6: The new nanny, Alina Whitaker

The sounds of cries and wails woke me up from my sleep.

I groggily sat up against the trunk of the tree and only remembered where I was when I saw the water marks on my dress. I was so exhausted after combining my magic and the magic left in Seraphine's body in the pond that I collapsed under the shade of the tree.

I flinched as an ear-piecing shriek resounded through the vast gardens. It came from somewhere not too far away.

I stilled and listened through the noise of the leaves rustling in the wind and heard that people were crying and screaming, begging even somewhere close by.

I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun shifted a bit. My nap under the shade must have lasted a few hours.

My curiosity got the best of me and I got to me feet, following the sounds of anguish I walked towards the wailing and crying. When I stepped out of the garden I found myself behind a row of thick leafy trees that blocked out the other side like a wall.

I could hear that the torment was happening on the other side of the trees. Now that I was much smaller and much less capable than I used to be, the ominous wails frightened me and kept me from going forward to take a look. But the fear only lasted so long because my curiosity overpowered it.

I slowly treaded closer, quietly creeping up between two of the tree trunks making sure to watch out for snapping twigs or crunch leaves. I steadied myself against the trunk and peeked through to the other side.

My eyes widened and I gasped. I stumbled backwards but caught myself from falling by holding onto a low protruding branch. I pulled myself back up and peered from behind the tree and saw six maids strapped to long thin tables on their stomachs, as other maids and butlers stood next to them and whipped them with long thin whips that made a frightening slicing sound as it made contact with the women's backs.

The six women cried and shrieked as red stains seeped through the backs of their uniforms.

My shrunk back and slumped down the tree.

I knew the Bhaltair Empire was much stricter than Belsante when it came to punishments but I didn't know that nobles could carry out corporal punishment to their servants like this. I could only wander what those maids had done to solicit such a punishment.

"Would you happen to be the young lady, Miss Seraphine?" A young woman's voice caught my off guard.

I spun around to see a pretty young woman with ginger hair smiling down at me. I wondered how long she'd been standing there.

I nodded nervously. "Yes, I'm Seraphine."

The young woman immediately smiled and gave me a deep curtsey as a greeting.

"It is my honour to meet the young lady. My name is Alina Whitaker, and I have been appointed as the young lady's nanny. Please allow me to serve you."

I stared at her pretty face, astonished by what she said and the refreshing politeness she had showed me.

I frowned unconvinced. "I'm getting a nanny all of a sudden?" As the illegitimate child of the unfavored son of the duke, I barely had any care of supervision. What was the sudden addition of such a professional looking nanny.

"Yes, Milday." She said with certainty. "His lordship the duke came to visit you at noon and was very displeased with how your servants were taking care of you. He has since appointed you new staff and has taken means to appropriately punish those who did not take their roles seriously." She gestured to the other side of the trees where the six women were still wailing in pain as the whips slashed their backs.

The realisation dawned on me. Those women being whipped were my old maids.

I turned back to look at them again and recognised the two girls who had been gossiping about me in the hallway. Their faces were twisted in pain as they cried and shrieked which was why I didn't recognise them when I first saw them. Then I recognised the other four women who would come and haphazardly clean my room. They're were all being whipped within an inch of their lives.

I turned back to Alina a little shaken by what was going on. "The duke really punished? Because they weren't treating me well?"

I still couldn't believe it.

After all the indifference I had felt so far, it didn't make sense that the cold duke who obviously disliked me would suddenly do something that made it seem like he cared about me.

"Is it that hard to believe, Milday?" Alina asked in her singsong tone.

"Yes."

Alina acted like she didn't hear me and reached for my hand. "This way Milday. We should go back to your room and have you cleaned up."

I glanced down at my grass stained frock and knew that my hair probably looked like a birds nest. I tentatively walked towards her and took hold of her hand.

Her hands were a too soft for a servant's. She must be one of those specialist nannies who did not do any actual manual labour. Perhaps she even had some nobility in her background.

Whoever she really was, she kept a pleasant smile plastered to her face and she walked with brilliant posture. As long as she wasn't abusive I was fine with her taking care of me and teaching me how to be a proper lady of Kantheus.

"Miss Alina." I called up to her.

"Milady?" She looked down at me with sparkly green eyes. She definitely had to have a noble lineage.

I wanted to test her a little bit. "Are you sure you're okay with looking after a bastard like me? Does being my nanny make you sad?" I asked.

I had to remember that I was five years old, so if I heard someone talk about me using such a crude term, using it in front of her would be more realistic for a child. Truthfully, I wanted to see how she would reply to this question. It would determine what type of person she was.

Alina crouched down to look me in the eyes.

She sighed. "I'm sorry you ever had to learn such an awful word." She said and took a glance over to where the servant girls where being whipped.

"Of course it's my honour to mentor a child of Kantheus. Don't let anyone think you're below them. As long as you live in this house and keep up with the other children, you will be a worthy mistress for me. And I will make sure you remain a worthy mistress."

I noted the way her eyes sparkled with ambition. She wasn't the type to senselessly discriminate against those in a lower station. But she wasn't fool enough to put her heart into caring for someone who had no prospects. She had high hopes for me and herself.

If I grew up to be a successful lady she would gain notoriety as the woman who raised me. My success was her success and I was willing to bet she would go quite far to help me succeed.

Yes. She would be useful.

We continued on waking in silence until she said, "I must say that I'm quite surprised by my lady. I had heard word of your developmental problems and heard that your Ladyship was quite sickly…"

A greedy little smile crept across her lips. "It seems that your Ladyship has made a marvellous recovery." She said sweetly.

"I have quite a lot to work with then." She whispered under her breath.