Xiao Hua writes first
Xiao Hua is already dressed when you open your eyes, hair pinned plainly, sitting very straight on the edge of the other bed. The room is still dark. Her hands are folded in her lap, and from the way she startles, she has been somewhere far away.
“You’re awake.” Her voice is low and even, pitched not to carry through the thin walls. “Good. The hot water at the small kitchen goes fast. If we’re late, the senior maids will remember.”
She stands and hands you your basin, already filled.
“Some advice, since we share a room. Don’t gossip about the masters, even kindly. Don’t take gifts from anyone you don’t know. Don’t try to catch His Highness’s eye.” Something flickers across her face and is gone. “Here they let us go at twenty-five, with papers and a place to live. That’s worth more than any favor.”
She pauses at the door, studying you in the gray light.
“Why were you sold here? You can tell me. I won’t repeat it.”
