot back, her face contorted with annoyance
" Ah, but two months is just not enough for anyone, cut her some slack", Charlie replied as the grin on his face slowly turned to a small frown. Nana glared at Lenny before turning around, " Just get to work" , She exclaimed, then stomping away angrily
" Thanks Charlie!", Lenny cheerfully spoke.
Charlie's grin appeared again as he winked at her, " What's up, Lenny?".
She plopped onto the stool and began doing laundry, " Nothing"
" Nah, something's definitely up", Charlie smiled before sitting next to her, using his elbow to nudge her arm, " Stop it, nothing's up", Lenny tried her best to surpress her smile, " hmmm? Is that a smile I see?", Charlie playfully pinched her red cheeks, " Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me".
" No, Stop it"
" C'mon!"
" Ugh! Fine!"
She sighed in defeat while slowly pulling his fingers off her cheeks, "I got another job", Lenny whispered onto his ear.
" Mhm, and?", he stared at her; waiting for a reply, but the next thing she said sent him flying out of his chair with excitement, " You got a job!"
" I got a job!"
" You got a job!"
" I got a job!"
" Lenny you got a job!"
"I can't believe I got a job!"
"Me too, I can't believe you got a job working for that crook ", a lady's voice interrupted their celebration. They stopped jumping and stared at her. She had a scarf wrapped around her head, falling to her shoulders as her black her dropped to the back of her knees.
" Zara, when did you get here?", Charlie smiled while he opened his arms, trying to hug her, " I've been here since you two started squealing", she replied coldly before kicking his belly with her feet to force him back. Lenny walked passed Charlie as he groaned in pain, " Love you too, Zara", he winced in pure agony.
" So how'd you score a job?", Zara dropped her basket while adjusting the wrapper tied around her waist like a long skirt; Lenny continued doing the laundry, " I met him at the market a few weeks ago, he said that I qualified for the job due to my many talents"
" Talents?!", Zara almost let out a laugh,
" What do you mean? Lenny has many talents", Charlie whined as he sat on the ground
" Yeah! Are you saying I don't have talents!?", Lenny glared at Zara waiting for her halfhearted response
" Yes, that's exactly what I meant, thank goodness I don't have to explain ", Zara tightened her scarf with a smile before dipping her hand into the soapy water.
"How dare you!", Lenny dramatically gasped in shock as she aggressively dunked the blanket into the water, splashing it on Charlie's face.
" Whaaaat? I'm simply telling the truth", Zara shrugged her shoulders with a contented grin, " I mean, there's not a single thing you're good at"
" Yeah, she's got a point", Charlie mumbled while using Lenny's skirt as a towel.
" Traitor", She hissed before yanking her skirt away, " You know what!? I for one have many many talents, thank you!"
" Alright, name them"
" Yeah, what do you think her talent would be if she ever had one?"
" Maybe it'd be alchemy"
" Alchemy?"
" Yeah. That's why she has all those creepy jars in her room"
" Ha? I thought she'd be more of a painter"
Zara and Charlie blabbered on...until Charlie got a shoe to his face, " Aaaagh! Stop talking!", Lenny screamed, her face was red with embarrassment.
" Hey, why do I always get hit?"
" Let's just leave it as it is!", Lenny jabbered before chucking another blanket into the bucket
" But Lenny-", " Wait a second!", Zara interrupted Charlie as she cleaned his face with her wrapper, " What is your job, Lenny?"
" Oh...I'm going to be his partner for the upcoming Debutante ball for prince Harris"
" WHAT?!",
Zara's voice echoed through the yard and all the other working maids flung their heads back in surprise as they screamed at the top of their lungs
" HIS PARTNER?! "
Everyone stared at Lenny, silently in shock before Charlie's voice broke the silence with a confused tone
" Who is this crook anyway?"
Mary jumped onto Charlie's back, slapping him on the back of the head, " Ya dummy!", before all the maids joined in
" How don't you know the world's greatest crook?!"
" Charlie, you might have beauty but you surely have absolutely nothing up there"
" How are we supposed to explain this to him?"
" Simple! A crook is a dishonest person"
" Shut up!"
" It's much more complicated than that!"
" Yeah! Not only is he dishonest but he's also handsome"
" How would you know? You've never seen him, have you?"
" Don't forget that he's like one of the highest ranking nobles too!"
" EVERYONE BE QUIET!", Zara's voice interrupted the noisey conversation, "Let me explain it to his tiny little brain"
Mary whispered into his ear as she clung to his back, " You're aboutta get schooled, kiddo"
Zara squatted before him, " Charlie, a crook is a bad person, right?",
" Yeah?", Charlie replied with a puzzled look
" But if you mix the dishonesty of a crook with trickery, delinquency and beauty... it's kinda hot, for some reason"
" What?"
" Shut up, Charlie. What I'm trying to say is he's attractive, but he becomes even more attractive when you realize he's the first Duke in the history of our kingdom, plus he's the king's brother and still single due to the fact he keeps postponing his Debutante ball to the point he's too old to have one anymore, but don't get me wrong he's still pretty young and beautiful. He'd be every woman's dream...if only....", Zara sighs, her voice becoming softer as she catches her breath, " If only he'd just get married already! Also, I'm not really that into him"
" Liar!", The smallest maid exclaimed
" That's what everyone says", the brown haired maid teased
" Huh?", Charlie stared blankly into nothingness
" But she's right, why won't he just find a woman so I can see how his children will turn out", the slim maid jabbared as she squatted next to Zara
" I'd go squiggle-squiggle with their cheeks, like this", the plump maid motioned with her fingers
" But who'll be the lucky lady though?", the youngest maid pressed her hands against her flushed cheeks
" You mean unlucky woman", the oldest one chuckled in a mocking tone
" I think it'll be the Marquess' daughter!", the blonde maid clapped her hands in excitement
" Definitely!", the smallest maid smiled
" Yeah, there is no-one else more worthy of the title of Duchess", the tall maid said as her eyes turned into half moons
" Mhm, then why is Lenny his partner for the ball?", Mary spoke while staring at Lenny. All the maids suddenly fixed their gazes on Lenny.
" Lenny? Why are you his partner?", Zara asked with the most emotionless expression known to man kind, " Tell me what the heck you've been up to"
Lenny was backed into the corner by their stares, she tried to explain, " W- Well you see...you didn't let me finish my sentence, you s-see, I was gonna....say.."
" Lenny, spit it out", Mary jumped off Charlie and moved closer, trying to get the answer out of her.
Charlie, who had been silent due to utter confusion finally spoke his first few words
" Uhm, can someone explain to me why he's a crook again?"
" SHUT UP CHARLIE!"