The Dark Noble

VI

Mora's heart hammered in her chest, fear slowly creeping up her spine. Who is he? she wondered, hoping that no one noticed how she was slowly panicking. The man glanced at her again, and her breath got stuck in her throat. He then gave a single nod to Claudia and made his way out through the manor's entrance.

The tension surrounding the hallway seemed to increase even after his departure, and Mora was mildly comforted by the fact that she wasn't the only one affected by his presence.

'Now that you have seen his lord, there are some things I must warn you about,' Claudia said, her face stern. 'There is a spell placed over this manor,' she started, staring at each individual maid. 'If you ever go outside and talk about his lord, then your memories will be wiped out,' she declared blankly.

'And not only your memories of this place,' she continued, her stare finding its way to Mora's face, 'but all of your memories.'

Something about the way Claudia looked at her caused the hair to raise at the back of her neck. Her shoulders tightened, and she swallowed harshly. 'Is that what happened to me?' she thought. Had she been an overzealous maid who went out and talked about their lord, causing her to lose all her memories? But then again, if that were true, why would Claudia allow her to work in the manor?

Different thoughts ran through her mind, and she was slowly starting to find it hard to breathe.

'Dismissed,' Claudia said suddenly, and the tension broke.

Taking in a huge gulp of air, she joined other maids and went back to her work, going over to where she had dropped her tools. She had come to this place to work and earn money, but now had discovered that this manor held the key to unlocking her memories. She was never interested in getting it back, but somehow fate had brought her to the place where she might find answers. She could only hide for so long.

***
Mora didn't know for how long she worked; her thoughts carried her all through her chores as she tried to convince herself to follow the thread fate had laid for her. The voice of the young master brought her out of her musing, and she looked up to see him coming down the hallway with his maid servants next to him, as usual.
She had just finished cleaning her side of the hallway, and as the young lord came closer, she and the other maids bowed to him at once.

'Good day, my lord,' they greeted.
He hummed in response, his answer making the maids nervous. He walked up to Mora and pointed at her.

'You, come with me.'

Mora looked up, startled. Though she had attended to him the previous night, Claudia's rule about them not engaging with any elite still rang in her head, even more so after seeing the lord of the manor. She already suspected herself of breaking the rule by working there. She couldn't afford to do it again.

She looked up at him, her face full of respect. Even though she was about to decline, she had to remember that he was an elite. He will not take too kindly to her refusing him. She had to tread carefully.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, a teasing glint passed through the young Lord's eyes, causing her words to get stuck in her throat. That was the first time since she had arrived that she saw the young lord in a playful mood. She was the one who had caused that change. His father was hardly ever around to attend to his son, and she couldn't find it in her heart to do the same to him either.

So, swallowing her words, she smiled and answered, 'Yes, my lord.'

A small grin appeared on his face, which quickly disappeared before anyone else could notice. He turned back around and began to walk down the hall he came from, his maids' servants following after him. Mora followed with her head bowed, and though her heart felt mushy at the excitement she saw in his eyes, she couldn't help the foreboding feeling that arose at the back of her mind.