Chapter 301: In the unknown
Edna finally emerged from the maids’ quarters. After the first two screams that reached her ears, the blonde had managed to sneak out of the bathroom, quietly walk along the walls until the maids’ rooms finally came into view.
Edna bundled herself with her blanket and shivered in bed, eyes wide open, darting from one spot onto another.
Laying with the knowledge that at any given moment, Katherine whom she was responsible for letting loose could barge in and suck her dry.
The irony of it would have been... Poetic but thankfully for her, it didn’t happen.
Instead, things went quiet before a grand racket arose. Edna wished nature had bestowed her with better senses in order to inquire on the situation, but alas her ears and eyes had to do with what they were given.
What stood out the most was the crying of a brat, one that wouldn’t die down and, on the contrary, kept on turning up.
Well, that was until the little demon went dead silent all of the sudden for a solid minute before resuming the wailing.
The blonde remained put ’til the first rays of the sun promised to peek from behind the hills, ensuring that the vampires had returned from the banquet and thus guaranteeing that Katherine had been taken care of.
Once again, Edna glided along the wall at the slowest of paces, drawing nearer towards the cries that seemed to move from one hallway to another.
There was a moment of hesitation on her part, realizing that the wailings were right behind the nearest corner to her.
She halted all movement upon noting the two figures that came around to stand before her. Lady Persephone stood tall, but something tainted her accustomed grace.
A quick flash ran across the vampiress’ eyes when studying Edna, one that disappeared as fast as it had appeared.
"My Lady," the maid curtsied immediately.
By then, the Lady had recovered her steady demeanor, "How did you get out?"
"Pardon me, my Lady?" mouth agape, the blonde looked between Persephone and the crying boy holding her hand.
"How did you get out of the trophy room?" the Lady reiterated, an eyebrow raised.
"I was not in the trophy room, my Lady," Edna made her voice as small as possible.
The wolf boy wouldn’t cease weeping, but Persephone seemed to pay it no mind.
"Where were you then?"
"I...," Edna tumbled over her words before finding the rightest ones to align in the moment, "I was not in a festive mood and so decided to go to sleep early. Is something the matter, my Lady?"
"Is that so?" Persephone did not look convinced, eyes darting towards Edna’s chest before climbing back to meet her ocean blue Irises.
"Yes, my Lady," the maid kept her hands low and rubbed them in a sheepish manner, "What happened?"
Without any dilly dallying, Persephone kept her gaze on the maid and declared, "Follow me for the time being and then after that I want you in my room first thing at nightfall. Fail to be there by the time I get up and there will be consequences,"
There was not a crumb of warmth in the Lady’s voice as her void-like eyes pierced the blonde.
Many chills ran down Edna’s. Her lips quivered, fumbling for something to say, but nothing was voiced.
Other than, "Yes, my Lady," their exchange came to an end right there.
That little brat kept on wiping the ever-flowing tears on his cheeks while trailing behind the Lady who held his hand.
Edna followed in their tracks, doing her best to remain as invisible as possible which was ironic too.
From the very beginning, her main goal was to be noticed by either the Lady or her son and yet there she was, working her hardest to shrink her presence.
The tone that Persephone had used clutched her heart and yanked it downwards without a hint of mercy.
They descended the underground stairs with the echoes of Remus’ cries bouncing against the walls.
The long, narrow hallways were cold to amble as the portal of the trophy room grew closer.
Persephone pierced one of her fingers from her free hand with her teeth before smearing the blood across the portrait which opened wide.
Their ears were hit with a wave of mingled noises that escaped the room at once. The cries of some of the maids, the frenzied chatter from some while others attempted to console the least steady of them.
Things quieted down immediately after that.
"Oh! my Lady!" a group of maids rushed forward with tears in their eyes.
"Worry not, everyone," Persephone immediately announced upon gauging the terror in all of their eyes, "The situation has been handled. You may all come out as it is safe now,"
Ada who held a hand to her clearly injured neck, and with the help of Astrid trudged forward, "Arabella locked us here for our safety, but she did not come back," her eyes flickered towards the crying boy, "Is she safe as well?"
Persephone gave her no response and instead, took a deep breath before turning around and leaving her in place.
Ada’s devastating frown twisted into a harsher one upon noting Edna’s presence, "Where have you been?" she practically barked.
"Asleep!" without understanding why, the blonde had answered a little too hastily, "Not that I owe you any explanation!" she spat.
"You owe explanations and apologies to most of us here!"
"Ada, please," Astrid who’d regained her composure interfered, "I understand you are upset, but there was literally nothing Edna could have done to change the outcome of things tonight,"
Ada’s glare did not soften one bit. To her, it seemed as though Edna knew more than she let on. That was the blonde’s conclusion, at least.
Edna tried not to dwell on the matter or at least acted like it and turned to leave as well.
The threat established by the Lady still resonated in her mind and it was scarier than any reckoning no maid could have given her.
Ada or anyone else’s state of mind was the least of her concerns.