The Story of the New Maid
Listen, my dear, so you know the rules of the palace. Adham Bey must not see you, which means you will clean his wing in the morning, and at night, you must never approach his wing. Do not let Adham Bey see you or even catch a glimpse of you. However, currently, the one responsible for cleaning the wing is Marwa, and you will go with her to learn the system. But for now, you will be responsible for cleaning the clothes. Then she continued and looked at me, "If you don't want this job, there are many girls who would love to have this position."
I nodded and said, "No, I'll be organized, don't worry." After that, I found out that this woman would be responsible for my work here. She took me to the servant's wing, where she introduced me to my duties and what was required from me. I was very upset when I found out that I would be responsible for washing the clothes and that the clothes would be delivered to me, meaning I wouldn’t have any direct contact with the palace. I would remain throughout my work in the servant’s wing.
The day passed slowly, and at the end of the day, I was exhausted. While I was collecting the clean clothes to return them, I overheard some of the maids talking quietly.
"Did you hear? Adham Bey has been angry since the morning; no one dares approach him!"
"It seems he didn't sleep well last night; he's more tense than usual."
I stood still, feeling anxious. Could this be related to what happened last night? Is he angry because of me? No, that's impossible; I'm just a maid, I have no value in this palace, and he wouldn't waste his time thinking about something trivial like that.
I sighed and continued with my work, but it wasn't long before I heard Mrs. Taghreed's voice calling me in a sharp tone:
"Come here right now!"
I quickly walked towards her, and she led me to a large office. She opened the door and entered before me, then turned to me and said, "Adham Bey wants to see you."
I froze, my heart pounding. Why does he want to see me? Is he going to scold me for what happened yesterday? Will I be fired from the palace?
Mrs. Taghreed gave me a stern look and signaled for me to enter, so I swallowed hard and took a deep breath before stepping inside.
Adham was sitting behind his luxurious desk, his eyes fixed on me with intensity, making me feel completely exposed. He remained silent for a moment, as if examining me with his dark eyes, then he said in a low voice but with an authoritative tone:
"Close the door behind you."
I shivered slightly, but I did as he ordered, then turned to face him, my hands clasped together in an attempt to calm my nerves.
He said coldly, "I want to understand, why did you go out to the garden in the middle of the night?"
I lifted my gaze to meet his, and despite my fear, I tried to remain calm as I responded: "As I told you yesterday, I heard a bird trapped, and I couldn’t ignore it."
He narrowed his eyes, as if trying to read my thoughts, then said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "So, you couldn't ignore a little bird, but you could ignore the rules that I told you from day one?"
I felt embarrassed and quickly replied: "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it would be such a big deal. I never meant to break the rules."
He stared at me in silence for a few moments, then stood up and walked toward me with calm but assured steps. I stood frozen in place, my heart racing.
He said in a low voice, but with a dangerous edge: "Listen carefully, I don't like people who disobey my orders. If this happens again, you won’t have a place here. Do you understand?"
I nodded quickly, my legs feeling weak beneath me, then he said firmly:
"You can go now."
I turned quickly, opened the door, and stepped out, closing it behind me. I stood outside for a moment, struggling to breathe normally, not believing that I had come out of this meeting unscathed.
But despite everything, I couldn't shake the strange feeling... As though this was not the end, but merely the beginning of something I didn’t fully understand yet!