I stood in front of the door, my palms sweaty. My life would change dramatically from this day onwards. I had spent last night rolling in bed getting no sleep, only pondering the future.

Yesterday had been my 17th birthday. Unruly and unkempt short black hair framed my nondescript face. My body’s only feature I liked were my lavender colored eyes. They formed a stark contrast to my almost white skin. I was small for my age, only about 1.60 meters and painfully thin, malnutrition causing both. 

I knocked on the door then entered the room. A man in his early forties sat behind a cheap wooden desk. As if to mock me, the bright sunshine illuminated the otherwise dark room. Some may take this to be a good omen. A bright day to start a bright future. But I know my future wasn’t bright.

Sighing inwards I stepped forward, gave the man a shallow bow and spoke: “Good morning headmaster. You wished to speak to me?” I already knew what he wanted to speak about. But through the etiquette lessons I got here, I learned to ask first to be considered respectful.

“Yes, hello Myra. Please take a seat. You have been living in the orphanage for the last 16 years. Sadly, we can’t provide for you any longer. As I’m sure you understand, today you have to leave the orphanage. We provided you with skills which will enable you to find work. And with great relieve I heard you already found a position as a servant for a family?”

“That’s right, sir. The Laundrial’s took me as a maid.”

“You have done well to get such a position. It can’t have been easy, especially for you, one of the few people with no magical ability.

“I’m sure you are nervous since your whole life is about to change. You will be responsible for yourself from now on. But see it as a chance, it might be better than you imagine.”

As he said that, the sun brightened even more, as to confirm his words. What a joke. What else can a girl without magic do? I couldn’t even see magic, if someone used it.

Trying to keep the misery out of my face and replied: “Thank you for the kind words, headmaster. I will always keep the orphanage in high regards. You saved my life by taking me in.”

The headmaster looked at me, his cheery mask falling. He saw right through me. “Listen, Myra. I know your life is harder than most being a magicless. But you have potential. You are smart. Nobody I ever taught learned writing and math as fast as you did. Perhaps try to become an accountant or something in this direction.”

I wasn’t sure what to respond. I liked the headmaster. He never treated me differently only because I had no magical abilities. But both of us knew I wouldn’t ever become much more than a maid. Even as an accountant one needed to use magic, like in almost every job.

After getting my thoughts straight I answered: “Thank you for the advice, sir. Maybe I will get a better job at some point.” It isn’t worth telling the truth. Even if he cared, he wouldn’t be able to change anything.

“I can tell that you don’t believe me. But you will see everything will work out.” After a short pause he continued. “And now you have to leave. I wish you the best of luck for your future.”

“Thank you, headmaster. If I ever get the chance, I will repay the orphanage.” They always did their best to keep us safe and healthy. But due to lack of funds, there never was enough food for everyone. And when the strong felt hunger, they took from the weak, which turned out to be always me.

I walked down the stairs to get to the exit, when suddenly the foot I stood on slipped and I crashed face first down the stairs. Luckily, I was almost at the bottom and didn’t fall too far. Also, this wasn’t the first time I lost my footing for no apparent reason, so I knew how to fall to avoid further injuring myself.

I lay on the floor breathing heavy. From down the corridor I heard snickering. It sucked having no magic. The other kids in the orphanage always enjoyed playing pranks on me, since I could never retaliate. Also, they seemed to hate me for no reason.

“Look, the freak is finally leaving. I still don’t understand why the orphanage accepted you. You won’t ever reach anything anyway and will just die on the streets.” Four kids stood around me, looking down and laughing at my obvious pain. I didn’t reply, provoking them would just make it harder.

“You are as toothless as ever. But what to expect from a cripple?”

Another one kid answered: “Nothing. She eats our food and is nothing but a strain on us.”

Again, they laughed. I was used to this, and this was the last time I had to endure it. Still anger swelled in my chest. I had done nothing to them and they humiliated and hurt me. I didn’t understand why. Finally, I got up and left as fast as possible not looking back at them. They let me go. I won’t miss them.

The orphanage was in Waterside, one of the poorer districts in Gloomchester. From there I walked to the Haven District where my new home would be. Home is the wrong word. It is going to be even more crowded than the orphanage.

I entered the house and went to the second floor. There were four rooms, three used for sleeping, each the size of four by six steps. Every room held three beds, enough for 18 people. That was because half the people here had night jobs and therefore didn’t need the bed at this time. The other half, me included, had day jobs, and required no bed during the day. The last room was a bath/kitchen. One step down from the living conditions I was used to.

A woman walked up to me and said: “Hey girl, you must be the new one. You sleep in the third room. I am Ellis by the way. If you need help or have questions just ask me.”

“Thank you, Ellis, my name is Myra,” I replied in a quiet voice.

Ellis had a tanned skin, broad shoulders for a woman and a solid, muscular build, towering before me, being at least one head taller than me. She radiated self-assurance. She was maybe in her mid-twenties. She looked rather intimidating. Her only soft feature were her eyes, sparkling like blue diamonds.

“Oh, a quiet one. Where do you work?”

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I had to strain my head to look her in the eyes. After a moment I decided it took too much effort, and I stared at my feet. “I will work as a servant for one of the rich families. They live in Eastgate.”

Her features darkened. I was afraid I somehow angered her, but when she saw my worried face, she calmed herself and told me: “Be careful when dealing with the rich. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. The live of commoners matters nothing to them.”

“And where do you work?,” I asked before I could stop myself, wondered what experiences she had to make such a statement.

“I had worked in factories. If you haven’t worked there, you won’t understand what it’s like. It’s dangerous and the factory owners only concern is profit. I have seen many coworkers die or get heavily injured during their work. But to be fair, not every rich person is that bad. Some even pay fair wages or support the common people by building care centers. Maybe your family will be nice.”

That I hope too. “Thank you for telling me.”

“No problem. As I said, if you need help, ask me. Now I have to get going. Today is my only free day and I have some things to take care of.”

What a person. I don’t think I have ever seen someone this self-assured. But she didn’t tell me what she did for a living, only what she had done. Perhaps something to ask her at a later date.

After Ellis left, I took a stroll around the Haven District. Everywhere I looked I was able to see the results of magic. Heavy cargo containers floated above the ground, coming from the ships, which docked in the haven. One person at the front pulling lightly on a rope attached to the container was enough to move it.

In the sky I could see carriages flying like birds, powered by some strange runic magic. The arch mages’ towers looked like gigantic black needles, towering hundreds of meter high. On a marketplace merchants spoke in voices far too loud and smooth sounding to be natural. Low tier magicians performed tricks using their limited magic.

I envied all of them and would have traded my life with every single one. In a society where almost everyone had magic, having no magic meant exclusion and a terrible live. I could do almost no job and was unimaginably vulnerable to magical attacks since I couldn’t defend myself or even see the attack most of the time.

When evening came, I got back to my living quarters and went into the kitchen to find something to drink. And that’s when my problems started. To get water one had to push mana into a device which would then use it to pump water up here. I had no magic so I couldn’t use it. Also, since I had spent all my life being bullied for being magicless, I didn’t want to promote my inability and draw the others’ ire.

I lay down on an empty bed. I was extremely nervous about starting to work tomorrow so I had problems falling asleep at first. But my lack of sleep from yesterday caught up with me and I soon fell asleep. 

The next day came too quick. I woke up when I heard the closest bell tower ringing, feeling like I slept an hour. But I had to get up. I didn’t want to imagine what would happen if I turned up too late on my first day. On the outside it was still dark, but many people were on the street.

Spring wasn’t quite here yet; the air still held a chill to it. As I walked I had to be careful not to bump into people, the streets were crowded. Carts, some hovering, some on wheels and the street’s general tightness made it seem like I was in a river and being pulled by it.

The closer I got to the Eastgate the wider the streets became and the fewer people walked on it. The general mood changed. In the Haven you were surrounded by people but somehow still lonely. Trees lined the streets in the Eastgate District and one could occasionally see a water fountain or a park. Here everything was livelier.

 The properties were six or even ten times larger than in the Haven District. Front yards, which no one in the poorer districts had, lined the street, separated by sometimes small, sometimes large fences.

I finally stopped in front of the Laundrial’s mansion. The front yard was well looked after. The house was clean, not even the occasional streak of filth dirtying the facade. Now I was unsure of what to do. Should I just walk down the main entrance and ask where to go? No, servants were supposed to use the servant’s entrance. But where was it? Damn, what now?

This was just what I feared would happen. Me messing up before I even began. My anxiety rose, always close to the surface. I felt rooted in place, unable to decide on how to continue.

As I still stood there shocked into motionlessness, a girl walked up to me. She didn’t look like she was rich, her clothes were wrinkled, but well taken care of. Her long blond hair and pretty face made her look quite attractive. I didn’t know what to do, so I just waited for her to start the conversation. And started it, she did.

“Hey there, are you the new one, working for the Laundrial’s?”

I was about to answer affirmative, but she didn’t let me and continued.

“You must be. I watched you, you were watching everything like you never been here. I had the same expression the first time I came. Come on, I will show you where to start. I’m Ari.”

“I’m Myra, thank you,” I replied, taken aback by her enthusiasm. At least she seemed to be nice. Maybe working here wouldn’t be as bad as I expected.

Ari led me towards the servant’s entrance and then to a bath. On the way there she helped me pick my servant outfit. It was held simple, in black and white.

“The Laundrial’s provide us with clothing and a shower. They don’t want their servants to be dirty and stinking, especially when there are guests around. I showered at home so I don’t have to take one, you should though. I’ll be around once you finished. You can use the shower just like any other.”

With these words she turned away to do her duties. I panicked, I couldn’t start the shower, if it was like every other shower. As I stood there unsure of what to do, Ari walked away.

“Ari, please wait,” I almost shouted, “I need help with the shower.”

She came back. “Huh? It is easy don’t worry. You just have to push some magic into the apparatus to start the water and then just heat it.”

“That’s the problem,” I replied. Would she mock me like everyone in the orphanage once she knew? Would this turn into the horror the orphanage had been? No way around it, sadly. In a quiet voice I continued: “I can’t use or see magic. I can’t start the shower.”

“Oh. Oh my, I heard there were such people, but I never met one. My mom once told me one of her coworkers knew someone who… Never mind, I will help you start the shower. But you will have to shower cold, I need to start my duties.”

I was close to tears. Relief flooded me, she didn’t mock me and she would even help. A thin smile spread across my face. “Thank you so much. I am used to showering in cold water, so don’t worry about that.”

True to her word she turned on the shower then left. I got cleaned, then noticed the next problem. There was nothing to dry myself with. My debate whether to get into my working attire still wet, was interrupted when Ari knocked on the door and asked: “Are you ready?”

“Is there a towel somewhere to dry myself with?”

“No, use the hair dryer if you can’t do it by magic. Oh right, I will come in and activate it.” With these words she entered the room, threw me a short glance then went to a small contraption on the wall, I hadn’t noticed yet. She touched it and it started blowing hot wind out from its front.

“Use this, I will wait outside. But don’t take too long, we need to get started.”

I took the hair dryer, trying to get myself dry as fast as possible. Because of my short hair, it didn’t take too long. After I got dressed, I went outside the room where Ari waited.

“Today you will work with me. We will spend most our time with cleaning hallways.” And with this we were off. The work was hard, but with Ari it was almost nice. She liked to talk all the time. But it didn’t bother me. I found her stories about her family and her opinions about all different matters interesting.

According to her, her father and mother had both landed good jobs and as such they had a relatively high income. Furthermore, they owned their own small house on the outskirts of Gloomchester.

As she talked, my thoughts drifted to my surrounding. And it made me kind of angry. These hallways were ridiculously large and there were so many unused rooms. In this manor alone, there was enough space for fifty or more people to live, but the family only consisted of six. So much wasted space. Nothing I can do about it. At least everything here looks nice.

At the end of the work day I was completely spent. I fell into the bed and was asleep immediately.