All Chapters of Greenling: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

By the age of ten I had graduated from what was essentially a nursery – known as the Ward – and gone to stay with the older children in the western wing. This change was non-negotiable, not that I’ve ever heard of a ten-year-old arguing when being told they were moving up in the world. It was framed as an upgrade, with all the flowery language and notes of envy in the voices of my maidens, when they broke the news. A few looked sad, and that made me a little happy, as it meant that perhaps I was going to be missed. What other reason would they have for being sad? I couldn’t think of one. It did strike me as odd that I was never once given a reason for such a big move. If I’d asked, I’m sure I would’ve been met by answers like “the nursery is too small for you!

“Veille! Didn’t you hear the maidens? Get up!” I opened my eyes as Dornell poked his head up over the side of my bunk. His blond hair was unruly, as per usual – which was a shame, because whenever the maidens did it for him it really looked beautiful.I squinted at him and grumbled, more for show than anything else. I knew I couldn’t be late. Punishment for tardiness was a certainty even at the simplest of times, but it would be especially today, because today was a first for all the youngest members of Mannerly Hall, and almost as important for everybody else. Still. I grumbled because I didn’t like being woken up by anyone. 

I stared. All of us did, including the ones who’d been led on this same journey before. I gathered that not every exit from Mannerly Hall was the same, and perhaps this one was new to them, too.Beyond the doorway lay a broad corridor, slanting ever so slightly upward. The floor here was inlaid with emerald tiles and speckled with what looked to be gold paint, or perhaps even gold itself.Maiden Threwon stepped forward through the archway without so much as a backward glance. Like a trail of ducklings, we all filed on after her, many of us admiring the architecture of this brand new place. It wasn’t any more impressive than the Hall, maybe even less so – but it was new. “I think we’re he

My blood ran cold as her words washed over me, and my veins turned to ice. A sudden throbbing awakened near the back of my skull, warning me of an even greater headache on its way. Me. They wanted me, to… what? In a flash, Elodie stepped forward and genuflected all in one motion. She bared her pretty teeth at the assembly, draping one leg somewhat seductively as she let one hand glide along her thigh.“Lords and Ladies” she began a little breathlessly – something very unusual for her – “It would be my greatest delight to perform for you now, in all its sensuality, a dance known to the far west of here as– “&l

CLANG.The sound of a massive gong rang out. It came from the clocktower, a large structure stationed in a courtyard near the center of the Estate, which I had never been to. This bell only rang twice within a day: once at lunchtime, and once half an hour before dinner, to signal it was time for all residents to rest and retire. My teeth chattered. I looked weakly in the direction the sound had come from, believing I could somehow see it if I tried. It was evening already? Where had the time gone? I was certain none of us had been in this room for more than an hour. Maybe more time had passed in the journey here than I’d even realized, but that couldn’t… How long had I been dancing? As if reminded that a great predator waited at my throat, I looked back to Mada