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**01.03**
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Winter was the season of calm. You stayed indoors, lit as many fires as you could and kept them lit. It was a time for hobbies and quite contemplation.
For common people.
Nobels had it very different I learned this month. They gathered from all over the County in The Counts mansion , drank wine by the barrels and had a party every night. Musicians played , a jester group was even playing tomorrow I heard.
good for them I thought at first , but quickly it became clear that their happiness came at our expense. We washed the dishes they drank and ate from ,washed the clothes they wore, and made the beds where they slept.
that was the grunt work.
the senior maids had it a lot worse in my opinion they had to serve the food and drinks deal with there tantrums and every
asinine wish. the kitchen was always busy and food was made by the ton to feed all them and the retainers and guards they brought camped outside even in this weather.
and woe the nanny's that delt with the children , oh yes the little devils came too.
It kept me busy and I didn't know the work enough for my mind to wander. Every morning I would wake up or be woken up before dawn. A group would clean the dishes from last night with cold almost freezing water, another would help prep in the kitchen. we split more after that. some went with senior maids other's would do odd tasks and others clean the rooms everyone used.
Agatha ran everything basically and we learned fast that she is basically the head maid and her word was law. what the did actual head maid do was up in the air. Agatha had an interesting system , she would assign you the worse tasks if you took more time to complete a task than she thought you would. you always had to report to her when you were free , and personally did spot checks on everyone work.
I got assigned to this hallway. it takes about thirty min for each room on average and than more for the bathroom. there are 14 in total and each with same design in a 6 meter space. I'm still at the third.
its my second time doing this, but the very first time I was alone.
it was midday but the sun was not showing at all. I turned from the window I was staring at and put a log in the fire, it was the last log so I marked the number on the wood plank I carried. after I started making the bed, it was done fast , so I checked the piss pot, it was empty so I moved on picking the clothes that were scattered on the rug a trouser with underpants and a cotton shirt the rest were hung so I left them and headed to the hallway I closed the door behind me put the clothes on the basket right outside, id take it to the closet at the end of the hallway with all the dishes. I marked the basket with the room imaginary number , writing with the coal stick ,L for left wing 2 for floor and 3 for the room.
someone will pick all the full basket's and dishes with a trolly . I headed for room 4 and knocked. no answer came, all the guest where doing some activity or game this time of day , but just in case I always did. after all I didn't want to walk in on people doing it, I had heard stories.
I opened the door and went inside I closed the door. I looked inside but the room was dark and the fire was out, I headed to the window and opened the curtains to let light in. I turned and took a look , the room was practically untouched the desk was the only place that looked used , except for maybe the bed , the curtains were closed and so it was probably used I opened the curtains and was about to tie them to the post ,when I came face to face with a man. he looked like he just woke up.
I froze hand still clutching the curtains.
I probably woke him up.
shit .. I knocked , I did fucking knock right.
"f-forgive me sir , I was just cleaning and didn't think anyone was here. ill come back later"
I finally manged to get a sentence out while he was still rubbing his eyes.
he stood up as I turned to leave and he spoke
"stop … you can clean now .. I was just about to wake up so fret not"
fuck... my hand unconsciously touched my side were a pocket was sewn.
I tried to think of a way out , but nothing came.
I turned and bowed and hesitatingly answered. "yes milord"
he had only a short on and he was stretching his hands and shoulders as he moved to the corner of the room where the pot was, pulled it out and soon the room was filled with only the sound of piss hitting the pot in a stream.
the room was clean and I had only the desk or bed it was clear choice and I headed there , pushing the chair under it .i started gathering what was left of the food to silver tray. my mind was still trying to come up with a way to leave.
could I just head to the door, and deal with consequence's later. if I ask for another assignment will Agatha give me it ,will she understand. is this shit normal ? I'm I overreacting ? he wont do anything right he leave just leave.
john experience kept screaming DANGER , my mind was racing blood was pumping, ears ringing and I could come up with nothing.
hopefully he will just leave.
I stared at the Tray in my hand and an epiphany
or maybe I can
maybe I can take them out to cupboard at the end of the hall. now usually that was done last with clothes. but I can pretend its normal. I was about to do that but froze as a hand tight on my shoulder made me drop it and turn.
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what is he doing
was the first stupid thought
how the fuck was he so silent.
was the second
he was naked and slowly leaning , I could feel it poking my side with a smug smile while his other hand stroked his thing said
"help me clean this would you?"
I was freaked out. I knew this could happen. I really did. I shouldn't be this scared or surprised. these last months where nice. my head didn't hurt anymore I was slowly getting used to the work. it was growling but I was paid well.
I was even getting to know my roommates and the other maids better, they said I opened up. I manged to read a book In my free day, the library was even open to staff. I thought life was good.
so I forgot . just for a little while I had forgotten how shitty the world was. I should have known. I believed the façade, like the beautiful days and we know how that turned out.
how many maids have been through this. how many will this fucker want the same from. his hand had already left my shoulder and was traveling through my my body he was towering over me and I turned , he looked so smug.
my heart beats calmed , and my mana gushed from my gate no longer restrained. I lifted my head my eyes had turned from scared and wide to dead, my jaw had set no longer in a stupid smile . my hair seemed to flutter about. every inch had fill with mana.
I pulled my hand out of the pocket it had subconsciously went to , and this time it wasn't empty .
The fuckers face had changed from smug to surprise he pulled back , was about to say something but I didn't want to hear it my palm was already open and his head just went splat. and his body fell backward.
I breathed out the breath I was holding and stared at his body. his dick slowly went flat, the blood was gushing out , I could hear it going out in pumps. I couldn't take my eyes of his head. one pebble that all it took. the wall behind had web cracks in it and rocks fell out.
I stood there for what felt like forever, my mind was calmer than it had been all my life.
I have to run now
that was what finally snapped me out of it . I looked around the room looking for a pouch or anything of value and small enough. I found nothing but a gold ring on the body. I was hoping for a gold pouch but I found none . I took it ,I could hear footsteps outside in the hallway. the rock did make a loud sound and I didn't think of that.
"search the rooms"
"sir"
I looked at the window the glass was already shattered but hadn't fallen off . it was facing the east, the maid rooms was on the other side. my pouch and dagger was there I would need them if I'm going anywhere.
Mind made up I carefully opened the window and steeped on the ledge. I pushed as much mana as I could on to my legs before climbing down and slowly letting go aiming for the bushes outside the open hallway.
I manged it , but my inertia sill pushed me deep down and branches cut my hands and legs.
that fucking hurt
one of my feet was bleeding a little but the bushes slowed my fall so I didn't get hurt. I was in the inner court yard now I fixed my appearance as best I could taking leaves and broken stick out while hiding in the open hallway. I reached the staff wing ignoring the looks every one was giving me ,and trying not to look worried.
Finally I reached my room took my pouch and dagger and packed everything I could into a pillowcase and opened the window. the Castel was already in uproar and i knew my time was running out. but I was counting that the would look at from mages first to the servants last .
The door suddenly opened and I looked back. hand already reaching to my pocket. It stopped once I saw Marche. I didn't know what to do. she hasn't seen me yet and she looked hurried and scared ,she finally turned after closing the door and seeing me was about to say something but my finger was on my lips , she looked confused and without waiting for her I jumped out the window.
The west side of Castel had a small orchard , there was one tree that was close to the wall and that tree was one I could climb. my Gate was fully open my body was full of mana it took two jumps to reach the wall height checking no one was there I jumped on to it.
I thought I would see guards but there were none. I looked over and the floor was to far. I cant use my magic to fly , I had tried before. but there was a tree a little further than the rest . my other option was to go down the tower.
should I risk it though ?
I made up my mind and threw the sack over the wall as far as I could. went back and then started running along the wall at angel and at the last second jumped with all the mana I could push to my legs.
I reached the tree and my hand slammed against the branch , almost dropped but I hung on. my feet where killing me, a fall might have been better. I climbed down the tree and went to pick my sack.
Suddenly I heard laughter as a door opened and closed and I rushed to the woods crossing over the road we first came through first time I came here .each step hurt but I maid it behind a tree. a guard slowly came into view on the wall a Tobacco pipe in his mouth as he looked around. It felt like forever but he eventually left.
I ran ignoring the pain each step taking me deeper and deeper into the woods. faster and faster as I can. until I felt a little safer . I stopped midway to change and filled my pockets with more rocks , and at better pace kept heading further in. the ground slowly started getting steeper and the trees were sparser.
it was really cold and getting colder the higher I up got , the wind was picking up with less trees to break it , like swords stabbing my bones deeper . I then realized that my second emergency plan was shit.
it would take hours for me to reach another town. I could maybe find a village if I went around the mountain and found a road , but they would ask questions and I had no good answer. that's without a man hunt that killing a Nobel would cause. the could send riders on the road , if they haven't already.
I don't know these woods. I have never been here before. it felt colder and unwelcoming compared to Mr. Rivers woods. the trees were lifeless the ground hard and I have only seen crows , black and bleak. fitting for this day.
its been hours since I ran, and the sky was darkening now by the second. it was almost completely dark when I caught a break and found a cave near a small clearing. I went inside after gathering as many sticks as I could for a fire to keep me warm.
The cave went deep in splitting to three paths one looked manmade, letting up a ball of fire to see , I realized then that it had support beams. it was a mine. ignoring that I went to the entrance on the left, it felt like the mane entrance , it was about five meters of twisting pathways in that it stopped to a cave.
it had water inside but it was hot, so the room was thankfully warmer than I expected I felt like I won a lottery. it was late and I was tired , I dropped all the sticks I was carrying put my sack in a corner opposite the entrance and laid down putting the flame out.
I tried to sleep doing my best to ignore the sound of slow stream and the condensing drops of water on the cave roof falling on slanted ground. but all these noises reminded me of the sound of the blood pooling on the floor. the head squashed and unrecognizable.
My breathing became erratic my heartbeat rising again after it barley got down. I got up and mad a fireball again . I'm dead tired but I cant sleep and I don't think ill ever forget that scene. I looked at the hot spring , no hot stream and had an idea.
I let a stick up and then tried to make it upright with other sticks surrounding it didn't really work , sighing I took my clothes off ,after that got in the water, it went to my stomach barley at the deepest end , but it was warm and relaxing.
I felt the tension go out as my body slowly warmed up I washed my face then laid down with my whole body except my face submerged. without planning to I fell asleep in the water.
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