It just meant they were triply strict with her.
Maiya jumped out of her four-poster bed and hurried across the silk rug to her carved mahogany wardrobe, grabbing her frilly handmaiden dress, hopping on one foot to put her white pantyhose on, followed by the garter belt, the frock, the apron, and the half dozen other accessories that completed the dress.
It was the most beautiful outfit Maiya had ever worn, and she’d fallen in love with it at first sight.
It was a short-lived love. The dang dress had taken her nearly an hour to don the first time, earning her ten hours of hard labor chores for being so slow.
Swearing to never again endure that horrible experience, she’d practiced putting it on and taking it off hundreds of times in front of her mirror. Now, she could don it in just under five minutes. Which was barely passable, according to the head handmaiden.
Maiya had swiftly concluded the woman was a demon masquerading as a human. From her absurdly high standards to her draconian punishments when Maiya inevitably came short, one would think some horrific tragedy had warped the woman to make her the person she was.
Maybe some Ash Beast ate her entire family alive or something…
Maiya got her dress on a handful of seconds before her Magic Clock pinged five minutes, allowing herself ten seconds for a once over in the mirror. If any of the folds were misplaced or buttons undone, that would be the end of her.
Safe! Now comes the hard part…
She rushed out of her room—but daintily, with small steps, as proper handmaidens do not run—down the hall to the handmaidens’ kitchen.
These days, tea making was the most recent bane of Maiya’s existence.
She drew water from the Magic Tap, rushed up to the D Grade utility orbs and activated them all—orbs, plural. A single orb was far too slow here in the castle. They used six.
Heat three cups of water for exactly thirteen counts, and while it warmed, stuff three pinches of Jatan Forest Tea into the kettle. Shut off the orbs, pour the water into the kettle while agitating the leaves for forty-seven counts.
Pre-warm the mugs while the tea steeps, then finally pour in a swirling pattern before setting the mugs onto their coasters and placing it all onto the cart.
Maiya wheeled the cart to the next room and knocked thrice. “Your tea, madam,” she called.
“Enter,” her demonic examiner, the head handmaiden, replied.
Maiya wordlessly wheeled the cart in before placing the mug on the table at which the head handmaiden sat, tilting her head at just the right angle while curtseying.
The middle-aged woman stared judgingly at Maiya’s performance, her legs crossed in a distinctly unmaidenly fashion.
Maiya averted her eyes and awaited her evaluation. This was the worst part of her morning routine. If her mannerisms or her tea were unsatisfactory, she’d be assigned labor chores, which usually meant scrubbing an entire floor of the handmaidens’ dorm. There were a lot of handmaidens, so the task ended up taking the better part of her day. Of course, she’d have to complete all of her other work in addition.
It was borderline torture, and one she’d been doing more often than not in her time here.
“Passable, for now. The princess would spit this out, but it would barely pass muster for a low ranking Sawai,” the gray-haired woman said curtly.
Maiya nearly sighed in relief, catching herself before committing that felony. She’d been punished for less.
“I am unworthy of such praise, madam. Now, if it pleases you, I shall take my leave to train my body, such that I might serve in the best interests of the empire.”
“Ensure that you do, trainee,” the woman said, dismissing Maiya.
Bowing, she backpedaled with the cart all the way to the entrance, closing the door behind her. Only then did she exhale and do a little victory dance—something that earned her looks from fellow handmaidens passing by.
Maiya didn’t care. No cleaning chores meant she wouldn’t be a walking corpse tomorrow, and that was all that mattered. It meant she’d have time to visit the largest pub in town—the meetup spot she’d written on her note to Vir.
On the days she couldn’t visit, she’d hired a trusted royal agent to keep an eye out for her. But while her new station granted her a surprising amount of privilege and wealth, even her newly enlarged coin purse had limits. Her eyes nearly popped out when she’d heard how much they charged.
So far, no luck, but she wasn’t worried. Vir was unlikely to complete his task in a few weeks… especially since Tanya expected hers to last a whole year.
Losing no time, Maiya ran through the hall in the most undignified manner. Since the day she was accepted as a handmaiden, she’d been training equally in her maidenly duties as well as combat.
The maidenly duties were all expected. Hard, perhaps, but expected. The combat portion? Less so. The training she received was on par with the most elite forces in Kin’jal.
Apparently, she wouldn’t be allowed to serve the princess directly until she’d completed all the basic training and had proved her worth in combat. Even then, they might not select her—serving the princess was a privilege reserved for the most talented maidens.
All of this meant she’d be useless as Riyan’s spy for some time to come, but that suited her just fine. Once she’d gained some tenure, her annual compensation would be measured not in coppers or silvers, but in serics!
Maiya rushed into the open training yard that abutted the handmaidens’ dorm. The yard was a wide-open space, bustling with handmaidens and Imperial knights dueling each other from dusk until dawn. Even at this early hour, sounds of combat and steel filled the yard, highlighted by the occasional flash of magic.
To her horror, she found the head handmaiden there, waiting.
“You are ten counts too late,” she said, wearing her characteristic stern expression.
How’d that witch get here so fast? I literally ran the entire way! A Talent? Did she use Blink or something?
“You will fight an extra round today.”
Maiya swallowed the urge to talk back. “Yes, ma’am,” came her defeated reply.
80
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MAIYA (PART TWO)
Even with Maiya’s practiced efficiency, she’d been too slow for the wicked witch. A part of her suspected the head handmaiden lied just to make her suffer.
One day, I’m gonna wipe that smug look off your wrinkly old face.
The woman had taken a special interest in Maiya, giving her far more attention than any of the other handmaidens in training.
Maiya didn’t know whether to be proud of that fact, or to weep in self-pity. She did both.
She entered the changing stall, disrobing and changing into her Imperial mejai combat armor. Dyed in the Kin’jali blood red that matched her hair, it was a light, fitted brigandine cuirass over black gambeson. Just enough to protect her vitals, while still allowing her plenty of range of motion. With her red mejai aiming bracer fitted atop her right arm, she found it quite striking.
Wonder what Vir would say if he saw me in this. Or in my handmaiden outfit. Would he think me pretty in that dress, I wonder?
Maiya retrieved her shining steel half-helm along with her blood rods and took her place in line to fight. The first phase of her combat training involved sparring with Imperial knight instructors. The second phase would have her travel to the Kin’jal Three Garrison on the Ash Boundary to fight against Ash Beasts that make it past the wall… but she was thankfully a long way away from that. She dreaded that day.
Standing in line, she observed the other handmaidens’ fights. Their forms varied, but most were unrefined and crude, showing little prior training.