The next day, Floriane heard a knock on her door. She opened her eyes and saw the sun shining through the small window. The events of yesterday still going through her mind like a raging river. She slowly got out of the bed and walked over to the door. When she opened the door, Kamila was there with an outfit similar to her own. The outfit was red and yellow with a gray wimple.
"I brought you your cleaning clothes." Kamila said, "They will be comfortable when you wear them, whether you're working or not." Floriane just nodded her head. She wasn't brought to make friends. She gently took the clothes so she could get dressed and closed the door.
Floriane carefully removed her cloak and hood. She looked at the mirror, attached to the dresser, and saw that the coal dust hasn't rubbed off a lot. Her hair was still black, but it was beginning to wear off. Floriane had to find more coal dust, or completely hide her hair. If she was going to be working as hard as she thinks, she won't be able to hide her hair for very long.
She put the wimple on her head, so that the coal dust doesn't wipe on the other clothes, and put the red and yellow dress on. She left her own clothes on the bed, hoping that no one will take them and notice the coal dust. She opened the door and saw Kamila was still waiting for her.
"Follow me." Kamila said, "I'll take you to your first chore." Once again, Floriane nodded her head and followed her.
She made sure that she followed Kamila, but she can't help but notice the wonderful beauty. There were beautiful paintings of landscapes, long rugs in wonderful colors and statues made of white marble. She didn't understand why she was feeling this way. She knew that she shouldn't be impressed since this monster's father threatened her mother. She rubbed her forehead, trying to rid herself of her impressive thoughts.
"Are you all right?" Floriane looked up at Kamila, who was looking at her with an odd look on her face.
"I'm fine."
"If you're sure about that." Kamila added as she reached for the handle of a dark brown door. She opened it and pulled out two mops, two buckets and two cloths. "We're going to be cleaning the dining hall."
"We?"
"Yes, we. I know you'll have problems with Roden, so you deserve someone on your side." Floriane raised an eyebrow, not knowing what Kamila was talking about. "Roden is the name of my master's son." Floriane couldn't resist groaning as she pinched her nose.
"So, what are we cleaning?"
"The dining hall. It's always in need of cleaning after Roden eats."
"Don't tell me: he's a slob."
Kamila softly groaned, "Yes, but its not on purpose. As you've seen his long fingers, it's not easy for him to hold his food correctly."
"It doesn't matter, he's still a slob."
"Will you stop saying that word?" Kamila raised her voice, "Just-follow me so we can get this messy job done."
"Lead the way." Floriane calmly said and then started to think inside her head. 'Animals are always slobs, whether it's on purpose or not.'
When they reached the dining hall, it had the smell of cooked eggs and sausage. Floriane shook her head at the sight of the huge square table. There were long claw marks with tiny pieces of food stuck in them and dirty dishes with claw marks as well.
"Disgusting." Floriane said out loud.
"I don't blame you, but it's not his fault."
"So you say."
"You don't have to be so rotten!"
Floriane had enough as she stood up to Kamila. "His father was rotten to me and threatened me! His son was rotten last night! Give me one reason on why I shouldn't be rotten back to them?"
Kamila was about to argue back, but stopped knowing that Floriane had a point. She remembered when Roden's father was nasty to her because her child made fun of Roden. Kamila argued with Roden's father until he made the same point as Floriane. She took two steps backwards, away from Floriane.
"I can't give you a reason, Saffi, because I can't think of one."
"I didn't think you could." Floriane said as her body relaxed. "Shall we get started?" Kamila nodded in defeat.
'I guess I can't blame her for her behavior.' Kamila thought as she cleaned the table. 'I acted the same way when Roden's father threatened me.' Kamila never forgot the day when she met Roden's father.
Her daughter was the one who got them into the mess, but then again, Kamila also believed that Roden and his father were so monstrous that they didn't deserve to exist. Roden's father went after Lacey at first, but Kamila came to her daughter's defense. So instead of punishing Lacey, he punished Kamila. She was in the same situation, even though she didn't want to admit it.
Kamila knew that 'Saffi' didn't know the whole truth, but how can she by the way she's acting now?
After an hour and a half, the dining hall table was finally clean and fixed. Since Floriane knew that she was still considered a 'prisoner', she decided to stay in her room. Kamila watched her leave the dining hall. She then walked towards the kitchen door. When she entered the kitchen, she saw her daughter with Tarrant. They were cleaning the kitchen after Tarrant's parents cooked Roden's breakfast.
"Hello mother." Lacey said as she sat up from cleaning the floor. "How are you today?"
"I'm well. I can see that the two of you are busy."
"Yes," Tarrant said, continuing to clean the stove. "His appetite was ravenous today. Then again, whenever he seems unhappy, he's ravenous."
"He's always unhappy." Lacey said, "Not that I-blame him."
"Not anymore, you don't." Tarrant pointed out and bit his tongue. He quickly realized the dumb mistake he just made. "I-I-I didn't mean-"
"We know you didn't." Kamila said as she walked over to the window. She looked out and saw the magnificent rock gardens. "You, your parents and Eleanor are the only ones who know about Roden's broken hearts. Me, my daughter and Hadley are the ones who got ourselves in trouble."
"You only got in trouble because you and Hadley were thinking of your children." Tarrant spoke up. "I would call it noble because you were thinking of your children."
"A real parent would." Kamila replied, "Saffi is another example: she came here instead of letting her daughter take her place."
"Do you think we'll be free, mama? All of us?"
"I believe so. I believe that we'll all be free of whatever prison all of us are in. When that will be? I don't know, but I believe that whatever has caused Roden's father to act this will be the first step."
