Ada quickened her steps, the paper scrunched tightly in her hands. She was on the quest to find Mrs Smith when she was greeted by the said woman halfway.
A very tense woman with a basket in her hands, at that.
Ada bowed upon coming closer. "I have done my chores, Mrs. Smith." She held out the paper for the Head Maid to look. "But I can't read, hence I couldn't—"
The paper was snatched away.
"Who gave you this?" She scrunched her nose reading it and then crumpled it.
"It was Jason."
"There are too many Jasons. Do me a favor and slap him the next time you see him. Tell him— Mrs Smith's orders." She huffed. "Insolent brats, going around teasing the poor girl." She continued in a rushed, angry whisper.
Ada blinked. "Oh, okay..."
"Go upstairs. You will find Misty there. Tell her to change the curtains of the guest room in which Lady Kiara is staying. And tell her to mop its floor as well."
Ada's brows knitted together. They have already changed the curtains.
And how much mopping does those floors need anyways?
Must be the old age. Ada concluded before speaking softly. "Mrs. Smith, we changed them just this morning. Along with the bedsheets. And you also had Misty mop the floor. I have, as well, dusted the room thoroughly in the morning."
The older woman raised an eyebrow at the girl.
"What makes you think I do not remember that?"
Ada opened her mouth then clamped it shut, looking away from the woman.
Mrs Smith pursed her lips, before narrowing her eyes at her. "My, my. It is not because of my grey hair, is it?"
Ada scratched her left cheek, the material of her eye patch irritating the skin, but did not dare to speak, making the woman gasp.
"Ha!" She exasperated, "Look at this crazy girl! My hair has just discoloured, that is all. I am very much young, you chipmunk! Take this and do what you are told. Come quickly when you are done, I will be in the pantry." Mrs Smith pushed the basket into her hands before marching away.
"That was a bad move," Ada mumbled to herself as she could hear the woman muttering to herself how easily people hurt other people's emotions nowadays.
"Nevermind." I need to get this done quickly. Lunchtime was approaching, so she dashed to the supplies room.
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Ada found Misty dusting the books in the library on the third story of the mansion.
It was a quaint room with bookshelves carefully lining the left and right sides. However, Ada almost always rolled her eyes when she got in there.
It was the perfect room. Away from the commotion down the stairs, it was tranquil. The mellow glow of the lamp at night and dappled sunlight in the day exuded a cosy atmosphere. The lush brown curtains framed the big window and a brown leather sofa lines just beside it looked aesthetic. What made the room the best was the considerable volumes of notable books that were stacked in the bookshelves.
But rarely anyone came here.
The books were left untouched for days.
It had been days since someone had come to stand near the window and gazed outside.
It had been weeks since someone had come and sat down in the plush sofa with a cup of fragrant tea in their one hand and a book on another.
It had been months since someone had come and ran their fingers across the spines of the books in the shelves to choose their next favourite.
What agitated Ada the most was that Count Monroe kept on piling in books but he was the rarest one to be seen here or even in the mansion. Rumors floated around that he had an unknown mistress and someday Countess Monroe was going to catch him red-handed and then he will be flung out of one of these windows.
Ada shook her head slightly and stepped inside the library.
How rude. I must not think this way. He is a Count and must be busy.
"Misty."
The young girl— who was dusting the books— turned around startled, letting out a scream.
"Oh my God, you scared me!" She shrieked upon seeing Ada standing awkwardly near the entrance. "For how long have you been standing there?"
Ada shook her head at her, making few of her strawberry blonde hair strands sneak out of her bun.
"You need to change the curtains of Lady Kiara's room. And mop its floor as well. Mrs Smith's orders."
Misty scrunched her nose. "Mop the floor? How many times am I required to mop those floors?" She complained.
Ada shrugged her shoulders before setting the bucket on the floor and handing down the basket to Misty. She then proceeded to leave the library, but Misty caught her hand.
"Wait! Help me carry the bucket to the room." With that, she walked past her with the basket in her hands.
A please would not have burned her tongue. Ada pursed her lips while picking up the bucket.
What must be Sarah and Misa doing?
Unwittingly, the sight of Sarah stuffing her mouth and pocket with edibles flashed in front of her eyes. While Misa panicked on the other side, trying her best to drag Sarah out of the pantry before they got caught.
Ada cleared her throat and continued following Misty's lead.
Best not think about them.
Reaching the guest room, Ada placed the bucket down.
"Knock on the door for me as well. My hands are full," Misty chimed in. Ada sighed and knocked at the closed door.
No response.
Ada knocked again.
Still no response.
She knocked again after a few moments, this time harder.
Silence.
Ada and Misty exchanged a puzzled look. Glancing around, Ada realized there were no guards stationed nearby.
This is odd. She bit her lip and picked up the bucket. They could not step in without any permission or supervision.
"We should tell Mrs. Smith," Misty suggested and started walking away.
Letting out a short puff of breath from her mouth, Ada too turned around.
The slow creaking sound of the door opening behind them made them stop dead in their tracks.
Ada immediately straightened her back.
"What was that? My Lady?" Misty was already walking towards the door. She stopped as she stood near the slightly opened door. She peeked from the crack but no one was in there.
Ada, on the other hand, froze, her blood nothing but icy water. She could feel that something was amiss. The hair on her arms and neck stood up. She felt dizzy. Her stomach dropped.
Turning around slowly, Ada quietly approached Misty, who was still unaware of the possible danger as she tried knocking at the door yet again.
Ada clenched the handle of the bucket in her hand, took in a sharp breath, closed her eyes.
It was silence. Deafening silence.
And then she heard it.
Breathing.
Soft breathing.
And there it was.
A sound which alerted her.
Hisses.
Soft, inaudible hisses.
Blood.
Strong stench of fresh blood.
Whirling in the air.
Covert.
Deadly.
Her eyes shot open.
Breath shortened.
Heart thumped.
Her free hand shot up to take a hold of Misty's arm and pulled her back, almost throwing her across the width of the hallway.
She could hear Misty questioning her from behind as Ada slammed open the door of the Lady Kiara's room, rushing inside.
But none of that mattered.
Danger.
Danger.
Danger!
Danger was all she could think about.
Ada rushed inside and then, fumbled right away as she stepped onto the shadowy tendrils of the creature.
A creature.
Blood hued eyes.
Foreboding presence.
A cadence of warning in it's hisses.
A lilt of death in it's eyes.
Ada's breath labored.
Death.
Death.
Death.
A spark of fire burst for a second in her hand as she mindlessly moved forward, stumbling on its appendages and fell down.
Though, she still managed to cut off the tendril. That was enough to startle the creature.
Quickly contracting it's appendages, the creature glided out of the room through the open window with the speed of light.
Ada stared at the window, the cog wheels in her mind rotating.
Why was it here?
A horrified shriek from behind her pulled Ada out of her thoughts. She turned her head to look at Misty but her eyes locked at the sight of the Lady.
All soaked.
Ada looked at her hand, her eyes widening as she realized that the bucket had slipped from it and the water in it had splashed out of the vessel, drenching the lady— who was sleeping on the ground with a book on her face— from head to toe.
Lady Kiara woke up, bewildered from the sudden wetness. She could not grasp what happened for a second. Her consciousness was still wafting in the air, yet to return fully.
However, as it did finally occur to her what had transpired, with a gasp, she stood up and looked straight ahead before her eyes moved to see two maids. One was standing at the door with a horrified expression while the other one was kneeling on the ground, few steps away from her, with her eye wide as a saucer and mouth ajar.
"What—" Lady Kiara started a little dazed before her anger shot up, "Did Mr. Monroe send you here? What an utter fool! I think I already made it clear that it was an honest mistake!"
Three of them knew it was a lie.
But Ada chose not to respond as Misty came in, dropping on her knees as she pleaded for mercy, tears running down her face.
She could not simply respond as Lady Kiara started shouting, angered and frustrated.
She simply could not respond as she clenched-unclenched her fists, wishing the red streaks of magic on her palms to go away as they generally stayed there for some moments after using sorcery.
For her mind kept replaying the moment she stepped inside the room.
The dark, shadowy swirls that engulfed the room.
Looming over the Lady.
The sinful ringlets swirling around all over the floor.
The way they curled around her ankle as soon as she stepped on them.
One moment.
All it would have taken was one moment.
And the Lady could have been dead if Ada had not startled the shadowy creature by cutting off one of its several arms.