Page 6 of Facade

Hidden within a wall of bricks sat a large tub of water and a petite woman, a little older than me, sitting there with her skirts hitched up, legs braced on either side. Her auburn braids swung side to side as she scrubbed the plate in her hand. Sure enough, there on the ground lay a large stack of dirty dishes. Ugh.

“Hey, Sarah. Astrid said to help you.” I flipped an empty bucket over and sat across from her.

She looked me up and down, nose wrinkling.

“I guess you’ll do,” she huffed, setting her dish in a clean pile before looking up at me. “This is just ridiculous. Astrid won’t let me use the sink inside because she says it’s backed up. But you want to know what I saw? She was using it!” She glowered at the kitchen, clucking her tongue. “The old bat just wants us all to suffer because she has a lot to do.” Sarah’s mocking tone made me cast a glance back at the door.

She had already turned her attention back to the pile.

“Plus, it’s only the Queen here, and this—” she gestured dramatically at the tub—“is the number of dishes we have? It’s not even like the few ladies she keeps around here eat much anyway! Have you seen them eat? Well, I have, and I’m pretty sure they eat a leaf of lettuce, and that’s it. Not to mention this isn’t even my job. Blair was supposed to finish this yesterday. I swear you lot are going to be the death of me,” she hissed.

Sarah was human like me. She’d grown up here as so many other human children had, though she was more comfortable around the Fae than most. She adapted to life here a hell of a lot better than I ever would.

According to her, she impressed Astrid with her knowledge of Fae culture and her culinary skills, so they allowed her to work here permanently. While we may both be human, there wasn’t exactly a friendship between us. When she talked to me, it was only when no one else was around, and it wasn’t out of kindness or a feeling of friendship. No, she just really enjoyed gossiping and showing off her knowledge. I knew better than to let my guard down with her.

“I don’t even know why they have you out there with those girls. They’re a bunch of delinquents sold here by their lowlife parents who couldn’t afford their debts. I know you came here from somewhere else, and there’s some mystery about your family, blah, blah, blah, but you don’t seem the type to be stuck out there.” She grabbed another dish. I followed suit.

“My family also sold me to pay their debts. So it looks like I’m right at home,” I replied, barely containing my snark, as I strenuously scrubbed a platter. She raised a brow.

“Well, when you first arrived, I just assumed you’d be stationed in the castle. The Queen only allows the most beautiful Fae to work inside. And in the past, if a human were beautiful enough, then they too would get the honor to work over there.” I fought a scoff at that odious view.

“Then one day, Queen Valentina changed her mind, just like that,” she snapped her fingers, eyes grave, “and it all changed—no more humans, only two ladies’ maids and the Witch. You’re certainly almost as beautiful as the Fae. If not more. You would have definitely ended up in the castle.”

The plate slipped from my hands, clattering to the ground.

“Watch it,” she barked.

I muttered an apology, picked it up, and washed it again. I should be flattered she compared me to the Fae; my face scrunched instead.

“Don’t be so dramatic. I meant that as a compliment,” she scowled. I kept my head down, my lips pressed together. Keep your mouth shut and head down, I chanted.

“I swear, she used to treat it like a game.” She continued, flicking suds everywhere. “To find the prettiest of beings and collect them so that her entire staff here would be beautiful. Never really finished that goal though, did she?” Sarah looked to me for an answer, sighing at my silence. “Conceited. That’s what she is. Conceited and bored. I think she needs a male—”

“Sarah,” my gaze instantly snapped to her, “be careful. You never know who’s listening.” I scanned the area before I settled back into my task.

Sarah may not be my friend, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see her punished for making a foolish comment like that out in the open. Besides, I would undoubtedly be punished alongside her, and I had no intention of having a date with Cressida in the dungeons again.

Sarah talked openly whenever we worked together. If she were in a good mood, she’d educate me on the different realms, the history of monarchs, and the past wars, like the one that eradicated the Gargoyles in the Western Realm.

“If you mean the Witch bitch, then who cares?” she retorted. Her gaze drifted to my exposed wrists and the patterns of ink.

“We both know that bitch is powerful and has spies everywhere.” I tugged my sleeves down with a pointed look at her. She cleared her throat, shifting her focus back to the chore at hand.

One Witch Sister presided over each realm. That’s what Sarah had told me. Cressida was here in the Eastern Realm, Samara in the Northern Realm, Griselda in the Southern Realm, and then the missing Witch, Aniah, in the Western Realm. While lesser Witches lived throughout our world, the Four Sisters were the most powerful. Each Sister’s magic maintained a critical aspect of balance between the kingdoms, from mediating for clashing rulers to advising them. Their powers were meant to preserve harmony and enforce order among the beings, promoting equality between the lands.

Cressida was the most powerful of the Four. All of the Sisters were recognizable by their inked skin and fire-like eyes. I’d only heard stories of the two remaining Sisters and that they didn’t have nearly as many tattoos as Cressida. Each tattoo on their skin came from a curse they’d cast. No one has casted as many as Cressida.

The Coven Council—four ancient Witches that the Four Sisters answered to—was almost a kingdom of their own. They’d been chosen long ago to broker peace among the realms, and were supposed to keep the Sisters in check, but it doesn’t really seem like they’re all that involved to me.

Horns blasted in the distance, startling us out of our work.

“That’s odd. I hadn’t heard of anyone coming here,” Sarah murmured, craning her neck toward the narrow alley, where beings passed by, excitedly making their way to the gate.

I shrugged. “Astrid said they received word last night that some of the King’s guard were coming here.”

“Ooh, I wonder if the Shadow Stalkers are with them!” She stood and smoothed out her crumpled dress. “The King didn’t let the Queen take any of them when she moved here. I don’t get excited about much these days, but have you seen the King’s Shadow Stalkers?”

My brow arched as I shook my head. From the whispers I heard about the cruelty of the King, it was a miracle he let the Queen live here at all. The thought of him letting her take any of the Shadow Stalkers was just laughable based on the gossip that flitted about this place. Especially as she had moved here the moment she provided an heir.