A young maid

The young maid

The city had become a cruel place to live in. More than half the people were starving and every one lived in constant fear. Our family was very fortunate indeed to have such reliable and safe work. My Mother was able to keep a roof over our heads from working as a maid for a prominent business owner since she was a young girl, around my age.

I was eleven years old and trusted by the Mistress Lyanna. She liked to keep me in the house, saying it was better if no one knew what I looked like. That way when I was older, I could work anywhere as a spy for her. Every day while my Mother and Sister were working, I was sitting at a desk with all kinds of reading and book work to keep up with.

My first lessons at reading and writing had set a good foundation for the work load I now had. Mistress always had me keeping a book for one business or another. She had me study laws and other Kingdoms, past and current rulers. And even some spell books, though I couldn’t do magic. I loved my work and the books I got to read; I was very lucky.

In a way it was a relief to be asked to take on another task for my Mistress. After the new guests had arrived, she asked me to leave the house for the first time to go and work in the castle. My job would be to learn as much as possible about the layout of the castle and all those who lived in it. The most important things to learn where the Queen’s schedule. Where she ate, what time she went to sleep and even who she entertained and was commonly seen with.

My sister had a trusted friend in the kitchens and she would be able to get me in and look after me while I was there. I hadn't had to do the kind of work that I was going to be required to do, I was scared that I would be noticed right away as someone who wasn’t supposed to be there. As I stood there, the speed at which they worked was alarming.

An old woman stood in the center of the room and was yelling instructions to the maids and servants. One was ordered to get the fresh baked breads out of the oven. Another was instructed to baste the spinning chickens with more buttered wine. The vegetables were being chopped and other little dishes were being arranged with sweet things on them.

“All you have to do is follow me and hold this water jug. Always be quiet, don’t say a single word.”

She moved to grab her tray and I did the same. The jug I was to carry was really heavy! How was I going to make it all the way without spilling a drop? Looking over at her tray I saw little plates of artfully decorated treats and wished I could trade with her. She began to walk away and I had no choice but to follow her without a word like she had instructed me.

Each hallway looked the same as the last. The paintings were all variations of each member of the royal family. There were pictures of the Queen and Prince together, then they would be alone. Every few would be a painting of the King by marriage. I wondered why they all were never together in a painting?

Their expressions were all straight faced, there was no smiles or happiness in them. Mother and son stood by each other, never touching. It was the same for the Queen and King. They did not represent a happy marriage. Why would someone even want to hang these sad things in their home?

The hallways closest to the kitchens had no windows and were lit by candles. The closer we got to the upper levels the windows were close together, only separated by a single painting with candles on each side. The feeling I got from this castle was, unwelcoming.

I felt I shouldn’t be here, that no one should be here. It was like all the eyes in the paintings were watching me, knowing what I was doing. I started to get really scared! My heart was beating so fast that my hands started to shake and get sweaty.

“You need to stay calm. Try to slow your breathing. I do it like this.” She took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. She did this a few times until I had the pattern figured out. My hands began to steady but I was still terribly afraid.

I started to try and focus on the things around me. I could see more pictures, windows, decorative chairs and benches with lots of ugly pillows. There were doors here and there as we went, all were closed and uninviting. Up the hallway we just entered we could hear the sounds of dishes being broken. A door broke open just ahead of us and a terrible racket was free. A man's voice flowed through yelling.

“Your useless, wrenches! Guards! Take them to the dungeons until they better learn how to serve their Prince and future King!” The male voice was so, evil.

We were thankfully not heading into that room. As we walked by, we saw that two women were naked and being dragged out by their hair. They both had blood on their faces to. I couldn’t stop looking at them with wide, horrified eyes. it was a terrified sight, almost unbearable to look at. I had never seen anything close to that in my life and I would never forget the brutality. I found myself being grateful that I was kept in a room with books and paper.

“Come we have to go.”

I realized then that I had stopped moving. My feet had become riveted to the floor! I had a hard time moving my eyes away and to get my feet moving again. I looked at a pair of brown eyes and began to follow them.

My feet were able to move faster thanks for her pleas. Each step was easier than the last. We walked down another set of hallways that were differently decorated. It was very dark in these set of halls. Every piece of furniture I saw was black, the paining frames were black, and the heughs and tones were all dark on the paintings themselves.

The windows were even covered and the only light came from the wall sconces and the few candles placed on tables. Music could be heard coming from a room with a large and slightly open door. It was a somber tune that fit with the darkness of this place.

Thankfully we didn’t see anyone or hear anything that would add to my nightmares that I was sure to have. I started to wonder where we were going. This walk seemed awfully long and somewhat unnecessary.

“Why is it taking so long to get there? Do you have to walk this way every time?”

“No, I wanted you to see as much as the castle as possible before to many people could recognize you wondering around.”

I was a bit surprised by that. I wouldn’t have thought to take this detour on my own. I guess I would have gotten myself in a lot more trouble than I would need. I was very grateful suddenly for her.

“Thank you for doing this.”

I didn’t want to say anything else as I had a new outlook on our journey. I committed everything to memory. I also tried to remember the way we had already come. That way when I got to my room later, I would be able to draw a map.

We walked up another ridiculous number of stairs and came to the most light, open ad decorated hallway we had seen thus far. All of the windows were open and the natural light reflected off of the white furniture and the gilded frames.

“We will be serving in the Queens chambers. Don’t freeze again and don’t make any noise.”

We came to two large gilded doors, the attendant outside opened it for us to enter. This is what I was here for. The pressure to get as much information about the Queens and her dealings, was becoming suddenly to heavy.

A few deep breaths later my eyes came into focus on the room we were going to be working in. It was a very interesting room to say the least. The only walls were the ones that held the large doorway and another support wall off to the far side in the corner. The rest was all columns holding up a roof that had many laid into it to let the light in.

There were flower beds filled with only yellow flowers along the walls and pathways. The only furniture in the room was a large round wooden table with six chairs spread around it. Sitting in one of those chairs was a woman with an exquisite crown. While I thought it was very beautiful it looked very heavy to and overdone. She was clearly the Queen.

Sitting close to her was a man with very bright clothing and a large feather earing. They were leaning into each other and speaking in quiet tones. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. The look in both of their eyes said more however and I couldn't look at them any longer without blushing and feeling uncomfortable.

I would have to try to not look at them and only try to listen to what they were saying. I had never seen the man before but he was easy to describe and I hoped he would say his name. They leaned into each other and whispered and giggled together for a long time. My feet began to hurt.

Most of what they said to each other was lost on me as I was too young to understand a lot of what they told each other.

“You shouldn't distract me so much, dear Captain. There is much business we need to discuss. Such as wanting to know when me ships will be ready?”

“The slaves are working as quickly as they can, these new slaves don’t know a single thing about building a ship. They make it take longer, there's nothing I can do about that.”

They were working with slaves? I thought that was illegal...

“I don’t care about such things, make them work harder, I'm sure you can at least do that. Not selling them to that scoundrel Raipharous has cost me a lot.”

She was selling them as well? Mistress would want to know about this, and soon. That name was familiar somehow to, where had I heard it from before?

“It will all work out in the end my Queen. You shall have it all.”

“I want that old crone Lyanna finished. She has annoyed me for too long. When I gain her assets of course I will share the spoils with my favorite accomplice.”

She was planning to get rid of Lyanna? That would be impossible, no one could get to her and I would warn her soon of this. She was so smart and successful; she must already know what the Queen was planning for her.

“In good time my Queen. We need to wait for the right time to make all these moves that you want. If we do too much at once we run the risk of failing. Where do you plan to get the men to man these ships once they are built? As it is right now you have no army, just a small guard that is spread out and being picked off by a warrior woman, of all things.”

“You don’t need to worry about that until the ships are ready. I will tell you when you need to know.”
The Queen wasn’t looking at the man after saying that, to consumed in her arrogance and glass of wine. But I saw the man's face and what I saw was anger. He did not like hat he got as an answer. His expression changed back quickly to the earlier one as she brought her eyes back to look at him. His affections were fake!

They chatted closely for some more time about useless things. I used the time to try and puzzle out what I had heard. I needed to find more out about this man and the slaves they talked about. I still had too much to do before I could go home.
Over the next few days, I spent a lot of time working with any new person I could find they were always willing to talk about their lives in the castle and all the gossips that flowed through it. The Prince was always the main topic of discussion. He was a cruel man and every time I saw him, he was training.

His highness was a very tall man and the evidence of his training was clear on his body. His arms were thick and muscled and his legs looked like they could kill you with one small kick. I was thankfully too young to serve in his chambers and only ever saw him in passing. Each time his ruff face left me filled with fear.

I worked a lot more with the King. He was a very quiet man and liked simple foods and water. He never had any wine served in his chambers. I sent most of my time standing quietly in a corner trying to draw as little attention to myself as possible. He listened to a lot of music and only became upset when it stopped playing.

My responsibilities kept me busy through the days that I was at the castle. I had become very familiar with most of the castle and tonight I would see the last mysterious part. An old woman who had worked her for years was going to show me a room hidden behind a painting. After the castle had grown quiet, we met in the hallway that she said it was located.

We were in the halls closest to the Queens rooms. We had to move quietly and not say a single word to each other. She walked up to the most hideous painting I had seen of the Queen and her son. She grabbed the one side of it and pulled it open to reveal a long dark hallway. I walked into it and she closed the painting behind me.

I was in complete darkness. I was now wishing I had at least brought a candle with me to light the way.