Chapter 12

Anna was leaning against the balcony, breathing in the chill night air. She looked up at the starry sky and sighed. Since Anna has almost never been to any social gatherings due to her mother's dislike for such events, she didn't really have her own opinion on parties. But now that Anna had been swarmed to no end by the other guests, she understood why her mother disliked them so much.

She was exhausted from the constant pestering from the guests, so she excused herself to the balcony for some fresh air. Now that she has experienced the peace and quiet for about 5 minutes, the thought of going back there annoyed Anna.

"What's Miss Star-Of-The Show doing all by herself on the balcony?"

Anna turned around at that voice. It was Chris with a smile on his face.

"Good evening, milady. I am Christopher Arden. It's nice to meet you." Chris bowed.

"Good evening to you, too, Mr.Arden. My name is Anna Hastings." Anna followed Chris's facade.

"It's a bit noisy here, Ms.Hastings, why don't we go take a stroll in the garden?" Chris held out his hand in invitation.

"That'd be delightful, Mr.Arden. Unfortunately, I don't think it would be possible for me to walk out of the room right now, seeing how many people are still waiting to talk to me." Anna sighed.

"It's easy. Just do this." Chris said as he walked toward the stone balcony fence Anna was leaning on.

As he got close enough, he propped himself up and jumped over the fence, falling down the second-story building.

"Whoa," Anna exclaimed.

She looked down over the fence, and Chris landed gracefully on the ground. He waved at Anna, inviting her to come with him.

"I don't know if I can land with these high-heels, though." Anna was very much tempted.

"It's fine, I will catch you." Chris held out his hands.

The moonlight reflected off of Chris's hair. Anna blushed a little at the sound of that.

"O-Okay. You'd better catch me, then." Anna said as she hoisted herself over the fence.

As Anna fell through the air, she didn't feel nervous at all as she wholeheartedly trusted Chris.

"Gotcha," Chris said as Anna landed in his arms.

Chris' arms were holding Anna by her back and thighs. He was princess-carrying her. Anna got excited at that thought. Like any other girl, Anna had always wanted to be a princess. And the man carrying her like a princess was more or less a real prince.

"Thank you, Mr.Arden."

Chris was hit with Anna's angelic smile full-blast, so close in front of him and in his arms, no less. His breath was taken away.

"N-No problem. Call me Chris." Chris quickly put Anna down back on her feet, as he didn't know if he could restrain himself had they gone on like this any longer.

"Call me Anna, then, Chris." Anna was a little disappointed that the princess-carry was over so soon.

The two then went on to stroll through the garden. None of them spoke a word. They just took in the view. The rose flowers illuminated by the silver moonlight were gorgeous.

But not as gorgeous as the person beside me, they both thought.

They indulged themselves in the momentary bliss under the sky full of stars, beside the field full of flowers.

"Ms.Hastings, wake up. It's time for school." A voice pulled Anna out of her slumber.

"One second…" Anna lifted her hand and waved lazily.

"Ms.Hastings, you really need to get up. Mrs.Hastings is waiting at the breakfast table."

"Just… one…" Anna drifted back to sleep before she could even finish her sentence.

"Jeez… Sergeant Hastings!"

"Present!" This time, Anna shot straight up and answered.

"Ah, it's just you, Leah." Anna's serious face immediately loosened and fell back into bed.

"Come on, Ms.Hastings, you are being really difficult right now," Leah complained.

"Fine…" Anna gave in reluctantly, "And I was having such a good dream, too…"

Anna's face blushed a little as she remembered the stroll in the garden last night with Chris.

"I am going to take a shower now, go tell me mom I will be down soon," Anna said as she got out of bed.

"Sure thing," Leah answered.

Leah sighed as Anna walked into the ensuite bathroom. The morning was always the hardest part of her job as a maid.

Anna pulled off the straps on her shoulders and her nightgown fell down her body onto the tiled floor. She picked up the garment and threw it into the laundry basket. Anna, now naked, looked into the mirror. As she stared at her own body, she reminisced the night before. She cupped her hands around her cheeks and could see that they were dyed red in the mirror. She questioned whether this feeling she had toward Chris was love or not.

Shaking her head trying to clear her thoughts, Anna walked into the shower and turned the knob. Hot water flowed out of the faucet. After a moment of adjusting the temperature to her preference, Anna started washing her body, all while trying to get Chris out of her mind.

"Anna, you are finally here." Mrs.Hastings called out to Anna, who was walking down the stairs to the dining room, her hair still wet from the shower.

"Good morning, mom." Anna greeted.

"Good morning."

Anna sat down across the table from her mother. Leah walked over, holding a plate of food, and set it down in front of Anna.

"Thanks, Leah."

Anna picked up the utensils and began eating. The food wasn't anything special, just simple bacon and eggs. As the country spent more budget on developing food to maximize nutrition density for the soldiers, the flavor was left behind. So the basic breakfast was considered a high class in the city.

Anna could feel the warm morning sunlight casting through the window onto her. Anna wasn't the best morning person, as she feels the most drowsy right after she wakes up. However, she could still appreciate the mellowness of mornings.

After she was done with her food, Anna got up and walked out of the dining room, while waving goodbye to her mother. Leah followed behind her. Somehow she didn't realize that morning, Leah was wearing the academy uniform. Anna thought it fit her serious demeanor pretty well.

"Oh, right. Leah, today will be your first day at the academy."

"Yes, Ms.Hastings."

"Can you just call me Anna at school?"

"Absolutely not. If the other students see the maids of the Hastings's house not addressing their mistress politely, it will bring a bad look on the whole family." Leah sternly refused.

"Right…"

They are at the entrance now. After the two put on their shoes, Anna waved at Maria, the family maid.

"We'll be off, then."

"Have a nice day," Maria replied.

Leah gave a silent nod, which Maria returned.

Anna's mansion was on a hill on the edge of downtown. From her house to the school, which was in the center of the town, was quite a distance. Other students who lived that far usually took carriages, but Anna saw walking through the town as a pleasure, so she has always walked to school. Leah didn't really mind. She enjoyed the town just as much as Anna.

It was the first time Anna was accompanied on her way to school, so she was quite excited. Her happiness was showing on her face.

"Ms.Hastings, you are in a very good mood today." Leah noticed Anna's wide smile.

"Of course! I am walking to school with you, Leah! Aren't you glad, too?" At this point, Anna was nearly skipping.

"Y-Yes…" Leah said quietly while looking at the ground, her cheeks were a slight pink.

"Hehe." Anna's smile grew even bigger.

"Good morning, Ms.Hastings. School's back up?" A middle-aged man called out to Anna as he was opening up his shop.

"Good morning, Mr.Jones. Yeah, the school's back up." Anna answered with a smile.

"Nice. Is that girl a classmate?" Mr.Jones asked about Leah.

"Yes. My name is Leah Bell. I am Ms.Hastings's personal maid." Leah introduced herself with a small bow. There was a hint of pride in her voice.

"You will see her walking with me every day from now on," Anna added.

"Nice to meet you, then. I am Mr.Jones, I am the owner of the leather shop." Mr.Jones said as he pointed at the board above the store. It read JONES'S LEATHERS.

"I bought my holster and many other things from here. The products are really high quality." Anna mentioned.

"Thank you very much, MsHastings. You are our favorite customer." Anna's compliment had just made Mr.Jones's day.

"We'll be on our way, then," Anna said as she walked away and waved goodbye to Mr.Jones.

"See you on the way back." Mr.Jones said.

Leah gave a small wave, as well.