"Clean faster!" the head maid yells. "We don't have all day for you to be lounging around!"
"Yes, ma'am," Mouseskin says in her small voice. She picks up her rag and continues to clean the shelves of the library.
Mouseskin used to be a princess. She was her father's favorite daughter and she never misbehaved even once. She was loved by all of the people of Flaving and she was favored to become queen even though she had two older sisters.
But one day, Mouseskin said something she should not have said.
The king called his three daughters into his study one morning. They lined up in front of his desk with their heads bowed respectfully.
"I have a question for the three of you," he said.
"Yes, father," the princesses answered in unison.
"How much do you love me?" he asked quietly. He looked up at them then. His eyes hold a challenge, almost as if he's wanting to hear a specific answer.
"I love you more than everyone in the entire kingdom!" the eldest daughter said. Mouseskin's skin crawled from her sister's fake tone.
"I love you more than all of the precious jewels in the kingdom!" the second daughter exclaimed, beaming brightly.
Mouseskin's mind reeled with something she could say to appease her father. She bit her lip in concentration. She wasn't a shallow person like her sisters and she wasn't sure what she should say.
The king coughed to get her attention. Her neck snapped up and she laughed nervously.
"I-I love you more than the last packet of salt!" she cried hastily.
The king raised an eyebrow. His face reddened and he towered over her, causing her to cower in fear.
"What did you say?" he hissed menacingly. "Did you say you love me more than... salt?"
Before she could reply, the king snapped his fingers and Mouseskin's favorite servant ran inside.
"Yes, Your Majesty?" the servant asked calmly, not once looking at Mouseskin.
"Take her into the woods," the king said, "and kill her."
The servant didn't even wince at the command. He nodded and grabbed Mouseskin, taking her out of the room and into the woods.
Mouseskin didn't understand why what she had said was so bad. Salt is the most precious resource in the small kingdom of Flaving. Unseasoned food becomes poisonous and brings instant death to anyone that consumes it. Salt is something everyone needs in order to survive and Mouseskin had said that she loved her father more than that! What was so wrong?
The servant wrapped a cloak around her head and pulled the head hastily over her head.
"There's a kingdom not too far from here," he said. "Go there and you'll be safe."
"So you're not going to kill me?" Mouseskin stuttered, trying to hold back tears.
The servant shook his head. "Go quickly before you're seen." The servant turned his back on her and jogged back towards the castle.
***
Mouseskin is a servant now under the neighboring king. She's been here for a little over a year and the king treats her strangely. He seems to be in love with her, but he throws random objects at her from time to time and calls her his little mouse because she's so small.
"The king would like to see you," a servant calls out to her.
Mouseskin nods and walks into the king's throne room, bowing her head respectfully.
"We're having a feast," the king says abruptly. "And we're getting married." The king beams at her brightly.
Mouseskin's heart starts beating erratically. Married? She doesn't even like the king. But it's not like she can refuse. She nods and the king throws a shoe at her in excitement.
That evening, the king dressed her up in extravagant gowns and made her sit next to him at the dining table. She noticed her father and she avoided his gaze, hoping he wouldn't see her.
When the first meal was set, Mouseskin's pulse quickened. She hoped her plan would work.
Her father took a bite and instantly began choking. He grips the table, grasping his throat, eyes bulging out of his head.
"When I said I loved you more than salt, you wanted to have me killed," Mouseskin says, her voice rising. "Now it seems you cannot live without it."
On the final word, her father collapsed back into his chair and he died.
