A MAZE OF GREED

Thea and Ruth couldn't believe what they witnessed. It was common for nobility to take advantage of the underprivileged ones, especially the women. O'Dells were no exception as people shared the back-fence talk about O'Dell men having illegitimate relationships with various women. And Edwin O'Dell was always a rebellious one. People considered him as a 'black sheep' of the family.

Thea always found interest in such gossips. Hence, she was aware of the colourful stories about the Young Master. But, Thea didn't expect to witness something like that tonight, when she sneaked into 'the great manor' with her friend Ruth. Naturally, a thought peeked in her mind that she was much better in looks than the maid. If life had not this biased, then the woman in Edwin's hand would have been her. Alas!

Ruth's mind, on the other hand, was walking on a different road. She couldn't digest the fact that the nobility could stoop so low to use women as a means of momentary pleasure. But then again, the maid was with Edwin by her will. The way she acted and refused to leave even after Edwin told her to do so, showed that he didn't force her to be with him. Ruth felt an ache rising in her head.

She shook her head to not delve deep into these thoughts and directed her attention towards Thea. "Thank god, he didn't catch us! It's late in the night. We should leave before we fall in another trouble." She said to her friend while looking warily at her surroundings.

Thea's face reflected her thoughts. "Relax, Ruth! We are safe. Every person here is busy at the celebrations. They don't have time and sense to look for us or notice us. Did you see how handsome Young Master is? I only heard about it as he doesn't appear frequently in public. I wish I could have got to see him more closely." She gushed while joining her hands in front of her chest with a glint in her small eyes.

Mention of Edwin's looks made Ruth confess that she also didn't expect him to look that good. But then she didn't expect him to be that rude either.

"Whatever! Let's go back, Thea. I am not feeling good here anymore." Ruth requested.

Thea shook her head in disagreement. "There is no way that we are leaving from here without peeking inside the hall. We haven't gone through all this for returning back without getting our goal."

"But Thea..."

"And I want to see Young Master again. I am sure he will look more gorgeous in bright light than we saw now." Thea said while raising her brows like a child.

Ruth creased her brows in the middle. "Why do you want to see him again. I have seen enough of him to give me bad dream for two nights. I don't want to go and see him or hundreds of men similar to him." Ruth grunted.

Thea's face softened after hearing her friend's reply. "Just a glance, Ruth. Please. I promise we will leave after that. Come on, you can't leave me here in the middle."

Ruth wanted to deny Thea's request as she was already smacking herself mentally to come this far with her. But Thea's hopeful eyes made her resolve to weaken. "I- I don't think it is a good idea, Thea."

Thea didn't give her a chance and grabbed her hand. She pulled Ruth along with her in the direction of the hall. "I knew you are a good friend, Ruth. Thank you! I promise you will always praise me for the rest of your life for this once in a lifetime experience." She said excitedly, making sure that she was not loud to grab the guards' attention.

Ruth sighed with the hope that the experience would not turn into a nightmare.

The women walked through the dimly lit corridors with alertness. They were mere seamstresses living in the Eastern part of the town, where no noble would like to put a step. It was an adventurous and crazy idea to sneak into the manor through a broken compound wall when not only the town's but the elites from all over the place gathered under one roof.

If someone got a whiff of their presence then they were done for their lives.

Watching the young blood of O'Dells in an uncomfortable situation with a maid and his behaviour towards her had already intimidated Ruth. And now the grandeur of the place was making her gulp in nervousness now and then.

After walking for two minutes, Thea pulled her around the left corner. Some people were walking in and out of the large arch. Every one of them was dressed in the expensive and shiny clothes that Ruth blinked her eyes several times to make sure that it was not one of her dreams she gets once in a while.

Thea's lips pulled downwards in the corners when she noticed two guards stationed near the big vases filled with pink and white coloured flowers. There was no way that they would go unnoticed from their alert gazes. The women's simple clothes made them stand out in a dazzling place.

"Thea, we have seen enough. Let's go." Ruth whispered in urge.

Thea took a moment to reply. Then she said excitedly. "I have an idea. Come." she didn't wait for Ruth to follow her as she knew that the poor woman had no other choice.

They tiptoed around the wall and jumped from the raised platform of the building onto the ground that was covered in grass. During the jump, Ruth's leg got caught in the hem of her dress that made her lose her balance a little. She steadied herself by taking the support of a nearby pot that had a medium tall plant in it. The movements created little noise that made one of the guards perk up his ears.

The man turned his head to see what caused the noise. Ruth's breath caught in her throat as Thea placed her first finger on her lips to shush her. They stood still to not draw any more attention towards them.

The other guard asked what was wrong to the former one. When the sound didn't repeat the former guard dismissed the thought of something was wrong.

The women's heartbeat became normal after the assurance that they were safe. Taking extra care, Thea gestured Ruth to follow her with her hand. They ran towards the back of the building in the dark. They stopped only after they came away from people's eyes.

Ruth exhaled through her mouth. "They barely missed us. I don't want to stay here any longer. I am going..." She stopped in the middle of the sentence when she noticed her friend's face that screamed shock. Thea watched something mesmerizingly, her lips parted a little in awe.

Ruth's eyes followed the trail where Thea's eyes were glued. And the very next moment Ruth mirrored her friend's expressions.

The women were peeking through the window of the hall where the celebration was going on.

"This- this is...."

"heaven on the Earth!" Thea completed Ruth's sentence.

Both women were awestruck at the beauty and the shine of the place. Their eyes bulged out of their eye sockets by watching the men and women from the rich families that they only heard about.

Ruth rubbed her eyes to make sure that it was not her delusion. And... it was not. She was indeed witnessing the best thing that she could ever get a chance to see in her life.

It was a reality and no dream!