18 Emma And Ester

Oblivious to the outer world, the trainee maids continued their mundane lives. They followed Rosalia to the riverside. Then walked along the riverbank towards the North. The early morning darkness mixed with sounds of flowing water distilled the environment in crisp calm.

As the journey progressed, four groups formed. Rosalia was at the front with a maid by her side. Cecelia and Eleanor were a few meters behind them. The next was Isabelle, squeezed between two maids. Arnacia was at the end.

Everyone carried their small suitcase. In addition, everyone had a basket on their backs, except Rosalia, the maid alongside her and Isabelle.

"Let Ester carry your suitcase."

"No, Emma will carry it."

The two maids on either side tried to take Isabelle's suitcase. But Ester was the victor. She had brown hair and a chubby face. Whereas Emma, the runner-up, had an oval face and dark brown hair that looked black in the low light.

"Ester always wins." Ester teased Emma and wrapped her arm around Isabelle's arm.

"Emma will also hold hands." Emma followed suit.

Isabelle said nothing, but looked back at Arnacia. Her face was flustered and her eyes called for help.

"Ester, Emma, let go of my Isabelle," Arnacia said loudly.

"Emma was looking for this chance all along. It's your fault for letting Isabelle walk alone," Emma said. She let out her little tongue to tease Arnacia.

'I only stopped for a few seconds.' Arnacia laughed wryly in her mind. As soon as she left the space beside Isabelle, the two maids jumped at the chance. She shook her head at Isabelle in apology.

For the next five minutes, Emma and Ester said a bunch of useless things. They made themselves cozy with their arms around Isabelle's arms.

"You two are like a tour guide who doesn't say anything useful," Arnacia said.

Emma and Ester looked back together. They took out their tongues in displeasure and got even closer to Isabelle. As a result, the trio almost tripped.

"Ester won't let you fall, Isabelle!"

"Emma is also supporting you!"

'They will definitely trip if I say something again.' Arnacia laughed in her mind. She looked away, wanting to avoid Emma and Ester's face if they looked back again.

"Ester was in the Garden of Scullery last year. It is not much different."

"Emma will also be returning there. It has a grass lawn instead of a bridge and a big tree."

'I don't know in which camp I was in last year…' Arnacia quietly listened. She tried to figure out unknown details but, again, the two maids quickly went astray to useless topics.

"Why don't you two give Isabelle some tips so she can win the tournament," Arnacia said.

Emma and Ester looked back. Unfortunately, they did not get a chance to meet gazes with Arnacia. But felt pleased that Arnacia did not wish to offend them.

"Ester has no tip. Isabelle always wins the beauty contest."

'What about other contests?' Arnacia had a lot of other questions in her mind, but stayed quiet. Soon, the maids talked about their homes and also about houses of random people.

'So Isabelle is one of the few maids from the castle.'

Lanceworth Castle was a combination of many small palaces. It was more like a mini city surrounded by the castle walls. Normal people were not allowed inside. Becoming a maid was one way to be part of the riches.

'Probably Isabelle is from a servant family who lives inside the castle.' Even a servant family living in Lanceworth was better off than the people outside.

'But I am not satisfied with this. How can I settle on becoming a maid when I know so many secrets of the castle?' Arnacia mused and hoped to pass the maid training with flying colors. Still, she was unsure when the training would end. More importantly, which families hired maids from these camps.

'It would be nice if Isabelle and I could work in the same palace, even neighboring palaces will do.'

"Emma will beat Arnacia this time," Emma looked back. "Cecelia told Emma that Arnacia is much weaker this year."

"Ester is unsure about Ester. But Arnacia? Poor girl missed her chance to win last year."

'Fighting contest!' Arnacia guessed after Cecelia's name was mentioned.

'And Rosalia wants me to win… If it was the novel's original storyline, then I would have disappeared by now. If she wants me to win, then my disappearance and Isabelle's murder has nothing to do with her. But she could've said it to deceive me. Who tipped the knight about Isabelle and me?' Arnacia was unsure as she looked at all the maids one by one.

'It could be Cecelia or that maid.' She remembered about the day when Theon arrested them.

'But the reason is not jealousy. So I can count Cecelia out…' The most disturbing factor about that day was Yale, who had come to take her away.

"Ester thinks Arnacia is scared silly."

"I will win this time," Arnacia declared.

Ester and Emma deeply looked at Arnacia, then shook their heads. They eyed the first group and said.

"Emma will suggest you to keep your voice low."

"Ester doesn't want Victoria to beat you up either, not in front of Isabelle, at least."

"Victoria?" Arnacia looked at the maid walking alongside Rosalia. "What if I say it out loud?"

"Ester thinks Victoria will stop and cause trouble for you."

"Emma will tell you, since you are so dull. Miss Rosalia only banished Victoria from approaching you until the day of the tournament."

Arnacia stayed silent and the two maids were more than happy about it. Useless chatter filled the air again and Isabelle drowned in it.

'Why did the witch ask me to win when the previous year's winner is already in her camp?' Arnacia also wanted to know why Rosalia punished Victoria, but she could only guess.

'Victoria doesn't like Arnacia, and forcefully picks fights with her.' Arnacia moved her fingers one by one. She was steadily getting more and more control over the body.

'So I am the previous year's runner-up? If I can fully control this body, then will I be able to fight?' She thought of Queen Arnacia, Silver Knight Rose. It filled her up with expectations.

But for now, many questions loomed over her head. At least she knew of three contests that will be held - beauty contest, a duel and most probably a cooking contest. If she had to take subsequent wild guesses, then other contests could be - cleaning, flowering, eating? It was very amusing to think of the possibilities, but a voice broke her line of thoughts and forced her to look ahead.

"Ester can see the tournament grounds, Isabelle look!"