“Miss Galla!” one of the maids called out. A small silent giggle escaped the young girl’s lips. She pressed her hand to her mouth to silence herself as one of the castle workers rushed past her hiding place calling out her name again. Once they were out of sight Galla took one more look around her and dashed for a different room. Even more hurried workers passed her without knowing and even further she ran. Her destination awaited. Her ultimate hiding spot where no one had ever or would ever find her.
Quickly, she raced up the stairs, knowing that if she were caught there then her game would be over, and soon found herself at a wooden door. The door was intricately carved with swoops and swirls and patterns of all kinds. One more quick glance around her and she cracked the door to slide in and silently shut it behind her.
She looked around the curved, dim room. The only light around her was from a few sparse, nearly burned out candles and the light that leaked in from the shutters that were closed and locked tight. The back wall was lined with bookshelves, messy and chaotic with books and papers threatening to fall with the faintest touch. The sturdy desk that stood in front of the bookshelves was not any better. Piles of unorganized papers on the edge of the desk just needing a slight breeze to drop to the floor. Step after step the young girl tip-toed her way around the papers that already littered the floor when, abruptly, there was a loud banging on the door.
Galla nearly let out a yelp, but managed to catch herself. Who did yelp, however, was the dark-skinned man whose head shot up from the desk; a stray paper stuck to his face with drool. His long, greying hair, unkempt from too many long nights working and falling asleep at his desk, fell over his shoulders. He spotted the young girl and nearly called out to her before she hurriedly made a shushing motion. Another banging rang out from the door. “Chamberlain Saba?” a feminine voice spoke. He smiled and nodded at Galla. He stood up from his chair and wiped his face with his sleeve, putting a serious expression as he walked to the door as Galla quietly ran through the cluttered floor and hid under the desk. She looked through the cracks to watch, but could only see the lower halves of their bodies.
Saba opened the door and stared daggers at the servant in the door frame. “Is there any particular reason for this disturbance? I am currently in the middle of something,” his deep voice rang out. “My sincerest apologies for disturbing you, Chamberlain Saba, but the young princess has run off again. Would you happen to know of her whereabouts?” the servant inquired. Saba put a hand on his forehead. “Again? Tell me, young miss, do I ever know where she is when she pulls one of these disappearing acts?” he sighed. The maid stepped back. “N-no, but I still thought it important to as-,” she started. Saba held his hand up to her signaling her to stop talking. “Gah! I don’t have time for this. I don’t know where she is. Now go look for her elsewhere. I have work to do,” he said to her. Before she could get another word out Saba closed the door on her face.
Saba turned his ear to the door and waited until he heard the young maid’s footsteps go down the hall. He sighed once more and turned his attention to his desk and the young girl under it. “Now then, why are you hiding this time?” he asked. Galla stood from behind the desk and ran to the grandmaster. “They brought her back,” she said, jumping into his arms. He smiled, picking her up. “I’d’ve thought she would have given up by now, the nasty woman,” Saba said, continuing to walk to his desk. Galla shook her head at him. “No, she’s back, and she wants me to where that stupid dress again,” she said crossing her arms. Saba gasped and put the back of his hand to his forehead in exaggerated shock. “Not the dress! Anything but the dress!”
They laughed together. Saba smiled at her and sat down with her in his lap. “You know you will have to go out there eventually. You wouldn’t want to worry your father to much. He already has so much on his plate, he doesn’t need to think you’ve gone missing,” he explained. She crossed her arms. “I’ll stop hiding when he gets me a different tutor,” she said, puffing up her cheeks. “Why don’t you like her? You’ve never explained this to me,” Saba asked.
Galla looked at Saba with a look as if she had been offended by his question. “Are you kidding me? She’s awful. I’m never allowed to do anything that isn’t exactly what she wants. There’s no free time to do what I want. It’s always lessons and lessons and lessons. Even though it’s just me and her in the room most of the time I have to wear the stupid, uncomfortable dress. I hate it!” she ranted at him, seemingly holding herself back from yelling. Saba listened to her attentively. “I see. I’ll tell you what, I’ll see what I can do to get you a new tutor, but you have to go out there and suffer through today,” he told her
She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “You promise?” she gazed up at him. He sighed and looked her in the eyes. “I promise,” he said, directly.
She smiled and hopped up from his lap. “Yay!” she yelled, running around the room. Another knock came rapping at the door, causing Saba to nearly jump out of his seat. “Miss Galla, I heard you in there. Come out here this instant!” said an ever-so shrill voice from the other side of the door. “Oh no…” Galla sighed, seemingly being defeated by those few words. She walked towards the door and reached out for the handle. Another banging rang, causing her to flinch back. She reached again and quickly opened the door to see her wretched old tutor leering at her. “Good morning, Madam Glendower,” Galla forced out.
Silvia Glendower would not be the most intimidating woman to an adult, only being about four feet tall and looking as old as the planet itself, but to a child like Galla she was a nasty tyrant. The ever-present scowl on her face seemed to bore through Galla’s skull and into her very soul. “Explain your absence! You were supposed to be in your class an hour ago. We’ve lost so much time!” Galla recoiled at her ear splitting tirade. “Sorry ma’am..” Galla fought back the urge to call her all sorts of nasty words that she had overheard in her father’s ballroom during some less-than-friendly chats. Every word that fell out of Glendower’s mouth was just another suppressed sigh from the young heiress.
Galla only looked down while her tutor continued her ranting. She was caught off guard when Glendower grabbed her wrist and started dragging her down the hall, still yelling. Galla gave a quick wave to Saba as she was yanked down the hall to her lessons room. She wanted to fight as Madam Glendower forced Galla change into the dress she hated so much, but she didn’t want her tutors putrid breath to come anywhere near her again today.
It was going to be a very long day.
Loading comments...