Sun poured into the modern wing of the Elder’s home as Hael pushed the curtains back from the almost floor to ceiling windows in the main room of Zalek’s wing. “He always keeps it so dark in here,” she muttered, preferring the warm light over the unnatural artificial light within the wing. She stood back with a smile and surveyed the bright room. 

With a satisfied nod, Hael moved to the closet under the stairs, pulling out her cleaning supplies. It was going to be another long day of dusting, vacuuming, mopping, and running errands for Zalek. She had already washed the dishes from the large breakfast Dagon and Srix had asked for. By the time they had left, she was up to her elbows in dishes and soap, scrubbing away at their dirty plates. The appetites of those two hardly awed her in the past few years. At around age 10 she had finally been deemed old enough to complete some of the more serious duties, like serving food to Zalek’s men. On her first day she couldn’t help but stare at the large men as they ate. Eight years later, she tried to busy herself with thinking of the poetry she had learned from Zalek’s library. On most days, the two men barely spoke as they ate, but it wasn’t always such a bore. Every now and then they would discuss news from the outside world. Hael always listened intently, although she never let them catch on. The politics and rising rebellions intrigued Hael more than she would admit. She could only hope that none of them had caught on to her eavesdroppings.

Hael hummed quietly as she dusted off each room but Zalek's private room. It was the only one in the wing she wasn't allowed to enter. The ban from the room only made her even more curious about what secrets lay inside. She had only gotten peeks at the room over her time here, but none of them ever lasted longer than a second.

Hael sighed softly as she finished dusting, moving on to vacuum. Afterwards, she mopped the hard floors in the wing. By the time she had finished, she expected Zalek and the other two back for lunch. She sat down with a sigh of relief, pushing her hair back from her face. Although she had been doing the same thing for years, she'd never gotten used to it. Perhaps she needed to slow down and relax instead of finishing early. The only reason she worked so hard was so she could have the time between lunch and dinner to read. Or perhaps it was her late nights outside in the city that made her so exhausted the next morning. Either way, she didn't have any other time to relax but at night and after her chores were done.

After a few moments of rest, Hael stood and returned the cleaning supplies to the closet. She could only hope that something interesting had happened on Zalek's trip to the slums. Otherwise, she was sure that today would be slow and boring. As she waited for Zalek to return, she watered the plants in his wing.