Two people walk outside amid vast greenery, an almost calculated grace about their movements, drawing attention and admiration from passerby. One, a ten years old elven girl with long, platinum-blonde hair and pale blue eyes, and the other, a late-30s-looking elven woman dressed in a maid outfit.
The girl stops at a line of hedges, marking the innermost region of the expansive public garden pavilion they're visiting. She calmly turns to the maid, her voice betraying no emotion.
"Wait here, Maya. Don't be alarmed if I stay slightly longer today...Father will return from his business trip to Lady Tessa's estate tomorrow." (Alto)
The maid nods politely.
"Understood, Miss Silver." (Maya)
Alto gives a departing nod before calmly walking into the inner garden. A couple minutes later, she's looking around a space full of roses, flowing water, and small trees with colorful leaves. In the center of the space, there's an ornate stone bench, seating a brown-haired elven girl about twelve years old. The girl is wearing a floral dress made of cheaper cotton fabric, her legs kicking playfully beneath her as she looks around with a carefree expression.
Seeing the girl, Alto's cold expression cracks, her eyes warming as the corner of her mouth turns up slightly.
For the past few weeks, Alto's father has been on another extended business trip, leaving her alone on their estate with the house staff. As the owner and operator of the Silver Medallion Trading Company, a major, multi-faceted mercantile entity with general stores or other business ventures in almost every city in the Elven Kingdom, him taking frequent trips of this length has been a hallmark of Alto's childhood.
However, she doesn't mind. On the contrary, she looks forward to his trips now...it's the only time she really gets to relax and enjoy herself. Of course, even in her parents' absence, she doesn't have much control over her life and schedule...they make sure of that. It's still the same dense schedule of private tutoring, etiquette training, and extracurricular business lessons to prepare her for taking over the company, only broken up by meals and a two hour free period her father calls 'enrichment'.
Naturally, this window of time is not truly 'free' for her, being granted for her enjoyment. Instead, it's more like a silent test, where she selects some activity or skill to develop, while her parents judge her choice. Just a way for them to train her to use any free time she gets in the future to better serve her suitability as heir to their company.
So, historically, she's only been able to pick activities that she can justify as enlightening or useful, and only until they stop contributing to her growth as heiress. She can learn to play a musical instrument, if it's framed as a way to help network with wealthy people interested in the arts, but only until her skill reaches a passable level. She can visit a park or restaurant, if it offers some value in appearing cultured to locals of importance, or in understanding markets or consumer habits, but only once...after that it becomes indulgence.
The one exception to this unspoken rule? Her parents' frequent business trips, when they don't monitor her day-to-day enrichment choices. During these times, as long as she manages enough variety and progress to satisfy her father's curiosity with summaries upon his return, she can afford a little 'indulgence'. She can, for example, come to the same public garden repeatedly, every few days, even.
That's exactly what she's been doing ever since she met this girl, Belle, on her second day here. She was just admiring the exotic red flowers that day, enjoying their scent and relishing in her ability to visit somewhere 'frivolous' a second time, when Belle appeared beside her out of nowhere. The girl was bubbling with enthusiasm about the plants, and Alto ended up listening to an almost fifteen minute rant about the medicinal applications of the aromatic red flower she was admiring.
And she loved every second of it.
From the unrestrained way Belle conducted herself, unlike the other wealthy or noble children that Alto's parents facilitate supervised play dates with, to the amount of time and care Belle had obviously put into her passion. It all elicited equal parts admiration and envy in Alto. She couldn't help but spend the nearly two hours she had available walking around the garden, listening to Belle recite volumes of information about the various exotic plants.
When the end of her enrichment time inevitably came and she announced her departure to Belle, she was enthused to learn that the girl's parents were caretakers at the garden, and she frequents it that time of day as a result.
So, over the past several weeks, she's made many more trips to the gardens to enjoy talking with Belle...far more than she's ever indulged in before. At first, they – or rather, Belle – just talked about plants, but with time their discussions evolved...foods they liked, visitors to the garden that they found interesting or funny, even their secret wishes they'd never told others. As they continued to bond during Alto's visits, at the rapid, carefree pace that only children can, she found herself smiling genuinely for the first time in years, even relearning what her own laugh sounds like.
Somewhere along the way, Alto realized...she considers Belle a friend. The only person other than Maya – her maid, and a woman literally fifty times her age – that she can trust and talk somewhat freely with. Someone that she doesn't want to stop seeing for a month, two, or however many until her parents' next business trip. She already knows that bringing someone of Belle's 'status' to visit her would not be allowed by her parents. So, upon her last visit to the gardens a couple days ago, she carefully planned a way for her and Belle to continue seeing each other.
Three days after her final visit today – Belle will meet her during her enrichment time at a new, nearby restaurant she's been wanting to try, and she'll pay for both of them to eat while they hang out. From there, they can plan the next meeting time and place based on what Alto's enrichment schedule allows.
Alto walks towards the girl with steps a little faster than before, her heart beating that much quicker with a faint excitement she rarely feels. When she's a couple meters behind the girl, she speaks, her voice measured but pleasant.
"Belle...how have you been?" (Alto)
As she calls out to Belle, she can't help but be filled with anticipation remembering their plan, and a rare smile finally breaks through on her face. The brown-haired girl turns at the sound of Alto's voice, her chocolate-brown eyes widening in recognition.
However, unlike every other day before, Belle doesn't greet her with the exuberant, carefree smile that she's come to expect and appreciate. Instead, the girl is distinctly nervous, her puffy, bloodshot eyes struggling to meet Alto's.
Alto takes a hesitant step towards her, her voice more fragile than it's been in a while.
"Belle...is everything okay?" (Alto)
Hearing Alto's question, Belle winces, her bottom lip trembling. When Alto finally manages to cajole Belle into meeting her gaze, she can already see the moisture beading in the corners of the girl's eyes. As if unable to hold back any longer, Belle immediately breaks into sobs, causing the pit in Alto's stomach to worsen.
"Sobs...Alto, I'm sorry, I...sobs...I can't...sobs...Mom and Dad...sobs..." (Belle)
Through the tears, Belle eventually manages to explain why she's upset. Yesterday, the owner of the gardens came to her house, wanting to talk to her parents. Apparently, he told them that there were complaints of Belle 'imposing' on other children in the gardens, especially those from 'proper' families. The owner warned Belle's parents that, if it continued, he'd be forced to let them go, lest he offend anyone 'troublesome'.
Almost as soon as she finishes explaining, Belle practically runs from their cozy spot in the inner garden, still in tears. All Alto can do is stare after her, a lifeless look in her eyes. She doesn't know how many minutes she stands there, awash in feelings of shock, loss, anger, despair...and guilt. Because she knows what happened. She suspected it as soon as she saw that look on Belle's face...the same one she saw on the face of a maid's son that she was too friendly with over a year ago.
Her parents must have learned about her repeated visits to the gardens, about Belle, and they took steps to make sure she didn't 'ruin' her reputation as the Silver family heiress by associating with her 'lessers'. Just like last time. The difference now is, she just can't understand how.
'It...it doesn't make any sense. I learned my lesson. I was careful. I waited until they were gone on an extended trip. I interspersed my repeat visits with "acceptable" enrichment activities. I never mentioned Belle to anyone. I made up alternative destinations to mention offhand to the house staff. I even had the carriage driver drop me off at decoy locations nearby!'
As she racks her brain for an explanation, she's struck by a sudden realization that nearly stops her heart. There's only one person who she couldn't deceive entirely...someone who knew every time she came to the gardens, who stayed close enough to her to potentially catch a glimpse of her with Belle...and worst of all, it's someone she thought she could trust.
Alto makes her way out of the inner garden, her heart even heavier than when Belle fled in tears. Her maid, Maya, spots her exiting and approaches, giving a polite nod.
"Welcome back, Miss Silver. I trust your visit was to your liking. Are you ready to-" (Maya)
"Was it you?" (Alto)
Alto cuts her off, her voice cold, even by her normal standards. Maya's expression falters, her voice becoming slightly strained.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you-" (Maya)
"Liar..." (Alto)
Alto's gaze snaps to her maid abruptly, a trace of anger causing her voice to crack. Maya's eyes widen in surprise, taking in Alto's pale blue eyes...eyes full of something awfully close to hatred. Eyes that are, for the first time in years, spilling quiet tears.
Maya's face pales at the sight.
"Miss Silver, I beg your pardon?" (Maya)
Alto purses her lips thoughtfully as she glances away from her maid, her voice now carrying a bitterness too tragic for her age.
"You know...as much as you all love to go on and on about me being a prodigy, shoving tutors, lessons, and expectations down my throat like they're fresh air, you sure are treating me like I'm stupid. As if, just because I'm ten, I can't logically assess how information about me must spread. But so be it...
"If you want to play dumb, to lie to me, then I guess it's like Father always says, right? Poor commoners aren't my friends, they're a resource, yes? To be kept around only as long as they're useful. So, I wonder..." (Alto)
Alto glances back at Maya, her voice distinctly hostile.
"How useful do you think a liar is to me?" (Alto)
The abrasive comment finally shatters Maya's composed facade, her expression morphing to one full of pain and desperation, her voice becoming frantic and broken.
"Miss Silver, please don't say that! Your repeat visits to this place were one thing to keep secret, but if your father had found out about that girl, and it wasn't from me...you don't understand how much I need this job!" (Maya)
Maya begins shedding quiet tears of her own, her guilt and remorse clear for anyone to see. Yet, Alto's jaw just sets more firmly...she's entirely too hurt, too trapped in her own life, to be worrying about the nuance of her maid's betrayal.
"Then you should have thought more before betraying me like this, Maya. Because if you had kept your mouth shut, there's only a chance Father would have found out and fired you. But now that you've stabbed me in the back like this, while acting like I could trust you? After you've helped put poor Belle and her family through this? When you continue to lie about it all?
"Well, now I'm going to make sure you lose your job, Maya. Not just as my maid, or even at our house...that's easy. The nice thing about Father's elitist attitude is that he would never make me keep interacting with some maid that upset me. Instead, I'll rely on the other predictable thing about Father...how everything has a price, a path for negotiation.
"So, know this, Maya. I don't care what I have to leverage, to bargain away, or even to threaten, I'm going to make sure you can never get a job with anyone even remotely associated with the Silver Medallion Trading Company as long as you live. That's the price...for taking away the first friend I've ever really had, and both of the people I thought I could trust." (Alto)
She doesn't wait to hear Maya's pleas, or take another look at her former maid's face...she's already been saddened enough today. Felt enough guilt, too. So, she just begins walking towards the rendezvous point with the carriage driver alone, ignoring the heart-wrenching sobs now audible behind her.
*****