Reign of Deceit

Chapter 6

Joan looked outside the small window of the carriage, catching sight of the unfamiliar surroundings. The birds that perched on the trees looked and sounded different. There were no whitewash pebbles on the ground. Only a smooth, large path. They also had to pass through the woods. At least, she was glad to be able to see the woods for the very first time.

They finally arrived at the couple's home. It was bigger than the cottage she lived in with her father and brothers. It's surrounding didn't look all so messy either. there were no kids yelling and running about carelessly. There were no mothers yelling after their kids and chasing after them either.

"Welcome to our humble abode." The man her father had introduced earlier as Gerold said with a smile, looking at her awe-struck expression. "Come on inside."

Inside was even more beautiful than the outside. For a moment, Joan even forgot she had been crying earlier and gawked at the cozy cottage. It was a cottage, yes. But was way bigger than the one she was used to.

"We don't have any children for now." Mary explained with a smile. "So, that should make it easier for you."

Her voice brought Joan back from her thoughts, reminding her that she now had a new home; one where she was naught but a servant.

"You just have to do the basic things like the laundry, the cleaning, and sometimes, the cooking."

She swallowed hard before nodding. Somehow, she couldn't help but wonder how her father would cope without her.

Joan later found out that her master owned a school and her mistress walked as a clerk in a large office. No wonder they had such a huge and beautiful house. She was given a room to herself. Nothing gave her more joy than realizing her room was more beautiful and cozier than her cold, tiny room back at home.

"I'll leave you to sort yourself out." Mary announced after showing her to her room.

"W-Will I be allowed to see my father?" Although she dreaded a no, she couldn't help but ask. She wanted to know if she would be confined to this place for the rest of her life.

Mary smiled. "Well, that will depend on how much of a good girl you are."

There and then, Joan made up her mind to be a good girl so she could visit home during the holidays when her brother would be back from school.

Joan's master and mistress turned out to be nice people. Soon, it no longer felt like she was away from her home.

Another letter came from John the following month. He made no mention of the first letter he had received. He only told her about how strange the meal at the boarding house tasted. She laughed when Britton read out the letter to her. It felt like eating the meal was nearly akin to a death sentence.

"Do you want me to help you write a reply?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, "You will?"

He chuckled. "Of course! Anything to help my little friend."

She pursed her lips. "Can you not let my father know about the letters?"

"You don't want him to know?"

She swallowed hard. She had no way of replying him without painting a bad image of her father. "Well, I just want to do this myself."

He paused for a minute. "Okay. I won't tell him."

After church that Sunday, Joan followed her master and mistress home in their carriage, holding dear to the letter in her hand. Like many other Sunday, she had seen her father in church; except he hadn't seen her too. Or maybe, he didn't bother to look for her after the mass.

Sometimes, she wondered if he had ever asked after her from the Knight or his wife or did, he really not care even a single bit?

Once home, she entered her room quickly, storing away John's letter in a small box filled with letters. Well, it wasn't actually all letters. Nostalgic, she began to go through the box, having nothing to do that afternoon.

Aside from the last two letters Jon had sent her, the rest of the items in the box were paper scraps filled with distorted lines scribbled all over the paper. It made her chuckle, a small smile gracing her oval face. The sight of those papers took her back down memory lane to the time John had tried teaching her to write.

She laughed out loud, John's frustrated face coming into view. He had tried but no matter how hard, she just couldn't write down a proper letter. Well, she gave up all too soon after her father caught her and warned her to turn down John's invitation to teach her the next time. John heaved a sigh of relief when she turned him down the next day.

"I am glad you realized how difficult you are to teach." He joked. They had both laughed it off but till the present day, John never knew she had cried that night, soaking her pillow with tears and snort. She wanted to go to school too. To read and write like the other girls her age and to appear beautiful in a school uniform sadly, for reasons she didn't know, her father kept turning down her request to go to school.