Chapter Two — The Maid Quarters
662 Words
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Elena’s POV
The guards didn’t speak. Their hands were firm on my arms as they marched me down the cold stone corridors. Every echo of their boots bounced against the walls like a warning. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. But there was nowhere to run to.
At the end of the hall, a tall woman waited. Her black hair fell like a shadow around her face, and her eyes were sharp, piercing. She didn’t smile, but her presence made me pause.
The guards stopped. One of them shoved me forward, and without a word, left.
> “Elena,” the woman said, her voice calm, but carrying steel. “I am Seraphine. You are under my supervision. Listen carefully — the rules are simple. Obey, and you survive. Fail, and… you learn the hard way.”
I nodded, keeping my gaze down, trying not to tremble. She didn’t wait for me to speak again.
The maid quarters opened before me. Narrow, crowded, dimly lit, filled with girls of all ages who stared at me as if I’d fallen from the sky. Some whispered, some avoided my gaze completely. I felt small, exposed, and completely out of place.
> “Your bunk,” Seraphine said, gesturing toward a thin mattress in the corner. “Everything else — duties, order, rules — you will learn. Mara,” she added, nodding toward a small, dark-haired girl hiding behind her bed, “will help you.”
> “I’m Mara,” the girl whispered, stepping closer. Her eyes widened as they landed on my silver hair. “Your hair… it’s amazing. I’ve never seen color like that before. No one here does.”
I blinked. Compliments felt strange in a place like this, but the warmth in her voice was a lifeline.
> “Ignore the others,” Mara said, lowering her voice. “Stick close to Seraphine. She’s strict, yes, but she watches over us. She keeps us alive.”
I nodded, unsure whether to trust her words. Safe? Alive? Those were heavy promises in a place like this.
> “First task,” Seraphine said, moving toward the stone basins. “Clean them. Every crack. Every drop. Mistakes are not forgiven.”
The water was ice-cold, stinging my hands as I scrubbed. Mara leaned closer, quietly showing me how to wring the cloth without spilling, how to move without drawing attention, how to survive the scrutiny of Seraphine’s sharp gaze.
Hours passed in silence, broken only by Seraphine’s occasional corrections — a crooked tray adjusted, a sheet straightened, a misstep caught and silently corrected. I hated the rough ache in my muscles, but strangely, I appreciated her precision. She wasn’t cruel for cruelty’s sake. She demanded perfection because she expected survival.
By nightfall, my hands were raw, my back ached, and I sank onto my bunk, exhausted. Seraphine gave me a single nod — acknowledgment that I had survived the first trial. Mara curled up beside me, whispering quietly about the other girls, their mistakes, and how they had learned to survive Seraphine’s strict guidance. I listened, storing every word like armor.
The palace itself felt alive. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the walls. Whispers slipped along the stone floors. Every corner seemed to watch me. And though fear sat heavy in my chest, Mara’s presence, and Seraphine’s careful vigilance, made me realize I wasn’t completely alone.
> “Your hair really is beautiful,” Mara murmured again, brushing a strand from my face. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Makes you special… even here.”
I didn’t answer, but I allowed a small smile. For the first time since the guards had dragged me here, I felt… noticed. Seen. Human.
The candle burned low. Shadows deepened. The palace had only begun to show me its rules, its dangers, and its secrets. And I knew tomorrow, I would wake to learn them all — and survive, if I could.
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- Writer
