Chapter 3: Blood.
Iris allowed herself ten minutes to panic and cry before splashing herself with some icy water and going back to her duties. She made a point to travel around all parts of the castle, seeking out all the other maids to warn them that one of their mother hens was leaving, and the chicks would have to hunker down to survive the lurking foxes. Two girls had cried silently but no one dared to hug her in case the Dimitrescu family were watching. They preferred maids to keep interactions between each other to a minimum. They were here to work, not make friends.
She was able to get through the majority of the girls before being called for yet again. This time to the Lady's private quarters so Iris had a good idea of what was going to happen this time around.
Smooth dress, check book, tidy hair, three short knocks, squeeze into the room, eyes down, hands clasped, sleeve open.
Her Lady sat in front of the fire. A bottle of Sanguis Virginis open and about half full, she was puffing on her cigarette as usual and looked very stressed.
"My Lady."
The Giantess shifted and stretched out one of her large arms, grasping Iris's wrist and pulling her towards her lap. Iris settled into the position, it never got any less uncomfortable, and allowed her sleeve to be pushed up and wrist dragged to her Lady's mouth.
She bit harshly into the flesh, sucking forcefully. The feeling of her blood being pulled so aggressively out of her body always made Iris blanche, she'd fainted many times during these more violent feedings. She focused on the detailing of the decorative plates above the fireplace. One had wild flowers. One a cat with a ribbon, stuck up in a tree. It helped stop her from vomiting from the sensation. These feedings dragged on forever, her life force being drained away all to satiate the giant fucking parasite knawing at her fucking wris-
Her Lady released her with a loud pop. "Ahhhh, much better. Your blood is just what I needed today dear Iris." She leant back, forcing Iris to follow her, using the Giantess as an unwelcome pillow.
"It's my pleasure my Lady" her voice was weak, shaky, but her Lady didn't acknowledge it.
"Today has been a horror. I am so sorry my dear that you have been picked to live in the bombsite that little twerp calls a home." She cradled Iris's head in one hand, dangerously sharp nails scratching her scalp. "If it were up to me you know I'd never have let you leave." She sighed, playing with some of the fly away hairs from Iris's now messed up bun, "I don't know how I will cope without your wonderful blood. I don't know how you do it, little one, but one sip and all of my worries disappear."
"I'm happy that I can help you, my Lady."
She sat on the Giantess's lap until she'd finished her wine, occasionally forcing the wound on her wrist open to drip thick drops of blood into her goblet, "A top up", her Lady had giggled. She always got a bit silly whenever she drank too much of her blood.
Iris didn't know if it was her blood specifically or perhaps a blood type that made Lady Dimitrescu's mood lighten. Maybe it was her company, although Iris didn't know how that could be possible, she just sat there and tried to not act shit scared.
Eventually, the Giantess shoved her off in what was honestly quite gentle for someone of her size, strength, and inebriety. The walk back to the servants quarters was a long one, each footstep felt like lead and she gripped onto walls and railings like her life depended on it. Eventually she came across another maid rushing her way back to safety who helped half-carry her the rest of the way.
In the safety of their quarters, up in the rafters of the Castle, whilst Iris lay in her bed, the lower bunk nearest the door, all the maids sat around her saying their goodbyes and gossiping about Lord Heisenberg.
"I heard he's half lycan, it's why he can control him.", "Well it does explain how he howls in bed-", "Oh shut up Elena", "it's true! Oh please Iris tell us everything when you come back!", "I heard he's hung like a lycan too", "Ew you look at their genitals?", "You need prayer," "You need a lay", "Shhhhh!"
The younger girls were eventually shushed and hurried off by the only two maids that had lived in the castle longer than Iris herself, both in their mid thirties, maybe forties. It was hard to tell, time felt differently here. Memories were forgotten easily and days never ended. Iris herself wasn't even sure how old she was, what year it was. Thinking about these things caused the worst headaches, it was best to forget.
A rough hand, from years of hard work, smoothed over Iris's threadbare blanket.
"We're going to miss you dear," Andrea and Maria stood over her with grim expressions, unlike the excitable young ones, they seemed to know this was a true farewell. Iris was probably never coming back. Iris gave them a weak smile but wasn't able to speak. She gave both of their hands a squeeze and hoped that was enough.
As she rested, the maids packed her things into a potato sack, switching out the woolen socks and tights they'd procured over the years from past maids and the incredibly rare tradings with the Duke who occasionally set up shop in a spare bedroom in the ground level of the Castle. Although the castle was kept warm at all times, according to those who'd been to bed with the Lord, he ran hot, and so did his factory. Her winter dresses were switched with thinner dresses from maid's long gone, they tried to not wear the clothes of the dead, as if they were now cursed with the misfortune the original owner had faced, but what Iris didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
The group continued to gossip in hushed tones whilst the topic of conversation slept off the stress and blood loss. Who would become their Lady's new favourite now? Who would step up to be head maid? Be the one to collect lost newbies? Descend into the cellar to feed the Moroaica when they were all too scared?
And, most importantly, how would the rest of them fare now that Iris's supposedly magic blood wasn't available for their Lady to drink whenever she was annoyed? There were about to be a lot more dead maids around. That was for sure.