chpter 3 : the meet

Dear Jeffer,
I have made a new friend. But unfortunately, she is also my servant. It is the only way of how I can keep her away from the horrendous world - she is an orphan, like I. Only she is not inheriting any amount of fortune. My uncle - the Slasher, remember? - has been whipping her for how long, Lord knows. I shudder at the thought.
Speaking of spine-chilling thoughts, how is your counselor? Based on your description of him, I am confident that your counselor & my uncle shall be the best of friends.
Let us push the subject away. So are we meeting at the same place the later evening?
Please write soon.
From,
Amy

Amy bit her lip as she had nearly signed love.
'Love...' she thought wonderingly. 'How familiar I am of you. Yet the pleasant side of you have not approached me. The painful part has.'
She blinked away her tears & decided not to think about that.


Knock knock.

Amy turned around & heard her friend's voice.
"Um... Mistress? May I come in?"
"Yes."

The recognisable creak of the door was heard. With a silent lock, the sounds of footsteps were inching closer towards her.
She took a deep breath & turned around.

"Amy! Are you crying?" her friend said in alarm.
"No, dear friend. No." Amy lied with a sniff.
"You are not telling the truth. & you are not very good at doing that, either. Your eyes are ringed with red & your face is tear-stained. Were you thinking of our Pharaoh?"

Amy mutely nodded her head & wiped gently at her eyes.
"Please. Send this letter to the son of Geraldine, Anna. Ramley, I think, is his name. He must be at the stables, by now. He is the care-taker of the foals. This is - say, a secret ritual we have. He delivers all my letters to the Pharaoh in discreet. Asides Jeffer, Benjamin is the most trustworthy boy I have ever met. Do take care of not being caught by the Slasher."

Anna took the rolled parchment into her bag & went off, closing the door quietly behind her.





'Son of Geraldine? Hmm... In... The stables, if I'm not mistaken, was that what my mistress had said?' Anna thought & fumbled with the string of her bag.
The stables was placed behind the kitchen, which explains the foul smell of manure.
'Thank the Lord I have not ventured with the food they serve here.' Anna thought to herself.

She carefully walked around the kitchen & into the stables.
Althought it has been just a week, Anna is still not comfortable with her new clothes Amy had bought for her. She was too used to running in rags & pants, not feminine caftans which hides her knees.

"Whoa, boy... Whoa." a male voice said in a hushed manner.
Anna was alarmed. How could such a young boy have a deep voice?
'Maybe puberty has struck one too early.' she decided.
The voice seemed to be behind the second stable.
Anna took in a deep breath & knocked on the stable-door.

A boy her age turned around & looked at her, his hand resting on a black horse's mane.
His brownish-reddish hair was unkept, ruffled & short. He was wearing rags which had a resemblance of Anna's old clothes. Only his was a little tighter, around the arms, showing off his figure.

His eyes, Anna could not help thinking, were such a pale blue, nearly a harsh tone of grey.

"May I help you?" the boy said in a polite manner.
"Um... Yes, you may." Anna found it very uncomfortable giving orders to someone at a lower status than she is. "Are you Ramley, the son of Geraldine?" she asked.
He nodded his head.
"I am here to send a letter from my lady, Amy Shari?" she whispered & took out the letter.
"Oh! So you must be the new girl of Master Zeddy to his niece, I see?"

'Why does everyone know of my story?' Anna thought & blushed furiously.
"Do not mind me. My hands are a little... Dirty from work, I'd say." he chuckled & wiped his hands on a rag at the fence.
He stood up from the stool & walked towards Anna.
'Heavens... I have never met a boy so tall. Taller than me!' Anna thought as she looked up into the face of Ramley.
He was just a head taller than she was.

Anna gave the letter to him & he kept it safely in his pocket.

"Well... That is all for now. Thank you." Anna said & gave a small curtsy & turned around, heading for the stable-door.
"Wait."
She froze & spun to see Ramley smiling at her.
"What is your name? You know mine. I think it is fair that I know yours." he said.
She felt a tug at the end of her lips & found herself smiling at the boy.
'Charming fellow...' she thought.
"Ah... My name is Anna." she said.

"Anna..." he muttered. "Well... I'll see you around, Anna."
"Yes, I am sure we will see each other soon, Ramley." she said & gently push open the stable-door.

"Oh, Anna?" he said again.
She turn around & looked at him, not at all annoyed for being called by him so many times, instead smiling like a fool.
'Odd...' she thought to herself.
"Do call me Adam." he said with a grin.

Anna flustered as he looks so handsome with a smile.
"Okay, Adam. Well, see you soon." she said & walked towards the kitchen.
For a reason she cannot figure out why, it felt as if Anna was floating on air.








Two days later, Amy heard a familiar knock on the door.

Knock knock!

Soft yet sharp, it was a signal which indicates that it is her best friend who is behind the door.
"Come in." she said softly, just for good measurements.

Anna came in with a letter in her hand. During the past few days, Anna seemed to be so happy.
She had a smile plastered on her face - but not intentionally.
'Ah... I have done my friend a good deal. It seems that she has met her first love.' she thought.

The brunette rushed towards her lady & handed her a parchment - clean, neat.
On it read the familiar addressed to Amy Shari with the recognizable spidery handwriting.

Amy opened the letter carefully as she always does & read it aloud:

"Amy,
It is so good to hear from you again! A new friend, you say? That is good to hear. What has the Slasher done now? Whipping innocent girls. If I had proper evidence on this disturbing news, it is he who shall be whipped! Yes, you are right - as usual.
The counselor has seemed to be breathing down my neck every now & then.
I have always wondered whether it is his latest hobby, seeing as how he has no wife to love or friends to talk to fill his time.
I am looking forward for our meet.
Same place, same time.

- Jeffer
PS: I do hope this is the soonest the letter had arrived"

Amy sighed & hugged the letter. Even if it had been nearly a quarter of the month, it feels as if Anna has been her best friend since eons ago & she does not give an iota on how ridiculous the sight of a girl hugging a letter.
'It is, after all, a letter from Jeffer. I am sure that that is perfectly acceptable.' Amy thought.

Like every other letter she has received, she carefully folded it & put it in the box under her canopy.

"That is very endearing of the Pharoah." Anna said & smiled at her friend's joy.
"Yes, he is the type of person who would care." she replied.

The past 2 nights since the day she had met Adam, Anna had gone out with Adam to pat horses.
The first night he had asked her to follow him to the stables, as he had late-night duties he had to attend.
Anna was too happy but to follow his invitation.
While he groomed the foals, he had talked about his past life. How all his 14 years he had no choice but to follow his father as his mother had passed away.
Anna told him of her story & he tut miserably.

The second night Adam had asked Anna to follow him to the hills.

She had heard of it, the Hilltops. It was supposed to be where lovers ran off through the night. There was a believed omen that if it rained as you run at the Hilltops with your lover, it is considered as true love.
Of course, Anna had never believed at these superstitions, seeing as how she was cynical of the idea of love.

Now, she had changed & secretly hoped that it was true.
The two of them laid flat on their backs & did star-gazing, managing to make a wish at a shooting star.
Soon, it began to rain & Anna & Adam made their way back to the Hut laughing.




Later that day, Amy went to the Sacred Garden & sat at the marble bench, looking at the dark blue sky & wondering where the Pharaoh is.
"Boo!" a voice said behind her & she jumped in fright.
A boy exceedingly tall for his age was laughing so hard that tears were rolling at the corner of his eyes. Amy glared at the boy furiously & put her hand to her heart - only because it was beating so fast out of shock... & excitement.
The boy wiped his eyes & walked slowly towards Amy, his hands in his silk-pants pockets.
"Well, well... If it isn't my dear friend, Shari. Your highness." he said with a mock-bow.
"Nice to see you too, Jeffer." she said with a smile.

During the day, Jeffer would have been a no-nonsense boy, trapped within the four walls to finish the taxes, rule over his country properly while sitting in a throne.
But at night, when he meets up with Amy, he feels just like a care-free boy, who has rights to jump around or tap-dancing or parading around for the sake of Amy.

"So... Has the Slasher done any damage to you?" Jeffer said with concern, his eyebrows knit together.
"No, friend. He has not. But he has whipped my new friend, Anna." she said with a bitter tone.
"We-ll, lets forget about the Slasher & the egghead of a counselor! Let us escape the worlds as we always do! A one-night runaway from reality!" he said & leaned over Amy, acting tipsy at the joy of freedom.
Amy let out a laugh & Jeffer laughed with her.



Truly... This would be one of the nights she shall cherish in her memories...