Luminous

14 - The Dwale

The real Arinel was late for work. Scullery maids must be ready at dawn to prepare breakfast for the Lord and his family. However, Arinel was exhausted after catering for last night's feast, so Gretella allowed her poor Lady to sleep in and sent Haselle in her place.

After scolding her nurse (who was also her grandmother) for spoiling her, Arinel sprinted to the underground kitchen. She was one step away from the door when a mysterious hand reached from the shadows and dragged her down another hallway.

"Wait—where—"

The being in the bedraggled black cloak pushed open a slab of nondescript wall, slipped past the gap inside, yanked Arinel in then shut the secret door.

Arinel spun around in solid darkness, prepared for a fight for survival.

"Who are you? What do you wa—?" A rough, sweaty hand clamped over her mouth.

"Shh! 'tis me, milady. 'Tis Meya."

Arinel's shock morphed into confusion. Meya freed her mouth. The space lit up, revealing gray stone walls flanking a narrow passageway. Meya stood before her, holding a candle on a metal stand.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Coris?" Arinel hissed.

"He's gone back to sleep," said Meya as she rummaged in her pocket. Under her raggedy black cloak, she wore a beautiful red silk dress embroidered with the same thick silver yarn braided into her hair. She handed Arinel a scrap of torn parchment and a pencil.

"Listen, I dun have much time. I need you to write me a letter. Now."

"What?" Arinel made no move to take them, so Meya pushed them into her hands.

"Think I know what them bandits are looking for. Gotta warn Coris."

"Warn him? But aren't you working for Gillian?" Arinel argued. Meya rolled her eyes at the ceiling with a growl of exasperation.

"I'll answer your questions later. Write down what I say, quick!" Steering Lady Crosset by the shoulders, Meya spun Arinel to face the wall. She dictated, raising her candle so its light fell upon the parchment, "From Arinel. Me and me folk—"

"I and my men—" Arinel corrected as she wrote, sliding the parchment to avoid the groove between bricks, writing as neatly as she could on the craggy surface.

"Whatever!" Meya hissed in annoyance but complied, "I and my men forced to steal dowry. Bandits disguised as guards. Dun put up fight or hide dowry. We and bandits poisoned each other and need antidote in one month."

Arinel scribbled quickly while correcting Meya's childish sentences and peasantlike vocabulary. Meya might not care, but if she wanted to keep her cover, she'd better send a message Coris would believe was written by an educated noblewoman.

"Very well. Done." Arinel flourished the last letter and inked the last dot. Meya swept the note from under her fingers like a gust of wind.

"Didnae know nobles write so fast." She noted in her flat, dry voice. She stuffed the note into her generous cleavage, then bolted into the dark, tossing Arinel a harried word of gratitude,

"Now, get out of here quick. Thanks!"

By the time Arinel spun around, Meya had vanished, her soft footsteps echoing further and further up the tower, headed towards the Great Hall.

⏳

Three hours had passed since Arinel's puzzling run-in with her nemesis. The disgraced Lady had since returned to join Haselle in the kitchen, assisted with breakfast preparations, and sent it off hot and steaming to the dining hall for the Lord and his guests.