The walk from the bottom of the steep hill left Lurai wondering at how she would ever make it to the top. The climb towards the manor was meant to be traveled by horse or beast-drawn carriages; however, it seemed that elves didn't have that pleasantry. From a glance at the path that she and Ramira were walking on, it seemed that this path had been trodden many times by various footprints.
While the path took multiple minutes to hike, Lurai noticed that she wasn't breathing heavily or became winded at all; in fact, she felt at the same energy level as she did when they had begun their hike to the manor, and she wasn't tiring. Ramira, on the other hand, was panting heavily as she walked, but her pace never slowed. Lurai had gone to reach out towards her shoulder, but Ramira waved it off in silence.
Noticing that she couldn't be much help here, Lurai turned towards the garden again, and this time it was much easier to see. The part that they had gone through was just a speck of what the garden had to offer. More trees, colorful flowers, and even almost ant-like statues and fountains could be seen through the vast amount of land that this garden covered.
"It must take hours to cross from one side to the other." Lurai thought to herself as she, reluctantly, pulled herself away from the vision of the garden to a small carriage at the southern end of the garden. "So, there are visitors. At least, we can all appreciate the beauty of it." Lurai's thought process continued before realizing that she needed to follow her elven mother, who was now multiple steps ahead of her.
Lurai picked up her pace to stay with Ramira as they came to the top of the raised land, where a large metal gate was placed, which connected to a white brick wall on both sides and seemed to wrap around the raised land. Through the large metal bars, Lurai could make out the magnificent craftsmanship of a chiseled fountain with various figures that seemed to be dancing and playing around with the water that poured from their faces, hands, and feet, which was all set in front of a spotless large wooden door that was engraved with an "E" that led into the manor. The manor itself was a large circular whitened brick and mortar building that could have matched the clouds in color, and while the manor was molded to the raised land it had been on, it was no less glorious in the eyes of Lurai, who saw this as more glamourous than her previous home.
Before Lurai could gaze more at the building, two human guards ran up to the two of them, quickly looked over them, and with disgust on their faces, pointed towards a small side door near an outlet in the wall, which was where the guards had run from. Ramira bowed to the guards, which prompted Lurai to do the same, and they both moved towards the small door. This door looked immaculate on the outside, as it was perfectly crafted to fit inside the wall; however, when the door opened, darkness immediately met the sight of the elven women, as the door led into a narrow tunnel connected to the manor.
Due to the guards close behind them, Lurai and Ramira quickly and quietly slipped through the doorway before it was slammed behind them rather violently. The force of the slam caused Lurai to jump, but Ramira, having had it happen for most of her life, expected it. The two traveled a little further into the tunnel before Ramira spoke up again.
"It's alright to talk in here for a short moment." Ramira said softly, "It's going to be a rough day for you."
"I know." Lurai said with a sigh, "But there is nothing I can do to go around that. After all, I'm an elf now."
"Remember," Ramira's tone of voice went stern, and it was as if the voice had become a figure in the dark with them, "No matter what order you've been given, you do it to the best you can. Punishment may come even though you did what you were told, but you can't do what you did this morning. Not here."
"I understand." Lurai said with resolve, "I will do my best." Lurai couldn't help but think inwardly about what she said. "It's probably uncommon for elves to meet their work like this with optimism. In fact—" Lurai's voice cracked as she spoke the remaining thoughts aloud, "I'm scared."
"We knew you would be." Ramira said with her tone turning softer again, "This is not going to be easy, and I'm sure you know that too. Just do as the others do, and you will be fine. Oh!" Ramira stopped as she felt something hard in front of her with her outreached hand, "Here is the door. Just also be happy that the duke isn't back."
"Why should I be happy about that?" Lurai questioned.
"Because he is the only one who can forcefully control you," Ramira said as she opened the door, revealing an almost blinding light upon the two elven women. The light revealed to them a small stone-floored room filled with worn-down shelves, and on these shelves laid various pieces of folded fabric and other belongings such as ripped satchel bags, torn shoes, and very small pieces of rotting food.
Ramira walked over to one of the shelves where multiple sets of fabrics laid, and she set down her satchel on the ground. She lifted the fabrics and handed a set of them to Lurai before separating some for herself. Lurai, looking at the fabrics, noticed that these were maid outfits, and the set she had been given had her name stitched on the sleeve, Lurai Fey'andal.
As Lurai looked over the dress, she noticed that it was a primarily black and white dress with slight frills on the edges of the sleeves and ends of the dress. Amongst the white frills, she noticed that dust and dirt collected there enough to be noticed from a distance, and the black dress contained multiple spots of dried spills. It wasn't the cleanest of outfits, but it showed the stains of a consistent worker.
Lurai took off her dress that she was wearing and let it slide to the floor as she quickly placed this dress over her head. A bit of a tight squeeze for the head hole, but once her head was through, the dress flowed over her very nicely, almost a perfect fit otherwise. The dress's length ended just below her knees and rested comfortably on her shins.
"It—fits," Lurai said in amazement as Ramira, now in a more frilled maid outfit, held out something in front of her eyes. Ramira's gaze reflected a sort of confusion and bewilderment, as she was taken by surprise by the phrase. Lurai reached out and took the item from Ramira—a pair of black heels.
"Of course, it fits." Ramira said slowly, "Why is that surprising?"
"Oh!" Lurai's face turned red as she looked down and put on the heels, "I thought that the duke didn't care about slaves, so I figured it would be really small on me."
Ramira shook her head with a smile, "We must be presentable, Lurai. In a way, the way we look reflects on the duke, so we get measured for outfits once per month. If anything happens to the outfit, we face the punishment."
"So stains and—"
"No, no." Ramira laughed as she pointed to the multiple stains on her dress, "I am talking about its misplacement. That is why I keep ours together, so I can always keep track of it for you."
Lurai's eyes widened as she realized that Ramira was right. She never noticed that before, but she also smiled as she knew that the mother was always looking out for her daughter. Ramira smiled as she saw her daughter's smile before moving towards the door, which was ironically more ornate than the entire room, at the other end of the room.
Lurai noticed instantly that this door didn't have a handle and went to say something, but Ramira said nothing as she walked over to the door. Ramira placed a hand on the door and said, "Eantasi." The handless door began to creak before springing open with a bit of force.
As she opened the door, an even more brilliant light filled the room, and a cacophony of noise filled the air. To Lurai's surprise, multiple other maids were walking around this large foyer of an area, which consisted of an immaculate velvet carpeted floor and stained-glass windows that were draped with silk-like scarlet fabrics. Many of the maids were holding brooms, cloths, and buckets, or carrying other various objects from one direction to another—all of them were busier than Lurai had ever seen, even more so than in her old home.
Ramira, grabbing Lurai's hand, pulled her into the room, led her to the left of the doorway, which magically shut behind them. After being pulled into the foyer, Lurai's senses were overwhelmed with scented soaps, and the light from overhead, a brilliant chandelier that was larger than the room they had just exited shone brightly with licking white flames inside crafted glass containers. The familiar sound of clacking filled Lurai's ears as she looked down to see that Ramira and she were walking on a narrow wooden path next to the wall, which was made of a similar white brick as the outside.
Ramira led Lurai on this narrow path for about a minute at a fast and wordless pace before turning abruptly into a room on the left. In the middle of this small, white bricked and plain room was a large, darkened wooden desk that took up a majority of the space, and behind this desk sat a plump human female with wood-rimmed glasses writing at the desk. She had short brown hair that was swept to the right side of her rounded face, which displayed a slim nose and thin lips.
She looked up slightly, revealing her hazel eyes, to see who had entered, and then she went back to writing on her paper. "I was surprised this morning that I have to rescind the note that you needed time to grieve for the loss of your daughter." The woman said without looking up from her paper, "It seems that your daughter was alive, after all? That's got to make you happy."
Silence fell in the room for a short moment.
The woman dropped her writing instrument, a large, feathered quill, onto the desk, and then looked up towards Ramira. "You can speak in here."
Ramira bowed, which prompted Lurai to do the same, and cleared her throat. "Thank you, Miss Lanz. Our family is overjoyed for the health of our daughter."
"You look much more presentable today, without the tears flowing down your face, that is," Lanz said with a mocking smile as she stood up and walked over to them. Lanz looked over Lurai with a scrutinizing gaze for a few moments before taking a step back, "You claimed that she had fallen somehow, and she looks fine to me," Lanz glared down at Ramira's name sewn into the dress and then back up to meet Ramira's eyes with a terrifying stare, "I know you wouldn't lie to me, Ramira."
"Of course not, Miss. Never in my life." Ramira said with widened eyes and took a step back to present Lurai to her. Lurai, with widened eyes as well, smiled and bowed again.
"I--I am sorry for the trouble, Miss, I—" Lurai said before a hand raised in front of her from Lanz.
"I should have specified that only she was allowed to talk, but I'll let that slide this time." Lanz puffed out with annoyance as she looked back at Ramira, who gave the cue she had more to say, "What?"
"I regret to inform you, miss, that my daughter suffers now from massive amnesia."
"Oh, amnesia?" Lanz said with a raised eyebrow, "So you are saying that she is useless right now?"
Lurai flinched at that remark. "Useless?!" She thought inwardly, "That's not very nice, especially when it's not my fault."
Ramira said nothing but nodded regretfully and sorrowfully. Lurai silently understood that Ramira couldn't say anything against it.
"So, how bad is the amnesia?" Laz sighed in annoyance as she walked back to her desk and sat down in a rather ornate but uncomfortable-looking chair.
"She couldn't remember our faces or even her name as of last night," Ramira replied.
Lanz folded her hands on her desk and released a low whistle, "Now, that's pretty bad." Her gaze fell back on Lurai, "She seems rather calm despite knowing next to nothing. She's either the calmest individual I've ever met, or she is hiding it very well." Lanz went silent for a moment before raising her trimmed eyebrow at Lurai, "Well, speak?"
Lurai stiffened as she talked, "I assure you, miss, I am quite frightened right now."
"Honest. I like that." Lanz nodded, "You elves will never get any respect from me, but you are the closest one to almost ever receive it. Do you know why I am saying this?"
"No, miss." Lurai shook her head slightly as she placed her hands in front of her dress.
"It's because you want to work, and despite your confusion, that work to serve your master takes precedence over your lost memories." Lanz smiled, which Lurai perceived as a wicked smile, "So, are you ready to work again?"
"Yes, miss." Lurai bowed slightly towards her, which caused Lanz to sigh.
"I wouldn't normally do this, but I am going to be laxer on her duties today. I will arrange a maid trainer to retrain her, but our time is limited. I will not be blamed for a maid that is clumsier than a child maid." Lanz, with ferocity in her eyes, met Lurai's gaze, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, miss." Lurai said with a tone of happiness, "Thank you."
Ramira also bowed but said nothing as she was not directed to speak.
"Ramira, you are dismissed. Return to your duties." Lanz said as she placed two fingers against her forehead, stayed silent for a moment, and then said, "Measn." A faint blue light glimmered from her fingertips, and a magical line shot off from her fingers towards the ceiling, disappearing through the whitened brick. Ramira, bowing one last time, left the room instantly.
Within a minute, the sound of hurrying clopping of heels on wood, as another elven woman, dressed similarly to Lurai, rounded the corner of the doorway, and her appearance shocked Lurai. The elven maid looked rather young of a woman, closer to Ramira's age appearance but older than her own, and her pale red hair that flowed down her back that seemed to pale in comparison to her deep green eyes; however, more distinguishing and deeply faded blue lines surrounded her neckline and reached up into her face, which all stemmed from the tattoo in the middle of her chest.
"The intensity of the tattoo." Lurai couldn't help but think of this in surprise, "That's quite severe. Just how much as she—" Lurai's eyes widened and her head was filled with fear, "Wait. That spell is a tier-one, and if she is forced to respond that way, she is cutting her life shorter with every message!"
Lurai continued to look at the elven woman that entered the room and stayed silent as the woman bowed in front of Miss Lanz. After she had bowed, she couldn't help but look around the room, before looking at Lurai with confusion. The maid looked back towards Miss Lanz and lowered her head, as a request to speak.
"Speak." Lanz said as she rolled her eyes, "If you really must."
"I apologize, miss." The elven maid said abruptly, "but where is the child I am training?"
Lanz broke out into laughter as she shook her head towards the confused maid, "No child, but perhaps a similar challenge. This maid here has lost her memory and needs to be retained immediately." Lanz pointed at Lurai, "See to this immediately."
The elven maid looked back towards Lurai with bewilderment before turning back to Lanz with a lowered head. Lanz frowned intensely and rolled her eyes, "What?"
"It's just that the room I have prepared for training is meant more for a child to clean, miss." The elven maid said with a sense of regret in her voice.
"Is it impossible to clean the room as an adult?" Lanz stood up angrily from her chair.
"N—No, Miss." The elven maid said with a new sense of fear in her voice, "It's just that it might not be enough to satisfy you."
"Do my ears deceive me? A defiant elf?" Lanz's anger was becoming fiercer.
"N—No! Never, miss!" The fear was in this elven woman, but she didn't show it in other than her words.
"Just train her, Fara or your punishment will be decided from a guard rather than me." Lanz said shaking her head as she sat back down, "We will be going easy on this one today, and I would like to see her performing her normal duties later today."
Fara's eyes widened as she fell instantly into a low bow, "Y—Yes, Miss. I will perform this task to the best of my abilities."
"That's what I wanted to hear." Lanz said with a smile, "Now, be gone. I have things I need to do."
Fara, who was a similar height to Lurai, grabbed Lurai by the back of her head and forced her into a bow as Fara did the same. After the bow, Fara grabbed Lurai's wrist and quickly led her out of the room. The pulling on Lurai's wrist was firm and abrupt, but Lurai didn't want to be difficult, so she followed without a word.
Instantly, Lurai had an inkling of how this day would go as she felt the pain of walking hastily with heels on wooden floors. She consistently stumbled over her feet or twisted her ankle, and her saving grace was Fara's tight grip around her wrist, which kept her from falling. Lurai was sure that with every stumble she could hear Fara sigh faintly in slight annoyance, and this made sense to Lurai as children probably do the same thing.
The walk was a long one as Fara quietly led Lurai down multiple similar-looking hallways, up a winding stone staircase, and lastly into a large room with another handle-less door. There was no question that Lurai had no idea how she got there, but she felt that she will have to learn these hallways quickly; however, she was scared at the thought of that because of how big this place is. Opening the door with the same spell that Ramira had used earlier, they shuffled into the room and Fara finally released Lurai's wrist.
The room that they entered looked to be small living quarters, complete with a kitchen and bathroom; however, this room was different than the rest of the manor, as it had a white stone flooring with various rugs throughout and plain glass windows. The thing about this room is that it looked unlived in as if it was meant to be consistently dusty. In the middle of the room was a small table that sat to the left of the kitchen area, and to the right of that table rested a larger bed that seemed to take up a majority of the remaining space in the room. Lastly, to the far left, there was an open doorway that led to a small balcony.
As Lurai looked over these areas, she noticed that the kitchen had multiple dishes to be washed, the table was coated in cloths, the bed was untidy and sheets were laying on a rug near the edge of the bed, and clothes were hung from a thin rope that was tied to the walls outside on the balcony. Lurai smiled towards the other elf in the room, but Fara kept a tired gaze about her. Lurai went to speak but was immediately interrupted as Fara began talking loudly.
"I hope you can learn faster than a child." Fara said with a tired tone of voice, "It's a shame about your memory, but hopefully your muscles remember more than you do."
"I hope so too," Lurai said with a smile, which prompted Fara to raise an eyebrow.
"You understand that this will not be an easy job, right? You will always be working in this estate, and there will always be more to clean." Fara said sternly, "You will never stop to take a break, and any bathroom breaks must be approved during certain times of the day. If it is not within those times, you will have to wait no matter what."
"I understand." Lurai knew that this topic would be of concern at some point, but to hear it first took her by surprise. "Children must ask about the bathroom a lot." Lurai thought.
"We will practice the first rule of the household now, and I will explain all of them after this." Fara said as she took a straightened position with her hands folded in front of her thighs, "You will remain silent when being talked to, and you will always take this position when being addressed. For the training, you will be silent unless you have been granted permission to speak. "
Lurai immediately attempted to mimic the position that Fara had, and her face showed a slight disappointment. Fara came over to Lurai and looked over her for a moment. With abrupt force, Fara pushed Lurai's shoulders back further, pushed Lurai's feet together with a slight kick, and moved Lurai's face to look straightly onward.
"You are to set an example, and I will not be responsible for an older maid looking unprofessionally. You will be trained as swiftly as possible, or we will both be facing punishment for your actions. You may not remember it quite yet, but the master and employees of this estate do not take kindly to elves, so they will find any reason they can to punish us."
"I—" Lurai said before closing her mouth, which prompted Fara's eyes to widen in annoyance, and then Lurai lowered her head in a signal to speak.
"So, you remember the signal then. Good." Fara smiled but then frowned again, "You still managed to speak beforehand, and that would have been punished severely. Do better next time."
Lurai nodded slightly as she thought, "This is going to be a long day."