Her smile slowly faded once she saw I didn't have the same amused expression, if anything it was the opposite right now.
"W- What are you talking about?, A maid?", I asked, my words stuttering, I had been many things but never a maid, I always considered it the lowest of the low.
She let go of my arms, shifting back, "Is something wrong my love? Were you told something else?"
I bent my head low, "No, it's just... I didn't really know what to expect. It's nothing, just...ignore me".
She shook her head, "No, our first meeting can't be this sad, tell me your problems".
"It's nothing, ma'am, really".
The mansion's door opened all of a sudden, a young man with black hair, bangs, and clear glasses stepping out.
"Are you two done, Briel?", He asked, stepping closer, his voice was quite deep.
"We don't have all day".
Briel grabbed my hands, "Come on, my love, I'll show you around".
She dragged me along with her, walking towards the mansion, the man giving us both space to get in first.
The mansion had a quite simple interior: lamps, chairs, tables, and a small shelf with 4 bottles of wine".
"We're simple people", Briel added, seeing I had noticed. "We like only the necessities and a few extra things that make life less boring".
I smiled, though I wasn't sure if it was genuine or not, her words were warm and healing but the thought of being a maid here still tore at a fabric in my heart that couldn't easily be stitched.
Maybe it was the aftermath of being treated like someone's daughter for three solid years because of Mr John, or it was the things I had seen maids go through all my life.
Briel waved a hand in front of my face, bringing me back to the present situation I could no longer avoid.
She placed a hand on her chin, "Well your job will be to clean, just the house, I can deal with dishes and laundry".
I raised my head, "Anything more?"
She shook her head, "Do you want more?"
"No, No I don't".
She clasped her hands together, "Well that's about it, Cleaning equipment lives in the pantry and there's nothing left so you can go rest-
"And who said there's nothing else left?"
I turned towards the voice, the man standing beside me, the same one with black hair and glasses that seemed to be her husband.
"Honey", she said. "She just got here, please just let her rest".
He ignored her words, eyes still on me, "You'll get enough rest where we're going, grab the books on the table".
I turned to the center table, a heap of books old and new sitting right on it, "I should carry it?", I asked.
"Should I?"
I lifted the books off the table, they weren't light, but it wasn't anything I couldn't carry, I had seen way worse.
"We are taking it to Professor Edett, he's probably at the university now so we'll go straight there", He said, letting his glasses rest on the bridge of his nose.
I adjusted the books to my comfort level, "Professor Edett, Who's that?"
"A friend of ours", Briel added, "You two should be safe please".
"Let's go", the man said stepping out the door.
Our walk to the apparent university was a very unpleasant one, people stared at me every spot we passed, it may have been obvious I wasn't from Marin but they could have remained quieter with those thoughts.
A lot of people seemed to greet Briel's husband on our way there, and they all did the same thing, they would look at me, holding a heap of books but didn't care to question the man I was with.
The university was close, at least that's what he said, it didn't feel like that to me.
It felt like walking into a castle, except it was a castle filled with knowledge and the privileged were the only ones welcome.
Yet somehow I was here.
Students passed by us, all in a specific uniform, they seemed happy, though definitely stressed.
I once dreamed of a life like this, but that was 12 years ago before I could differentiate the impossible from possible.
"Your eyes should be on me", He said, catching my diverted attention, complaining about it like it was a sin.
He opened a door on our left, unveiling a room that seemed to be someone's office.
"Keep it here", He said, pointing to a small shelf by the side.
I arranged the books in two, placing them so they wouldn't fall off.
"It's alright", He said as I placed the last set.
The room went silent after that, as he just stared down at me as I tried my best to look at everything except him to not make the moment worse.
"Oh yes", I looked up. "Sir, What's a blue wedding?"
He raised a brow, "Where did you hear that? Briel?"
"Yes, she said something about how she had a blue wedding yesterday, I haven't heard of it before".
He rested a hand on his chin, "And what makes you think I will answer your question?"
"I'm just trying, if it bears no fruit, I will endure".
He relaxed his body, raising his glasses though he was the one who brought them down in the first place, "Weddings here are classified based on the colours of the rainbow, Red being the best and Violet the worst".
"That's...", I placed a hand on my cheek trying to find the best word, "Amazing".
"No more questions", He said immediately. "I already know you've stored up a million".
"No, Sir, you can't just leave me with-
He opened the office door, stepping out, "Ready whenever you are".
I joined him before he could leave me, the man seemed capable of many things.
"You'll join me again tomorrow", He said as we walked, "For an actual purpose, and not for a few meaningless books".
"Sir, I'm sorry, I have an entire mansion to clean, How will I do it?"
"You'll figure it out".
We walked back home, the stares on our journey back was lesser, the gossip had been devoured by the evening sun and now it had begun to set.
I didn't really know what it was called, but we basically followed the rear of the house rather than through the same way the carriage brought me and the same way we left earlier.
There were three apple trees there, and a small clay pot next to them, serving a purpose I didn't know.
A small humming sound filled the air, it was so silent and soothing like a background noise that simply fit into the earth.
"Is this sound normal?", I asked.
"What sound?"
Shivers ran through my spine for a second, till I convinced myself that he had probably heard the sound so much that he never did focus on it and didn't realize it.
"Come in quickly", He said, giving me time to continue whatever I was doing.
He stepped inside, keeping the door slightly open for me but the sounds only got louder as I walked.
And I heard a voice.
"Dream on, dear mortal".