~LENORA'S POV
"WALK FASTER!" the guard behind us barked.
We picked up our pace and began to do what we ought to. Orders were given. Floors were assigned. Cloths were handed out. I knelt beside two other girls near the main corridor and dipped my rag into cold water.
The stone beneath my knees bit through the thin fabric of my dress.
One of the girls beside me groaned softly. "I swear they ring the bell earlier each day."
"Stop talking," the other muttered. "You will make it worse."
I lowered my head and began to scrub. If someone had looked at me then, they would have seen nothing unusual. Just another servant working before sunrise.
But my body felt slower than it should have. My arms trembled after only a few strokes. A dull weight lingered behind my ribs, not enough to alarm me but present enough that I could not ignore it.
Had the teleportation done this?
Or had something else brushed against me when that smoke struck the barrier?
