“With all due respect, Lady Aiyisha,” Yelena started as she fixed the straps of her mistress’ purple colored everyday gown. It was a couple of minutes past two, and they had both just returned from their afternoon training session… indeed, even the lowliest of wolves took part in the activity as well, for war did not care about class, nor one’s social status? Truly, the only thing that did matter when it came to war were numbers, and skill of course… which was why the entire town, both young and old, both male and female were participating in the training, for they… aye, they all wanted a shot at besting the Curers and keeping their homes.
“Yes, Yelena, what is it?” Aiyisha pressed when after waiting a couple of minutes, her servant still hadn’t said a word. “Come on, out with it already. You do know that I do not bite, right?” She hurried the young maid on, not quite being the type to drag things out.
“I—don’t you think we ought to have gone to check on the Alpha and Lady Kendra by now, my lady? T—to… you know, make sure they are safe and doing alright?”
Aiyisha looked up to shoot the young wolf a pointed look, “Now, don’t you think that I want to do that too? You saw how primal the Alpha had been when we had tried to stop him from getting to Kendra, I wouldn’t even wish my worst enemy in that room with him then, even with all that silver he was on, much less to talk about now. I can only wish that Kendra is safe in there with him, for even though I found this Morgana woman weird, Kendra seems to have completely trusted her judgement… I’m guessing that was why she asked us to reach out to her in the first place.” She tore her gaze away, a sad look in her eyes as she continued to brush her wet blonde hair. “I would really love to go and check up on them, but sadly you heard the Silver witch. We’re only to open them on the night of the third day, and you know that is still quite a while away.”
“Yes, Lady Aiyisha… I’m so sorry for probing,” The young maid bowed her head slightly.
“It is truly nothing, you’re just a kind wolf expressing her concern for another, even I can understand that, Yelena.” She smiled at the young woman who blushed sheepishly, “I am finished with dressing you, ma’am… is there anything else you would like me to do?”
“No.” The Alpha’s daughter started, for truly she could take care of the rest, her hand maiden did need to freshen up herself after all, but then did a take back, “Wait… actually, there is something I want you to do for me, Yelena.”
“What is it, Lady Aiyisha?”
“I would like you to just call me Aiyisha. You have served me for so long that I do not think titles are quite necessary between you and I anymore.”
But the brunette with the most beautiful pair of violet coloured eyes only shook her head, “I cannot possibly do that, ma’am,” She said.
“Why ever not?”
“I-I just can’t. It is not proper to address a Lady without her titles.”
“Who creates all these rules, if not for man? I do think that it is high time we started revising some of these outmoded rules if I do say so myself.”
“With all due respect, my lady… I—I think that the rules are there for a reason, to keep us in check, t—to make us know our place. If there had been no rules, people in the lower class would have agitated to move to higher stations by now, and that would have put you aristocrats in danger.” The young maid finished, her violet eyes wide when she realised just how brazen she had sounded with her statements. “Forgive me, my lady…” she started, trying to make amends, but she found that she actually couldn’t bring herself to say another word.
“Yelena… I would not deny that I am indeed very much surprised by your outburst. It seems that despite how long you have worked as my hand maiden, I do not know you as I initially thought I did.” Aiyisha mused out loud. “You’re very well learned. How have you kept that well hidden for so long? And why?”
Yelena bowed her head in shame. “I thought that I would lose my job were people to find out.” She explained.
At that point, the Alpha’s daughter just had to stand up, “What I do not understand, Yelena… is why with all of your education, you’d settle for a job as a hand maiden and not aspire to be something more in the first place. How did you become this learned?”
“My mother taught me, Lady Aiyisha,” The maid whispered, a far away look in her eyes. “She was born into a middle class family who believed in making their children learned people… a family who believed on providing quality education for their people even at the peril of their lives. It was how she got her education in the first place. But alas, my mama’s parents died in a fire that burned their home and made them lose everything they had. Naturally, being the eldest with three other siblings to take care of meant she had to do everything she possibly could to ensure a continuous strain of good income, and so she joined a brothel to make money faster.” Yelena shook her head to clear away the thoughts. “I’m so sorry, my lady… I got carried away, I shouldn’t bore you to death with my family history.”
“No, no… don’t stop, do go on,” The lady insisted, too invested in the story to stop listening now. “What happened to her? Did she make it?”
Yelena smiled, a proud gleam in her eyes. “Indeed she did, my lady. Mama was the type who never gave up when she put her mind to something. She took care of her two younger sisters and brother, made sure that though they didn’t have the best of things, they got on comfortably in life,” The proud gleam vanished, only to be replaced with sadness, “And yet, when they finally made it in life, they started to shun the woman because of her job, aye… the very one that had taken care of them all those years, and then finally, they completely cut her off.”
Ayisha truly wanted to comfort the she-wolf, but she really wasn’t good with those things, and so she just stood there. “I’m so sorry,” She whispered. The handmaiden gave her a small smile. “It’s not as though it’s your fault,” She took a deep breath and continued her tale, “My mama was so overcome with the hurt and the bitterness that even though she had planned to leave the brothel eventually, she stayed till her last breath and took drinking in her last years. When she had me, she vowed that I was never going to follow in her footsteps, and so she taught me when she was free, and then when I was ten and three, she told me about my father and kicked me out of the brothel, lest eyes be drawn to me. I have fended for myself since then, only paying her yearly visits.”
Aiyisha did not even know what to say to that, for in that moment, she realised that any worries she might have thought she had had while growing up, what with dealing with having no mother figure and having a father who absolutely detested her guts, were pretty much insignificant when placed next to her hand maiden’s life experiences. She may not have had a mother, and her father may not have cared for her much.. but at least everything she could possibly need to ensure that she lived a comfortable life was completely placed at her disposal— infact, she lived a life more than comfortable even. For truly, she was the definition of a person born with a silver spoon in her mouth, perhaps a golden spoon even, with the way her father seemed to adore the metal.
“But wait,” She backtracked suddenly. “You did mention that she told you who your father was. What happened? Did you not find him?”
Aiyisha watched as a myriad of emotions flitted across her handmaiden’s face at her question, first fear, then pain, then anger finally replaced by a blank mask of indifference, “I did, my lady… but alas, he does not need me in his life. He seems to be getting on just fine.” She blinked, long and hard to clear the slight sheen of tears that stood in her eyes. “If that is all, my lady, I’ll like to take my leave now,” With that, the violet eyed brunette curtsied one last time and exited her mistress’ chambers, leaving the young woman to ponder over everything that had just transpired between them.