Chapter 3
Orientation
"This is obviously the ground floor of the palace. This place consisted of six floors with two hundred and sixty-five rooms in total. One-hundred fifty rooms for guesses, if there's an event here at the palace, one hundred rooms for the helpers, like us, the gardeners and so on. And lastly, fifteen special rooms for the king's concubine." She stated. I see the king's concubines were accepting special treatment here, huh? Ara thought lifelessly.
Well, it's not surprising at all, they were chosen by the king so it was just normal to have that kind of life here. Ara shrugged off and looked at the place in front of her. In the doorway, she saw four warriors guarding the area. Oh, she didn't saw them a while ago, or she just doesn't noticed them?
Weird, she murmured.
"Ara?" Arabella pursed her lips as she glanced over at Mrs. O'Neil when she heard her call her name.
"Yes?" The woman signed and bowed her head. She looked at her confusedly, so Mrs. O'Neil signed her to look behind, so she did. She saw a beautiful woman with a lot of maids behind her approaching. Who is this girl?
Before she could be seen, Mrs. O'Neil grabbed her hand and forced her to bow.
"I believe you don't want to get fired on your first day." Fired on my first day? I haven't even started. Ara murmured, but Paula heard it.
"That's the situation, you didn't even started, so follow what I tell to you if you wanted to stay here. You have a lot of things to learn." Ara nodded her head in understanding. She felt that the lady had walked in their direction.
Mr. O'Neil raised her head as she did, too. She traced the lady's direction, and the only thing she saw was her red hair. A memory flashed in to her head, "If you saw a red head girl with a lot of make up in her face, stay the hell away from her. She's a living nightmare, really worse." Ara nodded her head slowly. She understood now why Mrs. O'Neil acted that way when she saw the lady.
That lady was the king's favourite, the first concubine. Ara couldn't help but wonder if she was the king's favourite and why he still had a lot of concubines. Is she not enough? Maybe the king isn't contented with her, how pity.
"She's Alyssa Malcolm, the king's fav—"
"King's favourite concubine, yeah, Cattie already mentioned that to me earlier." The woman looked at her.
"Oh, you knew. I have no wonder, Cattie couldn't help but to talk and talk and talk again." Ara nodded in agreement. So, she's right about her first impression of Cattie. She's really a warm and talkative person. Mrs O'Neil shrugged, "Anyway, just stay the hell away from her if possible. And if you ever meet her in the hallway, just bow your head and don't make a mistake. I believe Cattie already mentioned that she's a living nightmare." Ara nodded again.
"Yes, she did. Don't worry, I won't do something that might catch her attention. I wanted to stay here in order to stay alive." Mrs O'Neil nodded her head and smiled. She tapped Ara's shoulder before signing her to start the orientation again.
"We will continue our business a while ago. As I'm saying, this place is really huge. Free food and shelter, but you need to work hard." Ara already knew that, life is hard, you won't survive if you don't work hard.
"I do understand, Madam." Mrs O'Neil nodded her head and answered well. Ara was just listening attentively as they walked around the ground floor. "The places that can be seen here are the royal kitchen, the library, and the swimming pool." The woman said while walking in the tall and large hallway, Ara isn't sure where they are going.
"Can I ask something, Mrs. O'Neil?"
"Sure, ask." Ara nods before asking.
"I'm curious. What will be my work here?"
"Oh, about that. You'll help Cattie, Maddie and the other maids in cleaning daily the guest rooms on the fourth and fifth room. But sometimes, you will help the gardeners to water the plants. Also," Mrs. O'Neil paused.
"Also?..." Ara asked.
"Also, if you'll be chosen by those persons in higher position to work for them, you can say no." She continued.
"And that does mean?..."
"That's actually worst work here; if you are chosen, you'll be their slaves. That was the thing I didn't really want, but that's the rule here that you need to follow as you enter." Slaves? That is actually absurd.
"To be clearer, you saw those maids following Lady Alyssa like puppets right?" Ara nodded her head.
"Their fate and life were in her hand, they were chosen by her, of course with the king's permission. The king was the law and rules here."
"So, that does mean, they will work for her forever?" Mrs. O'Neil nodded her head sadly.
"That's crazy," Ara commented.
"Right, very much crazy. I wish I could do something to stop it. We are maids, not slaves. We live too; we are not their puppets to control and abuse." Ara looked at her.
"You're in a high position, too, the majordomo. I believe you have power here, too, right?" The woman shook her head.
"I don't have really. I'm just commanding all of the helpers here. Yes, I have the title of the majordomo, but that's not enough. My position is lower than the concubines." Ara nodded in understanding.
"That's a pity." She thought this place was full of discrimination and hardship.
"Is there a possible way that those persons whom been enslaved by the concubines or any higher position will free themselves?" Ara asked once again.
"Yeah, there is. Two options." Ara looked at her to see her reaction. Her face saddened even more.
"And what might those two options be?"
"First, will be set free in the king's command. Or…" She paused once again.
"Or?..."
"Death, You'll be set free if you choose death." Ara fell silent upon hearing the word "death."
I guest, earning the king's word to set a person free is hard, so there's no choice at all. Ara thought deeply. This place can be paradise and a nightmare.
"That's unfortunate."
"Right. Shall we move on now?" Ara nodded her head.
"Let's go to our next destination, the second floor." They walked upstairs, in the hallway on the second floor, and they saw maids cleaning the window and furniture.
"Does this place need to be cleaned twenty-four seven?" Ara asked again.
"Of course, all of us don't want a nasty place." Good point.
"But, of course, dear. All of us, the helpers, had vacant time. We don't need to overwork; as long we finished doing our task, we can rest." She continued.
"Oh, that's what I want to hear," Ara mumbled and smiled slightly, which made Mrs. O'Neil look at her. This was the first time she saw her lips form a curl.
She noticed that Ara doesn't frequently smile, which is odd. This girl probably has a harder life than she thought. Mrs. O'Neil pity her for losing her parents, she felt that this child needed help and affection. The woman doesn't know why she's treating her good so far, she's not like this when it comes to new comers.
This girl is something new, she whispered.