Chapter 1

Author's Note:

Hello. I decided to make a little prequel for my other story "A Maids Tale". Hope you like it.

When you are young you do not get to choose your life. It is not what you make it. It is madness.

I have grown up in this life. This life of servitude.

My parents died when I was 5 years old. I do not remember much about them. I remember we had a nice house. I do not have anything to remember them by. There was a fire at our home. I somehow managed to get out. My parents were not so lucky.

I went into training when I was 6 after I was on the streets for a while. A man had found me and brought me to school. He is still there. We are really good friends. In the Academy they teach servitude and everything to do with it. I was one of the top people in my classes.

I started working when I was 12. I have not stayed with a family more than a year. There was always something. I did not quite fit with any of the homes.

I have been working for a few different families now throughout the years. I am almost 17 now. The current household that I work for is called "Walters". Misses and Mister Walter have 3 beautiful children, 2 boys and one girl. The kids love me. The boys are twins at the age of 8 and the girl is 6.

Thave a beautiful large house on the outside. On the inside… it is beautiful but it holds many secrets. Many stories. Many dark places.

My attention is brought back to my task at hand. I am cleaning the children's playroom. There are toys scattered across the floor. Clothes all over the place. When their parents are away I get to play with them and keep them company. The kids are in their rooms asleep and their parents should be home later this evening. They went out on a date.

I pick up some of the stuffed animals and put them into the little chest beside the window. I have the lights off but the moon is full and illuminating the room.

My mind wanders as I keep doing my task. I start to make a mental list of left over tasks I have to do before I can go back to my room.

I have to finish this room and then clean up the kitchen since I made the kids dinner. I should have enough time before they get home. A loud bang interrupts my thoughts. That came from downstairs.

I walk out of the room and pass by the kid's room to see if the sound woke them up. They are all three asleep. It took me about 30 minutes to get them to finally go to sleep. I want them to stay that way. I can hear the sound of Master Walters yelling something. From what I can hear it sounds like he is drunk.

Making my way downstairs I hear his voice even louder. He is red in the face yelling at Mistress Walters. She has her back to me. Master's eyes meet mine as I take the last step down the stairs to the floor.

"What are you looking at freak?" His voice growls. I do not say anything as I walk past.

Keep quiet. This is not your place. There is a quick movement and I am stopped in my tracks. There is a sharp pressure on my arm.

"Where do you think you are going? Are you making fun of me?" Master Walter questions with poison in his tone. His hand is gripped into my arm. His nails digging into that arm. I keep quiet but he grips harder.

"The children are in bed asleep. I am going to clean up a few things in the kitchen." I slowly let out in a cautious tone.

"Please. Leave her alone. She has done nothing wrong." Mistress says with a pleading tone. That was her mistake. I look her in the eyes. The pressure goes away on my arm. There is a loud smacking sound. Master's hand is raised and her face is red.

"You do not defend the servants." He starts to move his hand to hit her again. I move quickly and push my way between the two. Master Walters is a foot taller than me and Mistress is only a few inches taller.

"Master. If you will please keep it down. The children are asleep. You do not want them to see you like this." I suggest and can hear her breath starting to catch. He glares at me but grumbles and walks away. I will probably get yelled at later…

"Th-thank you Alexandria you are so kind." Her shaky voice comes from behind me. I turn to her with a smile.

"I am just doing my job mistress. Come with me to the kitchen and I will make you some tea." I say and lead her to the kitchen. I start up the stove and put a black kettle on the stove.

"I do not want you to get hurt." She trails off as she takes a seat on one of the stools.

"It is alright mistress. I hope that you are okay." I turn to the cupboards and look through them. I find some tea leaves and pull them down.

After a few minutes of silence I pour her and me some water into the cups. Not long later the teas are ready and I set the cup in front of her. She is young as compared to Master Walters. I believe only a few years older than I am.

"You know…" She rubs the side of her cup in thought. "You know I never wanted to get married." She quietly says after silence. I raise the cup to my lips and watch her.

"What do you mean Mistress?" I question and take a sip. Was she forced into this marriage?

"My parents were not that wealthy so they arranged this marriage… I was as old as you are now…" She slowly takes a sip of her tea in comfort.

"I am sorry to hear that Mistress." I add in comfort and sip my own tea. Her face is getting a little red from where he hit her.

"I also did not want to get married for another reason…" She trails off in thought. I do not push her this time. I just smile comfortingly. She looks up from her cup and at me. "Thank you for this Alexandria. You are always so kind." She shows a small smile.

"It is my job to take care of you." I smile back and finish my tea. Walking over to the sink I start to wash the dishes from dinner.

"Sometimes I wish the world was different. Where we could choose to be with who we want." She says with a sigh and walks up beside me. She takes some of the washed dishes and wipes them with a towel. I say nothing and nod.

I wish I could be myself… I wish… I keep cleaning and place the washed plates in the sink beside me. I can feel my hand brush hers. My heart skips a beat. I wish I did not grow up in this life. I glance over at her. I can see pink creep up in her cheeks.

"I…" She glances over at me. "I should get going." She quickly says and leaves the room.

I finish up my job and make my way to my room. It is a small room with only a bed. No window. Nothing. There is a clock to keep track of the time. I do not need much because I do not have much.

I take a deep breath and lay down on the bed. I hope she is going to be okay… I hope she does not get hurt.

Closing my eyes I can feel myself drift off to sleep. Thoughts of a better life come into my mind. In my dreams I see people that I have met over the years. Some good memories some bad. They surround me. I search frantically for the faces of my parents. But I do not see them. I have not seen them for a while now. It pains me a lot. I cannot remember their faces at all.

I struggle while walking through the crowd. They are all looking at me. They are judging me. I can feel it.

They know. They know that I am different.

Soft, whispery voices swirl around me. "Freak" … "Outcast" … "Does not belong" … "You are a girl"

Anxiety wells up in my chest. My heart is pounding faster and faster as I push through the crowd. Hands reach out to grab at me, but their hands pass through me like mist.

Then… then there are some people that I do not remember seeing. It is a small group of people. Three young men and a woman. They all look very similar. Almost like they are related. But I cannot see their faces.

The voices stop. The crowd seems to disappear. The group in front of me seem to be talking to themselves.

I watch them curiously. They seem happy. Bright light emanates off of them. No. One of them. He seems to be holding something. I cannot quite make it out.

Suddenly their attention is brought to me. Something does not feel right. The light is replaced by darkness spewing off of them. Loud ringing fills my ears.

Pain. Anxiety. Sadness. Anger. All these emotions wash over me. I fall to the floor and grip the sides of my head. My heart starts pounding loudly in my ears. Pain emmits from my chest. It feels like my heart is going to explode.

The ground beneath me cracks and falls away. I am falling. Falling through the darkness. It is completely enveloping me.

"No!" Sitting up in my bed the scene suddenly disappears and I am back in my room. My hand is over my chest gripping my nightgown. Looking down at my lap I try to make sense of what just happened. But the more I try to think about it, the dream just seems to slip away. I get my heart to calm back down and slowly lower my hand.

That was such a strange dream… I wonder to myself and look around the room. The clock reads that it is 5 am. That means it is time to get up and prepare breakfast.

I stand up off the bed and get changed into my servant's outfit. Which is nice because the top part is more of a suit whereas the bottom is still a dress that goes down to my ankles. I gently tie the black bow around my neck and look at myself in the mirror. My hair is halfway down my back.

I need to cut it at some point… I think absently and straighten out my dress. I smile a little at my reflection and walk away.

I spend the next hour preparing breakfast for Master and Mistress. I make them fried eggs on an english muffin with a side of sausage. For the kids I am waiting because they do not wake up till around 7 or 8.

I grab the tray and slowly walk up the stairs being careful not let anything spill. On the last step I am met by a chest. Looking up Master Walters is standing there.

"Good morning sir. I have brought you breakfast. There is no-" With a quick movement he smacks the tray of food out of my hands. It goes stumbling down the stairs. My eyes go wide.

"You." He grabs me by the neck and slams my back into the wall with such force. The impact almost makes my vision go completely black, but I manage to keep my eyes open. "You are putting thoughts into my wife's head. Bad thoughts. Thoughts of leaving me. Thoughts of being with you." He spits out the last word and tightens his grip.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I manage to choke out as I gasp for air. My feet are off the ground dangling. I try to hit at his arm to free me. His stares gets even more fierce. Moments before it feels like I am about to pass out he throws me back down the stairs. I hear a sickening crack and pain in my sides.

The last thing I see before my vision goes dark is him coming down the stairs. The sound of the front door opening is the last thing I hear.

Hope you enjoyed Chapter 1. This will be a shorter series than "A Maids Tale".