Elie had thought that she would agree readily as she was so afraid of pain but surprisingly she shook her head in denial.
"Then find the medicine box in my room. It would be there. You just have to look thoroughly!!" replied Amelia as if that was the only thing to do!
"......." did she even know that her room was so wide and had more than 100 boxes and cupboards. Not to forget other shelves and closets. She had goods that could fill a whole town with clothes and jewels. And she wanted her to check each of them to find the medicine box when Elie could go and bring the medicine box from the kitchen in less than a minute!!?
Is that even a choice to find the box!? But how could she tell all this to her mistress? So, she could only smile awkwardly and nod!
She took a deep sigh as she looked at the fallen things here and there and then started checking the shelves. But it had already passed a long time yet she was only on her third shelf. She was sure the elder miss must have been asleep by then. Now she was not sure whether to make the tea anymore or not.
When she was rummaging the fourth shelf. The door opened with the sound of creaking again. Her eyes intuitively moved towards the door and her face bloomed.
All the maids of the Amelia returned back one by one. They bowed their heads in front of Amelia.
"We apologise for being late," said one.
"Would you like to have evening tea or take a bath first?" all of them started asking for instructors and started serving her professionally. One moved and adjusted her pillows for her. Others went and bought a glass of water, others went and started cutting the fruits for her.
For the first time, Elie noticed the disparity between both sisters. While Amelia was treated better than the royal princess! Hazel worked like a commoner. Most of the time, even before Elie could come, Hazel had already set her bed and prepared her bath. She even refuses to take Elie's assistance while bathing.
She felt guilty for not taking proper care of her mistress and determined to serve Hazel better in the future.
"Umm, young miss!" Elie wanted to ask, now that Amelia's staff was back. Should she leave and continue making her tea?
"Oh my what happened to your ankle!" a maid screamed in a high pitched voice, taking everyone's attention. Then she glared at Elie!
"How could you be so irresponsible? Even if you do not serve the lady anymore, it does not mean that you are not the staff of the palace. You are too presumptuous!'' Elie blinked with surprise after hearing the harsh comments. Other maids also started looking at her as if she had committed a sin.
Though strong willed, Elie had never argued with everyone. She had been silent and bearing when other staff had bullied her in the past. Not even once she replied to them as all of them were senior to her but this time it was the limit.,
The words of the maid were suggesting that she was the reason for Amelia's swollen ankle. That could have been a reason for punishment. She looked at Amelia, hoping that she would clear the misunderstanding, but she stayed silent. In fact, there was a strange smile on her face, which was far from being called kind.
She felt a shiver run down her spine when she saw the smile on Amelia's face. But when she blinked and looked agan, her face was looking normal with that kind smile on her face. Was she having an illusion or was she exhausted or sleepy? Yet the uneasiness she had felt a minute ago did not go away!
"I will personally go to the head maid and complain about you. You need to be taught a lesson!" came the comment of the maid again, bringing Elie's attention back to the present matter.
"My lady, why don't you tell the truth?" asked Elie when all the maids started scorning her. Amelia finally turned to look at her. Her expressions were so complicated that Elie was having a hard time understanding her views.
"Let it be! It is not a big injury. Since you all are back here, I am relieved. Now i am sure i am in good hands.'' The words were ambiguous. As if it was really her mistake that Amelia got an injury. Though Amelia had asked to let Elie go, she not even once said that she was already injured when Elie came in. In fact, Elie was trying to help her!
"My lady, you are too kind. Sometimes I get worried that others would take advantage of your kindness. You should not be so soft hearted towards those who had hurted you and do not be too forgiving towards the staff or they would not treat you well and sack you all the time." came the sound of the other maid.
Elie did not know how she became part of the chaos and suddenly became the bad one here. She was only trying to help and her only mistake was that she was not able to find the first aid box.
A maid moved towards her, and intentionally bumped her shoulders with Elie with a lot of pressure.. She walked past her and took out the first aid box in a swift motion.