The whitest substance I had ever seen crunched below my bare feet, laying across the dark forest like a blanket. The cold bit into me and I shivered, giggling when my breath showed itself in the frigid air. Looking down I could see my bare skin, my breast hanging, my nipples standing on a point and goosebumps trailing along my body. The snow came down around me landing on me, before melting to leave behind only drops of water. It seemed to cling to the air painting anything further than 20 yards in front of my present place in complete whiteness. "Ariella," a sing song voice carried on the wind and I started forwards towards the sound uncertain. "Ariella," I turned around a tree corner and froze. A grey wolf stood there panting, his muzzle slick with blood, he turned his head up away from his meal, the deer beneath him lay dead, its neck oozing blood out onto the snow. It's ears quirked up and I didn't know whether to stare in aw or be terrified out of my mind.
Taking a step back from the creature, I watched it's teeth pull back in a snarl. I took another step and the wolf stepped towards me snapping it's jaws. Quickly turning I ran, the only sign of pursuit being the crunch of snow beneath the creatures paws. "Ariella!" my breath came out in ragged breaths, "Ariella!" the voice seemed to whisper in my ear. I could hear the paws growing closer, and much to my horror at that moment I tripped. Painful tingles sprang up in the spots of impact, a type of pain only present when a numb frozen limb is hurt. Rolling over, I could see the wolf still bounded towards me it's jaws aiming right for my throat, "Ariella!" someone screamed in my ear.
Sitting up in bed I gasped for breath and brought my hands up to my throat, half expecting to find blood but relieved when I didn't. Sweat made me shiver in the cold air as I looked up at Francine the cook who at that moment frowned down upon me. She had a old if not kindly face always marked with worry. She carried a lantern in front of her in the darkness, but was otherwise entirely dressed in our gray uniform and ready for the day. "Come child," she motioned her hands towards herself. "We must prepare for the day we have guests arriving soon!" Francine lit the bedside lantern and picking her own up, before she left the small room barely big enough for the bed and stool that had served as a table on more than one occasion. Braiding my hair up on the top of my head I covered my red curls with our mandatory white cap and pulled on the rest of my clothing, a outfit meant for a much heavier maid that I had inherited from the last maid who had been fired around the time I grew out of my last uniform 4 years prior, although of lately my bosom and hips had filled some of the looseness.
With only the candle to light my way I walked along the servant corridor my shadow dancing on the walls. The corridor was smaller than the rest of the hallways, only allowing 2 maids side by side to fit next to eacother or pass by, no decor was present on the gray walls. Francine hustled about the kitchen when I entered only one other maid there to begin her morning with us. They went about their work so quietly you wouldn't even know they were there. "There you are," Francine whispered lowly, "I need you to set the diningroom table for me, use the white china with gold flowers. Add an additional 15 place settings ontop of the household settings and be quick about it, I need you to prepare 12 rooms afterwards, 3 for married folk and the rest single, all in the finest hallways. Tonight we will all be sharing our rooms with the guests servants, there is no way around this, be prepared. Now off with you," she guided and than pushed me towards the door and returned back to baking a few more girls and men filtering into the kitchen.
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Four exhausting hours later saw the first light of dawn within the sky outside, filtering through the final bedroom I was preparing. The space was large enough to fit 20 or more of my own bedrooms into it and hadn't even been the largest I had attended to that morning. I hung the rug out the window overlooking the gardens as orange painted the horizon, I whipped at the rug with my harsh medal rug duster. The air for a second took on the dust before whisking it away on the morning breeze. The remnants of the dust left in the room from my furniture dusting swept out of the large bay window as I worked.
Hoof beats clattered off the stone path as I lay the turquoise rug with yellow flower embroidery back in it's rightful place at the foot of the bed and huried out the room. The servant corridor entrance, hidden behind a drapery at the right of the wall a few yards away from me was filled with servants running back and forth along it's right corridor silently. Servants like children were meant to be seen and not heard, so silently we went about our business, the only sound being the scrape of our feet along the ground, or movement of objects in our hands as we walked.
I hurried to the front entrance tightening my white apron, and adjusting my gray and white cap as I walked. The corridor widened for a brief moment allowing me to follow the stairs that presented themselves downward. Some others followed along with me, we filtered outside and stood along the stairs besides the main entrance, each one of us occupying a step. Dust was kicked up by the riders obscuring our view of them as we stood, bowed heads, our hands folded infront of us, awaiting a order. The head maid a busty round older woman stood at the bottom of the stairs in a off white uniform to signify her importance compared to the rest of us. The large entrance doors swung open just as the first of the horses stopped in front. As the dust cleared the air I looked about for the carriages and was only brought face to face with twenty riders, the stable boy hurried over with a block to aid in the riders departure, but even the woman ignored it and simply got off on her own. They shed their black coats to reveal beautiful colorful silks below. The mistress and lord of my house descended the stairs to great them unsure.
The man at the head of the group had dark black hair and was the only one wearing all black silks, he bowed his head ever so slightly, but did not utter a word, a older heavier version of the man wearing all blue stepped forward, "Lord Barrington at your service my lady, and this is my son William," he motioned towards the man all in black who still said not a word. Whispers started amongst the maids and the people gathered at the door as William looked over Lady Lexington, a thin straight backed woman, dismissively. The head maid held up her hand for silence among the maids, with a look that promised punishment if any were to continue talking. The whispers at the door continued anyway as the maids were motioned forward to aid in unpacking the horses with their big burlap sacks on their backs. Five woman wearing beautiful silks styled differently than the rest of party yet identically amongst themselves unbuckled the sacks. Myself and the rest of the maids took this as our que and silently began helping. I pulled the large satchel nearly as heavy as I was from off Williams horse prepared to bring it up to his bedroom. Carefully I laid it on my back to get better leverage and started for the servant corridor when a hard hand on my shoulder stopped me.
Looking over my shoulder in confusion I stared into a pair of the most unsettling steely green eyes, that now glared at me in annoyance. "I will carry my own things thank you very much," the man barked with the hint of an accent I could not detect and ripped the bag from my hands. Nearly toppling over from the sudden abrupt shift in weight I kept my mouth shut. "Well are you going to stand there all day or show me to my room?" he didn't change his tone and continued to glare.
"My lord," the head maid Shirley stepped up, "We would be more than happy to bring your stuff up ourselves or would you like me to bring you to your room?" Shirley's smile faltered as the man glared at her instead.
"I wish to carry my own things and I did not ask you to bring me to my room, I asked her." Shirley nodded and stepped out of the way.
"Take him through the main hallways not the servants," she whispered under her breath as I passed and I hoped with everything I was that I could remember how to get to his room using the main halls.