reader uses she/they pronouns
isa uses they/them only (yes they're in this because i might make this a story at some point because i think it's cute)
also, gonna add this here in reference to my last update here (in dani's section); can't believe i, a non-binary lesbian, have to the say this but, non-binary sapphics (or anyone that isn't a man) are allowed to read my works. non-binary people are NOT men. if you get offended by that on behalf of a non-binary person, it's a huge reflag in my eyes and you'll most likely get blocked.
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You let a soft sigh pass your lips as you made your way to the doors of the castle with the other maids, your nerves going haywire as the smell of death reached you. The other maids seemed to react the same way; fidgeting with articles of clothing, glancing around frantically, or muttering to themselves. You became more unnerved by the others than you did at the aura of death coming from the giant castle before you. The door opened and you all tensed immediately — only to relax moments later when you realized it was a maid that had opened the door. You took in their appearance as quickly as you could before they began ushering everyone in; muttering about how they weren't supposed to let too much cold air in.
That had piqued your interest, but you rushed inside with the others, sighs of relief filling the room once the doors shut and the heat inside of the castle finally reached you all. The maid made their way to a painting and stood in front of it, clearing their throat to catch everyone's attention. You stayed near the side of the room, taking in everyone's reactions as they spoke.
"Welcome to castle Dimitrescu, I am Isa, the head maid, and I'll be taking you to meet the ladies. After that, a tour of the castle. Now, stay with me."
In an instant, they were walking through a door, and the group followed close behind. You lagged behind a bit to take in the beauty of the castle, only stopping once the others came to a stop as well. Isa opened the door to an opera hall and everyone stared in shock at the woman at the piano. You swallowed the lump in your throat as Isa introduced the ladies in the room, the gaze of lady Dimitrescu scanning over everyone in the process. When her gaze stopped on you, you took a hesitant step back, silently praying that someone would say something to get her attention.
Your prayers were answered but in the worst way possible. "So, Isa, are you single?"
A loud, and angry buzzing filled the room and sent everyone into a panic, causing some of the maids to rush out of the opera hall. Lady Dimitrescu held up a hand and the buzzing stopped immediately, allowing you to see the faint smirks on hers and Isa's faces. You watched as the redhead — Daniela — wrapped her arms around Isa and glared at the rest of you that didn't leave. A few maids muttered to each other, clearly confused, as you simply smiled at the two — noticing lady Daniela relax a bit at your action.
The rest of the day was spent with Isa showing everyone around the castle; mainly what rooms to stay out of and what rooms were best for... Well, they said for 'hiding', but you weren't entirely sure what they meant by that and you weren't sure you wanted to know. You were following them to your room — apparently, the ladies had said that you were to get your own room instead of sharing one with the other maids. It confused you, but you were also very grateful for the privacy you were being offered.
"So... You and lady Daniela...?" You asked softly, noticing their face immediately lift into a smile.
"Not officially," They hummed and glanced at you. "But she doesn't let anyone have any thoughts about dating me."
"Are you waiting for her to ask?"
"Of course not, she's a lady. She's waiting on me to ask."
"Why haven't you?"
"I'm waiting for spring," They smiled and opened a door. "That way I can take her on a date outside. Here's your room."
"That's cute," You giggled before stepping into your room. "Why did they want me to have my own room again?"
"They found you intriguing. Be glad they did, otherwise, you could be in serious trouble."
"What do you mean by that?"
You turned to face them only to have the spot they were standing in be empty. With a hesitant step towards the door, you glanced down the hall and noticed that there was no trace of them except for the faint smell of cinnamon. You frowned before shutting your door and heading to your closet, pulling open the closet door and looking over your uniforms and nightgowns. With a soft hum, you grabbed a nightgown and headed to your bathroom.
After a nice bath and a good night's rest, you were woken by a knock at the door and Isa's voice saying to get ready for work. You nearly groaned when you realized the sun wasn't even up yet but decided to not wait, climbing out of bed and getting changed as quickly as possible. As you left your room, you noticed Isa waking the others and handing them pieces of paper as they left their room. You slowly made your way over to them and cleared your throat, earning their attention as the last maid left the room.
"You'll be shadowing me," They stated before following the other maids. "We all start with making breakfast for the ladies."
You nodded and the day went by smoothly after that — you simply doing as Isa said and shadowing them until they had to join the lady in a 'Family Meeting'. They had asked you to clean the armory before leading you there — which is where you were currently cleaning and enjoying your peace and quiet. Or, at least you were. There was a faint buzzing sound that showed up a few minutes after Isa had left — it would occasionally stop, mainly whenever you put down a weapon that you had been cleaning, but it would also get louder at times too.
Once the buzzing had stopped for a while, you internally smiled and silently thanked whatever being might be listening that it stopped — it had been driving you insane. You moved through the armory and reached for the broom that was near the exit, only to realize that it was missing now. With a soft sigh, you turned around and examined the room once more, making sure you hadn't just forgotten where you set it down. When it wasn't spotted anywhere else, you turned around to look at the spot once more — only this time, the broom was there.
"Rawr!" A voice sounded behind you and you nearly leaped out of your skin.
You took a few deep breaths before glancing behind you, noticing that the woman was dressed like the other ladies but you didn't see her at orientation. "I... I don't mean to sound rude, but... What's your name, my lady?"
"...That's it? No begging for me to spare your life? No screaming or crying? Don't you think I'm going to kill you? I-I have a sickle!"
"I see that, yes. But I don't recall seeing you at orientation, and I'd like to know the names of all of my ladies."
You sent her a smile and noticed her tense immediately, her gold eyes scanning your face before she disappeared in a swarm of flies. Confusion flooded you as you stared after the swarm and mindlessly grabbed the broom. You shook your head before you decided to continue cleaning, humming to yourself in the process. The rest of the day went by smoothly — after you managed to stumble into a maid and the both of you find your way back to the kitchen, that is.
When Isa returned, you immediately asked them about the mysterious lady — only to have them laugh and wave off your question. It was only when the two of you were alone did they finally answer you — making you wonder if they didn't want the others to find out about this lady.
"That was lady Cassandra," Isa said with a smile and a mischievous gleam in their eyes. "She, much like her sisters, loves to scare new hires. That's why I didn't answer your question sooner. She wants them to be afraid — to not know her so they slip up and give her a reason to attack."
"Can... What are the ladies, exactly?"
"Flesh-eating flies."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
"It's a long and complicated story. The easiest version to under? They're vampires."
"That... Explains a lot," You muttered and stopped near your door. "Why wouldn't she attack me, though?"
"I did say that her mother and sisters find you intriguing, didn't I? It appears she does as well." They sent you a smile before disappearing into their room.
Three months had passed since you found out more about your ladies and got lady Cassandra's name, and in that time she had only upped the number of times she scared you. Every other room you entered, she'd be there to scare you with her cute Rawr. You tried getting used to it, but whenever she didn't get a reaction out of you, she'd either get very depressed or very angry. If she simply pinned you against the wall and hissed whenever she got angry, you wouldn't mind it — it turned you on immediately the first time she did it — but that wasn't always the case.
She had occasionally sliced at you whenever she got angry — but she always made sure she wasn't close enough to cut you. The few times she did cut you, her mood immediately changed and she was rushing to get you taken care of. You weren't entirely sure what the two of you were — she spent a lot of time with you according to Isa, but most of that was spent scaring you. Sure she'd occasionally have a conversation with you, but those were days when she didn't feel like scaring anyone and that was rare.
You were tasked with cleaning lady Cassandra's room — which you were on your way to — for the entire day. It confused you, but you didn't question it — especially when you arrived and noticed all of the paint and paint supplies scattered everywhere. You took a step into the room and the door slammed shut behind you, causing you to jump with a soft squeak as you turned to look for the cause of it. When you didn't automatically see the reason behind the door slamming, you turned around again and you were suddenly pinned between the door and Cassandra.
"L-lady Cassandra! I wasn't aware you were still in here!" You squeaked out and your breath hitched when she glanced down at you through her eyelashes.
"I hate what you do to me," She breathed out after a pregnant silence. "All of those maids are potential threats — I see the way they look at you."
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean by that, my lady?"
"You're just as dense as Isa was..."
Before you could question what she meant by that, there was a light pressure on your lips — leaving a split second later. In the blink of an eye, Cassandra was on her bed with a sketchbook in her hands, leaving you baffled by what had just happened. You slowly lifted a hand and let your fingers ghost over your slightly parted lips, trying to ignore the pounding in your chest as a thought crossed your mind.
'Did she just kiss me?'