Chapter 7
The King
"Right, you made the better decision to work here. Working here is good, too; let's hope we won't be chosen as their slaves. It's really terrible." Cattie agreed with what Maddie had said. Mrs. O'Neil already mentioned that matter to Ara, so she knew what to do. She just needed to avoid getting noticed by those higher persons in position.
"Do you already know that, Ara?" She nodded her head. "Yeah, Mrs. O'Neil told me yesterday," Ara answered in a low voice.
"Oh, great. That's better for you to be aware. Staying here without knowing the simple rules is hard." Right, without knowing those it will be harder to understand a certain situation. Ara was hoping, she wished that nothing would happen that might ruin her plan.
Ara glanced at them. They were walking upstairs now. "I was wondering, how long have you two been working here?" she asked them out of curiosity. Cattie looked at her, "I think I've already mentioned it, but I'll repeat it for you. I've been working here for almost four years now. I was twenty at that time; luckily, Mrs O'Neil hired me even though I don't have a lot of experience." Ara nodded to acknowledge her answer.
"I worked here almost four years, too; Cattie and I were childhood friends." Oh, I see, a childhood friend. Ara thought. She nodded once again. "Quite a long time of serving them, can I ask again?" Cattie sign her to continue.
"Sure, ask right away."
"Working here for a long time, encountering those persons in higher positions is possible. Why, until now, weren't the two of you chosen by any of them?" She asked. The two girls looked into each other, and then, later on, they smiled.
"Is it because of Mrs. O'Neil," Maddie answered. Ara stared at them confusedly, "Why?"
"Because of her, they can't choose us. We are under her protection." That makes Ara confused even more. Cattie chuckled and tapped her shoulder when she saw her expression.
"Let me explain it to you: Mrs. O'Neil has the authority given by the King itself. It's her perk of becoming the head of maids. She was given just three chances to choose whomever she wanted to protect from becoming a slave." Ara nodded when she realised what she was saying.
"We are grateful for what she did; I remember three years ago… a knight wanted me to be his slave, but I refused; I almost faced death that time, but thanks to her, I escaped death," Maddie said too. This is one of the reasons why they were close to Mrs. O'Neil; they owed their freedom to her.
"Me too, in my first month, I encountered the bitch. I made eye contact with her accidentally, and I didn't expect her to get furious. I went on a trial because of that small thing; that was the first time I saw the king. They ask me what I would choose, becoming her slave or death; how can I choose? Like heck? death and being her slave were the same." Cattie tell her story, too. I get why she hated the girl so much, Ara murmured.
"So, Mrs. O'Neil helped the two of you. Does that mean she still has one favour, or has she used it all already?" Cattie shook her head. Mrs O'Neil didn't mention this matter to her yesterday. She said she doesn't have much authority to stop slavery.
"After so many years, she still hasn't used that one last chance to choose. I think she will use that if it is really necessary and mandatory." Ara nodded slowly. Well, it's hard to choose whom you'll help for the last time.
"Anyway, we're here now. Let's start doing our job before the concubines will wake up. It will be hard for us to clean this wide and huge place." Maddie said. Right, they were on the third floor now.
"Some of them were messy and having fun of us when we were cleaning. They intentionally put dirt on the floor, scattering garbage, which is really annoying. This is why I hate cleaning this area." Cattie commented.
Oh, that's terrible and pretty annoying indeed. Ara let out a sigh and got the mop inside the bucket, and before she started cleaning, she looked at the two of them and smiled. "Let's start cleaning now, then?" the two of them nodded and smiled as well.
The three of them mopped the floor of the hallway until it became shiny and clean. They were just assigned to clean the corridor, not per room; the concubine's slaves would do it. The next part they cleaned was the windows.
After a few hours, they were almost done. They were currently cleaning the furniture, luxurious vases and paintings. While wiping the dirt on the paintings, Cattie and Maddie were talking. Ara just silently listened to their conversation.
"I heard that the prince will visit here next week, and Sir Nicolas will come back after accomplishing his mission," Maddie said in a low tone, just enough for Ara to hear. The prince? Sir Nicolas? Who are they?
"Really? I thought Sir Nic would come back this morning?" Maddie gave her a meaningful look.
"Sir Nic, huh, you gave him a nickname?" she teases her. Cattie gave her a warning look, "Don't me, Maddie. Even our name sounds like I won't hesitate to murder you." That causes Maddie to laugh hard. Ara bit her inner lip to avoid smiling; right, she just noticed it now; their name really sounded alike.
Maddie and Cattie. Well, Maddie's full name is Madelyn, while Cattie is Catalina. Ara thought they just added 'ie' at the end of their first name. Well, never mind. She shrugged that idea in her mind and focused on cleaning.
"Just kidding, Cat. Don't be defensive, okay? You should admit that you have a huge crush on him." Maddie continues to tease her.
"Argh, stop it, Maddie. That's not really funny, and I don't have a crush on him!" she exclaimed. Ara couldn't focus, so she glanced at the two. She saw Cattie murdering her friend on her mind. Ara leaned on the wall while amusedly watching them.
But she stopped smiling when she felt something; the presence was very much familiar. There were a lot of people coming closer in their direction; Ara stood straight and walked closer to Madelyn and Cat.
Ara looked around, and at the end of the hallway, she saw a group of men walking. Maddie and Cat stopped arguing and looked at that spot, too. Ara saw how their face paled. They can't even move. What's happening? She looked at the man walking with much power and authority.
Madelyn and Catalina kneel on the floor, even though that person is still far away. There, Ara was left standing with a great confusion in her mind. Although, her face remains expressionless. Cattie pulled her hand to kneel, too, before that person could see her standing.
"What are you doing? Kneel. You don't want to lose your head, right?" Cattie's voice was trembling in fear. If this man can make them act this way, that does mean this man is powerful. The realisation hit her; this man coming closer to their direction was the King himself.
"It was the king," Maddie murmured in fear.