"Ugh! This is too much work." Beth complained, throwing the paper flower towards the pile beside her.
They had been at it from the morning and it was already evening. She could hear the excited chatter of the servants outside the room. She pouted, looking towards the door. When the minor gods took them to the upper town's E district Beth had hoped that she'd get to roam around at least a bit. But they had been lead to the town, blindfolded.
They were only allowed to remove their blinds once they reached this peculiar looking building. She had spotted a free minor god or two when she came inside, decked up in luxurious robes and jewelry. But they too were nowhere in sight now. The minor gods had left them in a room full of colored papers and ribbons and asked them to make decorations.
Ever since then they'd been at it without a break. Beth was tired, or rather lazy. She leaned her back against the wooden wall and closed her eyes sleepily. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, thinking about today. This was her only chance at escaping the inevitable. When a week ago, the minor gods started selecting candidates, surprisingly, nobody volunteered. She had happily put her hand up along with Fifty-eight's naively.
Though at that time she had wondered why nobody jumped at the chance to go to the upper town, she understood why now. Back in the lower town, the slaves and servants were enjoying their days off of work while they were laboring away like the slaves they were in a barely lit dingy room.
"It's okay. I will make more for you. You can rest." Fifty-eight said, beaming at her.
Beth nodded, smiling at the girl. Though Fifty-eight had grown much more dependant on her for everything she didn't complain. She knew that she owed the girl a lot. And strangely, she was growing on her with her quick smiles and eagerness to help her out. Thanks to her, Beth had been enjoying a lot of time lazying around during their everyday chores. But it was not like the girl didn't benefit from such a relationship too.
Under her tutelage, Fifty-eight had grown a bit more careful with her words and a lot braver. She didn't hide behind a pillar or stutter when she came in contact with the minor gods. Even when someone tried to bully her, she had started to stand up for herself, but careful enough to not make a scene of it to invite punishment. For Beth, this was an achievement in itself. She nodded, proud at the girl that was blossoming under her teachings.
Fifty-eight was humming some tune happily as she folded the colored papers and turned them into flower hangings. She looked happy where she was. It made Beth less guilty about leaving the girl behind when the time came. She knew that once her mission is completed if at all it would be, she'd have to leave the girl behind for her own safety. But at least the girl was happy and by today, all her worries would also be gone.
Before she leveled up, she was going to make sure that Fifty-eight had no issues to bother her anymore, Beth thought, staring at the girl with a sad smile. Hearing a knock on the door, she quickly sat up straight, taking another piece of colored paper in her hands. She knew that the punishment for slacking off would be severe. They had warned her of such things among others like not to step out of the room.
The door squeaked open and a girl looking around seventeen or eighteen years of age came inside, wearing a servant's dress. Beth didn't look at her, but rather kept her eyes down and started folding the paper.
"Is it done? Can I take this bunch?" The girl asked, pointing towards the pile of folded flowers in front of her.
Beth nodded, keeping her eyes on the paper. The servant huffed at her attitude and said murmured something incomprehensible. Beth didn't mind. After all, what she didn't know didn't hurt. Besides she had a problem on her hands already. It was no time to pick a fight with a much taller, stronger looking female and one higher in the hierarchy at that.
"You can take this pile as well, mam." She heard Fifty-eight say.
"At least you know your place unlike this strange-looking one here." The servant girl replied, pointing a finger at her.
Beth tossed the finished flower to the pile in front of her and started working on the next one as if she didn't hear the rude commentary. She could feel a glare on her head as she did but she did well to ignore it.
"Twenty-three is just tired," Fifty-eight said, getting up from her place on the floor. Extending a hand to the pile, she said, "I will help you to carry them."
Beth raised a brow at her friend. There she goes again, trying to help someone without giving any thought to it. After all the training that she had given her, Fifty-eight was still too kind to others.
The servant shook her head. "No need. I don't want to get in trouble for letting you out of the room. I will carry them." She said, holding up the hem of her tunic. Nodding to the curve that the cloth made, she said, "Quick, put them in here."
Fifty-eight hastily picked up a handful of flowers and filled the servant's extended tunic. When all the piles vanished into its fold, she turned towards the door.
"Keep working on more. We will need at least a hundred more of these flowers." She said, stepping out of the room.
"Yes, One-eighty-eight," Fifty-eight called out behind the girl, beaming at her even though the servant didn't look back even once.
Beth huffed, at the direction of the arched doorway. "They all act so high and mighty when they're only servants." She said, tossing the sorry excuse of a flower that she had made to the side.