Bane of the Wolves

Chapter Five - Ruling

"Cool," Charlie says, blowing out a breath.

We continued walking. There wasn't much conversation and I didn't mind. The stone hallway came to a dead end, a wall of stones with a door. Charlie gripped the handle, pulling it open, and light-flooded my vision as we stepped through. Another circular room with two archways leading to other wide hallways. This was different than the stone hall we came through, and the maze of identical halls. This one was bare, just white floors, no rugs and stone walls, no paintings. Charlie led the way entering through the archway on the right, which had a nameplate above saying: Women.

Charlie led me past eight, maybe ten doors, before we came to a stop in front of one. She gave three hard raps on the door, and not a minute passed before it swung open revealing a withered olive face framed by wisps of gray strands that weren't slick into a bun. The woman's eyes slid from me to Charlie, laugh lines appearing as she smiled.

"Good evening, Charlie," She says, voice airy yet strong.

"Good evening, Miss Irene, I was told to bring her to you," Charlie says.

" Oh, thank you, Charlie," The old woman, Miss Irene, replied. "Have you finished your duties, dear?"

"No, ma'am," she said, eyes cast downward and the woman shook her head.

"Well, you better hurry and finish them. I am sure dinner will be served soon, if you aren't done by then, I am afraid you may not make it to dinner." Miss Irene stated.

Charlie looked up, giving a nod and with a wiggle of her fingers, she was gone. The woman opened her door wider, and the smell of lavender hit my nose. "Come in, come in."

The old woman's smile grew wider, taking my hand and pulling me in. It was a gentle touch, one that had me moving without much force. The door closed softly behind me. The room was medium size with a single bed against a wall, crisp white sheets, and a pillow. In the middle of the room a round table made for only two to sit at, opposite the bed, there is a desk with many papers near a five-drawer dresser.

I looked around standing awkwardly, and she motioned toward the table. The brown chair creaked, the pillow sinking as I sat in it. I licked my lips staring at the woman.

"It's nice to meet you," she said once settled into the chair across from me. "I am Miss Irene, the Head Maid here at the castle, what is your name, dear?"

I shifted in the soft cushion chair.

"I'm Lenora, you can call me Nora," I muttered.

"Nora, it is great to have you," She smiled.

Was it? It wasn't great for me. I didn't want to be here, yet here I am. If I would think about this longer, every action I took, every word I spoke, then I would have realized it was my fault. However, who wants to blame themselves for their troubles.

"Yea," I replied.

"As I have said, I am the Head Maid here," She pushed a strand of loose hair from her forehead. "I am in charge of tasking the maids with their daily jobs, along with making sure that the maids fulfill their jobs. Every morning each maid is tasked with a job that must be done by nightfall, you must be able to manage yourself well. Since you are new, this week you will follow a maid to see their daily duties. Then, after, you will have your daily jobs that must be done. Are there any questions?"

I remained silent.

"Good, now," She stands suddenly, walking to her dresser takes out a shawl, and wraps herself in it. "Come on, dear, follow me, I will show you to the chambers you will be occupying."

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Four doors down from Miss Irene's room are mine, the one I will share with another girl. Then, three doors down are the bathing room. A place that was small and cold. A foot tub sat in the middle of the room where we bathed. There is a toilet next to a sink below a rectangular mirror. I was soaking in the warm water of the tub, using the soap bar that Miss Irene gave me to wash dirt from my skin.

She had done as she told me. She showed me the room I will have, which has two single beds across each other on the far wall, a large window between them. There were two three-drawer dressers opposite the end of the bed. There was a mirror above each, and two candles sitting on top of the drawers. Miss Irene told me that was just in case any electrical failure happened, and from the look of the candles on one of the dressers, it might happen often.

In the drawer, which was mine, two maid outfits were stuffed into the slim draw along with a night attire, extra clothing, a bar of soap, hair ties, hair brush, toothbrush, and paste. Miss Irene instructed me to bathe, then she would have my roommate show me where dinner is held. I had finished bathing, using a towel that came from a cabinet full of them.

I wrapped it around me, stepping out and draining the tub. I patted the beads of water from my skin, wiggling into the extra attire which consisted of tan cotton pants and a long-sleeve white shirt. I shoved my feet into my shoes, gathering my old clothes into my arms. I paused, catching a glimpse of myself in the bathing room mirror above the sink. I never considered myself to be beautiful, it wasn't that I thought of myself as an ugly person, but as average.

I wanted to be average which kept others from lingering too long on me. My thick coarse hair remained in a plain ponytail that sat low near my neck, curled now from the water. My brown eyes were dull, nothing unusual, skin a perfect russet-brown that have paled a shade from my time out of the sun and in a room without light for weeks on end. I licked my white lips, chapped from the lack of water and peeling. I didn't look any different than when I looked in the mirror three days ago that morning, teeth still white and eyebrows thin and arched.

The only thing I did notice was the hint of sadness in my eyes. It was hidden, but I knew it was there. It was always there and I hated it. Maybe I recognized it faster this time because I knew there was a reason for it to come forth. I wasn't going home anytime soon, not today, tomorrow, or a week from now. I was stuck here, doing the beasts bidding and yet, I didn't even fight it. I sighed, passing by the mirror and leaving the bathing room behind, along with my glistening eyes.

I made my way back to the room, my temporary room, shifting my dirty clothes into one arm, reaching to open the door. When it suddenly opened, I jumped back in surprise. A girl with wildly curly orangish-red hair, a freckled fawned face, and brown eyes mirrored my action.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as I took another step back. "You must be Nora! I am Alanza, nice to meet you!"

She had a wide grin on her face, her hand outstretched. I took it, giving a nod. Alanza was tall and thin, her hair bouncing with her movement. She wore a brown thin cotton dress that stopped at her knees and ankle brown leather boots. She was surprisingly beautiful, her smile is her greatest attraction.

"Nice to meet you," I muttered back, tugging on the hand she hadn't let go off.

Her smile widened. "We should hurry, dinner won't wait for us," She says stepping back into the room.

I followed suit. I shoved my dirty clothes into a cotton bag that was in my dresser, setting it on the side. It wasn't long before we were out of the room, down the hall into the narrowed stoned hallway going through one of those doors. The entire time, Alanza was speaking, her voice bubbly and loud.

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