Chapter 9: Charcoal Dust
After the royal family finished their dinner and left the room, the maids began to clear the dishes and used silverware on the table. A fresh tablecloth was spread, as were the napkins, along with unused silverware placed in front of every chair tucked inside the table.
Mr. Gilbert ordered Anastasia and another maid, "Blow out the candles in the room and make sure not a single drop of wax falls on the table or on the floor. Remove the ashes from the fireplace."
Saying those words, Mr. Gilbert stepped out of the dining room with the three maids, who carried the previously spread tablecloth and used napkins. The double doors of the dining room closed behind them.
Anastasia turned to the maid and used her hands to speak,
'You can blow out the flames of the first two chandeliers. I will take the one at the back, and then clean the fireplace.'
The maid was happy to follow it, and she smiled before whispering,
"You know, Anastasia, when I become a queen, I will appoint you as my personal maid with all the good benefits." She then turned to look at the closed double doors before turning back and saying, "But that will happen only if Prince Aiden would realise that I am his soulmate. I feel this very strong connection with him, you know?"
Anastasia nodded and reached the back of the dining room, holding a long pipe and standing near the chandelier. Of course, she knew about this strong connection because every other maid secretly felt it towards one of the Blackthorn princes.
"I keep wondering if I should reveal myself to him, but alas I haven't found an opportunity," the maid sighed. She came to stand behind the chair that Prince Aiden usually sat in, lovingly caressing the top of the chair.
Anastasia wondered if the young maid was aware that it was only a piece of wood and not Prince Aiden himself. Raising the pipe in her hand, she aimed at the flames before blowing forceful air into it and blowing out the candles one by one that was on the chandelier.
Among King William's sons, Prince Maxwell Blackthorn was one of the princes who was liked because of his friendly appearance and because he was in his early twenties. He was Lady Maya's son, who was the King's concubine, and if it weren't for Prince Aiden being the preferred heir to the throne, many women would have favoured Prince Maxwell over him.