FIVE-Who Sent You?

                                         ❧

  “At this rate, we’ll get downstairs when the party is over.” I sigh in defeat, glancing at my half-styled hair in the mirror. 

  The two maids behind me exchange a glance and one begins to bite her nails. 

  “Sorry, we’ll try to hurry up. You’d definitely love your hair and the delay would be worth it.” The first maid squeaks. 

  Her hands are trembling so much and the comb falls. Again. 

  “I don’t know if I want this hairstyle anymore. You guys have been at it for hours.” 

  My mouth opens in a wide yawn, and I shift in my seat, trying to find a more comfortable spot for my stiff buttocks. 

  “Please ma’am, just a few more minutes. We really want you to look good.” The maid pleads. 

  “If you can’t remember how the hairstyle’s supposed to be done, It’s okay.” I stifle another yawn. 

  “I’ll just go downstairs like this.” 

  “NOOO.” The maid shouts. 

  She seems to realize her mistake and instantly clamps a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with fear. 

  I sigh again, this hair style is beginning to put us all under pressure. 

  It’s the third time the maids are starting over with my hair. 

  I can hear loud music playing downstairs, the party seems to be in full swing. 

  If I didn’t know better, I’d say these maids were intentionally trying to delay me. 

  “I just hope you’re done before guests begin to leave.” My eyes stray to the clock on my vanity. 

  We’re now two and half hours late. 

  “There’s really no need to rush ma’am, after all, the party wouldn’t start without you. You’re the lady of the house.” The second maid tries to laugh, but it comes out high pitched and wrong. 

  That’s the moment I realize. 

  Something weird is going on here. 

  I turn around in my seat, swatting her hand out of my hair. 

  “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?” My voice is harsh, paranoia getting the best of me. 

  All the maids are new, any of them could be spies. My thoughts begin to race. 

  Do they plan to keep me here until someone comes to kill me? 

  With the loud music downstairs, nobody would hear me scream. 

  “Who sent you?” I jump to my feet and both of them scramble backwards. 

  “Tell me right now. Are you trying to keep me here?”

  They begin to stutter. 

  “Yes ma’am. N…no, no ma. I mean…” 

  “Who sent you?” My voice rises in anger and I step forward. 

  I tower over both of them, surveying them without blinking as they tremble before me. 

  One of them bursts into tears and the other one tries to explain. 

  “Please, don’t h…hu…hurt us. Please we were only fo…following instr…stru…structions.” 

  I try to calm my breathing despite my growing anger and dread. If I want answers, I need one of them to be calm. 

  I snatch a bottle of water from my desk and hand it to the trembling maid. “I’m not going to touch you. Tell me who sent you and who’s coming to kill me.”

  “Kill you?” The girl’s brows dip in confusion. 

  Her words sound clearer now that she’s calm. 

  “I don’t know about anybody killing you. I swear, we were only asked to take our time in getting you prepared.”

  “For what? Who told you to do this?” My heart skips a beat and I clench my fist to hide my fear. 

  “We were told to keep you here for three hours or we’ll lose our jobs. We didn’t have a choice.” The maid looks down at her feet. 

  “Okay. So who sent you?” My voice snaps out impatiently. 

  “Madame Victoria.” The maid clenches the bottle in her hand and wipes snot from her nose. 

  Her answer takes me by surprise. Madame Victoria is the head maid, and despite her loyalty to Sebastain, the woman actually likes me. 

  I begin to pace, ignoring the maids huddled in the corner. This is no assassination attempt, I’ve tested the woman’s loyalty several times. 

  Why would Madame Victoria scare these girls into keeping me here?

  I freeze in the middle of my room as the answer clicks into place. 

  Nobody is coming upstairs to kill me. 

  These maids were not keeping me here to harm me. 

  Instead, it’s the other way round. 

  The maids see the realization in my eyes as I turn towards the door. 

  One jumps to her feet and puts a hand out to stop me. “Please ma’am don’t do this. Just wait for a few more minutes and it’d be over.” 

  I stride towards my door, angry by this level of manipulation. “If either of you gets in my way, you’ll know why house Delacruz is feared by the whole of NewYork city.” 

  She quickly moves back and trips over the other maid in her fear to get away from me. 

  I open my door in anger and rush outside. 

  Whatever is happening downstairs would hate to see me coming.