Retrieve the Kingdom

In the Lair of the Devil

She keeps watching the servants from the door as they started to load the things that they are rushing themselves on doing on a baggage cart in the front of this mansion. She follows them normally to not raise any suspicion. She acted like she was a visitor just admiring the mansion from its sides. The servants couldn’t be bothered anyway. They are pushing the cart with barrels that seem to have beer in them and other stuff packed in those leathered or clothed bags. They reached the front of the mansion after minutes as she watches the servants load the things in the cart into the baggage cart with a waiting horse and rider on it. She waited until they leave the cart alone as it seems that the servants were still gonna fetch another batch as the wagon driver waits once more. It was an opportunity for her to hop in the cart. The driver hopped out of the horse and starts walking away as it was a prompt for Phoebe to sneak and get herself on that wagon. She entered the roofed wagon that is only covered with sheets supported by some sticks as she traversed her way to the end. She can’t be found there easily as she sets a bag of flour up another stack to hide her head.

Minutes of waiting in the wagon, the servants came back and loaded more stuff up in the wagon. One of them pats the wagon’s side as the driver shouted an incoherent noise she can barely understand. Seconds later, the wagon starts moving as Phoebe prepares herself for two or three hours just sitting on the wooden floor of this wagon that she hopes is strong enough to hold additional weight which is her. She might even be here for four hours since this is a wagon ride, not a bus cart which is pretty much faster. She sighs as she reaches the inside of her bag to draw her notebook. She reads everything she has written here throughout her life for the next four hours that she hopes will not be wasted.

Her mind snapped as the carriage went to a full halt as she was close to sleeping dearly in the cart. She has been experiencing this for the last 2 hours and gladly this driver took a lot of stops. It was because of security reasons that are being implemented in the kingdom since the mistress was able to go in and out of the central city. Now she’s here, she was so nervous and she might screw this so early and everything will be ruined. Now, she needs not to be seen in the wagon or it will mean the end of everything she has in-stored and planned. As the servants in this place start unloading the wagon, she watches carefully what they are pulling out of the wagon and how they unload this whole vehicle up. They were slow and their baggage carts were small, it was the perfect chance for her to just slip past through and run to a hiding spot she didn’t plan at all. As they pull the last layer of things out of the cart before the layer she is hiding and went off to unload it in the storage room, she sneaks out of the wagon. She looks around and found a good spot, the trees that are standing tall just near the wagon. Since the wagon stopped near the wall of this second home or any ordinal number since the councilor is known to have a lot of lands and houses owned in the kingdom. She quickly hopped out of the wagon and immediately hid behind the tree.

It caught the wagon driver’s attention but coincidentally, the servants go back and dismissed it as some servant almost tripping on the ground. Behind the tree, she watches everything unveils in front of her teenage eyes of what kind of a monster is the councilor himself. She looks at the servants as she notices they are incredibly pale and skinny. She can’t assume it’s their normal body shape and situation since they were all skinny and it seems they will collapse in just a minute or two in any given time by now. Something pinches her heart as her pity bursts into the atmosphere as she looks and observes these servants. The archduke has one skinny servant back in his mansion but she can clearly tell what seems the healthy skinny and what’s dangerous and alarming for an individual. Even she’s not an expert, she can clearly tell everyone here is suffering and want to quit doing this anymore. As she watches them, they already cleared the wagon as one of them pats the wagon but noticeably, comparing it to the servant back in Gumpel, it was a little bit weak. She doesn’t know if it’s just her or there’s really a great problem and case that Mister Desmond of Gumpel will face in the court or wherever he will end up. She just knows that this finance councilor will fall on his fancy feet in just a matter of days.

As the wagon left the place, she looks around as it was another mansion but in the middle of a forested place, which is what Ophdal is known for. Well, the councilor would not be a finance councilor if he is not financially stable or he might be using his position to get the riches he has. She started to sneak to a shed that she can hide wherein she would not be seen by anyone and see everyone in return. She entered the shed and locks it, she grabbed a chair stool and placed it in front of the door as she gives herself a lift with it to take a good look at the surroundings. She looks around as she sees a particular and common attribute of every servant here, may it be a man or a woman. They look skinny, pale, and most of all, overworked. She pities everyone that they can’t be able to at least ask for help in the neighboring houses that she saw before unless Desmond’s neighbors tolerate his disgusting attitude and heartless demands. She sighs as she keeps looking around.

Suddenly, the servants were startled as the gate opens. Their reactions were mixed, some of them seem regretting everything, some cannot be bothered, and some were scared. There were others too that project a face speaking, ‘not again’. She looks at the gate as she saw a fancy carriage, the councilor seems to be here. He has a party back in his house and immediately went here? Will he show to his guests how evil and heartless he is? How he mercilessly let these servants serve him even some of them obviously don’t want to serve here? They look like that they are not treated right, just enough for what they deserve for their hard work and dedication. She watches as the councilor steps out of the carriage, assisted by one of his footmen that he brings here. She now knew why this man has no wife or even has some relationship with any girl or whatever his preference is. No girl wants a heartless, cold man that would love them. Especially if they have a mansion full of starving and overworked individuals treated like some sort of slaves.

Desmond looks around as he approaches the entrance of his mansion. He was still assisted even he is almost the same age as her uncle, Archduke Bermin. “How’s the work doing in here?” He said as she can clearly hear his loud voice even meters afar from her position. He was ignored by the servant and didn’t even bother to answer their master’s question. He glares at his assistant as he nods, “Answer the councilor, don’t make him feel embarrassed and out of place in this mansion. It’s his mansion anyways, he can take you out whenever he wants.” His assistant shouted as the servants started to answer him with ‘fine’, ‘just great’, ‘good’ and anything with some hint of sarcasm and disgust that they are saying these words when they are not fine, nor great, or even just good at least.

Suddenly, she was shocked that someone started shouting, it wasn’t something she would expect. “We are not fine, nor great, nor good, Mister Desmond. Come on, people. This is too much, my father was just in debt for some aurels and you treat us like a slave! Aren’t you guys done with this? This is not fair for us, come on, speak up. We shouldn’t be treated like this and we don’t deserve any of this treatment.” A girl which seems the same age as she spoke up as everyone just watches her. The councilor watches her while smirking like she was just some kind of a joke. He suddenly laughed, it was the laugh that Phoebe just hated for all of eternity and just destroy everything all at once. “Are you gonna speak more, young lady? Speak up, everyone!” He tried to make an impression of her voice in the last sentence as it made the young lady reasonably angry. “Oh, you are so adorable, aren’t you? Such an age like you speaks up. Such inspiring, the youth is the hope of the kingdom.” He laughs mockingly again as a man stops the girl from attempting to slap or even do anything she can do to hurt this man in front of her. It poked her patience and she is pissed right now, which is just the rightful sight that the councilor wants to see.

“The number 4 rule here in my place is not to talk back to me or anyone that I gave authority when not asked. Everyone knows what happens if someone broke a rule or two here.” He said as he grips on her fragile and skinny left arm. “Please no, Sir Desmond. She is just a child, please give her another chance. She promises that she will not do this ever again. Anna promise, please. Promise the councilor that you wouldn’t do this again, my child, please. Please…” A woman who is already crying and shaking her daughter to do what she is asking for, ask for forgiveness. “Sir, let me do her punishment, please, not my daughter. Not her, she has more to do in her young years. Punish me instead of her, sir. Please, not her.” The father kneels in front of him as the councilor just shook his head and snickered.

“Don’t worry. Her punishment wouldn’t be that brutal. As you have said, she is young and particularly pretty and petite. She will be back, I promise you, sir Rick.” He said as he smirks as her parents start begging once more and crying their daughter’s name as they are pulling her back. Anna was serious but she was teary, the guards pulled her parents away from their grip on their daughter. “Anna! No! Not her, please, sir Desmond. Don’t do this to her, we are begging you. Not our daughter, please. Anna!” Her father shouted as he struggles to get out of the grip of the guard that ceased the couple.

Phoebe already has teary eyes as she saw a shovel just beside her. “You are not gonna do that to that girl, Desmond. Not in a million years, I will stop you no matter what.” She said as she grabs the shovel and went out of the shed and finds her way into the mansion without being noticed by either of the servants or even the councilor himself. Anna was struggling as they traverse the halls of the mansions as they reached the room. She knew the fate she will gonna face just seconds away. Her eyes shed tears as she started to beg, “Don’t please. Sir Desmond, have mercy.” She said as she was thrown on the bed. “Mercy is for the weak—”

BLAM!