Paradise

Calla just finished washing the utensils used for the desserts. The kitchen is a magical place for her. Food smells good, other servants are nice to her and the chores are not burdensome. She even has time for herself and her family after working in the afternoon if she chooses to go home for the day. In any case, they have servant's quarters where they can stay.

She lives with her partially blind mother and 4-year-old sister in a farmer's village not too far from the General's mansion. Their hut has two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small living room. It may be a hut but it is constantly maintained with the help of her mother's brother who lives right next to their hut. They only have a few parcels of land which is being farmed by this uncle who is a widow and lives alone next door. When she heard that there was a job opening for four servant girls in the mansion, she took a chance and tried her luck. Fortunately, because she was a bit taller for her age, agile, and full of energy, she was accepted.

She heard the gardener call for Mr. Milton. The new mistress must have arrived earlier than expected. The butler already talked to her about being assigned as the lady's servant girl. She immediately prepared snacks and tea to be brought to the study in a while.

She is thankful to Mr. Milton. She may be 15 years old but he looked past her age and gave her a chance to serve one of the General's partners. He also trained her for a month on various chores and didn't treat her differently from other servants.

She entered the study room shortly and served the new mistress. She only looked at her momentarily before excusing herself.

'She's so young and pretty. Hope she will like me.' she whispered in her heart.

In the afternoon Mr. Milton found her walking hurriedly on the way to the kitchen when he stopped her and handed her a cloth with 14 plain-colored cotton dresses.

"The General asked for these to be used by the mistress. Bring this together with the Lady's lunch"

"My Lady will use these as everyday clothing?" she asked innocently and full of curiosity.

"Child, I know what you were thinking. Remember our place in this mansion. Your concern is the mistress' well-being. Take care of her." Mr. Milton gave a gentle reminder.

"Yes, Mr. Milton." She went and proceeded to the kitchen. When she went out, Ms. Haelan was already approaching the kitchen at the back of the mansion. They went back to the courtyard together.

True enough, her mistress is a sweetheart. There are a lot of things to do around their tiny courtyard but having a kind master is already a blessing.

As she lay in her cute but very own room in Meara's courtyard, she felt a sense of warmth and happiness. Aside from being accepted in this mansion, she gets to serve a very lovely Ms. Haelan.

However, she suddenly remembered something. She heard that Meara was a concubine. She is not that innocent, she knows that being a concubine is considered lower than a wife. Most concubines were not treated as well as a wife would be. Knowing the general's temperament, she fears that Ms. Haelan will be wronged.

Well… she was being wronged now. Maera told her that she was what others would call a cursed child. She slid her colorful bracelet a bit on the side and showed her unusual gradient mark when they were having snacks in the afternoon. Calla showed her blue-colored mark. Both of them have no idea what having a red mark means.

'I will try my best to serve and protect my lady.' she promised herself and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Calla got up early so she could go early in the kitchen to get breakfast and freshly baked pastries. She also plans to get a few raw materials so she can cook food for the mistress if they get hungry in between working the yard.

The kitchen staff was generous enough to give her a lot of food ingredients. She's carrying a large basket of raw ingredients in her left hand and breakfast with pastries in her right hand.

When she got back, Meara just got out of her bedroom. She still has droopy eyes, has hair that seems to have had a battle with the wind, and unconsciously scratches her neck with both hands as she drags her feet while walking.

"Huhhhh yer up haaaaah" Meara yawned. Very unladylike.

"Yes, My Lady. Would you like to bathe and dress in the new cotton dress or have breakfast first?" she asked as she simultaneously organized the things in her hand in the kitchen.

"Hmm bathe first, breakfast, work, lunch, work, rest then bathe again. That should do it, right?"

Calla already prepared a warm bath for her in the bathroom at the back. Although it's isolated, the latrine is decently built and uses a water-flush system which helps alleviate the smell. Since it was not used too much before they occupied this place, it still has the fresh smell of lime which reduces odor as well. On the other side separated by a few thick planks is a wooden bathtub where the warm water is already prepared. A wooden pail also has water fresh from the well. This bathroom was already cleaned up yesterday by the two since both are particular about cleanliness.

Meara sat on the kitchen table after getting a quick awakening bath. She suddenly felt a huge difference in her life before she moved here. She could see the whole house if she did a 360-degree turn. That's how small this house is. She's not that sad though. Just random thoughts. But if she thinks about it, it is easier to manage.

She asked Calla to sit as soon as breakfast was served. They're having sausages and fluffy scrambled eggs this morning with soft milk bread. There is also freshly brewed coffee in a flask brought over by Calla. Meara requested coffee instead of tea for breakfast to perk up her senses. The day is going to be long and they need to start early with high energy.

After breakfast, they both prepared cloth gloves and hand-held shovels. The whole yard and surrounding areas of the shanty are overcome with wild plants.

This morning is allocated for the clearing of the yard to remove the potential danger of snakes and other creepy crawlies. They plan to plant flowers near the entrance and some common vegetables and spices on the right side. Meara also particularly wants to create a pathway using stones that can usually be found in the rivers. If they have extra time, they will check the property grounds if they can already collect some.

In the next few days, they went on a tiring but fulfilling task of beautifying their little home.

The entrance sides were planted with big wild roses, feverfew, and lavender. The three are known to complement each other and help ward off beetles and aphids. Calla went to the periphery of the mountain to get some and transplanted it back to the yard. Meara also specifically asked her to look for Santan flowers to be transplanted around the house.

On the right side of the house are a few cleared plots of soil, about a square meter each where they planted seeds for vegetables. On the left are herbs and spices in much smaller plots. Calla got the seeds from her widowed uncle Simon and some from the kitchen staff.

The tiny pond was also cleared and a few small water lilies were brought back. Since water lilies typically grow to suit the size of their area, small varieties were just right.

The well of course was cleaned too. Clean water is abundant and there's no problem when it comes to the cleanliness of the courtyard.

In a few months, it will look like a beautiful mini-courtyard. Small but homey. A refreshingly hidden humbling piece of para