"Mama! Mama!" As I heard my mother's voice calling me, immediately I ran towards our house with a big catfish on my hand that I wanted to show to my mother which I caught in the river beside our home.
I saw my mother coming out from our house and stared at the catfish on my hand.
"Where did you get this fish from?" She asked.
"I caught it in the river mother," I responded with a grin.
"That is very lovely my dear, but the fish is so big and how did you manage to catch it all by yourself." My mother said.
"Mother I was eager to help that is why I was able to do it all by myself without anyone's help, though it was easy doing so," I pouted.
"Oh my baby, you did so well and am very proud of you," my mother said as she crouched down to my level and gave me a hug. She immediately understood the reason I took the risk because I wanted to help.
"You like acting as if you are better than me," my brother said.
"Stop speaking to your sister in that tone Ethan", mother warned. Ethan made a silly face to me as he ran away.
We never had a good relationship as siblings, I always tried but it didn't work. He hated me from birth because he always said that to me. To make matters worse, my father told him to avoid me and what kind of father would tell such a thing to his son.
"Don't take what your brother has said seriously, he is just playing with you." Mother said as she stood up from where she was sitting but that didn't convince me.
"My dear," mother called me and I raised my head to answer her.
"Let's go to the kitchen and make breakfast," she said as she went back to the house.
Immediately I heard a bell rang and I thought I was still in the dream land. The ringing of the bell woke me up but I'm still not yet ready to get up. I was having such a good and sound sleep but didn't have a choice other than get myself up and ready.
I was happy that I didn't have a nightmare, I only dreamt about my lovely mother, I wiped out the tears that ran down my face. I missed my mother so badly.
I stood up and stepped to the door and opened it. Ma'am Anna and three other maids were the ones ringing the bell while four guards stood behind them in the middle of the hallway.
Me and two other slave had already came out and stood besides our doors but the others I guess we're still inside sleeping or maybe they just didn't want to come out. Who would want to get up after sleeping on the cold floor for weeks?
Ma'am Anna order the guards to go inside and wake those slaves up. Two of them were brought out without any issues, besides the doors didn't have any padlock or bolt so there was no way one could lock it. The woman that called me a slave was not seen maybe she is probably sleeping.
The guard was trying to open her peacefully but the door refused to open.
"What is going on there?" Ma'am Anna asked.
"It looks like she blocked the door with the wardrobe", the guard said.
"Break it down and she shall be dealt with accordingly," Ma'am Anna instructed the guards as they forcefully broke the door open, entered the room and dragged her outside as she screamed.
"Get your filthy hands off me, do you people know who I am?" She yelled at them while trying to free herself from them.
"I said get your hands off me you idiots!" She shouted and one of the guards holding her free his hand, and gave her a resounding slap and she felt unconscious.
After she was resuscitated, the first thing she did was to glare at the guard that slapped her and she was made to stand on her feet. Then, ma'am Anna walked close to her and stood in front of her.
"You need to learn how to behave here, that's if you really want to survive and have a peaceful life." Ma'am Anna advised but the lady spat on her and the maids gasped.
"What is there to expect from a slave!" The lady asked angrily.
"Are you out of your mind? How dare you spit on ma'am Anna!" One of the maids yelled at her and walked close to her but Ma'am Anna stopped her.
"Is no use getting angry or even punishing her," ma'am Anna said as she bought out a hand towel and wiped the spit off her face. Ma'am Anna is really a kind hearted woman, that is why she isn't going to punish a disrespectful woman.
"But….,"
"She will be going in there without any training," she cut her off.
The maid smiled because she already understood the unspoken words.
"But where exactly?" I asked myself.
"Take her to the entrance, I will be there with you shortly." Ma'am Anna told the guards who dragged the protesting woman along with them.
"The rest of you should freshen up and get dressed, there is a pink dress in your wardrobe if you would have noticed by now," ma'am Anna said.
I didn't even bother looking into the wardrobe, I just went to sleep because I was so exhausted.
"We don't have all day so don't waste much time getting dressed and there's a lot to do. Ma'am said as we all hurried into the bathroom and our rooms.
When I got to my room, I opened the wardrobe and saw the maid's uniforms. All of the clothes were very different from the one ma'am Anna and other maids are wearing. Have the maids been ranked?
I brought out the pink dress from the wardrobe that has a touch of white in the chest area, although it looks very beautiful and I can't remember the last time I wore such clothes.
I managed to wear it after much difficulty because I didn't know how to put it on.
I stepped out of the room straight to the small entrance of the house where they were waiting for us.
The maids with ma'am Anna examined us very well in order to make sure we were not with a weapon and one lady had a bottle tucked into her dress and ma'am Anna ordered to take her away. But why would she think of doing such a thing?
"Mercy, please have mercy," she pleaded as she was being dragged away by the guards roughly.
We were taken to the kitchen group where other female maids were busy preparing breakfast and I was salivating to the enticing aroma.
I felt like having a bite, my stomach growled at the sight of food and suddenly I became very hungry but we couldn't eat because they were still busy showing us around the castle.
Ma'am Anna and the other maids around the castle as well as the restricted areas we shouldn't dare to enter. This was the only place maids were allowed, the rest of the castle is either you are going there to clean or serve the Alpha. But I wonder how can a slave serve the Alpha?
"Let me warn you people now to stay out of trouble, now you all noticed that you outfits are very different from other maids that means you are nowhere been qualified to be a maid, you all still hold your title of slavery." Ma'am Anna explained.
So that is the reason why our outfit was different from others because they wanted to differentiate us from normal castle maids. We can't even maid uniform because we were not the castle subjects. We were just slaves.
"Talia will be your guide and instructor and also she has the right to punish and guide you people as well. I promise you, if you behave you will enjoy your stay here but if you have any bad thing in mind, you will regret the day you were born." Ma'am Anna threatened, she left afterwards leaving us in the care of maids that were with her.
"Am Talia by name, nice to meet all of you," she said smiling but none of us replied to her.
"Let's all go and eat," Talia said, still smiling, her smiles didn't leave her face even though we didn't respond to her.
We followed her to the eating area where they served us food and we sat together on the table. Other maids were busy looking at us with disgust and I couldn't help it but felt uncomfortable by their stares. They look so beautiful and superior and we are looking like low life people.
"It seems you are babysitting this time Talia?" a girl walked up to where we were eating and asked Talia.
"Please Bella be nice…. this is…"
"Don't dare to introduce me to these filthy people that I won't be seeing in a week," Bella cut her off.
"I have told you to be nice to them," Talia glared at her and she scoffed.
"It doesn't make sense, you are wasting your time with these people, their fate has already been decided". Talia said.
"Bella, it is time you leave from here and stop scaring innocent people." She said while referring to Bella. And Bella rolled her eyes as walked away shaking her hips. Something in me tells me that she is in this castle to pursue man. Her whole body screamed close and she looked like someone that loves flirting.
"But what does she mean by fate has already been decided?" Are they going to kill us?
"Don't mind her, she is a busy body," Talia said to us. But it didn't stop my curiosity, and I am sure others are also having some questions running through their mind but we can't speak up.
"Of course she is," one of us responded. At the table while we were still eating, Talia suggested we introduce ourselves.
"Am Rose and I am twenty-six years old," the lady sitting next to me said.
But she looks younger than her age and her smile was so bright, not minding our condition. She smiles so beautifully and never bothers about the circumstances she finds herself.
"My name is Lucy" the lady sitting by my left introduced herself. Although she didn't look like someone that talks much and she was busy looking at the food and picking it one after the other as if it was the most interesting thing she has ever set her eyes on.
"I am Grace, thirty-five by age and I guess I am older than you all," she said smiling brightly.
Wow she is really that old!
"I am the eldest among you all so I demand respect from all of you", the last lady replied and Grace rolled her eyes.
But she looks very young.
"Then what is your age?" Grace asked her.
The lady giggled.
"Okay, my apologies as she laughs between, and waiting for her to finish laughing.
My name is Tina, and I'm nineteen years old. My pleasure to meet you all," she replied and she looks like someone that will be troublesome.
"But why did you lie to us in the first place Tina? Rose asked.
"We all need to laugh to ease and relieve stress," she explained.
They all faced me waiting for my own introduction and I stared at them in confusion.
"Oh I remember, you can't speak right?" Talia asked and I nodded my head.
"Then why can't you write down your name?" But I still shook my head.
In the remote village I came from, there wasn't anything like education there.
"You can't write as well?" Talia asked and I nodded again.
I was never opportuned to learn how to read and write and the remote village I grew up never had anyone training or impacting knowledge to them.
But the years I spent in my village were the most precious moments of my life, not until the awful fate befall on me. A fate that I always prayed to be taken away from me.
"We will definitely find a way to communicate with you, but now that we don't know your name, what do we call you?" Talia asked.
I can't even think of anything to tell them. I didn't even wish to try telling them my name because the name my parents gave me was the thing I hated most in my life.
"There is no need for that because she can't speak," Lucy said with annoyance.
I really don't wish to associate myself with her because she always acts as if she is the one in this condition.
"You don't need to speak to her like that," Tina replied as she turned towards my direction.
"I only told the truth, so don't attack me." Lucy responded in defense.
"Enough of that, do you want us to choose a name for you?" Talia asked and I nodded. "That's alright, I am very sure we will find a way to communicate with you", she added.
"Is no use being nice to us Talia, cause your friend Bella has already told us that we are not going to stay too long here so why all these pretence," Lucy scoffed and Talia's smile vanished and her face was really terrifying.
Immediately, I suddenly became anxious as to why Bella uttered such a comment.