the reader uses she/her pronouns
Working at castle Dimitrescu was... Interesting. What was even more interesting than working there was the ladies of the castle. They'd lash out at maidens who made the smallest mistake or even take them to the cellar. That was the other interesting thing about the castle — the cellar. Anyone that went in there never came out, and if they were lucky enough to — they were never the same. Except for you.
You had managed to get sent to the cellar on multiple occasions and got out just fine — minus the injuries you had to treat for weeks after the visits. Why had you ended up there? Well, you never learned. You'd leave the castle at night in search of rosa canina — a flower lady Cassandra had been painting recently. The moment you'd enter the castle again, one of her sisters would be there waiting for you. You'd do that for weeks — months even — which meant they'd catch you sooner or later and it turned out to be sooner.
Eventually, you couldn't even leave your room at night. It hurt a lot, not being able to search for the flower, but you didn't want to die. Friday finally rolled around and you managed to ask the Duke if he could inform you if he ever had some, promising him however much lei it would cost. He had crushed your spirits when he said that he never had any and that he most likely wouldn't ever have any.
That night, you wrote a note for lady Cassandra — anonymous, of course — planning on slipping it under her pillow when you cleaned her room Saturday. Once the note was complete and folded, ready to be hidden tomorrow, you crawled into bed and fell asleep immediately.
When you woke the next morning, you immediately took a bath and got dressed, shoving the note into a pocket you were thankful lady Beneviento had sown into the maid's uniform. Breakfast went perfectly — well as perfectly as it could with humans serving vampires. You were only tasked with cleaning the rooms of the daughters after breakfast, confusing you slightly but also making you very happy.
Bela's room was the easiest so you always started there, knowing she'd silently watch you clean — maybe even helping out on a good day. When you reached her room, she was nowhere to be found, leading you to assume she was already working on keeping those things in the cellar. Cleaning her room went quick, making you have to decide between Cassandra and Daniela's rooms next. Deciding to save Cassandra's room for last, you headed to the youngest sister's room, slightly shocked to see her in her room.
"Lady Daniela, I'm here to clean." You whispered out, bowing towards her.
That's when you noticed her sheets were already changed into clean ones, her face buried in some romantic novel. A small smile tugged at your lips as you began working, knowing she wouldn't bother you as long as she had her books — something she definitely learned from lady Bela. Her room was cleaned faster than normal, her gaze only lifting from the book occasionally whenever you'd get too close to her bed.
Before you could leave, her hand grabbed your wrist, her eyes narrowing in your direction. "You never did tell us why you would sneak out."
"I..." You trailed, letting out a long sigh as your face began heating up. "I wanted to find a special flower for... someone. I apologize, lady Daniela... I should've said something sooner but, I wanted to make sure this person didn't find out. Not like it matters now, it's too cold and the Duke doesn't even have it."
Her face softened and a sad frown etched onto her features, making you realize you had struck a chord within the romantic's heart. She glanced out in the hall for a moment before nodding at you, offering you the faintest smile.
"Well, good luck finding or making something special for this person. Maybe once spring comes around you can get the flower." She whispered, releasing your wrist.
"Thank you, lady Daniela." You bowed to her before leaving, heading towards lady Cassandra's room.
You were surprised to see a different maid cleaning it, knocking lightly on the door and clearing your throat. The maid jumped and whipped around; fear clear in her eyes until they landed on you. She offered you a small smile before letting her gaze fall.
"Lady Dimitrescu wants to speak with you so I'll be cleaning lady Cassandra's room." She spoke timidly, making your entire body tense.
You gave a reluctant nod, leaving to put the supplies away before moving towards the study. When you got closer, you could hear the lady and Cassandra conversing, making your heart beat faster when your name was said. Once you reached the door, you lifted your hand to knock only for it to be pulled open, lady Cassandra standing in the doorway.
You immediately moved out of her way and bowed, freezing once she pulled you into the room. The door slammed behind you, making you jump and let out a quiet squeal, the amused gazes of the vampires glued to your form. You stayed bowed, waiting for one of them to address you.
"It's come to my attention that you've snuck out of the castle on more than one occasion..." Lady Dimitrescu started, her gaze burning through you. "And I've even caught you a few times myself... Care to explain?"
'I guess Cassandra's here to punish me whether I lie or not.'
"I was searching for a flower, my lady." You started, slowly standing straight and hesitantly lifting your gaze to meet hers. "Rosa Canina... I thought it'd look beautiful in the castle and wanted to find some to surprise you all. Each attempt ended in failure — even the Duke had none."
The lady let her gaze drift to her daughter at the mention of the flower, clearly knowing the real reason you wanted the flower. A low growl sounded from Cassandra before she had you pinned to the floor, her sickle pressed against your throat.
"Don't lie to my mother," She growled, pressing down until she drew blood. "Tell her the truth or I'll kill you."
'I'll die either way...'
"I wanted to find the flower for you, lady Cassandra... I noticed you'd been painting it lately and... It was stupid of me; I deeply apologize my ladies."
The vampire stared down at you in astonishment, her features quickly distorting to anger as she raised her sickle. You braced yourself for her attack, shocked when it didn't come and you heard her mother speak.
"She's telling the truth, Cassandra."
"...She can't be..."
Her voice sounded broken and full of hatred, immediately shattering your heart. She let her mother pull her off of you, her eyes glaring daggers at you. "Never say something like that again. You don't stand a chance with me."
"I understand, my lady..." You breathed out, leaving once lady Dimitrescu dismissed you.
On your way to your room, you ripped up the note, throwing it away once you reached the maids quarters. You crawled into your bed and curled up, silent tears streaming down your face.
'This is worse than death.'