THE BEGINNING OF MISERY WAS SWEET

Their journey felt long and Crow did not help at all. They were practically running after him and falling every now and then. They arrived the very next morning and by that time they were starving, tired, thirsty and sore.

"A... little water....please..." Elizabeth pleaded to Crow when he had changed back to his human form.

"You control plants, don't you?" he asked but she was too confused to even respond,"Grow one and squeeze out the water."

Elizabeth was so surprised by his answer that she felt even more powerless than she had been before asking him for water. He walked away without saying another word and Elizabeth could only stare.What was Crow thinking? It was impossible to suck water from a plant like he was suggesting.

Elizabeth did not waste her energy trying to beg and Crow left the.two tied to a pole close to where the horses were drinking water. Both the girls knew what was being done but they would not let their enemies get the satisfaction of seeing them drink with animals.

"Are you awake?" Eve asked Elizabeth in a weak voice.

"Yes." Elizabeth answered.

They did not have the strength to keep talking after using so much of their strength in fighting a losing battle. They fell asleep soon after and we're woken by splashes of water on their faces. Eve jolted awake and looked at the person in front of her and was shocked to see that it was Ceaser. He was squatting in front of her with an empty bucket beside him.

On the other side, Elizabeth woke up calmly and was not so surprised when she saw Crow standing with a bucket in his hand. Crow had a scowl on his face that Elizabeth reciprocated. He was angered by her imitation and spilt more water on her that landed on Eve as well while some of the mud splashed onto Ceaser. Eve chuckled dryly as she looked at Ceaser and he frowned deeply. He looked at Crow who was looking at his master with a sorry expression.

"My apologies sire." Crow apologized bowing.

"Apology accepted. Bring me the dagger." Ceaser answered moving closer to Eve.

Crow smiled warmly and removed a dagger from his jacket. The dagger had a jem at the end of the handle and the blade was reddish in color, just like Ceaser's sword. When Ceaser held the dagger it started glowing a bright red and Eve wondered if he actually planned on killing her like this. Elizabeth who saw that the situation was becoming dire tried to help her friend by attacking Ceaser with her vines. Before it reached him, it decayed rapidly and turned to ashes.

Ceaser fisted up Eves hair above her head and cut it even before she could register what was happening. She screamed as her hair turned black, the opposite of what it had been. Elizabeth craned her neck to see what was happening and gasped at the sight Infront of her. The rest.of the hair that was no longer in her head remained white and he put it in the bucket beside him.

"I just.wanted to make sure that you don't go around trying to strangle people with it." Ceaser said as if he was justifying his actions.

He passed the dagger back to Crow and this time it flower blue. Elizabeth was still looking at Eve when Crow cut her own hair at the same length as Eve's hair.Crow threw Elizabeth's hair in the bucket as well and Elizabeth glared at him.

"Fiona." Crow called out and Fiona came running towards them,"You see these two here?"

Fiona nodded and was delighted when she recognized the two as the princess of Zeth and a noble man's daughter. She had felt threatened by Eve's presence when Ceaser seemed to take a liking to her but now that she.saw.the disgraced princess she felt triumphant. But, wasn't the princess' hair white and long?

"Take then to the servant's quarters and get them into uniform. They will be working in the great hall, alone. They should not be fed until the sire is pleased with their work."

"I will do as you command." Fiona answered smiling.

"She is not to be fed either and any form of misconduct carried out by these two will fall on her head." Ceaser added telling Crow as if Fiona wasn't there.

"Understood?" Crow asked as Fiona started trembling.

Why should she be held responsible for their wrongdoing?

"Yes sir." she answered bowing her head.

Ceaser finally got up from where he had been squatting and felt his injured side hurt. He hissed in pain and Crow rushed to help him walk back into the palace. Once Fiona was sure that they had gone she raised her head and finally saw the bucket with hair in it. She u tied Eve and Elizabeth and pushed them in the direction of the servant's quarters.

Fiona walked proudly and used more force than needed to move the girls. As revenge, Elizabeth made a vine tangle around Fiona's ankle and the maid fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Ahh!" Fiona screamed.

Eve and Elizabeth smiled at each other and and shook hands while they looked down at Fiona.

"How dare you!" Fiona yelled,"I will tell his Majesty about this!"

"If I can remember correctly, our misconduct is on your head, so go ahead." Eve said calmly and Fiona touched her neck,"Yes. That connection will be severed so be careful with us."

Fiona gritted her teeth at Eve who still looked proud even though she had been disgraced. Fiona had to admit that the short hair still looked good on the princess and even more so on Elizabeth. She got up from the ground and looked at the harsh bruise on her ankle. She continued walking and they followed her quietly.

"This will be your room. You'll share. Now these...." Fiona stopped talking to look through the little cupboard,"....are your uniforms. Get dressed immediately and I'll show you to the great hall."

Fiona left the room temporarily and the two got dressed. Before Fiona returned they had enough time to trim their hair properly.

"Why did it turn black?" Elizabeth asked touching Eve's hair.

"Didn't you ever wonder why I never cut my hair? It was a part of my ability and he knew that. I can't use it anymore. The color change shows that."

"So you are defenseless?"

"No. I just can't use my hair."

Fiona returned to the room and they followed her out.

"You should walk with your heads low whenever you see a royal family member or someone of high standing, which at the moment for you is.... everyone. Hehehe..."

Eve rolled her eyes at Fiona while Elizabeth looked around like she hadn't been to the palace before. Eve also went to looking around because she was sure she hadn't been to this part of the palace. When they entered the great hall, they were greeted by a dusty empty room and from how the dirt looked, it was like it had just been thrown there.

Fiona left them there and locked the door. Elizabeth went and opened up the windows to let in some air.

"Which side will you clean?" Elizabeth asked smiling,"I don't know about you but I am really hungry."

"Take a deep breath." Eve said and Elizabeth did so without question even though she had no idea what her friend was up to.

Eve closed her eyes and when she opened them they were glowing and her hair was temporarily white again. A huge gust of wind rushed into the room and created an intense whirlwind that carried out most of the dust. She did it again and the rest of the dust was carried away.

"Now all we need to do is scrub the floor and the walls." Elizabeth said happily,"Where did all the dirt go?"

"Outside. If it goes in the wrong place who can blame me?" Eve answered.

Elizabeth smiled and went to knock on the door. It opened a few seconds later and she informed the guard that they needed some water. He opened the doors wider and told them to go and fetch it.

"Fetch it?" Elizabeth asked frowning.

"Did you expect someone to go and get the water for you? You shouldn't forget that you are slaves here. Out!"

Elizabeth nodded and she told Eve about it. They went out together and met Fiona on their way. Fiona was beyond shocked seeing the two of them out so soon.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To fetch water." Eve answered.

"Have you swept?" Fiona asked with a raised brow.

"Yes. We have done that." Elizabeth answered smiling brightly.

"So soon?!" Fiona asked surprised,"Anyway, the sooner you finish the sooner I can eat. Follow me."

They followed Fiona to the well where she abandoned them to go gossip about them. Once Fiona was gone, Elizabeth used her vines to pull the buckets out of the well. When Fiona went to check on them with her friend, Eve and Elizabeth were long gone and working on scrubbing the floor and walls.