Prologue
Silence in the Nightfall Palace was the worst thing in this world, because it was even worse than any other piercing sound could be…
Stillness pressed against the corridors of the castle in the early hours before dawn; it was usually the time when the candles had burned low and the servants continued quietly busying themselves with mundane work.
Quietness lived in the polished floors that reflected the passing figures or in the long and old curtains or in the way everyone’s voices disappeared the moment the Queen entered a room. Lydia Ashcroft was an ordinary servant maid who tried to adapt to this new environment (ever since her deprived childhood). Lydia also considered every possible way of pleasing the Queen to whom she served.
Eventually, Lydia managed to integrate in the tendencies of the Royal Household. She always remained humble and respectful, no matter what. Every time anyone from the Court looked at her, she immediately lowered her head timidly and she spoke only when she was addressed and never more than necessary.
She didn’t even have any right to ask anything, since questions did not belong to such people as her. And that’s why she understood the routine of the Palace, and then she finally learned its rules (before she fully understood why they mattered.
One evening, after cleaning a few ornate rooms and a voluminous library, she decided to occupy her thoughts with something. She contemplated her childhood and her general past.
But then, she realized that her life before she arrived at the palace didn’t fit into a distinct memory in her mind. She only remembered many different fragments. She felt a tremor ripple through her skin as she re-sensed the harsh cold that her body was forced to live in.
She also recalled her ravenousness, but her parents didn’t have enough coins to buy her even a chunk of bread. Her mind shifted towards the memory of a street which smelled of rotting and damp stones. Her own scarred breathing in the dark when she thought that her parents left her.
And the most terrifying memory, her simple and innocent certainty that she would not survive another night… She remembered how one night (when she was twelve years old) her body suddenly collapsed weakly onto the cold stone floor of a street, her limbs gave up and surrendered completely because of her constant starvation.
The next thing that she remembered was only pure light, the brightness was enough to hurt her closed eyelids, forcing her tired eyes to open. Then, Lydia (from back then) heard a distant voice, that began to sharpen as the world around her insisted on returning.
“Is she still breathing?” Murmured a woman.
“Can't you see? That poor child is breathing barely…” Replied another person, almost irritated.
“I think you need to leave her.” Incorporated a new voice, speaking with evident disgust.
“I refuse.” Reciprocated firmly the woman, her simple words instantly silenced the other person.
Lydia tried to move then, or to speak, but her body resolutely refused, remaining completely glued to the floor. The world around her abruptly blurted, titled and then came back normal.
Someone stepped closed…
“Look at me.” Whispered a calm voice, practically soothing Lydia. Was she truly saved? But by whom? Is it… an angel?
Lydia forced her eyes to focus, she saw only light and outlines. But then, a face took shape. The woman seemed very composed.
“You don’t have to worry, you are not dead yet.” The woman added, observing carefully the child who laid in front of her (Lydia).
Lydia tried to answer desperately, however her words tumbled. A breath mixed with a hoarse, completely broken sound came out of her mouth. The woman studied her continuously, weighing carefully her internal options. After that, she finally straightened, making the light around change its directions along with her movement.
“Take her.” She said.
After her words resonated through the air, a clear hesitation followed behind her. Meanwhile, poor Lydia could feel the turbulent sentiments without perceiving the other people that hurried beside like a panicked swarm of angry bees.
“She surely won’t last.” Someone mumbled among the people.
“Then let her. At least, she won’t die here alone.” The woman replied. Her words are full of a stern decision.
Lydia felt how a pair of strong hands lifted her with ease, however without certainty… The world dissolved into darkness and interrupted motion. Lydia didn’t know or even remember the slow and arduous journey into the palace. Nor she remembered the Royal rooms and corridors that she crossed.
Lydia only remembered how she walked monotonously. She was a dim room ahead of her, after all of these agonizing years in the street, when she entered the room, her nose finally sensed a clean and a pristine scent. She noticed a single, but bright candle that illuminated the entire room.
Lydia remembered how her body from back then ached in ways that she couldn’t describe. Still, there was a calming feeling that the possibility of her dying in the middle of the street from hunger was now less likely to happen. She probably survived all of this.
After a moment, she was finally able to feel her body and breathe normally again. But, she chose to lay still (just in case), she was unsure whether she needed to move or not. Will it help her magically return to whatever place she had come from?
The door opened slowly and quietly and Lydia turned her head languidly. The same woman who rescued her stood there in the door frame unflinchingly, as if nothing happened.
“You somehow lived.” She confirmed calmly like she is unbothered.
Lydia pushed herself up slightly, her maximum effort of her body made her even more dizzy. She forced herself to look directly at the woman to whom she was speaking.
“Do you know where you are?” The woman inquired curiosity, she wanted to see if Lydia would respond to her question.
At her direct question, Lydia groggily shook her head, waiting for the woman’s explanation.
“You were brought to the Ebon Court of Viremont because I allowed it to happen.” Affirmed the woman. There was no need to explain more than that. The meaning was clear enough to the enervated Lydia.
Lydia Ashcroft nearly gasped in shock. They brought her to the Nightfall Palace!? It was such a huge luxury. Lydia never imagined something like this could happen. She was a mere peasant. Lydia swallowed hard, replying with a still raw throat.
“Why…?” Her curious question slipped from her mouth before she could stop it. After Lydia’s question, a faint interest crossed the woman’s eyes.
“You still weren’t dead. And… because you looked at me.” She said matter-of-factly. Lydia did not understand that the woman meant when she said that she brought her to the palace because she looked at her. Lydia would not understand these words for a long time…
The woman turned back slightly, practically ready to leave and mumbled with a certainty her parting words:
“You will recover. And after that… you will serve here.” She ordered, but not like a normal woman, but more like a… Queen? She already decided Lydia’s fate, and these words were definitely not a spontaneous offer.
Lydia offered her head submissively as she realized the gravity of her fate, the woman would demand her compliance.
“Yes.” Lydia responded solemnly watching the Queen leave.
Lydia didn’t have another choice… and that’s how her new servitude began. And so like this, many years passed in an unseen rhythm of never-ending chores and obligations. She was always silent. She learned the Queen’s routines, preferences. She also learned at what distance should she stay when she is addressed, what tone she should use when she responded to the Queen’s orders.
She adapted to the fact and mastered the ability to clean everything in the quarters while managing to disappear in plain sight, so that the Royal family forgot that she was there at all.
After two years, she finally understood what the Queen meant; because… she saved lives out of mere indifference for their suffering. Queen Evelyne Ardent selected her as a maid. Nonetheless, Lydia still didn’t know why and for what she was chosen exactly. That information didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t allowed to ask anything because questions were unnecessary. And so she did remain there…
