Chapter three
Maids quarters
Early morning
'Perriguin, this is your first day of service. You have been posted to the cleaning department. It's the most stressful but you must put in your best' the head of maids said. 'Be good…I believe in you' she added, patting pereguin's shoulder before walking away.
Pereguin was already dressed in the appropriate outfit. In Jumbadiway, Apentas were not the culture. It was Shuas. Shuas were adorable! They were quite similar to Apentas but the difference was the type of fabric, design and slight change in style. They were closed at the upper and loser part compared the Apentas. The wast beads, bracelets, anklets and chokers that were gven to her were many and nice. Everything about Jumbadiway was good. From how their maids were treated to the food and the general relationship among themselves. Everyone was treated equally, it was even a crime to call maids and servants slaves. The rules were not as strict as Lumbidimaway's.
Pereguin did not know how or when to see the Duke and thank him but she was really grateful.
She moved out of the room and went to the store to pick up some tools. She took the necessary cleaning equipment and started working immediately. Her main work was a long the hallway.
As she was working, the thought of Lumbidimaway flashed. Then, Reguin and she used to go through a lot because they were the youngest among the adult slaves. She wished she could help Reguin but it was impossible. She missed her friend so much.
Leaving her thought, she looked up and saw the Duke walking and discussing with some officials. Pereguin did not hesitate to stop working immediately and bow. The Duke simply walked past her as if he did not see her. Though Pereguin expected him to at least say a word to her since he brought her and not seen her since the day he brought her, she knew he was royalty and had the right to do otherwise. Who was she?
She continued working, scrubbing the marble floor till it shone. Soon, a letter dropped in her bucket. Her heart skipped a beat. In fear, she took the letter. It read;
Pereguin,
I'm glad all your scars are gone now. Don't worry, I'll soon get you out of the cleaning department.
Duke.
While she was in the quarters, learning the rules and ethics, the letters never appeared but as she saw him, the letter came. In thought, she turned and looked to see if e was still there but he wasn't. By the time she turned back, the letter was gone. For a minute or more, she was lost. Then, she cleaned up the dust and finished up. By the time she was done, it was noon. She was not exhausted a bit because she was used to harsh and hard labour that lasted like forever in Lumbri.
Turning to take her leave, she bumped into the Duke. Immediately, she knelt down. Tears travelled down her cheeks involuntarily. What had she done again. It meant death. It was so terrible because it was her first day and she was creating a wrong impression.
'Duke…' she began, lamenting.
He looked at her for a while before walking away without a word. That scared Pereguin. Her heart raced faster than ever. Immediately, she stood up and mopped the splashed of water on the floor.
'Pereguin, is this what I taught you…to splash water on the Duke? how could you be so foolish and absent-minded?' the head of maids, Madam Noni yelled as she walked towards Pereguin from nowhere.
Pereguin could not say a word. Madam Noni dragged Pereguin's ears and twisted them while she made her recite some laws concerning cleaning.
'Noni…you know what you are doing is wrong, right?' an average-aged woman yelled calmly but authoritatively.
Pereguin looked. She was sure that was the Duchess. Beautiful, radiant and spotless was she. Her regalia was an interwoven, complex outfit. Pereguin had not seen such a beauty in her life.
'Ma, she bumped into the Duke and some muddy water splashed on him!' Madam reported.
The woman who Pereguin had called the duchess looked at Pereguin for a while.
'I don't know this face' she said, playing with her horsetail.
'She is a slave from Lumbri. Duke brought her as he was returning from the festival' the head replied.
The duchess walked up to Pereguin and looked into her eyes in a way that seemed intimidating to Pereguin but normal to her. Pereguin was sure she deserved the handsome Duke as she was also perfect. Her white eyes scanned pereguin's whole face so closely that her pointed nose almost touched Pereguin. She retreated and brushed her beautifully styled hair behind.
'What's your name?' she demanded.
'My name is …' Pereguin stammered.
She had not forgotten her name. Her mouth had simply failed her. Maybe she was intimidated or scared that she had met another wicked Duchess.
'... Pereguin' she added after the struggle.
She gave Pereguin that deadly look again. This time, more intently. The, she broke into laughter.
'Why are maids from there always full of fear? Lumbri has a long way to go in their social life…' the Duchess scoffed with Madam Noni. '...and please, it wasn't enough reason to yell at her, okay? If water was splashed on him, then he should have a change…'
Madam Noni nodded. Pereguin looked at the duchess, confused. Her smile was the opposite of the serious face she had put on earlier.
'Nice name…come with me' the duchess said to Pereguin.
Pereguin was scared of the duchess and just corrected the head because of her. She was probably in trouble. Pereguin lurked behind the duckess. The contrast between was clear. While the duchess was tall, fair and healthy-looking, she was short, dark and skinny.
'You are from Lumbri, right?' the duchess asked.
Pereguin nodded unevenly.
'Right! Do you usually see the Duke during the festival of a completed revolution?' she asked.
'Yes…I usually clean his room' she replied.
'oh perfect…you are the exact person I need!' she said excitedly. 'So tell me…which duchess always comes to the Duke?'
Pereguin looked at the duchess, scared.
'Duchess, I…'
'Did you just call me the Duchess, I'm not okay? I'm his mother…' she said. 'that fool won't get married ' she muttered under her breath.
Pereguin was so shocked because she was sure, so sure that that was the Duchess. Finding out she was the mother of that big Duke was a shock. She wasn't a bit old. Wow!
'He does not hang around with anyone…every year he dances with different Duchesses' Pereguin replied.
'Are you serious???' the Duke's mother freaked out. 'wait…does he sleep alone?' she asked , lowering her voice.
Pereguin nodded and she frowned.
One thing everyone knew was that the Duke of Jumbadiway was very chaste unlike many other dukes with countless wives and concubines.
'Thank you…I'm Roria and you are my friend now so you can always come to my quarters…in fact, it's compulsory' she said with a smile. 'I'll get you transferred to my quarters…see you later' she added nicely.
Pereguin bowed and smiled with all happiness. Jumbadiway felt like a home. She never knew royalty could be nice. For the first time,she was speaking with royalty without fear of death.
As she turned back to leave, again she bumped on into someone. Her head was buried in the person's chest. She prayed it wasn't the Duke. Her face landed on the person's chest. Immediately, even without seeing the face she knelt apologetically. She had no control over her tears that were endlessly running down. What was her problem?
He snapped his fingers and a maid rushed in.
'Who's she?' he asked with a blank expression.
'The maid from Lumbridimaway Kingdom' they replied.
He smiled immediately.
'This is great…common, I'm not a God, get up!' she said, giving her a hand up.
Pereguin looked at the young man who was a different shade of the Duke, most likely his brother. His charisma was the shocker.
'Tell me, who's my brother always with during the festival? He asked plainly, smiling- not with his teeth alone but his charming brown eyes.
Pereguin wondered why they were all worried about that. Were they that eager to get him a wife?
'No…body exactly' Pereguin stammered. 'he dances with everyone and lodges alone' she added, fully knowing what his next question would be.
He nodded and smiled like his mom.
'What's your name?' he asked.
'Pereguin'
'Awnn…nice name for a gorgeous lady like you' he said and winked seductively though unconsciously. 'nice to meet you…I'm Lamidat' he said.
Pereguin started to get things straight. The Duke wasn't married, there was no duchess and that was the worry.
The next day, Pereguin was just coming from the Duke mother's quarters. Together, they discussed the Duke's activities during festivals. They had made Pereguin their source of information-both of them. Not just that, she also cleaned the quarters. Returning to the main palace, she saw the Duke coming. Immediately, she stood still at the side and bowed. She was waiting for him to ignore her as usual but he stood in front of her.
'Raise your head up' he said without expression.
She raised her head up but couldn't look at him. He was just too handsome and intimidating to behold. His countless gold jewelries radiated light.
'Look at me' he said again, more authoritatively.
When she eventually did, he was not saying anything. They only maintained eye contact. Pereguin could not even look away because she was scared it could be rebellion.
'Come with me' he said.
Pereguin's heart beat was extremely fast. He was not smiling at all. Soon, he dragged her and pushed her into a room.
'I know my family members have been interrogating you…Now, don't tell a soul that Duchess Xevaliava proposed to me and I rejected it, okay???' he ordered.
He was very close to her, applying pressure on her. The auro around was tense.
Pereguin nodded unevenly.
'I never knew' she stammered.
He looked at her, retrieving and massaging his temple.
'This was meant to be a secret' he muttered to himself.
He turned and left. Just a few minutes later, when Pereguin was trying to get herself back, the letter came. This time, she was not as scared as usual. She felt someone needed to know about what was happening to her. The letter read;
'Pereguin,
Keep my secret. Be the one person I can trust.
Duke
The letters seemed realistic but they were magical! Once more, the letter shrinked to humus and she cleared the place up.
Pereguin longed to know more about the mysterious thing that was happening. The letters were of the same handwriting that looked like the Duke's. Yet, the Duke acted the opposite of the letter. He was acting as if he had no business with the letters.