Getting to the bottom of it

The next two candidates had normal haircuts and were like all the previous candidates except for Larisa. They were telling us what they thought we wanted to hear. Now we know they were even lying. It was the turn of the final fifteenth candidate. I was curious to see how this plays out.

There was a knock on the door. It was so weak that I barely heard it.

“Come in,” I say.

The door slowly opens and a girl hesitantly walks in. She has her hand raised to her head trying to block out view from her hair. She was wearing a simple dress as well.

“Take a seat,” Arti says.

She does, still holding her hands over her head.

“Can you lower your hands, please?” I speak.

She does so hesitantly. When she puts her hands in her lap, I can finally have a good look at her face. Yeah, they did a number on her hair. I imagine they were long before, probably down to her waist. They now barely reach the middle of her back. She had patches of hair that were long and some that were short. Her hair was, indeed, beautiful. They were red and shiny. She was pale and had freckles on her cheeks and nose. Her eyes were big, emerald green, and had tears in them.

“Larisa told us what happened. You are Rina, correct?” I gently say.

She nods. “Y-yes, my name is Corina, but Larisa calls me Rina.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Rina,” I smile. That seemed to cheer her up a little bit. “Can you tell us about yourself?”

“I was born in a coastal village to the northeast called Bullmar. My parents were merchants. I had an older sister as well. When I was five, my parents didn’t come back from their trip. They were attacked and killed by bandits. The next day, my sister and I were kicked out of our house by our uncle, who claimed our parents gave him the house in the inheritance. We had to survive living on the streets. No one wanted to help us. The villagers eventually drove us out. We decided to try and get to the capital. My sister got sick on the way and died. I got picked soon after by a passing merchant and brought to the city. The merchant brought me to the orphanage where I have been living ever since,” Rina tells us.

Every story is worse than the previous one.

“Thank you for telling us,” I say. “You said Larisa was your friend?”

Rina’s eyes light up a little. “Yes, she is my best friend. She reminds me of my sister a lot. She was very energetic and protective as well.”

‘That’s adorable and sad at the same time,’ I think to myself.

“How was your servant’s training? Do you enjoy doing chores?” Arti asks.

“It was good. I enjoy doing chores. There are a lot of chores to be done around the orphanage and I try to help as much as I can,” she eagerly says.

Even when she gets bullied by her fellow orphans, she tries to help.

“That will be all. Thank you for your time, Rina,” I smile and say.

“O-okay. Thank you,” she stands up and leaves the room.

I turn to Arti. “So, what do you think?”

“That’s just cruel how these girls treated her,” he says.

“I agree. We have a decision to make now. Do you think you know who you want to pick?” I ask.

“Yes, I do,” he nods. “Their skills are not really in question. They have all undergone the same training. We were supposed to judge their character first and foremost. They will be one of the closest people to us for a long time, so we need to pick someone we think we will be comfortable with. That’s got to be either Larisa or Rina.”

“I agree completely. Who do you want to pick for yourself then?” I ask smiling.

Arti thinks for a moment. “Larisa kind of reminds me of you, so I will pick her.”

I laugh. “This is great because Rina sort of reminds me of you.”

He laughs back. He stands up and goes to the door. Opening the door, he calls for the servant waiting in the corridor.

“Call back Larisa and Corina. You may let all the other candidates go,” I hear Arti say.

He then closes the door and returns to his seat. We don’t have to wait long before the servant returns with Larisa and Corina behind him. He lets them into the room and closes the door behind them.

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