Well, I never said it would be easy.
I tossed and turned in my bed for a while, once again unable to settle my mind. Finally, my agitated body gave up on sleep entirely, and I stood to pace the floors for a bit. The workspace was a little eerie at night, but the dusty shutters let in enough moonlight to provide adequate visibility. It was a good thing too, otherwise I probably would have tripped a dozen times on all the puddles and clutter that littered the dingy floors.
After narrowly avoiding a collision with a dangerously crowded shelf, an idea sparked into my mind. I looked across the room to my brown blanket that I left by my bedding, and then back to the fire that was burning low where our meals had been cooked. These women had done so much for a complete stranger. I thought it was about time I did something in return. There wasn’t much I knew how to do in return, but not everything took specific skills.
A strange, unfamiliar feeling coursed through my heart as an idea formulated in my mind. I had never felt such a desire to do something for anyone other than myself— it was entirely out of character for me— but for some reason, my feet moved toward the cleaning supplies.
As silently as I could, I rolled up my sleeves, grabbed a mop, and spent the rest of the night doing something that was completely foreign to me.
I got to work.
chapter eight
Thirteen days remaining.
I don’t remember exactly what time I finally went to bed, but it was late enough that the crickets had stopped chirping and the birds had started singing their morning song. The light from the polished open shutters shone unforgivably bright onto my unwillingly eyelids, yet it wasn’t the sun that woke me.
“My word! What happened here?!” Hazel’s outburst startled me awake for the second day in a row. I yawned loudly and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “Is everyone else seeing this? Did somebody break-in overnight?”
I finally managed to clear the daze from my vision and looked around to see all five of my sleeping companions marvel at the freshly cleaned workspace. The whole space looked brand new, even more so now that the sun was out. The shutters were dusted and shined as if they had been freshly painted, the floors were mopped and polished, and the shelves had been cleaned and organized. All the floor drains that had been clogged with soap scum were now sparkling like new and drained water with ease. There were still massive piles of dirty laundry by the front of the mill, but they had been organized into even amounts for washing loads. Shocked, the girls wandered around and I feared that my efforts were misplaced. What if I had messed up some sort of organization system?
“What do you think Mr. Dwarfer is going to do when he sees this?” Delilah gasped as she inspected the drains.
Fearing I had made some horrible mistake, I slowly stood up from my blankets to approach the group and confess my actions. As I approached, all five looked to me and widened their eyes at my rugged appearance. My dress was covered in a fine layer of dust, and stains from spilled cleaning polish dotted my skirt. If my attire wasn’t a big enough clue to my actions, I was certain the shadows under my eyes spoke my truth. “I’m sorry, everyone… I just thought—”
“You’re sorry!?” Hazel cut me off, still appearing stunned. “Are you kidding us? This is amazing, Annie! Did you really do all of this yourself?” She ran and grabbed me by the shoulders, slightly shaking them with excitement.
“Yes?” I answered wearily but felt relieved that they weren’t upset. “You all have done so much for me. I just thought if I cleaned up a little bit, things would be easier on everyone. I hope it suits everyone’s needs.” I looked up to them hopefully and found myself suddenly encased in a group hug.
“Oh, Annie, you are far too sweet!” Sylvia’s squeaked through the embrace. “You didn’t have to go through such trouble!”
“Were you up all night?!” Susan’s chirped from somewhere behind me. “You must have been as quiet as a mouse! I slept right through it all.” The girls giggled at my sneakiness as they held me close, and I couldn’t help but embrace them back.
“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone.” I stepped back as they released me from the squeeze. “I hope you can accept it.” Their smiles spoke volumes as they giddily expressed their gratitude over the smallest details. I had never felt as fulfilled as I did as I watched them admire my work and express their joy.
“Honestly, Annie, this is beautiful!” Hazel gawked as she looked through the rows of alphabetized shelves. “Did you train at a palace? I have never seen such attention to detail before!” I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was this not the standard for cleaning in regular businesses? I knew the castle was exceptionally well-kept, but I couldn’t see the purpose in cutting corners when everything looked better when given full attention.
“I guess I am merely used to higher standards.” I shrugged. “Of cleaning that is,” I quickly added, clarifying my statement.
“Well, Mr. Dwarfer is going to love this! He is always bugging us to tidy up around here, but we’ve never had the time.” Hazel twirled across the clean floor carelessly. “I can’t wait to see his face when he comes by today!” Upon her final twirl the back door swung open and an equally stunned Glenda and Daniela approached us.
“It’s about time someone cleaned up around here. Ya know, us old folk would have helped if you asked.” Glenda stated with a befuddled look on her face.
“We’ll explain it over breakfast! I’m starving!” Hazel grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the fire, leaving the two older ladies to their bewilderment.
Throughout our breakfast of porridge and tea, the girls spilled all the news about my clean-up job. It was strange getting attention for something that, for once, I didn’t seek admiration for. Something inside me just wanted to remain quiet and allow everyone to simply enjoy the fruits of my labor. It was an entirely new feeling, considering I had been so accustomed to praise throughout my life, but today I just felt as if I didn’t need it.
Who was I and what had I done with Arabella? Maybe Annie was starting to take over my mind…
Despite the hot meal, my body still wasn’t quite feeling prepared to get back to work. I might have already overworked myself, and we still had an entire day to go. I rubbed my eyes and yawned with a stretch, hoping to spring some life into my tired limbs. My feet ached and my eyes didn’t want to focus clearly. No wonder none of the other girls had ever tried to catch up on cleaning; it was exhausting. I stumbled over to my work station, and Susan and Bethanne nearly had to catch me as I tripped over a stray towel.
“Sorry, everyone,” I mumbled through another yawn. “I don’t think I have quite woken up yet.” The other ladies passed concerned looks around to each other.
“It’s pick-up day,” Glenda muttered from amongst the crowd. “Why don’t ya go sit and wait by the office doors and tend to the desk if the entry bell rings. We won’t be missing an extra set of hands today, and I don’t think anyone here is gonna deny you an easy day.” She looked at the other girls as if waiting to be challenged, but nobody said a word.
“Really?” I questioned hopefully. “Are you certain that would be alright?”
“Of course! You’ve earned it after what you pulled off last night.” Hazel gestured energetically around the sparkling room. “Let us pick up some of the slack now.” She winked at me, and I smiled appreciatively in return.