She shot up from her bed as she woke up from the prophetic nightmare, causing her sight for a brief moment to black out. She jumped out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror, reaching out to her face and touched it, unable to believe that she was still alive. Tears came streaking down her face as she collapsed on her knees.

"Mommy… sniff Daddy… sob"

Annabella was terrified, having witnessed the deaths of the two of them and seeing their terrified faces only moments before. Her voice felt clogged, unable to put out even the slightest of sound. Confusion, fear and despair struck her as she couldn’t understand how she still was at home. Her head throbbed, giving her a splitting headache.

She wailed out in pain, but her family, the ones that she saw die so horribly, didn’t answer her call.

It was to be expected, she doesn’t see her family all that often, aside from early morning breakfast and dinner, the only companionship she had were the workers in the house; the gardeners, the housekeepers, the cooks, and most importantly, the maids, were the only ones she often interacted with.

Hearing her cry, one of the newer maid recruits rushed into the room to check up on her master, Annabella. 

“What’s wrong, miss?” the maid asked concernedly to the crying child in front of her, unable to understand how to react in this situation.

Another maid calmly walked into the room and crouched down nonchalantly next to Annabella, patting her head.

“shh shh, it’s okay, it was just a bad dream.”

“B-but mommy was-”

“The missus is doing well, don’t worry. Nothing bad happened.”

The short statured, red-haired maid was already well adjusted to the scene of Annabella having fits like this. She glanced over to the new recruit, giving a nod to her.

‘This is how you’re supposed to handle situations like these’ she was able to convey without uttering a word, as she was well known for being very practical when it came to her tasks.

Joining the other maid, the new recruit also confirmed what she said, she had seen her only a few minutes prior and seemed completely fine.

“The missus was readying herself for a tea party at marquess Declercque’s manor later in the afternoon.”

The maids helped Annabella stand up, but she was still wobbly on her feet, having lost any strength to muster at the sheer terror she could still feel from the dream moments prior. To her, it didn’t feel like a dream, as much as an intense memory. However, she could not recall, nor think of any reason why they would be executed.

The only thing she knew was that Ferdinand was someone she couldn’t trust. Even if she tried to deny it, both her heart and mind would never be able to feel otherwise.

 The maids dragged her towards the chair, and picked out a suitable outfit. A blue dress and green ribbon to match her long blonde hair and blue eyes, giving a refreshing spring feeling to her appearance, as the maids described it.

The two maids were her personal attendants for the week, but she only really knew one of them, making her feel all the more uneasy. She wiped her tears desperately so as to not stain the clothes her attendants moment prior carefully picked out for her.

“Are you…okay?” the new recruit asked, a brown haired young girl only a year or three older than Annabella herself. The red haired maid shot her a look of disappointment, though she was too concerned over Annabella to notice.

“She is fine, Anja. The young lady knows how to behave well, correct?” She asked Annabella, who still looked distraught. Annabella nodded in return, in the hopes of not making her servants worry over her anymore. 

Her parents always made it a point to look strong towards those that are below them, and have told her countless times to do the same. 

‘Sheep shall never follow mice,’ they would say ‘that’s why we must become hounds.’

“I-I am fine, yes!” Annabella shouted, trying to make herself look strong in the eyes of the handmaids, who were not impressed.

“Greta-”

“Anja, our master has just confirmed what I said, do you not trust her word?”

“I-I do, but…”

“The young miss does not need to hear more of your superstitions. If she has something to say, she will.”

Anna put on a brave face to try and wash away any doubt in Anja’s mind. After finishing up the last touches on her outfit, like tying the ribbon to the back of her dress, they walk towards the breakfast table, before suddenly being called out by another maid.

“The mistress called for the young lady, it would be wise to not make her wait.”

The maids beside Anna looked confused for a moment, not knowing why the head mistress, Maria Lizette, would call upon her daughter. She had never shown interest in her before, or at least no moments they could recall.

“As the mistress wishes. Come, Anna.” Greta said, nonchalantly using Anna’s name without concern.

What she didn’t expect was immediate reprimanding from the maid standing before her.

“Has she given you permission to speak to her in that tone? It would be wise to be careful with your behavior.”

“She has allowed me on multiple occasions to use her name, and has told me before to use it as I like.”

The maid shot a glance at Annabella, before giving a nod and going on her way. It confused her just how much one single permission could change their demeanor.

The three headed onward toward Maria’s room, all deep in thought. A tense atmosphere permeated as they all walked in silence.

Maria Lizette, she was well known for hating disturbances, and often had a foul demeanor towards those below her. Her being the duke’s wife meant that she has only ever been respectful to a handful of people in her lifetime.

Even Annabella was treated coldly, but not disrespectfully. As the duke’s daughter, it meant that her words carried some authority behind her, and must be considered carefully, even if completely nonsensical. The maids were hoping they could cover behind that authority, so as to not be targeted by the head mistress.

Standing in front of the door to what could be considered the entrance point of the most luxurious room in the manor, Greta carefully knocked on the door.

“Miss, we brought your daughter on behalf of your request, may we have permission to enter?”

After a moment of tense silence, the woman behind the door responded.

“You may leave, only my daughter is allowed entrance. Expect grave punishment if you disobey either of these orders.”

The maids gulped, and urged Anna inside, after which they quickly fled from the scene.

“Annabella, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”