“And do remember to keep your voice high like a woman’s,” Arden/Arianna added, raising his pitch even more for emphasis. The result was a strained falsetto that made his servant wince.
“As you wish, Arianna,” he said, obediently making his voice high also, though not to the awkward degree of the other. It sounded alright, he had to admit, softer and more pleasant. Even better, it was easy to mimic, as if it was his natural tone.
“Oh, now that is impressive,” Arden said approvingly. Following his servant’s example, he toned down his pitch until he had reached a more comfortable range. Amazingly, he managed a pitch even higher than Geri’s, giving him a melodic soprano. “Aaah,” he sang experimentally. “Mi-mi-mi. Much better, I think.” Geri nodded, quite impressed himself.
“Now, shall we begin?” Arden asked.
“Begin?”
“Dusting the north corridors, of course,” the prince said, putting a hand on his hip which seemed more pronounced under his corset.
“But that job is for the maids, s-Arianna. The real maids, I mean.”
“Well, for now, we are maids. Besides, I find this very exciting! Getting orders from another maid. Dusting the corridor. It’s all so delightfully ordinary!”
Geri refrained from rolling his eyes, but he couldn’t help the little pursing of his lips in exasperation. Unknown to himself, his lips used this opportunity to plump up a bit, becoming soft with a nice cupid’s bow shape. He did wonder briefly how he could not have noticed how long the prince’s lashes were, and perhaps it was just the bonnet framing his face, but his eyes looked bigger, as well.
With no further interruption, the prince leapt to his task with enthusiasm, dusting every nook and cranny, every vase and painting that decorated the area, and even the window panes. Geri did his best as well, not to be outdone by his pampered charge. Having a bit more height over the prince, he could reach the higher places, though he did have to stand on tip-toe a lot to get the last of the hard-to-reach places. Since when did so many things get so high up?
By the time the senior maid returned, the corridor practically gleamed. Despite her earlier suspicions, she was impressed. “My, my. I can see why you two were hired. Now come along, we have more duties to attend.”