A Cold Dish

Chapter 10 - A New Place

In front of me was a woman bearing dark skin and obsidian eyes, sharp eyes that had made her unapproachable. Her bangs were tied  back in a bun as a couple curls remained next to her face, as her maid had insisted. I saw the door open behind her, in came her petite maid, with her short raven hair tied in a bun. 
"Is that the last one, my lady?" she asked, I looked away from the mirror.
"Yes, finally some freedom from this place." I responded.
As Anne loaded the last suitcase onto the carriage I took one last look at the mansion before I boarded. My arms did not feel as heavy, the chains clinging on to me got looser. Soon. I clenched my hands. Soon I will leave this place forever. As I thought that I felt just a tiny bit sentimental. When I leave for good, will no one, just like now, be here to see me off?
"My lady it is time to go," Anne said and reached out her hand to help me up.

The carriage ride to campus was long, the Vanidestine fief was quite a distance away from the capital city. The carriage slowly rode in through the big metal gates, an enormous white building greeted us when we got off. 

At the reception desk sat a refined looking old man.
"Ah, Lady Vanidestine. Welcome, I shall go and fetch your designated servants. Just a moment," he smiled gently and hurried off. 
Next to the reception desk was a shelf with numerous trophies of silver and gold. The hallway was long and empty, except for a few students wandering about.
"Here we are," the receptionist said. Behind him came two people dressed in servants' clothing.
"Greetings Lady Vanidestine, I am Emma and will be your personal maid here at school." A short girl with auburn braids curtsied.
"And this is Joachim, he is mute but extremely capable," the receptionist said as the second servant bowed, he had a sleek ponytail and was a fair bit taller than the receptionist.
"A pleasure to meet you, this is Anne, my personal maid. I would be pleased if all of you got along." I smiled slightly. I do hope I do not frighten them.

Joachim helped Anne with my luggage as Emma showed me to the dormitories which were in a separate building. We stopped before room 306 and Emma fiddled with her keys. I noticed something green hanging from her keychain, something that looked very different from keys. 
"There we go," Emma started as she got the door open, "this is the room you will be staying in Lady Vanidestine."
"If I may ask Emma, what is that dangling off your keychain?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Oh this?" She showed me the accessory, it was the shape of a four leaf clover, "this is something my mother gave me as a good luck charm."
"Interesting. Does anyone else use something similar?"
"Uhm, not that I can think of, no. Anyways, the entrance ceremony is tomorrow in the auditorium at ten o'clock. After that at two there will be a tour of the school."
"Thank you, Emma." I smiled slightly.

Once Joachim and Anne had gotten the luggage in the room the three of them helped me unpack.
This is odd. I stared at the dark ceiling as the warmth of the bed embraced me. Perhaps because it is my first time not sleeping in my own bed. I turned to lay on my side, if I listened closely I could hear doors being shut and the thudding footsteps of people outside. I knew it would take me a while to fall asleep however no one else seemed to share my concern. I wonder if I should start my own business. I thought back to the four leaf clover dangling on Emma’s keychain. And then of the letter I had received from Her Highness, it stated that she greatly appreciated my gift. At first she was confused how to use the flip book, however thanks to the letter of instructions she shed tears at its beauty. Perhaps I should create more flip books, and that accessory looked cute. Should I contact Emma’s mother? Just in case...  As I thought deeply about the issue I drifted off to sleep.