"Maeve! Kate!" The shrieks of Alexandra and Diane Blake rang throughout the manor demanding their morning meal. Maeve frowned as she and kate approached the semi-winding staircase, the gold railing reflecting the sun's beams as they shined through the tall windows.

"Do you want to serve your stepmother and I'll take the sisters?" Kate asked, juggling two breakfast trays as she ascended the stairs. As much as Maeve didn't want to face Diane, whose wickedness could only be matched by her mother, she refused to subject Kate to any abuse the eldest stepsister could possibly commit.

"No, I'll serve Emily and Diane." Kate nodded and carefully passed one of the trays to the younger girl before parting ways at the top of the stairs. Mave strolled through the hallway, stopping to open the deep red drapes that concealed the towering glass, the sunlight illuminating the walls and a pair of bedroom doors. Her stomach twisted as she knocked on the door and, upon hearing Diane's voice, she cautiously entered her eldest stepsister's bedroom. The inside of the room was dull; the walls were a light gray, almost white. The bed and its sheets were black and dark gray, and the curtains were almost black. In fact, the only color came from the crackling fire in the hearth and there was Diane standing in front of it, poking at the flames.

"Well, it's about time." Diane remarked with obvious disgust in her voice. Maeve placed the breakfast trays on a settee bench at the foot of the bed.

"Good morning Diane, I trust you slept well?" Maeve greeted as she pulled up the sheets of the bed and replaced the decorative black and gold pillows. Diane ignored the question and threw a balled up crimson gown at her stepsister, hitting her in the chest.

"The bodice is torn. I want it repaired by this afternoon." She ordered as the other girl examined the gown. Maeve nodded her understanding as she draped the gown over her shoulder before picking up up the second tray. "At least you're not Kate, you don't backtalk or anything; you know your place." Diane drifted towards her breakfast and Maeve. "I wish Mother had dismissed her with all the others after your father died, but Emily practically begged for her to stay. It's more fun bossing around and overworking the one remaining slave, especially when she's your stepsister." She waved her hand at Maeve as she ended her taunt. "Now, leave." The young girl hurried from the room and, from the hallway, she could hear her stepsister laughing. She could only imagine what would have happened if Kate had gone in there.

"God, she is just so wicked." Maeve mumbled to herself as she approached Emily's room. She knocked as almost immediately came the acceptance into the bedroom. Opening the door, Maeve was met with the sounds of light metal clashing. Emily was facing a dress mannequin that had a fencing foil attached to its side and she was "fighting" it with her own foil. Unlike Diane's bedroom, Emily's room was filled with warmth colors, reds, yellows, and whites. A crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, below that were crimson chairs in front of the hearth that had slight embers from the night before dying away.

"Good morning Emily." Maeve smiled genuinely as she placed the second tray on the bedside.

"Hello Maeve." Emily rested her weapon against the mannequin and approached her stepsister. "I hope Diane wasn't too horrible to you this morning." Maeve shot a confused look at the older woman. "Her dress is on your shoulder."

"She wants the torn bodice fixed by this afternoon and, knowing Stepmother, she will have a substantial list of chores to be done first." Maeve chuckled softly and shook her head. "Emily, I've been doing this for five years, you would think I would just be quiet and learn to deal with it."

"Maeve, as long as Mother doesn't hear you, I believe you have every right to voice your thoughts. You were wrongfully enslaved." Emily sat Maeve on the bed and stood in front of her. "I could help you and Kate with your chores today if you would like."

"Thank you, but I don't think your mother would be too happy about that."

Emily shrugged. "It was worth a try. Hey, there's something I want to have." She turned to the bookshelf next to her doors, scanning through the rows of books until she plucked one off the bottom shelf and placed it in Maeve's lap. The cover had a skeleton key, a butterfly, and a lock of blonde hair.

"The Collector by John Fowles?" Maeve stared up at her stepsister. "Emily, thank you, but I can't accept this. I have too much to do during the day and by the time I'm done, I'm too worn out." She tried to return the book to its owner, but was rejected.

"If you don't read it now, then read it when you are no longer my mother's prisoner. Keep it, Maeve."

"Are you sure?" The servant glanced at the book before looking into Emily's eyes.

"I insist. In fact, so Mother and Diane don't find out, you can hide it in the sewing room when you drop off Diane's dress." Maeve smiled softly.

"Thank you, Emily."

"You're welcome. Now you better get going, I suspect Diane and my mother are done with their breakfast." Maeve nodded and left her sister's room to leave the dress and the book before joining Kate at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer.

Author's Note: If you're wondering why Emily is being so nice, I wanted her to be like Jacqueline from Ever After, but Emily will be more badass