15 July
I had to blow out the candle and tuck away this paper again last night when Mother woke up. I was terrified for a moment that she had caught me. After all, it was probably the light of my candle that interrupted her sleep. But perhaps not, for I know she always has suffered from insomnia.
Now there is no chance of her catching me. I'm sitting at the table, in plain sight, but she thinks I am copying out scrolls for Attera. Actually, I probably should be doing that. But Howard is eyeing me from across the room, and I just know that he is planning something horribly cruel concerning my work. I wouldn't be surprised if he grabbed the "scrolls" and tossed them in the well outside. It would be just like him. (I am, in fact, still bitter about yesterday's hot water "incident.") Anyways, better that he should grab these meaningless scribblings than the scrolls I so carefully copy over and over for Attera.
My goodness, it's a good thing that both he and Mother are illiterate. Mother has no patience for anything other than work. Neither do I, to be honest, which is why I will get back to the scrolls in just a moment. But I need to vent my feelings. Attera would listen, but she isn't here right now—I only go to her in the afternoons, and the sun has barely risen now.
When I go to her later today, I will ask her to keep this paper safe. Howard will be suspicious if he finds it lying around, and he will not waste the opportunity to be the worthless little tattletale he is. He will go straight to Mother and tell her some wildly concocted tale of my "wrongdoings," and she will believe him. As usual.
A/N: The dates I'm using for this "diary" are the dates I'm publishing this on. The only reason for this is that it makes it easier for me to keep track of the time passing in the story, as well as when to update.