Page 25 of Ava's Legacy of the Dragons
The older girl exhaled audibly and hesitated, but then waved them into the house. "Be quiet. Johann is keeping an especially close eye on me at the moment because he's noticed that the masters have been praising my breakfast. You know he's in cahoots with the grumpy cook."
Ava gave Lilly a questioning look, but she just nodded understandingly.
They crept up a narrow wooden staircase to the second floor and entered a cramped room that was swept clean and tidy. Next to a simple bed stood a small wooden chest that seemed to hold all of the maid's belongings, as nothing else of hers was to be found anywhere.
She estimated Ava's measurements with her eyes. "I know what I can bring you. And if you're lucky, there's still some of the braided butter bread left that I baked for breakfast and that will be too dry for the masters tomorrow."
"Sounds delicious." Lilly sat down on the simple bed and swung her legs. Ava thanked her and, for lack of an alternative, sat down next to her. The maid took thelantern with her, leaving them in the diffuse light of the stars.
As soon as the maid had left the chamber, Ava leaned forward, her voice hushed. "How do you know her?"
Making herself right at home, Lilly lay on her side and propped her head in her hand. "Lena and I met at the market in town. I had just... borrowed an apple and got caught. She claimed I belonged to her and paid for it. Today that wouldn't happen to me. I've become much more skilled."
Ava shook her head wordlessly. What should she say to that? That Lilly should rather starve than steal? The little one lacked an Aunt Helen. She looked at the thin girl pensively.
"Tell me, wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to... 'borrow' apples anymore?" She made air quotes with her fingers.
"What do you mean?"
"You could come with me once we've brought the egg to safety."
Lilly looked at her thoughtfully, a skeptical furrow forming above her left eye. "You don't even know me. Who's to say I won't come along to rob you and run off in the middle of the night?"
Ava smiled. "I recognize a good soul when I see one standing in front of me."
Lilly quickly lowered her head and scraped the tips of her shoes across the wooden floor until she remembered that they'd better not make any noise. "I don't want..." She hesitated, but before she could finish, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
They instantly froze, exchanged a quick glance, and remained motionless on the bed.
The footsteps moved through the hallway and stopped in front of the bedroom door. A glimmer of light fell through the door crack. Ava held her breath and grabbed Lilly's hand.
"Johann, what are you doing in front of my room?" Lena came back with firm steps. The sternness in her voice was impressive.
"I thought I heard something. You don't happen to have a gentleman caller, do you?" His condescending tone immediately made Johann come across as unsympathetic.
Lena snorted. "I'm definitely too young for that. Besides, I know it's forbidden."
"Then who did you get the food for?"
"I was so busy with work that I didn't get to have dinner. And now excuse me. It's late, and I have to be up before sunrise tomorrow." She opened the door, and Ava and Lilly pulled up their legs and leaned against the wall so that the light wouldn't reach their limbs. But the advantage of all that hard work was that Lena was exceptionally slim. She slipped through a gap into the room and quickly pulled the door shut behind her.
She put her finger to her lips, signaling them to remain quiet. Noisily, she set the plate with the butter bread in front of the bed and slipped out of her wooden shoes. Then she sat down next to Lilly, and they tensely waited for Johann's footsteps. It took a moment, but finally he left, and with him, the glow of the lantern disappeared under the door.
Ava exhaled silently, while Lilly grabbed the butter bread and started eating. With her mouth full, she broke off a piece and held it out to Ava. "Want some?"
"You eat. Lena, thank you for your help. Did you find something to wear?"
The maid pulled out a bundle from under her apron. As she unfolded it, a simple blue garment that reached past the hips, a dark corset-like vest, and dark, tight-fitting pants were revealed. "It's not particularly fancy, but at least you won't stand out in it."
Ava had no objections. The fabric was light, and she could move better in it than in the wide, flowing dress. Even though she would have preferred to wear her jeans and leather jacket, she quickly changed clothes and left the ball gown to Lena. The hem was dirty, but she could wash it, alter it, and maybe wear it someday to dance at a festival.
A quarter of an hour later, when they left the servants' quarters, Lilly still wasn't full but she was content, and Ava was inconspicuously dressed. The pants were a few inches too long, but Lena had rolled them up three times at her ankles and fixed the fabric with skilled fingers and targeted stitches so that Ava wouldn't trip.
"Thank you, Lena."
The maid waved it off. "Don't run straight across the yard, Johann might be looking out the window."
After saying goodbye to the young maid, they crept along the chicken coops back to the shed that led to the sewers. Luckily, the chickens were asleep and didn't spare them any tired glances, allowing them to leave the property unnoticed and once again plunge into the labyrinthine tunnels.
