CORRUPTED FILE [Lumina Chronicles Past Drafts]

Level Twenty-Seven

I woke to the sound of hushed conversation and the rustle of fabric. Someone giggled, then there was a muffled thwack! and a not so muffled yelp. I opened my eyes. Three young maids in matching uniforms stood squabbling at my bedside. The shortest one rubbed her arm and glared at the maid on her left.

The tallest maid gasped. "Oh, her eyes really are green!"

The trio looked at me, then looked at each other, then huddled together and began whispering frantically in another language.

For a moment, I forgot where I was. This bed was the most comfortable thing I'd felt in months, leagues above the cot in Faye's workshop I'd grown used to occupying. But a moment later the cloud of sleep faded and I remembered I had work to do. It was day two of seven of the royal ball, and I needed to get as much information out of Cas as possible. What time was it?

I pulled the silky blankets up around my shoulders and struggled to sit up amongst the mountain of pillows. Carlyle was nowhere to be seen. He'd probably started his patrol of the palace bright and early.

I eyed the trio. Despite being employed in the palace, they clearly weren't human. Or at the very least, not fully. I assumed they weren't sisters either, given the variety of hair and skin colors. The one thing they did share was green eyes. Not quite the same shade as mine, but still very green. "Good morning," I greeted warily.

The whispering ended abruptly, and the three maids returned to a straight line, curtsied in unison, and said (also in unison) "Good morning, Lady Jacintha."

"How long have you been watching me?"

"Not long, Miss," the first maid said, curtsying again. She looked similar to Faye, but younger and without any scales. She did have some blotchy red skin on the sides of her face though. Almost like a birth mark, or a faded bruise.

"We arrived only minutes ago to prepare you for breakfast, but were told not to disturb you if you still slept," the tallest maid added. She looked closer to my age, and was paler than the first, with icy sage eyes. She had the same red marks.

"Did we disturb you?" The short maid in the middle asked, her dark green eyes going wide.

"You disturbed her," the Faye-clone muttered before I could answer.

Shortie swatted Faye-clone's arm and the hushed squabbling began anew.

I chewed my lip and glanced around the large room. I had no clue how I was supposed to deal with this. Weren't they supposed to be taking care of me? I decided to wait it out, but when the hissing and swatting evolved to hair-pulling and shrieking, and enough was enough.

With a sigh, I stood and put myself in the middle of the trio, pushing them away from each other as politely but sternly as I could manage. "It's fine, no one disturbed me, I like to wake up early. What were you saying about breakfast?"

The trio exchanged quick glances, then Faye-clone folded her hands in front of her apron and cast her eyes respectfully to the floor. "The royal highnesses, Prince Casimir and Princess Rainette, have requested you join them for breakfast in the banquet hall."

Perfect, I could ask the questions I didn't have a chance to bring up yesterday. "Alright," I said, "Thanks for letting me know. I can take care of myself from here."

The trio looked at me with expressions of horror, then once again circled up to whisper frantically in... Keldan, probably? The discussion ended much quicker this time, and after a nod they returned to their line.

"But we're you're handmaids, Miss!" Shortie exclaimed. "I've already drawn you a bath, and Ren spent the whole walk here deciding what to do with your hair..."