The Weeping Maid

The chatter in the room instantly stood at a standstill.

Everyone's eyes were locked on to the confrontation happening between the poor maid and young man, currently sitting there with soiled trousers.

"Is this how the maids of House Annesley conduct themselves, Miss Freya?" The young man sneered.

Freya, who was speaking to Alexander earlier on, now sported a flushed face. Olivia didn't know whether it was out of embarrassment or rage, if she had to guess, she thought it was more likely to be the latter.

"Of course this isn't the normal standard of our household. My deepest apologies for what has happened, we will surely compensate you and give you a clean set of clothes. This incompetent maid will also get her due punishment, be assured," Once she had finished, Freya gave a cold, hard glare at the maid.

The maid, however, didn't even notice her master's look as she currently had her head facing the floor while her body trembled like a leaf.

Olivia could see the woman's face turn increasingly pale as the seconds passed by, especially when she heard Freya mention the word 'punishment'.

The young man finally changed his expression to a satisfied smile, whereas the maid's legs started to tremble.

"Young Mistress, p-please forgive this lowly maid! I beg of you, please be merciful!"

One of the other guests that were watching the whole debacle at the side, upon hearing the maid's plea quickly rebuked, "How insolent!"

As one had already spoken, the others quickly followed after, voicing out their own insults.

"Shameless!"

"How audacious."

"She needs to be punished for her rude behaviour."

Low mutterings could be heard from all sides, aimed solely at trampling on the maid.

Alexander and Eli sat next to each other, both not having said a word, while Olivia stood behind with pursed lips.

Although she didn't like watching such a thing, she didn't attempt to voice out her thoughts either. Ever since that time when she attempted to escape from Glenn and Miran, she had already seen how fickle and small minded humans were first hand. Despite not wanting to, she still held a deep rooted grudge causing her to become indifferent towards the plights of others. When she begged for help, where were they?

"How dare you beg for mercy?" Freya bellowed at the maid.

The young man, still standing there with soiled trousers, suddenly ordered, "Punish her. Right here,"

The guests seemed as if they had just gotten front row tickets to a good show, their eyes were glimmering while trying their hardest to maintain their decorum.

"Bring Father's cane," Freya ordered a nearby servant.

The middle-aged maid crumpled on to the floor upon hearing her words. She kept shaking her head silently, tears running down her face.

Soon, the cane was delivered to Freya.

She walked over to the maid, grabbing her chin with a tight grip, "It seems we did not teach you properly."

She then gave the maid two slaps, one on each side, before ordering her to stand up off the floor in order to conduct the punishment.

The maid did not dare delay as she shakily stood up off the ground, clutching her bright red cheeks with both hands.

As Freya started with her whippings, the whimpers of the maid broke out, filling the silence in the room. The guests continued to eat their refreshments and drinks as if nothing of importance was occurring.

Olivia shifted her focus to one of the walls, not wanting to watch the show.

Alexander noticed her action from the corner of his eye and slightly turned his head to look at her, "Sad?"

Olivia looked down and replied with a snort, "Why would I be?"

She then shifted her eyes to Eli to see that, he too, seemed to mirror everyone else's expression. Indifferent.

Bored with the whole debacle, Alexander rested his head upon his hand, "I didn't think I was invited to a clown show."

Being the only vampire in the room, his words held more importance than others.

Freya eventually stopped with her torture, her chest heaving due to her vigorous actions.

The poor maid had somehow managed to hang on to her consciousness, as she was dragged out of the room by two other servants.

Freya's brother, Clement, ushered everyone into the dining room with an elegant smile, befitting of his status as the young master of the household.

Olivia followed behind Alexander as they all shuffled to sit at the table. She, however, was in quite the predicament. Although she was hungry, Olivia did not dare to just sit at the table with the rest of them but she didn't know whether to join the other servants either. She stood there perplexed as to what to do next.

"You, go and join the other servants in the kitchen," Freya curtly spoke, looking at Olivia.

Just as Olivia left the dining room to go and find the kitchen, Eli grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"I thought I should show you the way since I was going to the bathroom myself," Eli reasoned with his usual gentle smile.

Olivia did not see anything wrong with this, and thanked him with a bright smile.

As they slowly walked along the hallway in silence, Eli spoke first, "Do not be afraid of what happened earlier. Some nobles do not have the best of tempers."

"Hmm," Olivia did not bother to say whether she was truly afraid or not, in any case, did it matter?

"How is your time at the De Vere household?" Eli curiously questioned.

"I am living well."

"I was just… worried. The De Vere household is known for not having any human servants so I was fretting over your well-being. My apologies for over stepping," Looking at Eli walking by her side, Olivia could see that he looked to be genuinely concerned about her so she gave him a bright smile.

"Thank you for your concern. I am doing just fine," She sincerely reassured him. To her, it felt nice that there was at least one person wishing for her well-being.

Eli was momentarily dazzled by the bright, soft smile on Olivia's face. His thoughts suddenly shifted to the first day he had met her along with Alexander.

She looked dishevelled, her clothes in tatters and her body riddled with dirt. Comparing her earlier appearance to what was in front of him now, was like heaven and hell. Now, she looked clean and fresh. Her hair was in a neat bun, its chestnut colour shining under the lights. She was only a few years younger than him yet she looked mature as she walked by his side. Her red lips glistened, while her cheeks were touched with a hint of pink showcasing her youth.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he quickly realised that they had arrived at the servants quarters. He cleared his throat and turned to face her, "The rest of the servants are gathered here. Just ask them if you need anything," Without waiting for her reply, he briskly walked off, worried that his thoughts would delve into something deeper.

Olivia did not mind his abruptness. She looked around the room, her eyes were looking for the maid that was punished earlier but of course she wasn't present.

On the way back, Olivia sat in silence as she looked out into the darkness.

"You seem to be awfully close with Eli," Alexander was surprisingly the first one to speak.

Olivia turned away from the window and faced him, "I wouldn't say we are close. Perhaps… more comfortable with one another?"

"You should be more vigilant."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you friends?"

"Today's friend could always turn into tomorrow's foe."

"Are you like that with all your friends?"

Alexander didn't reply, resting his head against his chair and slowly closing his eyes.

Days had passed since the dinner party. The bureau seemed to be getting increasingly busier as time went by.

"This is the second incident," Edgar frustratingly ran his hand through his hair.

At the moment, in front of Olivia was a grim sight to bear. Hanging on the branches of a certain tree were a family of four. Not only were they just hanging by their necks, but they were also drenched in their own blood. The worst thing was that the culprit didn't even leave the youngest member of said family, only a young child at the age of 6 or 7.

Although the bureau was a place full of nobles with few being commoners, they still couldn't bear to see such a scene, many turning their heads away from the sight. Olivia felt slightly queasy but nonetheless, did not turn away. Her experience from captivity made sure that she had witnessed far worse, allowing her to be unaffected at such a scene.

"First it was that maniac Tobias and now it's another. We're up to our necks from complaints. The Order are also making more and more public speeches, continuing to rile the people up," Edgar sighed tiredly. Olivia could see that the man seemed to be overworked. His skin looked dry while the colour under his eyes were dark.

"The Order have started making public speeches?" Alexander questioned. His eyes continuing to examine the bodies swaying from the branches.

"They mostly advocate about their disapproval of vampires, sometimes adding witches into the mix. But mostly about… vampires," Edgar looked at Alexander with a troubled gaze.

It was true that recently, more and more people were expressing their dissatisfaction with vampire's. More so, ever since The Order had cropped up in the last 8 years, it seemed as if a fire had been lit under the people.

"Hmm. And what of the Seat of Elders?"

Edgar was shocked as his eyes flitted over to Olivia. Although he was only a member in name and held no power there all thanks to his status in the bureau, he still felt it was too daring to speak about the Seat of Elders in public, especially with a commoner present.

Seeing that Alexander did not mind about such matters, he hesitatingly replied, "They have not given any word."

"It seems I need to have a word with Julian," Alexander gave a small curl of his lips, walking back to his carriage.

Olivia was at the moment, very confused about the situation, but nevertheless hurried behind him.