I started at the foreign yet familiar ceiling. I remember seeing it in a web novel I was reading before bed. I looked around the room trying to remember which one I was reading before bed. As a person obsessed with them I have read a lot. I looked in a small mirror that was cracked. The first thing that I noticed was the long blonde hair tied up. I pulled it down to see just how long it was. It pooled around my waist. I was thinking about what to do with it when the door opened and a maid carefully walked in. She looked scared when she saw that I was up.
" Oh Miss Rose, I am so sorry for disturbing you." She said as she bowed.
I realized which one I was in. I was the evil jealous wife to the crown prince. Our marriage was something arranged by our late grandparents and the king went through with it as a gesture of goodwill. It was a loveless marriage. He openly had many lovers. The one that he should be with currently is the one that he marries after I am gone.
" Miss everything is okay." The maid asked while still bowed.
" Oh yes." As I moved to get up a pain ripped through my chest.
It was the point in the story that Rose had just gotten stabbed. She was out for three weeks. Not even once did her husband come and see her. This was my chance to change the story.
" Please call all the servants to the grand staircase plese." I asked
She seemed shocked but did what I asked of her. I got up and dressed myself. All that was in the closest was a bunch of puffy dresses and revealing ones. There was a set of riding clothes that looked like they had not been moved in years. It was the closest thing that I was used to. As I may my way to the staircase I sorted my thoughts. I had two sets to go through. I was in the body of twenty six year old Elizabeth Rose. While my mind was that of a twenty six year old from a small town in Alabama. From what I remember of the story Elizabeth was a terrible person. I did not want that. I wanted a nice peaceful life and I had a lot to get settled .
When I got to the staircase there were about twenty people there. The head butler and the head maid were standing in front. Several of the maids were talking to themselves till they saw me. Everything was quiet, the only sound was my boots hitting the wood of the stairs. I walked all the way down until I was at the last step
" I know you all want to know why I have called you here. You don't have to worry, none of you are in trouble." I said watching their faces go from neutral to shocked as I took the last step.
"I know that I have been a terrible person in the past. But as I laid there dying for the last three weeks I did a lot of soul searching. I have decided to finally change. I know that my words alone will not be enough. I know that I have done a lot of terrible things to each and everyone of you. I know that I have forced you to stay. As of this moment you are no longer obligated to work for me. If you wish to leave then you may. I will even write a letter of recommendation if you wish."
I stood there watching them as they processed what I said. Some of the braver ones started to head to the door. The other ones watched to see how I reacted. Seeing that some of them was afraid
I turned to the head maid and said " Since they seem scared . Would you please get a list of all the ones that want a recommendation letter and have it brought to the office."
" The office ma'am?" She asked
" Yes I have a lot of things to fix that I have neglected for a while." I said as I turned away. " Also bring me a list of who is staying if there is anyone."
One of the chiefs asked " What will you do about food if all your staff leaves."
I turned back and said " I will have to learn to cook for myself."
With that I walked back up the stairs and headed towards the office. It was a mess between the papers and books all over the floor. You could barely walk through it. There were more plates on the desk than actual papers. The first thing that I had to do was pick up everything on the floor. By the time I had everything off the floor into piles there was a knock at the door. After giving permission to enter, the head maid walked in.
"None of the staff that left asked for a letter ma'am."
I nodded and then asked " What about you? Will you be staying or do you wish to leave?"
" I have served you for most of your life. I will not be persuaded to leave you so easily. Besides, I would like to see you change." she said, looking around the room.
" How many people have stayed?" I asked fearing the worst.
" A handful of maids, only two kitchen staff , the gardener and the head butler." She said solemnly.
" That is more than I was expecting. I will be able to work with that." I said as I started to grab dishes from the desk.
" Let me get those for you, Miss Rose." The head maid said
" This is my mess. I will help take them and I have to apologize to the kitchen staff for making more work for them after most of them left."
I stopped for a second and turned to her and asked " Why have you served me for so long when I did not even bother to learn your name?"
She stared at me wide eyed. I took a deep breath and said " Is it too late to ask what your name is?"
She smiled slightly and said " For you never. It is Anna Baker Miss Rose."
" Alright anna lets get a few things over with now. As of this moment there will be no more Miss call me by my first name and if I start to do anything like I was before, beat some sense into me."
" I can't do that ma'am," She said sharply.
" Listen Anna, I want things to change. I want us to all be able to be comfortable with each other. I used to run this household wrong."
She sighed and then nodded. We gathered up most of the plates and other items and took them down to the kitchen. I heard yelling as we approached the door.
A male voice was saying " Just come with us. She will never change."
A female voice said " And what if she can? This is the only place that has let me be who I want to be."
The male voice said " You are going to regret this."
He almost hit me as he swung open the door. He took one look at me and said " See she is bringing you work when there are only two of you."
" Actually" I said " I will be doing my own dishes while they work."
The man just stared at me like I had grown another head.
" Listen man. I know that I was a bitch to all of y'all but I have changed and if you don't believe me then don't but let others make their own decisions. Now if you will excuse me I have work to do."
I sidestepped him and walked into the kitchen. I walked over to the sink and set the dishes down and said " I have one more load of dishes. I will be back to do these things soon."
The female said " Don't worry about it ma'am we will get to them when we have the chance."
I shook my head and said " That won't do the two of you a lot of work. I made this mess and I will fix it. Also there will be no more of this ma'am or miss. Call me Elizabeth. Also I would like to know both of your names please. I have a lot of apologizing to do."
" My name is Catherine and the other staff member is named Henry." The female said.
The male standing in the door asked " Do you want to know my name finally?"
" If you plan on staying then yes. But If you are not staying then I have no reason to know it. We will not be seeing each other will we."
I did not wait for his reply. I turned to Anna and said " If you don't mind please spread the word about my rule and get me a list of names so that I can learn it. I will be back with the last of the dishes."
I was almost done with all of the dishes when the butler, who Anna informed me that his name was Oscar, walked into the kitchen and said " You have a letter from the prince."
" Is it about the last stunt that I pulled?"
He nodded and handed me the letter. After opening it was just a bunch of nonsense saying that I was taking it too far and that I should be happy he is still married to me. I sighed and folded the letter up.
Turning to the kitchen staff I said " Do you mind fishing these while I go and write a letter."
Henry, who I noticed was a man of few words, just nodded. The bruley man that was arguing with Catherine asked " What do you want for dinner?"
" Fix whatever is easiest for the three of you. I don't what you're stressing about it ."
Jackson nodded and headed back to work. I stopped at the door of my office. The piles that I had on the floor were put away and the desk was set up properly. Oscar said " Miss Anna worked hard to fix it up for you."
" give her the rest of the night off. After all this work she deserves it."
I sat at the desk thinking about the best way to word this. I finally decided that the best way to do it is straight to the point. I did not want anything from him.