Fall of Autumn, Week 4, Day 3

As I reached the top of the [Descent of Astrala] staircase, I saw Sir Limrick looking down menacingly at a grimacing Gristle.

“As I said, it’s not like Twilight is dangerous—“ Gristle cut himself off as he caught sight of me ascending the stairs.

Well, that’s just untrue, I thought. Out loud, I said, “Sorry for worrying you, I got caught up in one of the trainings.”

Sir Limrick whipped his head around, eyes narrowing as he evaluated me.

In a way, Gristle was correct. The bum knee had evaporated, as well as my wrist pain, as I left Twilight. That wasn’t to say a phantom pain didn’t remain. I could still remember the exhaustion clearly, the way my muscles were half-spasmed, and the ache of a wrist unused to holding up a sword. I hadn’t realized it in the moment, but relying solely on my body had been invigorating. It had felt powerful. It felt divine. As if I could do anything. It was the same feeling as training my attributes. Maybe I had been training my attributes.

Nevertheless, it felt good to feel [Quick Calculation] running in the background at full power again. It told me how much mana I could expunge. I was slowly recouping the mana that Twilight had stolen from me.

No, not stolen, I corrected myself. I was the one who entered Twilight. I was the one who fed Twilight my mana. I made that choice. No one took it from me.

“Still, you missed lunch,” Sir Limrick said disapprovingly, seemingly satisfied with my health. “You have a penchant for skipping meals, my Lady. I’d like to see that improve.”

What a mother hen, I sniped to myself.

Out loud, I gave a smile, “Yes, well, Twilight is quite the interesting place, you know.”

I probably shouldn’t have said anything. I probably should have kept my mouth shut. But something possessed me in that moment. Something that said it was safe to tell Sir Limrick my pain and share it.

“Even though it requires me to see my siblings.”

It slipped out, and with it, a weight seemed to be lifted. A small weight, but one less secret was there to haunt me. One less trouble to face on my own.

Sir Limrick looked like he’d eaten something sour, and Gristle didn’t seem to have picked up on the subtext if the way he maintained a mild expression was anything to go by.

“Lady Nora, if I may? Dinner will be ready soon.” Gristle said before the glowering Sir Limrick spoke.

I looked at Sir Limrick gently, his outrage a mirror to my own internal thoughts, and gave him a smile, “I’ll survive. I have to survive. Don’t I?”

Sir Limrick found himself quickly, that same tight-lipped smile gracing his face.

“My Lady, there is nothing you cannot overcome. Whether it be Twilight or your siblings.”

He nodded brusquely, and the conversation was over. Because Sir Limrick was right.

Power is grasped by the bold and the indomitable. I will be both. I will be the God of Nora. Queen of Self. I am all I need to be.

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It was a simple affair, dinner at the manor. No one was there with me, aside from two maids whose whole appointment seemed to consist of watching me eat and, as soon as I got near the end of a course, running off and grabbing another plate of food.

The maids couldn’t have been much older than majority with the way they carried themselves. They bounced around energetically, eager to please, but without the stats to show off just how fast a Classed individual could go. I didn’t recognize either of them; one was blonde, and the other had hair a shade of sky blue. Both had pulled their hair back into simple braids. I wondered if they knew they could do amazing things with braids with a bit of extra effort.

I grew bored of eating in silence quickly, especially since I hadn’t recovered enough mana to cast [Shadow Animation] yet. So, sometime during the main course, I turned to the two maids and perched my chin in my palm.

“Hello,” I said simply. I watched as the two maids blinked, looked at one another, and then looked back to me.

“Hello, my Lady,” they said in unison. It send a shiver down my spine the way they curtsied.

They didn’t immediately rise—actually, they didn’t rise at all. I sat there, waiting, for a beat too long. Then realisation struck.

“Please rise,” I whispered in an attempt to hide my discomfort, but they heard me clear enough because they immediately raised their heads. “What are your names?”

“I am Helena, my Lady,” the blue-haired woman said, a look of soft affection on her face. It was a sweet thing that helped to ease the fluttering in my chest.

“I am Erie, Lady Nora,” the blonde girl spoke a little too loud, which I attributed to the nervousness she was showing. It was clear from the easy she was grabbing her own fingers and pulling, and the furrow of her brows.

Helena and Erie were different from the distant maids of Eunora’s memories. At the main estate, there was a certain air about the maids. It had been vaguely threatening. Here, though, they seemed sweet. Well, except for the silver-haired maid I’d met earlier. Not to mention, at the main estate, the maids had virtually ignored me after the first couple of days of my isolation.

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Was that my fault or theirs? Was I distant because of my grief, or were they invisible because I was Eunora?

These two seemed young but genuine.

“Have you worked at the Fellan estate long?” I settled on asking something innocuous, something easy.

“We’ve both worked here since we first awakened, my Lady,” Helena answered. “Both Erie and I grew up together in town.”

“Oh?” I wondered, then, if it was common to enter the service of the Dawns so young. Gristle had said much the same. “Are you two the same age then?”

“Yes, my Lady,” Erie hiccuped, “We’re only a season apart. I was born in Spring, Hel, um, Helena was born in Winter.”

I hummed in response, “How nice. Are there many members of staff that are freshly Awakened now?”

Helena opened her mouth, then closed it. Biting her lip, she eventually responded, “Well, there are a few. I believe Hans and Juniper are the youngest. They joined in Summer.”

I subconsciously twitched my lips, “Where do they work?”

“Hans helps out the stableman,” Helena stated tentatively, looking to Erie searchingly.

“And Juniper works in the kitchen.” Erie finished the thought softly.

“In the kitchen?” I pursed my lips, “Isn’t that dangerous?”

The two girls shared a glance again, and Helena seemed to straighten her back.

“It’s where she asked to be,” Helena said simply.

I paused at the shift in tone. It felt as if I found a land mine in a field of flowers. Surprising. I swallowed thickly.

“Is, um, does she enjoy cooking?”

Erie huffed, “Hardly.”

“Erie.” Helena shot Erie a look but continued, “That’s not our place.”

Did I say something wrong? I felt the fluttering in my stomach continue but stomped it down. That was a useless feeling that had no place here. No place in me. Not anymore. I leaned back into my chair and looked up at the ceiling, grounding myself. I took in the ornate crown molding and the almost velvety texture of the plaster. It was grand, yes, but it wasn’t anything more than the brownstone in Adeline or the main estate. Not that I’d ever gone personally to the main estate’s dining room. That privilege was reserved for little Eunora.

“What not your place?” I asked, focusing my eyes back on the two maids.

Helena’s cheeks tinted pink, but for the first time, Erie looked unbothered by my presence. Instead, she seemed almost eager to talk.

“Well, Juniper said, and I quote, ‘Why would I be a maid when the kitchens pay another silver?’” Erie snorted, “And she said it with her nose up in the air!”

“Erie,” Helena hissed, looking stricken, “You can’t just–”

“What?” Erie said, arching a single brow. It was rather impressive, “What can’t I do? Did I lie? That’s what she said!”

“You shouldn’t just say that.” This time, when Helena spoke, she brought up her hands animatedly and I looked on with interest.

“Give me one good reason why not. The first time I met her, she said she felt bad for me! And–”

As if finding herself, Erie looked back at me and blushed, “Anyway, what I said was true. I won’t apologize for saying it.”

Helena looked stricken, “That’s not what I meant. You shouldn’t gossip about Juniper’s home life! You don’t know what’s made her in such need of a single silver over the course of a year.”

“Um,” I interrupted, “Is the pay very different in the kitchens and in the main house?”

Both girls looked back at me, and it was Helena who spoke, “When Mr. Gristle shows you the books, you will know, but yes. Older maids are paid much better, but all freshly Awakened hirelings are paid based on the amount of physical exertion they have to do. Hence why there’s slightly more pay for working in the kitchen when you just start out —though that is only true until the child turns twelve or thirteen. But even the difference for young hirelings is not much. As we said, it’s a single silver over the course of a year, but, well, for Juniper, it was extremely important.”

I took a moment to parse what she was saying until, finally, I asked, “What’s a hireling?”

Helena seemed relieved to be moving away from the topic of Juniper and her mysterious need for money. It did not go unnoticed.

“It’s anyone who is under the age of majority that works at the manor. They don’t have a standing contract and work at will. However, some hirelings do have a contract depending on how they came to the noble house they work for. It’s a universal term.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” I hummed, taking a bite of my dinner. I asked a few more questions about hirelings but ultimately let the conversation fall away.

It was nice to chat over a meal, but it seemed I had pushed a bit more than I’d intended.

But I did find out Erie likes to talk about others, which, while probably not appreciated by the other maids, seemed like it could be good for me. And perhaps this Juniper would be someone I could talk to. If I was going to be in Fellan for a decade, I could use someone to talk to. Someone whose motives were clear and unhidden. Someone who could be bought with a fraction of my allowance.

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Sunset in Fellan was different from back at the main estate. It was quieter, somehow, more somber. It called to something in me, something that said, “Today was much more than it should have been. Perhaps tomorrow will be better.”

[Shadow Animation]

Around me, my creations stirred to life and toddled around the balcony.

“I received two mana pearls today,” I said to the three of them. “But after last time, I can’t help but think I’ve done something wrong with the pearls.”

“Why don’t you visit the library tomorrow?” Came Advocate’s soothing voice from Noir.

“It will surely be something you can learn. How to properly absorb the pearls.” Commander’s harsh voice said from Shade.

“It’s a shame we can only build off our experiences.” Defender’s brusque, masculine voice came from Haze.

I hummed in response, looking out over the gardens, a smile forming on my lips, “You know, the rest of this week is supposed to be a break. Something to allow me to recover from the harsh journey here. But, honestly, I already like Fellan.”

I paused.

“Even Twilight.”