BELLRAM V01 - Ambivalence of Light and Shadow I

BP001-P16 - Pralines 01

Meia noticed that the other maid had returned. Immediately she took her place at the door again. She had not been away for a long time and now that she was back, the fidgety one seemed to be getting nervous. She squinted over at her several times. She probably wanted to check whether her colleague had noticed the damage to the palm tree. It certainly was visible. Fortunately for her though, her colleague's was constantly looking straight ahead. So she could not have noticed it yet.

~Do they always have to stand there?~ It seemed a bit exaggerated and also unnecessary. There was not even anybody here.

As if Meia had called for it, several voices came into the courtyard on the left. It sounded as if guests had arrived.

A glance confirmed this assumption. On the very other side of the house, a group of four people came into the courtyard. A familiar person was among them.

It was the butler. He led the group towards a table. They seemed to be important people. One of the men wore a red suit and leather gloves. The woman's dress was so long that it dragged across the ground behind her. By their clothes, these people were undoubtedly important.

Meia saw that the woman began to turn her head to take a view of the courtyard. Quickly she turned away before she would notice her.

It was uncomfortable sitting here alone.

It was also so that she had nothing to do that would justify her presence. Unfortunately, the cappuccino was already depleted. At best she could pretend to drink something. But even that would not change the fact that she was sitting alone at this table. To them, she certainly looked like she was left behind. And technically, that was exactly what she was.

~And now?~

While Meia contampleted her situation, the butler said something to which the woman started laughing loudly, and then the two men started laughing as well.

Almost out of reflex, Meia sneaked a peek at them, but what she saw let her sunk down in her chair.

The butler was pointing in her direction. He was pointing at her.

Her gaze dropped to her lap. They were still laughing. Aimlessly, she played with one of the seams of her dress. They did not stop. It certainly was not about her. It must have had something to do with the garden. The butler had certainly pointed to the garden. If only she had heard what he had said....

It was probably better to leave. After all, she had nothing to do anymore and she had been told several times that if she wanted something, all she had to do was ring the handbell. Her current wish was not to be here any longer. Hesitantly, Meia reached for the bell, while she continued to watch the people surreptitiously.

With the ringing of the bell, a soft tinkling sounded across the courtyard.

One of the maids immediately came to her. Again, it was the one with the Bordeaux eyes and the perfect make-up. Meia was really starting to wonder why it was always her who had to do everything while the other loafed around in the doorway. She had not even flinched when the bell rang, even though she had observed how she had grabbed it. Now that Meia thought about it, maybe she should have made a hand signal instead? After all, the distance to the door was no more than ten metres.

"Miss Arvis, how can I be of service?"

"Erm..."

Of course, Meia knew what she wanted from the maid. She wanted to get away from the table. She was bored and wanted something to do. Unfortunately, she had not thought about how exactly to express it, because she could not tell it to the maid in such an uncouth way. It was necessary to convey her wishes packaged in an appropriate manner.