Lethal Affairs

Manners Are Learned

"Rude...."

Although the girl had barely whispered the word, it had been as loud as a gong to their hearing.

Leon winced, that girl is trouble.

He made a mental note to remind her to learn to keep her mouth shut, especially around other staff members of the fortress.

She was free to run her mouth as she pleased around him and the servants,but the other masters would not be as lenient.

Especially the Master of the Castle.

He may be the keeper of the fortress, and master of grounds, but he held very little power concerning matters outside of his jurisdiction.

In this world, rules were rules.

Disobedience, and any form of disparaging behavior was met swiftly with strict discipline. As the keeper of the fortress, he was the one who delivered discipline to the servants, and as the master of grounds he served as a judge in the Master's court.

He prayed that the Master had not heard her, but usually, such prayers were useless.

Perhaps they would assume that she was referring to the maid.

Yes.

If he was asked, that would be the reasoning he would provide.

He looked to his master hoping to gauge his reaction, and saw his lips quirked in a ghost of a smile.

Before he could understand the meaning behind such strange behavior, the master continued his walk and the entourage of guards, managers and masters followed.

***************************************************

The remainder of the day was mostly uneventful; there was just a small difference in her routine.

When she had awoken from her sleep, Marigold - the maid that had woken her from her slumber in the ballroom - had served breakfast, and was patiently waiting at her door.

And throughout the day, wherever she went, Marigold silently followed.

Ysabel ignored it and continued with her tasks for the day, but after Lunch, Ysabel found that she could not take the constant tailing.

"Is there a reason why you're following me?!" Ysabel asked the servant.

Marigold bowed her head to her, "Master Leon says from now on I am to assist you, I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable."

"...But I did not ask for an assistant."

"Master Leon says I am to keep you from trouble." she grinned.

Ysabel gasped, "keep me from trouble?!" she scoffed indignantly. "I am not a child!"

Infuriated by the new information, Ysabel stormed off in search of Master Leon. After several minutes of aimless wandering, she realized that she did not even know where his office was.

"Miss Pyralis." Marigold called, her voice a soft whisper. "I could take you to him." she suggested.

Embarrassed by her behavior, Ysabel nodded and allowed the girl to lead the way.

Master Leon's quarters was in a separate section of the fortress. It involved many turns and stairs. Ysabel could not imagine memorizing the route to visit him, she would probably never make this journey again.

Huffing and puffing, they finally arrived.

It is high-time, to begin working out, Ysabel thought as she tried to catch her breath.