Y/N's heels clicked against the hard floor as she walked down the stairs. She walked towards the huge dubble doors that led to the foyer.
When she arrived at the doors one of the elves opened it for her. When the gigantic doors opened she saw Merle standing a few metres away at one of the coffee tables. She silently groaned as she knew that the torture was about to start.
When Merle saw Y/N she started walking towards her with brisk steps. The clicking of her heels sounded terrifying to Y/N. She would probably associate Merles heels with fear for the rest of her life. Suddenly, she felt like a scared little twelve year old girl again.
When Merle reached Y/N she looked at her disapprovingly before her face returned to it's usuall stone -like expression.
" Follow me" Merle said with a dead tone in her voice.
Merle quickly turned around and started walking towards the other part of the house. Y/N tried to keep up but stumbled a few times. By stumbling she once again earned a dissaproving sigh from Merle.
They walked towards one of the empty rooms of the house. In there, the other maids had prepared a huge bath and everything else they would need to prepare Y/N for her big day.
Once the set of doors to the room opened Y/N was met with a bright light. The sun shone in through the large wall of windows. She could basically see the whole garden from there. Thankfully, They were on the 4th floor, so nobody would be able to see into the room if they looked up from inside the garden.
Merle walked briskly towards the huge bath that had been prepared. If it had been other circumstances, Y/N would have though that the bath looked rather inviting. The maids had added a bath bomb earlier so the deliciosly warm water had tiny golden sparks in it. Y/N thought that it almost looked like liquid gold. The golden water was barely visible because of all the bubbles that had been added.
Y/N thought that it was probably Soraya that had insisted that the bubbles were added. Soraya had been her maid when she was a little girl. She had always loved Soraya very much and was devestated when she was replaced by Merle.
Soraya knew how much Y/N loved bubble baths. Whenever she felt anxius as a child, Soraya always made her a scented bubble bath. Y/N could remember the smell of lavender and camomile like it had been yesterday.
" Time to get undressed Ms. Black" Merle stated with a cold voice.
Y/N only nodded in response before walking towards the curtain that had been set up in the right corner of the room. On a little table inside the makeshift changing room Y/N noticed a soft white bathrobe and a hairbrush. There was also a big mirror on the wall.
She pulled the dress she was wearing over her head before unlacing her tight black corset. She carefully placed the corset and the dress on the little table besides the white robe. After removing her tights and shoes she picked up the soft cotton robe and carefully put it on. Her hands were a bit shaky as she tied the thick sash around her waist.
She looked herself in the mirror before picking up the hairbrush. She ran it through her hair a couple of times before deciding to step out from the curtain.
Merle looked at her with emotionless eyes before facing the wall. She did this to give Y/N at least a bit of privacy as she stepped into the bath.
Y/N slowly slipped the robe off her shoulders and neatly folded it. After placing the robe on a small table beside the bath, she started climbing into the hot water. A sudden calmness hit her as she felt the water enclosed her in its embrace.
She felt the delightful smell of roses as the water reached her shoulders.
She toom a deep breath before the sound of Merle's heels reached her ears. Y/N tried to think about something else as she heard Merle open the way too expensive shampoo bottle. A few seconds later, she felt Merles cold, bony fingers touch her scalp.
The sound of the shampoo lathering felt as loud as a thunderstorm.
When Y/N was a little girl, she always loved having her hair washed. Soraya always told her stories while washing her hair. After Merle became her maid, she learned to wash her hair herself. She hated feeling Merles bony fingers in her hair.
Y/N was brought back from her thoughts by Merle accidentally scratching her skin. Once she was done washing Y/N's hair, she rinsed the shapoo out using cold water. The cold water was supposed to help give the hair a natural shine. She then applied a heavy amount of conditioner to the lenght of Y/Ns hair.
A few minutes later, her hair was rinsed out with another batch of cold water. the cold water on her scalp gave her a slight shock. The coldness was soon replaced by the warmth of the soft towel. Merle then proceeded to wash Y/N's body.
Y/N was rigid as a metal rod the whole time. The feeling of Merle's hands over her body made her want to throw up. It felt like a complete invasion of her privacy. As the clock ticked Y/N wished that it would be over quickly. It almost felt like Merle deliberatly took as long as possible. Y/N let out a shaky breath once the torture finally was over.
Merle then faced the wall for a second time, in order to give Y/N an opportunity to get out of the bath and put the robe on. Y/N felt a rush of relief as she slipped the soft robe over her shoulders. The worst part was finally over. Now the only parts left was her face and her nails.
Y/N sat down in a big armchair as Merle prepared all the products she would use on Y/N's face. Y/N had decided before this whole procedure started, that she would avoid conversation as much as possible. That plan seemed to be working out very well so far. If Y/N remembered right, Merle had only said two sentances to her. The rest of the procedure was done in complete silence.
Merle then applied a cold , lathering liquid to her cheeks and started massaging her face. If anyone besides Merle had done it, Y/N probably would have enjoyed the whole affair. She was still terrified of her old maid.
After the cold lathering liquid was rinsed of, Merle applied another cold liquid. This one, a little thicker in consistency. After fifteen mintues of complete silence, that too was rinsed of by Merles bony hands.
She then ended the facial by massaging a thick cream into Y/N's face. Y/n was relieved that it was finally over.
'Only a few minutes more', Y/N thought to herself.
Merle then filed Y/N's nails and applied a light pink polish. She then brought forward a big bowl of ice water. The water was supposed to help dry the nailpolish faster. The cold water made Y/N squirm in her seat. After twenty seconds or so, she was finally allowed to remove her hands from the stinging water.
" You're free to leave, Ms Black" Merle's sneered after putting the bowl away. Y/N only nodded in response. During the whole session, Y/N couldn't remember uttering a single word.
She walked over to the makeshift changing booth while Merle started cleaning the products away. She removed the soft robe from her body before pulling the long black dress over her head for the second time that day. She felt her still damp hair plaster itself against her neck as she slipped on the black tights. Even though she felt a lot better then when Merles hands where all over her, the stiff feeling wouldn't leave her body. Even worse was that she knew that this was only the beginning. What came after the wedding preparations was what she really should fear.
Y/N felt her limbs stiffen up even more as she thought about her upcoming wedding.
'Only two days left', she thought to herself. Two days left before her life changed forever. The worst part was that she didnt know what was going to happen. Y/N had always been somewhat of a control-freak. The thought of not being able to control her future scared her. Y/N didn't even know if she would make it out of this marrige alive. Way too many wifes died at the mercy of the men who were supposed to love and care for them.
She felt a strong shiver travel trough her still cold body.
After putting on her heels and desperatly trying to squeeze the last water from her hair, Y/N started walking towards the huge dubble doors . She had to use a lot of her strenght to open the heavy doors. Walking out of those doors felt almost like being released from askaban after twenty years. Y/N knew that she probably made the whole situation worse in her mind, that it actually was. Her anxiety often made easy everyday situations into a way bigger deal then they were supposed to be.
She turned around and started walking towards her room. Going back to her room felt like a relief, but she knew that the worst part was yet to come.
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