Roots and veins

Chapter three

Two more girls seem to appear out of thin air behind the one in front of me.
They all cackle and look at me like a predator viewing it's prey.
Each one of them wears identical black dresses and thick black cloaks. They look very warm, heavy boots and leather gloves.
"Should we take her to mother or keep her for ourselves?"
The dark haired girl's form seems to go fuzzy as she practically floats over to me.
With her own sickle she grabs my wrist and holds it up to her face. She slices the bandage wrapping my cut from the previous night.
"Hmm, it seems mother already got to her."
"I say we keep her for ourselves." The last one says.
The one holding me by the back of my head runs her tongue across her teeth.
"Good, I am rather hungry."
And just like that I feel myself getting dragged across the snow at incredible speeds. I scream as I'm being pulled by my hair.
The sound of buzzing overwhelms my ears. I feel the snow and the grass turn into stone and before I know it we're in the castle. Down corridors, up staircases, and through doors, torchlight flashing across my eyes.
The sound of wicked laughter intermingles with the chorus of buzzing.
I scream pleas of help. Hoping anyone would hear me. I struggle against the grip holding me by my head; kicking my feet and clawing at the hand.
"Daughters!"
A thundering voice yells.
We stop moving. The grip on my hair is released.
I lye on the carpet pitifully.
Heavy footsteps come closer.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Well, we- we found her outside and-"
"She just smelled so wonderful mother, we just couldn't help ourselves."
"And we were soooo hungry."
"Let me see her."
I feel hands flip me over and hold me up.
"Why hello Julia. You certainly have seen better days."
All I can do is whimper, my whole body hurts.
I open my eyes slightly to see who I'm talking to.
I have to look up to look her in the face, it's my mistress.
"My lady..."
"Give her to me."
I hear the buzzing again and I feel myself being lifted up.
I feel large arms surround me delicately.
"Aw look at what you three have done to this poor girl!"
"Well we were gonna eat her, there's no real reason to play nice with her."
"*Sigh* leave now. This will not happen again, do you understand?"
"Yes mother." The three girls say at once.
The wild buzzing starts again and fades away down the hall.
"Poor dear. Come, let's get you cleaned up."
As she carrys me down the hall her cent fills my nostrils.
Smoky, sweet, and rich the pain in my head diminishes.
We enter a room lit with candle light.
She sets me down on the edge of a large bathtub. She crouches down and brings her hand up to the front of my chest.
"May I?"
I nod my head.
Delicately she unbuttons my shirt, then takes of my shoes, my pants following.
Respectfully leaving me in my undergarments and gestures to the tub, already full of steaming water.
I step in and sink into the warmth.
She picks up a cloth and dampens it, then gently cleaning the lycans blood off my face, stopping when she notices the gaping hole in the side of my head.
"That doesn't look good at all...how did that happen?"
"The lycan threw me down on the ground, it tried swinging an axe into my head but I rolled over, not fast enough I guess."
Slowly she goes over my body rubbing off the dried blood, dirt, and mud.
When all of the grime has been rid of my body she holds out her hand to help me stand up. I go to take it but when my fingers make contact with her glove a shooting pain goes through my hand.
"Ah!"
I flinch my hand back and hold it with my other one.
"Let me see." She puts out her hand again.
I place my hand facing up in her palm.
She gingerly touches my third and fourth fingers.
"Broken. What did you do here?"
"I punched it...in the face."
"Hm, a fiery one you are. I will fetch you a towel, something to wear, and some medical supplies."
When she comes back I wrap myself in the towel she's provided. She wraps up my fingers tightly with splints and then disinfects my head wraps it with a bandage and gauze.
She hands me a white slip dress and I pull it over my head.
It's silk.
"There. I will have a clean uniform sent to your bed along with extra bandages for your head. I apologize for my daughter's behavior."
"Thank you my lady."
"Yes, I will call for Amelia to take you back to your chambers."
With a hand on my back she leads me into a small bedroom with a fire blazing, she gestures me to sit on the little ottoman in front of it. I sit and warm my hands.
She picks up the phone and dials Amelia.
When she places down the phone she turns to face me.
"Step into the hall will you, I have to make a call."
I follow her instructions and leave the room and wait for Amelia in the hallway.
I hear the phone ring for a few seconds before someone picks it up on the other line.
"MOREAU!"
The yell makes me jump.
"One of your disgusting monsters just nearly killed one of my maidens!"
A man responds loudly through the phone.
"She didn't express why she was out of her bed but REGARDLESS you ensured me you'd keep your "lycans" far away from my estate! And now she can't work because her fingers are broken!...No that is not all that I care about!...listen here you ghastly creature, mother Miranda will be hearing about this!"
And the phone is slammed down on the dial box; she growls in frustration.
Amelia comes running down the corridor.
"I heard the daughters came after you, are you okay??"
"A lycan got to me first; I'm out of an ear and my fingers are broken."
"Do you think you can still work?"
"Yeah, with my right hand."
"Okay, good. Let's get you into bed."
We walk through the castle for awhile. We pass several maids cleaning on our way.
"Why are they still working? Isn't it bed time?"
"The maids have different hours then we do. We go to bed when the sun goes down, they go to bed at 11 pm."
"Why?"
"Well it's not very easy to garden and harvest in the dark. However we tend to bring dirt and mud in on our feet so the floors need to be cleaned. And to clean up the overall mess that's accumulated throughout the day...like the blood trail you've left in the carpet."
"I was being dragged by my hair it's not like I could have done much to help it!"
"I know I know." Amelia chuckles.
When we reach the tapestry leading to my chambers we head down the stairs and stop in front of the door.
Amelia furrows her eyebrows.
"Why do you smell like that?"
Huh?
"Smell like what?"
"Mistresses soap?"
"Oh, she washed me up and patched up my head and hand." I hold up my splinted fingers.
"Where did you get that dress?"
"Mistress gave it to me to wear after my bath."
"Huh. That's...interesting."
She pauses for another moment and turns to unlock the doors.
She bids me goodnight at the enterence to the chamber and closes the door behind her.
I creep past all of the beds to the very end of the hall to my bed. Sitting atop it is a folded uniform, a bundle of gauze and bandages, and my knife.
I pick up my new things and go to put them in my chest when I notice a note on my pillow.
Unfolding the parchment delicate red cursive scrolls across it.

"Don't get yourself into any more trouble, my kindness has its limits."
Lady A. Dimitrescu

*Tadaaaa, this feels a little like crack but eh, whatcha gonna do*