At that critical moment, Lin Sanjiu felt herself waking up from a bed of prickly straws. Faint light entered her eyes and before she could react to the changes, she jumped up, and dried straw fell off her body noisily. Cinderella was startled by her sudden action.
"What’s wrong?" Cinderella asked kindly. The maiden’s face and hands were covered with black soot, "You had a nightmare?"
"Me… Ah, yes." Lin Sanjiu blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to bring her senses back from the old cottage with the heavy rain and the barking dogs. It took her a few seconds to recover before looking out of the window. It was still dark outside and a crescent moon was in the sky. There wasn’t even a hint of impending rain.
"What time is it now?" Lin Sanjiu calmed her breathing and looked at Cinderella, a little confused, "Why are you still working at this time?"
