Now that it was spring, and the Evans Estate Spring Ball had passed, the Viraaz Flower Festival would be beginning.
"Are you both excited? You know this is my favorite time of year~" She cooed to her dolls as she grabbed a broken basket from the corner of the shed. Inside, she placed her rabbit plush.
"Don't fight you two, you got to go with me to gather supplies last year!" Her nose scrunched up as she shook her finger at the doll.
As per her tradition, she walked into the garden to gather flowers to decorate the shed with. If she couldn't attend the festival, she'd bring the festival to herself.
The Viraaz Flower Festival was the talk of the town, or at least amongst the servants that worked for Lord Evans.
She remembered it like yesterday....
Eilownia clutched onto her pink rabbit plush as she stared up at the maids. Her brown braids hung down to her chest, tied with frayed ribbon. Dirt smudged her cheeks and plain gray dress. Her fingernails were full of dirt, and her feet were practically black with caked mud.
The maids stood at the wooden table as they removed bread, eggs and produce from their woven baskets. Eilownia couldn't help but gulp staring at the vibrant assortment of foods, the curiosity of what they might taste like filled her head.
"Are you going to go to the Viraaz Flower Festival this year? My husband and I went on the first day. It never ceases to amaze me!" The maid, an older woman with peppered black hair smiled ecstatically, her voice a bit raspy from old age.
"I'd love to but, you know Lord Evans. That stingy old man never wants to give any days off! You're lucky to be in your old age, he is much more lenient with you." The second maid was much younger, in her 30s or so, her blonde hair was tied in a tight bun. She shook her head in annoyance with a light 'tsk' of her tongue.
"Is it so lucky now? I'd think my job is on the line. I don't know how much longer I'll be here." Despite the smile on her face, her voice carried a hint of shakiness.
"You never know. I think he quite likes you. You've been here a long time already. Anyways, how many more days are left?" She leaned against the table grabbing the empty basket and placing it on her arm, "Two? Tell me what it was like in case that old man won't give me any time."
Eilownia looked between the two of them, listening intently. Viraaz was the next kingdom over, she'd heard a few things about it here and there. From what she'd heard, it was a beautiful place full of lush foliage and gorgeous stone buildings.
One day, she'd make sure to go.
"Three days left," The older maid nodded, "Oh it was beautiful! The streets were lined with thick flowers in the Viraaz official colors. The gold, green and purple complimented each other so well! It was breathtaking."
"Wow, are they the same variant of flower they used last year?"
"No, they were a new flower! It was round like a globe, absolutely gorgeous!"
The blonde maid's eyes widened with a smile, "Like a globe? I HAVE to see it. What about the foods?"
"They created some new pastries and wines with the new variant. They were delicious! It was so sweet I heard they didn't even need to add much sugar."
Eilownia's head snapped between the two as they continued to chit chat and gush about the festival, speaking of all the new things and comparing them to the old.
All of the talk of the food and the visuals of the produce on the table in front of her, caused Eilownia's stomach to growl. She reached up and grabbed onto one of the buns on the table. That looked the most like the 'cake' they were describing.
The blonde maid's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she smacked Eilownia's hand hard.
"Don't you DARE touch that!" Her voice tore out of her throat.
Eilownia let out a sharp cry as tears began to roll down her face, "I wandded a cake too!"
The older maid gasped and grabbed Eilownia's arm as she shook her violently, "Shush! Shush! One day you will have one but you must SHUSH!"
Eilownia stroked her now faded, single eyed rabbit plush as a small smile appeared over her face.
"Shall we make our own cake this year? I think it's time we have one. I'm sure making a cake out of flowers can't be too hard. Besides, I'm very capable you know~" She tapped the rabbit's nose, or at least the place where black pieces of thread used to be to create one.
She placed the rabbit on the grass in a sitting position as she looked around.
"First things first! We need ingredients!"
Along the stone wall, were tall hedges with giant, vibrant green leaves. Its flowers had unfurled white petals with a pink wand covered in pollen coming out from the middle.
"This will look beautiful on a cake. This can be the Solanian signature cake, graced from the Evans Estate. What do you think?" She hummed as she plucked the large leaves and one of the flowers.
Eilownia carried the 'ingredients' back to the shed and sat on the floor with her doll and rabbit next to her.
"I wonder if it's changed at all? Do you think there are any new flower variants? Any new cakes they've come up with? I haven't been allowed in the servant's quarters since….." Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her hand, her face falling for a moment before she plastered a wide smile back on her face, "….a long time! I'd love to hear what it's like now."
The rabbit plush slumped over and Eilownia quickly fixed it, "Don't be sad, it's alright. Even if we don't know of the changes, we will still celebrate it beautifully like we always do!
About half an hour later, Eilownia began weaving her flower crown. The garden was full of bright and soft new flowers that she couldn't wait to weave.
"I know it smells wonderful, but you can't eat the cake until the festival tomorrow! Now, now, don't fuss. Let's work on our crowns to tide us over~"
Beside her was the completed 'cake': made of mud and formed into a circular shape, held together with woven leaves and the white flower sitting on top.
As she smiled and continued to work on her crown, darkness filled the shed. She reached over and lit her stubby white candle.
"It's dark already? I didn't think I was taking so long….."
Drip...drip... drip…DRIP.. DRIP DRIP. DRIP DRIP!
She stared up at the skylight to see rain drops beginning to spatter on the dusty glass.
"Well, hopefully, we won't have to postpone the festival, but it will be okay even if we need to."
Suddenly, an ice-cold droplet of water fell on the top of her head. She reached up and felt her head.
"Uh-oh-" The rain was picking up and pattering frantically against the glass.
More and more droplets came in until they turned into a dedicated stream of water flowing from the ceiling.
Freezing water pricked at her feet as water filled the shed.
Eilownia let out a horrified gasp and scrambled to grab her make-shift shelf of 'valuables.'
She placed them on top of the potting bench and hoisted herself onto it after them.
It creaked and splintered, dropping down a bit as one if its old legs crumpled beneath the weight.
Her hands flew up trying to grasp onto the wall searching for anything to help relieve her weight from the bench as she let out a terrified scream.
"Please! Please hold up for me old friend! I can't fall into the water! These cannot be my final days!"
Her eyes darted around, squinting against the darkness as she scanned the area for a way to let the water out.
Then it hit her.
The door! The frame had warped so much it had pressed the wood so tightly together, it was preventing the water from exiting faster than it was filling in.
Thunder roared in the sky as the wind picked up, throwing a siege of hard droplets at the dilapidated shed. Its windows rattled angrily in pain. Roof tiles slipped off the top, shattering into the ground below.
Eilownia reached out to try and open the door, but the wind and the warping were too strong of an opponent for her to get it to budge.
As her weight shifted, the bench creaked and dropped a bit more.
"N-No!" She yelled as she quickly leaned back, trying not to damage the bench anymore than she already had.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her head in them as she covered her ears, trying to drown out the horrific sounds around her.
"IT WILL BE OKAY! DON'T WORRY! IT WILL BE LIKE EVERY OTHER TIME!" She yelled over the elements to her dolls.
Eventually, she must've fallen asleep, although she couldn't be sure when. The storm had raged the entire night, but when she awoke the sun was high in the sky as if nothing had ever happened.
Water slowly dripped into the pool of water below her from the ceiling.
She carefully jumped down from the bench and let out a sharp gasp. Her shoulders flew up to her ears and goosebumps covered her flesh as her toes practically lost feeling instantly upon contact in the water.
With all her might, she shoved the door open, allowing the water to flow out.
She stepped out, her toes squished on the garden floor as if it was made of sponge.
"Yuck…." It was a nice reprieve from the hard, splintered wood or thick poky grass her feet were used to, but she couldn't stand the sound of the squishing.
Despite most of the water flowing out of the shed, there was still excess inside that she needed to get out.
There was usually an old broom leaning nearby the door that she was sure would help her scoot out the extra water, but it wasn't there. Someone must've moved it while cleaning up for the ball.
She walked around the shed, searching when suddenly her foot landed on something hard. It rolled underneath her, sending her splashing into the soaked ground beneath her.
"Wh-What the?" She quickly stood up and wrung out her dress, her gaze flicking down to where her foot had just stepped.
Laying there was a large rock from the wall guarding the estate.
Her eyes widened as she picked it up, then they fell upon another that was next to it, then another. She followed the small trail to the corner. There at the bottom of the wall, was a hole.
Eilownia slowly approached, her eyebrows were furrowed as she tried to confirm what she was looking at.
She got on all fours and crawled underneath it. There was just enough room for her body to fit through.
When she popped up on the other side, she was met with a thick forest of trees and slippery mud beneath her feet.
She leaned against the wall, using it as a support as she carefully navigated through the mud before she peaked around the corner.
A street lined with shops and people went on for as long as she could see. Horse drawn carriages clattered in the streets as people went upon their business for the day.
Eilownia quickly turned back and headed back to the wall where she crawled back into the estate.
She hugged herself as she burst into tears, her body trembling.
Tomorrow, she would go to the Viraaz Flower Festival.