Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 90: The first move

Under the bright sun, and with very little care, Edna snatched the sizeable linen clothes off of the drying strings before tossing them, one by one, into the basket that lay near her feet.

She was never the kind to perform a given task with a smile, but the sort to huff and puff at every effort or move.

That class of work was beneath her, wasn’t it? So, she thought. So much so that the word "maid" caused the inner walls of her stomach to flip inside out.

She’d basket in the Lady’s and the Master’s good favors once upon the... Well, up until two weeks prior to that day when a certain someone came and ruined it all for Edna.

Took it all, she did. Ripped the rug from right underneath her feet. That noble’s daughter that carried herself like royalty. Arabella fancied herself a saint when all she had to do was flaunt her bits and that fabricated simper for everyone to cave and bend to her whims, men and women alike.

But not Edna! No, she saw right through her performance! She’d been subjected to her deception and came out the other side even stronger.

"I feel as though today is a tad warmer than yesterday, don’t you think?"

A second maid, one that had been completely eclipsed from Edna’s mind, stood holding a similar basket filled way over its mouth with identical white, linen clothes.

"What do I care about that?" Edna wasted not a second to respond, while never even turning her way.

"Sorry...," in a very subdued tone, the other maid kept her eyes down.

"Don’t be sorry, Cassandra. Just be less annoying," Edna threw the last of the clothes into the basket before lifting it up and stomping away, "It really isn’t that hard,"

Red as a tomato, Cassandra followed in Edna’s tracks towards the manor. True that was! Why would Edna care about the weather? For all she knew the sun had stopped rising since the arrival of that wench.

Her reality was so gray and bleak even the moon flinched away from casting its light her way.

The furious strides slowed down when a familiar, most delightful fragrance reached her nostrils. A mix of woodsy and earthy scent that’d always had the merit of shining some light back into Edna’s miserable view of life.

It was a sliver of hope that usually died down as quickly as it came. The maid slowed to a complete halt when noting his splendid figure, walking across one of the hallways.

Silas seemed neither in a hurry nor the opposite of that while traversing that corridor. He clutched something that protruded through his fingers, a white piece of paper.

His sight always had the effect of turning her heart into a fluttering butterfly, even gravity promised to make an exception for her weight.

"It is not healthy, you know," Cassandra’s words shattered the brittle walls surrounding Edna’s little world.

She turned to her, almost purple in the face, furious that her voice came to distort the sweet melody that Silas’ steps created, "What would a maid such as you know? Don’t speak of things that are far above your pay, girl," Edna hissed through gritted teeth.

"No, I merely meant it has to be the effect of the Mirari faulting your judgement but-"

Cassandra immediately interrupted herself when sensing a looming danger as Edna stepped closer towards her, ever so slowly and stood inches from her face, "Forgotten what happens to those who step out of line, have we?" even more menacingly so she came across.

Cassandra had told a lie. She never meant the Mirari alone since Edna had never been an easy person to talk to. She’d seemed charming enough at first until everyone started to realize it was all an act, a mask only worn when around the Lady and the Master.

However, from the arrival of Arabella and on, they’d kept her at arm’s length, thus allowing her bitterness and venom to spill more frequently.

Nobody dared cross her, for everyone knew Edna was capable of far worse than they could ever believe her to be, but when she was in that mood it was best to stay out of her way.

Edna spun on her heels, effectively thrashing Cassandra in the face with her ponytail.

She sped towards the laundry room practically throwing the basket on the floor then running back to the maids’ sleeping quarters.

Much to her relief, no one else was there.

Flinging herself onto her bed, the maid pulled the piece of parchment that Lauden had handed her the previous night.

She’s tucked it right between her breasts where nobody would come to look. Upon inspecting it, something stood out to her as odd. The paper was no longer blank but had a string of words scribbled across it.

Inked in black was the line "We played our first move today. We are hoping you can help us with the next one if in need," frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Her ocean blue eyes must have gone over it at least twenty times, if only to ensure it was no mirage.

Hastily, Edna picked up a quill and a small jar of ink to jot down something of her own. However, right before the tip of her feather touched the paper, the first line vanished under her gaze.

"Sorcery," she whispered, a wide grin on her lips.

"What move do you speak of?" Edna wrote.

Almost instantly, her words too disappeared, giving space for a brand-new line.

"A messenger came by the Eleazar manor bearing the most interesting of news around this time"

Edna needed no time to theorize, the letter in Silas’ hand earlier confirmed the veracity of their claim.

As she’d been about to ask a new question, a second line popped from thin air beneath the first one.

"Soon, you’ll receive the visit of a very important pawn in our game"

"I am all ears or... Eyes. And what do you need me to do?" she wrote as soon as their reply had faded.