A lonely girl. A handsome prince. A monster unleashed.
When Ella's father dies she moves to work as a maid at the faraway castle. There she meets a beguiling prince who is trouble. With his ice-blue eyes and chocolate hair, she finds him irresistibl...
"What do you think your job comprises? Eavesdropping? Because every time I'm looking for you, that's exactly what you're doing. Never dusting, or moping or—"
The screech of a woman in the other room interrupted them. Ella gasped, her hand darted toward the knob. Brunhild grabbed Ella's wrist.
"It's not our business."
After the wail, there was silence.
"Someone could be hurt." She loved this hallway. The wall's decoration was divided in two. The walls were red from the half-up, and black and white stripes adorned them from the half down. Now it seemed as if the red part was dripping into the stripes.
"Is that...?" Her voice quivered.
Brunhilda sneered and shook her head. "Let us go before the king sees you. Besides... I have something for you."
Ella followed her, ignoring the red liquid that oozed toward the floor.
In the kitchen was a handsome man that looked like a foreigner. He was occupying what she thought would as her permanent working station.
She glanced at Brunhilda. "Wasn't Katie the one who was supposed to cover for me?"
A girl frowned and flattened her lips. Brunhilda let out an almost imperceptible sigh. "We can't find Katie." She shook her head. "Personally, I think she deserted her post. It has happened before. Girls who can't handle genuine work." Brunhilda rolled her eyes. "Like Monique."
"How dare you?" Olga walked past Ella and stood in front of Brunhilda, her hands on her hips. "That's not what happened to Monique."
Ella ignored them both and approached the foreigner. On the table was a squared piece of perfectly cooked meat. Next to it laid a mountain of red puree with what seemed to look like cinnamon. Her finger had a life of its own when it landed on the puree and, with a swift movement, reached her lips.
Brunhilda blinked rapidly, and the foreigner gifted her a smile.
"It's sweet potato."
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"Where is your home?" Ella didn't mean it as an insult, but Brunhilda interceded.
"She used to be a spoiled little rich girl. She doesn't know how to interact with normal people." With that, she grabbed Ella by the arm and walked her to her chambers.
"That was unnecessary, Miss. I am perfectly capable—"
"Here." Brunhilda tossed a dress on the cot. "Think nothing of it. I just can't stand your smell for much longer. And you won't have your first bath until a fortnight."
The dress was almost identical to the one she'd been wearing since her arrival. Without the remnants of excrement and dirt. She embraced it and sniffed it, and even though the smell was that of sweat to her, it was the fragrance of roses.
