Sacrificial maid

  The next morning, Eve woke up early to start the day's work. There were a total of five servants in the mansion with the Head maid and the butler. Today, she was assigned to pull out the weed in the garden at the back of the house.

She was barefooted, walking between the ridges carefully, trying not to trample on the good plants before pulling the unwanted ones with her hands.

Some of the plants had thorns and she had to carefully tug at it but she was careless with her bare feet as she mistakenly stepped on a sharp twig on the ground.

She winced in pain, her face contorting at the burn she felt. The twig was still stuck in her right foot and she limped from the plants to the clear ground and sat on the floor.

She crossed her right leg over the other to check her right foot, she held the end of the twig outside and pulled it forcibly. "Arh," she winced.

Blood flowed from the wound and fell on the ground, she placed her thumb on it and pressed down hard.

"I have to wash it fast," she said, breathing heavily.

She stood up from the ground and limped towards the front of the mansion, the back door was closed and she could only get inside the house from the front door.

"Wait beside the carriage," Eve heard the sharp voice that sounded familiar and could never be mistaken. It was her sister, what was she doing here again, it was too early for her to be chased out of the Duke's house like they all believed would happen to the prideful Lady.

Eve watch her make her way into the mansion, her heels clinking on the ground, announcing her arrival even before she would be seen. She was wearing a red dress that cling to her body, outlining her body shape. Her black hair was combed back and cascaded down her shoulders, making the sharp features of her face visible.

She watched her sister disappear into a corridor before she turned to the left, limping her way to the servants quarters. Blood flowed freely from her foot, staining the marbled ground. She stopped in front of a small room that had a black curtain as its door. She pulled the curtain and stepped inside the bath, putting her legs in the cold water that flowed continuously to the drain.

She washed her hands and feet, adding pressure to the wound to stop the blood. She stepped out of the bath , making her way to her room to find an old piece of clothing tie around the wound.

"What happened to you?" Eve met the head maid who questioned her.

"I got injured in my foot when pulling out the weeds,"

"I've washed it clean," she added knowing that was the next thing she would ask.

She opened the door to her room and stepped in, "Have it tied quickly, Lady Madonna called for you in the guest room," Mrs Gwen said.

Lady Madonna? Her mother?

A slight tremor of panic run through her for a second, she didn't like being close to the woman, she always heightened the fear in her.

"I'll be there," she said to the head maid.

She quickly tore a little piece from an old cloth and tied it on her wound. Maybe, she wanted her to clean the room then she would leave her alone to finish her work. She wouldn't face her for long, Eve tried to convince herself as she walked to the room.

Eve stopped in front of a brown door, she could hear the voice that belonged to her mother talking to someone, obviously her sister. She knocked gently on the door and breathed out to calm her nerves.

"Come in."

Eve said a silent prayer as she opened the door and walked in, as she was expecting, her mother and sister were present in the room and her father?

She closed the door behind her, hearing the warning in her head, this wasn't going to end well, she knew and believed.

"You asked for me Lady Madonna," Eve said, bowing her head at them.

The vampiress took a sip from the glass cup in her hand, it contained a red liquid which Eve believed to be blood. She took another sip like she was trying to reassure herself from the bitter truth she was forced to accept. It was something that had disturbed her sleep and now that the girl was here, she was finding it difficult to say what it was.

Finally finding her voice, she looked up at her first daughter with her cold red eyes, "You would be getting married Eve, we've found you a match," she said, the words left a bitter taste in her mouth and she drank from her cup again.

The announcement caught Eve off guard and she turned to look at her father, but he wasn't sparing her a glance, like always. Grace, on the other hand, was glaring really hard at her.

They found a match for her? It almost sounded like they had her in mind and cared all this years but the young woman knew it was far from the truth but why were they giving her off in marriage?

Eve opened her mouth to speak but paused when her father looked up at her. His eyes locked hers in an intense gaze, the longest they had both shared even if it was only for two seconds before he looked away.

"Your opinion doesn't matter, it is only right appropriate since Grace is also married."

"You should be happy you were chosen as the bride for the King," Eve heard the angry tone of her sister's voice.

It was only appropriate to sell her off in name of marriage since her sister was already married, Eve thought but somehow that sounded distant in her head.

It was the words of her sister that rang repeatedly in her head, chosen as bride for the King?

"K-king?" the word fell out of her trembling lips.

Seeing the shocked expression on her face made Grace angrier, she was supposed to be in a higher position than Eve. She thought she was already there when her father was able to convince the Duke to get her married to his son.

But no, her socalled sister was going to be the bride of a King, how could she own such a title? The thoughts made the young Vampiress more infuriated.

"You don't deserve such Evelyn, you are only been pitied," she snapped at Eve.

"I guess, I got more pitied than you were," the retort fell from Eve's lips.

The words caused silence in the room and Grace stood up angrily and slapped her hard on her face. Her sharp nails tore into her skin, and left a stinging pain in her cheek.

"You seem to grow brave in seconds knowing you would be marrying a King," her mother said.

"You will only be a mistress to warm his bed, King Sebastian Oliveheart would doesn't desire a maid."

What ever they said next, Eve didn't recall as she walked out of the room.

Sebastian Oliveheart.

She had heard this name from the market, everyone knew who he was. The ruthless Vampire King who lead his armies in wars and she was going to be his sacrificial lamb.