Lavender Oil

The carriages moved continuously for a day until they stopped to rest for the night. The carriages were parked in a circle around a clearing where large tents were set up for the entourage of travelers to spend the night in. Two large bonfires blazed and the servants began to heat up the food they had packed. A group of young knights walked around, patrolling in the dark in case wild animals or bandits were attracted to the fire. Chatter filled the crisp night air.

Olivia brought in a basin of water for Kalina to wash her hands with after she finished eating. Standing off to the side, she asked a question that had been on her mind for months: "Lady Kalina, I've been thinking...when you made me your personal maid, what was the reason? I'm not as nimble as the others, or as clever."

Kalina chuckled as she wiped her hands with the white cotton towel. To be honest, she hadn't expected that she'd like Olivia so much. At first, she just wanted to get revenge on the servant girl that had caused her trouble in the past. But Olivia turned out to have a loyal and sometimes endearing character.

Perhaps before, Lucille's influence had changed the maid's character for the worse. Besides, Olivia hadn't done much except laugh at Kalina a bit with the other maids. Her antics were harmless compared to Lucille's.

"What do you mean? I made you my maid because I liked you. You're obedient and do things without asking a bunch of unnecessary questions." Kalina placed the towel back onto the tray and patted Olivia's shoulder. "Alright, I'm tired. Go fetch some warm water for my bath. Actually, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Then, go have your meal and call the other maids to help me."

After she finished her words, Kalina coolly retreated to the inner part of the tent to rest. Olivia couldn't help but send a reverent gaze her way as she slipped out of the tent to go notify the maids.

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Lucille was sitting near her tent when she saw a group of maids pass by while carrying a steaming barrel of water. Flowers and healing tonics had been added into the water, giving it a fragrant smell. Judging by the faint lavender scent that lingered, it was Kalina's bath.

"Eva, I want to take a bath." Lucille turned to her maid beside her. After a few moments of silence, she added: "Put some lavender oil in it."

"Yes, miss."

Lucille watched Eva scurry off and slumped into her wooden chair to wait. Gradually, she fell asleep, her head slumping to the side. She had slept for about half an hour when a chilly gust of wind woke her from her sleep. She shivered and looked around at her bleak surroundings. The campfires had already been put out and the snores of the knights could be heard.

Lucille gritted her teeth and rubbed her sore neck. Of course she was left outside in the cold without even a single blanket to cover her.

Where had Eva gone? Did it really take that long to draw a simple bath?

Lucille muttered a 'useless' under her breath and headed towards the tent where Kalina's maids had come from, rubbing her shivering shoulders.

Muffled shouts came from inside the tent. The voices of four maids could be heard, one of which belonged to Eva.

"Don't! This is Lady Lucille's bath!" Eva's distraught voice rang out. Through the slit in the tent's flaps, Lucille could see Eva on the ground, her arms around a basin of water, like a mother bird protecting her egg.

The maids surrounding her kicked at her sides and jabbed at her face with her hands. Lucille recognized them as the maids that had been carrying Kalina's bath earlier.

"What right does she have to use Lady Kalina's perfume oil?"

"That fragrance was specially gifted to Lady Kalina by Her Grace, the Duchess!"

"Everyone knows that Lady Kalina doesn't like having her possessions used by others. If I report this to her, she won't let you off!"

Eva whimpered as she tried desperately to protect the basin. Water began spilling out as she was pushed, wetting her sleeves and skirt.

Lucille could only watch as her maid was bullied. If she rushed in now and made a commotion, the maids would reveal to the others that she had tried to use Kalina's lavender oil without permission. Then, wouldn't she be scorned for being greedy? It was better for her to not intervene. Her reputation was worse enough

A tree branch snapped near Lucille and she quickly hid.

"Hey! What are you girls still doing in there? Get back to your tent!" Olivia, who had been sleeping nearby, had been woken up by the commotion. She lifted the flap of the tent while yawning and caught sight of Eva on the ground, surrounded by the other maids.

The other maids shrunk back. It was well known how much Kalina favored Olivia. Maids' positions in the hierarchy of servants were naturally determined by how much their masters liked them. Olivia had easily risen from a minor maidservant to a head maid because of this. What if she punished them for bullying another maid?

"Hey, isn't this Eva?" Olivia sneered. She placed the lamp in her hand on the floor and slowly walked towards the maid on the ground with her arms crossed. The rest of the maids saw that Olivia didn't have the intention to punish them and took the chance to leave.

"Miss Olivia," Eva looked up at Olivia with a pleading expression.

"Who told you it was okay for you to touch Lady Kalina's belongings?" Olivia snapped at her before kicking over the basin. Eva was drenched from head to toe with the lukewarm water.

"Eva!" Lucille silently exclaimed. She was about to forget her reputation and rush in to help her maid when Olivia bent down to whisper in Eva's ear.

"You did good. This is from Lady Kalina." Olivia pressed a bracelet made of glass beads into Eva's hand. It wasn't very valuable, but it was a sign of favor from Kalina. This made Eva feel like the glass was diamonds.

Eva quickly pocketed the bracelet and watched Olivia's back as she left. When Olivia couldn't be seen anymore, she silently moved to clean up the mess that had been made. She had just finished sponging up the water when Lucille burst in.

"Are you okay, Eva?" she exclaimed, checking her maid for injuries. Thankfully, the maids didn't leave any marks and the water wasn't hot enough to scald her skin.

"Lady Lucille? What are you doing here? Ah, is it the bath? I'm sorry, I messed up! Please punish me, Lady Lucille!" Eva hurried to bow to Lucille.

Eva had become somewhat of an older sister to Lucille. Seeing Eva's clothes sopping wet, Lucille couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. "Forget the bath. Let's go back to my tent."

Eva nodded and stood up to follow behind Lucille. Drops of water continuously fell on the floor from her wet dress, but she didn't seem to mind. Instead, her hand kept touching the outline of the bracelet in her pocket.

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The next day, the entourage woke up early to take down the tents and repack the carriages so they could continue on their journey.

"Lucille! You look terrible! What happened?" Kalina rushed over to Lucille as soon as she stepped out of her tent. She had heard of last night's events from Olivia and couldn't resist seeing Lucille's current state.

"I'm fine. Do I look that bad to Sister?"

"Oh, no, that's not it. You just looked tired and I thought something was wrong." Kalina wasn't lying. There were dark circles under Lucille's eyes and she looked haggard.

"The bed was a little uncomfortable. I couldn't fall asleep." The makeshift bed that had been set up was actually much better than the thin cotton mattress Lucille had slept on before, but she would never admit it.

"There's just a few days left. Once we get to the capital, you'll have a nice, soft bed." Kalina said. After all, it was unreasonable to buy a new bed in the middle of the journey.

"Okay."

"I heard you wanted to use my perfume oil?" Kalina changed the subject as they strolled around the clearing.

"Yes. I've always thought that Sister smells nice. I'm sorry that I used it without permission." Lucille replied curtly.

"I'm not upset. If you like it so much, you can have the bottle." Kalina motioned to Olivia, who took the container of oil out of her pocket and offered it to Lucille with a reluctant expression. Her glare at Lucille was painfully obvious yet Kalina turned a blind eye to it.

"Thank you, Sister. Also, Olivia, she..."

"Isn't she such a great servant? She's my favorite. I trust her with everything." Kalina cut Lucille off before she could finish.

Lucille had wanted to report Olivia and the maids' actions, but now that Kalina had praised her, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She could only grit her teeth and agree while Olivia sneered to the side.

Lucille had never felt so small. Even a maid could bully her. Eva, an innocent maid, was harassed because of her. It was unfair in every way.

The only thing she could think about was Olivia's taunting smile, all the way to the capital.