Rosaline // Alec Volturi

Chapter One

Chapter one

A shudder ran through me. A shaky breath escaped my lips as I stared at the elderly woman in front of me.

"Rosaline, it is your duty." The woman reminded, she was always quite stern. The toll of her work showed on each wrinkle that decorated her face. Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I slowly nodded my head.

"It will be okay," the woman, Annie, our head housekeeper, attempted to console me, a hand patting my shoulder.

"Yes, Miss." My voice came out shaky. It won't be okay, she's just signed my death sentence.

I could hear the whispers of the other girls, not so quietly taking bets on how long they think I'll last. Even as the new girl I had been warned about the cruel legacy of our masters, heard the gossip of what happens to the Lady's Maid of the most feared of them all; Jane. Apparently Hattie, the girl before me, had a habit of being quite heavy footed. All it took was stepping a bit too hard onto the floor for her head to be rolled off her shoulders.

Before this assignment I was a kitchen maid for another noble family, I spent most of my time baking complicated recipes and cleaning the cutlery. I had started off as a scullery maid but had managed to work my way up, what I would give to stay in the kitchens. Apparently those kinds of maids are not useful for this family, I am not sure what kind of household does not find a kitchen to be useful. There have been mutterings of the words 'monsters' and 'devils' but it is not my duty to ask questions, it is my duty to serve. And if that duty is to serve Jane Volturi, then I shall do my best. It seems like my life depends on it.

A gaggle of chambermaids stood by the door, they giggled to themselves as I walked towards them. "No bother to learn your name now," they laughed. I tried to remain calm, I tried to catch my breath and I tried to show no emotion on my face. It wasn't working well if their growing smiles were anything to go off.

"Girls, leave her alone!" Annie snapped, "make sure to get a good night's rest" she added on in a much more gentle tone. I nodded and kept my head down as I quietly made my way up to my new chambers.

The one positive to becoming a Lady's Maid is being able to move from the servants corridor. The servants quarters were all kept to the left side of the castle, we had a couple of rooms with as many beds that could fit on the ground floor, the rooms were separated by girls and boys. Just above was a small and not very updated kitchen, there wasn't an area dedicated to eating. We just ate as quickly as we could where we stood. The bathroom was next to the kitchen, there was one toilet and one bath that only produced cold water to share between all the castle servants. Throughout the floors were the servants' halls which allowed us to move as swiftly as we could across all the floors while avoiding being seen by the masters. All of the areas used only by the servants were all dimly lit and held a musty scent but it was the only place where we could speak above a whisper or hold a smile. Not that many people here did.

A Lady's Maid gets to sleep on the same floor as their Lady, our room is conjoined. Unseen by the Lady but close enough for us to come as soon as we are called. Being a Lady's Maid is normally a high honour, for most maid's starting at a scullery maid and ending up where I am now normally takes a lot longer. However, this place, this family, everything is different. Everything feels weird.

From what I've heard about Lady Jane she goes through maids very quickly, according to the gossiping chambermaids Hattie was her fourth this calendar year and it is currently only month eight. Of course you send the new girl to be the fifth, why send someone you're familiar with? It's not as much of a loss when you've only been here for less than a month.

My new room was cramped, there was a small bed nestled between the wall and a small chest of drawers. On the other side, behind where the door opened, was a toilet with a sink next to it, above was a dirty mirror. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips, it was compact but it was all mine. A room I didn't have to share with 5 other girls, my own bathroom I didn't have to share with over a dozen other people. It almost made it worth it. Until I glanced at the piece of paper that was on top of my thin pillow, it was Annie's handwriting detailing Lady Jane's schedule for tomorrow and the jobs I will need to complete.

I felt my heart stutter, I need to get my head clear so that I can do my work tomorrow and stay alive. Sleep struggled to come. But soon enough the morning came and I heard Lady Jane calling for me.