The revenge of the weak

There were days when Elenora Luella Beatrice Callone appeared quite clever. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen often, and it usually seemed it was by accident. Even though she had the best possible education available, she didn’t know what to do with the knowledge she got. No one knew if she could even think logically. She often got stuck doing small and simple tasks, like putting the right shoe on the wrong foot or using forks instead of spoons for eating soup. She drank from a neighbour’s glass instead of her own, and one time she tripped and fall because she hadn’t seen the difference between the pavement and the grass.  But all was forgiven and instantly forgotten. When she, despite the warning, had stepped into a tub filled with boiling hot water and had gotten herself hurt, nearly half the castle’s servants had lost their jobs. Others looked away, said that’s just the way it is, and that they cannot change anything. After all, miss Elenora Callone was the daughter of Marquis Alfonso Harold Callone, and her imperfections and mistakes were therefore never her fault. If there was anyone to blame, then those would have been the employees, and never the masters. No matter how many times someone warned her of the consequences of her actions, or advised her against doing something, Elenora shook her head, emphasising the fact that she was the one in charge. Not that this happened often, for seldom did any servant dare to doubt Elenora’s orders and undermine her authority, but here and there still existed some fool who made this mistake. And the next day he was seen walking through the streets of Lyralle searching for a new job. And yet Thalia, despite her poor attitude, had remained in the place of Elenora’s lady’s maid since she had come to the castle. For the first two years, Thalia viewed Elenora as a younger sister who was simply preferred by her parents, but later she found out that Elenora was nothing more than a spoiled brat. She had nothing but her beauty and her father’s wealth. After Thalia accused Elenora of ruining one of her best-looking dress’s - the only one that wasn’t mended or missed a button yet - Elenora wanted to fire her, but the Marquis decided there was no one better suited to take care of Elenora than Thalia. That’s when Elenora concluded she must ruin Thalia’s life. She wanted fresh flowers in her room every day. She broke the vase at least twice a week, and Thalia had to buy a new one with her own savings. Sometimes Elenora wished for a cold snack just before dinner, but then she changed her mind and demanded a freshly baked cherry pie, even if there wasn’t a single cherry in the entire region. But Thalia had always understood this nonsense as a lack of Elenora’s attention from her father and not as a lack of brain cells. Until today. When Thalia returned from the village, carrying a new vase because Elenora had crashed the old one, she saw Elenora standing in the middle of the courtyard, with a sheet of paper in her hand and reading it with her eyes wide opened. Then Elenora started whining, bouncing, and spinning and ran to Thalia as if they were best friends. “King Luettgon has invited me to his court,” Elenora began, and her voice was not only highly annoying as usual, but just painfully whistling, “he wants me to consider his marriage proposal and marry his son.” Thalia pulled the vase closer to her chest and tried to pull herself out of Elenora’s arms. “Can you imagine? I will become a princess and later on a queen and I will rule the kingdom and everything will be perfect.” “Elenora is leaving tomorrow and I want you to take care of all her things,” added the Marquis, who suddenly appeared behind Thalia’s back. Thalia nodded in fright, bowed, and almost prepared a full list of things she had to do before Elenora’s departure when Elenora stated what Thalia didn’t want to hear. “See that you dress appropriately.” Thalia’s eyes opened wide and nearly jumped out.  “I don’t want you to embarrass me in front of the king and my future husband.” Elenora turned and walked away. “What do you mean?” Thalia stammered. “Won’t the Marquis accompany you?” “No,” smiled the noblewoman, “only you are going with me. There is no need for other servants to be there.” With those words, she disappeared. Thalia was left alone with a disbelieving expression painted on her face. She didn’t want to go.  As Thalia put last of Elenora’s clothes into the carriage that evening, she wondered why Elenora couldn’t simply decide to go there with a bunch of servants following her like puppies on leashes to show off the Marquis’ luxury. Maybe it was rude to have more servants than the king, but maybe just because the wedding had already been arranged and Elenora went to the court just to parade in front of the future groom and thus finally seal the agreement between the king and Marquis. Thalia pitted Elenora. Her father did send her to the castle when she was eleven, but at least he didn’t sell her to someone just because she would make a noble wife. Elenora was nothing but a puppet in the Marquis’s hands with which he could play as he wished. And the strings just changed the owner.  “It’s not right,” she muttered to the old, chunky cook, who was only half listening to her while warming her dinner. “Regardless of Elenora’s position, she will be nothing other than just a trophy in men’s hands. At first, her father had manipulated her. When she was just a baby, he arranged for her to marry the king’s son. They are all acting as she has a choice even though she doesn’t.“ The cook, Mrs. Dalton, placed a plate of vegetable soup in front of Thalia and silently ordered her to eat. “There’s no point in arguing with me about this. Can you change anything? No. It’s better if you don’t think about it at all.” “But,” Thalia protested. “I don’t have a title and I’m often short on money. I am not ashamed to admit that I don’t like it, but at least I will never be forced to spend my life with a stranger just because my father wants to get richer.” The fire was burning in her grey eyes as she spoke. “Thalia, please stop.” The cook sat down on the chair opposite Thalia and looked at her with tired eyes. “The nobility has always cared only about themselves. How to get the money, how to avoid paying taxes, and how to enjoy. Elenora will marry the prince. That is the only way to secure a suitable position in society and lead a simple life. And king’s offer is very generous.” “It’s not fair.” “No one said it is. You can’t change anything. Men possess the power that women don’t. No matter who they are, and what is their social status, they will destroy you, if you stand in their way. They won’t be sorry and they won’t regret it because they know you can’t hurt them. “ “Maybe one day it will be different. Better for us,” the cook added quietly and cleaned the table. “Don’t bother with that. Your one and only duty is to help Elenora look her best. When she gets married, you’ll realise it was the best thing for everyone.”  “If she marries,” Thalia stubbornly insisted, “maybe she’ll cancel the wedding.” Mrs. Dalton looked at her in disbelief. Her voice took on a more threatening tone. “She will get married because she doesn’t know what else to do. She is taught to obey the Marquis and she won’t dare to refuse such an offer. Men always get what they want and it’s time you get used to it.” “You wished,” spat Thalia slamming the kitchen door. Mrs. Dalton was wrong. She was old and has probably still believed God had created women to serve men. But she has forgotten the goddesses had created the world. * * * Thalia couldn’t sleep that night. She was turning in bed and thinking about the upcoming day. All of Elenora’s belongings were already loaded in the carriage, and Thalia packed her clothes in a small suitcase and placed it next to the bed. She knew how much Elenora’s wedding would change her world. Thalia would move with her to the court and have a better position herself as the future queen’s main maid. More income, better dresses, better food. There were also downsides to being a maid at the royal castle. She would have to give up the bit of freedom she had now. Only three days a year for visiting her family. She wouldn’t see Mrs. Dalton again. This would be the end of the midnight feasting on butter cookies while gossiping about Elenora and the nobility. Thalia was eighteen years old and had worked for the Marquis for the last seven years. During this time she has learned much about the power of independence and responsibilities she had towards Elenora and others. She knew when it was better to keep her mouth shut or make a fool out of herself if that meant her masters were happy. But that didn’t mean she agreed to do this. But she always had Mrs. Dalton by her side, who helped her and looked upon her as her own child. Though they argued a lot, Mrs. Dalton always comforted Thalia when she was sad. Now Thalia was left alone, and with no one to trust. She was scared. She kept telling herself everything would be fine, but it didn’t help. Morning came, and it was time for Elenora and Thalia to set off. Thalia’s chest clenched like never before and in the carriage, she curled into a corner and tried to make herself as small as possible, which only made the fear bigger. Elenora was nervous and kept blabbering on about the dresses and dances, and everything she would get at the royal court. It surprised Thalia to find out that this calmed her down in some strange way. She wasn’t the only one who was scared. Behind Elenora’s mask of enthusiasm was a fear of what was to come and an awareness that she had in fact been sold for money. It might have been ugly to think that the fear and misfortune of another, which was greater than his own, was so pleasing to a man, but Thalia couldn’t remember if Elenora was ever so frightened. Her eyes were swollen as she cried all morning. The powder couldn’t hide the redness of her cheeks, and she didn’t look like the lucky girl she used to be. But she still put on a smile for her parents and pretended everything was fine. Female power. Elenora was rude and acted like a spoiled child sometimes, but right now she tried to be brave and Thalia was very proud of her at that moment. She took her hand in hers, and the silence filled the carriage. Neither of them knew how to words to describe what they were feeling, but they both understood each other. They were both in this together.