Gilded Cage

"How can I help you?"

A weathered middle age woman greeted the two men in front of the door of her house reverently. She knew just from their appearance that they were people of importance. People she dared not offend. The two men held themselves with pride, their clothes were made from the best material. The swords they carried were no doubt crafted by the most skillful master.

Among the two men, the man in gray asked, "Is someone living you, madam?"

The weathered woman quickly shook her head. "No, sir. No one is living with me. My husband was long gone. Lost his life fighting in some scramble."

"You're living alone in such a large place yourself?" the man in gray asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

It was indeed a large place to live in. There were at least two courtyards inside the bricked wall. It was a living place for families with some money. It was not a surprise the gentlemen grew suspicious, the woman in front of them wore an old, weathered cotton dress. Not a single piece of jewelry adorned her hair.

The weathered woman must have realized that and she quickly added, "My husband left this to me. He came from a modest family. I can't bear to leave the only thing my husband left me." She added in a sob for good measure.

This seemed to clear the confusion the man in gray had. He nodded sympathetically at the old woman. This place was situated in a farming village, it must be hard to find a job not related to farming at this place. No wonder she seemed so poor.

"Madam, is there a young woman who has recently moved to this village? Around this tall." His hand moved to around his shoulder.

"A young woman? Not that I know of."

"I see. Thank you for your help, Madam." The man in gray eyed the man next to him carefully. The man in gray hung down his head dutifully and stood silently.

The woman understood instantly. The man in gray was working under the man in blue. The man in blue was the master. The master, however, was not looking at either his servant nor the middle age woman. He was admiring the courtyard in front of him. He looked like a nobleman on a field trip to the countryside.

Finally the master's attention returned to the woman standing reverently in front of him.

"Madam, you have a beautiful home." The man in blue smiled. "Especially that peach tree." The top of the tree he was referring to peeked above the walls. The tree's blossoms flutter around in a magnificent way.

"Oh yes, that tree has been around forever, " the woman replied in pride. "It's the best in this village. No, around this area."

"Do you mind letting me take a closer look? It has been awhile since I saw peach blossoms this beautiful." The man in blue smiled innocently.

Liar, the man in gray thought. Master had a huge peach tree in his courtyard.

"Well..." the woman in front of them stuttered for the first time since they met her. She avoided their glances for a moment, but that was enough. She looked as if she had something to hide. "Well, that's not very convenient, sir. See I'm just a woman living alone. That's not good for my reputation, letting random people inside my house."

"A ribbon, " the man in blue said softly.

"Pardon?"

"A ribbon is floating at the top of your tree. Madam, don't tell me you climbed up there and tied it yourself." The man in blue was still smiling gently, but something sharp hid behind his eyes.

"That's... my nephew. What a naughty boy. It must be that time when my sister over the next village brought my nephew here." She laughed boisterously, but something was off. It sounded fake.

That was then a sound echoed from inside the house. The woman froze.

"Madam, you said you lived alone. Maybe a thief sneaked inside your house. Let Janus here take a look for you."

The man in gray, Janus, nodded once and walked towards the front door.

"No!." The woman placed herself in front of the door.

"Don't worry, Madam. I will explain for you. There might be a thief in your house." The master's smile remained innocent and gentle, but then it changed to something else. "Or are you hiding something? Someone? A fugitive maybe?"

"No, that's not it, sir." She shook her head vigorously.

"Then why are you declining our help, Madam? You're acting very weird. That's quite a huge noise."

"It's just the wind! Must be the wind!" Then the same noise echoed out again. The woman's face turned visibly whiter.

"That didn't sound like the wind. More like someone pulling on a chain." All smile disappeared from his face.

The woman's face turned ashen.

"If you don't move away, Janus will use force."

"Sir, it's... it's just my niece. She... she is not quite right in her head. I'm really not hiding a fugitive."

"You're a retired servant from Ivory Manor. You have no family member left, your husband who worked under Ivory Manor was killed on a mission. You don't have a sister, let alone a niece."

The woman, Joanne, began to shake in fright. "Who... who are you?"

"This is Lord Carlisle of Ivory Manor." Janus showed Joanne a jade plaque with the ensign of Ivory Manor. "So I suggest you to say the truth."

Joanne once worked for Ivory Manor, so she recognized the ensign at an instant. She also knew that the higher the status one was within the Manor, the more precious the plaque was made of.

"Lord?" she widens her eyes in shock. "Lord Carlisle? Please accept my apologies, my lord. I don't mean any offend."

"Who are you hiding?"

Joanne knew she shouldn't say anything, especially the truth of who she was hiding. But, this is Lord Carlisle, the next Duke of Cregan.

"I ask you one last time, Joanne." Carlisle smiled coldly. "Who are you hiding?"

Rumors of the brutalities of Lord Carlisle flashed in her mind. She gave in in the end.

"A... a member of Ivory Manor. She really is not right in the head, my lord."

"Her name, " Carlisle demanded through clenched teeth.

"Arina."

Carlisle had already stopped listening. He walked past Joanne and disappeared into the depth of the courtyard.

After searching the whole kingdom for half a year, Lord Carlisle of Ivory Manor finally found who he was searching for.

"Arina."

"Arrived, " I replied while raising my hand. I saw the slight nod from the tutor and let out a breath. Luckily the tutor could hear my voice amid this noisy environment. I didn't feel comfortable shouting out.

Today was the day where seniors graduated from the Manor's academy and those who were six years old or above entered the academy. From this day onward, the batch I was in became the oldest in the academy. We might even start receiving missions. Not that it'd fall to me, as I was neither the best nor the worst. Because of this, most tutors would not even remember my name.

Some might celebrate the fact that they became the oldest in the academy as they could begin doing missions and earning money, but for apprentices like me it's not such a good situation. We'd seldom be given missions, but we also began to have more roles. Roles such as taking care of the newly arrived apprentices or managing our dormitory. In essence, it's the older you got, the more responsibilities you had.

The tutor, Master Fu, began to assign roles to us seniors.

Please don't be babysitting, please don't be babysitting. I chanted silently. I guaranteed I was not someone Master Fu would remember amid the hundreds of apprentices he taught. That's why the best jobs would certainly not go to me, I just hope he didn't assign me to babysitting those newly arrived. People said that I looked angry when I didn't smile, so that certainly didn't bode well for babysitting young children.

"Arina... treasurer for Mirror Court."

All hail to getting a good mark for arithmetic! Mirror Court was not the dormitory I originally stayed in. I had stayed in Luna Court since I entered the academy. Luna Court and Mirror Court were located in opposite directions. I seldom went to that area. Mirror Court was located closer to the living area of Ivory Manor's head family. But at least it's not babysitting duty.

After assigning roles for us seniors, we began our daily routine. We first studied in the schoolroom for subjects such as literature, arithmetic and politics. Then we moved onto the lesson I dreaded most, swordsmanship.

Each sect or manor mastered in a certain skill. But everyone knew that the current two most powerful manors in Cregan mastered in swordsmanship. The future Duke of Cregan would probably come from either of the two manors. Ivory Manor was one of the two, the other was Orion Manor. When choosing apprentices, masters usually chose applicants with powers that were suitable or could embellish on the techniques taught by Ivory Manor. Such as the ability to manipulate fire, thus during fighting the sword could be coated in fire. Or the ability to teleport, thus giving the apprentice an advantage while fighting.

But that's not the case for me. To add insult to injury, turned out I was not that gifted in using a sword too. I was average, not the worst nor the best. But as my mother said average was a good life attitude. You would neither be envied by your peers nor would you be picked on. I did agree with that, but the downside of being average was that you'd be forgotten. Both by your masters and your peers.

I was sparring with my partner using all the standard Ivory Manor techniques when I noticed with my enhanced eyesight (one of the perks of my power), jumping sparks on my partner's wooden sword. I jumped back just in time to avoid the last strike of my partner, a strike with swirling fire like a snake.

"Hey! Care to send me a note before unleashing your new fire swirling sword technique?" I complained.

"You'll be fine! I controlled the fire intensity! You won't be burnt or even feel anything!" my partner, Lilian, said pouting. "What do you think of my new technique? The swirling fire acts like a rope and snared the opponent."

"That's a nice idea." I tried to catch my breath after intense sparring. "Give your opponent a final blow even if your sword cannot nick him."

"Exactly! Wait... what you're saying is based on the assumption that my sword could not harm my opponent... Hey! Don't think I didn't catch that!" She threw the towel she's holding at me.

"If. I said 'If your sword cannot nick him'. If. Conditional. There is always such a chance." I shrugged nonchalantly.

It's nearly the end of the practice session, I began to tidy up and pack my belongings. I seldom stayed after to practice my swordsmanship, unlike some of my classmates. Maybe that's the reason why my skills stayed average.

"Wait a moment, Arina, what gave me away? It's a new technique so you shouldn't have seen it coming!"

I tried to formulate an answer in my mind and then said, "Instinct. You suddenly looked more determined and focused."

"I see, I see. For one second, I thought there were hints giving me away. That won't do, my new technique should be impeccable!"

I nodded while I cleaned my practice sword with a cloth. It's hard to pretend sometimes. But I was not allowed to tell others my real power. All my peers thought I had voice imitation power, even though I just imitated bird chirping once. I did not plan to correct them.

"Arina, I will go first. I am helping Georgia to move to Dew Court. She is assigned to be the Deputy. The two of us are going to stay in the same Hall!" With a wave, Lilian was gone.

I picked up all my belongings and left the practice ground. I had to move to Mirror Hall as well, even though no one was helping me. After a few steps, I decided packing and moving alone was better.

Carlisle followed the sound of the chains to the courtyard with the peach tree. Peach blossoms were floating down, peppering the courtyard with pinkish petals. This beautiful scene was marred by the girl being chained to a pillar. She was pulling at the metal chain that circled her wrist. It was a long chain which allowed her to walk around the courtyard. But she was chained nevertheless.

Something sharp seemed to prick his heart when he saw this scene unfolding in front of him. He quickly walked across the yard to the girl and took hold of her hand. He was about to break the chain encircling her wrist, when something sharp sliced across his face. And she struggled out of his hold.

He widened his eyes in shock, numbly he touched the wound on his face. Did she hate him to such a point?

After struggling away from his hold, Arina ran as far away from him as her chain allowed. Her hands cradling her head, she rocked back and forth as if comforting herself. Carlisle was about to walk closer to talk to her again when he was pulled back by Joanne.

Joanne shrieked in fright when she saw the wound on his face.

"I am so sorry, Lord Carlisle. I swear Arina didn't mean it. I swear. She is not right in her head. No one can get close to her without getting scratched or pecked at these days. Poor girl. She thought she was a bird. She no longer thinks straight. She acts as if she really is a bird!"

"A bird, " Carlisle said numbly. Regret filled his heart.

"That's right. Poor girl. She's still so young. When she first approached me, she was still sane. Not totally sane, sometimes she would look at you like a bird or space out for a second, but not like this." Joanne then clamped her mouth shut, as if realizing she should not disclose this info to a random stranger. She then looked at Carlisle guardedly.

"Now, Lord Carlisle. You have seen that my house is safe. Thank you very much. You'd better find an inn before it's too late." Joanne knew something was off. The man who claimed to be Lord Carlisle of the Ivory Manor had came prepared. He investigated her. But she had to do something to protect this poor girl who hired her. She could not fail her.

"Arina works under my master. My master is searching for her. How did she fall under your care?" Janus asked in the place of his master who was still in shock.

Joanne sneaked a peak at Carlisle. No doubt, the lord looked as if he was in shock. His face pale and his eyes filled with remorse. Did Arina really work under this lord? That was then she remembered, before Arina fully lost her mind, she gave her a wooden box. She told her to open it when someone came to find her. Arina's order was to drive anyone who claimed to be finding her away, but if in the end someone really found her, open the wooden box.

Joanne was afraid to leave Arina alone with these two men, but thinking of the condition Arina was in now. Joanne concluded that no one could really come close to her. If they decided to kidnap her or harm her by force, Arina must struggle. Furthermore, if they decided to kill them, there's nothing she could do. She could not fight, unlike her husband who was part of the Ivory Manor, she was just someone who worked in the kitchen.

"Arina, before she completely lost her mind, gave me an order in the case someone really find her. She gave me a wooden box, I am going to take that. You two don't get close to Arina. There's no guarantee what she will do."

Joanne quickly returned with a wooden box. She opened the box in front of the two men. Inside were two letters and a wooden plaque with the Ivory Manor ensign. One letter was for her and the other was directed to 'Master Carlisle'.

Carlisle's hand began to shake after reading the letter, but he quickly controlled his emotions.

"Madam Joanne, thank you for caring for Arina. I would like to bring Arina back to capital for treatment." Carlisle was back to his usual gentlemanly smile.

Joanne had read the letter left for her in her own room. Arina told her if Carlisle decided to bring her back to the capital, she should not stop him. Arina was still part of the Manor after all. And she thanked her for her care up till now.

Joanne nodded, but was still quite skeptical. "I understand, but as you can see Arina does not allow anyone to come close to her. Do you plan to... to take her back by force?"

"No, of course not. Arina... does not trust me now. I will wait till she trusts me, " Carlisle answered softly. "It seems like I'd have to intrude on you for awhile, Madam Joanne. I hope you won't mind."

"No, of course not. But I just don't know if you could succeed. I am the one who take care of her from the start. That's why she seems to recognize me. But I really don't know."

Carlisle gave Joanne a bitter smile. "We'll see."