Chapter 22. How dare this stupid bitch
***
"I'm sorry."
Ihedia quickly dropped to her knees and begged for forgiveness, clutching her head.
"How dare this stupid bitch......."
At this unpleasant turn of events, one of Kayan's men stepped forward, shouting harsh words at Ihedia.
With a light wave of his hand, Kayan stopped the man in his tracks.
The warriors surrounding him growled fiercely, as if the hem of their robes had been defiled, but Kayan himself showed no emotion.
As he stepped aside with a nonchalant stride, the others followed suit.
Some of them gave Ihedia a nasty look and even spat at her, but Kayan didn't look back once.
"The moment you agreed to come with me to Anut, you were no longer Elmir’s princess or anything, you were just one of the bounty that came with it."
The sneer in his voice replayed vividly in her mind.
No longer were they royalty and diplomatic envoys, but mere rulers and subjects.
The gap between them had widened to the point where it was now ridiculous to expect any response from him, and Ihedia was once again reminded of her predicament.
The only reason she could even speak to him, much less be in the same room with him, was because of her status as Elmir’s abandoned princess.
‘It's for the best.’
Perhaps it was just as well that she was just one of many slaves here.
Considering Netira's reputation for never letting a woman associated with Kayan off the hook, it would be better if she was treated the same as the other slaves.
It wasn't until they were completely out of sight that she pushed herself upright and picked up the empty bucket.
***
When Ihedia reached the kitchen with the newly fetched water, the chef's hysterical voice cut her off.
"77, why are you coming in so late, I'll send you back to the outbuildings if you're not careful and acting up!"
The chef didn't bother to listen to Ihedia's pleas for an explanation and went straight to barking at the others.
"This is a banquet specially requested by Lady Netira, so everyone moves fast!"
The reason the kitchen staff was so busy was because of tomorrow's banquet.
Judging by the amount of food prepared, it was a meal for quite a few people.
She wondered if the banquet that Netira specifically requested was for the envoys returning from Elmir.
As with the outbuildings, the atmosphere here was strangely tense whenever the name 'Netira' was mentioned.
The atmosphere was somewhat heightened, and Ihedia had to work hard to stay out of sight of the kitchen staff.
For hours on end, she busied herself with menial tasks like taking out the trash and washing dishes.
Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she worked in the kitchen, where the fire was roaring, unlike the freezing air outside.
For someone who was vulnerable to the cold, it was better than living in a drafty outbuilding.
But her wrists ached from all the carrying and handling.
Ihedia fiddled with her sore wrists for a few seconds.
Someone walked by her, pushing her hard.
It nearly sent her spinning into a pile of dishes, but she managed to avoid the worst of it.
"On the subject of the stables, get back to work."
Nearby, the outbuilding women assigned to the kitchen, like herself, chattered amongst themselves.
Ihedia, who had been lucky enough to make the transition from the stables to the main house and rise in status, was a bit of a nuisance.
It was the envy of the other slaves that she was allowed to work in the main house, even if it was only in menial jobs.
Normally, a slave would have to work in the stables and other outbuildings before being allowed to enter the main house.
It was enough to make Ihedia's stomach turn that she had earned a position that they had spent years gritting their teeth for, and that she had done so without much effort in such a short period of time.
It didn't feel good to feel the pride of the people here, but this was one of the gateways she had to pass through.
Ihedia endured the prying eyes of others in her situation and returned to her work.
After a while, it was time to eat.
The kitchen workers distributed their own food and leftovers to the women in the outbuildings.
It was just stale bread, clear soup, and cooked vegetables, but it was a good meal for them to have something warm to eat.
She remembered Aurora telling her that sometimes they were lucky enough to get meat or cake, and that made many people want to work in the kitchens.
For Ihedia, the meal was no different than the one she'd had in Elmir, so she wasn't surprised, but it was a bit of a struggle to force herself to chew and swallow the cold bread that had hardened into ice in the stables without a sip of water.
She realized that whatever she ended up eating in the kitchen would be much better than what she had in the stables.
By the time Ihedia stood before the women of the outbuildings to receive her meal, the bread, soup, and other food had already been shared among them.
They gave Ihedia strange looks and gulped down their food.
Whether their new coworker was starving or not, Ihedia's presence was of no concern to them.
"This is what you've been promised from the moment you crossed into the main house.”
Ihedia echoed Ellie’s words and returned to her position, resuming her silent task.
Several more hours passed before the order to disperse finally came.
Once everyone in the kitchen was gone, the women from the outbuildings surrounded her as if waiting for her.
"77, wipe that down again and go."
The woman with the number 210 pinned to her chest said, pointing to the neatly organized bowls.
They were the ones Ihedia had already wiped clean.
When she gave her a look of incomprehension, 21 grabbed some of the food waste lying around and poured it into the pristine white bowls.
“We'll tell Ellie that you messed up and are going to have to wash dishes all night.”
Their boisterous laughter cluttered Ihedia's ears.
"She’ll suffer here all night. How long do you think she'll last?"
"After a few days, I think she'll be crying and begging Ellie to let her go back to the outbuilding."
"Look how long it took her to fetch water earlier. She has already made a fuss since day one, and I don't like it."
The snide remarks continued until they left the kitchen.
Soon they were gone, leaving Ihedia alone in the kitchen.
"....."
She swallowed hard and rolled up her sleeves.
There was no time to lose.
Whoever had made this mess would have to clean it up quickly or she'd be sent back to the outbuildings without even a chance to make an excuse. She had to be careful not to upset the chef, especially on a day as important as tomorrow.
Ihedia picked up the soiled dishes with resignation.
***
After such an eventful day in the main house, Ihedia entered her quarters.
Everyone was already asleep, but Aurora had been waiting for her all this time.
She looked over at 5, who was lying on the bed, and asked in the lowest voice she could muster.
"Sister, are you okay?"
Ihedia replied, smiling sheepishly and tidying up her disheveled hair.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You're the only one who's late, and it's because everyone else is bullying you, right?"
Aurora said pointedly, snorting, as if she'd seen this coming.
"I guess it's something you have to go through once in a while."
"Still, it's too much, and it's not like Netira just picked you up and took you there out of order."
"You shouldn't be so upset. I had been warned about it by Ellie."
Aurora whispered in her ear in a disgruntled tone, still not satisfied with her answer.
"Ellie's the caretaker, and you don't think I don't know that sister is being treated like this, and besides......"
“It’s so noisy, it’s killing me, really.”
Then, annoyed by their conversation, 5 stirred in her comforter and muttered in an irritated tone.
5 had a very difficult time sleeping.
She must have been awake the whole time, because they had kept their voices low enough for only the two of them to hear.
“It's not only your room, and you need to be quiet."
It was as if 5, who had been the friendliest of all, had suddenly become someone else.
Aurora pouted, meeting Ihedia's questioning gaze.
"Gee, I don't know what's wrong with her all of a sudden. She's been like that since earlier."
Aurora glanced at the lying 5 and formed 2 horns on top of her head with two fingers.
Ihedia remembered the image of 5 this morning, trying to vent her frustrations on Ellie.
‘I wonder if it's about that.’
It flashed through her mind that it might have been the result of her being unwanted in the main house as a newcomer, but it was only speculation.
"Get some sleep, sister, it's not long before you have to wake up again."
Morning would dawn in a couple hours.
Aurora's worries made Ihedia forget her doubts for a moment and quickly go to bed.
She would need every ounce of sleep she could get if she was to save her strength for Netira's upcoming banquet.
A day in the main house that felt like walking on ice made her head spin, but she forced herself to close her eyes and wait for the morning to come.
***
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Write a comment
Iona (Thursday, 11 January 2024 07:43)
Thank you for the chapter!!