Back in the day, when you used to be about seven years old, the girls in the orphanage loved playing princess and pretending to live in a castle, waiting for their prince charming to come around.
They would dress up in pink dresses that the caretakers brought them, trying to walk elegant and speaking like a noble person, acting as if they were rich and attended balls with other girls, dancing with an imaginary prince.
You always only watched.
For some reason you had a hard time believing that things like that happened in real life.
And you were right.
Living in a castle wasn't pink at all.
The lady of the house, Alcina Dimitrescu as she introduced herself later on, gave you a job as a maiden at the castle and after your talk in the basement she brought you back upstairs where you met the three daughters again.
They didn't seem to be too happy with their mothers decision but Lady Dimitrescu assured you that nothing would happen to you and introduced you to them.
The oldest, Bela, was the one who insisted on bringing you into the basement in the first place so in a way she was the reason you weren't murdered.
Cassandra, the middle child, was the one who called you pretty and said that you smelled delicious, whatever that meant and the third daughter, Daniela, the redhead, was the one who wanted to hang you like a pig.
'Their names sure are prettier than their intentions' was what you thought when Lady Dimitrescu closed the door behind you after she brought you into your personal room and you released a big, deep breath.
And now it is past three in the morning, you laid awake the past hour and for some reason you don't want to sleep.
It turned out you only were in the basement for about three hours and after the introduction Lady Dimitrescu already gave you the tasks for the next morning. Another maid would help you settle in and you even feel a little exited about working since you would get to see the castle but for some reason you have the strong urge to get up and explore the corridors now.
But you are not sure if you are allowed to do so. The lady told you to stay in your room until the morning.
Your eyes are fixed on the ceiling while you fight y with ourself, arguing back and forth rather if you should try and sleep or get up an walk around a little.
Looking is nothing illegal but maybe it looks suspicious.
You came into the castle as a thief after all.
A sigh escapes your lips and you turn to the side, pulling up the blanket up and snuggling into your pillow.
You should try and focus on not fucking up for the moment.
"Y/N?".
You scoot up, light flooding your room and you turn to the door where a woman in a black dress stands, her hair tied into an elegant bun and despite her rather authoritarian looks she has a kind expression on her face.
,,Good morning", you say and clear your throat ,,I'm sorry, did I sleep in?".
,,No, no. Everything is okay. I am supposed to wake you up and show you how tings work around here", she says and smiles ,,I'm Vaela. I already brought you your uniform", She points to the chair on the left where a stack of clothing lays ,,I give you fifteen minutes to get ready and then I'll pick you up. Okay?".
You give her a nod and she leaves your room again but it takes you a second to leave the warmth of your bed.
Eventually you place your bare feet on the cold stone and walk over to the clothes Vaela placed on the chair.
It is a pair of white stockings, a similar dress to the one she is wearing and even underwear. Beneath the chair you spot a pair of black shoes and you raise your eyebrows. They really provide for everything here, it seems.
You get dressed and rush into the bathroom to splash some water into your face and brush your hair, and when you leave the small room again Vaela already knocked again.
,,Ready?", she asks as you open the door and you nod.
,,Great. It's okay if you feel a little nervous, but don't you worry", the woman smiles and you follow her along the hallway ,,As long as you focus and work well everything will be just fine".
,,How long have you been working here?", you ask and the woman furrows her eyebrows.
,,About two years, I think?", she says and lets out a deep breathe ,,What is quite the long time... Most workers only stay for a couple of months".
,,Why is that?".
,,Nothing you need to worry about".
Well, now you do worry.
You make a promise to yourself to try and do your work as well as you possibly can, wanting to show Lady Dimitrescu that her trust in you would pay of. For some reason you feel the need to show that woman that you can do good, probably beasue your first encounter was a bit unfortunate.
Vaela starts to tell you about the rooms you pass by, which ones you may enter and which to avoid, about the castle-owned winery and the different chores you'll have to do.
She brings you to the washing room at first where she orders you to fold the sheets and towels and stack them neatly into two different baskets. She shows it to you a few times and then she lives you alone, telling you she'd pick you up again in about thirty minutes to bring you to the next task.
That's when you realize that today she would guide you through all the different chores that there are in the castle and you feel a little worried about it. Never before you had to work for a whole day.
Still, you take your time with the sheets and towels, trying to fold them exactly like Vaela and a jolt of happiness fulfills you when she takes a look at them and tells you that you did an amazing job.
'Maybe my secret talent is folding clothes' you think while you hurry to keep up with Vaela who carries one of the baskets and is running upstairs again.
,,After washing, drying and folding them you bring them to this closet", the woman tells you and stops walking out of the sudden so you almost crash into her.
She opens the doors and starts sorting the sheets in.
,,These go right here", she says as she places them into the lowest drawer ,,And you can put yours right above them".
,,Okay".
Carefully you copy Vaelas movements and within a few minutes the baskets are empty.
,,Good job", she says ,,Then you bring the baskets back where they belong and that's what we'll do now. Then we'll go and help some of the other girls cleaning the rooms".
,,Are there no male workers?", you ask as she rushes of again and you almost have to run after her.
,,No, the lady strictly chooses women to work here".
'Interesting' you think and for some reason that only made Lady Dimitrescu seem more sympathic. Let's just say, your encounters with men in the past hadn't been the greatest and knowing that you wouldn't have to face a single one around here sounds very pleasing.
Vaela and you put the baskets back and then she brings you to the dining room where two girls were cleaning the gigantic table with a bucket of water and both of them had a cloth in their hands.
,,Mikaela, Yvone", Vaela says and the two girls stop in their tracks to look at her, but both of them eye you for a moment.
,,This is Y/N. She will join you for now and help you a little. Please show her how to properly clean the dining room and give her all the important instructions".
,,Sure", the blonde girl disappears through another door and comes back after a second with another washing cloth in her hand.
Feeling a little unsure you approach the girl slowly and she hands you the cloth.
Behind you the door closes and you assume that Vaela left, a glance over the shoulder shows you that you are right.
,,Don't worry, we all were new once", the dark haired girl says and she sends you a crooked smile ,,I'm Mikaela. Are you the one who got caught by the daughters yesterday?".
You nod and Yvone raises her eyebrows. ,,How the hell did you survive that?".
,,I don't know. I didn't think I would", you say and look at the cloth in your hand ,,So... What do I have to do?".
Despite them appearing very distant and stiff when you had entered the room they really turned out to be great company and they started telling you a lot more about the castle and the inhabitants, but also gave you good instructions on how to act around them and also how to clean the dining room.
The next time Vaela came in she sent you and the girls to next room, where Yvone had gotten the clothe from and a weird smells causes you to make a face. 'What is that?' you think but you don't speak it out loud.
,,Now we have to clean the buckets that the Lady uses for her... Wine", Mikaela says and again they show you how it is done.
They don't mention the smell so you assume that it was something normal and while you scrub the metallic bucket you start to think that it's just the room itself with all the dirty washing cloths that has an unpleasant reek.
The sinks that you and the girls are cleaning the buckets in are opposite each other so you can keep up the conversation.
,,Y/N, you did meet the Lady, right?", Mikaela asks with a curious tone and you nod.
,,Yeah. After sitting in the basement for a while she came down there and talked to me".
,,What did you talk about?", Yvone crooks an eyebrow.
,,About what I was doing in the castle. And why I was doing it. And then she offered me that I could stay. And I accepted the offer", you say and the two girls exchange a glance.
,,Why... Why are you looking at each other like that?", you ask in confusion and they turn back to you.
,,It's... It is not usual that anyone who comes in here as an intruder gets treated nicely", Yvone says ,,And it isn't usual that the Lady is kind to others. Or that her daughters don't play their little games with you".
,,I mean, the lady seems to be kinda nice?", you say with a concentrated frown while you scrub the bucket and relieve sceptical glances from the other two girls ,,Sure, she's intimidating, high key scary...", weirdly attractive, you add in your mind ,,and strict, but she definitely is not the worst person alive. And one of her daughters wanted to hang me. And one cut my hand open".
,,Do you know what was in those buckets?", Mikaela then asks and you look up with raised eyebrows.
,,Nope?".
,,Blood", Yvone says and you stare at her for a moment before you start to grin.
,,Yeah, sure. Blood", you bring your focus back to the bucket and rub the sponge over the metallic surface ,,And the cups they use to drink it are human skulls, I assume".
,,They're not, but if you don't believe us, you should visit the basement", Mikaela says and sighs ,,You'll have to search a little but you will find it".
,,Find what?".
,,Girls, I am back", Vaela enters the room again and cuts Mikaela from answering.
You continue your work in silence and even though it is hard to grasp what Yvone and Mikaela just told you, you grew curious about the basement.
There hadn't been a sign of blood when you were down there but maybe they were right? They wouldn't give you a false hint, would they?
,,Perfect", Vaela says as she takes a look at your cleaned bucket and sends you a warm smile ,,Dry it and bring that one into the kitchen and then come back, I have some other work for you".
,,Okay", you nod and grab a towel.
A feeling of satisfaction runs through your body and you are proud of how well you're doing on your very first day of working here.
You hurry to get the bucket to be as dry as possible and then enter the kitchen which was connected to the dining room.
Putting it into one of the cupboards you sense an unusual amount of flies around you and you take a deep breathe as Bela shows up next you, leaning against the kitchen counter.
,,You're doing a good job so far", she says and smiles ,,I'm impressed, honestly".
,,...Thank you?", you says, feeling just a little scared.
,,Sorry about yesterday, we didn't know you are such a great worker", she then says and gives you a little wink ,,Keep it up".
And then she disappears into the cloud of flies which leave the room.
You will robably never understand how the hell that works.
But you follow the daughter out of the room and join Mikaela, Vaela and Yvone again who are already waiting for you.
,,So, Y/N", Vaela says and claps her hands together ,,We're gonna go prepare some rooms now".
,,Okay", you give her a little nod and look at the two girls who both smile at you.
,,See you later", they both say and you smile back. ,,Yeah, see you later".
Hours later, after having dinner with Mikaela and Yvone you stand at the window in your room and have another argument with yourself.
You can't get the things that they had said in the kitchen out of your head and you are dying to go down into the basement to check if there is anything suspicious. But you don't even know what you should look for.
What did the Lady need blood for?
'Nothing. Because I won't find anything' you think.
Yet the combination of the daughter's that wanted to slaughter you, and seemingly consist out of flies what doesn't make any sense, and the disappearance of people around here... It all is a little suspicious.
A short trip into the basement wouldn't hurt you and even if you find anything, that doesn't have to mean something.
Of course it would be alarming but if you keep up working as well as you could the lady had no reason to end you.
You step away from the window and take a deep breath before you leave your room.
It is late already so almost everyone is already at home or in their own chambers so you don't meet anyone on the way into the foyer.
'No flies in sigh either...' you think and take a look around before you head to the stairs which guide down to your desired location.
Basements always have been creepy to you, even in the orphanage you used to avoid them and now it was a completely different kind of discomfort when you stand at the end of the stairs and let your eyes wander over the cells.
You don't even remember which one had been the one you sat in.
Slowly you start to walk through the small paths in between the bars and you hope that you won't loose your orientation down here, otherwise you would be screwed.
Your eyes fall on a small entrance which doesn't even have a door and after a bit of hesitation you step through it.
Now you are standing in a small room and such a bad reek is in the air that you almost feel nauseous.
You cover your mouth and nose with your hand to make it a little better but it didn't help that much as the smell only got worse the further you walked.
After you cross the room you see a couple of steps leading further down and once you reach the lowest step you feel like throwing up. There is an even longer hallway but it didn't have a normal floor.
It is filled with a dark red liquid which you quickly identify as blood and you feel your stomach twisting as your feet start working on their own and bringing you into the other room again without you turning around.
You were about to turn so you could run and leave the basement, yet your back meets something and you fall into an almost frozen-like state.
There is no wall behind you and that something does not only feel like a human body, it also feels like a very tall human body.
You feel your heart stopping and you close your eyes for a moment. Now you fucked up, you just know it.
Taking a subtle, deep breath you turn around and you were right about your guess on who caught you down here.
And that doesn't exactly give you a safer feeling.
,,Good evening", Lady Dimitrescu says with a crooked brow and she stares down to you with an intruding gaze ,,Already sneaking around where we shouldn't, I see".
,,I'm sorry", you speak with a shaking voice and you take a step back, having a hard time keeping up the eye contact ,,I... I just wanted to check on something somebody told me and I didn't know where I was going and-".
,,Did you find what you were looking for?", she interrupts you, her lips curl into a light grin and she approaches you further, leaving no more room to back away ,,You seem to love searching things around here, don't you?".
,,I wasn't exactly searching something", you reply and now you have to dart your eyes away from her.
The way the golden shine of the torches reflects on her pale skin and in her eyes makes you feel a certain way. A way you shouldn't feel.
,,But did you find it?", she asks, her voice sounding somewhat husky and you bite your tounge nervously.
,,I guess I did", you reply quietly and an inaudible gasp escapes your lips as she lays a gloved hand on your chin and tilts your head up, forcing you to look up to her.
,,What was it?", Lady Dimitrescu smiles mischievously and runs her thumb over your jaw slowly ,,I assume it was the blood?".
,,...maybe?", you raise your eyebrows and she laughs quietly, a sound that causes you to smile without noticing and without even wanting to.
,,I planned on telling you about it but Bela spoke to me about how well you did today and I didn't think it was necessary anymore", the woman then says and releases your face from the soft grasp ,,I knew it was a good idea to keep you".
,,I'm not going to sneak around anymore, I promise", you mumble and start to fiddle around with your fingers ,,Am I going to face any consequences now?".
,,Why would I punish a good girl like you?", she asks smiling and you know that her words should not cause you to feel a certain way, but they did ,,As long as this doesn't happen again...".
,,It won't", you say quickly and she raises her eyebrows.
,,Then there is nothing to worry about".
You take a deep breath and unfortunately the smell of the blood enters your nose, causing you to make a face and from the corner of your eyes you see Lady Dimitrescu trying to hide a grin.
,,I suggest you go back to your room now", she says ,,It's getting late and you'll be busy tomorrow".
You nod and you expect her to disappear into thin air, but she follows you through the maze of the cells and only when you reach the end of the stairs she tells you good night and your ways part.
The weird feeling in your chest stays even as you're already lying in your bed and you replay the whole conversation in your head over and over again.
Something about this woman... Something about her was special.
Very special.