Chapter 129: Ordinary
Lucrezia disguised it with another smile, though this one didn’t quite reach her eyes. Nalia smiled, and for a few moments, the two of them continued down the passage in comfortable silence.
They passed a small window overlooking the eastern courtyard. The snow had begun to fall more heavily, gathering along the stone ledges and covering the narrow paths below. Beyond the courtyard, the mountains disappeared into a thick curtain of mist.
Lucrezia slowed. Something about the view unsettled her.
It was not the snow or the darkness. It was the sense of distance. Blackvale seemed isolated from the rest of the world, sealed away behind its mountains and ancient protections.
She wondered how easily someone could disappear here. Or how easily something could enter without anyone noticing.
The thought brought her back to the conversation with Nalia. "Have the servants ever seen the... phantoms?" Her voice was quiet when she asked.
Nalia’s steps faltered. Her forehead furrowed deeply. "Why do you ask?"
Lucrezia kept her gaze on the window. "I heard they appeared near the grounds. I wondered whether anyone had seen them."
"Oh." Nalia looked toward the courtyard. "Not that I know of. The guards have been talking about them, but we haven’t been allowed near the western boundary."
That piqued her interest. "Were there any attacks?" She asked, her curiosity gradually increasing.
Nalia shook her head. "Not on the servants, no."
Lucrezia nodded slowly.
She wanted to ask more. She wanted to know how many phantoms there had been, whether anyone had been injured, and whether Vaeron had been among those fighting them. But she stopped herself.
Nalia was a servant, not an informant. And if she had heard anything useful, it would be unwise to make her suspicious by asking too many questions.
Besides, Lucrezia had already learned that the people of Blackvale were careful with information. Even Greed, who had given her a book full of history, had left out more than he had revealed.
"I’m sorry," she said. "I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable."
"You haven’t." Nalia gave her a reassuring glance. "I’m only surprised. Most people would rather not speak about the phantoms."
"Most people?"
"Some of the maids are convinced they’re going to come through the walls," She rolled her eyes, though not unkindly. "One of them refuses to sleep without a candle burning. Another has started keeping a kitchen knife beneath her pillow."
Lucrezia’s brows lifted. "A kitchen knife?"
"Apparently, she believes she can fight a phantom with it."
She didn’t think through it when she said, "That seems rather optimistic."
"That’s what I told her."
Lucrezia didn’t expect that response. They exchanged another quiet laugh.
By the time they reached the eastern wing, Lucrezia felt some of the tension in her shoulders begin to ease. The passage opened into a smaller corridor lined with simple wooden doors.
A few servants moved between them, carrying baskets or speaking in low voices. One woman looked up when she saw Lucrezia, then immediately curtsied before hurrying away.
She could hardly blame them.
Nalia led her to a door near the end of the corridor. "This is mine."
She balanced the basket against her hip and pushed the door open.
The room was small, just as she had promised. A narrow bed stood against one wall, covered with a neatly folded wool blanket. Beside it was a wooden chest and a little table with a candle, a cup, and a small collection of combs. A simple chair had been placed near the window, and a faded blue shawl hung from a peg by the door.
There was hardly any decoration, but the room felt lived in. Warm.
Unlike Vaeron’s chamber, which seemed to have been stripped of every unnecessary object, Nalia’s quarters held few reminders of the person who occupied it. A pair of shoes sat neatly beneath the bed. A small ribbon had been tied around the handle of the chest. A folded piece of cloth rested beside the candle, and a little vase on the windowsill held several dried flowers.
And unlike hers back then in Veximoor, it felt like home. Hers felt like prison, held captive every second of her life.
Lucrezia stepped inside. "It’s lovely." She admitted quietly, basking in the view like it was her first time seeing something this beautiful.
Truly, it was. Apart from Blackvale, which carried this haunting beauty, and Dreadwyn as well, those had been a different kind of beauty.
This beauty seemed peaceful. Want. Surreal.
Nalia looked at her in surprise. "It is?"
"Yes."
The servant smiled, a little shyly. "It’s not much."
"It doesn’t have to be," She said.
Lucrezia moved closer to the window. From there, she could see a narrow stretch of the eastern courtyard and the roof of a smaller building beyond it. Snow had collected on the ledges, and a single lantern burned beneath the archway.
She liked the room immediately.
Perhaps because it was ordinary. Perhaps because it did not feel as though she were being watched by the weight of centuries.
Nalia placed the basket on the chair and began arranging the linens. "You can take the bed. I’ll sleep in the other room tonight."
Lucrezia turned. "There is another room?"
"Only a little space where I keep my things. There’s a cot, but it’s hardly comfortable."
She instantly felt horrible. "Oh, you don’t have to give up your bed for me," She quickly explained.
"I don’t mind." She said, her voice harmless and soft.
"But I do."
Nalia paused, holding a folded sheet in her hands.
Lucrezia stepped closer. "You’ve already been kind enough to offer me a place to stay," She said, and admitted, "I wouldn’t feel right taking your bed."
For a moment, Nalia didn’t respond.
Then the servant considered her for another moment before nodding. Lucrezia sighed in relief.
Although, her next words made her completely still.
"Then we’ll share it." She announced.
Lucrezia blinked, taken aback. "Share it?"
"It’s wide enough for two people, provided neither of us moves around too much," Nalia placed the sheet at the foot of the bed, almost naturally. "And if you happen to steal the blanket, I’ll simply wake you up and demand it back."
She went blank in disbelief.
Back then, even Madelyn wasn’t this free with her. She always regarded her as royal blood even though she was treated like a prisoner. There had always been some distance between them, something that could never be changed.
The distinction was clear; she was of royal blood, and Madelyn, an ordinary servant.
Although, seeing Nalia here suddenly made her recall the dead. They were similar, though only a little, but the similarity was enough to make her chest tighten.