A SEALED FATE: Emeralds and Blood (BTS)

The Beginning

REVISED AS OF 6/30/2021

"This is where you'll be staying." The blonde-girl - you didn't bother asking for her name - said in a monotonous voice. You were standing in a medium-sized, dusty room, your new home. The small beds were lined up neatly around the room, with a long row also running down the center.

The maid gestured to a bed close-by, where a neatly folded navy blue and white uniform sat. "Change into your uniform immediately, and then come to the supply room." She said, before turning. "Sanria will be waiting for you. Don't be too long, or you'll anger her." She finished, before exiting the room.

You stared at the small doorway which was now empty, before sighing. You sat your ragged bag down on the edge of your new bed, staring at your uniform for a moment. In your home village, blue dye was hard to find. You weren't used to seeing colored clothes that weren't in shades of browns, greens, and muted yellows. You felt a tiny bit excited over the prospect of getting to wear such a color, even if it was only because you were now a servant.

You slipped off your poorly stitched dress, hurrying to replace the garment with your newer, better quality one. The new dress was made of a poor-persons fabric and was quite itchy, which you noted when you pulled it over your head. But the quality was already loads better than the rags that you had been wearing just seconds before, therefore you couldn't bring yourself to complain too much.

You picked up your white apron next, almost amazed at how pristine the fabric was. Your village was extremely poor. No one in your village had probably ever seen such clean fabric, seeing as all clothing and blankets were handed down from generation to generation. They were worn until the threads became so thin that they were irreparable, unable to hold a patch.

You tied the apron around your waist before you approached the dusty mirror propped against the wall. Aside from your messy hair and the obvious dirt brushed across your cheeks, you looked somewhat decent. If you could find a brush and a rag to wipe your face, then perhaps you could pull off the facade of being a respectable, clean young woman.

You turned back towards your bag and began to dig around for your broken comb, sighing in frustration when you failed to locate it. Another girl's got to have one here. You thought to yourself, throwing a glance over your shoulder to ensure that you were truly alone.

When you were greeted by silence still, you began to creep around the room. The third bed you checked, which was three down from yours, had a large ornate looking comb. After a moments consideration, you decided against using it.

It looked fragile, and you wondered if it was either a family heirloom that the maid was no doubt clinging to, or if it was simply a decoration piece that she liked to keep around.

It struck you as odd that not every single maid had a hairbrush to use, considering they were working for the royal family. Then again, you didn't have one either...you wondered what your wages would be like.

If none of the other girls bothered to purchase new combs and brushes for themselves, then did they even make a half-decent wage? Or were they simply never allowed out of the castle? You found yourself questioning whether you truly wanted to remain at the castle as doubts began to flood your mind.

You mentally shoved your concerns away however, when images of last winter in your home village shot through your mind. You had watched children starve and then rot outside due to the lack of food available. You had seen husbands murder their wives for something to eat, or for the spare cloth that they could sell.

Your home village was brutal, and you knew that a not-so-great wage was better than being killed by your neighbors for an extra rat on their dinner table. You would need to deal with whatever the castle threw at you if you wanted to get through the winter.