Five years passed by peacefully and Ophelia had safely reached the age of six while I had turned ten. Within that time frame, I think I've become a pretty prominent figure in Ophelia's life. As the only one in the house close to her age, it had become my job to accompany Ophelia around and do various small tasks for her. The one everyone simply gave to me was to wake Ophelia up in the mornings. Surprisingly, she was an extremely stubborn sleeper and I was the only one who could wake her up.
Opening the door to her room, I was met with the extravagance I had grown used to living in Duke Dubannes' household. The carpet, wallpaper, curtains, and bed even were worth more than I could ever make in my life. Then again, anything less and I'd worry that Duke Dubannes would dislike his only daughter. With quick steps, I made my way to her bed and opened up the canopy surrounding it.
"Young Miss, it's time for you to wake up," I said, walking away from the bed to also open up the curtains and let light inside. "You have a big day ahead of you."
As expected, Ophelia made no move to get up. Was she truly this stubborn?
I'll accept it though. As long as she doesn't die I can deal with these little things.
I fished through the pocket of my maid's apron and pulled out trusty flute I had received years ago. It had begun to look a bit run down as I'd been playing it for years and it was made of wood, but it still played well. With practiced movements, I began to play a cheery tune. It flowed through the room and essentially changed the whole room's atmosphere. It went from quiet and still sleeping to sunny and awake, ready for the day. I had written this piece myself and called it 'Ode to Morning' for this exact moment. It was Ophelia's favorite wake-up song and my best weapon to waking her up.
Slowly but surely, Ophelia's golden eyes slowly began to flutter and open at the sound of the happy music. When I finished the song, she was sitting up fully in bed and rubbing her eyes. Her straight black hair had turned to bed head and her eyes still held traces of sleep. Adorable
"Good morning, Ava."
"Good morning, Young Miss. A bath has been prepared for you and afterward will be breakfast."
Ophelia let out a hum before crawling out of bed, rubbing her eyes. She went to the bathroom with me following behind her. The bathroom was just as extravagant as her bedroom. Tiled, heated floors, a running water system, and a built-in ground bath. Well, it was more like a spa than anything. Surrounding the bath were three maids who looked to be in about their twenties. I had come to be familiar with them as they were often in charge of the bathing, Lia, Mia, and Tia. I still couldn't get comfortable with helping people do that. Their rhyming names was also a bit funny.
"The Young Miss wishes for the usual. I'll be waiting outside."
The maids nodded and started to get to work and I left the bathroom to return to Ophelia's bedroom and start the rest of my work. First of all, making the bed. That was always finished with ease and done quickly. When I was done, it looked like no one had even ever slept in the thing. Next was Ophelia's outfit for the day. Opening the closet door I was met with various dresses, blouses, skirts, and even pants made with the best quality materials money could buy. As expected of a Duke's daughter and expected of a maid, I had grown numb to it. Today would be busy as tomorrow some of the novels mentioned past events would occur. Ophelia would be meeting her husband to be, Prince Floyd and her adoration of him would begin. My first goal was to stomp that out entirely as that's the second biggest factor in Ophelia's demise. She could like her fiance but not go insane for him. She needed to be comfortable for today, however, as she would be enjoying her first shopping trip out of the mansion.
I mulled it over for a bit before picking out a long-sleeved white blouse with lace around the cuffs and collar paired with a navy blue hoopskirt. A pair of white tights and black flats would finish off the outfit nicely. I finished picking out the outfit just as the three other maids exited the bathroom, which meant it was time for Ophelia to be dressed. I let out a sigh and entered the bathroom once again.
Ophelia was standing in the center of the bathroom waiting for me, wrapped in a fluffy white towel. Crazy rich people and having servants help them dress. I always made this quick and so before long, Ophelia was dressed cutely in the outfit I chose. I led her to the mirror to get her approval. She stared at herself in the mirror for a bit and then twirled around like the child she was. Adorable once again.
"Perfect. Could I get an accessory?"
"Anything in particular, Young Miss?"
She let out a hum. "A hairpin. The butterfly one."
I nodded and followed her out of the bathroom to her bedroom's vanity. My third point of business would be to do Ophelia's hair and then I'd be dismissed. She sat at the vanity's chair and I got to work. Per usual, Ophelia's raven black hair was smooth and soft as I did my job. I eventually settled on a neat bun and carefully stuck the butterfly hairpin into her hair. I had gotten her this as a fifth birthday present after many months of working and despite the difference of quality in comparison to her other hair accessories, it had become her very favorite hairpin. That warmed my heart a good bit. I had to give her this hairpin in secret and everything, so it was well worth it.
"Is everything to your liking, Young Miss?" I asked, bowing.
Ophelia sighed softly. "You know I hate it when you call me that, Ava."
"I apologize, Young Miss, but calling you otherwise would be improper."
"Disobeying your lady's orders is also improper."
I paused and couldn't help but pout. Throughout the whole novel, Ophelia had always possessed a smart mouth so I don't know why I wasn't expecting this.
Here I am trying to teach her to be a proper good girl and she's abusing her power against lil old me. Boohoo.
"As expected of Ophie. She always knows what to say."
The change in attitude was immediate. Ophelia had gone from cold Young Miss to a normal energetic six-year-old. There was a big proud grin on her face and everything.
"I'm the very smartest right?"
"Mhm hm. No one's smarter than Ophie."
Ophelia giggled happily as I pet her head. In private, Ophelia was more like a little sister to me rather than a mistress. Only in private. If anyone else saw me doing this they'd have a heart attack and I'd be fired on the spot. How troublesome.
"Ophie. You know it's not proper to use your position like that."
Ophelia pouted a bit but said nothing to me and avoided my eyes.
"You should only use that power of yours to help, not harm. Other people's opinions are very important, just as important as yours."
Ophie nodded a bit defeatedly and still didn't look me in the eyes. I sighed but decided to leave it at that for today. Scolding her too much would make her hate me and that's not something I wanted to deal with, especially today.
"Anyway, are you excited about your shopping trip?"
Ophelia let out an excited gasp and her smile instantly returned. "Yeah! I'm gonna buy a pretty dress and you a new flute!"
"A new flute for me? You don't have to do that, Ophie." I said, smiling. I'd be able to buy a new flute myself in due time but I wanted to use this one to its limits before then. Martha had spent most of her salary on it so long ago. It was the least I could do.
"Then I'll get Ava a new dress too!"
"Think a little smaller."
"Jewelry?"
"Smaller."
"Um... A hair ribbon!"
I couldn't help but laugh. My silvery hair had grown out quite a bit and now often had to be tied into a bun or ponytail. A hair ribbon would be appreciated as it flowing behind me during training was a bit annoying and Mother wouldn't let me cut it if her life depended on it.
"Sounds perfect." I pet Ophelia's head again and couldn't help but grin. She'd been growing up well and had begun to even show a lot of her beauty mentioned in the series. Long black hair and slanted golden eyes, making her look more mature than any other girl her age. It was a bit upsetting in this way too. She wouldn't get to stay a child as long as other people could.
Ophelia's mood had gone from good to great and she was practically bouncing off the walls. I pet her head again before dismissing myself as another maid would be leading Ophelia downstairs for breakfast with her parents and younger brother. Speaking of which, Lady Ysabelle was officially pregnant with another little boy, Marcus. He wasn't mentioned much in the book series but Ophelia loved her younger siblings to bits, all three of them. They weren't all born yet so she'd have to wait a bit.
As I left the room and went ahead on my other errands, I couldn't help but feel foreboding. As I had read the entire series, I knew most of what occurred in the past of the characters, and that's why today terrified me to a degree. Today on her shopping trip, someone would attempt to assassinate Ophelia as revenge for something her father did. It was never mentioned exactly what he did, but someone felt it was best to put a hit on his daughter instead of him. That assassination attempt would bend Ophelia's mind and trigger her obsessive tendencies towards the male lead. That would be the worst scenario possible and it would hurt my heart to even think about Ophelia getting hurt. Which made my goal for today so very important. I would go on the shopping trip and protect Ophelia with everything I had as I was one of the few maids with any combat experience. No offense to the guards who accompanied her, but they were useless.
The rest of the day until the afternoon was a bit of a blur until tea time when the carriage was prepared and Ophelia, me, and a group of five of the mansion guards had finally set out. Throughout the ride, Ophelia excitedly asked me questions about the city. As Ophelia had never seen the entire Arkham territory, it was my job to inform her of such things. As a maid, I had gone to the beautiful capital city of Intres for various errands and sometimes for a treat. I can confidently say I know that city somewhat like the back of my hand.
Most of the ride was made up of me talking and Ophelia listening intently to what I said. By the time we were finished talking, we were in the city and Ophelia was excitedly gazing out the carriage window to look out at Intres. It was truly a beautiful city and I couldn't help but have a bit of my breath taken away every time I saw it. Rustic wood and stone brick houses, adorable storefronts, not to mention the vast market square in the center. Intres truly was a merchant and shoppers paradise. The carriage finally came to a stop in front of a store with a wooden sign painted pink with the words 'Lianne's Boutique' in bold white. If I could remember correctly, Lady Ysabelle had recommended this store as its owner was an old friend of hers. I also remember passing by the place frequently on my way to the market with Martha. The dresses in the windows always looked oh so pretty. A favorite of mine had been a-
WAIT A MINUTE! I'm supposed to be on guard against assassins not gushing over dresses. Silly me.
I was the first to leave the carriage and helped Ophelia down the steps with a firm hand so she wouldn't fall. I also went and opened the door of the boutique, the bell above the wall sounding, and waited until she was safely inside before following. The inside of the boutique was as one would expect, walls of dresses and other pieces of clothing and accessories here and there. It seemed strangely homey with its wood floors and pastel walls.
"Oh, customers! Sorry to keep you waiting~" A sing-songy voice rung out throughout the store as a woman appeared from behind a curtain. This woman was tall and pretty- what's with all the beautiful ladies?! And appeared to be around the same age as my Mother, if not a bit older. She was noticeably dark-skinned, like dark chocolate and possessed short wavy dark hair. The thing that caught me off guard about her was her pastel pink eyes. They practically threw off her entire look but also pulled it together, yet looked so similar to my own. Perhaps she was related to whoever my father was or was from the same place. What a small world.
"Do you happen to be Lianne?" Ophelia asked apprehensively, gazing at the new face.
"That's me! Goodness, you must be Ysabelle's daughter! You look so much like her!" Lianne's voice was boisterous and welcoming, not to mention loud. It was hard to think that she and the quiet Lady Ysabelle were friends.
Without warning, Lianne hugged Ophelia and left me in shock. Ophelia also went stick straight, unable to think, much less respond to the hug. Apart from me or her mother, Ophelia didn't have much affectionate human contact, so of course, she was shocked.
"U-um, excuse me, Miss Lianne... Please let go of the Young Miss...." Even I admit my request sounded pathetic but I didn't want to offend this lady either. If she mentioned anything to Lady Ysabelle, I could find myself out in the street with only the clothes on my back. Not that I think Lady Ysabelle would do that but... You never know.
At my request, Lianne turned her head still hugging Ophelia, to look at me. I swear that a flash of surprised recognition went through her eyes and her mouth gaped open for almost a full five seconds before she let out a soft cough and let go of Ophelia. Finally.
"I apologize. I seem to have overstepped my boundaries." Her cheery attitude from earlier seemed to have left immediately after seeing me. "What brings you here, Young Lady?"
"I'd like to see your best hair ribbons."
"Hair ribbons? I'll see what I have."
With that said, Lianne disappeared behind the curtain she had appeared from for a couple of minutes before appearing again with a box of silk hair ribbons of varying colors and presenting them in front of Ophelia.
"Please choose the one you like~" Lianne said, head lowered. Ophelia looked over the ribbons quietly for a good bit before picking up a white ribbon and holding it up in front of me and then shaking her head, putting it back in the box.
"Any other hair accessories?" Ophelia inquired, obviously not satisfied with the choices she had. I honestly liked the magenta ribbon but I couldn't exactly say that, so I didn't. Lianne let out a hum and disappeared behind the curtain before appearing again with a whole new box. This one had hairpins and hair sticks. One that instantly caught my eye was another magenta-colored thing, this time a flower hairpin. Ophelia seemed to notice it too as she immediately picked it up. "I'll take this one."
"Wonderful choice~ Anything else?"
"Formal dresses."
We spent about an hour looking at dresses and Ophelia eventually picked out two that she liked. One was a navy blue ball gown that went well with her pale skin color and the other was a red dress with a layer of black ruffles under the skirt. They'd both be delivered to the mansion in a week's time. On our way out, I was left in the boutique. Lianne suddenly spoke to me.
"Hey, you."
"Y-yes, ma'am?"
"... Does Martha still work with the Dubannes?"
I felt a bit confused at the mention of my mother's name. How did Lianne know her? "Um, yes. She does."
"And what's your relationship with her?"
"She's my mother."
That stopped Lianne right in her tracks her face had gone from blank to heartbroken. Before she could ask me any more questions, Ophelia was calling for me. I could only heed her calls and head outside the store, but that look on Lianne's face was still left in my mind as we left in the carriage.
The rest of the trip was surprisingly peaceful, but I couldn't fully relax. Not with the threat of death looming around in my mind. It had been so long that I almost thought that the assassination attempt wasn't today and I had gotten it wrong. During the trip, I also got close to one of the guards. His name was Lerone, an almost forty-year-old man that somewhat reminded me of a beardless and not white-haired and not fat Santa Claus. He had been a guard for Duke Dubannes since he was a young lad and apparently had a son my age who worked as a stable boy for the mansion. I never went to the stables or met those from the stables so this was a surprise. He jokingly mentioned that me and his son would make a great couple, but I don't think he was joking.
After finishing a trip to the market, we were preparing to head back to the mansion when I felt it. It was a feeling of mysterious terror that I could only describe as intuition. Before I even realized it, I had cast my wind magic and suddenly an arrow aimed straight for Ophelia was propelled backward towards wherever the source was.
"Young Miss, get down!" I yelled out, practically tackling Ophelia to the ground as the guards quickly realized what was happening. They seemed to have moved into a defensive position but I couldn't tell as a shooting pain went throughout my shoulder. Thank god Ophelia was a head or two shorter than me. I looked over to see an arrow digging into my shoulder and blood beginning to pour out of it.
"A-Ava..." Ophelia stuttered out, her face was filled with terror. Somehow, some of my blood had splattered onto her cheek and I unconsciously tried to wipe it away.
"Are you alright, Young Miss?!"
"Y-yes, but Ava your shoulder-"
"I'll be fine as long as you're okay."
I slowly began to feel light-headed as another voice called out to check on us two. It was most likely Lerone, but I couldn't tell. Many of the things around me had grown fuzzy like static and before I knew it, I was out cold with Ophelia still tight in my arms.
[ I really enjoyed writing this chapter as I felt I was drawing out the beginning too much, really slow burn. Ophelia will begin her descent into yandere tendencies. As always, thanks for reading and remember to leave a vote or comment if you enjoyed! ]