Chapter 9 : Learning The Rhythm
1054 Words
Elenia woke before sunrise.
For a few seconds, she remained beneath the blanket, staring at the ceiling as she tried to remember where she was.
Then she remembered.
The De Luca Estate.
She sat up.
The message from the previous night came back to her.
She had been assigned to the west wing.
Elenia quickly got out of bed, dressed in her uniform, tied her hair back, and left her room.
The mansion was quiet at that hour.
She walked through the corridors carefully, following the route she had been learning since she arrived.
This time, she didn't get lost.
When she reached the west wing, several workers were already preparing for the morning.
Elenia looked around until she spotted an older maid arranging cleaning supplies.
"Excuse me."
The woman looked at her.
"Yes?"
"I'm supposed to work in the west wing today."
The woman studied her for a moment.
"You're the new girl?"
"Yes."
"Come with me."
Elenia followed her.
The woman pointed toward a long corridor.
"You'll start here. The guest rooms first. After that, clean the corridor and help with the linen."
Elenia nodded.
"Yes."
"And keep the clean linen separate from the used ones."
"I understand."
The woman walked away.
Elenia took a deep breath.
She already knew how to clean.
She had done this kind of work since arriving at the estate.
But every section of the mansion had its own system, and she was still learning where everything belonged.
She picked up her cleaning supplies and began.
---
The morning passed quickly.
Elenia cleaned the guest rooms, dusted the furniture, changed the linens, and polished the corridor.
She worked carefully.
She didn't want to repeat the mistakes she had made during her first few days.
But being careful didn't mean being perfect.
At one point, she placed several cleaning cloths in the wrong container.
A worker noticed.
"Those go over there."
Elenia immediately moved them.
"Sorry."
The woman shook her head.
"Just remember next time."
Elenia nodded.
"Okay."
Later, while carrying a basket of used linens, she nearly took them toward the wrong room.
She stopped when she noticed the label.
She turned around.
Another mistake avoided.
She smiled faintly.
At least she was learning.
---
During the workers' break, Elenia sat with Mira and Sofia.
Sofia looked at her.
"How's the west wing?"
"Tiring."
Mira laughed.
"Everything here is tiring."
Elenia smiled.
"I think I'm slowly getting used to it."
"You are," Mira said.
Elenia looked at her.
"How long did it take you?"
"To get used to the estate?"
"Yes."
Mira thought for a moment.
"Quite a while."
Sofia laughed.
"She still gets confused sometimes."
Mira gave her a look.
"Don't expose me."
The three girls laughed.
For a moment, Elenia forgot where she was.
She forgot the debt.
She forgot the humiliation.
She simply sat there with two people who were beginning to feel less like strangers.
It wasn't home.
But perhaps it was becoming a place she could survive.
---
After the break, Elenia was asked to carry folded sheets to another section of the west wing.
She lifted the stack carefully.
As she walked down the corridor, several workers came toward her.
She stepped aside to let them pass.
One of the older maids stopped.
"You're improving."
Elenia looked at her.
"I'm trying."
"That's what matters."
The woman took a smaller pile from Elenia's arms.
"I'll take these."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
She walked away.
Elenia watched her for a moment.
It was a small gesture.
But it meant something.
Not everyone was waiting for her to fail.
Some people simply wanted her to learn.
Elenia continued down the corridor.
---
Later that afternoon, she was sent to collect cleaning supplies from the storage room.
She entered and looked around.
There were shelves everywhere.
Bottles.
Cloths.
Brushes.
Buckets.
Cleaning products.
She knew what she needed.
She just didn't know where it was kept.
She searched one shelf.
Then another.
Nothing.
For a moment, she considered walking out and looking for someone else.
But she remembered something Mira had told her.
Ask when you don't know.
So she approached a nearby worker.
"Excuse me. Do you know where the glass cleaner is?"
The worker pointed toward the back.
"Third shelf."
Elenia found it immediately.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
She picked up the bottle and left.
As she walked back, she smiled to herself.
A few days ago, she would have been embarrassed to admit that she didn't know.
Now she understood something.
Asking for help wasn't weakness.
Pretending to know everything was.
---
By evening, Elenia's feet were aching.
She sat with Mira and Sofia during dinner, eating quietly.
The dining hall was filled with the usual sounds of workers talking and eating after a long day.
Elenia looked around.
She was beginning to recognize faces now.
The woman who worked in the laundry.
The gardener who always complained about the weather.
The maid who loved gossip.
The quiet security guard who rarely spoke.
She was slowly learning the rhythm of the estate.
She still felt like an outsider.
But perhaps she wouldn't always feel that way.
After dinner, she returned to her room.
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it.
Her body was exhausted.
She walked toward the mirror.
Her face looked tired.
Her hands were rougher than they had been before.
She stared at her reflection for a long moment.
This wasn't the life she had imagined for herself.
She had once lived in a beautiful home.
She had been treated like a young woman who had nothing to worry about.
Now she woke up before sunrise to clean rooms, carry linens, work in gardens, and follow orders.
Sometimes, it still hurt.
Sometimes, she wanted to cry.
But she couldn't allow herself to break.
Not completely.
She walked to her desk and opened her notebook.
She stared at the blank page.
Then she wrote:
I made mistakes today.
She paused.
After a moment, she added:
But I learned from them.
Elenia read the words again.
A small smile appeared on her face.
She closed the notebook and placed it beside her bed.
Tomorrow would bring another day.
Another task.
Another mistake.
Another lesson.
Elenia turned off the light and closed her eyes.
She would try again tomorrow.
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