by Ruhi Jain
Brell shifted the weight of the cleaner onto her left arm. “Well, bye Aanya. Guess I’ll see you soon.”
She paddled away to the servants’ quarter. Disposing off the equipment, she knocked on Figgie’s door.
“Come in.”
Her large body was squeezed in a chair and the desk in front of her was strewn with papers.
“What is it?” She barked when she saw Brell. “I’m busy.”
“Ma’am, I wanted to know which room —”
“Room R-2,” She interrupted. “Go, do your work.”
Brell shut the door behind her. Her bracelet and money were always with her, so she didn’t have anything to collect from D-5. On her way to R-2 she met Erene.
“Erene! What’s the matter?” She cried, alarmed. Erene’s eyes were red, and her cheeks were streaked with air tears.
“N-nothing.” She mumbled.
“I know something’s happened. What is it?”
Brell rubbed away her tears and ran her fingers through Erene’s hair, the way she used to do for Timmy when he was upset.
“I was cleaning the guest rooms and my t-tail got tangled in the curtains. I tried to g-get it free but I guess I t-tugged too hard and the curtain fell from the hanging rod. A passing by white shirt heard it and r-reported it to Figgie!”
Brell comforted her. “There, there. It’s not so bad.”
Erene pulled away. “You don’t understand. Figgie took away all my salary to pay for the fixing of the curtain.”
Brell didn’t know what to say. Then she noticed small red marks on Erene’s left hand knuckles. She gasped.
“What’s that?” She uncurled Erene’s tight, shaking fist and gazed at the streaks, horrified.
“Nothing.” She tightened her first again and put it behind her back.
“Erene, it’s something! Someone hurt you. Who was it?” But she already knew the answer.
Erene squirmed. “Brell, its standard. If someone fails in their duties, they get punished. Figgie has to do it; its protocol.”
Anger flashed through Brell. How could Figgie do such a thing? She squared her shoulders and gently took her hand.
“Come. I’ve got a new room.” And she led her to R-2 where the layout was the same at the dark green shirt rooms. The only difference was that the mirror was not cracked and the bedside shelf had one more drawer. The neat and tidy bed was surely hers. She placed her few belongings in the drawer and saw a pile of light green shirts.
“Now let’s look at your knuckles.”
She spread out Erene’s reddened fingers to examine them. Anger flashed through her again, stronger this time.
“Wait here.”
She went out into the corridor where there was a small first-aid kit hanging on a hook. Brell pulled it down and went back to R-2.
Brell opened the first aid kit. “This might burn a bit, okay?”
She first cleaned Erene’s hands carefully and then squeezed out a bit of the antiseptic, spreading them over her trembling fingers. Then she wrapped her knuckles up in cloth. It was strange how attached she was to Erene, how Erene’s pain affected her too, how she felt like a little sister to her. She had this sudden urge to not leave the sea because she wanted Erene to know there was somebody who would be with her.
“It’ll be fine now.” she promised, packing up the kit.
“Have you done this before?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t believe how many times Timmy has cut himself playing.” She managed a chuckle to lighten the mood.
“Brell?”
“Yes, Erene?”
“Do you miss him?”
She was silent. Then she said quietly, “With all my heart. The only reason I’m here is to save him. Today after I finish my work, I’m going to go to the west side of the castle. I think he’s there.” She said quietly.
“I shouldn’t hold you up then.” Erene smiled.
“Hold on.” Brell removed four of the five Dolts she had received as salary. “Keep these. Treat yourself to something nice, okay?”
“Brell, I can’t!”
“Yes, you can. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Erene nodded reluctantly. “Thank you.”
“Will you be okay?”
“Of course! Anyway, I have to help out with the dishes. Thanks a lot.”
She waved Erene goodbye and then hurried to Salamandar’s office; it was a little away from the servants’ quarters, nearer to the Castle.
The office was lavishly furnished with every type of luxury: beige curtains, fur rugs and leather sofas. Glass panes separated the main office from the conference room. She began by soaking the curtains with the odour remover. The light yellow fluid immediately disappeared into the fabric. At this point, almost everything that she did was mechanical. Her fingers curled around the cleaner without even thinking because her mind was somewhere else.
Why would Figgie want to punish Erene by hitting her? She had said it was protocol — when someone made a mistake they had to pay for it. But someone like Erene? She was just a child, just like Timmy.
Timmy. The name sent sharp pin-like pains all over her chest. Where was he? Was he safe, healthy, happy? Today she would definitely find him; she had been practicing magic often so that she would be powerful enough to unlock and lock that door on the fifth floor.
So absorbed was she in her thoughts, that she barely realised that the door of office had opened.
“You, get out!” a familiar voice hissed.
Brell jumped up, startled. Salamandar himself — his slick hair combed back as usual — had just swum into the room. His brow was furrowed in concentration and his black tail flitted back and forth furiously.
She fled from the office, closed the door, and then paused, silently cursing herself. The cleaner she had been clutching in her hand had dropped onto the rug.
Stupid mistake! She considered leaving it there, but then imagined Salamandar’s fury when he would see it. Maybe she could just sneak into the room, grab it, and run away.
She pressed against the teak door gently till it opened a crack and she could see Salamandar’s back. She was just about to slip in when she froze.
“How could it happen?” Zeldae’s voice pierced the water like a razor-sharp knife. The tone Brell had heard from Zeldae at the Ball was nothing but a fragment of what she could sound when she was angry. Her words were tinted with unmistakable fury and her voice made her shrink from the door.
“It was an accident.” Salamandar’s voice was almost trembling.
Brell crept closer to the door and pressed her ear to the crack. Even though she wanted to be as far away from here as possible, she knew if she stayed put, she might hear something of value.
“The human nearly escaped. You call that an accident?” Zeldae’s voice screeched and Brell flinched.
“The Cage was weakening and it had not been repaired for a while. Luckily the door was locked so he wouldn’t have gotten out anyway.”
“Luckily? At this stage we can’t play with luck! Can you imagine what would have happened had he escaped?” Her voice was flat and cold. “How would we get a replacement? It’s too close to CreDay.”
Brell’s fingers tightened around her shirt. They were talking about Timmy. The human nearly got out. That meant he had tried to escape. When Zeldae mentioned CreDay, she felt as if an ice cold vice had suddenly wrapped itself around her heart.
“It has been secured now, Your Majesty.”
“Red is out. How was the Cage strengthened?”
“We used a temporary magic to make it more durable.”
“And when will Red return?”
“In a week.”
An angry hiss cut him off. “A week? What are you, an idiot? Why are you still standing here? Send a messenger to call him back immediately.”
Thomas Red must be the one who strengthens the Cage.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Brell backed away from the door, afraid. She had to get to T
immy soon. She had to!
“Enjoying ourselves, are we?” a menacingly soft voice said in her ear.
Before she could react, an impossibly strong hand yanked her arms, dragging her with such force that she felt her arms popping out of her socket. Her cheek scrapped against the floor as she stumbled.
Figgie’s massive figure could move surprisingly fast if she wanted it to and in no time, Brell was roughly flung into her office.
“Explain,” roared Figgie.
Brell rubbed her bruised arms and shoulders. “I dropped the cleaner in the room and I meant to retrieve it! I wasn’t eavesdropping!
Figgie glowered at her. “Susan Morris! What all did you hear?”
“Just about Mr. Thomas Red and how he is on a vacation!” That wasn’t exactly a lie.
“I didn’t expect this from you. A servant must never, ever listen to the conversation of the Royal Family.”
When Brell didn’t reply, she went on.
“I have no choice but to deliver the standard punishment.”
Was she talking about the punishment that she had given Erene? She clenched her fist. Figgie uncoiled a thin leather strip with a wicked black handle and a pointed metal end. With each second going by, she could feel her heart beating faster.
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Place your left fist on the table.” It wasn’t a request, but a command.
She knew there was no way out. She couldn’t escape from that small office and she obviously couldn’t use her precious crystals. She unwillingly placed her trembling hand out the table, and closed her eyes.
She could hear the whip coming down through the water with force. Immediately, pain sliced through her hand. She bit down on her lip to control herself. She couldn’t and she wouldn’t let Figgie see that it had affected her. She wouldn’t give in.
Crack! She smelt blood.
Crack! She had cut her lip.
Crack!
Crack! Her hand was on fire.
“You may go now, and get back to your duties.”
Five thick lines were cut evenly into her skin, some between and some on her knuckles. Blood tricked over her pale skin, washing it with red.
Figgie threw a towel at her.
“Clean up and leave.”
Brell wrapped up her bloody hand with the pale towel and left. At the moment the door was shut, a tear spilt down her cheek and onto the towel. Had Figgie hurt her so much just because she refused to cry out in pain?
She rushed to her room to clean the wounds. Her fingers were shaking so badly she couldn’t even apply the bandage. Finally she gave up and sank onto the floor, sobbing silently.
Why her? Why? Her despair wasn’t just because of the cuts; it was also about the situation she was in, the things she had to do and the emotional consequences of those actions. While she sobbed, something shifted inside of her, something that told her not to indulge in the pointless and destructive act of self-pity. Then she got up, calmed herself, steadily wrapped her knuckles in fresh cloth, and squared her shoulders. A ruthless determination washed through her.
It was at that moment that she became her own rock; her own support. She refused to let moments of weaknesses shake her from her goal of getting Timmy out of this hellish place. It was more than empowering; it was liberating.
She swam up to the training equipment centre on the third floor. She had memorized the location of almost everything in the castle now. The training equipment was stored in a circular room and placed on silver shelves and hooks. Arrows, bows, swords and clubs were made of glistening, polished metal. Brell could even see her reflection on the sleek blade of a nearby sword. Piled up in a corner were strips of metal with razor-like edges.
Another mermaid entered the room. She had curly auburn hair that was rolled up in a bun, but some hair fell against the side of her dew-drop shaped face.
“Hi.”
“Hello.” Brell replied, slightly taken aback. She was the first mermaid to openly say ‘Hi’.
“You’re Susan, if I’m not wrong. Didn’t you become a light green shirt today?”
“I did.”
“You must have impressed Figgie a lot. I’m Hazel, by the way.”
Brell nodded. “It’s nice meeting you Hazel. You wouldn’t happen to know when the royals are going for training, would you?”
Hazel had skipped over to the place where the strips of metal were lying, and she pulled on black gloves to carefully pick up the razor strips.
“They are about to leave in fifteen minutes. They got delayed because of some silly whim Princess Valery had. Oh!” her eyes fell on Brell’s bloody, bandaged hand.
“I can’t believe she hit you on your first day,” she whispered quietly. “Mine was after my first month. What did you do?”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” she said, wanting to move from the topic as quickly as possible. She quickly asked, “So what was Princess Valery’s whim?”
Fortunately, Hazel got the cue. “She has to go for Princes Sarah Hscool’s birthday in Corfer tomorrow and she spent all morning just picking out a dress. Every time a dress was shown to her she would reject it and demand to see another one. Anyway, who are you carrying the equipment for?’
“Prince Callum.” Brell picked up one of the bows and the quiver of arrows next to them.
“You’re lucky. I’ve got King Jade, and his fighting training is very rigorous.” She gave a pointed look at the metal strips in her hand.
“What are they?”
“King Jade had them made just recently. He calls them ‘Sliders.’ I’ve only seen him use it once but the damage they cause is …” she trailed off.
“There are miniature spikes at the side of the sliders that are designed to cut through any material, especially skin. That’s why I’m wearing these special gloves.”
Voices echoed down the corridor, coming closer to them. Callum’s head popped in at the doorway of the room, as two mermaids rushed in and grabbed a sword and a club.
“Queen Maude wants to practice with a curved blade.” He told one of the mermaids and disappeared as quickly as he came. She noticed now he didn’t call Queen Maude ‘mother’. One of the girls picked up a wickedly curved sword with a devilishly sharp blade.
“Come on, let’s go.”
The training room was twice as large as the Breakfast Hall. Fresh, cool water encircled the whole area, and she could see the bright sun through the glass ceiling, through the tonnes of water above them.
The area was divided into large sections by tall glass walls. Each section was meant for training with a particular weapon and as Hazel headed off to a glass compartment, Brell slipped into the one Hazel had pointed her to and stopped short. She backed out of the room, eyes wide, and checked again. From the outside, she could see right through the glass to other compartments and the people inside, but stepping back into the compartment, she found that she had entered a room with leather-coloured marble walls embedded here and there with rectangles of soft red cushion, not glass. She couldn’t see through to the other compartments.
Voices carried through the water as Callum entered the room and shut the door behind him. Immediately, the voices cut out. The room was soundproof.
She felt Callum calling to her through her Dreign, and she let him through.
“You must have noticed the unique characteristics of this area, so you know why I can’t turn towards you and talk to you. Others will see.”
She kept her injured hand behind her back. The last thing she wanted was his sympathy.
“I know.”
He set down the duffel bag he was carrying. His golden tail was shielded with a metallic covering of scales and his upper torso was protected with a metal armour. Another merman entered the room.
He was tall and looked in tip-top physical condition. He too was wearing full body armour.
“Andrew.” Callum nodded.
“Let’s begin today’s training, Your Majesty. I’ve heard
you have gotten a bit rusty.”
“We’ll see,” he smirked.
What she saw next was more like a fight than training. Andrew shot arrows one after the other at Callum, who kept dodging them and shooting back.
Callum may be obnoxious, too serious, and utterly boring, but he was still her friend. She was afraid the arrows might hit him. She pressed herself into a corner as his arrows hit the wall next to her and watched in rapt excitement as the two duelled. They always aimed the arrows at each other but never managed to hit their target.
An arrow shot out of Andrew’s bow and Callum’s arrow hit it mid-flight, shattering both. Simultaneously, Andrew shot a second arrow at Callum and it hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him off balance.
“Never think that a small victory means you have won the game.” Andrew said, placing his bow and arrow beside him, panting. “You need to improve your firing rate.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Callum muttered, shaking himself. “You may continue with your duties.” He said to her, giving her a meaningful look.
“Observe my family fighting from the outside. You should know their strengths and weaknesses should the need ever arise.”
“Great,” she grumbled, emerging from the room and viewing the hall. The room Hazel had entered looked murderous. King Jade was slashing wildly at his trainer who was taller than him and was using sliders too. The metal chains kept getting tangled with each other and she smiled to see that the trainer was winning. She analysed the King more closely to spot his weakness. After carefully watching him, she realised that he never took his enemy by surprise. He always took the obvious route of attacking from the front, however, she did notice that although he went for the direct attack, his blows seemed very powerful.
In another room Queen Maude was practicing with the curved blade and it was pretty obvious to see that she had no skill at all when it came to fighting.
She deposited the equipment in the room and went to get the cleaners from the storage cupboard.
“Miss High and Mighty.”
She figured the best way to communicate with Natalie was to stay calm.
“I’m not going to fight with you Natalie.”
Natalie advanced towards her but she didn’t flinch. “You’ll fight if I say you fight.”