Meia did not have time to really read anything, but at least to get an overview. She took her glass with her and strolled along the shelves, starting from the left. Here and there she pulled out a book, skimmed the synopsis and put it back again. Every now and then she drank a sip.

A blanket lay ready by the fireplace on the sofa. On the table of the armchair next to it was a reading lamp.

~In winter it is certainly good to read here. Although Mr. Monet had sounded as if he was not here in the winter.

At the end, she took a narrow staircase to the circular walkway to the top. There were many ladders, but this staircase was the only one.

Once at the top, she looked at everything here as well.

It seemed that all the books from here on were non-fiction. A novel or something similar could no longer be found.

When Meia arrived at the owl figure, there was a stack of books lying conspicuously on a small reading table by the railing. These, too, all looked quite technical and apparently dealt with complex subjects. There were no pictures on the covers and she would already have to look up the title of the book on top. The title was: 'Plate tectonics'. That was all it said. The book literally screamed: 'Please read only if you have studied in this field'. The books below were no better. Most of them seemed to be from the field of earth sciences. Mainly they covered cartography, geology, and mineralogy. The only book that was even remotely interesting was titled 'Archaeological Finds of Jena'.

Meia concluded that someone wanted to read the books or already had. Possibly this person also wanted to or had copied something from them, because next to the books lay paper and writing utensils. Assuming that no one was allowed to enter this room, Mr. Monet was probably the one who had left them here.

~Does he really read this kind of stuff?~

Meia brushed her fingers over the top book.

A line trailed down into a thin layer of dust.

"Hm."

The books had been here for a while.

~I guess it's just to look as if~.

"Miss Arvis?" asked a voice from below in rising volume.

With a step to the balustrade she could be made out that it was the maid.

The next moment she spotted her, too.

"I'm here to pick you up."

"Yes, I'll come down."

~Am I out of time already?~

It was disappointing to have to leave already. Meia had not even been able to look at half of it.

There were so many books she had not been able to see. The real novels must have been at the top.

"I still have to change," Meia explained as she walked down the stairs.

" I have already been briefed on this, and I will help you with it."

Once downstairs, Meia held the glass out to her.

"What should I do with this?"

"You can leave it here."

With Meia still mourning the books, they left the reading room.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Back in the hallway, the maid pushed the single door shut until the latch clicked loudly into place, then she pulled out a thick set of keys and double-locked the door.

"Overnight, the reading room must remain locked. It is an order from Mr. Monet."

The maid only said this to pass the time while Meia waited.

Next they took the stairs straight down and Meia thought she would now be taken to her room, but one floor down the maid stopped unexpectedly.

To the left of the carved door was a trolley with a white blanket over it. On the trolleys were boxes and in them were crystal clear wine glasses. Next to the carts, the fidgety one was stacking glasses from the crates onto a tray. She did not seem enthusiastic about her work. The way she put the glasses on the tray, it was more like she was trying to build a house of cards. They were all on top of each other. It seemed impossible to lift the tray off the trolley.

"Is something wrong?" asked Meia the maid wondering.

"Would you excuse me for a moment, please?" she asked in response in an angelic voice.

Meia nodded in fear.

"Do whatever you feel like."

The maid smiled and then walked off in the direction of her colleague. Her steps were wide. The speed was unexpected of her. Although she additionally wore shoes with high heels, she was still barely audible. She was like a cat with velvet paws.

It did not matter that she was quiet. Her colleague was so focused on her construction that she did not notice her approach anyway.

Even when she was already standing behind her, she continued to play mindlessly with the glasses.

The moment she had another glass halfway securely in place, the maid suddenly smacked her on the head. It was a devastating hand edge blow, like one would use an axe to chop a log. Her colleague nearly collapsed her structure herself as her arms pulled away to grab onto her head.

"Ouch!" she ducked down first, then jumped up. "What are you doing, you cow!"

~She slapped her. Bullying at work.~

"You want to know what I am doing?" Angrily, she pointed at the dolly. "What's this supposed to be?"

"Those are the glasses for the ball. Can't you tell that yourself?" she grumbled back as she rubbed her head in pain.

"These are supposed to be glasses for the ball?" The maid picked one up, looking at her colleague throughout, and snapped her fingers against it, causing a faint clink to sound. "They're not the appropriate ones. You're only supposed to uncover the good glasses. You were told that!" she scolded her, pointing at one of the other glasses from the trolley.

The glass she pointed at looked exactly like the one in her hand. At least from a distance, there was no way to tell the difference.

"But the rest is upstairs," the fidgety one justified herself.

The maid grew angrier. "Then go get them!" she demanded firmly.

Meia was getting uncomfortable being here. If her mood was ruined, she would have to deal with it.

"Nobody can tell the difference from that trash anyway. Glass is glass."

The maid lifted her chin higher. She looked even more aggressive than before. In comparison, she had been a pure sunshine before.

~Maybe I should go.~

Unconsciously, Meia took a step backward toward the stairs.

"Mr. Monet can see the difference. You better get the right glasses."

Completely unexpectedly, the fidgety one suddenly hung her head and shoulders as if she were giving up.

Like the innocence itself, she looked up from this posture at her colleague.

"Can't you help me?" she whined, "I can't do this alone."

Apparently she had changed tactics to toddler.

The maid backed away. Meia could not believe what she was seeing. As if she were shy, she grabbed her wrist and turned her head away to the side.

"I am afraid I can not help you. I still have work to do..." she whispered softly, glancing over her shoulder back at Meia.

The anger seemed to have faded. Despite all expectations, the toddler tactic had been crowned with immense success.

Immediately with the maid's glance, the fidgety one also took a look at Meia.

In just one sentence, Meia had gone from being a guest to a burden.

"Ohh, but the glasses are too heavy for me. I can't carry them. I'll only drop them accidentily. You can do that much better than I."

The maid sighed.

"Do you want to swap?"

The fidgety one did not hesitate for a second. "Yes." she blurted out, followed by a forceful nod.

Meia knew what was going to happen next.

Four eyes locked on her again.

"Th-that's absolutely fine. I don't mind."

Meia had no choice.

Following that, the maid explained to the fidgety one all the things she would have to do with Meia. As she did so, she placed the glasses sensibly on the trolley.

After she had finished, they both came to Meia.

"Miss Arvis, thank you for agreeing to this. I will take my leave now. I wish you a pleasant evening."

The maid additionally said goodbye with a curtsy and then took the stairs upstairs.

The fidgety one waved goodbye to her. "Goodbye, Rujell." She waved until she disappeared halfway up the floor, then she approached Meia with cheerful steps. "Hello, Miss Arvis, I'm glad that I don't have to carry the heavy glasses. (Oh, wait, I'm supposed to lie.) I'm very happy that I have to help you get dressed. Shall we go now? Because I'm off work soon and I've been told several times that it's important that I stick to the work schedule."

The improvement had not made it much better. It was questionable in its entirety.

"Um... I'd be happy to.", Meia only confirmed irritated.

.../ End Part