The baron's brigde

The rain thickened quickly, but that wouldn't stop Rowena from taking Mavka to the baron's palace, so the lady guided the horse towards the small house indicated by the young woman. When she reached the house, Rowena leaned her horse against a tree and watched as Mavka descended, running in the rain towards the door and disappearing inside as soon as she managed to open the simple wooden door.

"No wonder she's so desperate... She doesn't seem to have anything, poor thing," whispered the lady, her eyes fixed on the door, waiting for her new employee to leave.

Inside the house, Mavka grabbed her most important belongings, a few clothes, two necklaces that her mother had left her as an inheritance and a cloak that her father had worn at other times.

Mavka put on the garment and organized the belongings she was going to take underneath it, then she pulled up the hood and left the house, locking the door, sighing heavily and looking at the small house where she grew up.

"I'll manage, Dad... I'll take care of myself as long as you're looking after me," she thought, feeling the icy wind make her bones shiver.

Then, quickly, she ran towards the horse, climbing onto it without saying a word, holding onto Rowena's waist, who soon took off.

The horse's hurried trot was the two women's only companion along the way, along with the thunder and lightning that cut through the sky. When they finally left the village, which by then was deserted because of the rain, Mavka breathed a sigh of relief: at least she would be away from the vultures who were watching her every moment to gossip about the fate she would choose.

Without her father, this place was not her home.

The journey was silent, the sky darkened at an impressive speed in the face of the fierce storm and, when they entered the forest path that would lead to the castle, all that illuminated the road were the great bolts of lightning that stood out among the black clouds.

The further Rowena went along the path, the more Mavka felt a sense of dread take hold of her heart. She was no fool, having grown up in Leesburg, and she was well aware of the grotesque rumors that circulated about the Baron's castle and the fate of the girls who ventured into the woods towards it. They never returned.

"But I have nowhere to return to, so what have I got to lose?" the thought made her shoulders relax slightly before a loud clap of thunder made her cringe against Rowena's back, who laughed discreetly at the girl's fear.

She exuded fear, but that was nothing new. Rowena had been through this process a thousand times before, Mavka was no different from the others. Like the others, she was a girl with a life of suffering who was looking for a better way, and this was indeed a good way.

When they finally reached the steep climb that led to the top of a snow-covered hill, where the baron's castle stood, the lady turned her face slightly and looked at the girl, sighing slightly and speaking loudly enough for her to hear even over the strong wind and thunder.

"Hold on tight, it's a steep climb!" Rowena's words came a little muffled to her companion's ears, but she felt the girl take a firmer hold of her waist and, when she did, the governess touched the horse more quickly.

The black steed stood out among the snow as it blended into the darkness of the night, so all that could be seen of it was the black blur when the light of the rays illuminated everything.

Mavka was panting, it really was a difficult road and, as the horse ran, she swore she saw bright eyes watching them and even believed she heard wolves howling in the distance, but it was all just in her mind, especially when they finally stopped in front of the large gates, which soon opened.

The blonde gasped as her eyes fixed on the beautiful building in front of her, but it wasn't the only thing that enchanted her. Before the palace, in fact, there was a beautiful, perfectly tended garden that withstood the winter surprisingly well. The flowers were so vivid that Mavka could have sworn it was always spring there if it hadn't been for the snow covering the grass, on the walls and intertwined through the bars of the gates, beautiful roses of an unparalleled bright red filled her vision and the scent of the flowers was unmistakable. To the left, just beyond a path of flowers, there was a living labyrinth that was partially covered in snow, next to which was an open area that led to the back of the property. On the other side was a beautiful fountain that she couldn't see properly because of the poor lighting, but she could have sworn it was a statue.

"Isit a statue of him?" she asked herself, squinting to try to see better, but to no avail.

Near the statue, there were more flowers, pink tulips, daisies, all sprouting in the midst of the healthy snow as if they were sprouting in the middle of spring in the richest soil of all. There was also a large tree at the far end of the garden, Mavka wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw a swing hanging from one of the large branches.

Rowena stopped the horse at the door and after Mavka got off, she did too, handing the animal over to a coachman who appeared silently and left soon after, without even looking at either of them.

"Let's go in before you catch cold, miss," said the housekeeper, gently holding Mavka's arm. "I'll show you to your room, so you can change and then have some soup with me, then I'll explain more about the job, shall I?

"Yes, ma'am," replied the young woman, following her towards the large door, which opened as soon as the two approached.

On the other side of the door, a young woman wearing a simple black dress with her brown hair tied up in a delicate bun was waiting with her hands resting on the skirt of her dress. Mavka pulled down the hood of her cloak, revealing her face and staring at the other girl shyly, paying attention to her features.

The young woman had a thin, slightly pointed nose, her eyes were brown and her expression was serious. Mavka could swear that the girl was looking at her with disgust, but she couldn't say, after all, she didn't want to misjudge any of the locals.

"Mrs. Rowena..." said the girl, bowing her head in respect to the housekeeper, who placed her hand lightly on her head in an affectionate gesture.

"Hello, Selina," the governess said, taking her hand and gently pulling Mavka forward. "This is Mavka, she'll be your new colleague, I hope you can get along well."

Rowena had expected this since the girls had always had a good relationship, but she knew that Paduá's death would shake the others' confidence and that inserting a new girl into that context could be difficult.

"It's a pleasure," Mavka smiled, tilting her body slightly downwards as she looked at the other girl attentively.

Selina looked the newcomer up and down, her sharp eyes scanning Mavka from head to toe in seconds and, shortly afterwards, she smiled, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"It's a pleasure, miss, I hope you enjoy the palace and living with us," she said, tilting her body down slightly and returning to her original position seconds later, turning her eyes to Rowena.

"Finish your business and let the others know I'm back, I'll show Mavka her rooms," she said, turning and heading down a long corridor, taking Mavka with her.

As she walked, the blonde looked back, meeting Selina's gaze, a look that chilled her to the bone and made her think that perhaps she wasn't welcome in that place, at least not by the girl she had just met.

Rowena guided the newcomer through the corridors, heading for the west side of the great castle, where the common library and the servants' wing were located. There were several rooms for all kinds of activities, music, dance and art, some of which had their doors open and attracted Mavka's curious gaze, but she didn't dare deviate from the clear path trodden by the lady who had hired her.

A few minutes' walk and two flights of stairs later, the two women stopped in front of a heavy old wooden door in a corridor with five other doors just like it. Rowena turned the handle and pushed it, opening the door and giving a view into a large room. It was certainly much larger than Mavka's old room in her small house and much more elegant too.

It had a four-poster bed with fine silk sheets, a large closet, armchairs next to a large bookcase that had remained empty for the moment, and a small reading table. There were also large windows covered by dark curtains that blocked out the light from the outside, and a lighted chandelier, like all the others she had seen along the way.

At the opposite end of the room was a small door and Rowena walked over to it, opening it to reveal a large bathtub filled with hot water and exuding a delicious scent of roses.

"You're wet and the weather outside is terrible, take a bath, your uniform is in the closet, I have to go, but one of the girls will be waiting for you in the hallway in ten minutes," said the woman, looking at Mavka and giving her a kind smile. "Welcome, I know it will be good for you to be with us, I'll assign your tasks tomorrow. "

Having said that, Rowena left the room, closing the door and leaving Mavka alone.

The blonde looked around once more and soon left her things in a corner of the room, taking off her cloak and dress, as well as the garments underneath, to get into the bathtub straight away, feeling the hot water relax her body.

She was nervous, but happy to have a roof over her head and a job, to know that she wouldn't have to see Silas or tolerate his freedoms ever again. Anything that came from that castle would be tolerable, she would endure it happily, after all, nothing would be worse than Silas Mavka was sure of that.

For a moment she lost track of time and, before she knew it, she didn't even know how much time had passed, but the water in the bath was almost cold. The blonde got up and dried her body hurriedly, opening the cupboard and taking out her uniform, a beautiful burgundy dress without too many petticoats, with an apron as white as the snow itself, then dressed quickly.

Then, looking into a large mirror on one of the walls, she put her hair up in a bun similar to the one she had seen Seline wearing, thinking it was the pattern, put on her shoes and ran out, locking the room with the key on the doorknob, keeping it in her pocket.

Mavka walked briskly down the corridor, looking at the paintings on the walls which, although beautiful, had a sombre feel, like the whole palace. The chandeliers bathed everything in their yellowish light and, when her eyes turned forward, she saw, standing in the middle of the corridor, a beautiful young woman. She had black skin, light eyes and her hair, which was perfectly straightened in a bun, was dark.

She had an elegant posture, wore the same black dress as the others and looked melancholy as she stared at one of the paintings, but as soon as she noticed Mavka approaching, her gaze turned cold and the melancholy disappeared, making the blonde shrug, remembering Seline.

"Hello, I...", Mavka began, with a gentle smile, only to be interrupted a moment later.

"Spare me your fallacies, we're not friends," the girl's voice was sharp and ferocious, her gaze aggressive and her posture haughty. "Come with me and don't waste my time. "

After that, she turned and, without any options, Mavka followed her, walking hurriedly to try to keep up with the girl, who remained silent.

The two walked together towards a flight of stairs and climbed long steps, reaching a new corridor where there was only one door. The girl opened it, exposing a room crammed with ancient artifacts perfectly organized on shelves. Next to the door was a broom and a bucket full of soap and water.

Mavka was ready to ask her companion where she should start when a flannel was thrown in her face, causing her to take two surprised steps backwards.

"Clean everything, from the glass to every crease in the woodwork, Rowena will be here to inspect," said the brunette, with a look of contempt. "I hope you're as incompetent as you look so I don't have to see your face again. Know that we don't like newcomers, you're not welcome among us and you won't be replacing Padua!"

The words were spoken with unparalleled bitterness and Mavka was left without reaction, watching the other walk away and disappear from her field of vision.

Still anaesthetized by the attack which, for her, had no reason, the blonde picked up the cloth, set off for the glass windows and began her work. "Maybe it's not as easy as I thought, but it doesn't matter... I'm staying here!"