William was right. There was hardly any space in the carriage, with young girls squeezing on the seats and on the ground. The carriage was only suppose to seat four ladies, yet Taylor could easily count at least ten young women within it.

Up to eight ladies crowded on the seats alone within the carriage. There was hardly enough space for her to even move around and with a wince, she settled for sitting on the ground, her legs pressed against the chest and her back leaning on the carriage door.

Now, all she had to do was hope that no one opened the carriage door.

“I heard what happened to you,” Taylor heard a quiet voice near her ask eagerly once they had crossed the border and were on their way along the bumpy road.

The darkness in the carriage, due to the red cloth covering the windows, made it impossible for Taylor to see who was talking.

“Who?” another voice questioned, this time almost from right beside her.

“I’m talking to the new girl,” the first voice replied quickly.

New girl? Were they possible talking about her?

“Me?” Taylor answered reluctantly.

“Yes,” the first voice said almost immediately. “I’m Amelie. What’s your name? I heard your luggage got stolen. Is that true? It’s such a terrible thing to happen, especially if this is the first time you are travelling to Mazian. This is your first time, yes? Kelone fashion is not sold in Mazian so you would have to wear Mazian clothes because you lost your things. That’s horrible, isn’t it?”

Finally, Amelie decided to stop talk and start breathing. It was a wise choice. Taylor was reeling over the fact that one girl could talk so much so quickly and expect her to answer all those questions just as fast.

“My name is Gwen,” she offered, adopting the name of the person she was going to be for the next two months. Deciding to use the years of training she had to remain poised in any situation, instead of acting vulnerable, she continued, “And yes, it is true. My luggage did get stolen. Fortunately, I do not regard fashion as my highest priority so wearing Mazian clothing will not be an issue for me. Also, I was under the impression that uniform will be provided for us by our employer. Is it not so? What does Mazian clothing have to do anything with me then?”

A cough broke out amidst the sudden silence in the carriage once Taylor had spoken.

“You are simply too calm. That’s almost unreal,” someone remarked.

“Uniforms are only provided after the first week, new girl,” another called out.

From Amelie, however, was a totally unexpected response. “Fashion is not your highest priority? You do not care if you are wearing Mazian clothing. You mean, you are alright with wearing the clothes of our enemy? That is simply ridiculous!”

Fortunately, everyone seemed to disregard the first remark, reducing Taylor’s fear of being exposed within hours of her journey.

“This enemy is the one who is going to pay you, feed you and give you your uniforms while you work for them. I suggest you be a bit more mindful about what you say about them next,” a stern voice sounded from the far corner of the carriage. It was the same voice that had remarked on Taylor being suspiciously calm.

“That’s Jasmine,” the girl next to Taylor whispered into her ear. “She is in charge of all of us. You are new here so you probably don’t know. As long as you do not offend her, she will not disturb you.”

Taylor nodded, trying to suppress to growing fear in her chest. “Thanks for the warning. That is very nice of you,” she admitted.

The girl softly giggled. “I’m Bethany. And I told you this because all of us knows Jasmine and it would unfair if you don’t. Trust me though, I am not nice. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that any one of us here are nice. Why do you think we are all being sent to work for the very king of Mazian?”

Taylor sputtered, “The what?”

A trickle of moonlight escaped through the curtains and shone on Bethany’s face, which had been pulled up into a frown. “You don’t know?”

“I definitely didn’t know we were going to the king of Mazian!” Taylor exclaimed.

“Shush!” someone else from the carriage said loudly, effectively increasing Taylor’s frustration and reducing her voice level.

Bethany pressed her lips into a tight line. “This is not good. They don’t send newbies to work at the castle. Especially not newbies from the neighboring kingdom who does not even know she is going to work in the castle. Something is not right, and if anyone at the castle figures that out, we all could get in trouble, simply because you came with us. They would probably think you are a spy or something,” she whispered softly.

Everyone knew what happened to spies in the five kingdoms.

They were hung without mercy, often in front of their entire family, to ensure that no one dared to do such a thing. It was a horrible fate to have and no one ever wanted the label of a spy on them, not even the most dangerous criminals in the five kingdoms.

Taylor clenched her fist and tried to blink away the tears in her eyes. She had been reluctant to do this and it was already clear why. She was simply not meant to pretend. Not even a few hours and two of her future colleagues were on the verge of exposing her. How did her parents expect her to carry on this charade for days, let alone months?

She was right to have rejected the idea. It was simply foolish. Now, it was too late to back out though. She was already in Mazian and if it was anything like she had heard, she would be hung if she were discovered for spying on the new king.

Mazian was a kingdom of rules and secrecy. If either the rules or the secrecy was even merely disturbed, the perpetrator would be punished severely. That was something everyone in the five kingdoms knew well.

Yet, here she was, on her way to break most of Mazian's rules and find out some of its well-kept secrets to use as leverage against the kingdom. Closing her eyes for a moment, Taylor sighed. She would be lucky to even leave Mazian alive after a few months, let alone, unpunished.

“But I am not a spy,” she lied, trying to weakly defend herself.

“I know, you look too naive to even be one. No spy would let their luggage be lost by falling asleep in an unprotected place. Still, the Mazian people may think differently,” Bethany said.

Taylor sighed. “What should I do then?”

A moment of silence reigned around the carriage.

Then, Jasmine spoke. “We all will have to train you then. When we reach the castle, we will take you under our wing. You will be always paired with one of us and you must do exactly as we say. As long as you listen to us perfectly, no one will get into trouble. Don’t do things your own way and don’t catch the eye of anyone influential. Within a month, you will be good enough at your work that no one will even think you are a newbie. But, you must always listen to us until then. Always!” she demanded.

Taylor nodded her head vigorously. “Thank you! Thank you all!” she said, relieved.

Jasmine shook her head. “Well, newbie, thank us once you have completed at least two months of work in the castle without being suspected of anything troubling,” she said nonchalantly. “Until then, do exactly as I say. And right now, I am telling you to keep your mouth close and let us all sleep peacefully.”

Taylor nodded her head again, shooting a quick glance around herself. She could not see most of their faces but the quiet whispering between a few of the girls died down almost. Within minutes, the only sounds around them was the creaking of the carriage when the the wheels of the carriage bumped over the rocks on the road and the wind rushing past the carriage. An odd snore filled the carriage every few moments but other than that, the atmosphere was unusually quiet.

Taylor was wide awake while each of the girls slowly fell into the world of unconsciousness. She had her eyes wide open when the carriage stopped after two hours and William himself took a nap to relieve himself from driving continuously since they left the border.

In fact, Taylor was awake even when the sun rose that morning, brightening the atmosphere in the carriage with its joyful light.

Only then did the silent tears stop falling down her cheeks and Taylor managed to lull herself to sleep.