Charlotte's POV
"Do you notice these weeds growing amid the flowers?" I inquired of her.
She raised her gaze to where I was pointing with my fingers, then nodded in agreement.
"I want you to remove the weeds by pulling them up by the roots." I said.
I knew the earth was soft enough for her gentle hands to perform such effort since I watered the flowers every day.
"Go on. I'm keeping tabs on you." I commented, but she made no move.
"Where are the gardening gloves, Auntie?" Charmaine inquired.
Wait what? Did she just refer to me as 'Auntie'?
"What exactly did you say?" I inquired.
She looked up at me from where she was standing next to me.
"I inquired about gardening gloves." She responded.
"No, not that," I said.
"I asked Auntie..." Her voice was hesitant as she responded.
She was worried I would punish her even more for calling me Auntie.
So I was going to. She had no right to call individuals she knew nothing about "Auntie."
But I wasn't going to do it now because of those lovely eyes staring up at me. Those innocent-filled kid eyes melted my brick heart to jelly.
I turned away from her "There are no gardening gloves in this house. You do your task with your bare hands." I said.
The gardening gloves I had were too big for her and wouldn't be of any use to her.
Nonetheless, only the wealthy utilized gardening gloves when tending to their gardens.
The slaves and the majority of the locals here worked with their bare hands, and this tiny boy had to know that.
Things were not the same here as they had been in the palace.
And she had to adjust to the way things were here.
"Won't it be painful?" She inquired. I could see her peering at her tiny, pudgy hands through my peripherals.
"Because it hurts. That's why it's called punishment." I responded.
"You'd best hurry up or you'll go to bed hungry tonight." I added.
She glanced at me with sadness before taking those modest steps towards the flowers to begin her penance.
I stood there for a few minutes, watching her try to pick the weeds. There weren't many weeds because I weeded them every day while watering them, thus the weeds that were there were small saplings that had escaped my eye but no longer did.
It was clear that she had never worked before. She was the princess, for crying out loud, and as a five-year-old, it was evident that she was constantly treated like an egg.
She did not know how things were done, but she had plenty of time to learn.
"That's a herb, you stupid cat!" I yelled as I noticed her attempting to pick out one herb I mouth.
"Remove that filthy hand from your lips." The last thing I wanted was a sick child, I added.
She swiftly let go of her hand and turned to face me.
"What exactly are you waiting for? Proceed with your task!" I remarked .
She stumbled to another section of the flowers to finish her task.
I went back to the house leisurely to cook dinner. I was going to prepare some of the rice we had bought at the market earlier. As a stew, I'd add some veggies.
I didn't want to leave her alone with my flowers since I was concerned she'd uproot all my plants because she understood nothing about herbs and their many varieties.
'Perhaps I should have given her another type of punishment?' I was thinking to myself.
'No, this is the only penalty that suits her,' I thought again.
"I'm done with the punishment, Auntie." From behind me, she said.
Who had given her authority to address me as such? Hadn't I introduced myself and informed her my name before?
From where I was, I sighed. I was standing near the window, where I had been watching her the entire time.
It was now nearly dark, and the cold was getting colder by the second.
"Wash your hands, supper is ready." I said.
I turned around when I heard no movement and saw her standing there staring at me.
"What is it?" I inquired.
"Aren't you going to go over to my work? When the maids finish their duties at the palace, mother typically checks it." She stated.
"No, I'm not going," I said.
"Go wash." I said it again.
All I wanted to do was eat, shower, and sleep since the commute to and from the palace, my trips to the market and black market, and caring for this youngster were all weighing on me.
"Where am I going to wash?" she wondered. She inquired.
I sighed once more.
"I do not know how to wash." In a low voice, she said. "Will-will you please wash me?" She inquired, her voice even lower.
Children are a curse.
Why do they have to be so innocent and cute? I didn't want to give in, but I didn't have an option.
"Come with me." As I walked by the fireplace, where there was an enormous pot on the fire, I informed her that.
I carefully removed some hot water with a big bowl and poured it into a basin. I used some cold water from my tiny water collection to chill it down to warm.
Because the river and dam were far away, I had to get extra water ahead of time and store it so that I wouldn't have to go to the water source every day.
I carried the basin to one of the corners of the room and assisted her in stripping off her clothing before washing her little body.
Before feeding her dinner, I clothed her in some of the clothing her parents had given me and brushed her hair.
I observed her eating and, before long, she fell asleep.
After I had put her to bed, I undressed down and washed. I had eaten as well, so I went to bed after showering and applying some ointment on my body.