Irreplaceable

The following rumble of thunder made the entire tower shake. The storm was covering Cattaraugus as well.

Nadalia spun back around and faced her sister. She frowned. "Reah, it’s time for you to get up, now!" Despite the loud sound of Mother Nature’s rumbling, Reah remained motionless. She still refused to be summoned out of bed.

Nadalia tossed her hair over her shoulder. Ugh! Reah is so lazy! Every morning someone must wake her-it’s usually me, or that Sargosan. I say let the little spoiled brat go without breakfast! That would teach her to wake at a proper hour!

Reah’s clutched her pillow tighter. "You know I don’t like breakfast," she said with a stronger voice than before, "And who the hell do you think you are calling me a spoiled brat?"

Nadalia took an step towards the bed. "Who am I?" she asked using a condescending tone. "I am the Anakahn, the future Queen of Cattaraugus. I am also your elder sister. When I give you an order I expect it to be followed uncontested, meaning no ‘ifs’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts,’ as father would say. Do I make myself clear?" There was a moment of silence which allowed a stray thought to enter Nadalia’s mind.

A venomous retort leapt out of Reah’s mouth as if she were a spitting cobra. "Yes, you’re just like that new dress, Nadalia," she hissed, "transparent, totally overpriced, and yet cheap, all at the same time."

Nadalia nearly bit her tongue in an attempt to restrain her anger. "Stop invading my mind and reading my thoughts. It’s quite impolite and not worthy of a princess’s behavior, although you rarely act accordingly."

Reah twisted her body towards her sister. Her left eye cracked open and she glared at Nadalia like a Cyclops with a frigid gray, sorceress-like eye.

Her ruby lips formed a devilish smile. "I do what I wanna do."

Suddenly vertigo turned Reah’s world upside-down. The entire room seemed to spin around her in a blur of color and she felt something cold and hard against her back. It was the floor.

* * * * *

Maria’s eyes shifted from side to side like a thief about to steal a loaf of bread. She turned her head in jerky, disconnected motions as she searched the room and the three adjacent halls. She grinned impishly and chuckled to herself. She was completely alone. With her foot, the old woman pushed the woven basket of clothes aside and sat down on the marble steps as if it were a throne. She couldn’t help but smile as she rested her old bones. For a brief moment Maria certainly felt like a thief-she was stealing a moment of time for herself.

Maria performed another sequence of nervous glances. She was still alone and her grin blossomed into a smile. She indulged herself by playfully swinging her silver earrings from side to side. They were the most expensive thing she owned and she wore them proudly. For her, those earrings were the mark of an elevated status above the rest of her fellow Sargosan workers. Maria felt that she was more than just a simple maid-she felt like a messenger as well.

After sitting on the steps for a few minutes, Maria felt rested enough to continue her work. She slapped her hand on the marble stair rail, hauled herself to her feet, and grabbed the basket of clothes.