It had taken a while to comfort and assure Sadako that Maria wasn't unhappy with her or hated her or feared her or thought she was trying to seduce Rafael away, or intended to sell her off to more slavers. It had pained her to think that Sadako thought she was capable of that. still, she had wiped her maid's teas away, assured her Maria had not been in her right mind after having just seen her mother… well, and that her adverse reaction had merely been because Maria had been reminded of Anne's discarded regalia. Sadako had indecorously wept upon Maria's bosom for a few minutes while she had patted the young woman comfortingly before she had accepted Maria's assurance that she was a more-than-adequate maid, That Maria was satisfied with her service, that Maria had no intention of removing her from her position, and that, yes, she could continue to sleep next to Maria to avert nightmares.
She really had to get around to find a way to help her other wards suffering nightmares, it was unfair to them that only Sadako was getting a good night's sleep.
Breakfast was probably as loud and cheerful as it always was, especially with Katarina invited in, but unfortunately, she had breakfast with the accountants in the small dining room. Lady Harker was looking upset and preoccupied, and Maria wondered if there was unforeseen complication with the taxes.
"Are you feeling well, Lady Harker?" Maria inquired.
"Oh, yes!" Lady Harker said a touch too loudly. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night, is all." She tried to smile, but it was clearly forced.
She must be very tired if it affected her behavior to this degree.
Maria nodded. "Are there any problems with the accounts?" she asked.
"Problems? Oh, not problems, none at all," Lady Harker said. "At least, not in my books, I can assure you of that!"
The poor woman. She must be very tired indeed, and was overcompensating.
"And with you, Miss Sevenights, Miss Sevenights?" Maria asked.
"Everything seems to be in order, Lady Campbell," Jade– or was it Amber? No, it was Jade, she had green-blue eyes– said. "Something unexpected might come up, but that is the nature or the unexpected. I foresee no problems with the accounts as you provided them."
"Nor I," Amber said.
Maria nodded. "Excellent," she said. "Are you having any problems with fitting in? Are your accommodations lacking anything?"
"My accommodations are more than adequate, Lady Campbell," Lady Harker said, and the two echoed her.
Maria nodded. "Wonderful. Well, I shall not keep you further. I hope you will be able to join me for lunch in the main dining hall, so that I may properly introduce you to the household? I apologize for the delay, but given how late you arrived because of the storm, we were unable to give you a proper welcome."
"Of course, Lady Campbell," Lady Harker said, the two nodding with her. She supposed the two commoners were naturally deferring to the noble in their profession. Maria would have to remember to speak to them separately later.
Maria rose to her feet. "Well, duty calls," she said. "Please enjoy your breakfast, and I look forward to introducing you later."
They bade her farewell, and in the corner of her eye, she saw Lady Harker collapsing tiredly into her chair. Yes, the woman was indeed tired. Had she been staying up to do the accounts, assuming Maria would want them as soon as possible? That sort of diligence was good, but she didn't want the woman abusing her health, even is Maria did plan to offer her Light Magic. "After lunch, why don't you take the afternoon off to rest?" she suggested. "I realized I never gave you sufficient time to recover from your journey here. That was thoughtless of me. It's a bit late, but please take this afternoon to rest and familiarize yourself with the manor. If we're lucky, the storm should be over by tomorrow, so you can visit the town if you so desire."
"Thank you, Lady Campbell," Jade Sevenights said, looking quite gladdened. "We appreciate your generosity."
Maria nodded. "Hopefully, we will be working together for a long time to come. I hope you enjoy residing in my home."
Fortunately, breakfast wasn't finished yet by the time she rushed to the main dining hall, and the children greeted her happily as she took her place at the head, with Rafael at her side. Sadako, seemingly recovered and impeccable as ever, lay a dish with breakfast on it before her, and Maria thanked her with a nod.
Someone had apparently braved the still-intense rain to fetch Katarina, because she was there eating enthusiastically with the children, and waved to Maria when the squire saw her. Really, Maria considered as she waved back, the enthusiasm with which Katarina ate could almost be shameful, sometimes. Watching her, one would think Maria had been starving the young woman, by extensions, the knights residing in the barracks she's established, rather than receiving plenty of meat, grain, vegetables, and weekly pastries.
Maria wondered if she should tell Katarina about her maid's relationship with mother and decided against it. Not her responsibility. It was Anne's job to keep her mistress informed of her affairs.
Maria had breakfast to the sound of children eating happily and the rain outside.
Then Katarina finished eating and made I Scream.
Joanna, Jade and Amber were in their office, doing accounts and on the look out for whatever dark and illegal thing Lady Campbell was hiding when the sound arose. They froze, their ears all but twitching, as the new, terrible, eldritch sound arose, seeming to echo all around them.
Amber, the most blasé of the three to the strange, unnatural, unspeakable weirdness of the house spoke first. "Either the ghostly children who've been wailing hauntingly have all decided to have an orgy, or we're hearing Lady Campbell's dark and illegal secret of hedonistic pleasures."
"I honestly don't know which would be worse," Jade sighed. Indeed, the distant, ghostly moans definitely had an air of 'oh my, they sound like they're enjoying themselves a bit too much' to them.
"So we're just going to accept the fact this house is haunted by ghostly children?" Joanna said tiredly.
"All things considered, this is still a better job than any we were offered," Jade said. "Unless you were offered better?"
Joanna was in despair. The fact she literally had no better job offers has left her in despair! "No," she groaned. "But what terrible thing happened here, to fill this place with the undead shades of children, that only we seem cursed to hear?"
"Maybe this manor is built on an orphanage that was washed away in a flood centuries ago?" Jade said darkly.
"We shall simply have to get used to it," Amber said. "It's only haunting, eldritch sounds, after all."
"And what do we do if we start seeing ghostly children walking around?" Joanna said.
"Ignore them and hope we don't draw their ire, such that they seek to devour our Dark Souls," Amber said succinctly.
Joanna sighed. And this was STILL the best job she'd been offered.
There was a knock on the door. They all froze, staring at the dread portal as it began to swing open.
A maid stepped inside with a tray, on which were three bowls filled with… pink whipped cream? "Excuse me lady, mistresses," the maid said, bowing as she presented the tray. "My lady sends her complements, and offers you these delicacies. I am instructed to inform you that they must be eaten quickly, lest they melt."
Melt? How could whipped cream melt? Unless it wasn't whipped cream? Was it custard, then? But why bowls full of pink custard?
They watched as the maid placed a bowl on each other their desks, then stepped aside to wait along one wall, holding her tray in her hands expectantly.
Jade gingerly took the bowl– "Oh! It's cold!-" and grasped the spoon that had been offered with it. She warily took a small spoonful and placed it in her mouth.
She froze.
A very indecorous sound, as if she was enjoying herself a bit too much, began to rise from her vicinity.
She sat stiffly and looked her sister Amber in the eye.
"If you do not eat it," she said, "I will."
Then she pounced on her bowl of strange pink custard like a woman hollowed and desperate to fill herself with purpose.
Amber frowned, but experimentally tried a small spoonful.
Her eyes went wide.
Joanna stared as the two ate like starving beasts unable to control their appetites and regarded the bowl before her with fear. With its ruddy pallor, it was not difficult to imagine the strange custard had been concocted with blood, like in the story of Goodwife Bathory,
She felt a shiver run through her, and looked up to see the maid staring at her with a dark, desiring look in her eye.
"Will you not be eating that, lady?" the maid asked, naked desire in her voice.
Joanna twitched, unnerved, and instinctively reached for the bowl and took a small, perfunctory spoonful.
Her eyes went wide.
Soon, the accountants office was filled with strange moaning.
Katarina paused in the middle of filling the I Scream magic tool with the necessary ingredients as a strange sound arose from above them. "What is that?"
Maria paused to listen, frowning. "That is either my new accountants becoming intimately familiar with each other," Maria said, "Or appreciating your I Scream."
Really. While she perfectly understood what they were likely feeling, there were children in the house! Couldn't they show more decorum?
"Oh!" Katarina said cheerfully. "Well, I'm glad they like my I Scream, then." She finished putting in the sugar, then turned towards the selection of jams before them. "Hmm… what flavor should we try next…?"
"Strawberry," Maria said instantly. So rich, so red… it was practically like blood!
"We already did that, sensei," Katarina said. "Let's give the other flavors a chance. How about black currant?"
She held up the jar filled with dark substance.
"I suppose…" Maria said. She wasn't pouting. At all. Not even a little!
"Black currant it is, then!" Katarina cheered, dumping in the contents of the jar and using a spoon to get the rest, then filling the jar with milk and shaking it to get all the stuff the spoon couldn't. Katarina dumped it into the magic tool, sealed it shut, and activated it.
As the sound of the magic tool churning and growing cold began to sound, Katarina turned towards Maria with a look of concern. "By the way," she said with ignorant innocence. "I heard this weird scream yesterday. Did something happen?"
"No," Maria lied immediately. "Nothing happened." She might have lost her innocence yesterday– and a part of her was astounded she had any innocence left to lose– but there was no way she would let that interfere with protecting this child.
Katarina gave her an intent look. "Really?" she said, and Maria was surprised Katarina was being skeptical. "It didn't sound like nothing. It sounded like someone who was screaming really, really loudly, and not just because they stubbed their toe."
"Perhaps you were hearing Storm Rays," Maria said, trying not to sweat.
"No, that's more of a 'whumph!' sound," Katarina said. "Are you sure nothing happened?"
"I'm positive," Maira said. Then, a little throwing knife of pettiness struck her. "Why don't you ask A– Miss Shelley if anything of note occurred, if you don't believe me?" Maria said, throwing her mother's previously-secret lover under the large swinging log covered in spikes.
"All right, I will," Katarina said with a nod. She patted her magic tool. "Don't let anyone open it until I get back, okay sensei?"
"Noted, my squire," Maria said, smiling with mildly beatific spite as the innocent young woman walked away to speak to her maid.
Humming with just the slightest bit of self-satisfied malice to herself, Maria went to check on her cookies.
There was a loud knocking on the door that could only be one person, even in a manor full of children.
Fortunately, Anne was completely clothed, as was Alice, and so there was no embarrassment as the maid let her mistress into the house and offered her a towel.
"My lady," Anne said, bowing.
"Oh, don't worry Anne, I don't need you to maid for me today," Katarina said, with a smile. "I just wanted to ask you a question. Hi Maria's mom!"
"Of course, my lady," Anne said.
"Hello, Lady Claes," Alice said, only a little bit nervous. How her daughter managed to be so casual, even if it was casually formal, with high nobility, she had no idea.
The Duke's daughter laughed, waving away her apprehension with easy grace. "Oh no, I'm just Katarina today. It's your house after all." Katarina turned to Anne. "Anyway Anne… I thought I heard a scream yesterday."
"A scream, my lady?" Anne said, face perfectly smooth as a blush began to rise on Alice's cheeks.
"Yup, a scream. An 'I want to gouge my eyes out, I don't want to study etiquette anymore' scream," Katarina said, nodding several times in self-assurance. She fixed her maid with a look. "Maria finally found out?"
Anne had but the faintest tinge on her cheeks. "Yes, my lady, she did."
Katarina 'tsked'. "You should have told her," she practically sang.
"I should have," Anne agreed.
"Heh he he," Katarina chortled. "I finally get to tell you 'I told you so'!"
"You do, my lady," Anne said, her blush partially ameliorated by her amusement at how inordinately smug her lady was about this. It was honestly a first, seeing her lady seemingly almost… petty.
She treasured the memory, as she did every new facet of her lady she was blessed to witness.
Then Katarina shook her head, and there was nothing but sincere happiness for another. "Well, at least you two don't have to hide anymore," she said. "That's great! And I can finally give you two a gift on your anniversary!" Katarina winked at her, a very strange sight. "If you don't tell me, I'll just pick a day and give you the gift in front of Maria."
"My lady, please don't tease my dear Alice so," Anne said.
Katarina instantly looked contrite. "Ah! Sorry, Maria's mom, I'm just teasing!" she said, looking genuinely upset she might have gone too far as she saw the blush on the blonde's face. "Sorry! Sorry!" In an instant, the mischievous trickster had disappeared completely, replaced by a kind girl who didn't want to hurt anyone.
"N-no, it's fine, L– er, Miss Katarina," Alice said. "I… in truth, I haven't really thought about it. We've been hiding it for so long…"
Anne reached over and took Alice's hand, ignoring the happy squeal her lady let out. It sounded suspiciously like the happy squeal she made when watching Maria and Rafael's courtship. So strange, yet so fitting, that her lady took great delight in another's happiness. No wonder they called her a saint.
"W-well…" Her lady said, her wide smile filling her face. "We have ice-cream in the kitchen and Maria is making cookies. I'm going to show the children how to make ice-cream cookie sandwiches. Want some?"
The two women exchanged glances.
"We would be delighted, my lady," Anne said.
"You know, I don't think I've really tasted any of Maria's cookies lately," Alice mused. "She keeps making them, but I only ever seem to smell them…"
Katarina gasped. "Well, that's not right!" she declared. "Per your mom-privileges, you should always get cookies! Maria owes you… well, I don't know how many, but it must be lots of cookies! And as I knight (trainee), I have a duty to see this wrong be righted! Come on!"
Pointing dramatically like she was still a little girl who only came up to Anne's stomach, Katarina led the way to the kitchen, and the cookies and the ice cream…
"Drugs," Joanna panted, licking her lips, trying to see if she missed a spot of that wonderful taste. Her spoon and bowl had long since been licked clean. "It must be drugs. And we've been drugged to addict us to work for her."
"I'm fine with it," Jade said, licking her finger were a drop of the sweet, sweet, divine pink Estus had fallen.
"More," Amber said matter-of-factly. "I need more."
There was a knock on the door. Three heads snapped to stare at it.
The door opened, and a maid with a tray stepped inside. On her tray was a plate of cookies and three bowls filled with a dark, purple divine Estus...!
"Excuse me lady, mistresses," the maid said, "But my lady thought you would like more snacks…"
Outside, the storm's last thunder, like the dead gods throwing dice to decide the fates of men and women, rolled.