The woman was big and burly, her hair was tied up in a bun with only a few strands undone. Her footsteps echoed through the aged corridor even when she stood still. Her expression was filled with disdain, but Rinaye was unsure who it was for.

  "QUIET" Her voice boomed out. "These people are here under orders! They had no choice to come here, same as the rest of you!" This was definitely directed at the maids.

  "B-but-" one of the maids stammered

  "NO BUTS!" she shouted.

  Rinaye snickered, her sense of humor was the same as her physical age apparently.

  "GET TO WORK!" she thundered. The maids scampered away, doing whatever work they were supposed to. "I am sorry for the ruckus," She said politely to the trio. "My name is Marie, I'm the head maid here. I heard what you said earlier and I would greatly appreciate it if you three were in charge of the child's wellbeing. I won't ask you to make the child's food yourself, the chefs don't really mind much. Let me show you to your quarters, don't worry, they're right next to the little lady's."

  "Thank you very much," Edna said stoutly.

  Marie lead the four of them up one flight of stairs to the second floor of the annex.

  "We were told to give accommodations based on the lady's standing in the hierarchy, but that may vary depending on who you ask so we're walking a fine line here. The best we can do is the smallest guest room and the rooms around it. I hope that's alright," She explained.

  "It's more than . This is better than the Servants' Chambers! She was stuck in a furniture closet!" Nina interrupted.

  "Dear Sol, are you alright, little lady? Marie asked Rinaye in response to Nina's statement.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "That was a closet?" Rinaye asked the four of them. "It seemed so big!"

  "It was big, but it was used for storage, not at all fit to live in, and the only room with a cradle." Edna answered. "And she is alright, she has never once gotten sick or has anything happened to her in the time we spent there," she said responding to Marie's question.

  "Well, that's good. Anyway, here are your rooms. Be careful, the other maids mostly got sent here because of bad behavior, you already saw an example of that in the hall. Please let me know if you need anything."

  "We will," Edna called after Marie as she walked back down the stairs.

  Rinaye reached up, barely reaching the door, and jumped to open it. With a creak, Rinaye and the rest got the first look at the room Rinaye would be spending the next few years of her life in. First off, it was dusty, not what you expect from a guest room in a duchy. There was a bed the middle, obviously. The sheets and blankets had a every so fine layer of dust over each one. There was a wardrobe in the corner as well as a huge window looking out on the forest. The floors were hardwood with rugs covering where every piece of furniture stood. It also had a vanity table as well as a bed side table, a normal table, and multiple chairs. Given a good cleaning, it was a rather nice room. It was basically a nice hotel room covered in dust, which was better than any hotel Rinaye had stayed in previously.

  Rinaye ran into the room and immediately jumped on to the bed, which, of course released a cloud of dust into the air that the others were not prepared for.

  "Why on earth did you do that?" Sabrina sputtered.

  "Sorrryyy." Rinaye responded, unapologetic.

  The trio started to unpack the things that they carried there when Rinaye started causing havoc. She drew faces in the grim, mad angels in the dust, and just generally making a mess.

  She then started to make snowmen out of the dust gathered in the room. It must have been very difficult to roll dust into the shape of a carrot, but she did it. By the time the trio had unpacked, there was an entire world made of dust upon the windowsill and bed. Rinaye was in the middle of creating a miniature supermarket when she was picked up by the hands of her caretakers and set in a separate room while they started to clean the one she would live in.

  "How did she even do this?" Nina remarked, picking up a miniature version of herself made of dust. Sabrina then found a sculpture of her and Nina embracing, quickly put in the trash and answered,

  "I have absolutely no clue."