“A-Are there any books that can teach me how to read?”

My maid pauses from where she’d been standing by, near a bookcase, in wait of me. “I will not lie, Hazel, I was wondering when you would ask…”

Her words cause me to freeze. And I frown. “You— You were waiting?”

“Hazel, you kept saying reading was for peasants.”

I slam my face into my hand into, then speak my next words through gritted teeth and quite the dry tone, “Well, I change my mind.”

Hazel, I hate you.

To my much needed relief, my maid seems rather amused—and dare I say, proud?—by ‘Hazel’s’ personality shift. “Though I don't quite understand your change of heart, it was just last week that you told me understanding words on a page was useless, since your servants could read everything for you—-”

Oh my God, is that what Hazel’s been running around saying?

What an insolent little…well, scratch that, maybe calling her that would be unfair; considering the environment she grew up in, I can’t say I don’t understand why she turned out the way she did.

“—But, I am happy to help you, Hazel,” Ana-Lea finally tells me as she hums, she rests a hand against my shoulder with a smile. “I will not pretend to understand what has possessed you, but…good for you!”

Huh, that’s dark.

Shouldn’t she investigate me? Make sure I’m not cursed?

Doesn’t anyone care about this kid around here? Or am I just the worthless spawn, of those two devils parading as parents, in everyone else’s eyes?

“Thanks…” My voice trails off as I watch as Ana-Lea making her way over to another part of the library, from which she takes out a couple of children’s books without hesitation—-on the book’s cover, the first letter of this alphabet I am to learn is broken down into three parts and syllables, for easy understanding. It seems this tome will prove useful. Still… I furrow my brows as I observe my maid walk toward me, with all our study materials balanced in the crook of her elbow. I start to wonder why we even have these books in the first place, if the original Hazel wasn’t interested in learning this world’s common tongue. Not to mention I haven’t seen any siblings during my time in the manor—at least, none that I know of. “Convenient,” I note aloud, for lack of a better thing to say.

I truly doubt outwardly questioning her will lead to any good, if my parents happened to buy these books for me, and Hazel refused to read them, then that would only make things more awkward than they need to be.

As we both take a seat at a dark wood table, the books land with a heavy thump once Ana-Lea sets them down, she clears her throat anew then looks to her knees. “Yes, well, they were useful. Once.”

I look to her, hesitant. There seems to be more to this story. Secrets that I yet know. Secrets, that Ana-Lea has some sort of personal involvement in, considering the way she is retreating into herself. Her demeanor has completely changed. “Ana-Lea?” I ask, in the most innocent tone I can muster. “Are the books not suitable after all?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “No, it isn’t that. Simply, I—” Her shoulders deflate as she sighs, her head hangs low. “I was only thinking about the past—about the last time I held these books in my hands. It was so long ago, I had just become your maid, I…simply can't believe it's been eight years already.”

Okay, good to know I'm actually eight.

And also great to know I'm not supposed to know about any of this!

Guess I can ask her now. “I don't think I've heard this story before.”

“Of course, you haven't.” Ana-Lea places her hand over the tome meant to teach me this world’s language, it is now an anchor to her, as she begins to tell me her tale. “Quite honestly, Hazel, I can't say I'm certain about whether I should truly tell you.”

And I tilt my head. “Why not?”

“Because it is not a story for children, your parents would not—”

“Approve?” I snicker. “Maybe not. But right now, they aren't here!”

I notice her parting her lips in hesitation and nervous apprehension. As her eyes meet mine, Ana-Lea’s gaze is full of fear. “I won't lie and say I haven't wanted to tell you. Since…it could happen to you too, Hazel.”

I won't lie either and admit that I'm scared now, by what I may be about to learn. “Me?” I blink, twice. “W-What do you mean? What could happen to me?”

My maid shuts her eyes, as if recalling the memory. “I had a child just like you, once. She was precious to me, but we were struggling. So, I did what any mother would do, I strived for our survival. And I arrived here, Hazel, tasked with your care.”

Ana-Lea places her hand over her knuckles and grasps at them, at the book beneath her palms. “At first, everything was perfect. We finally had a roof over our heads, warm meals at night…until my daughter’s tenth birthday arrived and my nightmare began.” Ana-Lea takes a deep breath.

And chills rise up my arms; she has barely told me the whole of her story, but the air between us is grim with a heaviness I could not describe even if I tried.

“I don't know when it was that it all went wrong,” my maid continues. “One minute, I was playing with her in the gardens—and the next, she was gone.” Ana-Lea's eyes widen. “I searched for hours, heard echoes of her laughter in the woods, but she never showed. And I could not find her. No one could.”

“She…” I gulp. “She disappeared? So quickly? Just like that?”

I didn’t realize this world was so dangerous.

“Just like that,” my maid echoes with a solemn nod, she glances to her hands, the book. “I never got an answer as to what happened, but after speaking to the townsfolk during my errands at the markets, I started to hear similar tales of children being whisked away by woodland spirits, in the forest where the trees grow tallest—that’s where I think she might be, if…she is still alive, that is.” My maid’s voice is tense, laced with no hints of a lie, as she tells me her story.

Regardless of how preposterous it may all sound, it is clear this is not one of those folk tales meant to scare children into following the rules, it is the truth. And only that. “Do you…truly think she might still be out there?” I find myself asking her, because I do not want to sit in this silence any longer. “Can't we do anything to save her—to save your daughter?”

Ana-Lea squeezes at her elbow then stares down to the floor. “With my set of skills?” she laughs, yet it rings hollow. “I could never…and hiring a mage would cost more gold than I will likely ever see in my lifetime. Of course, I think about it every day. And of course, I would do anything to get her back. But if I lose my life, then she will be lost forever. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity, if it ever comes, however…” She bites her lower lip. “That opportunity hasn’t come yet.”

I frown. “Could I become a mage?”

Perhaps, I asked a foolish question, for the expression of sorrow that once lingered against my maid’s features have now been replaced by total utter confusion and dismay, as she waves her hands in the air before me. “Honey, I don't think you know what that entails.” Her attention meets the artefact that is still hanging around my neck. She squints. “Although…”

My maid’s voice trails off. I wait for her to continue, but she never does.

Ana-Lea brings a hand to her face, then pinches the bridge of her nose. “No, never mind what I was going to say—Hazel, as much as I appreciate your concern, it's unfortunately not as easy as that.”

As Ana-Lea grabs hold of one of the books again then opens it on the first page, she underlines what seems to be a sentence at the top with the tip of her finger. “I apologize for making you think of such unpleasant things. Shall we get started with our lesson?”

The way her demeanor has completely gone back to the woman full of joy she usually is unnerves me. I wonder, for how many years has she practiced this act? How much pain she endured and held in this whole time? And then, In my head, I humor the idea of being a mage once more. Would it be all that bad?

Would I not finally have power?

Power…and a way out of this manor.

The day in the library passes quickly.

That evening, I fall asleep on the living room’s sofa, before a grand window giving way to a view of the gardens and their greenery. I dream of trees reaching the sky, of flying and falling, and I wonder what it all means.