14 Freedom
"Isabelle, my love, wake up." Arnacia pulled the blanket, which got pulled easily. But Isabelle turned and buried her face in the pillow.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Arnacia asked. Inside her mind, she sighed and wondered if she should tell Isabelle about being a fellow ex resident from Earth. Instead, she shook the sad girl, who pushed away her hand.
"Leave me alone", Isabelle cried.
"Don't worry, I am here."
"You lie," Isabelle said, after long. But probably she opened her mouth in annoyance as Arnacia did not stop nudging.
"Change in your soul has affected my heart." Arnacia dramatically replied. "But your body is the same. I will protect it, I will protect you!"
"Liar!"
Arnacia grabbed Isabelle's hand and caressed it. The door was knocked for the second time. It must be the witch calling out for the morning routine.
"Let's bath." Arnacia gently pulled Isabelle's hand and led her away. The latter did not refuse and thus joined the line of maids, which stopped before the bathhouse. Rosalia examined all the maids, mostly to check if any were missing.
'Will Rosalia mind me holding hands with Isabelle?' Arnacia wondered, but the witch nonchalantly watched the bowing maids. Then everyone went inside the bathhouse, undressed themselves and sat on their respective stools.
One maid helped Rosalia with the soap, while others chit chatted while rubbing themselves with the foamy soap.
"Arnacia, what happened yesterday?" Eleanor asked.
Arnacia looked at the maid on her right. Eleanor had long brown hair with deep brown eyes. Her face was on the rounder side, but she was chubby by no means.
"Yesterday? It was a long day for my Isabelle and me."
Arnacia couldn't help but size up Eleanor. In the current scenario, she couldn't help but gaze at Eleanor's burst - 'little bigger than me but can't beat Isabelle.'
"Ah yes," Arnacia coughed and continued. "We got caught by a knight."
"Oh my! Why would he do that?" Eleanor asked. She raised her curiously pretty eyebrows like the maids towards the left.
"He was jealous of my love towards Isabelle," Arnacia smugly said. The expression was a bit mechanical, wasn't swift by any means, but believable enough. Also, she decided to be louder than before, looked towards Isabelle, and thought of an interesting theory - if a maid tipped the Knight then it was best to scare her.
"Do you know that vile creature tried to harm my Isabelle? But I protected her with my own body!" Arnacia declared. She looked at all the maids, who froze while washing their hair. It wasn't until a few seconds that the next words were spoken. "And he took us to the Women's Court of Justice." These words were more than the maids had ever expected.
Arnacia leisurely ran her hands through her hair. She smiled at the dumbstruck maids and was brimming with content. This was like a once in a lifetime performance - Estelle, the girl from Earth, was truly acting like the character Arnacia, as described in the light novel.
"Arnacia, what happened next?" Eleanor asked.
"The lady Knights at the court beat up that vile Knight. But another one showed up!
"Alas! he couldn't stand up to the mighty queen!
"I mean, the female knights were like queens. No male knight can compare to their majesty."
A murmur of conversations rose. Arnacia let the maids digest the information. She looked at Isabelle and winked. But the show was nearing the end now. It was time for the closing act…
Arnacia, reluctantly, covered her body in foam and moved behind Isabelle. Scrub of the heavens, was it? She did not wish to recall the name anymore. A question broke her line of thought.
"Arnacia, will the rule regarding women change?" Eleanor asked.
"In the future, it will," Arnacia pressed her body on Isabelle's back and said after a long while.
***
A hum echoed through the dark and weary walls. Sound of footsteps followed. The combination created a sweet rhythm. People who heard the music felt their heartbeat lessen. Their thoughts turned blurry, and they fell asleep.
The owner of footsteps walked down the stairs. Surrounding him were iron bars that locked people within. He walked to the last cells and called out.
"Yale, who did this to you?"
The voice echoed throughout the prison. But no one heard it except Yale, who was also sleeping inside a cell.
Yale's eyes slowly opened. His hair was neat and clothes were proper. But the face was a mess, as if it didn't fit into the picture.
"Auditor at the Women's Court of Justice," Yale said.
His voice grew clearer, along with his thoughts. He gritted his teeth and punched the wall. Small pieces of debris fell from the thick stone.
"Get me out of here!" Yale howled for freedom.
***
In the Garden of Chambers, maids were busy with various activities - Ester was tending the garden, Emma was sweeping the bridge, and Arnacia was dusting the windows.
'It's my chance!' Arnacia noticed Rosalia was missing. Last she saw the witch going inside the sleeping quarters.
'The witch is probably taking a nap while the maids work.' Arnacia left her post and headed towards the bathhouse. She evaded eye contact with other maids on the way.
'Where is the source of hot water?' She searched around the bathhouse. At the back, a ladder was fixed on the wall. She pulled up her dress to take the first step and steadily climbed up.
'No tank?' Arnacia inspected the empty roof. The hot bath in the morning was a peculiar experience. It bugged her like crazy as she searched for plot holes in this light novel world. She quickly turned around to get off before anybody saw her.
But before climbing down the stairs, her eyes saw an unusual scene. A maid was cornered in a tree by another.
'It's Eleanor!' Arnacia headed towards the scene. A maid had her knee pressed between Eleanor's legs. She squeezed Eleanor before covering her mouth with a kiss. The mouths then separated, and the two gasped for air.
"It's enough Cecelia," Eleanor said.
"I love you," Cecelia said, and forced a kiss again.
"Stop right there," Arnacia called out.
"Stop harassing her," Arnacia said with clenched fists. She pulled Cecelia. But her hand was slapped back.
'What's wrong with her and what's her name?' She thought. There was no mention of a maid who sexually harasses the other maid in the light novel!
"Go away. Arnacia and play with Isabelle. Let me play with my doll," Cecelia said.
"Why are you forcing her?" Arnacia asked.
"Don't be mad, Arnacia. She loves me-" Eleanor could barely say before Cecelia interrupted her.
"That's correct, I love her. Who are you to interfere between us?"
"No, you don't love her!" Arnacia said.
Arnacia couldn't control her anger anymore. Hidden in it was a mixture of frustration. Were these maids copying the example of the real Arnacia and Isabelle? What if they slept together? The old Arnacia even sacrificed herself to save Isabelle from the Silver Knight.
"I love her like you love Isabelle-"
"Wrong! She doesn't like it at all. How can you be so blind? Is that how you love someone?"
"I have enough freedom to love her in any way I like," Cecelia said. "Eleanor, do you also love me?" She was having none of it and pushed Arnacia, who fell on her butt.
'I am going to teach this minor character a lesson she will never forget!' Arnacia thought.
