Night.

The two moons in the sky start illuminating the world. Red and green, with constellations painted on the dark canvas above.

Many adventurers prefer to sleep under them, even with the discomforting coldness of the night and the high chance of being attacked by a monster.

Like the current situation of a certain someone.

Blood stains the dirt path beneath the beast's paws, and its three heads scan the surroundings of the dark forest.

Sniffing the foggy air, the creature growls and howls to intimidate the hidden prey it searches for.

Steps grow louder, saliva dripping to the dirt and turning to mud. The person who was hiding takes their chance and sprints further into the forest, towards the unknown.

But the beast is clever and a lot faster, quickly catching up to the wounded prey and hitting its massive body against them, making both roll and fall in the process.

Heavy paws—the size of the person's full body—quickly keep them against the sharp grass blades, their face meeting the cold it provides, stealing the warmth of their body.

Mouths open from the three heads of the creature, revealing proudly to the world its sharp rows of teeth that look more like thousands of blades, capable of destroying a body without a problem.

The person's fate was obvious—that was before I showed up.

My sword easily sliced the creature's head in half, managing to even reach further by cutting its torso in half. The blade stopped inches from reaching the person below.

Blood and guts are escaping from the creature's now-deformed form; its halfs falling to the sides and revealing my face to the person below.

The serious expression on my face turns into a frown as blood gushes and stains my maid uniform.

Nevertheless, looking at the person's face, they look to be around my age and deeply scared, but I see a fire behind those clear, deep emerald-green irises. It's so beautiful to see the strength of one in dire situations.

A dark smile climbs my face, my eyes glowing red with the reflecting light of the red moon.

"**Found you**."

...

Several hours earlier

An old mansion stands tall in the middle of a forest, forever fighting time.

The closer human settlement rests some good hours away on foot, and the creatures wandering around the tall bushes manage to scare away all humans who dare try to explore this far.

Since I was a child, I always stayed by this same window all night, watching the forest for the chance that our promised master would arrive, but that day never came.

And as I'm tired of waiting, I'll go after what's mine.

Cleaning the big entrance hallway, an unnoticed, dark, and unsettling smile claims my face and a low laugh escapes my throat.

With this thought in mind, I start working faster. Cleaning and scraping the wooden floor of any type of dust or mold.

The water bucket by my side is already losing its clear color, instead turning into a dark gray mess.

"Hehehe." My mind puts me in a state of daydreaming about what type of master I can find.

Maybe they will be kind-hearted, maybe they will be cool and composed, or maybe they'll be someone important.

Droll starts descending the side of my mouth as I start imagining; it's been too long. All my mothers are already gone; only some rest in the forest.

That's the strange part of being raised by spirits; some mothers were kind, and some I never even saw. But the ones who cared for me told me stories of the promised master.

We were all supposed to wait here till they arrived or till the last days of our lives would finally come to an end, and now I'm the only one left.

That's why I won't waste my time anymore; as a human, my lifespan is not as long as all my mothers, meaning I have about forty to sixty years left as I just turned eighteen.

Looking at the floor, I see that I finally finished cleaning it. Some parts still need more of my attention, but I'll see to it when I'm back from my little hunt.

I grab my equipment that rests near the big exit door, still wearing my maid uniform but now carrying a handmade leather backpack I made last winter and the sword one of my mothers left for me.

The sword is nothing out of the ordinary to untrained eyes, but I was told it can easily cut anything that tries to hurt me.

"Thank you, Mother Flōrem," I say, closing my eyes and hugging the sword closer, feeling the everlasting remnants of her soul in the blade.

And as I'm finishing putting on my equipment, I walk outside, meeting the impeccably beautiful garden around the mansion. Flowers of all colors and types bloom and thrive alongside trees as tall as the eyes can see.

I remember climbing those trees, only to get to the top and watch the birds fly.

On the floor, some stones marked with little faces rest—all with different expressions—waiting for the magic to activate them. Using my fingertip, I close my eyes and summon the little golems, waking them up from their deep slumber.

The little golems start to wake up, cutely looking around and finally meeting my face.

"I called once again for your protection." With a small smile, I tap the top of their heads gently. "Please keep the mansion safe from any intruders while I'm gone."

The creatures nod their heads and, without losing any time, start running to their positions to watch over the place.

With that taken care of, I start walking towards the human settlement far away.

After three hours of walking, I finally emerge from the forest, finding in front of me a dirt trail leading to the settlement.

As I walk to the city, a group of adventurers pass by me, smiling and sharing jokes. Two men with short hair and heavy swords and a woman with a crossbow.

Lowering my head, I pass by them and end up hearing the group's conversation.

"No, no, Anderson's group already took that hunt." One of the men talks, heavily sighing and putting a hand to his chest.

The crossbow woman puts a hand on their shoulder and pets it. "A good thing we weren't chosen to do it; you know how Anderson tends to have many 'accidental' deaths in his party."

Silence stretches over the group. The last man who kept quiet through the conversation met my gaze as he noticed me slowing down and hearing their conversation.

Ignoring him, I resume my pace and enter the city, hearing only the end of their conversation.

"You okay, Veena?" The woman asks, and the man, Veena, nods silently before resuming his walk.

Those eyes—this is something to be careful about.

But their talk made me think that if I'm going to find someone to be the master of the mansion, they need to be reliable and have a great sense of justice. What better place to find a person like that than the adventure's guild?

My calm stroll quickly turns into a quick-paced walk.

This city is really astonishing. From the stories I heard, this place was a small village composed of less than twenty humans about two hundred years ago.

But now, the building and people all seem to be filled with life and bright colors. The smell of sweets and cooked meat on the streets seems to have the effect of making me hungry, even as my lunchtime is yet to arrive.

The walk ends as I stop by a building whose scent is of beer, blood, and sweat, and looking at the sign hanging on top of it, I see that I got to the right place: 'Twin Horns Guild'

Pushing open the door, the chattering of people eating their meals and drinking in the middle of the day fills my ears. Some of the adventurers look at me but quickly ignore my existence.

As I approach the main table, my eyes fall on a young man wearing glasses. He grabs some papers and starts putting them on the table one by one, checking their contents before doing so.

And looking at the papers, it seems to be a variety of some kind of hunting quests, offering coins for those brave enough to explore the dark forest of the north. In other words, try their luck hunting near the manor.

"Welcome to the guild, ma'am," The young man's voice grabs my attention; the smile on his face is innocent, and the tone of his voice is exhausted. "If you're here in search of a job, then you came to the right place."

"Could you please show me the available hunts you have in your possession?" I ask politely, and as the search will be at best some good time, I'll entertain myself with a hunt. It also gives me a good opportunity to explore and connect with the city.

Watching the boy's face, it's clear he wasn't expecting my tone to carry any type of gentleness, probably because of how the other adventures act. His eyes quickly blink to regain some of his posture. "Yes, ma'am, let me guide you to the mission board."

He adjusts his posture and walks around the table, stopping by my side, and, with a smile, he starts walking me to the board.

Some steps later, we reach the far back of the room, where a staircase leads to what I assume to be the place where the owner's office resides.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

In front of me, nailed to the wall, a bog board stands proudly, with marks of cuts and dry blood on the sides as well as a good number of quests painted on the board.

"If any of the hunts grab your interest, just memorize the number atop the paper and come to me." The boy smiles and looks back at his table, seeing that someone else needs his attention.

Nodding my head, I grab the low parts of my dress and bow to the young man. "Thank you; I shall come to you if any more questions arise."

With a wave of his hand, the boy rushes back to his spot, leaving me to study all the board has to offer.

The quest board has not much to offer, it appears. Some quests entail grabbing some herbs and other items found in the forest, with one star on top of the page to mark their difficulty.

Others offer hunts, varying between bandits and low-strength monsters like slimes and wolves, with a mark of two stars.

As my eyes shift to the last paper pinned to the edge of the board, I notice a group of people approaching me from the edge of my vision.

Five in total, and looking better at their clothes and equipment, it seems they are not like the other adventurers I saw when I entered the place.

Instead of old swords, ragged leather armor pieces, and tired eyes, this group carries perfectly polished weapons and different types of metal armor, as well as cleaner faces.

"What's a maid doing here?" The woman far at the back of the group asks, and I notice a well-built longbow on her back. "I'm pretty sure there are no nobles in this countryside."

A man, wearing a big apologetic smile and an exaggerated sword on his hip, looks at his companion and shakes his head. "Let's not be rude to the lady, please."

"I'm sorry for my friend here." The man turns to me and offers a smile. "But it surprises me as well to find one in this city, so it's a pleasure to meet you, miss."

He offers me his hand for a handshake, and with a neutral expression, I accept. After a few seconds, he lets go of my hand and focuses his eyes on the quest board, passing by me and grabbing the paper I was about to look at.

"Oh, a three-star commission." It seems the group lost interest in me, meaning I have a chance now to avoid this conversation.

Memorizing the numbers of the herb collection mission, I walk to the counter. After a brief conversation, I signed a paper and officially accepted the mission.

The boy, whose name he tells me is Fran, informs me that to grab other missions, I'll need to register myself in the guild, and I promise that I'll do it once I'm finished with the current quest.

Afternoon comes quickly as I lose myself in my objective, and looking at the basket I got in the city from the old man running a pharmacy—the same old man that requested the herbs from the guild—I see it's full and almost overflowing.

The two moons start to rise high up in the sky, casting their light upon the silent forest. As I take a deep breath to appreciate the nature around me and connect myself with my surroundings, the faint scent of a familiar smell catches my nostrils by surprise: blood.

Lots of blood, it seems. In the distance, I hear almost as if it were the forest whispers, screams of agony slowly being replaced by silence.

Quickly securing the basket on my hip with one of my thigh belts, I start walking towards the sound, and on my path are the marks of several footsteps telling me a big group passed by here not so long ago. The walk ends as I find some swords, broken arrows, and half of a man's body in the mud below.

Parts of his insides were thrown around, some even hanging on a tree branch somehow. Keeping on going, I ignore the corpses and start to try to find anything alive.

Not much later, I hear a loud growl to my right—making my ears twitch in response—accompanied by the sound of someone falling and being stepped on. My hands instinctively find the hilt of the sword, and I start arching my back to unshead it as my feet guide me toward the sound.

I don't even look at the creature until my blade has already cut one of its three heads in half, along with its torso. Blood gushing and tinting the grass and a little bit of my cheek. The sensation is not unfamiliar.

As the creature falls to both sides, the prey the creature was after is revealed. Long blond hair, deep emerald eyes, and a fire burning deep inside their eyes. It's like seeing an angel.

My heart stops and comes back stronger than before, beating faster and faster, and my breath becomes ragged. 'So that's the sensation mother Hilda described to me; this is the master we were wanting for, **my master**.' is the only thought I have as the realization leaves me in a deplorable state of euphoria.

My breath starts to leave small clouds as they exit my lungs, and my smile comes without notice. I open my mouth, and the only words that manage to escape me do so in a breathless, dark tone.

**Found you**.

Early Morning

Waking up, I started my routine as usual. Cleaning the halls, checking on the golems in the garden, getting rid of the dry leaves of fall, and preparing breakfast.

The only difference is that this morning I have to cook something for Master too. They must be hungry after yesterday's incident.

I must admit, I'm a little hungry myself, probably because of the task I completed yesterday and the fact I had to carry Master on my back to the mansion.

While cooking, I start to hum, losing myself in the various dishes I prepare for them, just in case they don't like pancakes. In the end, in front of me stands proudly a table full of various types of breakfasts.

Pancakes, waffles, eggs, deserts, etc.

And in case they don't like water, I made some different juices. And looking at it, I smile, patting my own back for my good work.

While on it, the little rock golems I ordered to warn me if Master wakes up appear from the hall. Cutely, they approach me and wait patiently for me to pick them up.

And doing so, the three golems jump and point toward the room. "Good job, little ones; now you can rest a little."

I put them on my shoulder, and quickly they start to climb on top of one another till they become a small pile, quietly returning to their deep slumber until they are needed again.

Rushing upstairs I stop myself before reaching for the door, adjusting my uniform for any wrinkles, and breathing to get rid of my deplorable smile.

Now calm, I turn the knob of the door, pushing it open slowly. The vision inside takes me by surprise.

The open window provides a tender comfort as the morning wind enters it. On the big bed in the middle of the room, I see my master sitting up and looking outside.

Her emerald green eyes shine as the morning sunlight hits her irises, her golden hair flowing and gently being caressed by the wind.

A marvelous vision, and I feel grateful for having the opportunity to witness this very moment. My body moves on its own, making me fully enter the room.

My master turns her eyes towards me and frowns, moving slightly away from me. "You're that woman from last night, the one who slain the beast."

"You would be correct, Master." I say with a nod, a smile staying on my lips as happiness sets in, 'Master remembered me!' My mind screams in victory.

The answer I gave seems to make Master relax and see me less as a threat. It is cute how her eyes stay on me while studying me to see if she should trust me.

"Then I thank you for saving me." Master rises from the bed and attempts to bow, but with her weakening state, she ends up tripping and begins her descent onto the hardwood floor.

Without hesitating, I rush forward and catch her in my embrace, wrapping my arms around her back and helping her stand. "You shouldn't move so suddenly; you're still not fully rested, Master."

I see a master's face get red from embarrassment at the almost incident; she finds her balance again using my arms and stands up.

"I thank you again, Miss," Master says, clearing her throat and taking a step back, escaping my embrace. "But if you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

With a smile, I nod. "Of course, please don't refrain yourself from asking anything, Master."

"I see, then..." Master sighs, and finally—for the first time since yesterday—meets my eyes, and I'm able to see that fire again. "Why do you keep calling me Master?"

.

..

...

A laugh escapes my chest, and my master looks at me, surprised by my reaction to the question.

"What a foolish question, Master." With a big smile, I take a step closer and grab Master's soft hands into my calloused palms. "It's because you were chosen to be."

"Choose? But why me?" Master avoids my eyes cutely but doesn't stop me from holding her hands.

Letting go of her hand, I grab her chin and make her look into my eyes. "The reason is that you have a gentle aura around you, hidden deep in your eyes."

To my surprise, Master slaps my hand away and looks at me with that same burning stare, like a campfire illuminating a dark forest. "I am many things, but gentle isn't one of them."

At the words, I take a step back and bow in apology. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Master."

She opens her mouth to talk but stops herself before she can, so I smile and continue. "But let us forget this talk and eat breakfast; what do you say?"

Master stops, and for some seconds, she just looks into my eyes before nodding her head. "Sure, I'm hungry anyway."

"But after I'm done eating, I'm gone." She says this while walking past me and going to the end of the hall in search of the stairs.

I end up having to chase her and guide her to the breakfast nook.

(No more ideas on how to proceed due to a lack of world-building.)