On a sunny day, a small child sat by a pond. She looked no older than six. Squatting near the edge as she watched a single fish swimming lazily in the clear water. The surface shimmered under the sunlight, reflecting her small figure as she leaned closer.
In her tiny hand was a piece of bread. She tossed it into the pond. The fish quickly swam toward it and devoured it in one bite.
"Eat and grow bigger so that I can eat you when you grow bigger. Kekeke," said the child.
As she enjoyed feeding the fish, she suddenly heard a voice calling her name.
"Young Lady Thalia!"
She looked up and saw a young woman with light hair and green eyes in a maid's attire running toward her, slightly out of breath.
"You are here again feeding the fish?" the maid asked.
Thalia nodded.
The woman—Lina—squatted beside her and glanced at the fish.
"Did you also say that you're going to eat it when it grows bigger?" she asked with concern.
Thalia grinned and nodded again.
"My Lady, don't you feel bad for the fish? It is all alone in the pond, and at such a young age, you're already threatening it to be eaten when it grows big?"
Thalia paused for a moment. Then she said, "Nope!"
Lina sighed, seeing her young lady threatening a powerless fish.
"Lina, why are you here?" Thalia asked.
"Oh! That's right. Lunch is ready, My Lady. We need to go back to the mansion now before Sister Vira comes here," Lina replied.
Thalia nodded, and they both walked to the mansion.
The mansion stood quietly beyond the garden. It was large, but not as fabulous as one might expect. Its walls carried the weight of time, giving it an old, solemn feeling. Yet it was clean and well-kept.
Thalia entered through the back door, heading into the kitchen. There, another young woman stood cooking. She had a similar face to Lina but looked a few years older.
"Oh, looks like the young lady is quite hungry today," she said.
Thalia pouted. "I am not!"
The young chef giggled at the young lady's reaction.
"I'm sorry, My young lady. I just thought you might be hungry, since Lina came back without crying this time."
Lina puffed her cheeks. "Sister Vira! What are you talking about?"
Vira smiled. "Well, you always come back crying, saying, 'I didn't see the young lady' or 'The young lady is missing,' which I know for sure means the young lady was teasing you."
Lina turned toward Thalia. Thalia tried to hide her smile.
"Hehe… I'm sorry, Lina," she said.
"My Lady, please don't grow up like Sister Vira!" Lina protested.
Vira and Thalia laughed at Lina's reaction.
After washing her hands with Lina's help, Thalia went into the dining room. There, another woman waited—older and calmer than the other two, but with the same gentle features.
"Elarda! I'm back!" Thalia ran to her.
Elarda smiled. "Oh my! Looks like the young lady was indeed hungry."
Thalia pouted. "How did you know?"
Elara giggled. "It's a secret."
Thalia sat in her chair and ate her lunch.
In the evening, Thalia prepared to go to bed. Her three maids helped her, and she recognized each by their hairstyle and facial mole even though her maids had the same hair color and eye color. light brown hair and green eyes.
Elarda, the eldest, had a mole below her right eye and wore a low bun with a headband braid. Vira, the second eldest, had the same mole but on her left side and wore a double dutch braid with a low bun. Lina, the youngest, had both moles and wore a french braid with double low buns.
Elarda combed Thalia's long, wavy hair and giggled.
Thalia peeked at her. "Why are you giggling?"
"It's just your hair, My Lady. It reminds me of a pink rose-flavored macaron."
Thalia looked at her hair in the mirror. But my hair color is like an dying pink rose… she thought, but she didn't mind what Elarda said.
When Thalia sat on her bed, Lina closed the window and the curtains. Vira came back with warm milk and passed it to Elarda, who handed it to Thalia.
After drinking, Thalia lay down. Elara placed her staff toy beside her—a chubby black dragon staff with a cute yet fierce face.
"Elarda, can you tell me a story?" Thalia asked.
"Of course, Lady Thalia," Elarda said with a smile.
"A long time ago, there was a bad dragon tamer. The dragon tamer and her big red dragon were feared by everyone. Then, a hero from the Valryron family came and defeated the dragon tamer and the dragon. The people celebrated after the hero defeated them."
Thalia stared. "Elarda, you've already told me that story a lot."
Elarda looked embarrassed. "Forgive me, My Lady."
Then Vira sat on the bed. "I have a story. Would you like to listen, Lady Thalia?"
Thalia nodded.
"Once upon a time, there was a young girl who liked to eat chocolate. One day, her maids told her to only eat three chocolates per day, because eating too much could harm her teeth. However, the young girl didn't listen and secretly took three pieces of chocolate into her pocket. Little did she know, she forgot to eat them because of her little adventure at the pond. During laundry, the chocolate melted and made a mess of the clothes that were supposed to be white."
Vira paused. Thalia looked away.
"Lady Thalia, do you know who the young girl was?" Vira asked.
Thalia slowly nodded.
"What do you think she should do?"
"To eat the chocolate and never forget it," Thalia replied with a grin.
Vira stared at her.
Thalia pouted. "I'm sorry… I won't steal chocolate now."
Vira smiled. "I will remember that, Lady Thalia."
Thalia yawned. Her maids tucked her in, and an hour later, the mansion was peaceful.
Thalia woke and sat on her bed. She looked at the door, then climbed down. She went to her bookshelf, where a secret box was hidden.
She retrieved the box and opened it. Inside were scratch papers and a pen. She wrote on one of the papers:
"Today, I traveled farther than the other day. While traveling, I noticed that Vira had probably used illusion magic. I did some calculations, but in this body, I can hardly tell that I can't destroy the spell."
After finishing, she returned the paper to the box and put it back in place, casting a spell so her maids wouldn't see or notice it.
As Thalia prepared to climb back into bed, she saw her reflection in the window.
Dying pink rose-colored hair. Silver eyes.
"I do look different, huh…" Thalia mumbled to herself, remembering her past: silver hair and red eyes.