The World of The Ranger (continued)

Chapter Nine

A/N: Hey Guys! So sorry for the wait on this chapter, but I had too much writing stuff going on and it was stressful trying to keep up with all of them at the same time.

Anyway I have a more flexible schedule, so I can start writing again. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry for making you wait so long for it.

-Nicole

Jillian woke to someone shaking her by the shoulder. "Miss. Miss, wake up." A voice said. The voice was feminine and sounded like it was the owner of the hand that shook her. 

She opened her eyes and looked at the owner of the hand, who had a look of worry for a moment. Jillian sat up and yawned.

"You need to get out of bed, miss." The woman said. 

By the look of her, she must be a servant. Jilly thought.

"We need to get you dressed and trained for the day." The woman continued.

Jillian's eyes widened. That's right. I'm working until I have enough money to leave. She thought. She threw off the covers and saw a dress much like the one the woman was wearing. "Are those my clothes?" She asked.

The woman nodded. "Those are the servant's clothes. You'll be wearing them for the time you're working here at Redmont." She said.

Jillian nodded as she slipped on the dress and had the woman help her tighten it. "Not too tight, so I can breathe." Jillian said.

Sooner than she thought, Jillian was headed down the hall to the servant's quarters with her small amount of belongings. 

The woman began to talk to her halfway there. "My name is Charity. I'll be the one training you for the next few days, until you're ready to go off on your own." She said. "All the servants have gone through training, although, due to some developing an attitude, they couldn't handle the strain. Let's hope you won't be one of them."

Jillian said nothing. She was used to housework because she never had any servant's back home. But then again, this is nothing like home. She thought. "What will I have to do?" She asked.

"Various things. Dishes, laundry, sweeping the ashes and soot from the fireplaces, and more." Charity answered. Jillian nodded. Fairly simple. She thought. Stuff I did at home before the contest.

"When you first meet some of the girls, they may be a little rude at first, but that's only because you're new and they like to tease the new ones." She said.

"That's comforting." Jillian replied softly.

"They'll warm up to you in time. You'll be fine. Besides, what's more comforting is the fact that they won't do anything extreme to you, like shove you into the laundry water or something."

"Has anyone ever been shoved into the laundry water?" Jillian asked.

"I have. Trust me, you don't want it to happen to you." Charity answered. 

"What happened to the person who did it to you?"

"She was let go and kicked out of the castle for harassment. She was warned many times not to do that to anyone, but she couldn't resist the temptation to soak someone is soapy water."

"What was her name?"

"I can't tell you. The rest of the servant's know, but the Baron told them they were not to give the woman a bad reputation at the castle. We didn't want her to be left without work, despite how  mean she was to us."

"I see." 

During their conversation, they drew closer to the door of the servant's quarters. Once they were in front of it, although Jillian didn't know, Charity stopped and gestured to the door. "Here we are." She said. "The servant's quarters."

Jillian stared at the door blankly. She didn't expect it to be grand like the entrance to a ballroom, but she didn't expect it to be plain either.

Charity opened the door and was greeted with smiles and many voices saying 'good morning' to her. They saw Jillian and silenced themselves so fast it scared her. She smiled and waved shyly. "Hi." She said.

The girl's turned away and began to whisper amongst themselves. 

"Girls. This is Jillian, our newest recruit." Charity said, interrupting the whispers, which stopped just as suddenly as they began.

All the eyes, save for Charity's, were on Jillian. One girl stood up and smiled. "Welcome to the team, Jillian." She said.