Chapter Text
Along the coast near a far away town, the only sound was the laughing crows echoing out to sea. Their wings spreading as they fleet into the sky as if they were freedom itself, not restrained by a single thing. There were no clouds in the sky, only the sun glaring down on a manor above a cliff.
Today, marked the beginning. The beginning of the end.
Ao held up the cloth to the mirror. The soap spilling onto her hand as she swiped away the dust. No one had been in this room for so long, and it seemed like no one would for some time. She began to clean its frame, dipping the cloth into the water once over. As tedious as it was, she knew it could be worse. At least here, alone, no one would know if she made a mistake.
She started to clean the other side, moving her hand as so to see her reflection. Her blue hair, braided into two placed onto her shoulders. Staring into her own eyes in the reflection she sighed and paused for a moment. She looked at the mirror, one side was clean and glowing golden like the first day it had existed. The other darkened by time, left alone to dirty.
The sponge was dipped into the soapy water once more and she started to clean the other side.
At that moment, there was a loud and yet distant sound. A knock at the door downstairs, someone was arriving. She slipped the cloth onto the side of the bucket so that it wouldn’t wet the antique mirror. Ao walked towards the exit before leaving the almost clean room. The mirror the only imperfection and amongst the spotless.
Across the hallway walked Aka, another maid, closing a heavy door behind her. They both exchanged a glance and a smile before walking down the same set of stairs. Aka's red hair surrounded her neck but never seemed to make contact with it. Unlike Ao , whose braids seemed to stick to her shoulders as if glued into place.
“Have you been feeling ... different ... since you’ve been here ?” Aka asked, tipping her head forwards slightly while looking away. Ao took a pause for a moment, looking down the stairs searching in her head for the words to say.
“What do you mean ?” Unsure of what to say, Ao let out the words as naturally as she could.
To be honest, there had been times where she hadn’t felt right. After breaking a plate she would feel weak, paralyzed after eating that day. It was the anxiety and fear of being punished, wasn’t it ? She couldn’t even clench her fists and she’d seen it happen to the other maids too. They’d start dropping plates too and tripping over. They always looked so scared. Maybe it was just one of those things, the anxiety from the manor exerting its pressure. Surely, this was what Aka meant now that she was really thinking about it.
Aka began to speak, “Don’t you feel-"
She was interrupted by the man at the bottom of the stairs staring into her eyes impatiently. He was waiting for her, to notice, almost to make her stop talking.
“Aka, could you take our guest to her room ?” the man says while maintaining the look in his eyes. “Ah, Ao, the master has asked to talk to you in his study, would you go meet him there ?” He adds.
Ao nods as she takes the last step off of the stairs and heads towards the master's study. As she does, she turns to see crimson eyes fixated on her. They were Aka's. Only now under the light of the chandelier has she realized how colourful they are. Only now has she realized how much they shine. And although it was just a moment, Ao wished to relive it over and over.