Donel's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He then carefully examined Renald's body language without moving his eyes. He was sure this was a test of his ability. Otherwise, why else would Renald ask that?
He knew he couldn't wait too long to respond. Even still, he didn't gather anything from Renald. He took a slightly deeper breath than normal and stated, "I believe it would be best if we limited the time that she could roam around. Specifically, only allow her to move about while the Young Master is at the academy. Furthermore, we should limit her to the Servant's Quarters to avoid any damage she might cause that visitors could see."
Renald's brow rose slightly. He had asked Donel because he had fallen behind in reading the reports. Since Donel was the person who spent the most time with Altair then he should be the one most familiar with her. But the girl couldn't be so clumsy as to constantly be breaking things. She had appeared with some old fashioned, and poorly made, weapons. If she was that clumsy then she would probably have wounded herself with them.
He would have been worried about Altair's ability to escape if she didn't get completely pummeled by his son. Even the maids of the mansion were capable of subduing Joshua on their own. He was very talented and could already use his Spiritual Energy to enhance his body but so could all of the servants in the mansion. If Renald wanted to, he could keep Joshua just as trapped as Altair without any problems.
However, Donel's advice was fairly good. There was still one problem though. "Donel, you forget that she isn't able to speak well. I can't imagine she has gotten too far with her education so quickly."
Donel gulped hard as a cold sweat started to break out on his back. He had not considered the whole picture and was sure that Renald was looking at him unfavorably now.
Renald continued, "Well, no matter. Let all of the other servants know that she will have roaming privileges soon and is not to be given any tasks if seen. Make sure that they keep an eye on her when she is them to avoid any problems. Let her roam around for a few hours after Joshua has left for the academy and she has finished her morning studies." Renald adjusted his position slightly before leaning forward and placing his hands before his head. "Let her roam alone but make sure she is shadowed. Don't let the shadows be spotted and make sure she doesn't leave the Servants Quarters. As you've said, she isn't ready for the other locations in the house."
He paused a moment and added, "Right, make sure all of the terminals are locked during that time too. If she really is clumsy than it would be best if she couldn't change any of the settings."
Donel nodded in understanding and Renald motioned for him to leave. He then turned on his heel to do as ordered.
Altair continued to try and see when the guards outside her door would take a break. However, she never found any such time. It was like they were glued to the spot and never had a need to do anything. It completely baffled her.
Since she had a bathroom she suspected that God's had a biological need to take care of their own business. Following that idea came the fact that they should also need some form of sustenance. Since she got food as well, it only added to the idea. So how could they just stand out there, all day, every day, without a single break?
The only times she wasn't able to check on them was when Donel came to teach her. She suspected that they could be taking their breaks then. However, even when she ate as fast as she could so that Donel would leave sooner, the guards were still there as if they had never moved.
The only idea she had on how to deal with it was to just knock them out when it was time to go. If they didn't take any breaks than it wouldn't matter. No one would come to check on them so it wouldn't be a problem.
As for keeping an eye out for patrols… She had seen them very sparsely. Over the course of a week she had only seen three patrols go by the window. The timing they came didn't even match up on the day they came. It seemed that the security of this mansion was horrible on the outside but nearly impossible on the inside.
Still, she had ways of escaping with her Magic that she had already used. Escaping from here wouldn't be too difficult.
Or so she thought.
Every day for a week, Altair would pretend to go to bed and wait for Renald to leave. Then, she would get out of bed quickly to avoid falling unconscious to the comfort of the bed. Following that, she would quietly change into some other clothes in the wardrobe and sneak up to the door to her room.
Every night that week she had planned to escape that way. But she never made it past the door.
The moment she opened the door even a tiny amount the guards outside would already be looking at her with disapproving faces. One of them would then haul her back into the room, make her change back into her nightgown, set her on the bed, and would stay there until she fell asleep. Or at least until she fell asleep anyway, since Altair didn't know exactly how long they would stay in the room.
The guards were far more skilled than she thought. It was like they heard her when she got up in her room even though she had been extra careful. Even when she suspected that was the case, she couldn't do much about it. None of her Magic was completely silent. She could only rely on the skill she had built up over four years. It just didn't seem to be enough and it vexed her.
During her ventures in trying to escape at night she also found out that the strange light in her room would vanish when Renald left. Since she didn't know what it was anyway she couldn't even be surprised by it, nor could she look for the source either. She had long given that up.
She wouldn't give up though. Getting out of this place was her top priority. As long as she could escape to a forest nearby then she could look for the ingredients for the antidote to the poison. Once she made the poison she could return home.
She did give up on trying getting out at night however.
Since that was the case, she just needed to pick a good time to escape during the day. It would be harder to sneak around than it was at night but that couldn't be helped. She was unable to even surprise the guards at night. They were too alert for her. At least during the day she was able to open the door slightly more before they looked at her…
Coming to that decision, Altair attempted to escape the following day.
Shortly after her morning lessons, after Donel had left the room, Altair quietly opened the door and was shocked that the two guards weren't there. This caused her to be worried.
Any change in the behaviors of guards that came without any notice was a red flag to any infiltrator or spy. This meant that something had changed. It would be a gamble to try and move without knowing what happened or the situation had passed.
Altair figured she might only get one shot at escaping. She didn't want to take an extra gamble, only to run into the guards around the nearest corner. Perhaps they had finally taken longer on their break or something. Or they might have figured out what she was up to. It would be pretty obvious when she tried to escape every night for a week.
Altair found it very likely that they had. She then settled on the decision to wait for a while to escape. Since they set a trap up she wouldn't just walk blindly into it!
Altair then spent another two weeks doing nothing about the guards not being there even once. She found their patience to be too good. Shouldn't it have been obvious that she had given up on escaping by now?
She didn't want to continue waiting like this. She was feeling very anxious about her situation. That brat could pop back up at any time. When he did pop up and she defended herself she would end up seeing any chance of escape fleeing from her. There wouldn't be any chance that they would leave her in one piece after she returned the favor to him.
Finally, she mustered her courage after Donel left as usual. She went into the wardrobe again and carefully looked over the clothes. She had to pick out the best ones that would be most suitable for sneaking around during the day. She remembered that the women here seemed to have a specific uniform that they wore whenever she saw them. She was hoping there would be something like that in this massive closet.
Turns out, there was an exact copy of their uniform in there. It was also fitted her to her size. It even came complete with shoes. It's just… the uniform was a lot harder to put on then she thought. It took her several days before she looked right in the mirror in the bathroom. She didn't even know what to do with the garter belt that came with the frilly uniform. She had never seen such a thing before and simply left it in the wardrobe.
The shoes, however, stunned her. They looked like they were made of ridiculously shiny leather but they felt like extremely thin wood on the outside and like her pillow on the inside. She almost wanted to never take them off.
With her preparations complete, several days after she gathered her courage to move into action, she opened the door after her morning lesson and, looking both ways down the hallway, walked out into the hall.
Donel's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He then carefully examined Renald's body language without moving his eyes. He was sure this was a test of his ability. Otherwise, why else would Renald ask that?
He knew he couldn't wait too long to respond. Even still, he didn't gather anything from Renald. He took a slightly deeper breath than normal and stated, "I believe it would be best if we limited the time that she could roam around. Specifically, only allow her to move about while the Young Master is at the academy. Furthermore, we should limit her to the Servant's Quarters to avoid any damage she might cause that visitors could see."
Renald's brow rose slightly. He had asked Donel because he had fallen behind in reading the reports. Since Donel was the person who spent the most time with Altair then he should be the one most familiar with her. But the girl couldn't be so clumsy as to constantly be breaking things. She had appeared with some old fashioned, and poorly made, weapons. If she was that clumsy then she would probably have wounded herself with them.
He would have been worried about Altair's ability to escape if she didn't get completely pummeled by his son. Even the maids of the mansion were capable of subduing Joshua on their own. He was very talented and could already use his Spiritual Energy to enhance his body but so could all of the servants in the mansion. If Renald wanted to, he could keep Joshua just as trapped as Altair without any problems.
However, Donel's advice was fairly good. There was still one problem though. "Donel, you forget that she isn't able to speak well. I can't imagine she has gotten too far with her education so quickly."
Donel gulped hard as a cold sweat started to break out on his back. He had not considered the whole picture and was sure that Renald was looking at him unfavorably now.
Renald continued, "Well, no matter. Let all of the other servants know that she will have roaming privileges soon and is not to be given any tasks if seen. Make sure that they keep an eye on her when she is them to avoid any problems. Let her roam around for a few hours after Joshua has left for the academy and she has finished her morning studies." Renald adjusted his position slightly before leaning forward and placing his hands before his head. "Let her roam alone but make sure she is shadowed. Don't let the shadows be spotted and make sure she doesn't leave the Servants Quarters. As you've said, she isn't ready for the other locations in the house."
He paused a moment and added, "Right, make sure all of the terminals are locked during that time too. If she really is clumsy than it would be best if she couldn't change any of the settings."
Donel nodded in understanding and Renald motioned for him to leave. He then turned on his heel to do as ordered.
Altair continued to try and see when the guards outside her door would take a break. However, she never found any such time. It was like they were glued to the spot and never had a need to do anything. It completely baffled her.
Since she had a bathroom she suspected that God's had a biological need to take care of their own business. Following that idea came the fact that they should also need some form of sustenance. Since she got food as well, it only added to the idea. So how could they just stand out there, all day, every day, without a single break?
The only times she wasn't able to check on them was when Donel came to teach her. She suspected that they could be taking their breaks then. However, even when she ate as fast as she could so that Donel would leave sooner, the guards were still there as if they had never moved.
The only idea she had on how to deal with it was to just knock them out when it was time to go. If they didn't take any breaks than it wouldn't matter. No one would come to check on them so it wouldn't be a problem.
As for keeping an eye out for patrols… She had seen them very sparsely. Over the course of a week she had only seen three patrols go by the window. The timing they came didn't even match up on the day they came. It seemed that the security of this mansion was horrible on the outside but nearly impossible on the inside.
Still, she had ways of escaping with her Magic that she had already used. Escaping from here wouldn't be too difficult.
Or so she thought.
Every day for a week, Altair would pretend to go to bed and wait for Renald to leave. Then, she would get out of bed quickly to avoid falling unconscious to the comfort of the bed. Following that, she would quietly change into some other clothes in the wardrobe and sneak up to the door to her room.
Every night that week she had planned to escape that way. But she never made it past the door.
The moment she opened the door even a tiny amount the guards outside would already be looking at her with disapproving faces. One of them would then haul her back into the room, make her change back into her nightgown, set her on the bed, and would stay there until she fell asleep. Or at least until she fell asleep anyway, since Altair didn't know exactly how long they would stay in the room.
The guards were far more skilled than she thought. It was like they heard her when she got up in her room even though she had been extra careful. Even when she suspected that was the case, she couldn't do much about it. None of her Magic was completely silent. She could only rely on the skill she had built up over four years. It just didn't seem to be enough and it vexed her.
During her ventures in trying to escape at night she also found out that the strange light in her room would vanish when Renald left. Since she didn't know what it was anyway she couldn't even be surprised by it, nor could she look for the source either. She had long given that up.
She wouldn't give up though. Getting out of this place was her top priority. As long as she could escape to a forest nearby then she could look for the ingredients for the antidote to the poison. Once she made the poison she could return home.
She did give up on trying getting out at night however.
Since that was the case, she just needed to pick a good time to escape during the day. It would be harder to sneak around than it was at night but that couldn't be helped. She was unable to even surprise the guards at night. They were too alert for her. At least during the day she was able to open the door slightly more before they looked at her…
Coming to that decision, Altair attempted to escape the following day.
Shortly after her morning lessons, after Donel had left the room, Altair quietly opened the door and was shocked that the two guards weren't there. This caused her to be worried.
Any change in the behaviors of guards that came without any notice was a red flag to any infiltrator or spy. This meant that something had changed. It would be a gamble to try and move without knowing what happened or the situation had passed.
Altair figured she might only get one shot at escaping. She didn't want to take an extra gamble, only to run into the guards around the nearest corner. Perhaps they had finally taken longer on their break or something. Or they might have figured out what she was up to. It would be pretty obvious when she tried to escape every night for a week.
Altair found it very likely that they had. She then settled on the decision to wait for a while to escape. Since they set a trap up she wouldn't just walk blindly into it!
Altair then spent another two weeks doing nothing about the guards not being there even once. She found their patience to be too good. Shouldn't it have been obvious that she had given up on escaping by now?
She didn't want to continue waiting like this. She was feeling very anxious about her situation. That brat could pop back up at any time. When he did pop up and she defended herself she would end up seeing any chance of escape fleeing from her. There wouldn't be any chance that they would leave her in one piece after she returned the favor to him.
Finally, she mustered her courage after Donel left as usual. She went into the wardrobe again and carefully looked over the clothes. She had to pick out the best ones that would be most suitable for sneaking around during the day. She remembered that the women here seemed to have a specific uniform that they wore whenever she saw them. She was hoping there would be something like that in this massive closet.
Turns out, there was an exact copy of their uniform in there. It was also fitted her to her size. It even came complete with shoes. It's just… the uniform was a lot harder to put on then she thought. It took her several days before she looked right in the mirror in the bathroom. She didn't even know what to do with the garter belt that came with the frilly uniform. She had never seen such a thing before and simply left it in the wardrobe.
The shoes, however, stunned her. They looked like they were made of ridiculously shiny leather but they felt like extremely thin wood on the outside and like her pillow on the inside. She almost wanted to never take them off.
With her preparations complete, several days after she gathered her courage to move into action, she opened the door after her morning lesson and, looking both ways down the hallway, walked out into the hall.
