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Five

Duties

Her

She tossed and turned around her bed. She finds herself in a dark room with several demons, each holding a whip of thorns. Mist gathered and the orphidrils held her hands tight, with no way to move.

Suddenly, Eva appeared,

"Escaping Austeria is not an option, Adrianna. Do not run away from your destiny!"

Soon, everything around her dissolved into the air and she was alone again.

Adrianna turned around, screaming her lungs out.

"What do you expect me to do? I don't even know what task I'm to fulfill!"

Her voice only echoed, expanding her frustration.

"Come back, Eva! Tell me what to do."

Her voice echoed. Tears fell from her eyes, tears linked with frustration.

"Ugh!"

Adrianna hit the walls with frustration.

"Get me out of this hell, please."

She hit the walls again,

"Take me back home, Eva. I don't want to be a legend again. I want to go back to the comfort of my home. Take me back! "

"You can't run from your destiny, " An echo was heard.

She fell to the ground, frustrated at the core.

"Please. Take me back home. I have nobody here I can trust. It's impossible, I can't do this. I quit. Please, take me back home."


"Take me back home, " she continued to whisper.

"Wake up, Adrianna, " the voices started, but they were too low to wake Adrianna up from her deep sleep. Tears streamed down her eyes.

"I want to go home, please," she continued.

"Wake up, Adrianna! " A voice screamed, making her jerk off the misty bed.

"What's wrong?" She asked the dangling eyes. Adrianna tried to control her heart but it was still fast. Her eyes still had tears in them.

"You skipped your chore yesterday, right? They're waiting for you - plus the ones for today."

Adrianna's eyes widened. It was like things became worse every minute.

"But, I didn't intentionally skip the work. Rokella relieved me from it."

"You had every chance to object but you still went with a mere concubine. Did you forget you were punished by the King himself? "

"How could I know? "

"Oh well, the more time you complain, the more time you waste. In thirty minutes, breakfast will not be served again. "

The eyes left and Adrianna had no choice but to follow. The day before, after Rokella relieved her from her duty, she had the rest of the day to herself. She decided to navigate her room with her fireball and found a bathing area and a small restroom. She also found a box with several clothes, all her size - but rags. She wore them anyway. She decided to take a shower - even with the black water. She was already used to drinking it. It tasted like the normal water.

After taking her bath and eating the food Rokella's maid had brought for her, she decided to explore the palace but the doors did not let her dissolve like before.

Adrianna then understood that the only way she could escape the palace was if she was already outside her chambers.

The day's work was twice as hard for Adrianna. She was only able to finish washing the dishes before midnight. Plus, according to the next day's schedule, she was required to clean the floors of the main palace. Therefore, she was called to stand up nearly thirty minutes after she retired to bed. She went willingly, thinking it may be a good sign to meet Rainier and probably put some sense into him.

"The goal is to place the rag on the water and bend down to clean the floors. Your job tomorrow is to mop the walls like you did the floors. Don't touch any creature you find. They may bite."

Throughout, she mopped through all the floors, looking eye to eye for any royal room she may find. She retired to bed with a failed attempt and exhaustion.

The next morning, she went again, scrubbing the walls and secretly going to different rooms, but to no avail. She retired to bed annoyed and equally frustrated.

On the fourth day, she was finally sent to clean the floors of the royal quarters.

She searched room by room but all she met was emptiness. She found a room that intrigued her,

"Where are you going?"

She instantly turned in fear. She found a man. He had a physique like Rainier but looked different. His eyes were as black as coal. Adrianna noticed that all the demons found dressing like a human to be normal.

"Oh. I was sent here to clean the palace floors."

"Your duties end here. You do not get the chance to clean Prince Lucifer's chambers. And don't you dare think of going near King Deville's chambers? You may not survive it. "

Adrianna was certain that wasn't a threat - it was a warning.

"Sorry. I thought I could clean everywhere in this vicinity."

His eyes lowered, looking at Adrianna suspiciously,

"What do you identify as?"

Adrianna was confused, what was he talking about?

"Excuse me?"

"What do you identify as? I haven't seen you before and I can easily guess you're a new maid. As the chief commander of the army, I am entitled to know."

Adrianna cleared her throat, not knowing how to answer. Were there any other beings apart from demons in Austeria?

"I'm human." She replied, not knowing how he'd react.

He laughed, his laughter echoing on every corner. Then he gave her a resounding slap she could swear she saw her end.

"Are you a spy? You tell me right now!" He screamed, strangling her neck. Adrianna cursed the day she met Rainier.

"I swear, I'm not a spy. I married Prince Rainier and he brought me here." Adrianna managed to speak. He released his hands immediately, looking through her eyes. She fell on the floor, trying to breathe.

"Liar! No one has heard about the Prince's marriage."

" I'm Princess Adrianna of Lebington." She only said. Adrianna's eyes were already watery and she coughed to free her lungs from the pain from his tight grip.

"Why are you here? I'll ask you one last time." He drew out his heavy sword and pointed it at her neck.

"You can kill me all you want. My life's been damaged already. I have said everything I wanted to say. I was brought by Rainier - or Lucifer to this palace and used for revenge. You can ask him yourself. "

She stayed on the floor, not minding that the strange man's weapon was pointed at her.

Suddenly, the messenger's eyes came to Adrianna's rescue.

"Commander Ajax, she's telling the truth. I sent her up here to clean the walls. Prince Lucifer kept her under my command."

"So, she is the Prince's wife? "

"Yes, commander."

"Why then, should he subject his wife to such cruelty? "

"That, I do not know. "

Ajax looked at the both of them suspiciously, then put his sword back in place.

"I'll look into this. The moment I find anything false about this, you will both be punished." He turned and left.

The eyes met Adrianna still on the floor, annoyed that Ajax did not just end her life like he promised. Now, she would have to continue living a life of torture."

"Stand up, would you? You still have a long way to go. "

Adrianna stood up, picking up her rag.

"I'll speak to the maid in charge of the duty roaster. Your name will be removed from cleaning to only Washing dishes."

"But... "

Adrianna wanted to object, to beg the eyes. She wanted to tell it that her work was her only chance of meeting Rainier and speaking to him. Her tongue was tied, and no words came out. Tears only flooded her cheek.

"Go on, continue. You won't be able to work when morning comes fully."

Adrianna still wondered why their morning was darker than the night, and no one bothered about it, except her.

The eyes left her alone.

If she was transferred into dishwashing only, she'd never meet Rainier again.

"But, it will be unfair to the other servants who enjoy changing shifts. I can stick to cleaning the other quarters except this one. That way, it will only cause a mild inconvenience to those involved."

The eyes reasoned,

"Alright, I will speak with the head maid. You have an hour to conclude this work before morning comes. "

The eyes left and Adrianna was back to her thoughts.

If she was made to only wash dishes, her whole life would be a circle. She'd rather escape than witness such a thing happen to her.

"Your duties end here. You do not get the chance to clean Prince Lucifer's chambers. And don't you dare think of going near King Deville's chambers? You may not survive it."

She remembered Commander Ajax's words. That only meant she was close to Rainier or Deville's chambers. Since nobody she could see was nearby, she decided to go further.

However, a large force pulled her back and threw her down.

"Access denied," a voice spoke.

Great. She was denied access to meet her husband.

"I tried, Eva, but I can't do it anymore. I'm escaping this hellhole." She soliloquized, frustrated.

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