It had been a few days since Charmaine and Charlotte had returned from the market, and Charlotte was filling her new orders.
Charlotte would be lying if she said she was unconcerned about the monarchy. It had been two weeks and there had been no news from them.
Furthermore, she had observed a few weather variations here and there that she thought were out of the ordinary.
It was springtime, her favorite season since flowers bloomed around this period.
She was a flower person and seeing a paltry amount of snow here and there in fields where few people stepped foot worried her about what was going on in the palace.
Charlotte turned to gaze at Charmaine, who was playing with a wooden toy sword Jin had given her a few days before.
She didn't at all appear joyful. Charmaine wasn't happy either, and the fact that the royal family hadn't given her any updates just made her feel worse.
She had a lot going on in her life at the moment, and the last thing she needed was to pull Charmaine down her chaotic path. Charlotte decided.
She would visit the palace to learn more about the royals and to find out when Charmaine would return so that she could carry on with her life.
Why did the royal family choose her to care for their daughter out of all the people in the kingdom and their palace? She wondered as she pondered the situation.
They weren't even that close, after all.
Their connection wasn't very close because they were only business partners.
The enormous amount of gold had rendered her blind when the royals had summoned her to the palace and requested her to take their daughter.
She definitely couldn't take care of this spoilt brat who also didn't want anything to do with her.
'What if something terrible happened to the royal couple? What am I going to do with this child? I can't possibly leave this kid to face the same fate as my little brother....' Charlotte thought to herself as she returned her gaze to Charmaine before cleaning the wax she was working with and packaging the candles she had previously made and let to dry.
"What would you like to have for dinner?" Charlotte broke the silence by asking the little girl's opinion on what she wanted for dinner. Charmaine raised her head, giving Charlotte a harsh look as though the elder lady had disturbed her peace.
"Don't give me that expression. If you don't want to eat, say so." Charlotte responded before heading to the fire pit to add a couple more logs to the already blazing fire so she could begin cooking.
She baked bread and prepared mushroom soup to go with it. She needed to pack a loaf or two of bread for her trip the next day.
"Dinner is ready; come quickly before it gets cold." Charlotte invited the small girl to join her for supper.
It took Charmaine a few moments to accept that she was hungry and that, despite her dislike of Charlotte, she needed to eat, and thus, she joined Charlotte at the table and they ate in silence.
******
"I know you're upset with me, but I'm concerned and need your assistance." Charlotte remarked this as she looked at Edoso, who had his back towards her.
He didn't want to talk to her following their altercation at the market a few days before.
"I'll give you a few gold coins to cover her expenses until I get back." Charlotte went on to say that she hoped this offer would attract the man... It had worked on her, so she figured it would work on the old guy as well.
They both needed money and had to work extra hard to get it. She hoped Edoso would agree to this, seeing that he needed the money as badly as she did.
"Do you think you can pay me off as the royal couple paid you off?" Edoso inquired, carefully turning to face her.
Charlotte was feeling anxious, and the last thing she wanted was another quarrel with Edoso. She had Charmaine in her arms, wrapped in a large blanket, to shield her from the bitter cold that night.
"Please don't let your rage blind you in this way. I know the royal couple massacred our people and they're still pursuing us, but are we going to repay them with brutality?" Charlotte inquired.
"Yes!" The stern retort from Edoso was heard. "After all, tit for tat is a fair game."
Charlotte gazed at Edoso as their gazes locked for a moment. She looked into his eyes, hoping to find the love and tranquility that this guy carried deep inside his heart, but all she saw was bitterness and wrath.
She had hoped that Edoso would agree to let Charmaine remain with him for a day or two while she went to the royal castle to check on the royal couple and see whether it was safe for Charmaine to return home.
She believed this was the only solution since she trusted Edoso more than anyone else in the village and he was the only qualified person she'd leave Charmaine with.
She obviously couldn't travel with Charmaine on this trip, or else she wouldn't have bothered Edoso.
But the princess's life was in jeopardy, and she couldn't go on this voyage with her since she would imperil the girl's life. She was also too little to be left alone to care for herself until Charlotte returned.
The only option was to leave her with Edoso.
"She is only a child and does not know what her parents are doing. She does not know of our world." Charlotte tried once more.
She had to persuade him to do her this favor.
"If they left the girl under your care, let them come back when they've finished their business. Why bother troubling yourself by going there to check on them?" Edoso inquired.
"I simply need to know whether everything is well so the princess may return home." Charlotte responded, her forehead wrinkled with anxiety and a hint of panic.