Away from the Castle

''...The king sets out first thing in the morning, and they would be back in not less than ten days, so we are to get food that will last as long as they are out of the castle. ''

Adeline said. ''Lady Beatrice will soon come to address you, but for now, start with the tasks I have assigned.''

The five girls quickly arranged and pack everything they were instructed to. Neera was told to get the plates that they would eat with, the soldiers, including the king. She was almost fainting from fatigue, but she still forced her eyes to stay open, and not make any mistakes.

After she was done, she did not report to Adeline because she was sure she was going to give her another task instead of letting her rest. Neera found a hidden spot in the kitchen and squatted, she initially wanted to rest a little before she reported back to Adeline, but as her eyes closed, she slept off.

It did not take long before she felt a very painful kick on her leg; ''my goodness, you have the time to sleep when the kingdom is in chaos?!''

Neera jumped up only to find Adeline glaring angrily at her; ''Adeline, I was done with the task, so I… I… ''

''So you what? ''Adeline walked closer to her, her hand raised to slap her, but before she could, Beatrice stopped her.

''That is enough. '' Beatrice said as she walked into the kitchen. Neera heaved a sigh of relief as she quickly hurried to join the other girls who were in front of the kitchen. ''

Beatrice had noticed how much extra work Adeline gave to Neera. Even when night had fallen, she would still see her working in the kitchen.

She had known Adeline since she entered the palace. She always liked the king even when the king did not glance at her.

She had worked so hard to rise to her position so she would work close to the king, and when she did, she had selected girls who were not as pretty as she was to serve him, and she took her time to adorn herself whenever she was to serve the king, so perhaps the king desired any of them, it would be her.

It was not telling that the king was handsome. More good looking than most women. Even though he was fearful, one could not help but be drawn to his endless beauty. She had thought her infatuation would wear off when she realized he was someone she should not even dream about, but seeing how she hurt Neera simply because she looked like the former queen, she felt it was getting out of hand.

Adeline lowered her head when she saw Beatrice walk into the kitchen. She did not know that Beatrice would come in at the time.

Lady Beatrice was the least troublesome demon. She was like a mother figure. She looked like she was in her forties, with a few wrinkles. Not all the demons were young, some looked of different ages, but the difference between them and the humans was that they were immortals.

Lady Beatrice ignored Adeline and stood in front of the girls'

''Are you all done with your tasks? ''

''Yes, Lady Beatrice. '' they chorused.

''You all know what this trip is for, right? '' Beatrice asked, but the girls looked at her, confusion written on their faces.

''Adeline, you have not told them yet? ''

''Not yet, Lady Beatrice."

''Okay. The king sets out to fight some creatures which have escaped from the underworld. They are the soul eaters and they feed on the souls of humans. You do not need to know the details, just know that you should always stay together, and never talk to anyone apart from yourselves. And if there is a situation, talk to Adeline.''

''Lady Beatrice!'' Adeline called, shock in her eyes. Was she going with them?

Neera chuckled within her. Now she looked at the girls Adeline had selected, and they were the girls she always punished, so she had sent them out to the slaughter? Little did she know she would lead the cue.

''What is it, Adeline? ''

Adeline gulped and shook her head; ''It is nothing, Lady Beatrice. You instructed I to select five girls. I did not know I would be among.'' Her face had turned pale as she gritted her teeth, raising her eyes, her eyes locked with Neera's own, and Neera bit her lip to hold in her laughter.

Adeline glared ferociously at her, and Neera quickly looked away, not daring to laugh.

Ignoring her comment; Beatrice continued; ''As I was saying, report anything you need to Adeline and the soldiers. I pray you all return safely. ''

''Thank you, Lady Beatrice. '' The girls thanked her as they watched her leave, after which they returned to their beds. When Neera came back, Penelope was already sleeping, lying down carefully, so as not to wake her. She drifted off to sleep.

…

The next morning, Neera woke up when she felt a kick on her leg; she rubbed her eyes with her hands and stared at the person who was standing above her; Adeline, with her arms crossed, glaring at her.

Neera jumped up from the bed, rubbing her eyes,

''The next time you sleep like a log of wood and make me come wake you up, I'll be waking you up with a hot slap on that your useless face!''

Neera did not reply. Adeline looked like she was about 24 years of age. Maybe she entered the castle quite early, which made her rise to her rank pretty quickly. She wondered how someone so young could bear so much hatred for people who had done absolutely nothing to her.

Neera looked around, and the other girls were still sleeping. She sighed. It seems she was the first on Adeline's blacklist now.