The day was fair, but Bachiko's face wouldn't get any darker. Elder Cant had the weirdest teaching ideas; for the past few months they were starting hard at a bucket of water, and just when she thought they would be taught proper spell casting, he handed them over to the head servant to instil 'patience' in them. Mtcheww! She slapped the bucket she had been using to clean in anger, and it rolled away, splashing dirty water everywhere. The head servant rushed in, looking flushed, and dabbed away sweat from her brows.
Bachiko couldn't help but give her a once-over; it was very clear what kind of activity would have her flustered and tired so early in the afternoon. She pulled her twin sister to the mess she made. "Clean this up, and you—" she said to her, "draw up a clean bucket of water." She grudgingly trudged her way to a nearby well and laboriously threw the attached pail to draw up water. What about mooncakes and red wine? No sane restaurant owner would serve thirteen-year-old wine, but then the mooncakes were not served either. Okay, Elder Cant was sipping wine, but it was clearly fruit juice; otherwise, Agnes couldn't have snatched it from him. Was it some kind of secret code? Bachiko sighed. She was probably thinking too much. She swiftly filled up the pail and returned.
Esumi had already finished the work assigned to both of them and was currently receiving the head servant's praise. Her twin sister's temperament had undergone some changes; she was no longer the 'haughty to lower class, timid to higher class' kind of person. She was firmer and a bit bolder, but she was still too optimistic, and now she had turned into a people-pleaser. Bachiko peeked at Esumi's hands, then looked at her own; a month of hard labour had callused her palms, but her twin's were still smooth and delicate. She clenched her hands into fists.
The head servant took them to the second lever of the Tower per Elder Cant's request; he must consider their labour done. He inclined his head at a cup of water and said, "There are many ways to use magic; when working with elements, one must be close to them for one's spell to be effective."
He snapped his finger, and the water rose out of the cup and disintegrated into the atmosphere. Little by little, every single molecule of water was extracted from the atmosphere and returned to the cup. "Now, do you care to try it?" he asked as he pushed the cup towards them.
Bachiko was the first to try; she initially cleared her thoughts and focused on the water. After two minutes, she was able to lift just a drop of water out of the cup, but in a moment of exhaustion, the water drop fell to the ground, and she collapsed, sweating profusely. She looked up at Cant and caught a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes, but it disappeared quickly. She once again clenched her hands into fists, the feel of the calluses on her palms fueling her anger. The drop of water that splashed onto the ground collected itself and returned to the cup in an excruciatingly slow manner. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she turned back to find Esumi with drips of sweat on her forehead, but she was in no way as mentally exhausted as she was.
Elder Cant revealed a rare smile of satisfaction. "Each elder has their own way of training mental fortitude, and it is rare to find one who can endure my humiliating way of training and still capture the essence of it; child," he patted her twin's head, "you have walked hard. Take the other one with you; she is not done with her training."
Bachiko immediately held onto Esumi as the head servant made to grab her. Cant placed a hand on her twin's shoulder, which seemed to root her in place, but he did not silence her screaming voice as she was pried away from her sister. She was dragged out of the second level of the tower feeling indignant, and unbeknownst to her, a seed of hatred towards her younger twin was beginning to sprout in her heart.
Outside the tower, a bald man stood with a cloaked but younger man behind him. He beckoned to the head servant, and she went over obediently.
"Is she still undergoing her mental training?" the bald man asked with his eyes on her. The head servant nodded, and the bald man clicked his tongue: "That boy is stubbornly sticking to the demeaning practices of Goldreach. How about this? Let me take this girl off your hands."
The head servant was tempted but couldn't help but hesitate; the bald man was an elder of the Fleetwood faction, and it was no secret that Fleetwood and Goldreach were at loggerheads. Leaving the girl with the elder would implicate her once it was known. The bald man gave her a knowing smile and signalled the cloaked man behind him. The cloaked man stepped forward and handed the head servant a pouch.
"I can't begin to understand how much you have suffered, taking care of us and our numerous apprentices; it must have been hard on you." The bald man offered a few kind words as the head servant verified the contents of the pouch.
"Of course not, it is my duty," the head servant smiled, satisfied with the contents of the pouch, "but—"
The bald man silenced her by taking her hands in his and saying, "It is but a small token of appreciation; you are just doing your job."
The head servant, understanding that to mean that she was absolved of all responsibilities in this issue, bowed in gratitude and said, "Thank you, elder Cornish." She leapt away with joy, leaving behind a resentful Bachiko. The cloaked man passed the bald man a handkerchief to wipe his hands with and grabbed her in a single motion. The bald man schooled his features after wiping his hands furiously and said to her, "I will readdress your grievances; I will even take from her to give you if you are obedient."
Bachiko was resentful, yet she didn't want harm to befall her sister. The bald man's offer was too good to be true; Agnes offered to be her friend too, but look how it turned out. The bald man shook his head in disappointment. Everyone was just brimming with disappointment today.
"Take her to the garden," the bald man said to the cloaked man. "It's time we gave the boy some company."
The cloaked man bowed and said, "Yes, master."