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c-rose2081 · 3 months

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Royelle (Diary 1 - Legacies and Lottery)

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There’s something about early mornings.

Maybe it’s the way sunlight breaks across the distant horizon, outlining rolling green hills in a sharp and peachy pink color. Perhaps it’s how a pale mist lingers just above the ground, decorating tired flowers with diamond-like dew drops. Or maybe—just maybe—it’s the quiet peace that’s settled over Bookend; it’s inhabitants still tucked in their beds dreaming.

I wish I could get away with sleeping so late. But, in the words of Mrs. Fin, dreams are a luxury for those who have no work to be done. And at the Bookend Chateau Hotel, there’s always something to do. That work begins at daybreak with feeding the chickens and other yard animals, stoking the fire, and readying the morning drinks for the guests. Tea and coffee, all made by hand, of course. There will be none of those blasted contraptions in my hotel, Mrs. Fin says, only the very best for my guests.

And so I prod the pre-cut logs into catching, pushing and teasing until a whisper of smoke curls up into the chimney. A fire sparks soon after, illuminating the mountain of soot in a dazzle of orange and yellow. Lovely. I hardly mind the quiet, as silence is a rarity in a place where people are almost always coming and going. The crackle of hearth is a comfort as I perform my morning tasks, yawning all the while. The night had been rather chilly, and I hadn’t finished work until well past midnight. But as I settle a familiar black pot over the fire, I can’t help but stare outside. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. What I wouldn’t give to be out berry picking instead of this.

I jump with a start as a familiar bell comes to life, rattling on its hook. Soon, two more follow suit. The Madame and her sons.

“ELLA!” Mrs. Fin’s voice echoes down a metal tube, grating against my ears as I open the funnel.

“Good morning, Madame.”

“Where’s my tea? I’m dying of thirst up here girl!”

“It’s coming, Madame.”

“Stop dawdling, I don’t pay you to stand down there daydreaming. And don’t forget to start the washing and mending either.”

“Of course not, Madame.”

Letting the funnel shut with a metallic clatter, I finish morning preparations with haste, filling three trays to carry upstairs. Madame likes her tea and cookies first thing, while Barney and Hubert prefer coffee and toast. And of course I can’t forget to feed Penelope, the ragged, ancient Pomeranian which never leaves Mrs. Fin’s side. If the creature didn’t sputter, sniffle and drool as much as it did, I’d almost think it was stuffed; it had been alive for so long.

Balancing one breakfast on my head and one on each hand, I precariously make my way up the cellar steps into the main house. It’s still quiet, most of the guests sleeping in. After all, one didn’t normally take vacations to be up with the sun. Still, it wouldn’t be long at all until they started to wake too, and the true chaos of the day began. After all, the hotel was booked. A new school year was starting at Ever After High this week, meaning the village was bustling with families, all seeing their sons and daughters off to school.

But something new was happening too. Something that had never been done in the history of Ever After. The first student lottery was taking place today. There was still time to enter, people from far and wide making the pilgrimage in hopes their name might be called. After all, it’s not every day a school once exclusive to royalty opens its doors to the common folk.

I had thought about entering my name when it was announced, but I can’t possibly leave my poor dad’s alone with Mrs. Fin. It was a little strange that I hadn’t seen either of them yet; normally they helped with morning preparations. It made me wonder where the two had gone, especially so early in the morning, but I didn’t have much time to linger on it.

Dropping the first breakfast tray at Barney’s room, I knocked swiftly at the door before moving on to Hubert’s and doing the same. Though I didn’t see either emerge, the trays vanished the second I had my back turned with little more than door slams. Thank you, Royelle. Rolling my eyes, I finally come to Madame’s room, giving a light tap on the door.

“Enter!”

Her cawing voice is grating as I push inside, breakfast and tea in hand. As expected, Mrs. Fin is still in bed. Penelope is waiting for me too, wall-eyes pointing in different directions as she drools. Such a strange creature. “What took you so long?” Mrs. Fin complains. “I’ve been waiting ages.”

“Apologies, Madame.”

“You have chores to do, Ella. I expect it all to be done, unlike yesterday.”

“We’re very busy,” I say, setting down the woman’s breakfast. “I’m doing my best.”

“‘Your best’ doesn’t get your wage paid,” Mrs. Fin sniffs. “Don’t forget how generous I am, allowing you to live in my house for practically nothing.” Practically nothing? I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes again. This is nothing short of slavery. “And Ella, don’t think I’ve forgotten what today is.”

“Oh?” Playing dumb, I pick up Penelope, avoiding her little crooked mouth of teeth. She has a tendency to bite. “Is something exciting happening today?”

Mrs. Fin scrunches her already wrinkly nose. “Don’t be cute with me, girl. Don’t even think about entering your name in that lottery.”

“I haven’t.”

“You won’t, because you’re not of much use anywhere but here. I doubt anyone else would take your father’s in, let alone you.”

I can’t help but scowl. What a cruel thing to say. “They might…”

“A strange orphan raised by two equally strange men? I highly doubt it. I saved all of you from the streets. You should be thanking me more profusely.”

Knowing there isn’t much I can do to change Mrs. Fin’s mind—and wanting to avoid her ire, if possible—I just nod. “Of course, Madame. Is there anything else you need?”

“No. Be gone now, you have work to do. And don’t forget precious Penelope’s breakfast.”

“Of course not, Madame. Excuse me.” An immortal dog still tucked under one arm, I make my way back downstairs. Unlike when I’d left, two familiar faces were sitting at the table waiting when I returned. “Good morning, Papa’s. I was wondering where you both got off to.” Setting Penelope on the ground by the fire, she snuffles a pathetic wheeze as I set to mushing up some raw chicken for her meal. She can’t eat much else, seeing as her teeth aren’t much longer for this world either.

“Sorry, pumpkin. We had an errand to run.” Pa Rodgers is tall and slim, with a mop of salt and pepper hair that was no doubt blonde once upon a time. Pa Hammerstein who sits beside him is stout and round, with the jolliest face carved with smile lines and wrinkles. They love one another very much and had raised me since I was left in the woods as a baby. It’s impossible to stay mad at them.

“What errand could you possibly have that needs to be done before sunrise?”

“Today is a very special day, dear,” Pa Hammerstein says excitedly. “It would be a shame to miss it.”

“You mean the lottery?” I ask, setting down Penny’s chicken as she sticks her entire face into the mush. Cleaning her would probably result in even more bandages on the tips of my fingers.

“But of course! It’s not every day common people get to join the ranks of royalty,” Pa Rodgers notes. “We brought something from town for you.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”

“We did.”

Turning to see what my dad’s had found, a single paper ticket sits on the table. It’s blue, one end ragged and partially torn. I instantly shake my head. “I’m not entering the lottery, daddy.”

“But why not?”

“Because. I can’t leave you here with Madame alone. What a nightmare that would be. Besides, I’d be a complete laughing stock.” Pulling at the shredded hem of my skirt, Pa Hammerstein guffaws past his cheery cheeks.

“Nonsense. You’d be the prettiest girl at Ever After!”

“Pa, please. I can’t possibly enter now. Madame forbade it, and you’d get in so much trouble if I left.”

“Royelle, you’re our daughter,” Pa Rodgers stands up, placing his hands on my shoulders. “We love you very much, pumpkin. We want what’s best for you.”

“Yes, what he said,” Pa Hammerstein agrees. “There’s a better life for you out there in the world, child. Far better than that of a servant.”

I shake my head again, hotness burning the corners of my eyes. Dad’s always felt bad that they couldn’t raise me in their own house. One with a yard and a garden and food always on the table. I’ve been working at the Chateau since I was little; Madame put me to work the minute I was old enough to scatter corn for the chickens and balance a tea tray. Sure it’s not the most luxurious life, but I’d never hold it against the men who raised me. After all, without them, I’d have been eaten by a wolf or frozen to death when I was just a baby. “But what about you? I can’t possibly leave you here.”

“Ever After isn’t that far, dear….”

“It would seem a million miles away. No. I simply can’t. I’d die without you.”

“Oh, Ella. You’re so full of heart.” Pa Rodger’s brushes some of my blonde hair back, smoothing it behind my ear. “But even the chance of you having a better future than this would make both of us so happy.”

“Indeed, indeed,” Pa Hammerstein agrees, tottering to his feet and taking my hand. “You’re our princess, see? Always have been, always will be. You deserve to enter the lottery just as much as any other girl.”

“But…”

“If you won’t do it for yourself, at least enter for our sake? Please, Ella? Put two old men at ease.”

“Oh…” frustrated, I stomp my foot. “Very well, but only if you both stop talking like you’ve got one foot in the grave. You’re still plenty young.”

“Tell that to my poor knees, dear,” Pa Hammerstein complains, falling back down into his chair as Pa Rodgers pushes me to sit at the table.

“Here you are, pumpkin. Just write your name and the name of our village.”

Taking the pen offered to me, I place the tip down to the paper and hesitate. This didn’t seem like a very good idea. It wasn’t likely I’d get chosen; the entire kingdom had no doubt entered too. But if Madame found out, she’d have all our heads.

“Go on, dear,” Pa urges behind my shoulder. “Go on.” I can’t help but wince as I sign my name in familiar shaky cursive. ROYELLE H. : BOOKEND. In a flash the ticket vanishes, whisked away in a glitter of magic.

“It’s done,” Pa Hammerstein blusters past his fluffy mustache.

“Now we wait,” Pa Rodgers agrees, squeezing my shoulders from behind. “Thank you, Royelle. You’ve made us very proud.”

“Not a word to Madame about this,” I warn. “She’ll go off like a tea kettle and then we’ll all be in trouble.”

“Agreed,” Pa Rodgers nods. “Hear that, you wind-filled old coot? No spilling the beans.”

“Hey, who are you calling old, you splintery old signpost?”

Rolling my eyes at my dad’s bickering, I leave the table. Penelope had finished her breakfast, sittint on the floor quaking, chicken slop dripping from the hair around her nose. “Alright Penelope,” I sigh, picking her up and heading to the washbasin. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we?”

—

First little drabble for Legacies and Lottery. I dunno if I’ll write in a longer format over on my Ao3 or if I’ll stick the these short ‘diary entry’ style snippets? Let me know what you think of it, I know lots of text in a post isn’t always people’s cup of tea.