Hunger robs the spirit and the body. Food and drink come before feelin' or thinking. When ye're starving, the brain jus' switches off. And that's what I need now. To not think.

A triangle-shaped white bread cucumber sandwich rests in my left hand, and a raspberry jam one in my right. I shove them inside me with an impressive speed, eyeing watermelon slices laid out on the small table in my bedchamber.

Even if abundant, none of the delectable food leaves any impression. I'm so nervous, I could be eatin' junkyard scraps and I wouldn't notice.

"I see that this morning meal is to your liking," Sophie says.

"Ya think?" I mumble with my mouth full.

Sophie taps the orifice of her right eye, adjusting the tiny clock. A shadow of a smile crosses her face. "I am pleased to inform you that today's lunch starts off with rich slices of mutton pie. I will follow this appetizer with two kinds of soup: a mushroom barley and roasted acorn squash. To complete the meal, there shall be a cold roast chicken with hard-boiled eggs and buttered rolls. The dessert will comprise..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sophie." I wipe my face with my fleece nightgown sleeve. "Hold yer horses. Let's see if I make it out alive till lunch, huh?"

"You should not be saying such things, Madame Igglesden." Sophie's features soften. She dabs at the corner of her left eye with an embroidered handkerchief.

"Jus' bein realistic. Do you know the other guy, the one I'm fighting today?" I sigh.

Sophie nods and lowers her head. "The... The Demolisher."

"Aye. I'm up against the Demolisher. No one who faced 'im so far survived. Well, except L, but that's because his daddy-o protected 'im, so..."

A question mark forms in her irises at the letter "L," but the Head of the Maids of the Lighthaven Castle knows how to keep her discretion.

"I have to admit, I am so glad that my daughter did not have to fight that man."

"Oh, the Puncher and I go waay back. He has a personal beef with me, so expect gruesome limb tearing." 

Trying to maintain the cheery tone, and putting on a brave face isn't working. I slept three or four hours after striking the bargain with the Duke. Haven't even had the chance to patch up ExoBoots and me ray gun. I can only use it on "stun" option, because I made a stupid promise to the posh Lighthaven leader.

Might as well jus' walk out into the fighting pit, lay on the ground and die without making a fuss.

"I am so sorry, Madam Igglesden. No one deserves such fate, and especially not you. Not after your mother..." The Head of Maids bites her tongue.

My mother? Sure, Sophie mus' ave heard my Pa was brought to "justice," and is locked up inna Brig, but.... Did she mean Ma or...

Her two mechanical arms sprout from her uniform sleeves and she wrings her metallic hands. "I apologize, Madam Igglesden. I spoke out of turn."

"That's fine, Sophie. Did you know my Ma?"

"I am not sure if I should..."

"Please." I put a hand on her shoulder.

Sophie takes a deep breath. "I knew your real mother. Lady Mileva Volta. I was her personal chambermaid. One of the finest women I have had a pleasure to make acquaintance. The Grand Duchess Wilhelmina and Lady Mileva were inseparable, just like the Grand Duke Lucius and Lord Albert."

An almost physical bruise forms on my heart. Is this why Sophie has been nice to me?

"When you were born, with that tuft of burning flame on the top of your head... There was no lovelier babe."

I sit on the bed, staring ahead.

"The Grand Duchess was with a child."

Langdon. A smile sprouts on my face. Ha. The lad is younger than me, we've established that.

"Lord Volta and then-Emperor Aloicius were friends too. Your family took a trip to the Imperial City on the aero ship and... the accident happened."

I grit my teeth.

"Shortly after we embarked upon a journey, the entire vehicle just exploded out of nowhere. Lord Albert and Lady Mileva were too close to the engine and they..." Sobs choke out the last word. "Me, I was further away, so the fire only burned my arms up to my elbows, and... my right eye."

We both wince at the unpleasant thought.

So she didn't lose her arms at birth?

"Then I ran to the crib where you slept and grabbed you the best I could. I jumped out of the aero ship. There was a parachute on my back and it... it opened."

Holy shite. What Sophie was describing sounded like one of them radio-dramas Pa and I used to listen to at nights in the quiet of our hovel. It's just that this was different. This was true. And it happened to me. 

To us.

"What did you do then?" My eyes are wide.

"I was lucky to land in a village near Lighthaven. They offered me urgent apothecary care, but nothing could be done for my eye or my arms anymore."

"I'm sorry." I swallow.

"Then, I sent a missive to the Duchess through a compassionate countryman, and she came to the indicated place. Wilhelmina was devastated over learning about the death of her best friend. That is when we found it."

"Found what?"

"They hid the electricity schematics under your rompers, pressed to your chest."

It dawns on me. "My parents must have known that..."

"That the Grand Duke or the Baron are going to attempt to end their lives, yes." Sophie's lips are a thin line. "The Grand Duchess realized it too, at the same moment. She was so disgusted by her husband's plan. Nauseated by his persona. To think that he would stoop so low to harm a newborn... All that to hide the alternative source of energy."

I was feckin lucky to be alive. I'm standin' here today, talking, because this woman saved me.

"Thank you for what you did, Sophie," I say. "That was friggin brave of ye."

"I wanted to keep you and raise you as my own. I didn't have Stella yet, you see." She smiles. "My little star."

"Why didn't you?" A lone tear slides down my cheek.

"Wilhelmina was certain the Baron and the Duke would recognize you. You were a three-month-old babe. They had seen you plenty of times, and you looked so distinctive. It was dangerous. They banished Otto from Lighthaven Court, too."

It all made sense.

"The Duchess thought of leaving you at the Fumedge Orphanage, where no one would come looking. We corresponded with the governess, making sure nothing was lacking. Still, after poor Wilhelmina died at childbirth... I was the only person left who knew everything that had transpired. I kept hoping to find a home for you, Veda. That was when I wrote to Otto Igglesden and revealed the truth to him."

"Ye couldn't have found a better man." I jut me chin.

"I daresay I quite agree." Her cheeks are wet with tears. "Shortly after, he and his late wife adopted you and... We have been sending Vogel back and forth for years. I always had news of you, and it was comforting. But you should never have grown up in Fumedge. You should have been raised in your parents' mansion, surrounded by their love."

"I'm glad I did. I'm a girl from Fumedge through and through, and bloody proud of it."

"The Grand Duke must have an ulterior motive for organizing the Trials and having invited Otto. I am sure he once again has need of his brilliant mind and his expertise," Sophie muses.

She doesn't know how right she is.

A timid knock at the door interrupts her silent whimpering.

"Veda? This is Langdon Septimus speaking," a voice says. "L," it adds, after a pause. "Would you accompany me to the Workshop? There is very little time left before the Finals begin."

"Jus' a moment, lad." I yell out.

Sophie helps me find a clean shirt and a pair of breeches in a disaster that is my bedchamber wardrobe.

When I'm ready to leave, she reaches into her maid uniform pocket. "The electricity schematics were not all that they found on you, Veda. This hung around your neck." 

She hands me a round-shaped brass locket.

When I open it, faded black n' white photograph nests inside. A bright eyed tall lord, and a smiley, pretty young lady with a nest of hair, holding a baby in her arms.

Me.

I nod in thanks, and slip it in my pocket, speechless.

There are no words.

I walk towards my bedchamber door, ready to face my executioner. But then I turn around and look at the Head of Maids.

How do I leave that poor woman just sitting there on the bed, drowning in her memories of the past? Memories I had no recollection of? She is the reason I am alive today.

"Sophie, what will the dessert be?"

"Freshly picked strawberries with whipped cream, Madame Igglesden." She sniffles.

"Good to know." Winking at her as I step out, I squeeze my fingers around the medallion. A reminder I had a loving family.

That fucker of the Duke took it away from me.

Now, he's trying to do it again.