Mora's heart hammered in her chest, fear slowly creeping up her spine. 'Who is he?' she wondered, hoping that no one noticed how she was slowly panicking. The man glanced at her again, and her breath got stuck in her throat. He then gave a single nod to Claudia and made his way out through the manor's entrance.
The tension surrounding the hallway seemed to increase even after his departure, and Mora was mildly comforted by the fact that she wasn't the only one affected by his presence.
'Now that you have seen his lord, there are some things I must warn you about,' Claudia said, her face stern. 'There is a spell placed over this manor,' she started, staring at each individual maid. 'If you ever go outside and talk about his lord, then your memories will be wiped out,' she declared blankly.
'And not only your memories of this place,' she continued, her stare finding its way to Mora's face, 'but all of your memories.'
Something about the way Claudia looked at her caused the hair to raise at the back of her neck. Her shoulders tightened, and she swallowed harshly. 'Is that what happened to me?' she thought. Had she been an overzealous maid who went out and talked about their lord, causing her to lose all her memories? But then again, if that were true, why would Claudia allow her to work in the manor?
Different thoughts ran through her mind, and she was slowly starting to find it hard to breathe.
'Dismissed,' Claudia said suddenly, and the tension broke.
Taking in a huge gulp of air, she joined other maids and went back to her work, going over to where she had dropped her tools. She had come to this place to work and earn money, but now had discovered that this manor held the key to unlocking her memories. She was never interested in getting it back, but somehow fate had brought her to the place where she might find answers. She could only hide for so long.
***
Mora didn't know for how long she worked; her thoughts carried her all through her chores as she tried to convince herself to follow the thread fate had laid for her. The voice of the young master brought her out of her musing, and she looked up to see him coming down the hallway with his maid servants next to him, as usual.
She had just finished cleaning her side of the hallway, and as the young lord came closer, she and the other maids bowed to him at once.
'Good day, my lord,' they greeted.
He hummed in response, his answer making the maids nervous. He walked up to Mora and pointed at her.
'You, come with me.'
Mora looked up, startled. Though she had attended to him the previous night, Claudia's rule about them not engaging with any elite still rang in her head, even more so after seeing the lord of the manor. She already suspected herself of breaking the rule by working there. She couldn't afford to do it again.
She looked up at him, her face full of respect. Even though she was about to decline, she had to remember that he was an elite. He will not take too kindly to her refusing him. She had to tread carefully.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, a teasing glint passed through the young Lord's eyes, causing her words to get stuck in her throat. That was the first time since she had arrived that she saw the young lord in a playful mood. She was the one who had caused that change. His father was hardly ever around to attend to his son, and she couldn't find it in her heart to do the same to him either.
So, swallowing her words, she smiled and answered, 'Yes, my lord.'
A small grin appeared on his face, which quickly disappeared before anyone else could notice. He turned back around and began to walk down the hall he came from, his maids' servants following after him. Mora followed with her head bowed, and though her heart felt mushy at the excitement she saw in his eyes, she couldn't help the foreboding feeling that arose at the back of her mind.
He entered the kitchen, and immediately all the maids who were there bowed their heads in greeting.
'Leave,' he commanded, and one by one they began to leave. Petal was one of the maids who were working there, and as she walked out, she gave Mora a quizzical look. Mora smiled in return, shaking her head slightly.
Finally, it was just her, the young lord, and his two maid servants left in the room.
The young lord turned around to face them, but upon seeing his maid servants, a frown appeared on his face.
'I thought I ordered you to leave?' he said.
'My Lord,' they stammered, glancing at each other.
'Do not worry about me,' he said with a sigh, waving his hand away. 'I will behave, and she,' he looked at Mora, 'will be here to watch over me.'
The maidservants looked at each other again before bowing, acquiescing. They walked out of the kitchen, leaving Mora alone with him.
'My lord,' she greeted.
'Close the door behind you,' he ordered. Mora turned around and did as she was told. Once she was done, she turned around and found the young lord with a wide grin on his face.
'My lord,' she said, a smile also appearing on her face. 'Why have you called me here?'
'I want you to make something for me,' he began, bouncing around the kitchen. He finally took a seat by the side of the kitchen counter.
'My lord, I am not supposed to be seen associating with you.'
'Well, I ordered you to. Do you want to go against my orders?' he frowned slightly. 'You were not this fearful when you harassed me the other night.'
Mora bit her lip to stop herself from saying something that would only end up backfiring. She took in a deep breath, then sighed.
'Okay then. What do you want me to make for you?'
His eyes gleamed. 'This morning, I saw the maids eating something that looked like biscuits, only rougher. It smelled extremely wonderful,' he said with a sigh. 'But I just can't go ahead to ask them for it. It would ruin my image!' he huffed.
'That is why I asked for you. So you will do it for me.'
Mora's heart softened at the young lord's words. People kept forgetting that he was just a child, and certainly the act he was putting on of being mature had to tire him out. He cannot experience childhood like other children, and it was definitely a sad life to live.
Mora sighed, coming to a decision. Even though there was a high probability that it would backfire, at least she would be happy knowing that the young Fae lord got to experience a playful childhood, no matter how short, thanks to her.
'You are probably talking about cookies,' Mora said, walking over to the counter as she began to pull out pots and pans. 'You can say it's the commoners' way of making their own biscuits, as we do not have access to all the ingredients required to make an elite one.'
'But why does it seem way more delicious?' He asked, genuinely curious. He watched her as she arranged all the utensils she would need on the large counter and then searched the cupboards looking for flour and sugar.
'Because, my lord, while the elites watch their sugar intake, we do not share the same opinion as them,' she said, pouring flour into a sifting pan.
He frowned. 'Why do elites watch their sugar intake?'
Mora looked up at him and grinned mischievously. 'Because too much sugar rots the teeth.'
He seemed horrified for a bit, and then looked contemplative. He looked back at her, and with all seriousness said, 'But that would only happen to human elites.'
Mora couldn't help the laughter that burst out of her, holding her chest as she leaned against the counter.
'My lord,' she said finally after catching her breath, 'rotting teeth can happen to anybody.'
'Well, since it can, I might as well eat as much sugar as I can before it causes permanent damage to my teeth,' he said, proud of his reasoning. 'Besides, even if it does, my father can always look for a healer fae. Surely they would be able to take care of something as simple as a rotten tooth.'
Mora grinned, looking at the young lord adoringly. 'Yes, my lord.'
He watched her as she worked, both of them comfortable in their silence. At several points, he asked questions, wondering why she put in several ingredients and what their uses were for.
When she was finally done, and the cookies were baking in the brick oven, she turned around and faced the young lord with a smile on her face.
'Now we wait,' she said.
'You have not told me your name,' the young lord said suddenly.
'I go by Mora, my lord,' she answered, grinning. 'Short for Kamora.'
'Kamora?' The young lord repeated, his voice odd.
'Yes,' she replied, nodding her head. A strange look flashed through the young lord's eyes, and he looked away before she could make sense of what it was.