Chapter Five

The lesson began when Lady Edris announced that she would be coming around to check Amerisia and Cyala's penmanship. The other girls had gotten out book from which they were copying lines onto parchment. "Copy the motto on the board down onto your parchment in your best hand," she instructed. I almost laughed. Cyala could barely hold the quill. Amerisia was glancing around, and after watching the girls around her, she could at least hold the quill properly. From my place on the bench, I could barely see Amerisia's page. Her writing had several blue blots on it, and I watched her fuss over them as she desperately tried to correct her mistakes.

"You'd think they never held a quill before," whispered Valora under her breath. I nodded, the hood of my rob flopping around a bit. As I adjusted my hood to cover my face properly, I hoped that no one would hear our whispered conversation. But I had little to worry about, I suppose. While the young ladies worked, they were talking about all manners of things, Lady Edris talking animatedly as well. They were so wrapped up in their conversation about what it was to be noble and other trifles that they wouldn't notice two serving girls speaking quietly to each other.

"They haven't. At home, I'm the one who writes up all the official documents," I mumbled back. She turned towards me then, and I thought that if I could see her face, it would wear a strangely surprised look on it.

"You were taught to write in the formal hand?" I mentally slapped myself for saying something so stupid.

"Well, I just sort of picked it up from the Lady and Lord that ruled Llyr before Ariela. They were always kind to their servants." That was true. My mother and father believed in the value of education for all people, not just nobility. Our servants could write and read, but few actually were taught the formal hand.

"They were good people, my mother said. I remember going to the school in the village nearby when I was young," she reflected. She seemed to accept that answer, fortunately. Her answer sparked my curiosity, though.

"How long have you been here?"

"Ever since my parents died," she said, bowing her head. "They passed on six years ago of the Spring Sickness. After their death, my mother's brother refused to allow me to stay with his family. I had nowhere to go and no money to my own. So I made my way into the city to look for work. For a year, I worked for a kind woman who was an apothecary, but I couldn't stay there long. She found me my position here. Here there was plenty of work. At first I worked in the kitchens washing the dishes and doing things for the cook. Now, I am a serving maiden. It is a good place, even if Lady Edris is disagreeable."

"I suppose that I shall be here for quite some time as well," I said, glancing back towards the two brats. "We must remain here until they are proper ladies." I wished I could see if Valora smiled or reacted at that, but I could not see under her hood. I giggled little myself. Now that I had a friend, perhaps it would not seem like such an eternity....

After the penmanship lesson, the girls were led away from the study. They proceeded to what Valora explained was the music room. Lady Edris was instructing Amerisia and Cyala on the purpose of the next lesson. "It is important for a lady to be culturally capable. Important aspects of cultured education include dance, music, and painting. You will be instructed in these things here. First, I want to know if either of you sing of play?" The music room was furnished with three grand pianos. As I looked on them, I longed to sit at a bench and play a tune on the ivory and ebony keys, just to hear music again. Eidyia had made me learn some piano when I was younger, but Ariela had forbidden me to play when she came, saying the noise gave her a headache. Enviously, I watched as Lady Edris gestured to one of the girls, motioning her towards the piano.

"Evangeline, dear, show Ladies Cyala and Amerisia what you have learned here." Evangeline was a blonde girl in a deep blue gown embroidered elegantly with silver thread. She swept gracefully over to one of the pianos and seated herself on the bench. There was already music on the piano, and the girl looked it over quickly before beginning to play. Then, the sound of music filled the air as Evangeline's fingers danced across the keys. It had been so long since I had heard such music, and it seemed that this was heaven. My surly mood dropped away for a moment, and I was glad to be here, in this room full of music. Then the music stopped, and Evangeline rose, allowing Amerisia to sit at the bench.

"I do not play," I heard her admit to Lady Edris. The Lady only smiled tolerantly. "That is perfectly all right, dear. Evangeline did not play when she came and listen to her now!"

I can sing a bit," Cyala offered. Her offer made me cringe. I had heard Cyala sing before, and I hated that sound more than any other. For an hour, different groups of girls played and sang. Some were better than others, but Amerisia's piano lessons were not sounding so promising. Lady Edris told her she was doing marvelously for a beginner, and praised Cyala's 'lovely, sweet voice' endlessly. I rolled my eyes, thinking that she was supporting a hopeless cause. I could not see my step-sisters ever being musical and perfect.

When I thought about their slow progress, I wasn't sure quite what I should think. On one hand, I was glad to see them fail when they thought they were so high on their golden pedestals. Then again, when they were proper ladies, they would be sent home. The sooner they learned to be cultured young women, the sooner I would see Eidyia and my home. Still, I had Valora to talk to, and the hilarity of watching Amerisia and Cyala struggle to be proper was far too entertaining. I was determined to endure what time I was forced to spend here as best I could, and when I returned home, I would have so many stories for Eidyia!

That night, I returned to my room and readied Cyala and Amerisia for bed. When I was done with them, I retreated to my room. Just as I was about to settle down myself, there was a knock on the door. "Get the door, Cyn-Dyrela," Amerisia ordered in a particularly nasty voice. Hurriedly, I pulled a tattered old work robe on and pulled the hood over my head. I exited, and glanced over at my stepsisters. Frowning when I saw the elder girl grinning at her sister, I wondered what was going on. I opened the door to the hallway to see Lady Edris standing formidably outside.

"Come out of the ladies' room, girl. I do not want to disturb their rest." I did as she asked, completely confused. When I shut the door behind me, Lady Edris's haughty face suddenly became cross and demanding. "I have been informed that you are a very insolent girl who has been disobedient to your mistresses throughout their entire journey here. Do not think for a moment that such disobedience will be tolerated."

"Yes, Lady Edris." My response was humble and polite. I did NOT want to get into a conflict with this woman. It was easy enough to taunt Amerisia and Cyala, but I was not foolish enough to make a bad impression on Lady Edris.

"Perhaps you will repent your misdeeds after your punishment," she announced, her voice dangerous, as if she was challenging me. I said nothing, but I was getting angry. It was just like Amerisia to do this to me. She didn't have the nerve to punish me herself. I hated her more than ever. She was a coward, hiding behind other's power. But she was not my concern now. My concern was Lady Edris, the look on her face eerily nasty.

An hour later, I was scrubbing windows. Lady Edris had announced nastily that she heard I was excellent at getting windows clean, and that I could put my talent to use and clean all the windows on the third story. With every swipe of the rag, I remembered my previous punishment and how I had hated Ariela for it. Eidyia would warn me that such hate was not good, but I couldn't help but feel hatred for Lady Edris, but most of all for Amerisia and Cyala. Time dragged by, and I was still washing windows. My eyes grew tired, and I longed to throw down my rag and fall asleep, but I kept working. They wouldn't break me. One day I would be baroness again, and then I'd never take another order from any of them ever again. At least that was what I kept telling myself.

At last, two or three hours before dawn, I finished my task and returned to my room. As I walked back, some of the passing servants laughed at my old tattered robe and drooping posture. I was almost to my quarters, when someone's voice called out "Morrigan!" It was Valora, and I turned to speak to her. She was hurrying to catch up to me. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Not up early," I explained bitterly. "Up late." She was quiet, and I wished I could see her facial expressions. I expected her to be surprised, but she didn't seem to be.

"Punished, I assume?" she asked. I nodded and held up my cleaning bucket and rag.

"Washing windows for Lady Edris," I explained. Valora sighed a little.

"I'm sorry about that, Morrigan. She can be horrid sometimes. The best advice I can give is just not to upset her. If it helps any, I understand. The first few weeks I was here, she gave me so many punishments for what she said was defiance. But eventually she stopped when I learned to hold my tongue and be quiet and respectful. It will be all right in the end." Her words were comforting, if only for the fact that I had someone who finally understood me.

"Hadn't you ever thought to get out of this place if it was so bad?" I asked her. "You're not bound to anyone. You're free to go if you wish." She just shook her head.

"Where would I go? Who would take me? I was fortunate to get a position here, and there is no where else to go. I'm trapped here."

"Believe me," I laughed. "That I can understand." With that, we parted. It was early enough that I could go to sleep for a few hours before having to rise and attend to Amerisia and Cyala. After putting away my bucket and rag, I headed back to my room. I was just about to stumble into my tiny room when I looked over at Amerisia, who was sleeping peacefully beneath her pink blankets. On an impulse, I walked over to her and shook her awake roughly.

"What is it?" she muttered, looking around in the dim candlelight that lit the room. Her eyes locked on me and she sneered. "How dare you wake me up Cyn-Dyrela?"

"I dare," I replied coolly. "I just have one thing to say to you, coward. Next time, deal with me yourself. Quit hiding behind everyone else. One day, Amerisia, you will have to deal with your own affairs, and I will be there to laugh when you fail."

"Are you threatening me?" she demanded, sitting up. "I don't think that would be particularly wise. What do you hold over me? What is to keep me from doing precisely what I wish to do?"

"You know you have no power over me. You just run to those who do. What makes you so sure that you can handle me when Ariela is gone?" I taunted. It was foolish to provoke her like this, but I didn't care anymore. I glared at her from beneath my hood. The words felt so good. She had no power. Then, Amerisia's sneer morphed into a hideous grin.

"Fine. If that's the way you want it to be, Cyn-Dyrela. We'll see, in the end, who has the power. Now get out of my way, before I take you up on your offer to punish you myself."

"Fine, my lady." My words were dripping with sarcasm. I withdrew to my room and pulled off the robe, flinging it onto the chair. With that, I collapsed onto the cot, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I slept soundly until Amerisia began to rap on my door the next morning and demand that I help her comb her hair and dress her for the day's lessons. Cyala was up too, and began to issue her own orders. With a sigh, I pulled on my good robe and folded the old one away. I prepared myself for another day in my life.

Days spent in Castle Edris became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years. I settled into the routine of orders and the occasional punishment. Amerisia made good her threats. She now dealt with me herself, finding ways to make my life as miserable as possible. As Eidyia reminded me every letter, I kept my temper for the most part. For the most part, life was tedious: I spent most of my time sitting by while Amerisia and Cyala attended their lessons, social functions, meals, and other such events. After observing how hopeless they were in their first week here, I began to worry that we would be here forever. Ariela's letters to her daughters were not encouraging either. Even after three years in Castle Edris, she did not send for her daughters to return to Llyr.

As time passed, Ariela's awful daughters certainly improved. Their first week had been painful for both of them. Ariela had let them act however they wished at home, and had never taught them formal manners. They tried their best, but I always had to suppress my laughter when I saw them eating their soup with a dessert spoon. After a bit of a struggle, Amerisia finally learned to tell the difference between a salad fork and a fish fork, and Cyala mastered the art of drinking from her crystal water goblet without slurping.

Besides their culinary accomplishments, they also had improved in their dancing lessons. Other areas of accomplishment included penmanship, in which both girls improved drastically. They were learning formal calligraphy, even, and Cyala showed a particular talent at this. Both were taught how to manage a household, which basically meant they were able to order around servants and issue their demands. As if they needed to learn that! It was, perhaps, the one thing they were already good at. Amerisia was soon able to play the piano quite well after all her lessons, and Cyala's voice was also improved.

As I watched them during their 'training,' I began to feel a new emotion other than hatred towards my step-sisters: jealousy. They were indeed becoming perfect ladies, and were no longer the ill mannered brats that I once served. Now, they had the airs of highborn ladies and manners to match. Both of them appeared to be perfectly proper. When no one else was around, they could still be as nasty as ever, but on the outside, no one could find any fault in them.

I, on the other hand, was not quite so polished. Mostly, I felt bitter and angry, and not even Eidyia's letters or Valora's kind conversation could sway the feelings that were building inside me. After so many years of servitude, I was breaking. It got harder every day to keep my head down and obey their orders. I tried to tell myself that by passively accepting my current situation and waiting for my opportunity, that I was better than them. I was not driven by petty spite and jealousy, and that made me better. But at night, when I lay awake and stared into the darkness, I knew the truth. Anger was all I had left, and my hope was more fragile than ever. The light in my world was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it.

It would have been easy to fall into depression, or attempt something desperate. But I was a Llyr, and couldn't run away from this. I was bound to Llyr, bound to do whatever I could to make sure that Ariela and her spawn wouldn't ever harm it. No matter how much Eidyia assured me of this, though, I still considered leaving Castle Edris and hiding. But that was foolish: Ariela wouldn't tolerate my disappearance and would no doubt use her connections to find me and bring me back. And if that happened, I was either dead or imprisoned in the manor. She couldn't risk letting me try to tell my story to others, even if they didn't believe me. Things seemed so hopeless. Then the letters came.

I had taken the responsibility of gathering letters and distributing them to their respective owners in Castle Edris. Besides my duties serving Amerisia and Cyala, I had duties around the castle that were imposed on me by the demanding Lady Edris. As I was delivering the mail, I noted that Eidyia had sent me another letter, and Ariela had written to her daughters as well. When I returned to my room, I found my step-sisters getting ready for a dancing lesson. Giving them their letter, I put mine away, not having time to read it. It would have to wait until after I pinned up their hair and followed them to their lesson.

When the lessons were over and I was allowed to return to my room, I brought a candle with me, eagerly opening the wax seal on Eidyia's letter. "Dear Chryseis," it read. "I hope you have remembered my advice from the last letter and not given up yet. I have news that will make you very happy indeed: you are coming home. Ariela is sending for her daughters, so I suppose she is satisfied with their progress. I suppose I was wrong: they apparently are accomplished ladies now, and the world has not stopped spinning." I laughed, remembering what she had sworn would happen before Amerisia and Cyala became proper ladies. "I do not know if you have heard of the reason why they are coming home. It has been rumored that the royal family are holding a series of balls like nothing the kingdom has ever seen before. Ariela is eager to have her daughters home again so they can prepare for this. I never thought I would be glad for one of Ariela's orders, but this one I am thankful for. Since the girls left, I have been treated like a maid instead of a governess. Thankfully, my tasks are none so bad. I mind the books in the library, which is hardly a job at all since Ariela rarely goes in there, and I help in the gardens. The iris and lilacs are in bloom, their colors lighting up the gardens. It's so lovely, and the scent is heavenly. They will be blooming to greet you upon you return." The letter was signed by her, but continued on after the signature, as if she had decided to add something more after the letter's completion.

"You said a long time ago, that when you returned, you wouldn't wait any more. I've been forming a plan, Chryseis. We can't wait much longer, if what I hear is true. For so many years, you have been so patient, so hopeful. I think that now is our chance, our time when our patience and hope will pay off. But that is yet to be proven. Hurry home, young one, and I will tell you all that I have thought of. I have missed you more than you know."

The time spent waiting was over? I smiled to myself, a wide and confident smile. No longer would I have to take orders from them! But what was her plan? Why had she come up with it only recently? Or was it just recently that she had confidence in it enough to tell me about it? I never got the chance to ponder these questions fully, for Cyala was pounding on my door. "Cyn-Dyrela! We will be leaving Castle Edris tomorrow! Come out of there and help us pack." I smiled and placed the letter with the others under my cot. I was still smiling, even as my step sisters ordered me about. Nothing could drag me down now. I was going home.