The Labyrinth of Negrastir

Epiphany

The next day unfolded with the same monotonous routine, and before I knew it, a week went by in this never-ending nightmare.

I had never experienced such hardship and exhaustion in my current or past life before.

My eyelids were as heavy as steel and I struggled to shield them from the sun's relentless rays, which blinded me from the break of dawn till the sun disappeared below the horizon.

I laboured through my assigned chores day after day, without a break, and gained a newfound admiration for Ami and Lara, whom I took for granted.

Eventually, I reached a stage where I neglected my own physical and mental health – driven by the constant fear of facing reprimands, or worse, getting kicked out.

Here, in the past, a daughter had to be officially appointed as the heir to her father's riches in order to inherit them.

Due to the circumstances, however, my father never had the opportunity to do this. I was left completely penniless overnight.

But although my earnings as a maid-in-training were meagre, I found solace in having a roof over my head, plenty of food, and clean clothing readily available.

It wasn't the most ideal life, not by any means, but I saw it as an opportunity rather than a setback.

"Wait, you're still here?"

Hearing the Chief Maid's booming voice above me, I flinched and hurriedly gathered the washed potatoes and placed them in the woven basket beside me.

"On my way, ma'am!"

"Hang on," she said, cutting me short. "Where do you think you're going?"

Visibly confused, I put the basket back on the worn-out floorboards. "I thought these were for the servants—guess not?"

"No," she corrected me, "you're supposed to take them to the Royal Kitchen." Shaking her head, she continued without missing a beat. "Just what am I gonna do with you!"

"The Royal Kitchen?" I couldn't hide the surprise in my voice. We had already supplied the Royal Kitchen with stuff some three hours earlier and it was time for us servants to have our fills in the Servants' Hall.

"No one told you?"

"About what, exactly, ma'am?"

She heaved a deep sigh. I could tell by the way her chest rose and fell that she was in a state of utter distraught.

"His Highness is on his way as we speak. If we don't hurry up, the cooks will have a fit!"

"Vanir has—"

The force of the slap left a visible mark. Taken aback, I instinctively placed my hand over my throbbing cheek and felt the heat radiate from it.

"How dare you utter His Highness' name! Don't you know any better?"

"I..."

"I know who you are and why you were brought to the Servants' Quarters. But the others don't. If you even hint that you know His Highness, things will get much tougher for you here than they already are. Do you understand?"

"I didn't mean to—"

"I said, do you understand?"

I dropped my head. "Yes, ma'am."

"Go ahead now. Keep your head low and don't go around and talk to people from the Royal Court."

My cheek was still throbbing as I arrived at the other side of the bridge, which marked the boundary between the Servants' Quarters and the esteemed Royal Court.