A Deadly Discovery

Day four and Mia was beginning to feel anxious. Atlier had left early in the morning to attend to business, even skipping breakfast. The staff was too polite for Mia's comfort. For example, that morning at breakfast she'd offered for them all to eat with her. Tina was the only one of the servants to accept, everyone else rejected the idea stating things like, "My lady that would be most inappropriate," and, "We cannot share a meal with you my lady, that would be wrong."

Plus, now that she was here for four days, she really began to think about her situation. This was real. It wasn't some fantasy movie, she was really here in a world without her grandfather, without her friends, without internet, movies and her favorite foods. Her favorite pair of pajamas and the plush bear she would sleep with every night were probably only ever going to be in her memory now. She'd worked so hard her whole life to get into a good college so she could provide for herself and pay her grandfather back for everything he'd done for her.

All of those fun parties she was invited to as a teen? Couldn't go, she had to study! What about hanging out with her friends after school? No way, there was homework to be done! Or how about those fun things that teens usually do like sneak out at night or stay out past curfew? Absolutely not, FORBIDDEN! She couldn't put her in the position where something bad might be put on her record. What would the dean at her dream school say?

What did any of that matter now? Here she was in a world where the degree she was pursuing, all of the knowledge she had, was probably useless here. It wasn't like it was something she was passionate about, but the money was good and it was relatively in an area she had some interest in. Now everything was for nothing.

Was Atlier even a good person? Was the estate she was in even safe place to be? She would have to just study. That was how she lived her life before, so that's how she'll live it now. That's right, Tina told her that there was paper in the study, she could make a notebook with that!

It was already late, Tina and Mia had spent the day together although it was mostly Mia asking Tina about life as a maid and Tina going on tangents of all the things she'd like to do if she could be someone else instead. While the conversation wasn't anything super exciting, Mia definitely appreciated the viewpoint of a maid. She had only seen it in films, and never knew anyone who had done such work in real life. Now that she thought about it, her and Tina were a lot alike. Both were dedicating their lives to something they didn't really want, sacrificing so much just for some security. What a cruel world.

"I'll make this life my own this time." Mia thought as she carefully tip toed toward the study. She made fewer mistakes getting there this time, she was beginning to learn her way around now. Although Mia didn't remember the exact directions Tina had given her of where the paper was, she did remember that it was somewhere in the desk. She sauntered over and opened a drawer. It was nothing but an array of odd items. Not that the items were odd on their own, but the manner of which they were all placed in the drawer was odd.

The items were very neatly placed too and they included; a silver bracelet, a small bottle with orange liquid inside, a lightbulb and a gold coin. Mia tried to make sense of it for a moment before shaking her head and closing the drawer. She tried to open another but it was jammed. Okay, so not that one either probably. She tried another, and there she found….ah yes, paper! She pulled out the stack and began flipping through to see how much was there and what would be an appropriate amount for her to take. That's when her heart dropped.

The papers were not blank. They had writing on them. A list of names. A list of schedules. A list of hang out spots…..and a detailed list of dead bodies. "No, not this again!" She dropped the stack, the pages flying everywhere. The urge to vomit hit her like a ton of bricks and she covered her mouth as she gagged. "Mia, run!" she told herself as she gulped down the feeling of nausea flowing through her.

As quietly as she could, she exited the room, not bothering to take the time to clean up the papers. Each wrong turn she made only heightened her anxiety, causing her to break out into a cold sweat and begin hyperventilating.

Finally, she reached the door to the outside. She threw the door open and ran as fast as she could and as far as her feet could carry her. When her body gave up, she found herself in the middle of a small forested area. She fell to her knees, her thighs and calves felt like they were on fire and her feet stung from the elements. Tears welled up in her eyes and she let loose into a bawling mess.

Was this hell? Was she living in a world disguised as something else only to have it repeat the cycle of her death? What did she do to deserve winding up in hell? She bent over, her forehead touching the soft dirt, her tears watering the soil beneath her. "Why? Why are you doing this to me? God, why? Why are you sending me to these sick killers?!"

Atlier left his room that morning and headed to the study. He had a few things to go over from his previous meetings which he hoped to have finished before breakfast. The door was open slightly which he found odd, the servants never left it open. Oh, that's right, Mia lives here now. He put his hand over his eyes and chuckled, "She's probably not used to it."

Entering the room sent him into a state of shock and panic. His papers scattered the room, the drawer was left open and the table was slightly moved to the left. He furrowed his eyebrows as he ran over and checked the documents laying on the floor. Nothing was missing. His eyes darted around as he picked them up, making sure there was no one hiding in the shadows. After he finished organizing them, he put them away in their spot and marched over to the servants quarters.

"It seems we were broken into last night. Did anyone see anything suspicious?"

None of the staff had seen anything. Nor did anyone hear anything in the night. Just then, Tina ran in, her face pale and tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mia! Mia is gone! I went to wake her up and she's gone! Her nightgown is still laid out and her bed is unslept in!"

Atlier's heart jumped in his throat and he ran to Mia's room without skipping a beat. He checked her bed, it was just as Tina had said. She'd definitely not slept there. The servants had all followed him, whispering amongst themselves. "Did no one see her? There was nothing odd?"

One of the maid's sneered, "It was odd how Tina was acting like the boss around here when Lady Mia was around." Another maid nudged her with her elbow as Atlier turned to face Tina. "What is the meaning of this?" Tina shook her head violently, "No! No! Lady Mia had just asked me to accompany her for meals!"

The other maid piped up again, "I've heard you call her Mia when you two were together and you even called her Mia when you ran to inform us just now."

Tina stared at her in shock, a look of hurt and bewilderment flashing across her face. "It's not like that! Lady Mia asked me to call her Mia when it was just us because Lady Mia made her uncomfortable!"

Atlier nodded, Mia also asked him to just call her Mia. "I believe you. Tell me, did she say ANYTHING at all? Anything suspicious? Anything odd?" His mind was racing. Perhaps she was a spy after all.

"No. Nothing suspicious or odd. Oh! She wanted paper! She said she wanted paper and insisted on getting it herself. I didn't think that was unusual, but maybe it is?"

"Did she say what she wanted the paper for?" The look in Atlier's eyes was extremely intimidating and Tina could tell he meant business.

"Umm, she wanted it for….I think….notes. I don't remember what for exactly, I'm so sorry your grace! Please forgive me!" Tina got on her knees and bowed her head to the ground, rubbing her hands together as she pleaded.

"Get up, I don't have time for this. Who saw her last?"

The servants all looked at each other and murmured. Tina lifted her head up, "I saw her last at about 9:30pm last night. I escorted her to her room."

Just then another servant ran inside, "Your grace! It appears we have been robbed! The door was left wide open! I found a piece of cloth snagged on the bush near the end of the courtyard. Perhaps it is a clue."

Tina jumped up and quickly grabbed the cloth, examining it carefully. "Your grace! This matches the color of the dress Mia-I mean…my lady, was wearing yesterday!"