By the time the day had drawn to a close and the sun was tumbling from the sky, Iris was relieved from her duties. However, she was more than annoyed to see her bag still sitting in the middle of the room, exactly where she left it. If the butler had not arranged for someone to take it to her room, then how on Earth was she supposed to know where to go? It had been challenging enough for her to find her way back to this place. She couldn’t get to a place that she didn’t know the way to.

A rage snaked through her chest, Iris felt hurt and angry at what she considered to be a very nasty betrayal. Even if the butler knew the truth about her, this was no way to behave. He was still supposed to act like a gentleman.

With an angry determination, Iris grabbed the bag from the pathetic heap it was on the ground and she stalked through the hallway until she found someone. This sort of behaviour would not have been acceptable had the master of the house been home from his business, so she would not take it now.

Maybe the serving staff were used to being treated this way, but Iris assumed that would be from other people, not one another. From the stories she had heard in the past, they got enough trouble from the high-born people, so why would they do it to each other? It seemed utterly preposterous, should they not all be on the same side?

“Where is the butler?” Iris snapped at the first young girl she caught cowering in the corner. “He would not tell me his name but I should like to speak with him anyway. His behaviour has been unacceptable.”

“Are you... Daisy?” the girl asked anxiously. While she waited for a reply, her eyes darted from side to side as if she suspected that she was about to get caught.

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Victoria.”

All of Iris’s emotions puddled into nothing as she looked at this girl. Now that she was staring at her properly, she could see elements of a family resemblance. Victoria had mousier coloured hair and slightly greener eyes, but both her and Daisy had the same warmth in their smiles.

She was also glad that she'd been addressed as Daisy. The less they spoke about the truth, the less likely they were to be overheard. She was not sure if that conversation would be necessary eventually, but for now, it was better to keep things simple.

“I thought that you would come and see me as soon as you got in?” she enquired with a much quieter tone than Daisy usually spoke with. Iris could not picture this girl being brave enough to suggest a switch... not that it was a bad thing to be more reserved if everyone was like Daisy, the world would be a very different place.

“I wanted to, but the butler told me that I could not.” Iris did not know if she was overstepping a boundary or not, but she wanted Victoria to know the truth.

“Yes, Mr. Shipman, he can be... difficult.” Iris didn’t need to be told that! “But he will come around, you shall see.”

“I do not know where I am to sleep.”

Iris changed the subject quickly because she wasn’t sure if she believed that statement or not. It would be nice to think that everything would fall into place on its own accord, but Iris was not convinced that things between her and him could ever be fixed.

Even if he wanted to, right now she was so angry that she wouldn’t even care.

“I will take you to the servant’s quarters, and we will see where you should sleep. The girl who worked before you had her own room in there, so I assume you shall be given the same privilege.”

Ooh, her own room. That was a luxury that Iris had not been provided with, in her house. Then again, this was a much nicer place so why wouldn't she? At least with her own room, she could keep out of the butler's way.

The stairs to the servant’s quarters were dark and the smell of damp clung firmly to the air. It was already like another world entirely. The upstairs of the house, the parts that the public would see, were spotless, clean, and airy. The downstairs was dark and possibly a little grimy.

Iris didn’t mind though... at least, that’s what she kept telling herself. It wasn’t too bad, it certainly wasn’t too terrible for her to live in. There was just a very noticeable difference.

The place was very busy, it seemed that there were people as far as the eye could see, which caused Iris’s walls to build up around her. She expected to feel comfortable here, practically right away like she had done at home, but now it was obvious that was only a childish notion.

At her house, she knew the staff even if only a little to start with. Here, no one knew her and it seemed that no one trusted her either.

Tears built up in the corner of her eye as she recalled her sad goodbye to Betty. Almost everything that had happened over the last few days was nothing more than a blur in Iris's memory, but that stuck out in her mind. She embraced her, holding onto her for far too long, all while whispering confidence boosters into her ear. Even though she was absolutely terrified, Iris used that to drive her forwards. It gave her a confidence and positivity that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

Now all she wanted to do was be back in her friend’s arms.

Victoria spoke to the butler and another woman in a hushed way in the corner of the large room. It was clearly about her, from the way that their eyes kept darting in her direction, but Iris did not need to hear to know that it was bad. The negative atmosphere rolled off them in ways.

“You’re Victoria’s cousin, right?” a crass voice belonging to a very dirty looking young boy cried out. His comment caused the hush to die down in the room, and Iris felt all eyes upon her. It was a very unwelcome sensation.

“Erm, yes?”

“Are you asking me, or telling me?” His snide remark was rewarded by laughter. The crow like cackling brought that ice panic back through Iris’s blood. “Well? You deaf or something?”

“I’m Victoria’s cousin.” Even a stronger tone didn’t help. The staff still laughed cruelly at her. “What is it to you?” she finished off bitterly.”

"Ooh!" many members of the crowd called out gleefully as if this was a stage performance rather than real life.

Iris wanted to scream, so many violent yells travelled up into her throat, all the emotions from the turbulent day rose to the tip of her tongue, but Victoria stopped her, just in time.

“Daisy?” She touched her shoulder lightly. “Come with me, I know where your room is.”

It was probably a good thing; an argument was not the best way to start a day.

As they walked through the cramped hallway, Iris could tell that Victoria wanted to offer her some comforting words, but she could not find them. She was not really her cousin, not even a relative at all, nor a friend. It was clear that if Iris was going to get herself into trouble then she would have to suffer it alone.

She supposed that she could understand that.

“Here you are,” she mumbled as they reached a small, very brown and beige, room. “I hope this is to your satisfaction.”

Nothing was to Iris’s satisfaction, but that had nothing to do with the room. “It is fine, thank you,” she replied wearily, choosing to keep her grievances to herself. “I shall see you in the morning.”

Victoria hung around in the door frame for a moment, as if she had something else to say. Iris had all but given up on the idea that it might be sympathy,

“Amy will not wake until the later hours of the morning since she currently has no responsibilities with the master being out of town, but she will expect you there earlier than that,” Victoria finally blurted out. It clearly wasn’t the subject she intended to start with, but it was the one she had picked now.

“I am an early riser, that shall be no trouble.” Even if Amy had shown no sign of wanting her there, Iris still felt very determined to help her. If early mornings were important, then that is what she would do. She could also be patient if she needed to be. “Thank you once more.”

“Yes, well, goodnight.” She gave up. Iris didn’t blame her.

“Goodnight, Victoria.”

As Victoria left, Iris curled herself up into a ball on the bed and she finally let the tears roll free. They had been building all day long, so it was a relief to have them out now. This would not be the easy ride she had assumed; Daisy was right about the difficulties the lower classes faced. She should have listened much more, instead of delving into her imagination. Her dreams were nothing; they did nothing good for her. She needed to let them go.

For the very first time since the switch first happened, Iris started to believe that maybe she had made a mistake...

* * *

Iris wanted it to get better, she needed it to get better, but it didn’t. Her first few weeks in the Oakley household had been nothing short of a disaster. Amy hadn’t yet responded to her in any real way, and the other staff had now resorted to ignoring her as if she wasn’t there. It was as if they knew that isolation would hurt her most. Her discomfort pooled inside of her like blood.

She had spent a lot of her life alone, uncomfortable with herself, this was supposed to be a fresh start. It was all supposed to be different. Where had she gone so wrong?

Victoria spoke to her when she could, but there was a chasm of space between them and it seemed she wanted to keep it that way. Iris could understand why she didn't want to get tainted with the same terrible luck and reputation that she had, but still, it hurt.

Daisy would never have done that, but Daisy was brave. Daisy would have caused a fuss and demanded that everyone behave much better.

Iris missed Daisy more than she every thought possible. It was a physical ache in her heart.

Dear Iris,

Iris scrawled across a blank piece of paper that she had managed to find in Amy’s waste paper basket. It didn’t even have anything written on it, it was as if Amy simply wanted to throw something out to rebel against something. Goodness knows what.

I hope you are enjoying your new life; I hope it suits you well.

She did not even think that she would send this letter, she simply wanted to write something secretly for herself to get her feelings out. Luckily, Iris had the privacy of her own bedroom in which to behave as she so wished. If she had written out in the common area of the servant’s quarters, everyone would have picked up on her writing style.

She clearly had an education, that showed through her cursive script.

I hope that you found the freedom you wanted to find. I wish that I could say the same for myself.

Her heart lifted a little as she wrote. It was actually a little therapeutic.

I now understand what you meant about the poor having restrictions and a hard life of their own. It is not the work that I mind, that part is alright, it is the people.

The lady of the house believes that I am beneath her and that I would not understand her issues. The sad thing is I do, but she will not let me in. I do hope that neither I or my sisters gave you so much trouble.

Then there is everyone else. The other serving staff despise me and I do not know why. All I wish to do is have a friendship group like I had at home, I miss having people care about me.

Do you have any advice for me? I wish I could send this to you to ask, I would love to know what you think. But maybe you are too busy to write to me now. At your dinners and parties.

I am sorry, I do not wish to moan. I just miss you.

You have always been a wonderful friend to me, I love you.

Daisy

Writing that name as her own felt a little more right now. It was as if she’d become Daisy... not that the persona had done her many favours.

Iris twisted onto her back and she stared up at the ceiling. There was a crack running down in, with a spider web dangling down that she could not stop herself looking at. Even in the dark, as she attempted to get some sleep, she stared upwards as if she could see it.

Maybe that was what her heart looked like now. She certainly didn’t daydream anymore, or imagine a handsome prince coming to rescue her. Her brain stuck firmly in reality where everything was terrible. She couldn’t get out of it, even if she wanted to.

She felt her brain dart back and forth as she realized that she really only had two options before her. She could give up, be pathetic like she always was. She could act the way that she did when her mother died and she could retreat inside of herself. She could curl into a ball and let the world pass her by...

Or she could take action.

For once, she could take the road that she never went down and she could fight this. She wouldn’t even need to do much for that, she would simply have to hold her head high and keep on working. She would keep trying with Amy and hope that one day she’d feel comfortable to talk to her, and she would hope that the other staff members would eventually grow weary of their childish games. She could ignore them right back until they decided to grow up.

It wasn’t like Iris to be attracted to the more challenging option, but it was the only one that could provide results. If she shut down now, she’d end up losing her job which would put her on the streets. If she wanted to protect Daisy then she couldn’t go back home, even if Olivia would let her in which only left her with one horrifying outcome...

She would end up as a street girl.

Iris shuddered but used that image to bring up her determination even further. She would not let these people push her down, she was better than that, stronger. Iris had been through far too much to lose herself now.

She would do this.

Iris turned onto her side once more and she smiled to herself. It was the first happy expression that she’d had in a very long time. This wasn’t easy, it was more of a challenge than she assumed it would be, but if she could overcome this then she could do anything. Ever since her mother had died, she hadn’t wanted to do anything. This she needed to do. This was her aim in life.

Her life wouldn’t be easy from here on out, so she needed some inner strength. This was the perfect way to build character and prove to herself that she was better than others thought she was, than she thought she was. She hadn’t ever thought anything good about herself, but now she wanted to. She needed that.

Iris closed her eyes and embraced the happiness. Tomorrow was a brand new day, and she would make it a good one. The best one she’d had in the Oakley household yet.