Chapter Two: Step Sisters
It was a week after Ash became a servant in her own home. Her stepmother had soon put her to attending her two daughters. The eldest was called Idony, and the youngest was Christabel. Ash found them to be quiet sort of girls, the kind who have little or nothing to say. She figured this was part of their good breeding. They gave no sign of what they thought of their stepsister (whatever her color) waiting on them, except by treating her with silent civility.
Ash, however much she would have liked to tell her stepmother every cross word she could think of, managed to keep her mouth shut. Aside from her bossy stepmother, Ash had little to complain about. Idony and Christabel were not as demanding as Ash had heard noblewomen could be.
Of course, there were other servants as well. And Hilde; Ash had been afraid that Hilde would live up to the harshness of her name. How wrong she had been. Hilde was a small woman of advanced years, and was quite brisk, and very practical. She was the head of the servants attending Sorrel and her daughters. Ash's duties consisted of helping her stepsisters dress, making their bed, and picking up their room. Not at all hard tasks, really; nothing Ash wasn't willing to undergo.
As the weeks went by, though, Sorrel was unsatisfied with the small amount of work Ash was required. She made suggestions to Hilde, which meant they were orders. Hilde began adding more duties to Ash's roster, usually one at a time, at Sorrel's suggestions.
Ash's resentment toward her stepmother grew, but she noticed that the demeanors of her stepsisters had lightened, and she found that they could be quite talkative. They even began asking her questions, though around their mother, they were careful not to show Ash too much attention. Ash began to wonder at this sudden change in treatment, and confronted them about it.
"When I first started waiting on you, both of you, it seemed to me, resented my presence," she said. "But now you don't." She looked at them both expectantly.
Idony cast a glance at her sister as the question was asked, and then looked at the ground. "Well," Christabel began. "We did not resent you, per say," she said. She pursed her thin lips. "Idony might explain it better."
Idony glanced from Christabel to Ash. "You see, Ash, there are many who do not agree with social classes based on colors. Some believe, further, that social classes as a rule are wrong, that they should be done away with. I can't say that my sister and I belong to the second group. But we do not believe that colors ought to be a factor in class. If we seemed resentful of your presence, it was for no other reason than that we did not agree with our mother's reasoning in making you a servant," she said.
Ash didn't know what to say.
"When we found out that our mother was adding more chores for you, and saw how well you bore it, we couldn't help but like you," Christabel said. "You would have had every right to-"
"That's enough," Idony said. "The point is, Ash, we sensed your inner struggle, and felt that a kindred spirit lay within you," she smiled, and grasped Ash's hand in her own. "A sister, you see."
Ash smiled back. "What does this mean, now?" she asked.
"Well, I think I'll talk to Hilde about you," said Christabel.
"Although, I think it would be prudent if you still wore your servant's garb, in case Mother walks in," Idony added. Ash nodded in agreement, elated at this new discovery and the lovely change in her situation.
And so the weeks passed. The sister grew further to know and love one another.