Marie's Journey (Ginecean Chronicles) Read Free Page A

of course not. They wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
    “So how does it work?”
    “The Army is only served by women.”
    “So they aspire to be the soldiers’ maids?”
    “Yes, but between you and me, none of them are good enough. Most likely, they’ll end up serving farm guards as their maids. But they like to pose as if they’re big shots.”
    “Where’re they going?” Marie flattened against the wall as two latecomers ran down the stairs to reach the other army wannabes.
    “To help outside with the men. But everything is already under control.” Verena went to the window and pointed out.
    Marie came close and tried to look uninterested.
    “See? As I told you, no need for those idiots to make such a fuss.” Verena turned and descended the last three steps, leaving Marie behind.
    Marie lingered a moment and felt slightly disappointed there wasn’t anything to see—just an empty courtyard and a lovely gazebo where several girls were now hanging delicate flower garlands. She followed Verena to the kitchen and remembered she was ravenous only when the smell of roasted meat wafted into the hallway and her stomach ached.
    Later that night, she went to sleep with the unsettling feeling she didn’t want to spend any time in a room with only one other person. It was wrong. She fell asleep and woke in the first hours of the morning, the sun slowly rising over Samara, its rays glinting off the sleek dark tiles covering the roofs in symmetric rows. It had rained again during the night and the city looked cleaner from her vantage point. She tiptoed to the bathroom, had the shower she hadn’t taken earlier, then headed downstairs to eat breakfast. She was surprised to see nobody around. At the Institute, Madame Carla had taught the girls that sleeping late denoted lack of morals. Evidently, as stern as Madame Lana looked, her vision of what made a young girl a better human being didn’t encompass her sleeping habits. Maybe I’ll like it here after all .
    Alone, she took the luxury of looking outside the windows on the stairs as long as she wanted. The men were cleaning the courtyard. The dinner must have ended late because the decorative lanterns hanging from the gazebo’s posts were still burning. She stood, unable to move. She was both repulsed and attracted by the sight of so many men gathered in such a close space. One of them turned and looked in her direction. Theirs eyes met and she had the unsettling feeling he was the same man she had seen the day before. Marie was shocked she might have looked at a man long enough to recognize him, and even more shocked he didn’t attempt to lower his head. Even though she was inside the building and he outside, the worker should’ve shown more respect and averted his green eyes as soon as she had looked at him. She raised her chin and stared down at him, but the man didn’t seem affected by her display of power. Steps echoed in the deserted staircase, and she looked away for a moment, her heart beating loudly against her ribcage. When the person stopped at the second floor instead of descending toward her, Marie dared to look outside one more time, only to find the man staring back at her with a grin on his face. She ran away, reaching the kitchen in no time.
    She knew a day of menial tasks awaited her, but when Carnia entered the kitchen a full two hours later to give her the chores list, Marie almost smiled. She was craving human contact.
    “Did you sleep well?” Carnia asked, waving the list like a flag.
    “Never better.” She took the already crumpled piece of paper from Carnia’s outstretched hand and gave a look at the items written in neat handwriting. “More potatoes in my future. Great.”
    “And don’t forget to replenish the pantry when you’re done peeling the ones inside the barrel.”
    At least I get to walk a bit , Marie thought after Carnia explained where the fresh vegetables where kept. Not that going back and forth from the cellars was worth