Chapter 9
The past week was monotonous, but I embraced it.
I embraced the repetition, the silence, the exchange of only a few words a day.
I helped Sabriela carry the tea trolley up to the second floor, then I went to fetch cleaning supplies. I had been meaning to dust Lord Aegir’s furniture for a while now, but I kept postponing it—avoiding it, really. Today, I figured, would be opportune as he was to be away for the whole afternoon.
I was mistaken. He was there when I entered his room.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll come back later,” I said.
“You can stay.”
I paused, then nodded.
I worked swiftly and silently. The only sounds in the room were those of dripping water whenever I wrung out cloths, or those of papers being flipped, whenever Aegir turned over pages or opened scrolls.
A knock came at the door.
“Tea service!” Her sweet voice made its way from behind the door. I was already smiling when I opened it.
“Oh! Hi again. Would Lord Hailin like some tea? Or perhaps a carob sweet?” Sabriela asked, craning her head, trying to get a glimpse of Aegir somewhere behind me.
“Hello, young one,” he greeted from behind me. He smiled broadly at her. I realised then that I hadn’t seen his genuine smile up until that moment…and his pointy canines. I noticed those, too. “I’ll have the usual, please.”
I folded the cloth and went on with dusting the side table.
“Black tea, no sugar and no milk, coming right up.” She handed him his cup, lifting the saucer towards him with both hands.
Aegir took it in one hand; with the other, he touched his breastbone. “What’s this?” he asked, referring to her necklace.
“Oh!” She cupped it in her palm and held it up, allowing him a closer look. “It’s a tiny stuffed creature. A cat. Delia made it for me for my fourteenth birthday.”
I rubbed at an invisible stain.
“How thoughtful of her.”
“Would you also like a carob sweet?”
“Well, I can’t say no to that, can I?”
Sabi let out a small giggle. “Here you go.”
“Are they any good?”
“The sweets?”
“Mmhmm.”
“I cannot be the one to tell, unfortunately.” Sabi exhaled. “You see, we are not allowed to eat royal food, Lord Hailin.”
Smart girl. She chose her words wisely and did not mention that Lady Devora allowed her to have breakfast and dinner with the twins.
“Royal food?” Aegir asked, raising a quizzical brow.
“Mmhmm. You know, things like fruit or food that is fresh and sweet and anything yummy, basically.”
“Hmm,” he said, brows knitted. But then his tone turned full of mischief. “And you are telling me that you have never, ever, ever had one of these little sweets?”
Sabriela’s freckles disappeared beneath her flushed cheeks. She tried to hide her reddened face by looking at the floor.
“That’s enough prying, Lord Hailin,” I cut in. “Leave, Sabi, before he gets you into a heap of trouble.” She nodded with a sheepish smile.
“Wait,” Aegir said. “Here, you have it. For your birthday.” He opened his palm towards her.
She looked at me in search of approval. I hesitated, but then gave her a small nod. She took the sweet, hiding it in her dress pocket.
“Thank you, Lord Hailin! Bye, Delia.”
“Bye, Sabi,” I replied, before she closed the door behind her.
“I wasn’t prying, you know, and you didn’t have to cut my fun short like that.” His voice was something in between a complaint and a tease.
“Fun? Is that what amuses you? A threatened and hungry ch—”
A loud thud came from behind the door, followed by a muffled crackling noise. I rushed to open it, Aegir in tow. Glass shards and carob sweets were scattered all over the carpeted floor. Sabriela stood next to the trolley, lips tightly pursed.
“I’m so sorry,” Sabi blurted. “Delia, it was an accident, I swear it slipped from my hands.”
“It’s all right, Sabi, I’ll help you clean. Let me get the bucket.” I exited Aegir’s room and closed the door behind me, leaving him on the other side of it.
I knelt next to her and instructed, “Pick up the sweets and I’ll pick up the glass shards. Be careful where you place your knees or you’ll cut yourself.”
She bobbed her head and quickly did as told.
We were halfway through when I heard metal against metal. I lifted my head and met Sabriela’s fear-filled auburn eyes. Her hands trembled as she hid her necklace beneath the neckline of her dress, just like I always hid mine.
“He’s coming, he’s coming. What are we to do?” she asked. Her voice was low, yet each word sounded dipped in fear and panic.
I shot to my feet, hauling Sabriela along with me.
I was about to open Aegir’s door but he beat me to it.
Sabi turned towards me, her brows knitted.
There was no time. I grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her into his room, onto Aegir, then lifted my index finger towards my lips, gesturing a silent shh.
In that second it took me to close the door, I saw her. I saw her sombre face looking up, up, up, until she met Aegir’s confused eyes. Then she snapped her gaze back at me, shaking her head. “No. Please, don’t—”
Silence. I imagined Aegir silencing her mouth with his palm.
Oh gods, I remembered then, how terrified she was of them, of him.
I had promised her that she wouldn’t serve them, and not only was that promise broken, but now, I had locked her in a room with one of them.
My chest tightened, my lungs squeezed, but I did not have the luxury of time to worry about my breathing.
So I knelt on the carpet and continued picking up the shards.
And with every one I picked, the sound of clinking keys grew closer.
“What in Amfir’s name is the meaning of this!?” Mounir exclaimed, his voice raw. “And where’s that little brat?”
Behind Mounir, the door handle lowered, but I made it retract with my careful reply. “Lord Hailin—he asked if he could get an apple instead of the carob sweets, so I sent her to fetch him one. I accidentally hit the jar and it fell. It’s my fault, I apologise.”
“You do not give orders to other servants! No! You do not give orders to anyone here. And do you know why? It is because you are nothing and nobody.” He shook me by the shoulders.
“You keep acting like you’re entitled, like you’re important here.
” He shoved me to the floor, my elbow landing close to a sizeable shard.
I stared at it, wide-eyed. “Clean this mess.”
I resumed breathing the moment he left. I was waiting until I could deem it safe to open the door, but Aegir opened it before I could even make it to my feet. Sabriela pushed her way out and collapsed onto me. We embraced each other tightly.
“I’m sorry,” we both breathed.
Before my eyes squeezed shut, I glimpsed Aegir’s tense gaze and hardened jaw. And even if I hadn’t seen that, the way he slammed the door shut, like the crack of a whip on a silent night, told me he was livid.
I felt Sabi’s chest rising and falling before I heard her sobs. “Hey, it’s all right, don’t cry,” I told her softly, wiping away her tears. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I know it was an accident. Come now, help me clean this mess.”
We had just convinced ourselves that the carpet was free from glass and sweets when we heard him approach.
“Do not say anything,” I instructed, using the lowest voice possible.
He paced towards us, head down and swaying like a slithering snake with eagle eyes, scanning the carpet attentively.
“Don’t you ever take orders from other servants!” he barked at Sabriela, yanking her by her elbow. “Do you understand?” Her curly auburn hair bounced as he shook her forcefully. My nails dug into my palms and my lips tensed as I watched uselessly.
“Yes, Mr. Mounir,” she replied reluctantly.
“Now go get the twins, school finishes soon.” Then he turned to face me, the look of disgust written all over his stupid face.
“You, go throw that away,” he barked, gesturing at the bucket, now filled with broken glass and carob sweets.
“Then go to the laundry room and do not come out of there until your next service with Lord Halin.”
I nodded.
I was gathering the rest of the cleaning supplies when Aegir threw open his door.
“You did not have to do that,” he rumbled, white mist forming at his mouth.
I struggled to hold his gaze. “Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because she doesn’t deserve any of it.”
“And you do?” I looked at him, unblinking. “You lied using my name. You put me in a position where I couldn’t help you.” His tone teetered between tension and frustration.
“I don’t need your help,” I murmured. “I just want her unharmed.”
“Unharmed,” he repeated, bristling. “Is that why you felt the need to apologise to her? For locking her in with a monster, only to evade another?”
I averted my eyes. “I have to go before he finds me up here.”