Cinder X Bella ~ Three!

The night was filled with fitful sleep, both from her sudden, shining hope as well as dread filling the pit of her stomach. She knew there would be ramifications for causing her father to be humiliated, but Bella hoped the remainder of the evening had gone well and smoothly after she left. “Perhaps he won't be all that angry.”

She woke up too early to leave her room and hummed a funeral dirge for herself as she dressed and made herself ready for the day. Letting out a satisfied sigh at the same time her stomach wambled to inform her she’d been awake too long without eating, Bella turned toward the door… and paused. An extremely fluffy mouse was staring at her, trying to understand what she was trying to communicate with her song.

“Hello, Mert. I wasn't calling you, I was only feeling sorry for myself.” The mouse scurried a few feet closer, then he sat down and stared up at her, waiting for more. After a moment of contemplation, Bella shrugged and decided now was as good a time as any to practice her skills. Matteo had been planning to leave early this morning, so she decided to give her father another half an hour to decompress before leaving her room and going down. “Let's see if I can teach you to waltz, Mert. Step forward with your left foot, right foot sideways to the right. Left foot to the right foot…”

She began to hum, performing the steps herself to show the rodent how it was done. Watching the tiny creature attempt to follow along was quite comical, and it continuously fell over itself as it tried to complete the orders she was sending into its mind, thanks to her Perfected Animal Communication Basic Skill. “Don't worry, I know you understand what I want you to do. Maybe go and practice those for a while on your own, as I'm quite certain I’ll be busy for the entire day.”

Mert nodded frantically and scampered away, vanishing in an instant. Bella watched him with amusement before walking to the door and stepping out. “I suppose it's time to face the music. Might as well get it over with.”

She glanced down at the faded blue dress she had chosen to wear that morning, once more humming the gallows tune as she descended the stairs, though this time, she specifically imbued the music with the desire for all small creatures to remain hidden. Even so, dozens of tiny pairs of eyes peeked out at her from their hiding spots, which she’d become familiar with over the years. Reaching the landing, Bella rolled her shoulders back, raised her chin slightly, and knocked gently on the door of her father's study.

With her myriad chores, she knew it was possible for her to avoid him for the better part of the morning, but with how dinner had ended, how she had acted, Bella knew she would rather get this over with than spend the day sick to her stomach wondering what her punishment would be. Her father's solemn voice came through the sturdy door immediately. 

“Enter.”

Trying not to show her fear, Bella twisted the handle and smoothly stepped into the room. It was only as she glimpsed out his window that Bella realized it was a dark, gloomy day outside. The study was even darker, with the fireplace having not yet been lit. Then her father's visage caught her attention, and she couldn't look away. Unlike his usual mannerisms, right now he wasn’t finishing his work or fiddling with paper. Instead, he was staring at her, chin over his steepled fingers, as though he were trying to decide what to say.

“Father, I wanted to apologize for my behavior-”

“Not now, Bella. Sit.” As she slowly slid into the seat, her father began without further preamble. “As of this morning, I have released both Mia and Henry from our service. They took their daughter with them to find work at the Baron's estate, so you won't need to worry about Sienna’s taunts any longer. Signor Corretto generously offered to allow them to travel with him. I'm hopeful this change will allow you to better focus on the tasks I assign you. Now, please promptly inform me in the future if any of the servants are speaking above their station, instead of allowing for a repeat offense.”

“Father, please give me a chance to speak.” Bella barely got started before Alaric held up a hand to silence her, though he paused upon realizing she was being polite and motioned for her to continue. “You know I respect your decisions for the household. I also believe that, if we do not guide our decisions with compassion, we could find ourselves in a situation which could have been resolved much more easily. Dismissing our servants so abruptly disrupts their lives, but it may impact us even harder.” 

“That child mocked you. For following my orders.” The lord of the house growled into the gloomy room. “This was a direct attack on my authority, and I’ll not stand for insubordination. Not in my house. I have no doubt her words were what led you to lash out at dinner, and now I'm certain it won't happen again. Will it?”

“But… that wasn’t-”

“Will. It?” Her father's hand slapped down on the desk, and Bella clenched her mouth and shook her head. “Good. Now, do not interrupt me again. I will think on what you've said. You've grown much, Bella… perhaps more than I've realized. You can certainly argue eloquently.”

Silence stretched between them for a moment, and she looked on with hopeful eyes as his words hung in the air like a dense fog. 

“Yet… I don't know if that is a good thing or not. So, until I know for certain, there will be some further changes in the house. First, we are now three servants down and would have been four, if Cook hadn't threatened to leave if I sent Giada with them as well. Even so, I've reassigned Giada the younger to tend to the chores outside of the household—Henry's previous responsibilities—and have ordered her not to speak with you. I am done having your head filled with unnecessary children's stories. You are growing into a fine young lady, and it is time you start acting as an adult would.”

After waiting a moment to ensure he’d finished speaking, Bella, reeling from the consequences of arguing with her father, finally found a way to ask, “How are we supposed to manage the manor without-”

“You. I noticed your displeasure with me yesterday and how you ignored the rest of your tasks for the day under the assumption that someone else would take care of them for you.” Alaric pulled out a paper then a small pen knife, and began sharpening a quill. “It has come to my attention that you have too much time on your hands. Perhaps you have been fixating on things you've been ordered not to? Skills which are beneath your station, perhaps? Well… since you seem to insist upon forging your own path, I will make sure you have very busy hands.”

“I haven't been…” Bella trailed off, the ring of falsehood in her words clear to even her own ears. Her hands balled up into fists, and she went silent while glaring at him.

“As I thought,” Alaric growled without bothering to meet her eyes. “There are plenty of things around the estate which are beneath your station yet will not bring shame to our household, if you try your hand at them. So long as you are not seen by your peers, that is. To start with, you will complete the dusting, sweeping, and mopping each day. Twice a week, you will clean and press the laundry.” 

“You can't be serious-”

 Alaric barreled onward, speaking slightly louder to drown her out. “Each weekday, you will report to the kitchen after dinner and assist Cook in cleaning the dishes. On Saturdays, you will learn to cook. If I find you still have idle hands, we will increase that workload, as needed. Don't forget to keep up with your standard household management tasks in your notebook, or you will have additional duties added on.”

Bella stared at her father, jaw having dropped well before he finished speaking. He saw this and shook his head, motioning toward the door. “I hear there is great pride in completing hard work. Perhaps, by the time I return, you will have decided following my orders is a far lesser burden than the tedium of tasks below your station.”

“You’re leaving? How… how long do I have to do this for?”

“I'll be leaving upon the morrow,” Alaric stated lightly. “I spoke with Matteo late into the night, and he impressed upon me the need for you to have a maternal guide in these vital years before you reach marriageable age. He blatantly shilled the information of a suitable widow a month's ride from here who may be amenable to a union.”

“You’re leaving to get married?” Bella nearly sank to the floor, only her pride refusing to allow her to swoon like some of her peers were known to do. “Father, I'll… I’ll listen. Please, don't change our whole lives just because I-”

“Certainly. All I need from you is a binding oath to the system that you will renounce your class as a Beast Singer. Perhaps, if I know you no longer have access to the skills I’ve forbidden, we can put an end to this, instead of disrupting our lives further.”

Alaric stared at her, and several minutes passed as Bella’s mind furiously worked. 

“No? I guess we both have our answer, then. Perhaps the issue we've been having is the fact that there have not been proper consequences for your failings. That ends today. You are dismissed, and I would recommend breaking your fast and getting to work. Sleep will not be allowed until your new duties are completed.”

The young woman stepped out of the study, her gaze hollow as she walked toward the kitchen as if marching to the gallows. “No Mia to do my hair, no Sienna or Giada to speak my mind with. I'm meant to do the chores? When am I supposed to find the time to read, sew, paint? If I don't manage those as well, Father will tell me I won’t be able to marry well and make my burden even heavier.”

Another thought struck her just then. Her father would be gone for at least two months. If she simply ran for it, making her way to a Class Shrine on her own, perhaps she could unlock a powerful skill which would allow her to make her own way in life or gain an apprenticeship under some Meister. “Could I leave it all behind? Or… would one of the servants come after me and drag me back here, kicking and screaming?”

They lived well into the countryside, and a journey to a Class Shrine meant at least a multi-hour ride just to get to a city with a shrine, not to mention getting inside. “Where would I get enough money to pay for access? Maybe they’d just let me sneak in?”

Every Class Shrine was heavily guarded to ensure people with darker bents–such as thieves and the like, who’d twisted the gifts from the system into something villainous–couldn't become even more dangerous and powerful by increasing their class. Anyone who wanted to gain access needed to allow a guard to inspect the status on their arm, as well as offering them a donation so they would take the time to do so. Until now, Bella had always thought this was perfectly acceptable, but now it was working against her.

“Maybe… maybe having a new mother wouldn't be so bad? A stepmother, not my mother,” she hastily amended as she walked by her mother's portrait, which seemed to be staring at her. “Perhaps Father will be happier? Maybe I don't need Mia, in order to have someone who would braid my hair and buy me dresses which work with my skin tone? What if she insists on letting me upgrade my class? If both of us are working together, maybe Father won't be able to say no!” 

The happy daydream caused her to hum as she walked along, her steps growing stronger as she approached the kitchen. A few mice ran alongside her, and a bird *smacked* into the window as she passed it. Bella winced at that, but there was nothing she could do about it now. “I suppose I might as well use the time he's gone to put full effort into increasing my skills. I'll never renounce my class, no matter how much work I need to do, so I might as well make it as powerful as possible before he figures out what I'm doing.”

She had two months before her father would be returning. So much could change in that amount of time, and hopefully it would be more than enough for him to forget his anger. “Even if I'm only a servant in this house for now, I have my room and my own space. Not as many servants means fewer people to report on what I'm doing.”

Her mind was made up, so Bella burst into the kitchen with powerful strides, barely remembering in time to send the mice scurrying away. The servants looked over at the noise, startled at the abrupt entrance. 

“Aria, I'm here for breakfast, then to learn whatever you have to teach me.”