The Castle
“It's a castle!” Arabelle said to herself out loud as she walked towards the lady in front of it.
She was expecting the mansion to look like a huge modern house. There are so many pictures of it all over the internet. She never expected that she would be walking towards a real castle. Maybe that's the reason why they hid it from the tall trees. She bet nobody knows that there’s a castle around this area. Not that she's complaining but if she will be cleaning the entire castle by herself, that's a different story. Well, now that she's here she can just ask the woman in front of her.
“Hello! You must be Arabelle.” the woman greeted her with a forced smile.
“Hi, just call me Ara.” she replied nervously smiling.
She can’t help but admire how beautiful the woman in front of her. As if she stepped out from one of the movies from the 50s. Her slender figure makes her black below the knee dress elegant. She's also wearing a set of expensive pearl jewelry that makes her look rich. Maybe she's the owner of the castle but why will she welcome herself? Arabelle has no idea but she can’t take her eyes off the pretty woman. As if she's mesmerized by her stunning appearance.
“Let's go inside so that we can talk.” the woman instructed and started walking towards the castle.
Arabelle didn't even have a chance to reply so she just followed her. She wonders if the castle doors are also automatic. It looks heavier than the gates from earlier. She felt disappointed when the woman just pushed it open. It's not automatic but what's more surprising is that the woman just used one hand to push the huge door. Maybe it's not that heavy as it looks and just dismiss the thought on how a slender woman can open it easily. It looks like a church door with solid wood with carvings.
“Wow!” Arabelle gasps as they both enter the castle.
She can’t believe she's seeing the extravagant ballroom as they entered. It has different sculptures on the sides and expensive paintings on the walls. She can tell that even the floors are worth a fortune. At the end of the ballroom, there's a grand staircase for the second floor. When she looks up, it seems that the ceiling is sky high. She can't even tell how many floors there are inside the castle. It's only a part of it that they are in right now and she's already feeling dizzy. She's used to living in a claustrophobic space and now she's inside a castle.
“Let's go to study.” the woman instructed and opened another huge door for them to enter.
Arabelle just follows her once again but still mesmerized by the chandelier hanging in the middle of the grand staircase. She can't even imagine that she will be able to see anything like this place let alone get inside of it. It feels like she's in Buckingham Palace. Although it seems that this castle is full of expensive stuff around. When they entered the study, she was greeted by hundreds of books if not thousands. The bookshelves are built into the walls and there are some antique lamps all over. There's a wooden table in the middle that looks like a century old.
“We can just sit here.” the woman interrupted her thoughts once again.
“Okay.” that's all she can say after noticing the huge couch set on the right side of the study.
“Can I have your resume?” the woman asks.
“Sure, one moment.” she immediately takes it out from her bag and hands it to her.
The woman seems to look disappointed as she unfolds her one page resume. Just like her previous applications, she can see that she's not even qualified as a maid. At least not in this huge castle. She never expected that she would walk into a very wealthy place anyway. All she can do is to brace herself to hear the same old response during her job application. They will just call her or that she's not qualified for the position. Sure she will be disappointed but not for herself but for her mom and sister. They have not heard any good news for a very long time now.
“Do you have any friends?” the woman suddenly asked.
“Not really. I've been busy dealing with life.” She honestly replied and realized that she didn’t even have any friends.
“Can you keep a secret?” the woman asked again.
“Yes, of course I can!” she said it with conviction even if she thinks it's already the interview questions.
“Good. Are you willing to live here to work? You will have your days off every Saturday.” the woman added.
“Sure, I'm willing to stay in if that's necessary.” she replied, getting more excited all of a sudden.
“Okay then. Your salary will be 100,000 per month and you will get paid every week before your day off. Just sign here and put your bank account details. Also, write down your blood type.” the woman instructed as she passed the job contract for her to sign.
Arabelle takes it from her hand and fumbles inside her bag for a pen. Finally, she has a job! Her mom and sister will be very happy when she tells them. Good thing she had memorized her bank account details. She writes it down first to make sure she will not forget. The woman in front of her seems to be strict when it comes to errors. She also writes down her blood type B+ which is odd why they need to know. Maybe it's for medical purposes in case she got into an accident. When she's about to sign the document when the woman stopped her.
“No, use this instead.” The woman handed her a quill which didn't have any ink.
Without a warning, the woman pulled her left hand and pricked her index finger. It made the blood form a small circle. The woman then dipped the quill on the blood on her finger and made her sign the contract. She felt weirded out by the woman's action. Arabelle didn’t realize that there's a pair of red eyes watching them and lurking from inside of the bookshelves.