Memoirs of the Mad Maids: Entry 3 – Azzura Velena

Entry 3 – Azzura Velena

Everyone one including the master is still sleeping. I force myself every night to get up to see if everything is in order for when they wake up. All the traps appear to be correct and that’s the most important part. The cleaning doesn’t matter as much since the girls are usually good at doing it. Hm. I wonder who’s crawling around the small tunnels at this time of night. Going up to it, I find Bianca scurrying away.

“Ms. Bianca!”

“Y-yes, Ms. Azzura?”

“What are you doing up this early? A young lady such as yourself should be resting especially with all the moving around you do.”

“I’m just doing some extra work before the other girls get up. My job is important to everyone here, so I want to do as much as I can for them. What are you doing up early?”

“Ms. Bianca, since you’re such a thoughtful girl, I’ll let you go for doing this, but don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Okay! Thank you, Ms. Azzura!”

There she goes as fast as the wind. Bianca is incredibly important to my plan or should I say the plan of the maids. They don’t know that I know about it and they don’t know that I haven’t given up on escape. What the other mistresses failed to realize is that a mistress doesn’t need to completely give their will to the master. I can move and think freely as long as I do my basic duties as a mistress, in fact, I’m freer now than I was before. I don’t know the plans of the boys, but they appear to be up to something if I look in the right areas. As a mistress, I have the abilities of most of the other maids that allows me to be as stealthy as Nera in the shadows and as quick on my feet as Gialla. This allows me to avoid the sight of the master when I need to do my true duties for my fellow sisters.

Oh! It’s time for breakfast. I quickly run to ring the bell to wake everyone up then go down to the dining hall and wait for everyone. The chefs and servants set the table with plates of fresh meat, vegetables, sweets, and other delicacies put on everyone’s plate. This food may seem like it reduces your control over yourself, but that is only a feeling however strong it may be.

“Good morning, Ms. Azzura. Are you ready for another lovely day?”

“I am, Ms. Nera. Are you planning anything special today?”

“Nothing right now, but maybe something will come to mind later.”

“Just like every other day?”

“I guess.”

Vera tilts her head and her smile extends. She’s been moving up the ranks quickly by pranking the other girls and dealing with the guests for the past month. From what I can tell, the girls are intentionally get hit by her traps to boost her up. The girls really like her, so they must be betting on her to replace me. She’s also been convincing a good number of guests to work for us. Convincing a guest to work for us makes you go further up in rank than catching one. What’s weird is that she seems to convince even the rebellious guests to work for us. I’m assuming that she tells them their fate if they refuse to work and they join out of fear.

Even though I can’t freely tell them I’m not their enemy, I’ve been trying to show it while doing my work. The only person that probably notices is Bianca and I’m not sure if she said anything to them yet, but I hope they at least let me try my plan. After breakfast, I go around to check to see if the maids are doing their duties then head to my office to catch the end of a conversation between my two guards.

“And that’s what’s going to-Ms. Azzura! I trust everything is in order?”

“Yes, it is. Is something the matter?”

“No, we’re just making small talk.”

“If something is the matter, you know I’ll do my best to help you.”

“It’s just that we think a girl might be talking to a butler. We’re not too sure about it though, but we have caught glimpses of them together only for them to disappear.”

Ah, I know of this. I’ve let the two be against the rules of the master because they’ve been keeping it secret enough for no one to notice, not even the master.

“Who do you think this girl is?”

“We think it’s Ms. Rosso.”

“I’ll go and confront her about it. She wouldn’t lie to me.”

“Of course, Ms. Azzura. Thank you.”

I exit my office and head to where Rosso is. They guessed right, so I’m going to have to get the girl to stop seeing the man or at least try to be more careful when she tries. When I find Rosso, she’s not in her designated zone. She’s probably going to see the butler, so I catch her around a corner.

“Ms. Rosso.”

“Ah! Ms. Azzura! What are you doing here?”

“I can ask you the same thing. I’ve heard that you’ve been seeing a butler.”

“I-uh. Yes, I have. But all my duties are done! All of the flames in the castles on our side are burning bright and won’t go out any time soon.”

“I’m glad you’re done your duties, but you know the rules. You mustn’t bother the men on their side especially this early in the day.”

“Well, I’m sure he’s done by now too. We both have duties that don’t take very long to do. Besides, weren’t you in a relationship with a man in the castle before too? Whatever happened to that?”

“It’s not important. Now run off and don’t make me hear about you running off again.”

“Y-yes, Ms. Azzura.”

I hope she knows what I’m saying. I’d rather not think about that past relationship especially with how it ended. My husband and I came across this castle while looking for a place to set up our business. This place looked so strange to me at first because it looked like a castle in a foreign country. When I asked the other girls about it, it turned out that the other girls here were from other countries too. My husband and I planned on raising a family here, but…no. I said wouldn’t think about it. For the next couple of hours, I keep myself busy. That is until the guest bell rings.

Everybody gathers near the entrance and greets the guests that come in. It’s a traveling band of merchants. This could be trouble since they have weapons with them.

“Hello, travelers, I am the mistress of this castle. You may call me Ms. Azzura. We’ve anticipated your arrival and set a feast for your weary bodies. Come join us for lunch.”

A man steps forward for the group and says, “I don’t know if we will. All of you seem a bit off with your fancy outfits and creepy masks.”

“Do not be afraid. This is just the uniform we wear in this castle. Don’t be shy. You are guests in our home, and we are here to serve.”

“If you say so. I guess there’s no harm in staying in a very welcoming place.”

“Thank you for indulging us. We’ll escort you to the dining room and place your belongings in a safe place.”

“Okay, but we’re keeping our swords.”

“Why’s that? You have no reason to be afraid of us.”

“It’s part of our uniform.”

“I understand then. You may keep them.”

These people could definitely be trouble. Once they sit down at the table to eat, they begin to relax as they talk to the butlers and maids who make small talk before moving to convince them to work for us.

A woman that is sitting next to me says, “I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this place before.”

“That’s because everyone who does stays to work here.”

“I can see why. This is the life of luxury that would entice anyone who just takes one look at it. What does your master pay you?”

“Shelter, food, dresses, masks, and so much more.”

“I bet.”

“Are you considering a job as a maid here?”

“I don’t think so. It’s not the job for me.”

“Oh come now. It’s a job that you can easily pick up with the right training and the pay is amazing. Why wouldn’t you want to become a maid?”

“Like I said, it’s not for me. The job I enjoy working is being part of my group here traveling around the world selling and buying.”

“I see. Maybe if you see how things work around here, then you’ll be convinced.”

After lunch is done, the maids and butlers take the guests around the castle. I go to the front entrance to see the guards taking care of the things that the guests came in with. The horses, carriages, and their merchandise is taking into the castle walls to be used to feed it. I still hate that thing in the castle. The things and the…no. I’m not going to think about it. I just wish I could break it myself. Huh? I hear the alarm going off. Even though I expected this to happen, I’m not worried. The maids and butlers have abilities that far surpass a normal human

As I walk the halls of the castle, I hear the echoes of struggling and screaming. These are sweet sounds to the master and soothe his rotten soul. Even though we’re supposed to either recruit or trap guests, we’re allowed to take care of them in other ways as long as the maids and butlers don’t leave a mess.

“You monsters! You killed my entire family! I don’t care if I die as long as I die killing you!”

I have to see what’s happening there. When I go to the source of the noise, I see Vera fighting off multiple people. Oh no. Someone is going to stab her from behind! I quickly move to push the person out of the way only to be stabbed by another person near him.

“Ms. Azzura!”

The rest of the maids now arrive and trap the rest of the people. Vera and the rest of the maids crowd around me and help me up.

“Ms. Azzura! Are you okay?”

“Yes, though I won’t be able to do my duties as well as I normally do for a little while.”

“Don’t you worry about that, Ms. Azzura! We’ll all step up our duties to make you proud.”

As the girls are reinforcing what Vera said, I whisper in Vera’s ear, “I hope your plan works out, Vera.”

I can tell she’s shocked to hear what I said behind her mask.

“It will, Azzura.”

“Thank you.”

For the next few days, I’ll have to be ranked as an injured mistress. This means that someone will have to take my place for now. That someone will probably be Vera and with the determination I heard in her voice, I have hope that she will do the right thing while I heal.