Peasant life didn't sound too bad... No etiquette lessons, no mother or father breathing their expectations down her neck, and better yet... NO SUITORS! Just a house full of strong independent women. After the first few days of her stay at the Monagrails', Ci could feel herself getting accustomed. Her strength had returned thanks to Babcia's wonderful cooking and her tears from day to day began to subside. She was growing used to her new name and her shorter hair and realized how much easier it was for her to maintain... and all by herself!!! Remora and her grandmother were wonderful company, and Ci had never smiled more in all her life. She felt a type of freedom she didn't realize existed. Life was beginning to return to her eyes, and a kind of sparkle was there that was never there before.

  ...Until she realized why peasant life was called peasant life.

  "I have to WHAT...???" Ci squeaked and clutched her dress with white knuckles as she stared at Remora in horror. Remora sighed as she tied back her bandana, turning to Ci.

  "Listen, Babcia and I came to an agreement to shelter you... keep you hidden. But that means you have to pull your weight around here. I go to work to make the money to cover rent, groceries, and other necessities... Babcia stays home and cooks the food but also has been doing all of the housework. Since you can't go out in public and get a job to help out around here, you get to stay here and cook, clean, fix... whatever Babcia needs of you really." Remora turned to the doorknob, pcing her hand on it. Ci frantically grabbed her arm and clung to it.

  "But...! I don't know how to do any of those things! I mean, I couldn't even bathe myself when I first came here... How am I supposed to do ANYTHING...???" She stared up at her with puppy dog eyes. Remora ughed and turned back to her, putting a hand on her shoulder with a teasing look.

  "Welcome to our world, honey." Ci defted under her words, still clinging to her as she whimpered. Remora softened with a sigh, brushing away a tuft of Ci's hair from her face. "You'll do fine... Babcia is a great teacher. She'll be firm with you but she's patient. You will learn... you're capable of that, Ci. I know it."

  Ci felt her stomach flutter from the touch and her words of affirmation. She swallowed thickly and looked behind her towards Babcia's room, then back at Remora.

  "Do you have to leave...?" Ci cast her gaze downward. She had bascially been tched at Remora's hip the entire time she'd been here, and now she'd have to go the whole day without her. Remora smiled assuringly at her.

  "I do... You'll be fine. Look at me." She tipped her chin up. "You'll be fine. Remember what I taught you? Deep breaths. Okay?" Remora breathed in deeply, her gaze unwavering as Ci followed her lead, intaking a slow and deep breath of air. They exhaled together and Remora squeezed her hand one st time. "Alright... I'm off. Good luck!" She waved to her before taking off through the door and down the street. Ci stood at the window of the door like a sad dog before she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned to see Babcia with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face.

  "Ready to work, your highness?" Babcia grinned. Ci practically drooped at her words but nodded defeatedly.

  ...

  "Alright kiddo, rule number one!" Babcia's voice was suddenly sharp and authoritative, causing Ci to quickly straighten to attention. Babcia's gaze was piercing and all business... the sweet, soft-spoken woman she met before was magically gone. "You use something, you clean up after yourself, no ifs ands or buts!" Ci gulped.

  "O-okay..." Ci mumbled.

  "Yes ma'am! I tell you something you say 'yes ma'am'! That's rule number 2!" Babcia firmly corrected. Ci straightened up even further.

  "Yes ma'am!" Babcia hummed and nodded in approval.

  "Rule number 3, I don't want no sass from you girlie... You might be royalty, but under my roof, you follow my instructions. And remember..." She grabbed a spatu and pointed it at her. "...I'm the one who makes sure you're fed. Do the work and you'll do just fine around here. Understood?" Ci's eyes widened and she gulped.

  "Yes."

  "Yes what?" Babcia raised an eyebrow.

  "Yes ma'am!" Ci quickly corrected. Babcia smiled and rexed.

  "Good, now we'll start you on your first chore... wait here." Babcia went to the supply closet. Ci felt like crumbling into pieces.

  "That was terrifying..." Ci thought to herself, almost at the point of trembling. As Babcia stepped into the supply closet, she leaned against the doorframe, releasing a breath.

  "That was terrifying..." Babcia thought to herself. The fact she just talked down at the literal princess like that had her nerves jumping. She took a deep breath and grabbed the broom. No backing down now.

  "First things first. A pretty easy chore. Sweeping." Babcia pnted the broom into Ci's hands. Ci looked down at the alien object and back up at Babcia.

  "Sweeping...?" She blinked in terror. Babcia's grin grew wider.

  "Sweeping. For getting all the dust and dirt off our floors. You take that end..." She pointed at the bristles. "And you sweep all the crap off the floor and back into the outside world. Now go on." Babcia motioned encouragingly. Ci whimpered and gave it her shot, poking at the ground with the bristled end.

  "Sweep... Sweep... Sweeping... Like this, Miss Monagrail?" She continued poking. Babcia pinched the bridge of her nose, then adjusted her gsses with a sigh. This was going to be a looong day...

  "No, honey... You're not stabbing the floors with it. You..." She pantomimed her motions, guiding her arms in a curving motion. "...sweeeeep. Try again." Ci blinked at her then looked back down at the broom. She gave it another shot, sending the bristles across the floor... but her motions didn't stop as she flung it upward, sending a ploom of dust into her face.

  "ACK! My eyes...!!!" Babcia deadpanned as she felt her temples throb. She could feel years of her life being tallied off just by watching this pitiful creature.

  "Let's try something else..."

  ...

  "Here's something I'm sure you'll handle fine. Laundry." Babcia dropped a giant basket of undry onto the ground in her backyard. Ci was distracted, taking in the sight of the rge weeping willow tree that draped over the fenced-in yard. It's leaves were drifting to the drying ground through the subtle autumn breeze. The air was cooling and the days were becoming shorter soon. Babcia cleared her throat and Ci swiftly turned with a peep. "It's fairly easy. You fill this up with warm water and soap..." she motioned to the tub. "Then use this..." she hauled the washboard into the water with a spsh. "...to scrub the clothing clean. Give it a try."

  Ci blinked at her and took a breath, rolling up her sleeves. She knelt down at the tub and took the first dress, dipping it into the soapy water, ultimately causing a spsh to hit her in the face. She blinked and stared at Babcia who smiled. She wasn't letting her get off easy, simply motioning for her to continue. Ci's voice quivered and she grabbed the dress, getting to scrubbing. Babcia hummed in approval.

  "When you're done, you hang them like this..." Babcia showed her with a dry dress, pinching the fabric with the clothespins and hanging it. Got it?" Ci nodded.

  "Yes ma'am."

  "Good. I'll get lunch started." Babcia stepped inside and closed the sliding gss door with a smile on her face.

  ...One that was short sting, for when she returned to check on her progress she was met with the wet clothes hanging, some upside down, some inside out, and all of them still covered in suds. She groaned.

  "That was... a great try sweetheart... let me fix these for today... I'll have you do one st thing..." Ci could FEEL the disappointment in her voice, causing her to wilt on the spot. She took a deep breath, summoning her determination to impress Babcia, and followed her further into the yard.

  "This should be fairly easy. You just take this pail..." Babcia pced a pail containing an array of seeds into her hand. "And you go in there, and sprinkle it on the ground. Simple!" Babcia put her hands on her hips.

  "That's it?" Ci looked to her, uncertainty in her eyes. Babcia nodded with a smile.

  "Yep! Simple as that." Ci turned to the wired fence and nodded. She stepped to it and unlocked the tch, opening the door, stepping inside. She reached in the pail and gathered the seeds into her palm, shaking it and scattering the seeds across the dirt.

  "So... do these grow into something special or...?" Ci tossed some more here and there. Babcia ughed and raised an eyebrow.

  "Grow? Oh, no honey... that's birdfeed." Babcia expined. Ci hummed in confusion and turned to her with a head tilt. Then she heard a distinct clucking sound coming from her feet. She looked down to see two tiny eyes staring back up at her. Eyes that belonged to an orange, feathered creature, with a sharp beak and tiny talons. Ci yelped and jumped away from it.

  "GAH!!! What on EARTH!?" She gripped the handle of the pail as she leaped, spilling some birdfeed all over her boots. More little eyes appeared followed by the purring and clucks of the creatures, who slowly began to surround her feet. Ci froze. Babcia ughed.

  "They're called 'chickens', your majesty." Babcia teased with her arms crossed. "They're what supplies our eggs." Ci groaned at her smug response.

  "Yes, I know what chickens are!!! I just didn't expect this!!! Oh Gods, they're surrounding me! Miss Monagrail, they aren't going to eat me are they?!?!" She cried as the chickens pecked at the seeds around her feet. Babcia chuckled in entertainment.

  "No, dearest, they're not going to eat you... They're only interested in what's in that pail. They'll even eat right from your hand. Try it!" Babcia coaxed with her waving hands. Ci gulped and looked down, meeting the eyes of one particur bird. She reached into the pail with hesitancy and crouched down, extending her hand and opening her palm. She cmped her eyes shut and turned her head away, waiting to be massacred by the prehistoric-looking monsters.

  She then felt the gentle... peck... peck peck.... peck... on her palm. Her eyes opened widely and she turned with a gasp to see the creature eating right out of her hand. Soon, the other hens joined in, three, four, and five, softly nipping the feed from her palm. Her eyes sparkled and her smile grew wide at the sight, turning her head to Babcia.

  "Look, Miss Monagrail! I'm doing it!!!" She cheered. Babcia chuckled heartily.

  "Atta girl!" She warmly watched on as Ci reached into the pail for more, assuring to feed each creature that approached her. She then noticed a rger bird approaching her, with amber eyes and colorful plumes of blueish feathers, a rge rosy crop on it's head, and strong legs. She grinned curiously at the newcomer, extending her hand out to it.

  "Oh, Ci, you may not want to feed that one..." Babcia warned. Ci chuckled with swelling pride.

  "It's fine! They like me!" She smiled reassuringly. Babcia shook her head.

  "Yes, the hens do, but thats a rooster and they can get a little..." Before Babcia could finish her statement Ci turned her head to the sound of the rooster growling and kicking dirt back, it's feathers rising in aggression. Before Ci could react, it leaped at her, fpping its wings and swiping at her with its talons. Ci screeched and dropped the pail, booking it out of the fenced in section. The rooster swiftly followed, batting its wings at her and chasing her around the yard. Babcia sighed. "...protective..."

  Babcia, as fast as she could, shuffled over to them, grabbing the rooster and swaddling it up in her arms. It protested, squacking and wriggling under the old woman's grip that wouldn't budge.

  "Hush you!" Babcia commanded. The rooster squirmed, but ultimately dropped its struggles under her order. Babcia hummed in approval and stepped to the gate, dropping the rooster off into the fenced in section with the rest of his hens. She sighed and dusted off her hands, turning to Ci.

  "You alright? Did he getcha?" Ci whimpered and touched her face, checking for and scratch marks. She sighed with relief and shook her head, her heart still thrumming in her ears. Babcia chuckled.

  "Well, you did good. The job's done! That's 1 out of 3 for the day. Not great... but not bad princess... I honestly expected worse." Babcia watched as Ci drooped under her words, her expression softening. She sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't feel discouraged. You grew up not learning how to do any of this... that was out of your control. But I'll tell you what is... Is not giving up. Be ready to learn some lessons and be ready for me to be hard on you, because if you're to live in our world, you'll have to pick up a lot of knowledge and experience. That's how our people survive." Babcia gave her one final assuring pat. Ci withered further.

  "It just doesn't feel very rewarding..." She murmured. Babcia chuckled.

  "It might feel that way, but think about it like this... You sweep the floors then you get to see how pretty they look when you go back inside..." Babcia led her inside where the floors were sparkling from Babcia's work. "...Or now you'll have fresh clean undry to be comfy in..." She motioned to the hanging clothes. "...Or now you have happy chickens that will give you delicious eggs..." She guided her to the kitchen. "...eggs that can be used to make things like..." She put on some mitts, opening the oven. A sudden waft hit the air of savory sweetness that made Ci feel like she could melt on the spot. Babcia turned around with a tray of cookies. "...some fresh homemade cookies..." The elderly woman smiled at her.

  Ci felt her mouth salvate like a dog's, her eyes shining with desire as she looked upon the sweets. She sat down at the kitchen table and waited as they cooled, never taking her eyes off the prize. Babcia then prepared her a pte and a gss of milk. Ci took one and bit into it, instantly melting from the wonderful flood of fvors in her mouth. She hummed in ecstasy, taking another bite and then another. Babcia chuckled.

  "Does it feel rewarding now?" She inquired.

  "Mmm... Yes ma'am..." Ci nodded with a mouthful.