Chapter: 7: Freckled Smile

The past week had been a blessing from the ancient spirits.

I hadn’t seen the Deveroux son since the day in the ballroom, and today, he was scheduled to leave the mansion, not to return until the golden royals had left the Inferno Realm.

It was customary for all Iridis who had once attended one of the royal academies to travel to their blood realm during this segment of the Crown Trials timeline to represent their element.

They hadn’t yet found all six contenders to fight for each of the Terra academies, but the Inferno Realm was next, and traffic might be troublesome since all Fire Iridis had to travel there.

Master Deveroux would be back in a matter of days. He technically belonged to the Terra Realm as a metal manipulator, even if he hadn’t attended one of the royal academies.

He wasn’t obligated to attend these gatherings like the elementals.

Still, it was good practice among the Iridis to do so anyway—just like Lady Deveroux, as an ice crusher, would join the Ocean Realm when it was their turn to be visited by the golden royals.

It was strange to think that a single exam could define the future for twenty-four of Heliac’s women. Exam anxiety or a bad day could potentially ruin a contender’s chance to become a suitor or even queen.

“Are you busy?”

I turned my head and saw Milo standing in the dining room doorway.

“I’m busy at every waking moment I spend in this mansion, Milo,” I said, chuckling and raising the drenched mop from the floor.

Milo leaned against the door frame, looking at me with a suspicious smile.

I leaned against the wooden handle of my tool, mirroring his pose, and smiled too.

“What are you up to?” I asked, chuckling at his attempt to appear mysterious.

“I have someone for you to meet,” he finally revealed.

I quirked my brow. “Someone new? Here?” I asked, straightening my back.

Milo nodded, and a surge of excitement hit me like lightning. Milo hadn’t introduced me to anyone yet.

“It’s someone I’ve wanted you to meet for a while. She’s been sick for the past few weeks, but she has recovered and is eager to meet you,” he explained with a confident smile.

She? What kind of trouble was he putting me in now?

“She’s—”

“Milo?”

A girl around my height, blonde and doe-eyed, peeked from the door frame. Freckles were sprinkled across her nose, reaching from ear to ear. She looked like a fragile porcelain doll.

“Is that her?” she whispered, nodding in my direction.

Milo nodded, and a smile wider than the sun took form on her face.

The fragile appearance had been nothing but a facade. As soon as Milo had confirmed my identity, the girl jumped forward, grabbing my hand before I could step back.

“I’m Maeve,” she said, her voice as ecstatic as a Bronze child receiving a sugary treat. “It’s Willow, right?”

I nodded reluctantly, slightly overwhelmed by the daring approach.

“How nice to finally have some new, untouched blood among us!” she exclaimed, squeezing my hand a little too tight.

My chest tightened when she mentioned ~new~ and ~blood~ in the same sentence. It was what the Deveroux son had used to describe me.

“—for almost three years.”

I’d forgotten to listen, but Maeve didn’t seem to have noticed.

“I’m also a maid, but I primarily care for the residents’ bedrooms and ensure everything is up to their standards.”

“The residents’ bedrooms?” I said before I’d thought my words through.

I’d never been assigned those rooms, thankfully. It had always been the guestrooms or other parts of the house, and I’d never heard Mom mention them either.

It didn’t bother me. It was easier to avoid the Deveroux son that way.

“Yes,” Maeve said, finally releasing my hand. “The people who care for them are handpicked, which is why you rarely see them on the task board.”

“Oh,” I said instinctively. “That makes sense. It’s nice to meet you, Maeve. I started here a little more than a week ago, but—”

“I know!” Maeve exclaimed. “Milo has already told me all about you!”

All?

“You’re Elia’s daughter, and evidently, you’ve never had a female friend before!”

My gaze shifted to Milo, who immediately avoided my reproachful glare. I wanted to spear him with my eyes for sharing something so personal with a stranger.

“That’s true,” I muttered when Milo refused to look at me. “I didn’t meet many new people when I was younger because of my family’s…situation. I spent the time I had with my childhood friend, Koa.”

Her smile was like a beam of sunlight on a gloomy day. I didn’t know her, but I felt strangely comfortable telling her things I would never otherwise share with strangers.

“I’ll have to hear more about this Koa guy, but I cannot imagine never having had a female friend before,” she said, squeezing my hand tighter.

“Who have you been talking to about boys, beauty…you know…girl stuff?”

“I—um,” I stuttered, struggling to find a proper answer to satisfy her questions.

Truth was, I’d never had that friend.

I’d been able to talk to Koa about everything between heaven and earth except what Maeve had mentioned.

Mom had taught me what a woman was, but I’d never dared to bring the questions that were more than strictly necessary to her.

Maeve seemed to understand the language of my reluctance and immediately turned toward Milo.

“Now, Milo,” Maeve said, stepping toward the man who instantly stepped back. He looked intimidated by her in the same way Dad occasionally groveled before Mom’s stern commands.

It was hard not to laugh as Maeve pushed Milo toward the exit.

“Thank you very much for introducing us,” Maeve said as Milo was about to open his mouth. “You have done your part, but now it’s time for me to do mine. Girl talk is not girl talk with a man in the room.”

Milo’s eyes caught mine seconds before Maeve shut the door in his face. The crooked smile of pity was hardly enough to keep him out of trouble when I found him again.

“That was impressive,” I said, grabbing the mop to continue working. “I can hardly get the stubborn man to tie his tongue.”

Maeve chuckled. “It’s an art form that has taken me many years to master. But I’m sure I can teach you if you’re up for it.”

“If that’s true, I’d say you were a miracle sent from the ancient spirits,” I said, wringing the mop head.

I still had a lot to do in this room before I could move on to my next chore, and Milo had already robbed me of too much time.

“Milo wasn’t joking when he told me that you’re the hardworking type, huh?” Maeve said, grabbing the cloth I’d placed on the table.

I stopped sweeping the floor. “Yeah,” I said, furrowing my eyebrows as she started cleaning. “I like to be done in good time... You don’t have to do that. Help me, I mean.”

Maeve looked up from the table and smiled. “I don’t mind,” she said. “I’ve already finished my chores for the day, and I thought this would be a good time for us to get to know each other.”

The golden hands on the clock above the entrance indicated that it was only a little past midday.

I sighed. It was going to be a long day.

“Don’t worry,” Maeve suddenly said, pulling me out of my daydream. “I won’t interrogate you yet. It’s not my plan to scare you away already.”

She winked at me playfully, and I chuckled. “Comforting.”

Maeve continued to miraculously find me no matter where I was in the mansion for the next couple of days.

At some point, I started suspecting that she’d somehow charmed her way into Margaret’s heart and changed some of her chores to match mine.

“I know I promised to be patient and all that,” Maeve said, sighing as she dipped the dusty cloth in clean water, “but I have to know.”

I stopped fiddling with the sheets of the second guest bed.

Since Milo had discovered my secret, I’d been extra careful around the sharp edges of the bed frames.

“You mentioned this Koa guy when we first met. Who is he?”

I chuckled, suppressing the sigh as I let go of the tension in my shoulders. I’d feared that question to be much worse.

“I only went to school for a brief time; otherwise, my family relied on me at home.

“Koa’s mom and mine have been friends since the dawn of time, and with only a few kids my age in our neighborhood, we’ve always been together. “

“And never as more than friends?” Maeve added.

I had to bite my tongue not to laugh. “No, never,” I said, lifting my brow.

“He’s like a brother to me, and since Koa has had his fair share of girlfriends, I’m reasonably sure he sees me like a sister as well. Besides, boys have never really been a priority in my life.”

Maeve smiled as if she didn’t quite believe me. “So, you’re saying you’ve never had a crush on anybody?”

I shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Not even on Crown Prince Atlas?”

I slumped my shoulders and rolled my eyes at her. “I didn’t think unrealistic childhood crushes could be an answer to that question.” I chuckled, throwing the dirty bed sheet at her.

Every girl in Heliac around our age had probably had a crush on Prince Atlas at some point in their lives.

He was as mysterious as he was handsome but also forbidden. He’d essentially been promised to the victor of the Crown Trials since he was born.

“He doesn’t,” Maeve said playfully. “I just needed to know if you had a heart hidden behind that iron facade.”

“Maeve!” I exclaimed, scarcely dodging the soaked cloth flying my way.

As time went on, I grew to appreciate her company. Having a girl around my age to talk to was surprisingly pleasant and much different from Koa’s company.

Time passed much faster with her by my side. So fast that it wasn’t until the end of the month that I noticed my freedom was about to come to an end.

The golden king and the crown prince had concluded their business in the Inferno Realm and would be moving toward the Sky Realm tonight.

The Deveroux son would be home sooner than later, and the only comfort I had was Maeve. I couldn’t imagine the son daring to approach me with another person by my side.

My hands trembled when Mom opened the door to the kitchen.

Blue, icy eyes had haunted my mind since yesterday. Of course, it wasn’t guaranteed that I would even see him in this labyrinth of a mansion, but the chance was there.

I quickly found my note on the board and kept looking for Maeve’s. I needed to know when she would join me today, so this tension in my body could disappear.

Her name wasn’t there.

My body turned rigid with terror. If she wasn’t there, I would be alone.

I took a deep breath and reasoned that she could’ve suffered from a relapse and become sick again. She’d likely be back in a matter of days.

Then I ripped my note from the board, so the Deveroux son would have slightly lower odds of finding me.

Maeve didn’t return the next day or the day after that.

Then, when her name finally appeared on the board, none of her tasks matched mine, and I didn’t see her for days.

I’d been fortunate not to meet the Deveroux son, but it was unlikely that I could rely on luck for much longer.

Working hard had paid off. Margaret had begun assigning me tasks requiring more responsibility, equaling more money.

I just hadn’t expected one of those tasks to be cleaning Master Deveroux’s office.

I should’ve been proud. It was a big step from cleaning the guestrooms, but there was one problem I couldn’t ignore.

The only way to access Master Deveroux’s office was through the bedroom hall, where the Deveroux son had his private chamber.