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3.14% Garden Of Poison / Chapter 9: Charcoal Dust

Chapter 9: Charcoal Dust

After the royal family finished their dinner and left the room, the maids began to clear the dishes and used silverware on the table. A fresh tablecloth was spread, as were the napkins, along with unused silverware placed in front of every chair tucked inside the table.

Mr. Gilbert ordered Anastasia and another maid, "Blow out the candles in the room and make sure not a single drop of wax falls on the table or on the floor. Remove the ashes from the fireplace."

Saying those words, Mr. Gilbert stepped out of the dining room with the three maids, who carried the previously spread tablecloth and used napkins. The double doors of the dining room closed behind them.

Anastasia turned to the maid and used her hands to speak,

'You can blow out the flames of the first two chandeliers. I will take the one at the back, and then clean the fireplace.'

The maid was happy to follow it, and she smiled before whispering,

"You know, Anastasia, when I become a queen, I will appoint you as my personal maid with all the good benefits." She then turned to look at the closed double doors before turning back and saying, "But that will happen only if Prince Aiden would realise that I am his soulmate. I feel this very strong connection with him, you know?"

Anastasia nodded and reached the back of the dining room, holding a long pipe and standing near the chandelier. Of course, she knew about this strong connection because every other maid secretly felt it towards one of the Blackthorn princes.

"I keep wondering if I should reveal myself to him, but alas I haven't found an opportunity," the maid sighed. She came to stand behind the chair that Prince Aiden usually sat in, lovingly caressing the top of the chair.

Anastasia wondered if the young maid was aware that it was only a piece of wood and not Prince Aiden himself. Raising the pipe in her hand, she aimed at the flames before blowing forceful air into it and blowing out the candles one by one that was on the chandelier.

Among King William's sons, Prince Maxwell Blackthorn was one of the princes who was liked because of his friendly appearance and because he was in his early twenties. He was Lady Maya's son, who was the King's concubine, and if it weren't for Prince Aiden being the preferred heir to the throne, many women would have favoured Prince Maxwell over him.

"I will be going back to the servant's quarters," the maid announced when she was done with her job. Anastasia nodded. She was now sitting in front of the fireplace.

Anastasia picked up the small pieces of coal from the fireplace, which were useless. When she found a piece of coal that was the length of her index finger, she turned to look at the empty room and then the closed doors before slipping it into her dress pocket. She used a brush to push the ash into a wooden container until the fireplace was clean and then left the dining room.

After disposing of the waste, Anastasia returned to the kitchen and washed her hands. She then joined the other servants for dinner, who sat on the floor. She took a seat next to the maid named Charlotte and ate her food with her fingers.

"Dinner is more delicious than usual," Charlotte whispered to Anastasia as she ate. "It must be because I walked more than usual, which is my fault," she laughed.

Anastasia turned to give her a questioning look, and Charlotte replied, "The senior maid told me to fetch the baskets from the storage room and I forgot. I then had to run back." She then said, "Mm, it is tasty. It is so strange that I don't remember what I used to eat before coming here. Do you remember it, Anna?"

Feeling the gaze of a senior maid, Anastasia shook her head at Charlotte's question. The older staff preferred the servants not to discuss where they came from.

Though Anastasia's memories of her past had partly faded over the years, there were some things that she and her sister held dear. Like her mother feeding them in the backyard of their house, while she and her sister ran around before returning to take another bite of food.

After dinner, Anastasia caught up to Theresa, who was going to her room. Making sure no one was around, she spoke,

"Auntie, I will be going to meet Mary."

"Now?" Theresa asked, looking left and right, as every time the sisters met without letting others know they were related, it made her chest uneasy with the thought that someone would catch them. "I don't think it's a good idea, Anna. They have increased the number of guards in the courtesans tower."

Anastasia frowned at this information and asked, "Why? Have the courtesans turned into precious jewels?" She cheekily smiled at the end of her words. "Though I would agree considering how beautiful Marianne is."

Theresa once again turned back to make sure they were alone in the corridor before she replied,

"I heard one of the courtesans tried to run away with a servant of the royal family. The servant was executed last night, and the courtesan is locked in the underground dungeon. I believe the Vizier is still deciding on how to deal with her; after all, he is the one who is in charge of handling the courtesans and the servants."

The smile on Anastasia's lips fell, and she asked, "Isn't that extreme?"

"That's what happens when you go against the rules of the palace, Anna," Theresa warned Anastasia, knowing the young woman had set her sights on something impossible. Even if the sisters successfully escaped the palace, she feared they would be caught and punished in unimaginable ways. "You said it yourself; people in the market didn't hear about your village."

"The place I come from, people are treated like people and not as slaves," Anastasia replied, before adding, "And it was just my first attempt in the market. There must be someone in there. I will do better next time."

"By causing another mishap in the market?" Theresa asked, raising her eyebrows at the young woman, who had contributed to most of her hair turning grey fast. "You are lucky the man didn't follow you or do something bad. This isn't Hawkshead, but the Kingdom of Versailles. Haven't you heard 'When in Rome do as Romans do'?"

"Romans who?" Anastasia asked, and Theresa exhaled.

"Rome is some country. At least that is what I have heard," Theresa paused and then placed her hand on Anastasia's arm, saying, "I think it would be best for you not to meet her tonight, Anna. It isn't safe for her."

Theresa was aware that even if Anastasia wasn't careful about herself, she didn't want to cause any trouble for her sister. Anastasia agreed, "Okay, our meeting can wait." She hugged the older woman and said, "It is so good to be able to speak. I thought my voice was turning raspy and hoarse from not speaking for so long."

Anastasia wished she hadn't said anything when the Queen was around that day. If not, she would have been able to speak like the others.

Theresa patted the young woman's back and said, "It is indeed good to hear you."

Anastasia pulled back and kissed the older woman's cheek. She then smiled and wished, "Goodnight. I will see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Anna," Theresa wished her, and the two women stepped into their separate rooms.

Getting inside her room, Anastasia locked the door with the help of the little latch. After loosely braiding her hair, her hand slipped into her dress pocket and took out the small piece of charcoal she had taken from the fireplace. She always tried not to be greedy by carrying more than one.

Picking up the little lamp burning in her room, Anastasia placed it on the floor and sat down with a parchment. The parchment belonged to the royal court, where many parchments were discarded every week after being considered to be useless. It was placed at the back of the kitchen, which was where she borrowed it from. She took the ones where one side of the parchment was left blank so she could use it.

What had begun as a way to distract herself had turned into a hobby, where Anastasia used the charcoal on the parchments to sketch.

The sketches were of Hawkshead Village and what she remembered.

Anastasia's upper body had bent forward while she started to draw on the parchment, her brown eyes full of concentration. She drew a bridge she remembered she and her sister running up and down on. Two hours passed, and the palace's corridors had turned quiet as most people had gone to sleep.

"Ah!" Anastasia's face scrunched when the coal broke into not two, but three little pieces. She murmured, "To think it was almost done." Her fingertips were covered with the black powder that belonged to the coal.

Usually, whenever something like this happened, she stopped drawing for the day. But tonight, she felt a need to finish what she had started. Biting her lower lip in thought, she stood up. Picking up a shawl to cover her shoulders, she stepped out of the room.

Anastasia walked in the deserted corridor, her feet quick as she only wanted to pick another piece of coal before returning to her room. The torches on the walls that had earlier been burning had dimmed, turning the corridors slightly dark.

Knowing where to find what she was looking for, Anastasia stepped inside one of the rooms and picked up a lump of cold coal. She was tiptoeing her way back to the servants' quarters, but on her way, she caught something moving. When she turned, her eyes fell on the infamous prince of the Blackthorn family.

Dante Blackthorn.

'What is he doing out of his room at this hour?' Anastasia asked, standing behind the thick pillar with intricate carvings and designs, peeking out from behind it.

Anastasia was aware that she had the curiosity of a cat, which could get herself killed. Which was why she decided to turn around and head back to her room. But the night wind blew right at her, similar to how it had in the Bazaar.

With one hand holding the coal she went to fix her shawl with the other, and the shawl slipped and escaped from her, flying backwards.

"Where are you going?!" Anastasia whispered, turning and following the shawl that slid across the floor. "Come back…!" If only the shawl could listen to her, she thought, scolding herself at her absurd words.

But when Anastasia crossed two more pillars in the corridor and was about to pick the shawl, a soft gasp escaped from her lips. It was because she noticed something move in the shadows, turning her hands and feet cold.

Frightened, she tried to move her feet backwards, only to slip on the smooth marble floor.

The person emerged from the shadow of the pillar and the trees of the garden on this side of the inner palace. When Anastasia looked up to see who was lurking in the shadows, her eyes widened on seeing Dante. Her throat felt dry, not expecting him here, as she had only seen him disappear a moment ago.


Chapter 10: Night encounter in the corridor

Music Recommendation: The Myth- Balmorhea

The wind gently whispered, moving in the deserted corridors of the palace, which led the torches' flames to waver and a few to be put out.

Anastasia could hear her heart beating in her ears. She had never expected to fall under this man's eyes, and it was because if there was any person in this palace that the maids avoided, it was Prince Dante.

Prince Dante was the most handsome out of all the princes, probably because he had inherited some of his features from his mother, Lady Lucretia, who originally wasn't from Versailles. But as good-looking as he was with his black hair that right now moved in front of his face with the wind and his sharp eyes staring at her, she and the other maids feared him. Apart from knowing he had mercilessly killed men and women during wars, it was also known that sometime in the past, he had killed a maid for her negligence.

There was also a rumour attached to him that he was a cursed prince, which was the reason why he wasn't in line for the throne.

Anastasia realised she had been staring at him with most of her hair spread on her face during the fall, and she quickly bowed from where she was sitting on the floor, placing both her hands on the cold marble floor. She hoped she hadn't disrespected him!

"What are you doing roaming the corridors at this hour?" Dante demanded, his voice calm yet intimidating, which weighed on Anastasia.

Anastasia hid the piece of charcoal under her two hands, her heart continuing to beat loudly. At his question, she raised her head and then looked at the shawl that was on the floor.

But something told Anastasia that the prince didn't believe her reason, not to mention she hadn't used actual words. 'It would be easier if I could just talk,' Anastasia thought.

Dante, on the other hand, stared at the maid with slightly narrowed eyes.

He was on his way to the other side of the palace when he decided to go back to his room to fetch his cloak. He hadn't expected to meet anyone at this hour of the night. Before he knew it, he had startled the maid, who fell to the ground quite harshly.

Although a prince by blood, Dante had been treated differently after he turned ten, and it had helped him grow faster in contrast to his other siblings. He stretched his hand towards her, as it was his fault.

Noticing a shadow move towards her on the floor, Anastasia raised her head, and her eyes widened upon seeing the prince's hand in front of her face.

For a moment, Anastasia came to believe that Prince Dante was asking her to reveal what was under her hands, and she began to panic. All she had to do was turn her hand around to reveal her palms and fingers inside, which were black with coal powder. Fear started to trickle down her spine at the thought of getting caught for stealing it and being punished.

Dante noticed the maid trembling, and he doubted it was the night air because, when his eyes fell on her hands, they were pressed tightly on the floor as if in fear. He wasn't ignorant of what people said behind his back about being cursed and unworthy. There had been several occasions in the past where he had experienced people avoiding touching him when he was young.

As much as he ignored it, there were a few times when it got under his skin, like now, when this maid refused to take his hand to stand up.

The kindness in Dante's eyes disappeared, replaced with a glare. He retrieved his hand and returned it to his side and harshly ordered the maid,

"Leave."

Anastasia didn't know a simple word could hold so much anger. She quickly hid the charcoal under the folds of her dress and grabbed her shawl that was on the floor. Bowing at him, she walked backwards until she reached the end of the corridor, and once Prince Dante was out of her sight, she turned and swiftly walked back to her room.

Once she entered her small room, she closed the door and locked it in fear that soon someone would come to execute her for her disobedience.

"He said 'leave'. That wouldn't warrant an execution, would it?" Anastasia questioned herself.

As brave as she was when it came to planning her and her sister's escape, right now she wasn't brave, and the more she thought, the worse her nerves turned unsettled. She hid the charcoal in one of her dresses, wrapping it around to ensure no one would find it, and picked up her mattress before carefully placing the recent sketch underneath it.

Sleep wasn't generous to Anastasia that night, as her little endeavour for a piece of charcoal in the corridor left her anxious.

The following day, Anastasia, who was working with Theresa on cleaning the rails of one of the stairs in one corner of the palace, yawned. The older woman looked around before she whispered,

"Don't tell me you tried to meet your sister last night?" There was no telling with this young one, who liked to push her luck in such things.

"I did not," Anastasia replied softly, with no energy. She said, "I wouldn't do that when you warned me that someone had been executed."

"Oh, thank God. Then what kept you awake? Did you have nightmares? " Theresa asked the young woman. When Anastasia was small, she often had trouble sleeping, while reliving the moment of being torn apart from her parents.

"Is Anna having nightmares?" Charlotte, who was at the bottom of the spiral staircase, climbed up and approached them. She then turned to look at Anastasia and asked, "Do you have dreams about getting scolded by Mr. Gilbert for not finishing work on time? I have dreamt about my hands being chopped, like the sword moves up in the air, and I wake up!"

Theresa and Anastasia shared a quick look with each other because they were worried that Charlotte had heard Anastasia when she spoke a few seconds ago.

"So what did you dream about?" Charlotte turned to Anastasia.

Anastasia moved her hands to reply to Charlotte, 'That my position changed back to the lowest servant, and I was later thrown inside the dungeon.'

Charlotte nodded, "That is definitely something all of us worry about. But Anna, you have been doing so well. You must be one of the few maids whom Mr. Gilbert hasn't scolded. Not that I have known. One day I would like to be the personal maid of the Mother Queen." She was the next one to peek down at the bottom part of the stairs, and she said, "But I have heard only the experienced senior maids are chosen for it."

Anastasia dipped the cloth in the bucket of water and squeezed it before continuing to clean the railing rods. Theresa said to the two young women, "I heard the senior maids discuss this morning that there will be a celebration held for Lady Sophia's birthday. It is going to be grander than last time."

"I thought last time was already grand," Charlotte replied to Theresa.

Anastasia turned to look at Charlotte with a cheeky smile and asked, moving her hands, 'I didn't know you attended the celebration.'

"God, no!" Charlotte replied, waving the cloth in her hand, and whispering, "Like you, I just heard it was lavish. We servants can only hear and see the outer walls, where the celebration takes place. I wonder how exciting it would be to take a peek!"

"Don't even think about it," Theresa said with a pointed look, not wanting the young woman to cause any mischief. She said, "The reason this time it is going to be grander is because princes and princesses from other kingdoms are coming to attend it. The royal family is trying to see if suitable matches can be found for the Blackthorn princes and princesses."

"Oh, a wedding in the near future! How nice," Charlotte turned excited because the celebration didn't mean it was only for the royal family.

During such festive occasions, even though servants weren't allowed to enter the place where the royal family was celebrating, they were given gifts like clothes or shoes for their status and were treated to better food than usual days, which everyone looked forward to.

While they continued to clean the windows of the corridor, Anastasia's ears picked up footsteps coming in their direction, as did the other two maids. Her brown eyes moved to look at who it was, and her eyes widened.

It was Prince Maxwell, the second son of King William, who appeared in the corridor. But he wasn't alone. Next to him walked a beautiful woman in a lilac dress, her dark brown hair combed back and pinned at the side and curled at the ends.

The woman was none other than Anastasia's sister, Marianne.


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