The two-hour shift had left me physically drained, but as I made my way toward the small, secluded hut that served as the maids' rest area, I felt a strange sense of accomplishment. I was still wearing Miera's skin, still using her two hands, and for a few blissful hours, I hadn't had to think about war, magic, or the weight of my own past.
As I pushed open the door, the smell of fresh tea and sweet pastries washed over me. Kiera was there, hosting an impromptu picnic party for the rest of the staff. She looked up, her eyes bright with a teasing, knowing glint that stopped me in my tracks.
"Ah, the blushing bride returns from her labor," Kiera crooned,
Her voice carried across the hut. She didn't stop there; she began mimicking the scene from the night before, waving her hands to pantomime the intense kiss and the way Maine had held her sister's hands under the moonlight.
I felt the heat crawl up my neck… Miera's neck. My heart did a frantic jump. I stared at Kiera, my jaw dropping.
"Sister! How… How could you possibly know about that? We were alone in the garden!"
Kiera just chuckled, a low, musical sound, and lifted her porcelain cup to her lips. She took a slow, deliberate sip of tea before offering a cryptic wink.
"A sister always knows, Miera. Some secrets are simply written on the air. Besides, you're not nearly as subtle as you think you are."
I sighed, collapsing onto a bench, feeling the absurdity of it all. I had been hiding in the bushes right next to her last night, and somehow, she'd turned my secret surveillance into a source of entertainment.
Halfway through the tea, a distant, boisterous shouting broke the calm. We looked toward the garden and saw a sight that made me smile despite myself.
The Calix brothers… Calix, Constantine, and Cassius… were out on the lawn, accompanied by White. They were playing. And they were playing dodgeball.
It was clearly my influence taking root. They were running, diving, and shouting, treating the game with the same intensity they usually reserved for training.
"They look like they're having fun," Kiera said
Kiera observed, leaning forward to get a better look at the chaos.
"It's a game I introduced, It's called dodgeball. If you're hit, you're out." I said, unable to keep the pride out of my voice.
"Join them, the maids are on break, and the brothers are clearly in need of more targets." I urged Kiera, nodding toward the lawn.
Kiera hesitated, her brow furrowed.
"I don't know the rules, Miera. It looks like a brawl."
"It's simple, three against three. If the ball hits you, you're out. If you catch it, they're out. It's just about speed and focus." I explained, gesturing with my two perfectly functional hands.
Kiera looked at the brothers, then back at me, a competitive fire igniting in her eyes. She stood up, brushing the crumbs from her apron.
"If they think they can hit me, they've got another thing coming."
With a laugh, she marched out of the hut and onto the grass. I watched from the doorway as she boldly walked up to the brothers and White, clearly announcing her entry into the fray. The game was about to get much more interesting, and for the first time, I felt perfectly content to sit on the sidelines and watch the world play by my rules.
The sunlight hit the garden with a golden intensity, turning the grass into a stage for our impromptu game. Kiera and I approached the makeshift court, our footsteps crunching rhythmically on the dry earth.
The Calico brothers…Calix, Constantine, and Cassius… were deep in the throes of a heated volley, their faces flushed and hair windswept. Even White, usually so composed, looked vibrant, her eyes darting across the field with a competitive edge that I hadn't expected to see.
I took a deep breath, settling firmly into the persona of Miera. I softened my posture, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear with a gentle, modest grace, and clasped my hands behind my back.
"Excuse me,"
I called out, my voice pitched to that soft, melodic register Miera used when she was being polite. Then I continued.
"I've finished my chores for the morning. Would it be alright if my sister and I joined in? It looks like you're having quite a lot of fun."
Kiera stepped up beside me, her expression a mix of feigned shyness and genuine curiosity.
"I'm on break as well," she added, giving a small, graceful wave toward the trio and White. She too also continued.
"I'm Kiera, and I must admit, I'm rather intrigued by this 'dodgeball' you've all taken to."
The brothers stopped their game, exchanging surprised glances. Cassius, still wearing that gaudy, ruffled doublet that seemed to defy all laws of fashion, broke into a wide, charming grin.
"Miera! Kiera! The more the merrier! We were just beginning to think we'd have to start drafting the garden gnomes to make the teams even."
Cassius cheered, tossing the ball into the air and catching it with a snap.
Calix leaned on his knees, panting slightly, but he stood up with a welcoming nod.
"By all means, join us. But be warned, Kiera, this game is far more brutal than it looks. We aren't going to go easy on you just because you're guests."
"We wouldn't expect anything less," Kiera retorted, her competitive spark lighting up.
White, standing near the center line, wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek and gestured for us to enter the court.
"Welcome, it is a pleasure to see the staff enjoying a bit of the world's simplicity. Come, take your positions."
White said, her voice warm and inviting.
As I stepped onto the field, feeling the familiar, firm ground beneath Miera's feet, a sense of quiet triumph washed over me. I had successfully integrated myself into the very center of their leisure, moving through the manor like a ghost in a maid's uniform. I held my chin high, my two hands ready for action, and stepped into the game, prepared to prove that a maid's break time could be just as dangerous as any battlefield.
The teams were set, the lines drawn in the dust of the garden. On one side, the Calico brothers. Calix, Constantine, and Cassius are now lined up with the arrogant, playful swagger of men who had never lost a game in their lives.
Opposite to them, our ragtag team of Miera, Kiera, and White stood ready.
As the whistle blew, a sharp, shrill sound that cut through the afternoon air, the match began. A crowd of maids from the nearby hut had gathered, their murmurs of excitement rippling through the garden like a breeze.
I gripped the ball, my Miera-persona fully engaged. I knew I had to be careful; if I played with the ruthless, flawless precision of my own combat style, I'd be exposed immediately. I needed to be clumsy, soft, and distinctly not an adventurer.
I whipped the ball toward Cassius, but I intentionally put a pathetic, wobbling spin on it. It drifted through the air like a dying bird. Cassius, barely breaking a sweat, sidestepped with an easy, mocking grace and scooped the ball up before it even hit the ground. He didn't hesitate, launching it back with pinpoint accuracy. I didn't move. I didn't even flinch. The ball connected with my face with a dull, stinging thwack.
"Gotcha!" Cassius shouted, his grin stretching wide.
Kiera, who had been watching the spectacle, doubled over in a fit of giggles, holding her stomach.
"Oh, Miera! You have the reflexes of a concussed pigeon!"
She was laughing so hard she didn't see the ball Constantine had zipped toward her. It caught her square on the nose, snapping her head back. It was my turn to return the favor. I wiped a smudge of dirt from my cheek and let out a bright, sharp laugh that echoed across the lawn.
"Who's the pigeon now, sister?"
The game dissolved into chaos. We were awful, the brothers were relentless, and the maids on the sidelines were cheering, clearly entertained by our collective incompetence.
But then, I looked at White. She was standing in the center of the court, the only one of our team left, her face a mask of regal, cold-eyed fury. She wasn't laughing. Her posture was razor-sharp, her focus absolute. She looked at the ball, then at the three brothers who were closing in on her, and her expression promised retribution.
She didn't wait for them to throw. She caught a stray ball, her movement so fast it was a blur, and looked at us with a terrifying, competitive intensity.
"Enough of this amateurish display, The game is being played incorrectly. We reset."
White declared, her voice ringing with the authority of a queen in the middle of a war council.
She dropped the ball and looked at the brothers, her eyes flashing.
"A rematch. And this time, if you think you can toy with my team as if we are mere targets, you are sorely mistaken. Pick up the ball. We play again."
The brothers exchanged a look of genuine panic. Even Calix, the boldest of the three, took a half-step back. It was clear that the "fun" part of our break time had just officially ended.
The atmosphere on the garden lawn had shifted. White stood at the center of the line, her eyes glowing with that rare, competitive ferocity that usually heralded a military campaign, not a game of dodgeball. I remained in Miera's skin, but the combat instinct, the part of me that had survived ravines and monsters was starting to itch. I decided to level the playing field. If I took out the brothers, the game would be a fair one-on-one between me and White.
The whistle shrieked.
Kiera, bless her heart, let the ball fly with all the grace of a brick. It sailed ten feet over Cassius's head, vanishing into the hedge. I couldn't help it; the adventurer in me snorted.
"Watch and learn, sister," I teased, my voice a perfect, melodic rendition of Miera's.
I didn't give Calix time to breathe. As the ball bounced back toward me, I snagged it out of the air…two hands, perfect grip, and fired it. It was a low-velocity throw, calculated to look like a lucky shot, but it caught Calix square in the ribs. He let out a surprised grunt and stepped out of bounds.
One down.
Cassius, panicked by his brother's exit, didn't even look at me. He panicked and whipped the ball at White. It was a clumsy, desperate heave, but White moved with the fluid, effortless grace of a silver-ranked adventurer. She didn't just dodge; she danced around the ball, her feet barely touching the grass.
She caught the ball as it passed, her eyes turning cold as she looked at Cassius.
"You're weak, Cassius," she murmured.
With a flick of her wrist, she launched the ball with terrifying speed. It connected with Cassius right in the groin.
He doubled over, his face pale and contorted, gasping out,
"That's mean, Sis..."
I stifled a laugh, my shoulders shaking. But in my distraction, I missed the tell-tale movement of Constantine's arm. The ball caught me right in the shoulder, knocking me off balance and out of the game.
"Got you, Miera!" Constantine cheered.
His victory was short-lived. Kiera, finally finding her rhythm, snatched the ball from the grass and hurled it back with startling precision. It caught Constantine directly in the chest.
Thwack.
"You're out!" Kiera shouted, pumping her fist in the air.
With Constantine gone, the match was over. Our team had won, and the garden erupted in a mix of groans from the brothers and cheers from the watching maids. We were laughing, caught up in the thrill of the victory, when the manor's deep, iron bell began to toll.
The sound dragged me back to reality. Break time was over. The game had been a momentary escape, but the responsibilities of the manor were waiting for Miera.
I wiped the dust from my apron and offered a graceful, modest nod to the group.
"Good game, everyone," I said, my voice gentle and composed.
I turned and headed back toward the stone arches of the manor, leaving the brothers to nurse their bruises and the sisters to their celebrations. As I crossed the threshold into the cool, dim hallway, I felt the familiar weight of the maid's uniform on my shoulders. The game was over, and it was time to get back to work.