Wait, stairs going down? Emilia led us down a set of stairs. But weren’t we on the ground floor? A noticeable chill swept over me. In Hatula, we dug holes in the storage room to keep things cold, but this was insane. I knew nobles did everything bigger, but even holes?

  We arrived in a hallway with some shelves having bottles, but a few doors were here and there. At the way back was the door that Emilia opened for us. It was… actually a pretty normal room, about the same size as mine back in Hatula.

  It had a single bed that looked like straw, with a plain wool blanket. Probably more than fine for one person, but definitely small for the both of us. There was also a chamberbot sitting inside a wooden box. A few empty boxes littered the room beyond that.

  Emilia helped us both out of our day clothing and into some night clothing, but then she left.

  I could see that Alexandra was trying to hold back tears.

  “You don’t need to hold back tears here,” I said.

  “Ugh, you don’t get it at all! How is this a punishment if I don’t take it seriously! Crying is weakness,” she retorted.

  I chuckled a bit. “Sure, punishment. I mean. This just looks normal to me.”

  “What are you babbling about?” she asked.

  “I am from Hatula Village. This is about the size of every room, not some punishment child room. Actually, this is probably better than some of them.”

  “Surely, you jest. There is nothing in this room, and it barely has enough just to survive the night! And that is before we even count only one bed.”

  I walked over to the bed and tapped on the frame. Oh yeah. That is solid. I grabbed the bag of straw from the bed and tossed it to the ground.

  “What in the name of the gods are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m fixing up the room, or are you saying you’d rather sleep on top of me or on the floor, cuz as you mentioned, the bed is too small.”

  “Too small? You make it sound as if two unwed people should ever consider sleeping in the same bed, as if that isn’t… indecent.”

  Thankfully, the bed's simple design also meant it was flat on both the top and the bottom. The main difference was that the bottom was completely flat, while the top had a hole for the straw. They used way more straw than was needed for a single bed. But that worked in my favor.

  “Indecent? Is that how nobles are supposed to think? My little sisters slept with me all my life. It is just family and practical. How many beds do you think we have in Hatula? Either help me or sleep on the floor.”

  “But this is supposed to be a punishment! Why are you-”

  I stopped and looked at her. “Is that what it means to be a noble? Just accept everything? I don’t get it. I am not saying we try to escape or anything. Just make it more comfortable. Is there some sort of rule against that?”

  She crossed her arms. “Wouldn’t be an issue if you just didn’t demand you get punished anyway?”

  “I was saying you didn’t deserve it. But what are you even going on about? Did you want me to leave you down here alone for three days?” I asked.

  She shivered at the thought. “No,” she mumbled. Her tone changed.

  Ugh. Fine. I picked her up and walked over towards the straw mattress on the ground and plopped back.

  “What are you doing! Unhand-”

  I hugged her. “I don’t know what happened. But you're safe tonight. Okay.”

  “I don’t… I don’t understand you at all,” Alexandra said. “Why get yourself punished? Why… fight back against Lady Evelyn? Why did you get to be the Maiden!”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “I didn’t want to be the Maiden! I don’t want any of this! I was happy in Haluta! I was supposed to get married. Have a husband and start a family. The gods shunned my marriage. The god of Wind named me his Maiden for who knows why, but I hate it and I hate him for it.”

  Thunder cracked suddenly, and Alexandra squeezed me tightly. “Don’t say that. Take it back. Before he does worse!”

  I just looked down at her holding me and at my ring. It shimmered slightly in the light. What was I supposed to think? Supposed to do? Was the god of wind so petty? I mean, I didn’t want to think so. Perhaps it was just a storm? Whatever.

  “I thought the goddess of lightning controlled storms?”

  “Are you dumb! The goddess of water, the god of wind, and the goddess of lightning control storms as a team,” she added. “It is a basic story, even I have read that…. Oh. Right.”

  “I don’t feel ashamed by it,” I said. “No one in Hatula besides the chief and the priest can read.”

  Thunderclapped again, and she squeezed me even tighter. “Please take it back already!”

  I could feel the moisture of her tears on my sleeping clothes. I patted her head. “Fine. I am sorry, God of Wind. I misspoke.”

  The tension melted from her grip like the bit of snow in mid-spring.

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you want to help me or what?” I asked.

  She nodded, and we got up. The bed frame had been in the middle of the room, so I moved it to a corner. Then I grabbed the boxes and placed them as close together as I could to reduce gaps. This created a much more square area for me to spread the stray bag over. It was thinner as a result, but not so thin as to be uncomfortable.

  “See? Better,” I said as I rolled over to the corner. Giving her the easier access point.

  “How did you learn this?” she asked.

  “Such a thing is just common knowledge in Hatula. Sometimes our neighbors would get sick, and they wouldn’t want the children to catch it; so they would come over to sleep with us. We didn’t have extra beds. So we had to extend the beds. So you're coming to bed?”

  “But it is still quite early?”

  “The longer you're awake, the hungrier you're going to get. Unless you have something to do?”

  She looked down and climbed in. “I’m confused. Why are you helping me?”

  “What a silly question. Is it not natural to help children?” I asked.

  “But… I teased you. I can tell you noticed. You could have left me to suffer?”

  “If I am being honest. I am confused by the reverse. Why is that Evelyn lady someone you look up to? She is so mean. Not like a noble at all.”

  “Lady Evelyn isn’t a noble; she is a commoner,” Alexandra said.

  “What? But, she… what?” I asked.

  “She carries the authority of the king, because the king trusts her for this job. As to why? When I was seven, I went to the royal capital for my debut.”

  “Debut?” I asked.

  “It is like the first time you meet nobles and the test to be a noble. Every change of season, all nobles gather at the castle, and those who have turned seven that season get to debut. If you pass, the king declares you a noble. One day, you will get to debut too. I don’t know why you're learning so late, but in a few years, when you're ready. I look forward to your debut.”

  “Years? I… don’t think so. Based on what you said. My debut is this harvest.”

  “But that's not even two months! That's… you wouldn’t even have had a full season! I had years to prepare for mine! That isn’t fair!”

  “Yeah,” I said. The gods don’t play fair.

  “Well, then, you are in no better hands! I’ll help too! Lady Evelyn will make it work! I believe it!”

  I adjusted to try to get the blanket into a better spot over us. “What makes you so confident?”

  “Oh well. So the rules are that every noble must attend at least one of the four debuts each year. My father and brother go in the spring, and my mother and I go in the autumn. So when I was eight, I saw the debut of the fifth princess. She is an angel. She… moved with such grace. Such beauty. It was everything I was trying to do. Everything my mother tried to teach. Yet she was better than my mother. I felt such a profound sense of awe. I thought, if whoever taught her would teach me, even if only for one day! Then maybe…”

  “I see,” I said. It all made such sense. She was only ten. Some stranger who was the worst example of a noble she had ever seen was being given the very thing she had dreamt of. What person, let alone child, wouldn’t consider that unfair? Especially when she was working so hard.

  She shivered a bit. “It is cold.”

  I slid a bit closer to her. “It's warmer together. Also, I will try to convince Lady Evelyn to teach you with me.”

  “I… I am sorry I was mean to you.”

  “It is okay, I was a bit mean too. I have had more than one little sister. I am used to a little bit of it. Let’s just try to be nicer to each other from now on. Okay?”

  “Okay!”

  I held out my hand. She just looked at me strangely. I chuckled. “In Hatula, we would grip our pinkies when making a promise.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said as she opened her fingers and wrapped her little finger around my pinkie. We both smiled. You know, for a punishment, this really wasn’t that bad.