The Dark Noble

IV

Three days had passed. Mora and Petal were assigned to both kitchen and hallway duties, and so they remained in the room adjoined to the kitchen. The new friends they made had moved to other areas of the castle.

Mora also met some of her new colleagues, all of whom had been working in the manor for years. They were always tired out and had barely paid any attention to either she or Petal. She didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing. She was just happy that she could get to work without any problem.

Mora was slowly starting to get used to living in the manor. Asides from how everywhere was eerily quiet, she loved the calm that was constant. Everyone went about their day in silence and in the night, she and Petal talked till fatigue wore them out and they finally gave in to sleep. 

But while she had no problems during the day, Mora had a lot of them in the deepest hour of the night. 

For one, the voice in her head that always called her name was more pronounced, more…real. She had woken up several times thinking that truly someone was calling out for her, and would return back to sleep shaken and utterly confused. 

This particular night was about to take a scary turn.

She and Petal were done for the day and were both laying down on their mats. The room was filled with tired maids, all of whom were asleep or were about to sleep. 

Petal was part of the former.

When she was done with her chores, she had simply walked into the room, greeted Mora with a tired wave and laid down on her mat, falling asleep in a second. Mora didn’t have the mind to wake her up, even though she had been waiting for her return so that they both could talk about their day.

Mora laid flat on her back, facing the ceiling with her hands on her chest. She enjoyed doing the chores she was assigned to, as they helped her take her mind off the rambling thoughts in her head that seemed to have increased ever since she began working in the manor.

She released a deep sigh, and then slowly closed her eyes, willing the sleep to come.

And it did. 

Blood. All she could see was blood. She didn’t know who or where it was coming from, and she couldn’t see anyone at all. 

She looked down at her hands. They were stained with it, her dainty digits shaking due to nerves. 

A voice called her name, laughing wickedly, and a chilly feeling traveled down her spine. Everything in her body screamed for her to run, but when she tried she couldn’t get up.

‘You both will suffer!’

Mora woke up with a gasp, her face covered in sweat. She glanced at Petal who laid next to her, then at the other maids lying in the room. All of them were fast asleep.

She placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm her heart as she took in deep gulps of air. It helped a bit, but the room still felt stuffy.

With a final glance at Petal, Mora quietly stood up from her mat and tip-toed to the door separating their room from the kitchen. She opened it slowly, walked out and then shut the door silently behind her. 

She took in a deep breath, then let it out. Finally, she could breathe well. 
Mora walked deeper into the kitchen, then sat on a stool next to the long wooden table in the middle of the room.

I’ll just rest here a bit, she thought, leaning against the table.

She remained there for a while, and then she stood up to light a candle. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to do that, as Claudia never warned them against it. Still, a candle was something even she could replace, so it probably wouldn’t matter.