The Great Escape

Chapter- 2

"Where did you run off to?" Mrs Smith asked as the carriage led them to the mansion.

"I— My apologies, ma'am. I forgot the way. Strayed too far-"

"That she did." Sarah rushed to aid, "Found her near Camden's and Parker's—" 

Misa kicked her and Ada gasped, wide-eyed. But the cat was already outside the bag and it was munching on all the beans spilled alongside.

"Near Camden's and Parker's?" Mrs Smith shouted, eyes wide as a saucer. She whipped her head to look at a dumbfounded Ada.

"I— No, no—"  Ada stammered. Misa scrunched her nose, shut her eyes beside her. Sarah was unsure of what to conclude from these reactions so she fiddled with the candies in her basket, waiting for the perfect opportunity to offer.

"Camden's and Parker's? Near the forest?" She yelled. "Are you deaf, girl? We are prohibited from dawdling near the forest!" Mrs Smith snapped her thin stick in the air.

Ada backed into her seat and scratched her marred cheek nervously, then adjusted her eye- patch.

"It is not that I do not know, ma'am. I am well aware—" she started terrified, "A mistake. I committed a grave mistake. My apologies. Please forgive me." She bowed her head down lowly and gripped the material of her skirt. Scrunching shut her eyes, she continued, "I will accept any punishment, ma'am."

"Hardly that big of a deal. If went unreported," Mr Thompson shouted from outside, his werewolf hearing enabling him to hear the ruckus inside above the rumbling of the carriage.

"Please, Mr Thompson." Mrs Smith hit the stick against wall of the carriage then glared at Ada.

"I will let it slide and cover this up from my Lady. However, Ada, only this once. If you are found lurking near the forest, punishment will be granted. Not that you will be spared this time. You will be on the washing duty tomorrow. So be up early in the morn."

"Yes ma'am. I am sorry ma'am." Ada bowed three times and sighed. She looked up to find Mrs Smith still glaring at her. Ada adjusted the makeshift eye patch and faced down.

A close catch. This could have worsened. If Mrs Smith prodded, questions might have been—

"Candies anyone?" Sarah asked. She held the basket in front of her and jiggled it. "They taste good."

"Sarah," Misa whispered, "Not now." She pushed the basket towards Sarah, her eyes jumping from Ada to Mrs Smith. Sarah frowned and almost shrugged, before popping in a candy in her mouth.

"Were candies in the list of items to be bought, Sarah?" Mrs Smith asked calmly as Sarah chewed loudly.

"Yes, ma'am. Of course, ma'am. Specifically almond candies. I searched the highs and lows for these. Took me the longest to find. They are worth the hard work, thank heavens. They dissolve so—"

"Sarah, wait." Ada grabbed Sarah's hand as she was about to shove another candy in her mouth, "Are you eating the candies meant to be sent for Lady Beth?"

Sarah dropped the candy from her hand. He eyes widened, along with her mouth and a stream of liquefied candy poured out. Misa screamed and placed her palms beneath her chin, collecting the mixture of saliva and remnants of candy in her palm. Ada snatched away the basket from her lap.

The air inside the carriage grew frigid. Outside, Mr Thompson cackled like there was no tomorrow.

"Fifty girls working in the mansion and I just have to bring these three. Everytime. Why do I put myself through this torture?" Mrs Smith muttered.

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"She would not notice," Sarah said to herself.

"She would not notice," She repeated.

Ada and Misa sighed. That's all they ever did. Sigh.

They were now walking down the hallway of the mansion to retire back to their respective rooms. Mrs Smith and Mr Thompson had went to report the commodities bought and money expenditure to the Lady of the mansion, Countess Rose Monroe.

"She would not notice, right?" Sarah turned around and stared at the two girls in a hopeful desperation.

"She would not." Misa confirmed and Ada gave a sound nod.

"Good night, Ada." Misa tapped Ada's forearm when they reached their room.

"Good night, Misa, Sarah."

Their ways parted as Sarah and Misa opened the door to their room and then locked it behind them.

She balled a fistful of her dress in her hands as she made her way downstairs, her eyes not deterring from the ground as she walked alone now. The hallway was illuminated with candles, providing some warmth, but she felt exceptionally cold.

She always felt cold.

She could feel the glares of the guards stationed in the hallway. The scalding, black look she received from them was more than enough for her to be au courant with their rootless abhorrence towards her. Most of them were half vampires.

But in their eyes, she could see; apart from contempt, there burned a strong desire. The scent of blood fueled the hunger, especially at nights. They hankered for impaling her neck and slurping her blood, to satiate their stomach to the fullest.

She did not feel flattered, at all.

The only thing which was stopping the hungry guards to lunge for her blood was the act passed by the House of Delegates, which was the prime body responsible for making inter-dukedom rules and norms.

The act stated that it was a heavy offence, punishable by law, if a half-blooded vampire is found to be drinking directly from a living being unless they were partners or the living being was an animal.

But the pure-blooded vampires were still a significant threat.

She stooped her head lower. The threat in their light red eyes to slurp her blood dry sped up her heart beat.

The animosity in their glares stroked her legs to walk at the pace of knots.

She finally reached her room at the back of the manor. It was cramped with no windows and insufficient space. Two small baskets filled with clothes: one with clean and the second one with unclean ones, were placed in the corner.

There was not much place for a bed, so she habitually used a thick, scratchy quilt to sleep on. It was unideal, at least not for winters when the temperature dropped steeply, but she had no other choice.

The moon was shining in the sky, waning away slowly as the new moon was approaching; she had caught a glimpse of it as she was on her way. She turned around and latched the door.

A heavy sigh left her mouth as she hastily took off her gown and pulled out small satchel from beneath the layers of clothing. Opening it, Ada took a peek inside.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Ada counted the silver coin she had stolen. Nodding to herself, she hid it below her quilt.

Now, rabbit fur is what I need, she thought to herself. Taking out a random, decent gown from the basket, she took off the uniform which was not much but a brown full-sleeved dress with a pair of black shoes.

But that is for tomorrow. Today's work is done.

Dressing in the gown, she laid down on her quilt to sleep.

Tomorrow will be a new day. She chanted in her head.

Tomorrow will be a new day. A mantra which had kept her sane amongst all the lunatic dissonance called life.

Tomorrow will be a new day. Finally, a blanket of temporary unconsciousness slipped over her.

A/N: So, Ada is a thief. And she is gonna steal more then a few coins. Maybe.

Thank you for reading the chapter! xD