Hidden World

Ella- Ocean

From my bedroom, I can see the ocean. I can't sit in my love seat and sew while doing it, which is probably why Mother doesn't approve. I have to stand on my bed and get onto the tips of my toes and L E A N way over so I can get a glimpse. When I do, I can see the faintest bit of shimmery blue. Even though it's beautiful, I kind of hate it. More, I hate knowing that I will never touch it, that I can never go near it. 

I sigh and sit on my bed. Tonight, we're going to the Annotte's for dinner and entertainment. Mother doesn't really like the Annotte family, but if we don't see them, they will have a grudge, which will cause everyone else to have a grudge, and we must be social, according to Mother.

"M'Lady, Madam Crosingfert has requested that you start getting ready for dinner tonight. Should I have your girls come?" asks Ms.M. She know's it's a silly question to ask, of course, but she asks it anyway.

"Yes Ms.M," I say.

A few minutes later, my "girls" come in, two of them total. 

"G'day, Mistress Ella," both say, then proceed to fit me into gown and slippers. After, they paint my face, quickly and perfectly. Why I need three more is a mystery to me, but every lady in the Houses has five personal maids, getting one maid at age twelve and one more every two years until they're twenty. Lucky me, my sixteenth birthday is in a week and a day.

I go downstairs, maids in tow, and greet Mother, Father, Peter, and Grandmother. 

"It's about time," Mother says in form of greeting. I bow my head in apology and respect.

We walk into the garage. Quickly, with my fingers crossed, I say to Mother, "May I have my own ride?"

She frowns, causing a shadow to cross her painted face. "Yes, dear. Just sit with me at dinner please."

"Of course, Mother."

I grin. I step into the car. Hopefully, I get a nice driver who won't blacken the windows. A young boy steps into the driver's seat. I know that if Marie or Lucille, my "friends" , saw this driver, they would flirt with him to no end, even though he's not from a House and the elders wouldn't let it happen. I never have been in love. Leah, my sister, fell in love. She married a poor kitchen boy, not from any House. The one time I saw two people kiss was Leah and Andrew The Kitchen Boy. That is how I know what true love is. After Mother, Father, and Grandmother knew that Leah and Andrew were getting married, they pretended that there were only two descendants to the Crosingfert House. Leah didn't exist to them anymore. So I know to never ever fall in love.

Sure enough, the driver leaves the windows clear. Mother and Grandmother's car pulls out first, then Father and Peter's. I couldn't have better luck. We start down the long road from the garage to the main avenue. From the hill, not only can I see the ocean, but I can also see tiny cottages. I wonder where Other's live.

You see, I know that if no servants are from the Houses, then they most be from somewhere. That somewhere most have their own servants, for no one can live without them. Those servants most come from somewhere, and in that somewhere their most be servants. It is descending chain with our Houses on top. 

I stare out the window. All too soon, we arrive at the Annotte House.