It was misery.
The beautiful locks of white falling in cascades across the river of linen.
The sickly pale skin of a porcelain doll.
The beauty of snow.
It was misery.
Those brown eyes who called for innocence.
The hair of same color who held the scent of a beast.
The sweet smile of revenge.
It was misery. Specially for the one who always grasped a glass of wine in one hand and jealousy in the other. But this time not a single motion of fear would stop her. No sight of a hero falling at the mercy of his ill wife or even of a creature proposing to a witch would stop her.
She would get her own revenge, she would make the girl pay for the misery, stuff her up with the truth and lie that would lead to her execution.
Noon was the time of peace for the manor on regular days. This time around, remnants of the masquerade laid around like scattered decorations and a few spills of drunken fools. A night of regret for all of those who had to take care of the mess.
But no negative feelings could destroy the joy in Uraraka's heart.
She had managed to escape with her gown, which she hid deep inside the bunkers of the maid's quarters, and everything intact. She had managed to escape with a loving heart and a wonderful night still fresh in her mind...
That night was one of remembrance, of celebration... of love.
It was all wrapped up in one memory and, now, the ring that hung from around her neck in a piece of red string. The string of curiosity that brought them together on that day. That linked their stories to one single line.
Fate had mysterious ways.
The maid smiled to herself as the thought of her endless lover came to mind; his lips, his grin, his eyes, his blonde hair, everything about him... It was all just wonderful and magnificent. It was all like a dream.
But dreams were only in her mind which distracted her way too much from the tasks at hand. Suddenly, the sound of a whip striking the floor reverberated through the messy ballroom filled with other working servants.
"Wake up! No time to space out maid!" Lady Midnight spoke loudly, her tone catching the attention of the servitude.
Uraraka shook for a second but bowed slightly at the lady's word. "I apologize Lady Midnight..."
The lady, showered in a black sleeping gown, silver earrings and a headpiece with gems, signifying her rank, stepped down from the table she stood on. Her steps were heavy from pointy heels and her gaze one of judgement over the young maid.
Uraraka kept her bow, feeling the eyes of everyone over her body. She knew that something was terribly off by the heavy feeling in her chest. Soon, the peek of shiny heels caught her eye.
"Apologies from a thing like you don't matter... what matters is that it seems you are incompetent of completing the simple task of cleaning a table!" The lady's lips turned to a smirk. "You are as much of a waste as the rest of the damn servitude!"
The rest of the servants seemed unnerved by Lady Midnight's words, condemmed to hear such things from a woman of power and control. Used to it like domesticated animals and treated like slaves. A life full of punches and no word of defense whatsoever. Uraraka even caught a glimpse from a shivering maid, her eyes watery with helplessness.
The witch couldn't help the anger boiling in her chest. That woman didn't know anything about sacrifice or work, yet she stood on a pillar like a goddess and was praised like one from the all mighty leader. She was the mask of abuse and Uraraka wasn't going to have any of it.
Uraraka met Lady Midnight's gaze...
Yet, there she stood in silence.
She couldn't reveal herself... she couldn't ruin the chances of escape... She had to save them before falling back.
But it was too late when their eyes met. Now the lady had seen the golden spark in them and wanted all of it. In a fast manner, and without attendance, Lady Midnight approached the maid and grasped her face tightly, trying to look intensely behind the golden rims.
"What a strange creature... A thing with golden eyes." her nails dug into Uraraka's cheeks. "Where do you come from child?"
Uraraka hesitated for a moment but tried to keep as much as a frightened tone in her voice, as if to keep an innocent act in her appearance. "From a small t-town near these l-lands. It was so long ago that s-such memories don't come back to my mind!"
"You speak to me with manners of a noble! How dare you speak so highly than your own rank!" Lady Midnight pushed the witch with immense force, launching her to the ground. "You are but a disgust to this place! Such beautiful eyes shouldn't belong to a thing like yourself!"
The witch braced her fall with a weak arm, feeling the air punched out of her lungs and the strength from her limbs. Still anger rose higher in the depths of her chest. She watched as the lady stretched out her whip and prepared for something more than a strike on the floor.
Uraraka felt something tingle at the tips of her fingers, her innocent act slightly falling away. "I don't comprehend the cruelness of your words... Lady Midnight..."
Lady Midnight approached the maid, ready to hit the inoffensive maid with her malicious whip. "How dare you speak to me in such a way-!"
"Lady Midnight!"
For a moment the room fell silent, the gazes that were once on the scene at hand turned to the single guard at the door. The lady's composure changed drastically, returning to her elegant manners. Despite the obvious circumstance in front of her she spoke with unrequired innocence.
"Oh my! What might a guard from the master desire from my presence?"
The guard didn't change the scowl on his face, staring at the maid and then back towards the lady. "First of explanation for such a deal made in the ballroom...?"
Lady Midnight froze for a second, then tried to keep her usual composure. "I don't know of what you speak of!"
With the same expression, the guard signaled towards the maid still on the floor and then at the whip towards the lady's side. "Of this scene I am present to."
Uraraka couldn't help the slight smirk that formed on her lips, awaiting for the humiliation of the manic woman. She watched as Lady Midnight turned slightly, raising her brow and signaling for her to stand. The young witch did as told, keeping her on act intact and acting as if she was scared for her life.
The lady returned her gaze to the guard. "Just speak of what you need and i'll budge, guard."
The guard nodded and spoke in a cold manner. "Madame Shuzenji asks for the presence of..." He looked at a paper in his hand and a name written in fancy letters. "Uravity…?"
Suddenly, Uraraka stood in shock, unsure of what might a madame need of an specific maid...specially on how the person knew of her? "That is I of which she asks for...?"
Again, the gazes fell over the young witch; some of curiosity, others of slight envy at the fact she wouldn't have to deal with the lady any longer. Lady Midnight just grasped her whip tighter, anger and frustration at the poise that the maid maintained.
The guard nodded towards Uraraka. "Then if you may follow me."
Uraraka looked at Lady Midnight and smiled slightly, approaching the guard without a single regret. "Of course."
And then the two subjects walked out of the room, eyes still positioned over the cocky maid...
The sound of a whip could be heard once more.
"Madame Shuzenji, I have brought you the girl you seek."
It was a small room, adorned with blank walls and wooden tables, topped with all sorts of medical instruments and the resourceful potions that could heal even the worst of wounds. A small chandelier lit up the room, as well as the open window that let the simple rays of midday sun enter and emit a shadow of a farfetched figure hidden in the search for something in the cabinets. Uraraka could only see the back of the figure, small in its stance and adorned in a simple pink dress.
Suddenly, a small presence figured in the middle of the room. A woman of short stature, hair that indicated she was way older than any of the people Uraraka had met in the mansion, a medical mask on top of the head and a pink dress covered in a cream colored robe walked towards the pair with a tray in hand.
She stared directly at the girl, skipping the guard completely. "Oh my! What a young thing!"
Uraraka stared down at the older woman, bowing slightly and smiling with kindness. "At your service madame-"
"Why have they asked for such a young maid at the quarters?" Madame Shuzenji changed her gaze towards the guard in a questionable way. "Has she any medical preparation at all?"
The guard kept his scowl. "I have only been asked by you to bring the maid here, other than that I don't know of any other reason to bring a servant to your office, Madame Shizenji."
"Hmm I see... Well your duty has been complete, you may return to your usual work."
At the madame's words the guard took his leave, closing the door behind him and leaving the two women alone in the small room.
Uraraka watched the guard leave and waited for his presence to be out of sight before letting curiosity settle at her mouth. "Pardon my intrusion into some personal commands but... why have you come to ask for me?"
The small Madame pushed forward the tray in her small hands at the maid, a metal flask filled with some type of liquid and a small cup lay on top of it. "I was only asked for Uravity to bring the medicine to the master's bedroom... I thought it was some medic but never a maid..?"
"T-the master's room?" Uraraka shook at the thought of that forsaken place and at the woman with white hair who spoke in her slumber... who spoke to her...
"Yes! Now move along child, Madame Shoto's medicine must be given right away!"
Uraraka stared at the tray and then at the older woman, smiling with kindness. She wanted to reject the command to avoid any contact with that place but she knew what would happen if she did...
I'll master up the courage... I was only under so much stress at the time it must have been only that... only a figment of my imagination...
"O-of course! Right away, Madame Shuzenji."
The older lady smiled, leading the way back to the exit of the small room and letting Uraraka out. "Now give her the exact dosage in the cup, too much could kill our lady and we don't want her kindness to fall away so tragically!"
Uraraka shivered at the thought, doubting her acceptance of the command but trying to hide it. "I w-will!"
She slowly walked away, balancing the tray and also the nervousness in her chest.
She stood right in front of the big doors that led towards the master's bedroom.
Her breathe a mess.
Her body shaking.
And her heart a wreck.
She was frightened by the thought of seeing again what she had seen before, but she reminded herself constantly that it was only her imagination. The woman with white hair wouldn't wake up from her coma to speak to her. She wouldn't harm her in any way...
It was all in her mind.
Uraraka watched as the guards of marble raised their weapons and the doors to the room opened at the command. Despite them being blind in their material, the young maid couldn't help the feeling of being watched.
She slowly entered the room, step by step, until the master's bed came to her view... until the peek of white hair cascading down the bed appeared in her vision.
You can do this Uraraka… She wont bite...
She scanned the room like an animal in danger. It was silent and very much alone, as she found in the depths of the echo in her steps, too silent for her liking. The unnerving feeling in her chest grew but she had to be strong.
The nervous maid stopped right at the edge of the bed, staring at the unconscious woman. "Greetings M-Madame, I come to bring you your medicine..."
The woman didn't mutter a word. Uraraka sighed with relief and walked towards the table besides the bed, placing the tray on top of it. The silent room was soon filled with the sounds of liquid running through the metal flask and on to the small cup.
Uraraka, with the tenderness that she could muster, placed a hand below the woman's back and raised her up as much as she could, trying to prevent the Madame from choking with the medicine. She was cold in the warm linen sheets, her skin like a fragile petal, her lips pale in the auburn color of the medicine... she was a corpse in a royal coffin. The maid felt uneasy as she watched the movement of the Madame's neck as she gulped down the liquid, some sign of life still within.
With the same care, the maid returned the fragile body to it's original position, placing the sheets back over the woman and trying to leave everything where it was. Uraraka couldn't help the sudden curiosity that overcame her mind.
I had heard of the heroic act of my Bakugou… yet the heir came out with a conscious mind and his mother... didn't...
She placed a hand over the Madame's heaving chest, a consolement in the darkness of her coma. "I hope that the world you float about now brings you deep peace... brings you the joy that you might have lost in the darkness of these walls..."
The woman didn't budge, leaving Uraraka in her own dim light. Slowly, she took her hand away from the Madame's chest smiling with pity at the fallen maiden. The maid then placed the flask and cup back on the tray and made her way back to the doors.
Suddenly, a gasp of air filled the room.
Uraraka stopped in her tracks, the grip on the tray loosening with the slow motion of her vision. She turned around slowly, betraying her reason but following her instinct. Her heart stopped.
"Help me... please..."
She then let go of the tray, her nervous hands letting the flask and cup hit the floor making a loud sound fill the large room, running to the side of the bed and watching as the once unconscious maiden kept her eyes wide in fear and her lips parted, gasping for breath.
"H-hold on! I will find help!" Uraraka tried to rush back to the doors but was held back by the weak porcelain hand. "Huh?"
"Don't... tell him..." Madame Shoto gasped every word, her eyes pleading. "He will find a way... a way to- agh!"
The maid watched in horror as the madame convulsed, her body making unnatural movements. This time she escaped the maiden's hand to find help, but something stopped her in her tracks, something she wished she hadn't seen.
A dark mist started to form above the Maiden's mouth. No...the mist was escaping the creavices of her mouth, as if a soul had appeared from another.
Uraraka backed away slowly. She could feel her steps faltering, her breath a quick mess. It was as if a nightmare was unfolding right in front of her.
Slowly the mist took form. First, the feet covered in deadly skin, then the upper body covered in rags, and last the whole upper body... the face covered in different pairs of hands. Behind the figure, the Madame's body had stopped convulsing, falling back in the sheets and returning to it's unconscious state.
It can't be...