The Soulstoy Inheritance Read Online Free Page B

on the bed for her.
    “This isn’t me,” she said, turning to me. “I’m just a servant. I should have insisted you send me to the kitchens.”
    I bit my lip, unsure how to respond. I wanted to tell her that she was no longer a servant, but was unwilling to possibly insult her. Besides, I had a feeling that the more out of her depth I put her, the worse-off she would be.
    “What would you like to do?” I asked her instead.
    “Let me be your handmaiden, I’d rather not serve anyone else.”
    I opened my mouth to say that I didn’t need a handmaiden, but then closed it again, seeing the pleading look on her face.
    “Sure.” I nodded. “Thanks, Gretal. I would love that.”
    She seemed to relax a little then. “Good, now if you just point me in the direction of the housekeeper, I’ll get different chambers set up.”
    “Different chambers?”
    “These are only temporary, visitors chambers. I suspect they are waiting for you to chose which you want.”
    “Oh. Ah, I have no idea.”
    She smiled then, and I realised I had made the right choice. She would be much better in her own element, even though she was in an alien land.
    “Leave it to me,” she said.
    “I need you and Harbringer close.”
    “Of course.”
    “I’m riding out with Harbringer for the day to see what good I can do here, would you like to come with us?”
    “I can take care of myself Miss Harrow, I had a bit of a shock yesterday, that’s all.”
    “Bea, Gretal. Call me Bea.”
    She managed a semblance of a smile, and I squeezed her arm before turning to retreat into the hallway. I had no idea how to find the housekeeper, but as we descended to the lower part of the castle, I had a feeling that I wouldn’t have found her, even if I had recognised her. People still scrambled away at the sight of me.
    “Lady Beatrice.” A soldier stepped forth as we neared the bottom of the final staircase, and I immediately recognised him.
    “Benjamin.” I had put him under my compulsion only the day before.
    He smiled, apparently delighted that I remembered his name, and swept into a low bow.
    “I offer you my services, Lady.”
    Unsure how else to respond, I looked around, and then remembered what I had been in the process of doing. “Can you take my handmaiden to the housekeeper?”
    His eyes slid to Gretal. “Handmaiden to the Lady Queen, a great honor indeed. The other maids will be very keen to meet you—very keen.”
    Gretal seemed to swell at the compliment, though I found it a little harder to believe, and caught Benjamin’s arm just before he turned to lead her away.
    “If any harm comes to her…”
    His eyes widened, and he stumbled to assure me, cutting off my threat, which was a good thing, as I had nothing to threaten.
    “Oh no, I will step in to protect her myself, if I must, Your High—Lady. But it will not come to that.” He shook his head seriously. “A new ruler is such a rare occurrence in our land, it often ends in a complete upheaval of castle personnel. Many of those who remain here are waiting to see if they will lose their positions.”
    “They will not lose their positions,” I assured him, and then watched as he ushered Gretal away, wanting to also add that I was not their Queen, and that they may as well just assume that nothing had changed at all.
    But that wouldn’t do any good.
    I was proud to see Gretal walk away with squared shoulders. She, like me, had undergone a drastic transformation. We were both steel butterflies, emerging from our cocoons in spiked armour, ready to tackle the skies. I moved to the back of the castle, where I remembered the stables to be, and was waylaid once again, as a plump woman stepped into my path. She was still beautiful, the way every synfee was, but there was considerably more of her. There was simply something warming about her vastness, something almost maternal, or comforting.
    “Lady Beatrice.” She swept into a curtsey, and I wondered if I was going to have to put a