They made their way around to the main house and walked to the front door being guarded by two other maid servants on each side, one of them opened the door for them to enter. After they entered Inae left them to walk behind a screen where her voice could be heard announcing their arrival.
Hazia tried to listen further without being obvious, but all she heard was a hum of acknowledgement there was no other movement for a while. She took that time to observe her surroundings. The house was very spacious and lavish, as soon as they stepped past the threshold they were cuddled by the warmth that had accumulated inside. They hadn't realized how cold it was on the outside until they entered. The decorations, though minimal, were all precious and antique; it could be seen that each piece, be it a vase, carpet or a painting, even the candle holders, and the beautifully embroidered separating screens standing between them and the owners like walls making their current statuses and hierarchical positions abundantly clear, each piece of furniture and decorative element were chosen and placed with much care and deliberation. The place exuded a loud but quaint sense of luxury and wealth. They made sure to not make any kind of unnecessary noise, though Hazia was less than pleased with the situation she was in at the moment, but she made a gesture to Kazu who was also frowning to remain calm and quiet.
They had been standing for a while before a rustling could be heard from behind the screens. Soon, three figures walked around the screen, Inae along with two others, one of which supported the other. The three women stood before the screen that depicted a crane flying away from a group of tigers wedged between screens of embroidered flowers and vines, watching them. Hazia and Kazu also observed them and it was obvious who the noble lady was. The usual loud-mouthed, high-nosed Inae was gone without a trace, leaving a eyes-low, shoulders-bent subservient in her stead. Another servant the same age as Inae with matching hairstyles, only better dressed, though she stood with impeccable posture, she stood a step below the third lady. The third lady who stood above everyone else was most certainly the noble lady they were meant to meet, from her hair to her feet nothing about her was ordinary. Gold and bepearled jewelry were the accessories decorating her elaborately beautiful hair-do, satin fabrics clothed her body, and a pair of cotton made shoes lined her feet.
With the assistance of the second lady, presumably her personal maid, the noble lady walked down the few steps and sat on one side of the couch set below it. And her personal maid poured her a cup of tea using the set on display on the table situated in the middle of the couch set. She slowly sipped her tea after cooling it, then waved her hand to the seats on the side. Inae, who had receded into a corner, appeared and guided both Hazia and Kazu to sit while standing behind them.
"These are the children I've heard so much about?" she tried to confirm. Hazia remained silent, unsure of how she should respond.
Luckily, Inae saved her the trouble, "Yes, Your Highness. The young girl is quite good at cooking. Her recipes are novel but very well prepared. After hearing that Your Highness hasn't had a good appetite, this lowly servant thought that with her new methods of cooking could help to alleviate your worries."
The noble lady continued to observe them as she cooled and sipped her tea. Hazia couldn't help but notice how smooth her every movement is, how every minor movement seemed so elegant when performed by her. She wondered, were all the noble ladies like this? But then she remembered a certain lady she had met a couple weeks before and robbed and thought it may just be her own upbringing or natural mannerisms. Hazia did not avoid eye contact with the noble lady, Inae had been so secretive about her that she was still unaware of who she actually was. She was unaware of her rank in the palace but assumed that with how lavish her living quarters were that she was either highly favored by the king or came from a very wealthy family that had quite an influence even inside the palace.
"I did quite enjoy the meals she prepared for me today. But… I don't believe that you truly are who you say you two are. Reveal your identities or be charged with deceiving royalty."
Hazia could hardly believe what she was hearing, 'Is this woman seriously considering punishing two five-year-olds for deceiving royalty? Does she lack a human heart?', she wondered. She contemplated for a while , it was no different than being stuck between a rock and a hard place, she knew that revealing her identity would make it possible for their connection to the white tower to be discovered and the punishment for leaving without the king's permission and the punishment for that be the lightest considering their identities and how many people would prefer them dead than living. Then she remembered what she had overheard during the day while cooking, this noble lady hadn't eaten a proper meal for almost a month and was even experiencing stomach problems, but she had eaten all that she had prepared. So, she must be of some value to her, at least for now, from her experience Hazia understood that people in power like to always feel like they're in power. Her and Kazu were an anomaly that threatened that feeling, so they needed to reassure her and also increase their overall value to her.
She jumped off the chair and stood before the noble lady looking her directly in the eyes, "It is true that we are orphans. We have no mother or father. But we snuck out of the white tower. We were being bullied by the former concubines and couldn't get enough to eat, so we had to sneak out. We didn't want to continue stealing from the kitchen, so we asked to work for some food. We really didn't mean to lie. We just want to eat and not be bullied anymore!" Hazia cried, selling her pitiful story which was true for the most part. 'It's better that I hand over this leverage with my own two hands, rather than have them investigate on their own and discovering what I wouldn't want them to in the process and then having to pay a steep price.' she thought to herself.
"Is that all true?" she tried to confirm. With big tears continuously falling from her eyes Hazia nodded her head and swore that everything she said was true. The noble lady gave a slight head nod in acknowledgement. "In that case, I will provide you with a place to stay, food to eat and even pay you a generous wage to spend on whatever you'd like. The only condition is that you continue to cook all my meals for me."
Hearing this, Hazia sniffled and wiped her tears away, "I-I can agree, but my brother has to stay with me. Where I go, he goes. We always stay together." She turned to look at the boy who remained silent the entire time, while watching her every action very keenly.
This also attracted the noble lady's eyes to the quiet little boy, seeing his face caused a slight ripple in her eyes, but it was quickly masked before anyone could notice. She knew he was there, after all she had seen them both when she first walked around the screen, but she had gradually forgotten him, perhaps because his presence was overshadowed by that of the little girl who was the only one who spoke up.
"Alright, that can be arranged," said the noble lady.
"Also... I want to leave the palace." Hazia nervously wrung her fingers like a scared child.
"You are asking for quite a bit. Leaving the palace is almost impossible for you to do right now with how guarded the palace gates are."
"But-"
"However, after some time, you'll be able to go outside the palace when the other maids visit their families once a month and return to the palace with them. Identity documents will need to be prepared before that is possible, as it wouldn't be appropriate for you to try and leave or enter the palace without them."
Hazia understood that the noble lady was being quite accommodating to her requests and thought it best to quit while she was a head.
"Thank you for your favor, uhh- Your Highness!" Hazia expressed her deep gratitude.
She hummed and waved her hand. The maid at her side, who had assisted her and poured her tea stepped forward, "You two follow me." She walked past them. Hazia grabbed Kazu's hand and brought him along to follow behind her with Inae also following behind them.