The royal moon witch

Chapter 17 - Back to normal

Elvira POV

The half day working jobs stayed on for about two weeks extra, by the second week of October I was back to my normal long working days. One thing did stay the same though, some maids did come to help me after their jobs if they saw I was not done. This made it quite a bit easier though we had to be on guard for ma'am Oberman. When she would come by, she would scold them and send them away, but sometimes we were lucky and we would not be ‘caught’ by her. What I assumed was that the period of shorter working days and less hard jobs, was a way for someone to give me space to mourn. I didn’t know if it actually was Valentino, ma'am Oberman or someone else but what I did know was that I was glad for those weeks.

I got dressed quickly after I heard the alarm go of, while overthinking who could be the one responsible for the shorter days, and put my hair in a braid. This time I turned the braid in a bun and pinned it together with some small hairpins. I pushed the thoughts away because often they also leaded to the night in the library and then I started to wonder again about the female name on Valentino his lips: Eveline. Because of the work and the distraction often brought to me by Riella, I had not found time yet to gain more information about her.

After I was done, I headed over to the canteen. There I stepped in line and took some of the food that was served, together with some fruit and a cup of tea. I sat down and started eating my breakfast, after a while Riella sat down in front of me and smiled.

‘’You look nice today, what are you dressing up for?’’ Riella asked with a teasing smile. I chuckled and shook my head. I was wearing the same outfit as her. Which meant she had to be refereeing to my hair.

‘’I just didn’t feel like having my braid hanging on my back today if my hair is what you mean’’ I said and shot her a knowing look.

‘’Now I can see that you actually took extra time to look good, what is going on with you?’’ I asked with the same teasing smile she had just given me.

‘’Sam told me he wants to spend lunch time with me today’’ Riella said with a slight blush. It was funny to see how she was blushing, she was the though one of us two.

The whole plan of giving Sam the note which contained Riella her confession of her feelings for him had turned out a little different than planned. We ended up giving him both notes because we had forgotten to tell each other we had managed to hand it to him. It was quite funny especially because he came to us asking if Riella suddenly had gotten a clone. We all had laughed and with some stammering Riella had explained our plan and how we had clearly failed to tell each other that we had managed to give him the note. He understood the situation and told her then that he would love to go on a date with her. My heart had melted from the cute and happy reaction of Riella. This was now one and a half week ago and they had went on a few dates. Riella often came to me after them to tell me how things had went and I loved to hear her stories. They were super cute together and I wondered if they were officially together or still in the dating phase.

‘’Are you two now official a couple or?’’ I asked, curious on how that actually went. Riella looked at me and smiled.

‘’Well we did not ask that yet but I am thinking of asking him that today... If he doesn’t beat me to it’’ she said and I nodded.

"Like the way he beat you with the first kiss?" I asked teasingly and suddenly a plastic ball was thrown in my face.

‘’I hope you two will have a long and happy life together. You are cute together’’ I said.

‘’I hope that you will find your prince too one day’’ Riella said and I sighed at her use for the word prince.

‘’Really? Why do you keep referring to Valentino?’’ I asked.

‘’Because honestly that is the main reason you are here.. And it does seem to get better between you two’’ she said.

‘’Well he is still a prick’’ I said and took the last sip of my tea. I could see that she wanted to say something in return to that but I was not gonna let her.

‘’Let’s go.. Work is waiting’’ I said and got up. We brought our trays away and then walked towards the assignment board. I was kind of wondering what would be my task today.

‘’I wonder what my job for today will be’’ I said and Riella nodded.

‘’I think it is ridiculous that they went back to giving you these almost impossible tasks.. I really admire how you keep working on them with a smile’’ she said and I shrugged.

‘’I am okay with working alone, I can work on my own speed and do not have to think of others. Working together is also great of course because you have someone to talk with but I have not really much to talk about with other maids. They just keep saying how amazing Valentino is and that does get me a little sick’’ I said honestly.

‘’You have a fair point there’’ Riella said and looked at the board.

‘’Great, kitchen duty’’ she said and rolled her eyes. In my time here I had learned that there was not much Riella didn’t like. Kitchen duty was the only thing so far I had seen her roll her eyes at.

‘’That is weird.. I’m planned to work in the stables’’ I said when I had checked the board for myself.

‘’Stables are rare to be scheduled with but it does happen sometimes. Most of the time it means you have to collect the blankets from the horses and those small blankets that go under the saddle's’’ Riella said. I didn’t mind having to work in the stables, even if they would let me muck out. Working with horses was something I was used to from back home and it actually was something I liked.

‘’Well, most of the time you do work with one of the stable boys, so maybe you will get to know some more people though it might depend on how much you know of horses’’ Riella said.

‘’I am fine with working in the stables, horses are great company and they seem to understand what you say. And best of all, they don’t judge you’’ I said with a smile and Riella laughed.

‘’Always so positive’’ she said.

‘’I just hope for you that you will be done with the kitchen when it is time for your date’’ I said and she nodded.

Together we walked towards the end of the hallway. There our ways would separate because I had to go left for the stables and Riella right for the kitchen.

‘’Vira!’’ Madam Oberman yelled from her office when we passed by. I was a little surprised that she used my name, often she just called me 'witch'.

‘’Yes, Madam Oberman?’’ I asked.

‘’Here.. These are for when you work in the stables’’ she said and pointed towards a small folded pile of clothes and a pair of shoes on top.

‘’Thank you’’ I said and picked up the pile. I waved at Riella when she continued walking towards the kitchen and quickly went back to my room.

There I quickly changed clothes from the maids outfit, to the pants, shirt with long sleeves, body warmer and the black shoes. I then walked back the way I had come from and went to the stables.

Entering the stables, I took a deep breath and smelled the hay, horses and leather. It almost felt like home, the only thing I missed was the smell of the trees.

‘’Ah, you must be our help for today’’ A male voice said behind me. I turned around and saw a older man stand there, leaning on a pitchfork.

‘’Hi there, I’m Vira’’ I said and he nodded.

‘’Sure, I’ll just call you the help because there are so many names going on in this castle’’ he said and I nodded.

‘’That is no problem’’ I said. Being called ‘help’ was always better than ‘witch’.

‘’Alright, I’m Garret.. Head of the stables. Since you didn't walk in with your fingers clutched to you nose I guess you know at least a bit of horses.. How far does your knowledge go?’’ he asked.

‘’It might depend Sir.. We have three horses at home so I know how to take care of them and what they can eat and what not’’ I said and he nodded. ‘’Finally someone with knowledge... Great, well I have a little list for you but I'll keep eye on that. First we will start with oiling the saddles and bridles.’’ Garret said and I nodded.

"The equipment is worth a small fortune so be careful with them" Garret said. He placed the pitchfork he was holding against the wall and started to walk away. I followed him and looked around.

‘’I bet everything here is worth a small fortune’’ I said. Garret laughed. ‘’Yeah everything except for the people that work here’’ he said with a twinkle in his eyes. Was he joking? Or was he serious, I couldn’t tell and that slightly bothered me.

The building was big and the stables the horses were housed in were really spacious. Each horse had a golden name plate with their names engraved in them. I saw a horse named Angelo and one named Amore. There were about ten horses we had passed by before we walked down a corner. I saw four stables that were separated from the others.

‘’Those are the horses of the Queen and Prince Valentino’’ Garret said.

‘’They stand separated from the others because the horses we just walked past are those for the few parades where the royal family sits in a carriage’’ he explained as if he felt my curiosity.

‘’Thanks for explaining’’ I said and he gave me a friendly smile.

I was surprised but really liked the friendliness. I was only used to Riella and Sam being friendly. Maybe a few maids too but they were mostly interested in my opinion about the prince, until they heard what my opinion was.

‘’Here are the saddles, the bridles, reigns. Please look carefully when you take a saddle and don’t get them switched up because they are customized to the back of the horse’’ Garret said and I nodded understanding. A customized saddle was not handy to get switched up.

‘’Alright’’ I said and looked around. Even this saddle room was spacious and there was a clear difference between where what was stored.

‘’You can also brush out the saddle pads before you bring them to the washing machine down the hall.’’ he said and I nodded.

‘’Or else the washing machine will get clogged and that is something you do not want’’ I said. Garret smiled, he seemed happy that I understood why I got these jobs.

‘’I can already sense that I want you here more often, you at least know the basics’’ he said and I laughed.

"I won't mind coming here more often, I love horses" I said and he smiled.

There were quite a few things to oil but I didn’t mind, in my head I was calculating how long this would take to do on my own. I would probably be busy until at least lunch time, maybe even longer.

‘’I’ll get you the cloth and oils’’ he said. I hummed as I was checking out the four saddles I saw and was reading the names. Aberto Capo, Dolce, Tesoro and Corrado. They sounded like amazing horses. I wondered what it would be like to ride one of them. But that would never happen, they were from the queen and from Valentino. I did wonder which of the horses were from the queen and which of Valentino. I looked at the names and let my fingers trace the small name plates above the saddles. Maybe that Corrado was from Valentino or Aberto Capo? I already saw him call the horse AC for short and shook my head. I heard footsteps behind me, and turned around. At first I thought it was Garret who had returned.

‘’Oh, hey Sam!’’ I said surprised to see him. He definitely was not Garret.

‘’Hey Vira’’ he said and looked around. Clearly looking for something.

‘’Did you see Garret?’’ he asked.

‘’Yes, he just went to grab cloth and oils so I can oil the saddles and all’’ I said and he nodded.

‘’Did they give you that horrible task?’’ he asked. I shrugged.

‘’It isn’t as horrible as polishing a marble floor’’ I said and he chuckled.

‘’I am sure you are right on that’’ he said, he turned around and started walking away. He seemed in a hurry.

‘’Is something wrong?’’ I asked and he looked at me over his shoulder.

‘’Not really, just a little matter we need to solve..’’ he said and I nodded. Sam had walked away and I decided that I could spend my time more practically than just waiting for the oils. I could start working on the saddle pads. I checked the pads and saw they were regular saddle pads, they were of course from a great quality and had the horses name embroidered in a corner. Before I would collect the pads, i first decided to see where I could find the right brush for this task.

About ten minutes of searching got me a special brush for getting hairs out of the saddle pad. I carefully lifted the saddle of Dolce and took the saddle pad away under it, placing the saddle back and looking around. I placed it on a large wooden chest in the corner nexct to the door that was big enough to have it laying on there without the pad falling on the ground. I then collected the other pads and took them outside because I knew how messy this job could get and sat down on a bucket. As I started brushing, I hummed the first song I could think of. It was a song I had heard on the radio a while ago, though I didn’t know the title. After finishing the first saddle pad, which took me a good thirty minutes. I walked back and saw the oils and cloth standing on a small cabinet next to the door. I smiled, the fact that he just left it here and trusted me with the gear of the horses made me feel good. I placed the saddle pad back on the large wooden chest and decided I would first finish the other pads before I started with oiling the leather. Brushing the pads would take some time but I rather did a thorough job than only a half one.

I returned with the last of the four pads, when I saw Sam walking around the stables, clearly searching for someone or something.

‘’I don’t think Garret hides in a barrel’’ I joked and Sam looked up. He chuckled and shook his head.

‘’No, but I’m not looking for Garret anymore. I have found him already’’ he said.

‘’For who then? Riella is on kitchen duty’’ I said, still with a teasing smile. He shook his head and smiled back.

‘’No no.. I know she is there, she texted me already’’ he said.

‘’We are searching for Mittens, she is the royal stable cat.’’ Sam said.

‘’You mean they do have a cat here? I have not seen her yet’’ I said. I saw worry on Sam's face when I said that.

"Are you that worried about her? She can't be far right?" I asked.

‘’I am a little bit.. She normally is always around and comes to greet who ever walks into the stables’’ Sam said. If that was the case I could understand that he was getting a little worried.

"Is she gone long?" I asked and Samm shook his head. I was looking at Sam when I suddenly saw Valentino run into the stables. What did he do here in such a hurry?

“Where is she? Were is Mittens?” He asked. It was weird to say but he seemed quite panicked. I didn’t understand why he would worry about a stable cat but Sam was faster than I was.

“We are searching for her, don’t worry” he said and he laid his hands on Valentinos shoulders.

“Seriously? You know what she means to me!” Valentino said. I could see he cared for the cat and I decided to step in. Maybe he would even listen to me if she meant that much for him.

“Shouting at Sam won’t work.. When I came in here this morning, I didn’t see her.. How old is she?” I asked. Valentino looked at me, he didn’t frown or anything which was a first.

“She is six years old” he said after a short silence of thinking. “Maybe seven” he quickly added before I could say anything. “Alright she isn’t that old then.. Was she sick? Are there diseases we must think of?” I asked.

“No of course not! She has a monthly appointment with a vet for a total check up and for a new treatment against flees and ticks” he said, annoyance came from his voice. The old Valentino returned a little.

“Alright..” I said, ignoring his tone even if it was hard to do.

“Then let’s all go a different way and we will meet here once we searched this part of the stables” I said. Valentino seemed to be willing to go against what I just said but Sam cleared his throat.

“I think it is a good idea “ he said and I was glad he was here. Reluctantly Valentino nodded and we each started walking away when a sudden meow caugt our attention. Valentino looked back at us, it came from the way I was heading.