While Camelot Canham left the estate and went to meet a new mystery, life in the house continued.
To most of the servants, everything looked completely normal.
In the morning, the windows were opened, breakfast was prepared in the kitchen, laundry was carried to the laundry room, and the corridors were cleaned.
Someone was cursing because another servant had left a bucket in the middle of the aisle again.
And none of them noticed the two creatures who were watching all this from the shadows.
Aphelisa was sitting on the stair railing with one leg dangling down.
A small green demon perched on her shoulder.
He was lazily chewing on a piece of apple.
«Boring…» he muttered.
«You’re always bored.»
«Because no one falls off the roof here.»
«It’s called a normal day.»
«It’s not interesting.»
Aphelisa sighed.
«We are the keepers of the house, not circus performers.»
«I can be a circus performer.»
«No.»
«Why?»
«Because you tried to juggle kitchen knives once.»
«But I almost learned.»
«You hit the ceiling with a knife!»
The little demon pondered.
«But it’s beautiful…»
Aphelisa was about to reply when footsteps were heard from below.
A young maid named Theodora was walking along the corridor.
She had a large basket of clothes in her hands.
She looked tired.
«Just a little more…» she muttered to herself.
«Then we can rest.»
Theodora went to the long rope stretched near the window and began to hang clothes.
Shirts, towels, dresses, sheets.
She worked quickly, trying to finish before lunch.
Aphelisa was watching her.
«She’s in too much of a hurry again.»
«I noticed.»
«She also worked late last night.»
«I noticed it too.»
Aphelisa looked at him.
«Do you know how to notice anything useful?»
«Sometimes…»
Theodora finished hanging up the last shirt.
Wearily, she straightened up and looked back.
«I’d like to sit down now…»
There was a small table nearby, but there was no chair.
Theodora didn’t notice it.
She automatically took a step back, intending to sit down.
Aphelisa stood up abruptly.
«Oh!»
«What happened.
Why did you get up?»
«There’s no chair next to her!»
«Where is he?»
«He’s not there.»
Theodora has already started to sink down.
Aphelisa waved her hand.
Shoo!
A wooden chair flew out of the next room.
He swept down the corridor, made a small circle and gently landed right behind Theodora’s back.
Knock.
The maid didn’t even understand where it came from.
She calmly sat down on top of him.
«Phew, now I can sit down for a while…»
Aphelisa breathed a sigh of relief.
«We did it.»
The little demon broke into a smile.
«Thank you.»
«I helped.»
«You?»
«I pushed the chair.»
Aphelisa looked at him.
«You pushed him in the wrong place.»
«But he ended up there anyway.»
«By accident.»
«The main thing is the result.»
Theodora was sitting on a chair and rubbing her legs.
She looked at him with mild surprise.
«It’s strange…»
She definitely remembered that there was no chair here.
«Someone must have brought it.»
She looked around, but there was no one nearby.
«Thank you.» she said softly.
Aphelisa froze.
The little demon also stopped smiling.
Theodora got up and went back to work.
Aphelisa looked after her.
«She said thank you.»
«She doesn’t see us.»
«I know.»
«Then who did she tell?» The little demon thought about it.
«Do you think the house can hear her?»
«Of course.
She thinks we’re home.»
At that moment, the clink of dishes came from the kitchen.
Theodora got up and carried the basket on.
She didn’t know that someone invisible had just saved her from falling.
Neither did the other servants.
When someone’s window suddenly closed before the rain, they said:
«Lucky.»
When a candle, forgotten near the curtain, suddenly went out by itself:
«Probably a draft.»
When a heavy jug suddenly ended up on the table instead of crashing to the floor:
«Someone must have managed to catch it.»
And when one day a little girl from the kitchen assistants lost her favorite hairpin, and the next morning she found it neatly laid next to her bed, she just smiled.
«Thank you, brownie.»
Aphelisa heard this from the hallway.
She stopped.
The little demon looked at her.
«Does she know?»
«No.»
«But does she believe?»
Aphelisa smiled.
«That’s enough.»
But at night, the Canham estate became completely different.
During the day, servants’ voices could be heard here, dishes clattered, doors slammed, and someone was sure to hurry along the corridor.
After midnight, the house quieted down.
Almost.
A towel was slowly moving in one of the dark corridors.
It hovered in the air at about the level of a human head.
Then she turned the corner sharply.
And she stopped.
«Let’s practice again.»
The towel flew forward again.
Aphelisa peeked out from behind him.
There was a little demon sitting on her shoulder.
«What do you think?»
«Great!»
«Really?»
«No.»
Aphelisa frowned.
«Why is that?»
«It’s too clean.»
«So what?»
«A ghost with a clean towel doesn’t look scary.»
Aphelisa thought about it.
«Good point.»
She snapped her fingers.
The towel was immediately covered with several dark spots.
The little demon smiled contentedly.
«It’s scary now.»
«Great.»
At that moment, footsteps could be heard from the far end of the corridor.
Aphelisa immediately hid behind a pillar.
The little demon dived over her shoulder.
Two maids entered the corridor.
They were carrying a candle and a small basket of laundry.
«Theodora, are you sure that Mistress Eleanor asked me to bring this now?»
«Are you sure.»
«At night?»
«She said that everything should be ready in the morning.»
The maids continued walking.The towel hung motionless.
They passed by.
Aphelisa looked at the demon.
«Now.»
The towel rose slowly.
At first, by half a meter.
Then higher.
And then it floated right behind the maids.
One of them stopped.
«Theodora…»
«What?»
«Do you see that?»
«What?»
She pointed her finger at the place where the towel was suspended in the air.
Completely motionless.
No one moved for several seconds.
Then the towel slowly turned around.
And it seemed to look at them.
«A-A-A-A!»
The maids dropped the basket and raced down the corridor.
«THE GHOST!»
«HOUSE DEMON!»
«IT’S FLYING!»
«LET’S RUN!»
The towel rushed after them.
«Hurry up!» whispered Aphelisa, barely able to contain her laughter.
«I’m trying!»
The little demon waved his arms, making the towel fly faster.
One of the maids turned around.
When she saw the approaching white canvas, she screamed even louder.
«IT’S CATCHING UP WITH US!»
They both disappeared around a bend.
Silence.
A few seconds later, Aphelisa peeked out from behind the pillar.
«It seems to have worked.»
The little demon puffed out his chest proudly.
«I said that it should have been dirtier.»
But suddenly, a voice came from afar:
«I WON’T WALK THE HALLS AT NIGHT ANYMORE!»
Aphelisa covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
«Did you hear that?»
«I heard.»
They were about to put the towel away when one of the maids came around the bend again.
She peeked out cautiously.
She had a mop in her hand.
She looked at the empty hallway.
On the scattered laundry.
On a wet spot on the floor.
Then she whispered softly:
«I get it.»
Aphelisa froze.
«What did she understand?»
The maid crossed herself.
«The brownie is angry…»
And she ran away.
Aphelisa slowly turned to her familiar.
«I do not know whether to laugh or apologize.»
The little demon looked at the spot.
«I think I should apologize.»
«I agree.
If Camelot finds out, we will be reprimanded by him.
And then no adventures with him.»
They looked at each other.
«But first…»
Aphelisa waved her hand.
The towel folded neatly and flew back to the laundry room.
The stain was gone.
The scattered items picked themselves up from the floor and returned to the basket.
Aphelisa smiled contentedly.
«Here we done.»
«And tomorrow?»
«Tomorrow we won’t scare anyone.»
«Promise?»
«I promise…»
Pause.
«As long as it’s not boring.»
The little demon broke into a smile.
«I knew you’d change your mind.»
And somewhere in the depths of the manor, a door slammed softly.
The servants thought it was the brownie again.And this time they were absolutely right.