A maid

[Veinhill ~ Maid’s Quarters]

Tari covered her ears, trying to block the voices disturbing her sleep. But who was she kidding? The voices kept coming and she had no other choice but to wake from her sleep.

"The fuck! Keep your voice down" Tari barked, as she sat up on the bed.

Ebiere and Freyana paused what they were doing and turned to stare at her.

"You are awake"  Ebiere smiled. She raised her hand to feel Tari's temperature, but Tari slapped it off. The frown on her face deepened.

"Still rude" Ebiere nodded and dropped her arm.

"You need to eat and go clean up with Freyana." Ebiere said.

"Pardon?" Tari questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Clean. Clean what?" Tari demanded.

Freyana exchanged glances with Ebiere. Ebiere stood up from the small round table, then she sat beside Tari's bed.

"You heard me right? The chiefs want you gone, especially Lady Athena; even the warriors and the villagers." Ebiere sighed.

"And how the fuck should that affect me? Do I look like I want to be here?" Tari frowned.

"Feisty like they say" Freyana spoke softly. The second Tari's glare met her, she turned back to her food and continued eating without glancing up.

Tari tore her glare from Freyana to Ebiere.

"My child. This isn't the city, this is Veinhill. And in Veinhill the rules are different; you work your way up to the top. You might come in rich from the outside world but in Veinhill we are all equals. You already caused an offense when you talked back to the chiefs and slapped Frost." Ebiere explained.

"I was shocked she was only punished. The last person to have physical contact with Frost’s skeleton is still at the hell home." Freyana said and looked up.

Tari glanced at her but she didn't look away this time.

"I will leave you two. Freyana will tell you about Veinhill; you have a long day ahead, eat and get to work." Ebiere said and stood.

Ebiere paused, and tilted her head over her shoulder to Tari.

"My child, for now, keep your head down; don't offend anybody, please. Veinhill is darker than you will expect. And your name is already sour in their mouth"  Ebiere advised and walked out.

Freyana stood up and walked into the small bathroom installed in the room.

Tari glanced around at the small surroundings. The room was cramped: two small beds, a table, then a drawer with a gun at the top of the table.

Even with this kind of small space, there are like five laptops on the vanity table, and a big plasma TV hanging on the wall.

Tari raised an eyebrow seeing the gun.

"This is Veinhill; even we, the lowest of the low ranks, have fighting skills." Freyana spoke, resting on the bathroom door frame, and nodded her head towards the gun.

"You will get one when you stop being a bitch" Freyana added.

Tari glared at her. "You are about the same age as my younger sister" Tari said, staring at her up and down.

Freyana threw a uniform at her; Tari picked it up with a disgusted expression.

"We are cleaning Chief Athena's quarters, hurry up and put that on" Freyana said.

Tari threw the uniform back at her. "I refuse, I am not your maid" She shot back.

Freyana turned to her with a frown.

"You think you have a choice here? You think Veinhill is like the city, where all power belongs to you? Bitch, wake up, this is Veinhill. You get on a leader's blacklist and you are a goner. The only reason you haven't been thrown back was because Frost saved your ungrateful self and brought you here. He is the only reason you are still alive, and..." Freyana trailed off.

She closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled, while Tari stared at her with a confused expression. Barasa saved her? Unbelievable, the same bastard who ordered her to be flogged a hundred strokes. Impossible.

"Take your bath, get dressed and eat. You'll need your strength; we have a whole tower to clean." Freyana said, and walked out of the room without saying another word.

Tari scoffed and hissed. She looked at the uniform on the floor then stepped on it, cursing as she rolled on the bed.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I need to leave this place, I need to leave." She sat up.

"I cannot die without making Mitari and Musa suffer first. I need to survive this hellhole first" Tari muttered.

"And that bastard, he saved me?" She questioned herself.

She twisted her eyebrows into a frown, trying to remember how or when he pulled her out of the car. But all she could remember was the car falling into the ocean, not more or nothing less.

As far as she didn't remember, he didn't save her. An asshole like that is not worthy of the title, her savior.

She stared at the uniform then rolled her eyes before picking it up, holding it like it was a disease. She closed the bathroom door behind her.

Outside the door, a small smile spread across Ebiere and Freyana’s lips.

"She is trouble, so make sure you look after her." Ebiere said.

Freyana nodded as Ebiere walked away.