Mmmmm

I don't want to wake up...

Elisi, who was sleeping on the king's divan, kept enjoying the delicate touch of the fabric in the palm of her hands. She was also enjoying the feeling of the fluffy pillow below her head.

Definitely couldn't get enough of it. She did not get to sleep on a nice felt fabric since she transferred to this world. Even though she was realizing her posture was not comfortable, she wanted to stay like that just for a bit more, and so she kept hugging the delicate pillow to the point it was about to explode.

If it really were to explode, it would have been the pillow's fault for being too soft.

I will keep hugging it until it burst, I don't care, so till then...

It feels too nice to waste it on waking up. Just a little more... Elisi was still in between a dream, arguing with herself not to wake up.

Ah!

"Aaaaaahah! I fell asleep again!!!"

She got up as soon as she realized that once again she fell asleep laying over him. Embarrassed, she immediately started vowing whilst asking forgiveness from the king, since this time for sure he was not asleep anymore.

Eh?! He is not here.

Is not dark anymore either.

A vast and beautiful room showed in front of her delighted eyes, a room worthy of a king.

Waaa... So big and glamorous!

It had furniture with golden frames and themed with navy and off-white colours with a beautiful embroidery of flowers.

Everything looked so elegant and shiny.

Elisi enjoyed every moment of her cleaning, looking, and meticulously examining everything she came in contact with. Things took a little longer than they should.

Until now she was cleaning the dirtiest of places, never got to enter the main rooms.

For a moment she felt like a Disney princess and started dancing and twirling while singing her favourite songs. She was extremely immersed in her own fantasy world.

Although she was wearing a maid's uniform, that uniform still made her feel special.

What song should I sing next? I'm sure this room must be soundproof since this is the king's room.

So nobody can hear me right?

Elisi continued cleaning and spinning around to her heart content.

"Beaut.... an...."

She heard the door open and in a flash composed herself, hoping the person coming in didn't notice her in such an awkward moment.

"Did you finish cleaning?"

It was a quiet young man, with great stature and a slick suit whom she thought might be the king's butler.

"It's been over five hours. You should have already gone to the kitchen"

Elisi felt she could not tell what she's been up to with the king before that, even if there was nothing wrong.

Maybe he knew. She wished he didn't know. She really wished for that, to the point that she wanted to bury her face inside her hands.

"I'm sorry, I will go now"

"Please, the head maid is waiting for you"

*****

While Elisi was preparing dinner, Mirna approached her with a serious look.

Such look for sure meant no good. She thought she was about to be reprimanded for what happened in the morning. Just looking at Mirna's eyes gave her an extreme chill.

"Are you not well? Have you wronged the king?"

Elisi just looked down.

Mirna stood back and side eye her as if she suspected Elisi's silence.

"The king seems to be pleased with your work and wants you to go back tomorrow morning"

Really? Does he really want me back? Elisi was surprised, but could not voice her content.

The head maid could discern Elisi's excitement and was not pleased about it.

The reason being that it was a job she wanted for herself.

She couldn't believe that a new maid like Elisi could make it to the next day. She was sure Elisi would fail soon enough.

Despite wanting to be in the same position as Elisi, she never dared to apply for it.

She might have kept her job in the palace, even if the king rejected her.

Yet the reputation she worked hard for might have suffered. She was not willing to lose the head position, not now and not back then. After all, she became the head maid at a pretty young age, something that was unusual for a young maid.

The previous maid, although young, was engaged and kept Mirna in a peaceful state of mind. She was also from a very low-ranking aristocratic family that, of course, counted in her favour.

The only reason Elisi was attending to the king was that she herself sent her to serve Sebastian. Such feelings of regret turned into resentment pretty rapidly. Feelings of resentment towards Elisi, who shouldn't be near the king for being a person lower than a peasant.

"Consider yourself lucky for now"

Elisi did not expect that. Hearing such news made her happy. Finally, she did something good.

She continued with her work for the day and went to her room.

As she entered, Elisi noticed the maids were already sleeping.

Despite living in the palace for a year, she was still sleeping in the temporary dormitory where all the maids slept together until being transferred to their room.

She tiptoed, trying not to make any noise that could wake them up. 

Waking them up now might lead to an unnecessary commotion and Elisi didn’t want to be scolded, the maids were already upset at her for not being able to change to the main dorm; they blamed her.

Yet She was glad she got to change into her sleepwear. It was one less opportunity to make noise. 

She could change after finally taken a bath. It made her happy to know that attending the king meant she might need to take regular showers.

Laying down, she lifted her hand whilst looking at her fingers. They could still feel the sensation of his passing hair, his voice still was tingling in her ears.

Although she did not get to see him with her eyes, he was no longer just a beloved character in a book; he was no longer a distant person she heard rumors of around the palace; he became real. She was beside him, doing things she secretly wished to do back then when reading his story.

A fictional character, he was no more. She knew him from before; she liked him from before; she felt she should erase such emotions towards a person who, of course, saw her as a stranger. If she were to show any attachment to him. Her attention would weird him out for sure .

For a moment, she wished those fuzzy feelings didn’t exist within her. She shouldn’t have such feelings towards a person who doesn’t know her and she shouldn’t pretend to know him, she should not dare.

On the bed she could not help but fall asleep looking forward to the next morning. Even if the king wasn’t there, she would get to clean his beautiful room and dream of fiery tales again.