Chapter 2 : How Now?

Eboella woke to violent shaking and a desperate voice. "Miss! Miss, you must awake!"

"Hélène?" Eboella opened her eyes and focused them on the female figure in the dark. "What is it? What's wrong?" Eboella sat up, consciousness flooding her being.

"It's that one, Miss. She's wreaking havoc! Making demands and dismissing the staff left and right!" Eboella didn't have to ask who she was referring to. She quickly stood from her bed.

"Come, let us see if we can not make this right again."

"Bless you, Miss. I knew I could count on you." Eboella only nodded and strode from the room, Hélène trailing behind her. Hélène didn't need to tell her where Malariana was, she could hear the commotion from her room. It came from the kitchen. Eboella entered just in time to find Malariana ready to slap one of the kitchen maids, Nora, across the face. Coliadne grasped her elbow, her eyes wide in panic.

Malariana turned hateful eyes on her sister. "How dare you stop me. Haven't I already taught you not to cross me?" Coliadne dropped her sister's arm as if she had been burned and backed away, arms wrapped around herself. Eboella couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Malariana turned back to Nora, hand raised once more. Eboella crossed the room in three quick steps and wrapped her arms around Nora protectively.

"Malariana, you will stop this at once," she said defiantly.

Malariana's eyes narrowed and she dropped her hand, "Dear step-sister, what called you from your slumber so late? Was it the old maid?" she turned her eyes to Hélène. "I shall be sure to dismiss her next."

"You shall do no such thing!" Eboella released Nora to Hélène's comforting arms as she faced off with her step-sister.

"You will be sorry if you defy me," Malariana threatened.

"Defy you? We are equals. This is more my home then it shall ever be yours, but I am more than willing to share. You prove how little you know by threatening to dismiss Hélène. Without her this house would come to a stand still."

Malariana's eyes narrowed, "You dare to suggest that I do not know what I am doing? I am your elder, Eboella, and as such I shall have your obedience."

"Obedience? We are daughters of the same house, Belladone, no one of us is greater than the other. Hélène and Nora are as much my family and part of this house as you are."

Malariana's lips pressed into a thin angry white line when suddenly something sparked in her eyes and a stunning smile curved her lips.

"Like family you say? Then perhaps the kitchen is where you belong. How now, Eboella? What say you to being a daughter of the kitchen rather than a daughter of the house?"

"There is no difference!" Eboella proclaimed but the look upon her step-sister's face made her shiver.

"I shall make you a deal dear step-sister." Malariana's voice was soft but her eyes were hard, "I shall not hurt the staff if you take their place. All but those who are absolutely necessary are dismissed as of tonight. You shall shoulder all the responsibilities of those dismissed as well as any others I may come up with. You are to listen without complaint and without question. Obey and no one shall be hurt," Malariana turned her cold gaze toward Nora and the young woman shuttered. "If you do not agree I shall choose who stays and who goes, and those who stay shall know what it is to work under an iron fist and a stinging hand."

Eboella saw the fear in Nora and Hélène's eyes and hung her head, defiance seeping away from her stance.

"I...we have a deal."

"Good choice dear step-sister. I shall expect most of the servants to be gone before I wake. Good luck dismissing those you have known all your life. Come along Coliadne," she beckoned to her sister who recoiled. "You've been having nightmares again sister, it's time to get you back to bed." Coliadne followed her sister, but not until after shooting Eboella a helpless glance. Eboella was shocked to see tears in her eyes.

"Now, now sister, your medicine will make it all better and in the morning you won't even remember," Malariana was smiling to herself as she grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her out of the room and up the stairs to her room. There was no sound but the gentle closing of first one door then another as each girl entered her room.

"Oh Hélène!" Eboella suddenly cried and fell to her knees. "What am I to do?" Tears spilled from her eyes and coursed down her cheeks. Hélène wrapped comforting arms around the trembling girl.

"There, there, Miss, we'll make it through alright. Just you wait; you did the right thing dear. That Miss is dangerous and you saved a great many of those you care about a great deal of pain tonight. And I'll be there to help you through it all, don't you worry." Hélène stroked her hair gently as she had years before when Eboella's mother had passed away.

"Come now dear, dry your eyes, there is much to be done yet this night before the sun rises in the ‘morrow and that Miss wakes." Eboella nodded and took a deep shuttering breath while wiping at her eyes.

Eboella's heart ached as she and Hélène approached the servants' quarters. To dismiss those who had been part of the Belladone household even longer then she had...she didn't know that should could. Hélène seemed to understand.

"Don't worry dear, they all know how much you care for them, and they will consider themselves lucky to be away from the Miss without abandoning you. Knowing they can go with the blessing of the last Belladone." Eboella dearly hoped Hélène was right.

By the time the sun peaked wearily over the horizon in a gray and bleary dawn the house was almost completely empty, seeming dead without the sounds of servants rousing to ready the house for a new day. There had been many tearful good-byes amidst hurried packing but not one soul held resentment in their heart or mind toward Eboella for having to leave. They wished her the best of luck and that heaven shine down on her in her time of need. A select few opted to stay on, willing to help Eboella shoulder her burden. Eboella felt her heart expand in gratefulness toward them. Among their numbers was Nora the kitchen maid and, of course, Hélène. After watching the last of the servants vanish over the hillock Eboella turned, exhausted, back toward the large house. Despair flooded her once again as she wondered how she could ever possibly run the home at all with so few, herself to shoulder the most duties. She rubbed at her slightly puffy eyes-red from crying only accentuated by the dark circles underneath them. She wearily entered the building and wished for nothing more then to crawl into bed after the long night she had experienced but knew she could not. Her step-family would be waking soon and she needed to be sure that everything was in place when they did. Breakfast had yet to be made, the table to be set, washing started, eggs to be fetched, garden to be tended, floors and tables to be scrubbed, mending to be done, rugs to be beaten, linens to be folded, water to be drawn–Eboella's head spun at the sheer amount of work to be done. Nora gently placed a hand on her arm.

"Don't worry Miss ‘Bwoella, I'll start ‘heir breakfasts. We'll 'ave everythin' ready by the time ‘er royal missus awakes," the girl comforted her in her strange accent. Eboella smiled and nodded. They would be able to do this, she decided. They-she-would have to.

(A/N: i honestly think nora may be my favourite character for no particular reason. i just think she is fun. if anyone is interested i have concept sketches of my characters for this story on my deviantart account. here is a link to a picture of eboella that i coloured, the rest of the characters are only sketches, and old ones at that. assassins-son./art/Eboella-Colour-98090856)