~Hurt~
Oris was speechless. Hurt? You almost killed me. Granted, she was the one who put herself the path of the arrow. Still, it wasn't something that could be smoothed out by an apology, and a pompous one at that.
"Did... His Majesty send you here?"
"Him?" His expression morphed into a mixture of fear and surprise. "No. Of course not."
"Of course not." Oris glanced at the exit. It was just a few steps away. Why did it suddenly feel like a great divide? The longer she remained here the harder her life would be but there were too many eyes on her.
Each pair belonged to Hermes' men. Everything she did in the camp would be reported to him. Could she really afford to look like she was running away from one of his confidants?
"Oh, I see." Lord Eugene punctuated the sentence by slamming the fist of one hand into the palm of the other. "You're trying to find a way to ditch me without offending him."
Oris stared at the man and tried not to look confused. "You have already apologized, my lord."
He waved his hand then held it out to her. "Shall we?"
"I am afraid it would not be proper."
"Less proper that being in the Emperor's tent?" he asked, and when she didn't reply, added, "You can say that the emperor handed you to me to interrogate. He did so in this manner because he feared someone would kill you to silence you. Something of the sorts."
She let him escort her away from Hermes' encampment. "Why are you helping me?"
"Helping? No. I'm apologizing," he said. "I'm curious about you."
"Curious about His Majesty's woman?"
"Only if you pass the Selection... If not, then anyone may ask for your hand."
"And it will not be given."
"The Emperor then? You did not choose him, after all."
Oris turned sharply to face him. "What is it you want, my lord?"
"Lord Eugene."
"I am aware." Mikeal had told her his name, but that was no reason to feign familiarity with the man that had almost killed Bren. He had been dashed to the back of her mind, along with the two-faced Faeradaigh.
"Then are you aware that I had been on a mission?"
"Such is not for a woman to hear, is it?"
He looked at her strangely. "Not for an outsider, yes. On this mission, Mikeal and I traveled to many places, including your hometown."
Oris stayed silent.
"We were meant to return together but he sent me ahead him to report my findings," he continued. "He will return before the hunt ends."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"He asked me to."
"I accept your apology, my lord." She clasped her hands by her side and curtsied. "It is time I take my leave."
He grabbed her by the arm before she could fully retreat, dipped his head low and whispered. "He said that you should not forget what he promised you."
Promised? "Of course, my lord."
He flashed her a tight smile and made a show of peeling his fingers off her. "I will escort you no further, my lady."
As he walked away, Oris started going through the conversation they had just had. She hadn't seen Mikeal since her assassins attacked the palace. Any mission he was on had to be related to it. Was Lord Eugene simply baiting her by mentioning Inqa or did it mean something else?
"Mistress!"
Oris turned to see Andrea running towards her. She smoothened out her expression until she was sure that there were no creases around her eyes. "Have you been waiting all this time?"
"No, it's fine." She looked in the direction of Hermes' tent. "Who was that?"
"Lord Eugene."
"Oh! The one from the garden!"
"Yes." It occured to Oris now that the details of how exactly she had 'saved' the Emperor were not public knowledge. It would make sense if Mikeal and Eugene had been erased from the picture, especially if they had truly gone on a mission afterwards. "The Emperor told him to interrogate me."
"Interrogate?" Andrea grabbed her by the arms. "Are you okay?"
"I was just asked some questions, I wasn't tortured." Oris laughed off the girl's worry. "Where are the others?"
"In a tent. With other maids." Andrea frowned. "You have been allocated a tent with some of the other women... And you can only pick one of us to go with you."
"You are my lady-in-waiting, you should—"
"You should pick Keziah. We all decided." Andrea smiled sheepishly. "Don't look at me like that, Mistress. You know it makes more sense."
"But..."
"I'm used to people talking about me," she said straightforwardly. "No one would try to kill me because of a rumor. It's different for you."
She pressed her palm over her locket. "Keziah is really good at avoiding trouble and when it comes to being the most logical, it between her and Seline. But this almost killed Seline last time."
"What's wrong with Mayree?"
Andrea glanced around the camp then slipped her hand into Oris'. "Let's talk somewhere else."
Somewhere else was behind one of the tents that had caught the flames but had been put out in time. Its ashy husk stood firm as a reminder of the carnage that had taken place. It had been left as it was while the rest of the camp had been cleared. It was as good a spot as any to have some privacy.
"Her mother could have left the palace early on but she decided to remain by her mistress' side back when Wei Wei and Hermes were purging dissenters. They were both offered a cup of poisoned wine," Andrea continued, her chin held high as though she was daring Oris to pry further.
Oris gladly took the bait. "Then why did Mayree enter the palace?"
"It's tradition. Some women in her family had risen beyond their status to become concubines. The maids who weren't as lucky often ended up serving their female relatives." The girl looked down at the ground, caught up in a memory. "It wasn't only her mother who died, some of her cousins and aunts were executed too. It was a mess."
Andrea cleared her throat, wringing her fingers nervously as she told the rest of the story. "When Mayree heard of her mother's death, she disregarded her father's wishes, ran away from home and bribed her way into the maid selection."
"Did she become a maid to get revenge? Is that why none of the other women picked her?" Are all of you here for the sake of vengeance?
Andrea shook her head. "That isn't my story to tell. Mayree said I should tell you that she's sorry that she hasn't been as helpful as she could be. She'll try to do better. We all will."
"You all have done more than enough." Oris patted her on tbe head. "Stop being jealous of Keziah."
"I'm not jealous, I'm just..." Andrea sighed, and with an unladylike shrug, aired her resignation. "I wish I was smarter."
"You all have your strengths and weakness. It seems that you and Mayree have the most connections." Oris stared into her hazel eyes, lost in thought. The girls had always seemed so similar, from their heights to their hair, but it was obvious now that they had done their best to blend in for the sake of survival. She didn't want them to feel the need to hide anymore.
"Stop dyeing your hair."
"Mistress?"
Oris curled her fingers over the girl's dark locks and pulled her closer. "You can't remain a maid forever. You know this, don't you? The Empress Dowager only wanted to punish you and send a warning to your family. It's only a matter of time before you will be set back to your family."
"I—"
"I don't want your time with me, with us, to be something you end up regretting. You are nobility, irregardless of your title or class."
"Mistress, I don't... understand."
"All I want is for you to be true to yourself, Andrea. You are my lady-in-waiting, so please, call me Oris."
~
The tent was large enough not to feel stuffy when Oris pushed through the flaps; Keziah trailed behind her with her head bowed. The women were twenty, each lady permitted only one maid. Oris' arrival made it twenty two.
She walked unhesitatingly toward the last unoccupied space in the tent—the spot farthest from the entrance. She found it funny that she was the one least afraid of getting trapped by another fire, despite having being at the very epicenter of the first one.
Keziah knelt to unroll the bedding. They worked as a unit, silent and swift, as the whispers built back up all around them.
"I heard she was once a slave girl..."
"No, she has a lover in her village..."
"Does she never take off the veil... Truly?"
"She must be ugly."
"The Emperor said she wasn't..."
"Mistress," Keziah said, in a quiet voice too loud to be a whisper, "I was just informed that our dress for the hunt was lost in the fire. What are we to do?"
All at once, the tent exploded. The conversations turned feverish, in both pitch and volume. The contents of the women's poorly disguised mockery floated into Oris' ears just as Keziah continued, "What will the Emperor do when he finds out that dress he gave us is gone?"
The tent hushed. Oris bowed her head, a part of her wishing she truly had the decency to feel ashamed. Her right hand, long since clutching a handkerchief, rose to her eyes. "I tried to tell him, to accept my punishment," her voice dropped to a whisper that wasn't whisper enough, "but he only asked if it hurt. What was I to say?"
Keziah leaned forward to wrap her arms around Oris, stroking a hand down her back. "It is alright, Mistress. You don't need the most beautiful dress to do well. This servant will find something before tomorrow."
Over her shoulder, Oris stared at the tent wall, unblinking, until her eyes began to water. When she pulled away, a single tear slid down her cheek and soaked her veil. She wiped it away. "What ever would I do without your counsel?"
"Rest, Mistress." Keziah helped her into the bedding. "Tomorrow will be a long day."
Oris nodded and closed her eyes; her hand remained dutifully clasped in Keziah's, cementing, in the heads of her new roommates, the idea of their interdependence.
It only took an hour of pretending to be asleep before the first of many women stepped out of her makeshift cot to address Keziah. "I am Lady Yue of the Isle Of Yue and I would like to make a donation..."
~
I'm an inspiration-lacking writing. The first part of this chapter had been written since July and I didn't know HOW to write the next part. So weird.
Don't just love how Oris didn't lie about what Hermes said, but lied about what her own intentions were? That's a perfect mixture of truth and lie that can't be refuted.
:)