When Marie got to her chambers, she reluctantly rang her bell to summon Belinda. There was a knock on the door about five minutes later, but to Marie’s surprise, a young girl perhaps 15 or 16 years old was on the other side. The young girl immediately bowed her head and curtsied.

“My Lady, it is an honor to meet you.”

She murmured, straightening but not taking her gaze off of the floor. Marie groaned inwardly but then her natural kindness reasserted itself and she asked,

" What is your name?”

“I am called Larisa my Lady,” she replied, still not lifting her gaze from the floor. Injecting extra warmth into her voice Marie said gently,

“Larisa you don’t have to be afraid of me, I am not going to hurt you. Please, look at me.”

Larisa glanced up at Marie only long enough for her to realize that Larisa had mismatched eyes, in addition to her rich chestnut brown hair, and fair skin. One was a green just a few shades lighter than Marie’s own and the other was a light shade of blue. Deciding to lay off getting the girl to treat her like a normal person she asked in the same gentle voice,

“Do you know where Belinda is Larisa?”

The girl nodded,

“She has a fever my Lady, and told me to attend to you while she was sick.”

Marie felt a rush of protectiveness surge through her.

“Take me to the healer please.”

She requested, grabbing a small pouch of coins from under one of her many pillows.

“Of course my Lady.”

Larisa replied.

Once they reached the healer of the Duke’s keep Marie said,

“Healer Rachel, Belinda is sick with a fever, please give me the best healing tonic you have for such a malady.”

She held up the small (by her standards) pouch of coins.

“Spare no expense, Healer, I will ensure that you are compensated accordingly.”

As the Healer began mixing herbs together Marie, looked back at Larisa and asked,

“Is anyone else who is sick or injured Larisa?”

The timid girl responded after a few moments of thought.

“The only one other than Belinda that I know of is Simon, the stable master’s son, my Lady. He shoved his father out of the way when one of the horses charged at him and broke his arm.”

Marie looked at Rachel,

“I have a potion that will fix his arm better than any doctor can my Lady.”

She assured Marie, her voice carrying the slightest musical lilt of the Southern lands. Many of the most extraordinary healers in the world were schooled there. Healer Rachel set a small glass vial full of a pale green liquid on the counter, plugging it firmly with a small bit of cork. Then she went back to the herbs that she had been mixing and after a little while turned back to Marie and set another vial, this one full of a pale blue mixture on the counter.

“There you are my Lady, the green vial is for the broken bone and the blue one is for the fever.”

The healer looked sternly at her,

“Now before you go, my Lady which did I say was which?”

Marie stopped counting out the coins in her bag and up-tended half of it on the table.

“Blue for fever and green for the broken bone Healer Rachel.”

The Healer smiled,

“Ah, I will turn you into a healer yet my Lady.”

When she took her eyes off of Marie and glanced over to the pile of coins on the counter, the Healer saw that Marie had overpaid her and just shook her head as Marie was nowhere to be found. Hurrying through the servant's hidden passages, Marie and Larisa entered the servant's living chambers. Handing the blue vial to Larisa, Marie said,

“Just make sure Belinda drinks all of it, I will give Simon his so that you do not get into trouble for going to the male section of the servant's quarters without permission.”

Larisa nodded gratefully and made her way over Belinda’s sweaty, flushed form. While Larisa coaxed Belinda into drinking her potion, Marie made her way to the male side of the quarters and easily spotted Simon who was clutching his right arm which had been put in a homemade sling.

“Hey, you’re Simon right?”

She asked, her voice curious and non-threatening.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

The boy replied through gritted teeth.

“Here, I have a tonic that should help the pain, take it.”

Marie said, handing him the small vial. The young boy looked at her, and, apparently decided to trust her as he downed the whole potion in one go. Marie waited till she was sure that he had drank it all, and then went back to Larisa who was kneeling beside Belinda’s bed.

“I am sorry Larisa but we need to go, I have an etiquette lesson soon and I will need help getting into one of my ridiculous dresses. You are free to leave as soon as I am changed.”

Marie said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

“Of course, my Lady, serving you is never a problem”

Larisa replied, jumping to her feet with a smile.

As the two hurried to Marie's chambers Marie could not help but ask,

"Larisa, how old are you?"

The younger girl blinked, surprised, but replied,

"I just turned 16 a few weeks ago my Lady."

Marie nodded in response to Larisa's reply and opened the door to her room, gesturing at her overly large wardrobe.

"You can pick anything you want from the left side of the wardrobe, the right side is my so-called "casual" side."

Larisa's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas when she saw luxurious gowns in Marie's wardrobe.

"One of my stupid gowns could likely fetch enough to feed her and whatever family she has for at least a month or two."

Marie thought to herself. A short while later, Larisa emerged from the gaping maw of Marie's wardrobe, carrying a stunning deep green gown. Setting it on the bed, she went back in, coming out with a pair of 4-inch light beige heels and a pair of simple, medium-sized golden hoop earrings. Rubbing her right ring finger, Marie was relieved to find her mother's ring still there. After the gown that Larisa had chosen for Marie was on, Larisa offered to put Marie's earrings in for her. Marie grinned,

"Thank you for the offer Larisa but I can put them in myself."

She quickly popped them into her ears and slipped on the heels. Tapping the stone Minerva had given her as she walked to her living area, she told Larisa

"You can go tend to Belinda now, but if she or Simon take a turn for the worse come and get me as soon as you can, okay?"

"Of course my Lady"

Larisa said.