𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑 

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 

✥  𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐞𝐡 ✥

The night turns to day and it is not that long until the young maiden has gotten herself towards the castle for her duties. Her routine is always the same, each and every morning which does make her less tardy and more prepared for the day ahead of her.

"Have you heard of the newest law they are considering?" Taman asks her as he eyes her while she holds two bucked filled to the brim with soapy water. Nevaeh turns to face the friendly guard with a small smile upon her face. She gently shakes her head. Though, while she stands there alongside him, she does not set the buckets down to the ground as most would do. Rather she still holds them as if they were light as a feather. For her, it is no problem. "No, and neither am I interested. It has nothing to do with me anyway for I am invisible" She speaks in a monotone voice which makes him raise his eyebrow at her.

Taman befriended her only a couple of months ago after he saw that she was struggling with her duties (she will argue she was not struggling, rather dealing with it), and decided to help her. Upon arriving he immediately got hateful responses as she did not need help from anyone. This small woman who spoke in such a manner did interest the young guard who did not waste any time helping her since she denied it. However, the two became friends soon after and have remained so since then. Neither of them is able to meet once they are off the clock for the other is always busy but when working, they do occasionally meet and chat for a moment when none is watching.

"You're not invisible" He murmurs to himself, almost too low for her to hear but she did hear it and rolls her eyes.

"What new law are they creating?" She then asks him after a couple of seconds when he has not yet told her. The two of them are alone in the hallway but every so often someone would walk by. They ignore them as the one walking past them ignores them completely. In the castle, there are few friendly people. At least that is what Nevaeh has learned. It could also be because she does imitate a lot of people and they would rather not be around her.

"After tomorrow, no one will be able to carry the ancient weapons. The daggers, you know like you have. It is said that whoever carries it will be brought straight to the King" He tells her. It is not the new law that shocks her, but rather the fact that only hours after she had been seen owning one the law is being set.

Remaining calm she sharply nods. "Will you bring me to the King for owing one?" She asks him. While they are friends, Taman's duties as a Knight and a guard must always go higher than their friendship. With a soft smile, he shakes his head. "You think so little of me?" He playfully asks her.

The question was not meant to be answered but they both think of the answer. In this kingdom, those that have little to nothing will have to fight to get by to survive and keep their families alive. It is known that backstabbing breaks apart friendship and the entire families even for everyone will think of their own survival first.

"Is there a reason for this bizarre law or do you constantly want to annoy me with more laws?" Nevaeh asks.
Ever since the new King took the throne, there have been some changes in the laws and some have been added. While most ignore these laws, Taman has taken to annoy her by telling her all the laws which are added. When he tells her that he does it for his own amusement, she knows that there is another reason. Because the law will always have an upper hand and her own dreams will never survive through it. The laws will not allow her to be a Knight because she is a woman. This, Taman knows and subtly lets her know that she must find a new dream to chase. However, there is no telling her what she can and cannot do.

"I saw you and I had nothing else to say so it was the first thing that I thought of. But, I take it that you have hidden your dagger? I would hate to see you in the dungeons for owing it" He tells her while she nods. "No one can find it. They can try but they will never find it" She tells him.

Only once has he seen that dagger.

Letting out an exhausted breath, she stands up and stretches her body a bit. The day is only halfway over and yet her body is feeling the struggle of her duties. One of the servants had not shown up for work this morning which meant that those that did had far more duties. It had been spread over to the other servants but it was still more duties being added to the already existing ones which none enjoyed.

Nevaeh had gotten the extra work to clean the largest chandelier in the castle which she is dreading and before the end of the day, she will have to have cleaned it from top to bottom along with all her other duties. It frustrated her terribly but there is no point in arguing because it would end her with far more work than she already has which is the last thing she needs this day.

While she cleans and works her duties throughout the day, the only thing which goes through her mind is how odd the timing of the new law is. For it had not been that long since she had threatened someone with that very dagger. Through the dark surroundings, that man could have seen her dagger and she suspected that he did see it and reported it to the King. Yet, it had been the King (the late King) who had given the daggers and had them made.

Dwelling on those thoughts would get her nowhere and in the end, she decided to forget all about it. For the day is already almost ending and there is far much that she will have to do. Her body hates every second of it. While she has worked her entire life, she still does work harder than any other servant. For none of them know that she trains her body. She trains with weapons and she watches the training of the Knights and the guards so she could practice those moves. In her mind, she knows that she is far better than most of the Knights and would be able to defeat them single-handedly if she wanted to and would enjoy every single second of it. For then she would be able to prove to the world that she, a woman, can do all that a man can do. Especially in combat.

A servant by the name of Katia walks over to her with a strange expression upon her face. Katia is the daughter of one of the older servants and lives in the servant quarters of the castle. She is the young girl who most Knights wish to court for she is said to carry the most beautiful eyes anyone has ever seen. Not only are her eyes in different colors but if locked closer into her eyes, one will be able to see patterns unlike any other. Given that she is only fifteen of age, she will not be accepting courtship until in some years or until she wants to. Servants are not under the influence that they have to be wed by the age of fourteen or fifteen. Katia is, however, a kind girl which has crossed paths with Nevaeh a couple of times and she has not found a reason to dislike this girl.

"Are you troubled?" Nevaeh asks the girl as she walks over to her. The strange look upon the girl's face does worry her but not too much for this girl has had to go through a lot. Like all of them who have little in their lives.
Gulping, Katia sits down on the ground. This strange behavior makes Nevaeh put down her bucket which she was about to take to the ballroom to clean the chandelier. Eyeing the girl, she takes to notice that around her wrist is a bloody bandage.

"Are you harmed?" She then asks and this time earns a nod from the girl who she notices appears to be in this shocking state. Sitting down next to the young girl, she gently takes her hand and gives her a smile. If anyone were to ask her if she can smile, she will deny it for she wants people to know that she is hard and she is not to be messed around with and she is not soft.

"They said... they said I will have to entertain the Knights" Katia softly murmurs with fright within her tone which she does nothing to hide.

The two of them sit together on the hard floor and neither know what to do. Nevaeh takes a deep breath as she knew only one way to make the younger one feel better. The same thing that someone said to her when she was in the same position.

"The worst thing that anyone can do is allow anyone to use oneself. Instead, give it to them and make them regret ever wanting you. Take your time and plot your vengeance and when they least expect it, you strike. The world and everyone in it will try to bring you down and break you from inside, but you have to stand up and scream at the world that you will not break. That you are stronger than they are and when you have your revenge, you will know that all that you did was worth it in the end. For then everyone would understand that no one can ever harm you and take away what you are inside" She speaks.

Those words were spoken to her many years ago and still today she remembers each and every one of them like it had been told to her moments ago.

A tear rolls down Katia's still frightened face. Their eyes meet. But no words were spoken. Katia said nothing as she squeezed Neveah's hand. The moment between them passed and soon enough the younger servant had stood up and left, even when nothing had been said. While no words were spoken, they did communicate. As if they could speak without words at all and they understood that both of them have suffered. They will get through it and they will be able to come on top and show the world that they are the ones that they underestimated.

For a couple of minutes, all that she did was sit on the ground thinking and when she stood up, she took her bucket and walked towards the ballroom or the throne room. She knows that the King nor anyone from the court will be present which will give her and other servants the peace and quiet to clean and make it perfect for the nobles who are obsessed with everything looking spotless. Though, if cleaning gets her fed and clothed and sheltered then it is worth it.

Setting the bucket down to the floor beneath the chandelier. It is created entirely out of the light blue coloured glass with a steel exoskeleton, hundreds of candles lit everywhere and many times it needs to be cleaned. The candle-wax would get stuck and would leave nasty looking drip affect that take the beauty from the massive chandelier. How it has been able to hang in the air for centuries is beyond everyone and most have stopped wondering about it and rarely even think of it.

Nevaeh then walks over to the corner where the ladder has been placed since she will need them to be able to get up there. The wooden ladder is not that heavy for her but rather uncomfortable to carry because of its size but she manages to put it under the chandelier. Backing a bit away from it to be able to see where she should place it before she goes up the ladder. Once in place, she takes the bucket and starts climbing the ladder which is sturdy and is able to hold her without wobbling that much. Not to say that it isn't.

The endless job at cleaning the hanging structure has begun and soon enough she has finished a portion of it. The ballroom is silent as she is alone there for a reason she does not know and neither dwells on. The silence makes her feel far better and allows her to focus much more. Nevaeh has never been much for the gossip that others enjoy and she tends to stay away from most people. All her life, she has been the one who prefers to be all alone with her own mind. It simply allows her to focus on the task at hand and gives her the peace to do it.

The sound of doors opening and shutting breaks the silence but she does not gaze towards there. That is until something collides with the ladder which sends it and her towards the ground.