Chapter Twenty-Seven - Role Reversal
Carla was taken to the castle. The same castle where she had been working before the foreign invaders disrupted everyone’s life. Ironically, she was given the room that the now defunct princess once inhabited. A guard was placed outside her door so she could not move about freely. However, the staff was free to move about. In fact, they were free to keep doing the things they have always done. The only difference as far as they could tell was that the people that they waited on had changed.
A young woman, whom Carla knew (she knew the entire staff) came in a made a polite bow. Carla was not used to being treated with respect and it made her feel uncomfortable to be given respect by someone that she had worked alongside previously.
“May I get you something miss?” The woman asked. Carla could see the fear in her eyes. It was the same fear they always had, only this time, she was the one they were afraid of.
“Some tea, please.” Carla answered. Carla did not drink tea often so she thought if she had privilege, she might as well have a cup of tea.
“Coming right up miss,” The woman answered and then disappeared out the door. Carla wasn’t sure why she had been singled out like this. She was just a common peasant. Did the man single her out for entertainment purposes? She couldn’t think of any other possibility that made sense. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She would decide when the time came.
It wasn’t long before the woman returned with Carla’s cup of tea. She placed the cup on a sitting table. “Here is your tea, miss.” The woman announced. After a moment, she turned to go.
“Wait.” Carla ordered. The young woman stopped and turned back around to face her,
“I didn’t ask to be singled out.” Carla explained.
“Of course not, miss.” The woman answered politely. Carla could tell the woman was very nervous and wasn’t interested in staying any longer than was necessary. She thought about questioning the woman further but then decided against it.
“You may go.” Carla ordered and having been given permission, the young women left. Carla sat down and took a sip of tea. It tasted wonderful. She sat back and got lost in the experience. However, soon she was done with her tea and didn’t have anything to do so she decided to go to bed. It wasn’t long until she was fast asleep.
Carla woke up the next morning to another young woman staring at her. It was a bit creepy to think this woman was just staring at her while she slept. “Here is your breakfast, miss.” The woman said. Carla sat up and the woman put a tray of eggs and toast on her lap with a glass of water.
“Thank you” Carla answered, still not quite awake yet.
“You’re welcome, miss” The woman said smiling as she left the room. Carla ate her breakfast. Once she was finished, she laid back down and stared at the ceiling. She wondered where Mark was and if he thought about her. She wondered how Gina was getting along as a peasant. She wondered when someone would come a tell her what she was doing in the castle.
The hours went by slowly for Carla. No one came to see her. The guard stood outside her door. She could have escaped anytime she wanted to through the secret passage, but she didn’t do it. There were two reasons why she didn’t, the first reason is because she was curious as to why she was there in the first place and the second reason is that she wanted to indulge in comfort. At least as much comfort as this time could offer. Carla had been spoiled in the future and to go back to being a servant was a thought she didn’t want to bear entertaining.
Sometime in the afternoon, two men came to visit Carla. She recognized one of the men as the one who ordered her to the castle. She didn’t recognize the other one. The other man was old. At least he looked old to Carla. He looked at her intensely. It made Carla extremely uncomfortable. After several minutes of just staring at her. The man spoke.
“She is not the one.” The man announced.
“My apologies, my lord” The man that Carla recognized said, “I know potential and this one has it.”
“You have a gift at appraising people, but you can’t tell if someone has the spark.” The other man said, “She does not have it. The old man gave his spark to someone before he died. I must find out who that person is. Was there anyone else with the Wizard when he died?”
“Yes, there were two boys and a girl.” The man answered.
“We need to find the girl. She is the one who has the spark.” The other man answered.
“What is the spark?” Carla asked. She knew it was impolite to interrupt but curiosity got the better of her.
“The spark, my dear, is the ability to use magic. You either have it or you don’t. Now who was the other girl with you in the cave?” The man asks. Carla swallowed hard. She didn’t want to give Gina up but if she lied, she was pretty sure this guy could tell.
“It was the princess.” Carla answered, “The princess was the other girl in the cave.” The man studied Carla. He could not detect any deception in her.
“My Lord, the princess was apprehended this morning.” The man Carla recognized said.
“Are you sure?” The other man asked.
“Yes, she had on the same clothing as last night.” The first man answered.
“Then I must see her.” The other man said.”
“What should we do with this one?” The first man asked.
“She will our guest and stay where she is, after all, you are right about her potential.” The other man said smiling.