Every morning the rooster crowed. The rooster was in charge of the chickens. That was how it always was. That was how it had always been. Ever since coming to the big city, Bella had not heard any roosters. Instead, it was Ethel who woke her up. Ethel was something called a head maid, the person in charge of the people who were maids but not head maids. Bella decided that head maids were a lot like roosters.

  Bella was given a big bed, like a mama and papa bed, except it was just for her. It was so very soft, soft enough to sink into, soft like Bella imagined clouds to be like. Head maids might have been like roosters, but they didn’t crow to wake people up. Everyone in the big city had a head maid come into their room to pull back the curtains and let the morning sun in, the head maid would then gently shake them awake… or so Bella assumed.

  That day was no exception, and Bella’s tired eyes gradually fluttered open to reveal Ethel watching over her.

  “-ake up now, Bella. A new day is ready to greet you.” Ethel’s voice sounded like how a hug feels. She was a pale woman, unnaturally so to Bella’s eyes. She was not sick, though - Ethel had chuckled when Bella suggested as much.

  Ethel was from a place far away, where lots of people were pale and had pretty golden hair. She told Bella that the big city was a scary, unfamiliar place to her as well, when she first arrived.

  She was just like me… The tired thought revisited Bella’s mind as she yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

  “Good morning, Ethel,” Bella mumbled before sitting up. She was pleased to note the lingering ache in her throat had finally receded. Ethel had been Bella’s saviour in the days since she’d arrived in Sentrodah, curled up in the corner of the carriage she shared with Rosita.

  Bella had cried until her voice grew coarse. Her cheeks were tear-stained. Snot coated her sleeves from when she’d wiped it away, and the front of her shirt from when she didn’t. Rosita never scolded her for doing so, instead she encouraged her.

  “You are feeling sadness and loss. Let it out. Let it go, so that you might see how much you are about to gain.” Callous words, perhaps, but any words would have sounded hollow; if anything, they were confusing.

  Those words latched onto Bella’s memory, forever associated with the day she was taken from her Mama and Papa. More than that, though, Bella remembered how they sounded, how Rosita looked when she said them. The words were sincere. Observation [Social, Truth] would have told her otherwise if they weren’t. It always had before.

  Even so, Bella found no comfort in them. When she was welcomed into Rosita’s home and shown the room that would be hers, she did not marvel at its size. The bed was not inviting. It was large and looming, so she crawled underneath it. That was where she would stay, where she could spend her days missing her Mama and Papa and Will and Aunt Tina and-

  “You slept all through the night, Bella,” Ethel’s voice interrupted the memories that so often threatened to overwhelm Bella early in the mornings. It was nightmares, at first, but every time she woke up she always found Ethel sitting by her bedside with kind words, a gentle touch, and a warm mug of spiced milk.

  “I did!” Bella chirped. Ethel placed a congratulatory hand on her shoulder and it was like a wave of warmth swallowed up all the sadness. Something deep inside her stirred, a brief spike of discomfort that failed to pierce the warmth before it too was swept away.

  It was Ethel who initially coaxed Bella out from under the bed. Her voice. Her presence. They made Bella feel safe. Understood. It was why the nights were hard, still, and why Bella was so happy that head maids were like roosters. Without Ethel, she knew she would still be under the bed, waiting for her Mama and Papa to somehow magically appear to take her home.

  They would not be coming, though. They were not allowed.

  Papa has to look after the sheep. Mama has to look after Papa. And, one day, I am going to help look after them. Ethel had said something similar, and coming from her they actually felt reassuring. Just like her Mama and Papa worked, Bella had to work too - because she was special.

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  “What would you like for breakfast, Bella?” Ethel asked, as she had every morning, and as she promised she would ask every morning for as long as she was able. At first, food held none of Bella’s interest. It was a dull, gray thing buried beneath the fear and anxiety. When she hid under the bed, her stomach ached from days of neglect and she paid it no mind - it did not hurt as much as her heart did.

  It was only when Ethel came that Bella found room to feel hunger again, to appreciate that the people working at Rosita’s large house would make her anything she wanted, whenever she wanted it.

  “Can you do the surprise food, again?” Initially, she’d asked for familiar dishes from home. Yesterday, Ethel suggested that Bella allow her to surprise her with something different, something new. It was fluffy. It was sweet. It was the best thing Bella had ever tasted in her life and she immediately knew she’d want more.

  Ethel chuckled at the request.

  “Of course, dear,” she said warmly. “Do you want the same surprise as yesterday or-

  “The same!” Bella didn’t need to hear another option.

  “Then I shall go and inform the kitchen.” Ethel moved towards the doorway, her shoes silent despite the hardwood floors. She turned back before leaving. “Now, do you remember the rules?”

  Bella nodded, confident in her memory. It helped that Ethel asked the question every day.

  “This is the third floor, it is Rosita’s living space and I am allowed to explore it freely,” she parroted the words that had been regularly repeated to her, paraphrasing only slightly.

  Ethel nodded then gestured for her to continue.

  “The door you showed me, the one near the stairs, is the door to Ms. Rosita’s office. I am not allowed in there.” Bella looked again to Ethel for approval and beamed when she saw it reflected in the woman’s eyes.

  “Very good, Bella. Remember, though, you are encouraged to simply refer to my mistress as Rosita, for she has graciously welcomed you into her home and-”

  “I do not like her!” Bella snapped, eliciting a slight frown from Ethel. No matter what nice things were said about Rosita, she was the one who took Bella away from her Mama and Papa. “She hurt Vigil, she made me and mama cry she-”

  Ethel quickly rushed back to the bed and pulled Bella into a hug.

  “Shhh, there there. I know. I know.” The warmth of that hug helped settle Bella’s surging frustrations and within moments she was leaning into the embrace. “I know there was much you did not understand about that day. When you are ready, I promise to explain it to you.”

  Bella sniffled.

  “You promise?”

  “I promise.” Bella made no effort to release Ethel from her tiny grasp, desperate for the comfort she provided. “How about I help you get ready for the day and you come down to the kitchen with me?” She offered. “I am sure they will love to hear how much you enjoyed their cooking.”

  Bella pulled away just enough to look up at Ethel, seeing no hint of deception in her face.

  “But… I thought I was not allowed to?”

  “Not on your own, no,” Ethel said with a soft smile. “It is a different matter if I escort you.”

  “Do I get to wear the pretty dress again?” Ethel had taken Bella’s measurements shortly after her arrival. Later that same day, an entire new wardrobe was delivered to her. If she wanted any changes done, Ethel made it happen; her favourite colours, her favourite cuts, Bella need only ask and she would receive.

  “You may.” It had taken some prompting before Bella felt comfortable to ask at all, but Ethel was persistent. Bella was a Crown conscript; she was special, because one day she would use her Skills to help people. It was hard to believe, but not once did Bella detect deception.

  “Yay!” With a shake and a slither Bella freed herself from her bedsheets and scooted off the edge of the bed. It was sad that her parents couldn’t join her in the big city, and it was okay to feel sad, but it was also important to try her best. If so many people thought she was special, she didn’t want to let them down. She didn’t know the specifics of what her role would be, but Ethel had given her a hint.

  Papa has to look after the sheep. Mama has to look after Papa. And, one day, I am going to help look after them. They would be so proud of her, she knew. It was okay to feel sad, and it was also okay to feel excited about good food and pretty dresses. Ethel had reassured her, and Ethel was to be trusted, after all.

  “Found you!” Bella crowed when she plucked her new favourite dress from the closet.

  Today is going to be a good day!

  What are your thoughts on Bella's situation? What about Ethel?

  You can read up to 10 Chapters Ahead over on my . Today's chapter is the second interlude of Book 2, wherein we check in on Tulos and Tina and learn a little more about what happened to them in the weeks since Will left.

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