Mariana was in the kitchen organizing dinner for both the Lady and her daughters and the new staff who had arrived an hour ago. Miss Bela and Olga, the second oldest maid, had welcomed the new girls while the Lady of the castle was in a meeting with her other 2 daughters.
"Martha, is the soup I told you to make ready?" - Mariana asked.
"It will be ready in about 1 hour, Mrs. Mariana." Said the black-haired girl Martha as she held up a long wooden spoon to handle the soup.
"Very good. We must give a warm welcome to the new girls" - said Mrs. Mariana - "The best way to welcome someone new is with a good chicken broth."
"I remember when the first day came, you served us the same chicken soup." Martha said as she stirred the soup. - "5 years ago."
"I remember Martha well, each one of you." - Mariana said sadly when remembering the 6 girls who arrived 5 years ago, of those 6 girls, 3 died in the explosion of the "gas tank".
"Anyway, we should warmly welcome the girls, we don't want to demoralize them on the first day, do we?" - Mariana said with a smile to Martha.
"Demoralized? Just being here is already demoralizing." - Martha said, laughing slightly.
As the women chatted, the kitchen door opened, another short-haired maid entered it with a first aid kit.
"Mrs. Mariana, Lady Dimitrescu needs you upstairs." -Said the young woman while she took a breath, apparently the young woman came running to the kitchen urgently.
"Why is that Anna?" - Asked Mariana.
"She needs your medical skills." - Young Anna said as she took a glass of water.
"Any injured girl?" - Mariana asked with some concern.
"Not exactly, it's about a man. Now they are in the guest room. "- Young Anna said.
"A man in the castle?" - Mariana asked with curiosity and some anger when remembering that the last men to enter the castle had murdered 3 innocent young women. - "Is it one of the rats from last week?"
"I don't know, but he didn't look the same to those men, this one looked weirder. I don't know how to say it. "-Anna said as she remembered. - "Anyway, follow me, we can't keep Lady Dimitrescu waiting!"
Mariana nodded as she took off her kitchen apron and spoke to Martha at the same time.
"Well, after making the soup, you should make the family venison stew." Mariana said as she walked to the door with Anna.
"Sure." - Martha said.
The two women hurriedly walked through the halls of the immense castle, walking approximately 3 minutes until they reached the guest room. Before entering, Mariana knocked on the door.
"Knock Knock"
"Come in" - Said the voice on the other side of the door, it was Cassandra's.
The 2 women entered the room, they expected to find Lady Dimitrescu in the room, however, there was only Cassandra, and of course, the injured man.
On one of the sofas in the living room, the man mentioned by Anna was "asleep", he looked very different from the men from last week who wore black uniforms prepared for the cold, this man on the other hand seemed that he was not afraid of the cold . Because he only wore a sleeveless shirt, leather vest and pants.
"Here I am, Miss Dimitrescu, what is the reason for my presence?" Mariana asked as she made a small bow to the eternally young mistress.
"Very simple Mariana, it is this man-thing, mother brought him to the castle. This man received a wound from a Várcolac on his left arm. "-Explained Cassandra.-" I think you should heal him, although looking closely, his wound seems to have healed already. "
"I see." -Mariana she said as she got closer to the man on the couch.
She examined him more closely, the man's face had a brown beard, and like his hair, very long, with a well pronounced beard and mustache, this man also looked in good physical shape, his left arm was well formed , the arm showed signs of violence with dried blood. The wound on his claw seemed to have healed, only the light pink flesh was exposed.
"It seems I just need the green medicine and some bandages." - Mariana said turning to Cassandra.
"Anna, could you bring the briefcase to ..." -Mariana said as she turned to address Martha only to be surprised by the barrel of a pistol.
"Hands up, partner," said young Daniela with a covered voice as she pointed a gun at Mariana's face.
"Miss Daniela!" - she said frightened Mariana, the idea that the same Lady Dimitrescu or kill the ladies was a constant, however, the fact that the bullet killed was not so bad.
"Hahahaha, look at her face Cassie." -Daniela she said as she kept the gun in a holster on her waist.
"You are very childish Dani." Cassandra said, as she showed a slight smile.
"Anyway, Mariana." -Daniela said as she walked showing her new accessories. - "How do I look? Silly Cassie and Bela say I look vulgar, give me your opinion."
Mariana, once she had recovered from the shock, looked closely at the young Daniela, the young woman wearing a hat similar to Lord Heisenberg only she had a small row of tusk bones. On her face was a leather and metal mask that distorted Daniela's jovial voice for a darker one, although she could fake her voice. And finally there was her holster on her waist, where a revolver pistol rested.
"You look as good as ever, my young mistress," answered Maria when she finished examining Daniela and her new look.
"I know! I look fantastic, all thanks to Erron Black." - Daniela said as she pointed her finger at the man on the couch.
"Anyway, heal the wounds of the man-thing while we are with mother, okay Mariana?" - Cassandra said with authority as she retired with Daniela to the upper floors where Bela and her mother were. - "And when he wakes up, take him to our mother. Agree?"
"Yes, my young mistress." - Mariana said as she nodded her head.
When the young mistresses left the room, Anna and Mariana came to check on the man so that they could heal him. Mariana smeared some of the medicine on the pink wound, the flesh of the badly wounded man seemed to have already started to heal, after smearing the medicine she began to bandage his left arm. The whole process took 10 minutes.
"Finished. His arm is bandaged. "-Mariana had finished bandaging the arm.
"He looks very well built, don't you think so." - Anna said as she looked at the chest of the man on the couch.
"Don't even think about it, you have 9 years of service left in the castle." - Mariana said with severity.
"Yes I know. Okay, we're done, we have to stop by every 10 minutes to check on his status, right? -Asked Anna.
"Sure, let's go, we must prepare dinner for the new girls." - Said Mariana.
The 2 women left the room leaving the stranger on the couch.
Lady Dimitrescu was in her office, in it was all the paperwork related to her wines, there she had all the required numbers, the amount of wines produced over the years, in addition to the contracts with the active maids. All of her daughters were with her in that same room. Bela borrowed the room an hour ago so she can introduce herself to the new girls and have the new girls sign their contracts.
"Tell me Bela, how many young women came?" Said Lady Dimitrescu who was sitting in her big chair while she leafed through the contracts.
"3 Young Fresh New Women". - Said Bela. - "But I am missing a girl, a certain Elena Lupu."
"I am aware, my daughter, it seems to me that we are going to make an exception for her." said Lady Dimitrescu, as she took a sip of hers tea.
As the women inside the room spoke, on the other side of the door there was a knock on the door.
*Knock Knock*
"come in." - said Lady DImitrescu.
The door opened and revealed that it was the older maid Mariana and behind her was the Man-thing from the Heisenberg show. The two approached Alcina's desk.
"Good evening my lady, here is the man who ordered me to heal." Mariana said as she leaned down.
Unlike other castle servants, she and Olga were the only servants who completed their 15 years of service and still continued to work in the castle of their own free will and for pay, because of this they had earned the trust of the Castle Lady. .
"Good work Mariana." Lady Dimitrescu said as she directed her golden gaze towards the man. - "Do not go yet, I want you to stay in the room Mariana".
"Yes my lady." - Mariana said as she moved to the other side of the room.
"So we finally meet." - Lady Dimitrescu said when she saw Erron's face.
This man did not look like the others, he did not fear her, because of her height as several times happened with other man-things, this man on the contrary, stood firm as if he did not sense the danger that was formed by 4 women fatal.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Dimitrescu, despite the circumstances" - Erron said calmly and formally.
Erron looked at the giant woman sitting on the desk, next to her were 3 women dressed in black, they looked at him with their malicious smiles, at least 2 of them, because one of those women had stolen his hat, mask and including his gun.
"The same is my opinion, I see that your wound has already healed." - Lady Dimitrescu said as she observed Erron's bandaged arm.
"Yes, thank you very much for that." Erron said as he touched his left arm with his right arm. Erron also wondered why he is there in the castle, he needs the answers.
"So could you tell me what the hell is going on?" Erron asked the woman at the desk. - "Why the last thing I remember is that I fell unconscious by a dart from the ugly doll and that idiot Heisenberg wanted to use me as a gladiator in the show."
Alcina Dimitrescu was speechless, this stranger spoke in such a vulgar way in front of her, until then only Heisenberg could speak like that and of course, her enemies who fell before her clutches.
"Well, the reason you are here is that you are in my custody. Because you interrupted my business with Elena Lupu, Mother Miranda has changed custody, so you are no longer from Heisneberg, you belong to me now, Erron Black. "- Lady Dimitrescu explained in a relaxed way, straight to the point.
"So I'm your slave, huh?" Erron thought before taking a breath and saying the following. "Well, as I planned to tell Heisenberg before the lights went out, go to hell, my lady."
"Idiot." - Mariana thought, this idiot won't last long.
One of the Dimitrescu girls turned her smile off and then turned it into a maniacal smile as she materialized a sickle.
"Can I cut out the man-thing's tongue, mother?" - Asked Cassandra as she watched the man in front of her.
"It is not necessary, my daughter. Look Mr. Black, your show on Heisenberg's idiot show impressed me and the fact that you cut off his hand was more than satisfying, so I offer you my next 2 proposals. "Lady Dimitrescu said as she looked at Erron with her superiority.
"What are those proposals?" - Black said, not scared, but ready for close combat.
"First option, you will work for me as one of my servants, since you take the place of the Lupu girl, you will have the same rights and the same treatment as the other servants." - Explains Lady Dimitrescu.
And the other one? ", - asked Erron
"The second option is very simple, my daughters will take you to the dungeon where my daughters will teach you manners and will surely" play "with you." Lady DImitrescu said as she took a sip of her tea.
Erron Black considered the proposals, it was more than obvious that the second option was a real shit, it would be very stupid to agree to go to the dungeon with those psychopathic bloodsucking women, instead the first was more reasonable and the most convenient, after all it would be more than difficult to escape from a dungeon that is quite possibly underground.
"Well, considering the proposals, I'll take the first one." - Erron said accepting the woman's proposal.
"Fantastic, I knew I was not dealing with another stupid man-thing." - Lady Dimitrescu said cheerfully when listening to the man-thing accept his new destiny. - "Now come closer to my desk. You must sign the contract. "
Erron began to walk towards the desk where the woman was sitting, due to his spurs a small chime could be heard as he walked step by step. The closer he got, the better he could see the features of the seated woman's face, her skin was pale, very pale, her well-preserved face was that of a woman in her 40s, she had the natural imperfections that that age causes , but even so he could not deny that she was a beautiful woman, her lips painted in blood red that contrasted with her skin, her golden eyes so hypnotic that they gazed at him supremely over him.
If it were a different situation, Erron would not hesitate to flirt with her, even if she was a blood drinker, after all, Erron knew very well how to deal with female man-eating .
As he walked he could see more closely the women in black, there were 3 of them, at least 2 of them with silly smiles from ear to ear, perhaps with the intention of making him nervous, one with blond hair who was staring at him, another with black hair who he knew by the name of Cassandra and the third, the third was the thief of Erron's hat, that girl was wearing her mask so she could not see any of the facial emotions .
Erron reached the desk and sat in the wooden chair facing Lady Dimitrescu, the height of the Lady was great, even so he felt small, but not afraid of the height of the Lady.
"This is the contract, Mr. Black." - Lady Dimitrescu said as she handed him a sheet and written in perfect calligraphy, but with some last minute modifications. - "This contract was made for Elena Lupu, but since you took her place, you will answer her contract, okay?"
Erron took the contract to read it, it said the following.
"I, Elena Lupu, have voluntarily decided to work for Lady Dimitrescu, matriarch of House Dimitrescu, as her faithful servant for a period of 20 years. As a Castle Dimitrescu server, I am bound by the following main rules and obligations, and will accept other rules and obligations in the future.
highest and undisputed authority within the castle is Lady Dimitrescu, the second authority falls on the daughters Dimitrescu, who are: Bela Dimitrescu, Cassandra Dimitrescu and Daniela Dimitrescu. And the third final authority is the assigned Senior Maids.
2.Do not open windows, doors or any other mechanism that allows cold air to enter without first consulting with the Elder Maidens, the Dimitrescu daughters, or Lady Dimitrescu herself.
3.Maintain my virginity and purity until the end of my years of service or after I am fired.
with the Blood Tax, which will be carried out from time to time, however it will be more than mandatory every 3 months during the grape harvest.
In case of disobeying or breaking one or more of these important rules I will be penalized with an appropriate punishment. Working for the Dimitrescu castle, I Elena Lupu, will enjoy the following benefits and rights, and I will agree to more rights and benefits in the future.
1.I will have a bed and a locker where I can store my personal belongings.
2.I will have access to the castle food and medical services available.
3.I will work full or variable time for 6 days a week and I will have the seventh to rest both in the castle and in the village.
4.I will have a salary of 9000 Leis per week, this payment will increase in relation to my performance within the castle.
After 20 years I will be able to withdraw from the castle, however, if I wish to continue my services I will be able to continue serving the castle, in addition to being able to ignore the rules and obligations 3 and 4.
Through this contract between Lady Dimitrescu, Matriarch of House Dimitrescu and Elena Lupu, it will be established that Elena Lupu will serve for Castle Dimitrescu. "
I have accepted both the rules and the rights when working inside the Castle. "
Firm:…..
Erron finished reading the contract, it was too unfair and the parts like the seventh day of rest, however, had no other choice.
He took one of the fine pens from the desk and proceeded to write his name.
Firm: Erron Black
After signing the contract he handed it back to Lady Dimitrescu who saw it as he read each of the words of the contract, she received it and looked at the man's signature and then returned his gaze to Erron.
"Very good Mr. Erron, however you forget something." - Lady Dimitrescu said as she returned the sheet to him .- "You need a seal, a seal of blood with your thumb."
Erron looked at her again, this woman she wanted to see him bleed, because she would not give him the pleasure of anyone making him bleed.
"Okay, can I borrow something sharp?" - Erron said to Lady DImitrescu.
"I can help you." - Said the young woman with blond hair. - "By the way, my name is Bela."
"No, I really want to help him." - Cassandra said as she played with her sickle.
"Enough girls, I'll help myself." - Lady Dimitrescu said as she got up from her chair.
The woman was very tall, damn tall, Erron was really in awe of that conceited woman, that despite her great height, she had very generous curves, which not only impressed Erron but also made him wonder what she was wearing underneath her white dress.
The woman proceeded to approach Erron, he only took 1 step, when a normal person took him 2 or 3 steps. Large claws came out of one of her gloved hands, these did not seem to be pure bone like the young Tarkatans, they were more like those of the Elite Tarkatans, who can have their saber-bones with a tungsten coating that allows them to have a better cut. That clawed hand worried Erron but it didn't make him run away from the chair, as the others in the room expected.
"Give me your hand, Mr. Black" -Lady Dimitrescu said as she brought her big claw closer. Most of the men would have fled, but this man-thing didn't seem so terrified.
Erron removed his glove and reached out with his bare hand in the direction of Lady Dimitrescu's great claw. Lady Dimitrescu proceeded to make a light cut across the center of his hand.
[X-rays. A metal bone claw pierces the soft flesh of a human hand, causing a slight hemorrhage that is not fatal, but causes pain through the subject's nerves.]
The cut is small and clean, almost 5 centimeters in Erron's hand, blood came out of that hand, Erron felt pain, but he did not scream or do another action that showed him weakness in front of these fatal women.
He took his other hand and thumb smeared with blood, then pressed the thin paper with his blood.
The girls in the room saw the man's blood with delight, that smell so good, Cassandra and Bela smelled it more accurately, while Daniela smelled it more carefully.
"Why so fast, Erron?" Lady Dimitrescu said with a smile as her claws began to return to her place.
It was not a good idea to have an open wound with fresh blood flowing in front of a herd of predators, of course, he could not give such a descriptive explanation, it is only possible to improvise.
"I want to avoid a possible infection." - Erron said in a relaxed and calm way.
"Very cautious, Erron" - said Lady Dimitrescu. - "Well, from tomorrow you will serve as one more servant inside my castle, Mariana is the oldest servant inside the castle, she will guide and instruct you".
"Mariana, take Erron to the other servants, introduce them, and guide him to his new quarters." - Lady Dimitrescu said to the older maid.
"Of course My Lady" -said the maiden Mariana as she nodded her head.
"So Erron, I hope it doesn't cause any problems and perfectly fulfills the contract, okay?" - Said Lady Dimitrescu.
"As long as no one stabs me in the back, we'll be fine." Erron said with a wry smile as he rose from his chair. Erron proceeded to follow Mariana out the door, Mariana politely saying goodbye to the women inside the room.
"Why didn't you send him to the dungeon, mother?" Bela said as she watched the door close. - "We could have put it to good use."
"I would have liked, however, Mother Miranda has different plans for him, I need you not to kill him and just limit yourself to drawing blood from him." Lady Dimitrescu said as she looked at her gloved hand and saw the blood still fresh.
Lady Dimitrescu put her hand to her nose so she could smell the blood in a better way, as she supposed, her scent was delicious. She proceeded to lick her own gloved hand, the blood is still warm, with a red color and that characteristic metallic smell, that small amount of blood was not that different to the naked eye, but when the blood touched her tongue, things were different.
A few hours ago she had taken maid's blood. The sweet blood of young women kept her alive, so her diet was preferential to female blood while male blood, which was more bitter by nature, was not to her liking.
In this specific case, I tasted the blood, it was as she expected, it was bitter but not rancid, this blood felt different, when she tried to detect with her taste buds some flavors never before tasted. After taking it she felt for a brief moment a lot of strength and power.
"This is going to be a very interesting man-thing." Lady Dimitrescu said as she glanced back at the contract, seeing the man's signature.
"He is named after the" prince charming "of the train on your trip, isn't he mother? The one you told us about many years ago." - Said Bela.
"Of course, the he has that man's name, if it weren't for his hair and pronounced beard, it would be exactly the same as I remember him." -Lady Dimitrescu said, remembering with nostalgia when she told that story to her daughters when they were just girls.
"Maybe you can have your happy ending, partner." -Daniela said as she crossed her arms and imitated Erron's voice.
Lady Dimitrescu had a strict relationship of respect from her daughters towards her, especially in public in front of the other Lords, where the daughters referred to her as mother or mother, however,for this time she allowed Daniela to say such an expression while she laughed affectionately.
"My daughter, as if those things happened." -Lady Dimirescu said to her dear daughters.
