Under the vampire Lord's protection
Chapter 235: New faces

Chapter 235: New faces

Morning came quickly or so thought Arabella.

The previous night hadn’t brought much rest with the screaming thoughts swirling her mind.

One of them being Katherine laying on the cold, hard and rocky ground of her cell.

Allegra hadn’t come to her room and thus Ada spent as long as her sleepy eyes allowed by her side.

Early with sunrise, the maid had leaped out of bed to start the day and push the breakfast trolley as per her usual.

"Please forgive me. I don’t even remember how or when I fell asleep," those were her first words upon re-entering the room.

"I remember," Arabella cracked a smile, "The bed is big enough for both of us," she chuckled.

"Still...," red in the face, Ada began to unload the dishes onto the table, "Should we go to the library today as well?" she cleared her throat.

Arabella held her peace for a moment, looking pensive, "Yes, but there is something I really wanted to do ever since I arrived and I wondered if today could finally be the day I do it,"

"What is it?" the maid was all ears, eyes barely blinking.

"I wish to meet the rest of the daytime maids," she stated, "On the first day after my arrival, I descended floors and marched to the kitchens, but merely stood behind the door as I heard them... You," she glanced at Ada, "Speak about me. I couldn’t find the courage to face everyone on that day and simply walked away,"

The color drained from Ada’s face, "Oh... I am truly sorry. We meant nothing foul, but you know, the girls talk and gossip. There isn’t much to do while we work," the maid had blurted everything out in a hurry.

"Please, don’t worry," Arabella’s smile returned brighter, "I am not upset at you or them. I am upset at myself for not putting my fears aside," she marked a pause during which a more serious look dawned on her, "If we go down now, would we be bothering them?"

"Well," Ada turned to fully face her, "Today, there are only going to be six maids working in the kitchens and Edna isn’t one of them. That should be alright for a start, shouldn’t it?"

"How many human maids are there under this roof?" Arabella neared the table and started unloading dishes as well.

"In total, and if I count the head-maid, there are twenty-four of us which is a relatively low number for such a great estate,"

Arabella had her breakfast and when time to send the dishes back rolled by, she accompanied Ada to the kitchens as was their plan.

Six curious faces greeted them upon entering the large room. Spacious it was, only hobbled around the center by the sizable stoves and heaters.

Even then, a generous amount of space stood between the huddled devices and the long, stretched counters that stuck to the walls.

Arabella stood at the door, her eyes darting between all of them while the twiddling of her fingers refused to stop, "Hello," she muttered in a bit of a shaky voice.

Most of them looked at Ada and then at Arabella again, expecting a valid explanation, null doubt.

"Everyone, meet Arabella!" Ada chirped, her smile faltering at times.

The six of them exchanged looks among themselves before forcing a smile on. Well, most of them did.

"Good morning!" one of them, the shortest brunette approached Arabella but stopped a few feet away, "I am Gloria. I hope you’ve enjoyed the breakfast!" her beam seemed the sincerest out of all of the others’.

"Yes, I very much did. Thank you, Gloria," she nodded.

When none of the others spoke, Ada took it upon her to break the stifling silence in the kitchens.

She pointed at the maid that stood to the far right of the rest, "This is Cassandra and then right next to her stands Eleanora,"

Arabella’s heart skipped a beat, "Nice to meet you all. My mother’s name was Eleanor as well," she tried but her lips could not render the impeccable smile she so tried to display.

Unlike her mother, that maid stood taller and had short blond hair.

"Oh... That is um...," Eleanor fumbled for words that never came.

"Next up, meet Soraya. Just like me, she came from a southwestern region," said Ada.

The thicker hair of Soraya and darker shade of skin attested to Ada’s words.

"I am Estrid," another maid came forward and introduced herself, "I hail from a southeastern region, and I am honored to meet you," much more formal and borderline stoic she was that Estrid.

"I am pleased to meet you as well," Arabella gave a nod of acknowledgement her way.

The last maid stood behind Estrid, much shorter in contrast. She clutched the wooden hand of a broom in both hands, her eyes flickering from one thing to another. Basically, grazing anything that wasn’t Arabella.

"The shy one is Abigail," Ada chuckled lightly, "She is the youngest among us maids,"

Arabella too used to hold that stance, backing towards corners and refusing to make eye contact.

In fact, she’d continued to do so up until recent days. truly incredible how much things could change in such short periods of time.

Most importantly, all of those women donned the same uniform, but all had their own unique stories to tell.

Many of them probably carried much heavier burdens, sadder tales to count than hers.

"What about me?" a worn out, raspier voice erupted from the side as an older woman came into view, "Won’t I be introduced?" she pierced Ada with strict, above glasses glare.

She too wore a uniform, although slightly distinct from the rest of the maids.

"Oh! Pardon me, Madame. I hadn’t seen you there," Ada scrambled, "Arabella, meet Madame Arumina, the head maid,"

"For now, until my knees finally buckle," the laugh that followed sounded mechanical, harboring very little warmth.

"Madame, please! Don’t you speak of such things!" the protest came from Gloria.