To hell and back

The new job

The house was as grand inside as it was outside. It was a clear sign of how high in the hierarchy of society this family probably was, and I was not sure if this was a good idea. When coming here, I wanted to keep a low profile... no I have to keep a low profile if I want to survive here, but a family of this scale will probably attract a lot of attention that I would prefer to avoid. And Luis knew about it, he knew what would happen if I stayed in the public eye for too long.

But I trusted that man in my life, and I am pretty sure he would not put me in too much of harms way on purpose... I think...

And well, not that I can really do anything about it right now.

Anyway, I am here now, and I need a place to stay as well as to make a living. Sure, I have skills, but they are not ones that would be very useful in this place, and I am sure doing anything related to magic whatsoever would bring the life I was running from right to my heel... and in return would get me in trouble and back to the dark kingdom.... and that would probably lead to my death if I was lucky.

As we walked deeper into the house, I could feel the eyes of the butler man that led me inside. From the corner of my eyes I could see that he was not pleased with my looks, probably thinking that, by the looks of me, I was too poor and from way too low of birth to be anyone proper as well, that I was not worthy of serving his master or something along those lines.

Well, and probably checking to see if I would steal anything as well.

He had reason to be weary for the last part. I am not in a position to dismiss the opportunity to make some extra income and I will be sure to get any chace to get something while serving here as well as when the time will come for me to disappear. Because I am not planning to spend the rest of my life playing nanny or maid for some rich family.

Oh no, that will not happen.

There is only one outcome to me staying here. I work for a bit to get settled in this place and accumulate enough gold to take me as far from the dark kingdom as humanly possible. When getting ready, Luis offered me another way to get a lot more money than I could get by working and that was to seduce someone and take their money and I had not crossed out that possibility. If the opportunity arises, I will for sure take it. My lover will die soon after we get involved, and I will disappear from here, following my original plan. This would probably be the fastest way to do so, but I do not have much to start with right now... but we will see... maybe the mister of this house will be my victim, that would make this fast and easy for sure.

And as for me, being of low birth, it could not be more true.

I came from the darkest scums of the dark kingdom.

If he had even the slightest idea about where I came from or who I was, he would probably chase me out here with a torch and a pit fork, and once I left he would most certainly have the maids scrub the whole mansion.

Thinking of the disgusted and horrified look on that man's face made me want to chuckle, but I kept it under control, instead focusing on the intricate decorations on the walls. There were a number of paintings and different sorts of pieces of art all over the place, almost crossing the line of being tasteless and way too much.

"I am sure you have never seen a luxury like this, but we have no time for you to stand around and stare. The master of the house has been waiting for you for days now."

His words almost made me chuckle. If he only had known that this was nothing compared to what I had seen back home, but I stopped myself from informing him just about that. Instead, I gave a short nod and followed after him.

We stopped by a grand-looking door and the man signaled for me to stop and wait there. Through the glare of the threat in his eyes, I got the feeling that this man really did not like me.

Ha, I guess some things are quite similar to the dark kingdom.

I chose to play stupid and just stood there with a fake obedient smile on my face. I guess it was enough for the man to leave me alone by the door, but before I could look around or do anything, the butler was back.

"The master will see you now."

He motioned for me to walk through, and I was walking past that man, I could feal the glare of his gaze burning away at my skin. Hm, this made me really feel like being back in the dark kingdom.

Ignoring the glares with my head held high, I walked into what looked like a study of some sort, probably a place where the master of the house took care of business.

"Miss Castillo, I am happy to see that you finally made it here."

The round-faced man behind the desk looked at me with a gleam of what I could only call fear in his eyes. Making it clear to me that he knew of me in some capacity. Maybe not fully who I was, because I am sure he would not welcome me into his home if he did, but enough to have a healthy amount of fear and respect for me.

Well, this will make my plan of seducing the master of the house for quick cash more difficult. There was no gleam of curiosity that would make him interested in me fast or easy... sure there are ways around it, but I am not sure that it would be worth the trouble... not to mention the fact that having s*x with this man did not seem appealing at all.

"Sorry sir, my travels took longer than I expected."

"Well, it only matters that you are here now. Now that the ball season is in full swing, we were very eager for you to get here as soon as possible. My dear daughter had to miss three of them, but we thought it was better to be safe than sorry... well, she does not think so, but Mister L assured us that it was the best idea."

The man talked as if I was already aware of whatever situation he was talking about. Luis promised me a low-profile job, but the sounds of balls for sure did not sound like anything low-key.

I guess my confusion was mirrored in my reaction because the man stopped talking and stared at me for a moment.

"Sorry sir, ball season? I was made to believe that I was going to be a housemaid."

"Did Mister L not explain our situation to you? He assured us that you were the best for the job and the only person he would trust in this delicate matter."

Shit Luis, what the hell did you get me involved in?

"Sadly, but no. My departure was quite rushed, and I think that Mister L, did not have the chance to give me more details than the family name I was going to work for."

The older man sagged in his chair a bit as he released a deep sigh.

"With Mister L we agreed that you would become a maid and companion of my daughter. The previous three maids all failed left their positions when they were sure that my dear daughter was cursed..."