Eve sat in the room, staring at the cracked wall as she waited for her mother to return. Going to the door, she slowly opened the door and put her head out to take a peek at the corridor. But her mother was nowhere in sight.
Though she was used to her mother leaving her for long hours, today, in particular, seemed longer, and her hand clutched the side of her dress. She wanted to step out of the room and look for her mother, but she didn't do it as her mother had told her not to leave the room and go anywhere. To wait for her, and she did just that.
Closing the door, she sat back on the floor. But as minutes passed, her legs started to tingle and ache. She shifted her legs from one side to another in discomfort. She could feel her legs trying to stick to each other, trying to be one.
Suddenly the door burst open, and her mother appeared with her eyes wide.
"Eve!" Rebecca moved to where her daughter was, and she hugged her.
"Mama... my legs feel strange," complained the little girl, and the woman quickly looked at Eve's legs that showed blue and gold scales on her skin.
"Come my child. It is time for your bath," Rebecca picked up Eve in her arms, and she used her other hand to pick up the jar of salt.
There was still time, told the woman to herself.
Leaving the room behind, she walked through the corridors while making sure no one saw them. Climbing up the stairs, she walked past the guest rooms. By the time she reached the end of the corridor, scales started to appear on the lower half of the little girl's body.
Taking a quick look at the other side of the corridor, Rebecca quickly entered the guest room and placed her daughter in the bathtub. She turned the faucet to start the water running, ready to pour the salts into the bath, when she noticed only a few drops of water fell.
Rebecca tapped the head of the faucet, hoping for water to flow out, but all in vain. In slight panic, she rubbed her forehead and said to Eve, "I will be back soon. Don't make any noise until I return, okay?"
And the woman quickly dashed out of the room after making sure there was no one walking in the corridor. Eve stayed there for two minutes before her mother burst through the door to get her.
Her mother picked her up in her arms as Eve couldn't walk in her current state. Leaving the room behind, her mother carried her to another room and placed her in the bathtub, filled with water. Salts were quick to be thrown in the water, but the scales on Eve's legs didn't disappear immediately.
"It might take some time," murmured Rebecca to herself.
During this time, back in the servant's quarters, the butler walked into the now deserted corridor. He came to stand in front of one room and knocked on the door. His Master had given him money that was supposed to be handed to the woman for pleasing him for the last two days. He knocked again. When there was no response, he pushed the door open to only be greeted at the emptiness.
The butler's eyes narrowed, and he turned his head to look in the direction he had come.
Turning his body, he started to walk, ready to catch the woman and her daughter who were possibly waiting to steal something from this manor.
"Did you see the woman and a little girl here?" The butler questioned one of the servants who was in the hall.
"I didn't," the servant shook his head.
"If you find them, come to me immediately," ordered the butler, but he wasn't going to rest until he found them.
The butler walked up the stairs, and he looked through every room. When he was walking past one of the rooms, he heard a light splashing of water, and his eyebrows furrowed. As he approached, his footsteps were gentle enough not to alert the thieves on the other side of the door.
Carefully, he pushed the door open, craning his neck to look inside the room. The butler was ready to call out the lowly woman, where his parted lips only fell wide open on what he saw in the tub. He saw the little girl's legs shimmer like a jewel.
"I-It can't be!" the butler whispered to himself.
These things had gone extinct years ago, and it had been many years since he had heard of one existing, lest looking at one. His hand clutched the edge of the door, and he quickly left the room to inform his Master about it!
Inside the guest room, the scales on Eve's skin finally disappeared, and she noticed her mother pour some more salts into the bathtub.
"Mama?"
"Yes, my dear?" Responded Rebecca while she moved her hand in the water.
"What colour is your tail?" came Eve's curious question.
Rebecca managed to smile even though she was anxious, "I do not have one." Eve turned sad at her mother's answer, and her mother said, "God made you special, Eve. Very special."
"You are special to me," replied Eve, and at the same time, the little girl's legs returned. Rebecca sighed before leaning in and kissing her daughter's head.
"And you to me. Let me dry you and get back to our room before someone catches us," said Rebecca, helping Eve out and drying her up. She helped Eve wear her clothes.
When she tried to pull the drain stopper, it was stuck. Why wasn't it coming out? She tried to use more force while pulling the chain, but it refused to come out. The water continued to be held in the bathtub with the salts that she had poured. She couldn't leave it like this, because it would be proof that someone was here, and the butler had already caught them yesterday.
At the same time, she didn't want Eve to get into trouble. She didn't mind if it was just her, but not her daughter. She decided to leave the room and come back for it later.
On the way to the servant's quarters, somewhere, Rebecca felt her conscience prick her mind. That she would soon be caught, and the money she had earned for the last two days, it would be denied. At the same time there would be questions of why she was using the guest rooms.
Reaching near the servant's quarters, the woman bent down to level herself with her daughter and said,
"You know where our room is, right? Go there straight and wait for me. I will be there soon."
Little Eve stared at her mother, because she had hoped her mother would stay with her, but she was leaving her again.
Rebecca saw the anxious look in Eve's blue eyes and she hugged her, "I just need to pull the drain stopper from the bathtub and I will tell you a story once I am back." She pulled back, and offered a smile.
And though the woman smiled, there was an uncertainty hanging in the air. She didn't want to leave her daughter alone again. Not at this hour at least. But this was something that had to be done.
"Go now," Rebecca softly urged her daughter. Seeing Eve starting to walk in the corridor towards the room, she tore her gaze away and headed up to the guest room.
Having walked in here just three times in her mother's company, Eve confused her room with another, pushing the doorknob of another servant's room.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?! Get out of here!" Demanded a male voice, and Eve quickly closed the door, hearing something crash on the other side of the door. She took a couple of steps backwards for her back to hit the wall.
Eve clutched her hand, looking left and right, unsure of where her room was. She waited in the corridor for a couple of minutes before deciding to look for her mother. With the time being close to midnight, most lights had been blown out, leaving only some of the main ones in the hall and corridors.
The servants who walked on the other side didn't notice her, with her being small. When she found the stairs, her little feet climbed it.
"Mama?" Eve called her mother softly.