I Must Save the Evil King

Chapter 34: Emilee's Story

"When I was younger, I was not the person you know today.   

I was nothing more than a poor girl on the streets begging for scraps and money. My mother had had me out of wedlock and had been kicked out of her family because of it. But she never made me feel like it was my fault. She was a kind and gentle woman, on nights when we couldn't afford a room to stay in she would wrap me in her clothes and hold me tight to her chest. She did everything she could to protect me. 

She died. Of a fever. I was nine. 

The only thing I had left of her was my name, Emery. It means strong and powerful, and it was the only gift she could ever afford to get me. 

The day after she died I started working at a pub down in the city square. I was paid for food and a place to sleep. Money was scarce, but I worked hard day and night cleaning, cooking, and anything that was asked of me. When I was 15 the owner of the pub got me a spot in the royal maid examinations. 

Dozens of girls just as desperate as me fought for those spots but there were only so many. I failed the first time, and the second, but on my third testing I was given a position in the palace laundry rooms. I should have stayed at the pub. 

Girls in the laundry room don't live long. 

It's the chemicals they use down there, that choke the life out of them. And there were always accidents with those big awful machines that they insisted on us using. Every once and a while a girl would get her hair caught in the machine, she would be lucky to escape with any hair at all.

And the room was always so cramped, and with only a few windows, I felt the prisoners must have had it easier than us. So I tried to change things. 

I tried to convince the girls that if we all left, just for a couple of days, every other part of the palace would fall into disrepair. There wasn't a person in the palaces who didn't use our services, yet we were told we were expendable. Even just by threatening to leave, we had the power to improve our wages and our conditions. 

The head maid found out before I could get anything off the ground, and I was fired. Once again I was on the streets, but now no one would hire me, they didn't want workers who complained. I did everything that was asked of me, I worked impossible hours for barely any wages and the one time I spoke up, I lost everything. The world does not like girls who speak their minds. 

A week after I was fired there was a fire in the laundry room. It was exactly as I had warned everyone. In that cramped space, the fire had moved so quickly. The chemicals mixed in with the flame made water entirely useless. I was nearby. I tried to save people. 

It was shortly after the fire that a woman approached me with a promise. She worked for an organization called Crimson Wrath, that worked for the rights of women, and she wanted me to join. If I did she promised I could get revenge on every man that allowed the conditions in the laundry room to continue, and I could stop anything like this from happening again.  

According to the records Emery died in the fire. The paperwork hadn't even gone through yet marking me as fired, so I was just tossed in a pile with all the rest. Nothing there to raise suspicions. 

Other than the fact that I am alive now. Something I put great effort into covering up. 

I was given the new name of Emilee Sunton, the daughter of a recently deceased knight, and the position of maid in waiting to the Princess Royal. 

My position at the court gave me access to all the nobles' secrets, and a perfect excuse to sneak into the servant's courters and deliver the information I had gained. I was good at spying as well, something about my face made men want to confess their sins to me. When I was presented with the opportunity to join the upper ranks of the organization and get revenge on the man responsible for the fire I didn't hesitate to say yes.