Everything, starting with the cuisine, differed from what Charmaine was used to seeing and experiencing back at the castle.
"Eat up; there isn't a maid in sight to feed you." Charlotte said once she'd completed her meal.
She'd made basic white rice and boiled a few pieces of meat she'd bought earlier, but she hadn't bothered to cook them properly like Charmaine was used to; after all, food was food no matter how it was cooked, according to Charlotte.
Charmaine was hungry, but the meal in front of her looked and tasted so different from what she was used to that she had lost interest.
"I'm not hungry." She made a false statement.
"Really?" Charlotte inquired, her arms folded against her chest and her gaze falling on the small girl.
"I know you're hungry, but you won't eat because it tastes weird, so here's the deal, baby girl: you have to get used to the way things are here." Charlotte continued with her speech.
"Get ready to go to the market with me." Before returning to her room to change her clothing, she stated.
She'd never been to a market before, so everything was new to her.
"How much are we going to spend?" As she strained to keep up with Charlotte's lengthy strides, Charmaine inquired. Charlotte's strides were longer than Charmaine's, who was only a youngster, because she was an adult and a tall one at that.
"And who told you that the main reason people go to the market is to buy things?" Charlotte responded with a question.
"Then why are we here?" Charmaine had inquired.
"For a five-year-old, you have a lot of questions." That was all Charlotte said before they turned a corner and came to a halt by a rice vendor.
The individual who sat there was an older man.
"Edoso!" When Charlotte shouted out, the man gently rose from his wooden stool and walked up to them.
Unlike the other sellers, who were bustling with activity, this stall was deserted, with no one stopping by to buy from the man.
"Hello, Charlotte," Edoso, the older man, responded.
"We've come to buy the nicest rice you have since I'm expecting a special visitor." Charlotte mentioned something that drew Charmaine's attention.
"I see you have a child." Before turning to pick up a clean bag to place the rice Charlotte was buying, Edoso made a remark.
"She's a distant relative's niece." Charlotte was the one who responded.
"Can you tell me how many kilograms of rice you want today?" Edoso questioned without saying anything more concerning Charmaine.
"Five is a good number." Charlotte answered and was ready to turn around and go after purchasing the rice when the man spoke up.
"Have you heard about the new items that have been delivered to the downtown area? They're currently for sale, and if you go there, you might find what you're looking for." ", said the man.
Charlotte gave him a sidelong glance and then walked away without saying anything else.
Charmaine, on the other hand, was unsure whether they were going to buy the products that the older man had mentioned.
"Can you tell me where we're going?"
"To see what they have downtown. If you get separated from me, I won't be able to find you since I don't have the time to look for you."
She was curious about that place but that did not mean that she would go wandering about. Whatever Charlotte was worrying about was of no use.
Charlotte then came to a halt, as if she had remembered something. She took Charmaine's hand in hers and began walking again, but this time more quickly than before.
She had no intention of taking the small girl downtown. It was preferable if she stayed at home, safe from harm's path, while Charlotte went forth on her own.
"How are we going to get there?"
"Home."
"However, why?"
"Shut up," she said. Charlotte grumbled.
"Where I'm headed isn't a kid's playground." It's a hazardous area. It would be best if you stayed here and awaited my arrival." When they arrived at Charlotte's house, she whispered something.
She squatted down to the same eye level as Charmaine, putting on her cloak and putting it on.
"Promise me that you won't leave the house no matter what." Charlotte said, while holding the little girl's forearm.
Charmaine looked at the woman, was she this worried about her wandering about that she had to bring her back to the house?
"Please take me with you, I promise I won't be a bother." She swore, but Charlotte was not having it.
"No you have to stay here for your own safety. Stay here, okay?" Charlotte said before standing up and walking out of the house, but before that, she made sure that she had locked the door behind her.
Charmaine looked around, there was no way that she was going to stay there all by herself in total boredom.
There was only one thing that she could do and that was to follow Charlotte. She had locked the door so, Charmaine could not use that as a way of passage.
Looking over at where the kitchen was, she saw the open window, small enough for her to fit through.
Quickly, she climbed on top of the table that was placed against the wall close to the window and tried her best to climb up through it.
Now jumping over to the other side was the issue because of the distance. She was afraid that she would hurt herself and if Charlotte found out, she would be in trouble.
But blame it on her curiousity. Now that she wasn't under the watchful eyes of the maidservants and her parents, she was free to wander around and venture about the way she pleased.
After climbing up and having her legs over the other side of the window, she figured out that the only safe way for her to do this, was to close her eyes and jump over, this way, she wouldn't see the distance between her and the ground.