John has made a promise to Caroline that he will come back to her when he committed his duty as a knight. After nearly 20 years, one of them is waiting for her love to return. One of them is looking for his soulmate. Neither do they know both of the...
Watching Caroline socializing with the rich people reminded Geraldine of her past, the time before she worked for the royals.
Flashback
"John...John...catch the rope" Geraldine whispered loud enough for the soon-to-be knight who was in the garden.
"Is it safe, Geraldine?" Caroline asked.
"Of course, it is, Milady."
John climbed up the mansion just to give Caroline maltose he bought from the fair. Caroline was so shocked. She thought John had something urgent but he came to give her just maltose. To be frank, she didn't appreciate that.
"You silly! You climbed up just to give me maltose. It is dangerous to climb up here. I don't want to see you break your arms or legs. You could get..."
"But you love it and I know it. Let me finish something you can't do" Caroline took a deep breath and looked at John.
"You need to go seriously. I don't want to hear that you got punish from your instructor."
"Caroline?" Her mother knocked. "Can I come in?" this sentence scared the girls so much.
"One moment, mother. I'm changing" Caroline turned around and John was gone. She looked at the garden. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw John ran away. Geraldine quickly opened the door.
"Caroline dear, are you alright?"
"Yes mother. Why?"
"I heard you said break your arms or legs." Caroline and Geraldine looked at each other.
"It was...actually Milady was warning me not to repair her wardrobe. I have to stand on a chair to fix it and Milady said she didn't want me to break my arms or legs."
"Thanks for letting me know, Geraldine. I'll ask a few people to assist you."
Present
Caroline went to John's house just to clean up. She was like a person whose soul was lost somewhere in the world. She didn't cry anymore. It looked like she had accepted the fact John was gone. Geraldine looked at the Lady who was cleaning the table. Her tears couldn't roll down in front of the Lady but in her heart.
"Geraldine..." Caroline said softly.
"Yes, Milady?"
"Could you please ask your father to find John?" Caroline looked down.
Flashback
"How do you know all these activities? Horse riding, archery even hunting!" Caroline asked curiously.
"My father taught me those things...he said I needed to keep the traditions even though I don't really belong to either side of my family." Geraldine was playing with her fingers.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm mixed race. My mother is British. My father is Mongolian." She sighed. "Can I tell you something, Milady?" Caroline nodded. "I used to live in a palace. Everyone treated me nicely. But from what I see...they are not treated equally. I hate it. One night, I hopped on my horse and ran away from home. I hopped on a ship which was coming to England." The 20-year-old maid said without hesitation.
"My goodness...you're the princess from far east." Caroline was too shocked that she froze. She performed a curtsy to the princess when she realised who she had been talking to.
"No! Don't do that, please! I'm just a human. You and I have no difference."
How they met was nothing special. It was just a girl met a teenage girl at the stable. Geraldine was originally hiding behind Caroline's stable wanting to find some food for her beloved horse. A gunshot from a hunter scared her horse. It ran away. Geraldine had nothing with her. She didn't know where she was so that she hid behind the stable overnight. Early in the morning, the 13 year-old Caroline found Geraldine leaning against the stable resting. That was how their friendship started to build.
Present
After six months of grieving, everyone started their life again. Even the worse time, people still had to move on. But Caroline decided to stay the same. Going to John's house to do the cleaning became her daily routine. She stopped going to the fair. She prayed instead.
"Geraldine?" Caroline said.
"Yes, Milady?"
"Could you buy some herbs for me at the fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme." Although the voice of Caroline sounded emotionless, her face showed sorrow.
"Of course, Milady. Is there any particular thing you want to eat?" Caroline shook her head.
Geraldine bought everything Caroline needed quickly. Literally no one dared to leave Caroline alone at home. But Geraldine was the one Caroline trusted the most apart from John. Caroline would tell her to do everything.
"Milady, I've...Milady?" There was no one in the room. "Milady?" Geraldine was getting worried. She ran downstairs to the living room. Still, there was no one there. "Milady?"
"What's going on?" The male owner of the house just came back from his work and said.
"Milady is missing! She told me to buy some herbs at the fair. She's gone when I came back."
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