"You must be silly; it was burnt by the evil witch and her stepdaughters." Emilia rolled her eyes, referring to Madam Phineas, Judith, and Cordelia.
Sarah laughed at the joke, "It didn't burn."
"What are you saying, Sarah? I-I do not understand." Emilia scratched her head, returning to her dusting.
"Look, I went back to remove the book; it didn't burn at all." She replied dismissively, like she was yet to get to her point.
Emilia nodded, following along. "It was my turn to go with the evil witch to the market, so I took it with me to pass time. The evil witch went for a few minutes, and I entered a shop to rest; I didn't realize it was a small publishing house."
Emilia didn't know if she should cry and laugh at the news at the same time. She was happy that her hard work was saved by Sarah but not so enthusiastic at the publishing news. It was too good to be true.
"Nice story, but why in the world would they want to invest their money in a silly romance novel when they can be printing about politics that the men like to read?" Emilia asked with a frown.
Sarah's jaw dropped. "Ah, tis not silly! He went above and beyond to convince me to publish after reading the first few pages. It's a really good book!"
"You should be careful, Sarah; he was probably a con man trying to con you out of money."
"He was a complete gentleman!"
"Then why would a complete gentleman offer to publish a burnt storybook after reading a few pages?"
"The owner was apparently desperate and would take on any project to save the shop." She rebuffed.
"I'm not convinced." Emilia shook her head.
"Try it just this once; we have nothing to lose. Literally, they are the ones losing money."
"No."
"Emilia, have you ever thought, what if—just what if—this is real and you could actually become an author?"
"No, not really. Besides, we are slaves; slaves don't become authors. We are not even allowed to dream, Sarah."
"Who says so? Are we less of human beings just because we were lowly born?"
"To the Nobles, well yes!"
"Nonsense." Sarah flipped off.
"If the evil witch finds out we are having this conversation, she will have our head and put it on a buffet tray."
"She doesn't have to know; you can use an alias or something. Nobody has to know it's you or from any slave in the Duke's palace."
"You're being too persistent about this."
"That's because this could change your life, our lives."
"Do you know the number of failed authors there are in the world?" Emilia asked. "And a lot of them are well-known educated nobles and aristocrats; they are not maids that wash dishes all day."
"You spend so much time reading; you're perhaps as educated as they are. I am convinced you have read more than half the books in that library!" Sarah retorted.
"It is still a no; I can't risk getting on the evil witch's bad side presently." Sarah held her shoulders, turning her body so they stood face-to-face.
"Imagine the money you'd make if this book is successful; you could send that money to your mama and siblings to get new clothes." She urged. That was all it took to convince Emilia.
She and Sarah had gotten so close over the few weeks that she told her how she came to be in Therma. Sarah was bought as a slave from another kingdom. The thought that she could in any way be helping out her mother, even thousands of miles away, was enough. Even if the evil witch would roast her alive. She would gladly bear it.
Emilia side-eyeing her friend gave a stiff nod. "So what exactly did this gentleman say?"
Sarah shrieked gleefully, clapping her hands, calling attention to them. Emilia hushed her and pulled her away to the corridors.
"He asked for a cleaner draft." She said, explaining the details she could remember.
The publisher, whose name Emilia had now learned was Mr. Duncan II of Duncan's Publishing, asked that she submit a cleaner version with an ending on Sarah's second market trip. So the library became her safe haven; she spent days and nights there rewriting the draft.
Market trips happened once every month in the Duke's household. Madam Phineas, along with three other girls, gets to leave the palace grounds the only time they are ever allowed in carriages to restock food essentials. It's a naturally dreadful experience spending the whole day with the evil witch, but everyone looked forward to their two days out in a month. Leaving the palace grounds and seeing the great city of Dacra.
After many sleepless nights and food poisoning, the next girl who was meant to go with the evil witch, Sarah, handed in the first official draft, 'Little Girl Uphill,' to be published and came back with a contract to be signed stating that the publishing house got 40% of the book's market price and it be published under the name 'Whispering Maid.'
Things were in order. Mr. Duncan said it would be a few weeks before the first copy would be available. All they had to do was wait.