Chapter 6

AMARA

I lay on my bed thinking about all that Conan has been doing. He always has a way to irk me and get under my skin at the same time. Why does he even keep coming into my room if he has so many complaints? It's something I will never be able to understand in my life. 

The worst part was that he always had a way to make my heart pound. I should be hating him for all the things that he's done to me and for the fact that he always finds a way to mess with me but I just could not help myself. I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into him. 

I shook my head. I can't allow myself to think of Conan. For one thing, it's never going to work out between the both of us. For another thing, I already have Rocky. I mean, I can't say I have Rocky yet but I can already feel that I'm starting to fall for him too......

And Rocky…I don't know how to explain it...he seems like he's in love with me but I don't know what's going on in his head. 

I shook my head to get rid of thoughts of Conan and Rocky. Tomorrow is a long day for me and if I don't get rid of these people from my mind, I'll never be able to get enough sleep to deal with the chores of tomorrow. 

......

I woke up to someone banging loudly on my door. I cursed under my breath. Who the hell is that who won't even let rest properly? 

The person was persistent and kept on knocking. Left with no other choice, I got up and went to open the door. 

I saw Slyvia standing just outside my door. She had a sinister smile on her face. I sighed knowing fully well that today isn't going to go well for me. Slyvia showing up in front of my room so early in the morning simply means that things are about to go haywire. 

"What are you doing here, Slyvia?" I asked her. I did not even bother to hide the fact that I wasn't happy to see her here. 

"Are you seriously giving me attitude now?" Slyvia asked me. She looked like she wanted to pounce on me

I took a deep breath. I should have known. This woman hates me so much. She will even find a way to complain about my breathing. I should have known that talking back to her won't get me, except maybe more snide remarks and more punishments if she gets the opportunity. 

"No Slyvia. I wouldn't do that. Why are you here so early in the morning? Did something happen?" I asked Slyvia. I wasn't expecting anything good, and I soon found out why I had such a bad feeling. 

"Of course, something happened! You are a maid and yet you are still sleeping so late in the morning. Do you think that you own the palace and you can do whatever you want here?"Slyvia berated me. 

I bit my lips as I tried my very best not to lose my temper. Before my parents died... before they were killed, I had it all. whatever I wanted, I could get it. I didn't have to worry about waking up early to serve other people...but they are gone now and I've lost everything. I know that if I want to survive here, I have no other choice than to inform them of the ways of doing things in this place. 

"No…I overslept. I'm sorry Slyvia" I Said. 

"Well, it's good that you know your place in the palace. You are just a maid! If anything goes wrong, you are the one who will be blamed for it! Don't act like you're a princess here!" Slyvia said arrogantly. 

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. Did she come here to tell me what I can do and what I can't do? 

"Anyway, the Baroness' brother wasn't satisfied with the cleaning that you did yesterday," Slyvia said. 

"What?" I was surprised. I cleaned his Chambers several times. Why won't he be satisfied? Is Slyvia messing with me now? 

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not the one who wants to punish you. I will not use Sir Conan's chambers just to punish someone like you. He is the one who asked for chambers to be cleaned again!" Slyvia said. 

I took a deep breath. I had a feeling that Conan was doing this on purpose. But why? He comes into my room just to make fun of me every time and to get me riled up. And when he is done he just leaves like all of this has nothing to do with him. It pisses me off!

And now....he's even messing with my work! I know that I cleaned that place well! I cleaned it several times! There isn't supposed to be any dirt left there! 

And I also know that what Slyvia said is true. No matter how much she hates me, she won't dare to use Conan's chambers as a method to punish me. 

"But…I cleaned the chambers well yesterday. Why....why this?" I asked weakly. I wanted to protest. If I clean that place again today, I'll never get to rest! Why does that man want to torture me so much? What did I do for him to hate me so much? 

"You are just a maid! You don't get to complain here! As long as Conan says that it's not good enough then it's not good enough. Here's some advice for you. Get your butt up and go clean the way you are told to clean! I'll be waiting for you in his Chambers!" Slyvia said. Although she isn't the one who punished me, I could tell that she was enjoying every bit of it. 

I sighed in my heart. Why do I always have to come across people who will make my life hell? 

Conan... What the hell does he want from me?

AMARA

I walked out of my room a few minutes later after I was fully dressed. I went to the living room because I knew that Slyvia would be there trying to suck up to the baroness and get in her good books. 

When I got there, as expected, Slyvia was trying so hard to please the woman but he didn't even give her the time of day. 

"Your highness, Slyvia...I'm here" I said to get the attention of the two people inside the room. 

Two pairs of eyes turned to me at once. Slyvia was glaring at me, I didn't even bother to think about what I could have done to piss her off again. As for the baroness, there was an unreadable expression in her eyes. I had no idea what she was thinking about 

"Amara, how exactly did you clean up my brother's chambers yesterday?" The baroness asked me. She seemed to be a bit upset. 

I looked at Slyvia who had a smug grin on her face and I knew that she must have said something to the Baroness just to make the entire situation worse. 

I took a deep breath to calm down. Losing my temper definitely won't do me any good. Since the day I lost my parents and became a maid, I no longer had the right to lose my temper with anyone. 

"Your highness, I'm sorry. I did my best. But Sir Conan seems to be unsatisfied with it. I'll do my best to clean it up properly today" I said. This was the only way to lessen my punishment. Admit that I was wrong and offer to do it all over again. 

The baroness waved her hand. "I don't know what you're thinking these days Amara. I told you that you have to be careful with everything that has to do with my brother!" The Baroness said. 

I bowed my head. I wanted to tell her that her brother was sneaking into my room at night and was always dropping snide remarks at me. I also wanted to let her know that her so-called brother is just trying to make things hard for me. 

And oh, should I add that although he is being such a jerk to me I just can't seem to control myself in front of him? And that I'll probably open my legs for him immediately if he asks? 

Saying these words will guarantee my death immediately so I didn't dare to let them out. These are the thoughts that I can only bury in the deepest part of my heart. 

"I'm sorry Baroness". I said. This was the only vocabulary I was allowed to use. Apologizing, even when I did absolutely nothing wrong! 

"Whatever. Just make sure that you do a really good job today. I don't want to hear any more complaints!" The baroness baroness

"Yes, your highness," I said. 

She turned to Slyvia then. "Go look for those maids who cleaned up with her yesterday. They'll all be doing it together" The baroness said. 

I let out a sigh of relief. For a second I thought that I was going to clean it all up by myself. But I rejoiced too soon. 

Sylvia gave me a wink before she turned to face the Baroness respectfully. 

"Your highness, those other maids are busy with their chores right now. I was there yesterday and I saw that the other two maids worked hard. As for Amara, she was so out of it. Her mind wasn't on the chores that she was asked to do. I'm sure that Amara can do it all on her own today since she is the cause of all of this" Slyvia said. 

I felt my heart sank to my stomach when Slyvia said this. How can someone be so cruel? What did I ever do to her to get this kind of treatment from her? 

"I...." I tried to protest but the baroness agreed with what Sylvia said. 

"Alright let Amara do it. My brother had also complained about her. She should be the one to clean up the mess that she created!" The Baroness said. 

I sneered in my head. I wanted to tell her that her brother is such a perverted jerk! Sneaking into a maid's room in the night and looking for ways to torture her in the morning, only extremely sick people will come up with something like this! 

Left with no other choice, I could only follow Slyvia. 

........

I turned to Slyvia when we were away from the baroness. "What is the meaning of this? Why do you want to torture me so much?" I asked Slyvia. I was tired of constantly putting up with her. 

We were both maids, what exactly did I do to her for her to target me at every single turn? Doesn't she have a heart inside of her?

"You want to know what you did? Fine, I'll tell you! I just don't like you! Is that enough reason for you? Now go ahead and do what you are told to do! After all, sir Conan is the one who complained about you not me. Who knows how you've offended him?" Slyvia asked. 

I wasn't willing to give up just yet. With Slyvia acting like this, my life in this place will continue to be a living hell. How am I supposed to survive then? I know that I'm a maid now and I don't have many rights but I am still a person and I deserve to live as one! Not as some animal! 

"What exactly do you want, Slyvia? Don't you know that it's going to be too much for me if I'm the only one who has to clean up this place? What did I ever do to you? Why do you have so many grudges against me?" I asked Slyvia. I was thinking that both of us might be able to solve the problem by talking.