Bess nodded her head, surprised to see Tauriel acting this assertively. Tauriel gripped Bess’s hand and dragged her into a nearby room, shutting the door behind them. The air inside was thick with tension, the dim candlelight casting long shadows on the walls.
"Sit," Tauriel instructed, gesturing towards the bed. Bess complied without protest, though curiosity flickered in her eyes.
Tauriel sat beside her, their eyes locking. Her voice was laced with concern as she asked, "Have you visited the town lately?"
Bess tilted her head, puzzled by the sudden question. "No, why?"
Tauriel let out a wry chuckle, twirling a few strands of her hair between her fingers. "People have changed there. Just like ’her.’"
Bess imdiately knew who Tauriel was referring to. She sighed in relief, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Was that all? You had worried for a mont. But if they’ve changed like she has, isn’t that a good thing? She’s beco an excellent worker—she even helped a lot this morning."
A dreamy look crossed Bess’s face, as if relishing the idea of her fellow maid finally becoming productive.
Tauriel groaned in frustration, rubbing her temples. "You don’t understand. It’s not that they’ve just beco ’great workers.’ They feel... hollow. They look human, but they don’t seem human."
Bess’s smile faded slightly, her expression shifting to one of uncertainty.
Tauriel continued, her voice dropping into a whisper. "They work tirelessly. As if they wouldn’t care even if the world collapsed around them. Nothing could deter them from doing what they were doing, I even saw one of them getting slapped, even then the person didn’t do anything to retaliate."
A short, sweet chuckle interrupted the tense silence. Tauriel turned, horrified to see Bess stifling her laughter behind her hand. A chill ran down her spine.
"What’s so funny?" Tauriel demanded, her voice sharp with disbelief.
Bess tilted her head, as if the answer was obvious. "Don’t you get it? This is perfect. Now they’ll work for the town’s betternt without distractions. What else could you ask for?"
She clasped her hands together in prayer, her face radiant with bliss. "It’s a boon from a god. We should be grateful."
Tauriel could barely keep herself from slapping the girl right then and there. Her stomach churned at the sheer ignorance in Bess’s words.
’Each one of these maids is a specin. A bad one at that.’
Her last shred of faith in Bess’s sanity crumbled in that mont. Without another word, she stord out of the room, leaving the girl praying with a blissful expression plastered on her face.
Tauriel was exhausted—both physically and ntally. ’I need to uncover the truth myself.’
Determined, she made her way back to her chamber. She needed rest. If sothing serious happened, she had to be in peak condition.
The mont she stepped into her room, she shut the door, threw off her shoes, and collapsed onto her bed, wrapping herself tightly in her blankets. The exhaustion seeped into her bones, and within monts, she drifted into a deep slumber.
...
Elsewhere, in the dead of night, when shadows stretched long and darkness was at its peak, the well-endowed maid moved silently through the corridors. Her footsteps were eerily precise, each one asured and deliberate.
She arrived at a chamber, pressing her fingers against the door, pushing it open with a slow, creaking sound.
Inside, the shy maid lay beneath her blankets, her face serene, lost in dreams. Only her head peeked out, a small, contented smile on her lips.
The well-endowed maid’s ever-present smile never faltered as she approached. She moved with unnerving grace, her eyes fixed on the sleeping girl.
A mont later, the shy maid stirred, her eyelids fluttering open. The first thing she saw was that chilling, unwavering smile. A shudder ran through her entire body.
She gasped, her throat tightening. Sothing about the smile was wrong—deeply wrong. It was too perfect, too still.
The well-endowed maid reached out, trailing her fingers gently down the shy maid’s cheek.
The shy one hesitated but eventually leaned into the touch, comforted by the familiarity.
Darkness pooled into the room, creeping into every crevice, swallowing the candlelight. The temperature dropped.
The well-endowed maid whispered, her voice like silk laced with venom. "Tell , dear sister... who is your Lord?"
The shy maid blinked, taken aback. "I... I an... L-Lord Varek?" she stamred.
A flicker of displeasure passed through the well-endowed maid’s eyes. She exhaled through her nose, almost in disappointnt. "Tsk."
She continued stroking the girl’s hair, her fingers tightening ever so slightly. Then, she leaned in, her breath ghosting over the shy maid’s ear.
"Don’t worry, sister. You’ll have a better master soon."
The shy maid stiffened. Sothing felt terribly, terribly wrong.
She noticed the well-endowed maid’s gaze shift—no, not at her, but behind her.
A terrible chill coiled around her spine. Every instinct scread at her to not turn around.
But before she could react, before she could retreat beneath the safety of her blankets, the well-endowed maid gripped her face with cold, iron fingers.
"No hiding," she murmured sweetly.
The shy maid squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look.
A sigh of irritation escaped the well-endowed maid’s lips. Her nails suddenly elongated, sharp as daggers. Without hesitation, she plunged them into the girl’s cheeks, carving deep, crimson lines.
A muffled, agonized whimper escaped the shy maid as hot blood trickled onto the sheets.
Yet, she still did not open her eyes.
The well-endowed maid’s patience snapped. She tore her nails free, crimson trailing in the air, and began raking them across the girl’s body.
Deep, gaping wounds blossod across her pale skin, seeping dark, sticky blood. The flesh beneath her fingers pulsed and twisted as if sothing sickly festered within.
The shy maid convulsed, her lips bitten raw in a futile attempt to silence her cries. The pain was unimaginable.
Her mind teetered on the edge of oblivion, yet her tornt had only begun.
The well-endowed maid leaned in close, her smile widening.
"Soon, sister," she crooned. "You will belong to Him."
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