Untitled Episode4
1506 Words
Chapter 4
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Sarah woke up to cold water. Not gentle nor accidental. It was deliberate. It hit her face before she fully processed the sound of footsteps.
She sat up instantly, gasping.
“What—!”
A bucket clattered to the floor beside her bed. Three maids stood over her watching.
No apology, no emotion. Just observation. Like she was part of a routine they had repeated before.
Sarah wiped her face slowly, breathing hard.
“Are you insane?”
The oldest maid folded her arms.
“Get up.”
Sarah frowned. “Excuse me?”
One of them stepped forward.
“You’re in the Lower East Wing now. Not the main palace.”
Silence followed. Then another voice.
“This place doesn’t wait for anyone.”
Sarah stared at them.
“And throwing water is part of the welcome package?”
A faint scoff.
“No,” the maid replied. “It’s a reminder.”
Sarah stood slowly. Her clothes were damp and her patience was already gone but she didn’t raise her voice at least not yet.
“What exactly am I being reminded of?”
The first maid stepped closer.
“That you don’t ask questions here.”
Another added quickly,
“And you don’t act like you matter.”
A pause. Then—
“And you learn how to mind your business.”
Sarah exhaled slowly. Not in defeat but in calculation.
“I was assigned here,” she said calmly. “I didn’t choose it.”
A short laugh.
“That’s not the point.”
The bucket was kicked slightly aside. Then the oldest maid pointed toward the door.
“Get up. Get to work.”
Then her voice dropped.
“This wing is different. If you don’t adjust fast… you won’t last here.”
They left.Just like that. No explanation andNo further words. Only silence remained behind them.Sarah sat still for a moment.Then she smiled faintly. Not because she was amused but because she understood something.
“They don’t hate me,” she muttered.
“They’re trained like this.”
She stood up and walked out.
The Lower East Wing greeted her like it always did. Cold corridors, muted voices and people moving without interaction. But today, something felt sharper.
Eyes lingered longer and whispers didn’t stop when she passed. They only lowered.
Sarah caught fragments.
“…main palace…”
“…transfer…”
“…problem…”
She exhaled.
“So I’m entertainment now.”
A voice suddenly cut in behind her.
“You’re early.”
Sarah turned. A young maid stood leaning against a wall.She had tired eyes,loose posture. Different from the others,not hostile. Just uninterested in pretending.
“I’m Mira,” she said.
Sarah nodded slightly. “Sarah.”
Mira looked her up and down.
“You look like you survived the bucket.”
Sarah blinked.
“That’s what that was?”
Mira shrugged.
“Morning tradition for unwanted transfers.”
Sarah frowned. “Comforting.”
“It’s not meant to be.”
Then Mira tilted her head.
“Don’t take it personally.”
“I’m trying not to.”
“That’s your first mistake,” Mira said simply.
Sarah raised a brow.
“And the second?”
Mira smiled faintly.
“Staying here.”
Before Sarah could respond, footsteps approached. Three maids again, the same ones from earlier. They slowed when they saw Mira then Sarah. And immediately their expressions changed.
“Still talking to outsiders?” one of them said.
Mira sighed.
“Please don’t start.”
The maid ignored her. Her gaze stayed on Sarah.
“You’re comfortable quickly.”
Sarah folded her arms.
“I’ve been here less than a day.”
“And yet you’re already acting like you belong.”
Sarah tilted her head.
“Is that a crime here?”
“It becomes one when people like you start asking questions.”
Mira rubbed her forehead.
“Oh, I’m too tired for this.”
But the tension had already grown. Other servants slowed nearby, watching and waiting.
Sarah looked at the maid.
“You keep saying ‘people like me.’ What does that mean exactly?”
Silence followed, Then the maid stepped closer.
“You came from the main palace.”
Sarah didn’t deny it.
“I was sent here.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Her tone changed slightly.Sharper and colder.
“People from above always look at us like we’re nothing.”
Sarah frowned.
“That’s not—”
“It is,” the maid cut in.“You don’t even realise you do it.”
The air tightened. Mira slowly stepped between them.
“Okay, everyone breathe—”
“No,” the maid snapped.“This is exactly the problem.”She continued while pointing at Sarah.“You people get sent here after making mistakes upstairs… and suddenly we’re supposed to forget everything?”
Sarah’s expression hardened slightly.
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“Doesn’t matter why you’re here,” the maid said.“It matters where you came from.”
Silence. It was a heavy, sharp and final one.
Sarah looked at her for a long moment. Then said quietly:
“So this isn’t about me.”
The maid didn’t respond.That was enough to answer.
Sarah nodded once.
“Understood.”
And walked past them. Mira followed quickly.
“Hey—don’t do that calm voice thing.”
“What voice?”
“The one that means you’re thinking too much.”
Sarah didn’t answer. After a moment, Mira sighed.
“Look… they’re not all bad. Just… damaged.”
Sarah glanced at her.
“That’s a nice way of saying hostile.”
“It is a nicer place,” Mira agreed.
They walked in silence for a while. Then Mira added:
“You should stick with me.”
Sarah raised a brow.
“Is that a threat?”
“No,” Mira said. “A survival tip.”
By mid-morning, Sarah was assigned to storage duties. Heavy lifting and repetitive work. The kind meant to drain energy, not teach skill.
And of course—trouble found her again.
A basket of linens “accidentally” bumped into her arm. Cloth spilled across the floor. A few laughs followed immediately.
“Careful,” one maid said softly.“New people are so clumsy.”
Sarah closed her eyes briefly.Then took a deep breath and knelt. She started picking them up.One by one, slow and controlled.
The laughter continued waiting for reaction, waiting for anger, waiting for something entertaining.
Sarah stood up, held the basket then looked at them and smiled slightly. It wasn't warm, nor polite, just aware.
“I’m beginning to understand something,” she said.
The maids paused.
“Oh?”
“You’re not busy,” she continued.“You’re bored.”
Mira almost choked behind her.
Sarah tilted her head.
“This is what you do when nothing meaningful is happening in your life.”
The smile on the maid’s face faded.
“You think this is funny?”
“No,” Sarah said calmly.“I think it’s sad.”
That hit harder than anger would have. The maid stepped forward.
“Say that again.”
Before Sarah could respond—
A voice cut through the corridor. Cold and controlled.
“Enough.”
Everything and everyone stopped and looked at the direction where the voice came from. It was Adrian.
Sarah exhaled softly and rolled her eyes.
“Of course.”
The maids immediately stepped back. The tension shifted instantly like someone had reset the room.
Adrian’s gaze moved across them. Then landed on Sarah.
Just briefly but enough.
“What happened?” he asked.
No one answered.
Finally, Sarah spoke.
“We had a disagreement.”
Mira turned away instantly trying not to laugh.
Adrian looked at Sarah intensely.
“A disagreement.”
“Yes.”Sarah nodded slightly.“A very emotional one.”
Adrain looked around, not fully believing her words then—
“Return to work,” Adrian said.
No argument, no negotiation.
They dispersed quickly leaving only silence behind.
Mira leaned closer to Sarah.
“You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“I’m just talking.”
“That’s your problem,” Mira said.
“You make it sound easy.”
Adrian lingered for a moment longer then looked at Sarah.
“You attract attention.”
She sighed.“I don’t try to.”
“That’s obvious.”
A pause.
Then—
“Be careful,” he added.
Sarah smiled faintly.“There it is again.”
Adrian frowned slightly.
“What?”
“That warning.”
He didn’t respond. Just turned and walked away. Sarah watched him go. Then exhaled slowly.
“I think,” she muttered,“This place is going to be ex
hausting.”
Mira nodded.
“You’re just noticing?”
And somewhere deeper in the Lower East Wing—someone had been watching the entire time. Quietly and patiently. Waiting for Sarah to make her next mistake.
- Writer
