HELVISA'S POV

"Oh come on, Helvisa. Be a good girl and smile for us." Armina literally forced my mouth to smile.

"Armina." I warned her. But even though I did, she never cared and just continued to be her bubbly self. It was probably because of that promise we made when we first came to Earth many years ago.

"There's a lot of people coming this way as well." Reina expressed her thoughts.

"At times like these, I wish we could just fly using Armina's magic." Eris sighed from exhaustion.

"You two need to be strong for this. Of course, there are a lot of people. Working for a royalty is like a dream come true."

They all turned to me. "It's an honour to be by your side, my lady."

If looks could kill, they all would be dead by now. Why was it so hard for them to be less polite towards me? It was not like we were in the underworld anymore. I had no rank, and yet, they still insisted I was their lady.

As we were getting nearer to the royal castle of Gavreau, my eyes wandered around me. I'd never seen so many young women gathered around in one place. Some of them even looked like they came from outside of this island. French women had the best features in beauty, and that was another reason why we stuck around for many years.

"THE ENTRANCE WILL BE OPEN FOR ALL IN TEN MINUTES." A man, I assumed their guard, announced.

“I’m curious about their castle interior. Will it be dark and depressed like the ones we used to live in?

I chuckled. I doubt it. These are humans we're talking about. They never like dark and depressed things.

We were just standing around when my sensitive sense of smell kicked in. My eyes wandered and searched for the reason for this dreadful smell I found to hate all my undead life. I lost count of how many I killed in the process. It was then my eyes landed on a beauty standing on the stage shooting daggers in my direction. "Hunter." I breathed out. Would she be foolish enough to start a war here, or would she let me go?

She smirked and looked away. So she decided to ignore me? Why was a hunter working behind these walls?

"We're in deep trouble if she decided to attack us here." Armina whispered in my ear.

When I turned in her direction, she pointed at Eris. Reina was trying to control her by shoving her head into her breasts.

Everyone around them was wondering why such a disgusting manner was being performed in front of the royal castle.

"Give her something to calm her down."

Armina nodded.

I focused my attention on our surroundings once more. I was surprised when I saw the very same hunter standing in front of me, smirking. "Never dream of seeing you again, Helvisa Balzac."

She knew my name?! How was that possible?!

"Likewise."

"Don't tell me you forgot about me."

I hated to admit it, but I had no idea who she was.

She seemed to be looking at my waist. “Oh. No weapon? That's weird for a demon." Could she say that any louder?

"If you don't mind, miss, I would like to be left alone. My friends and I didn't plan to be greeted by such a human."

The hunter chuckled. "I am the commander for this royal army. I don't see why I can’t greet the people who will be working under me."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. To a creature who was great before, working under our enemy was one humiliating scene to even imagine. But we needed this job. We had to pay the rent and other stuff. "I don't mind working under you. As long as we get paid. But, can you please leave us alone? My comrade is about to burst now."

The hunter turned to Eris who was now growling humanely impossible.

"I really don't want any massacre to happen. She hasn’t mated in so long as well. To see all these women right now, her beast has waken up,. And yes, I meant you." I looked down at her cleavage and licked my lips.

"Let me guess. You haven't mated as well?" She took a step forward. "You can try. But I can assure you. Your charm won't work on me. Not anymore." The hunter showed me her wedding ring and left us alone for the time being.

Seriously, did she think that ring would stop me from taking her to bed?

"Ummmm... Helvisa.. it's not working." Armina half yelled.

I extracted my nails long enough to penetrate Eris’s stomach to make her feel a little pain. I used Reina's body to cover my doings. Eris whimpered into Reina's chest. "She's going to be a little weak. But sex will help. Have your fun after this."

Reina nodded while she wrapped Eris’s’s arm around her.

"Is it really okay for them?" Armina questioned my decision.

"Would you rather she have sex with a human that will carried her child? Do you want to be a midwife again?"

Armina shook her head.

"Since your potion only prevents you and Reina from having her or my kid, it's safe. For a mere human to carry a seed from Eris’s’s bloodline, only death would be the answer of that atrocity. Well, unless she wants to be turned to her own kind."

"EVERYONE WHO WISHES TO BE THE ROYAL FAMILY’S PRIVATE CHAMBERLAIN, PLEASE PROCEED."

The Gavreau castle gates were opened for the public, and everyone came rushing in. Why were they being so pushy all of the sudden? The guards were having some trouble controlling their guests for today. I couldn’t blame them, this was probably the first time these guests entered such ... A lavish lawn.

"Wow." Was all I said while walking inside.

As my feet stepped on the royal ground pavement, I felt a slight pain that quickly sent a weird vibe through my body. I turned to my friends who probably felt the same thing. I looked up to the hunter who smirked.

"She placed some type of charm." Armina whispered in my ear.

She bowed and extended her arms, inviting us in.

"Seems like they prepared some weird precautions. What kind of royal hires a hunter as their commander?" Reina voiced out as she struggled to carried Eris.

"A smart one. The king and Queen are being cautious about every possible enemy." I admired their smartness. This family seemed different than the others. I wondered what would be in store for us.

***

This must be the ballroom. It was huge. I never thought that they were really going to let the subjects be inside the royal castle.

"Not bad. For a human."

I turned to where Armina was looking at, and she was right. Not bad for a human. That must be the queen. I was expecting she’d be wearing those long, flowing train dresses rather than a simple boho chic dress. And where was her crown? Those two kids who she was holding must be her kids. Like their mother, they were both handsome and beautiful. But where's the king?

"Ahhhh!" A woman screamed not far from us.

When I turned, I saw a guy wearing a royal crown harassing the other woman.

"Oh yes! Young and free!" He screamed. WAS that ... THE KING?! The queen seemed to be in a very tight position. ”OH YES!" I didn’t even see him. When did he come to my side. I was appalled when he suddenly grabbed my left breast and squeezed it hard. "So firm... I want you..." he turned to Armina and the others. "OH YESS! FANCY LOOKING WOMEN!" He turned to the queen. "GISELE, I WANT THEM!" His hand never left my breast. I wanted to chop off his hand, but that would bring more chaos. “I have something special for you." He winked. He did have the looks, but his attitude was wow.

"I'm sorry, your highness. I am not fond of men. I'm gay." I said with my stoic expression. Besides, you’d be shocked to see me without my clothes nevertheless.

"Oh.. really? Too bad. Never mind that.." he leaned in. "I'll be having so much fun seeing you rape my wife instead." He winked.

How despicable could he be? He didn’t care about his wife's well-being huh? I shook my head.

"Follow me." The hunter from before pulled the king away from me.

I did as told and followed her to another room in the castle.

"I'm sorry for what he did. That's the King for you. He always gets his hands on the maids or the guards as long as it's a she."

I scoffed.

"That's sexual harassment." Armina voiced out.

"Not to mention it hurts the queen every time he does that. I saw how she would looked away." Reina added.

The hunter chuckled. "What does a monster know about love? You kill innocent people for fun."

That stung a little.

"As you may know, hunter. We know about love way deeper than you mere humans."

Armina grabbed a hold of my wrist.

"Once we find the one, there’s no way our heart will change for someone else. Even when death comes upon us, the love will be as strong as steel." I ended my rant.

The hunter chuckled lowly.

"As far as I know, you probably killed someone's mate when you hunt for creatures like us." Armina added.

"I apologise for my rudeness. Now, this will be your new uniform." She showed me the most atrocious clothing I’d ever seen.

"What the hell is that?" I asked rather rudely.

"This is the official chamberlain uniform in this castle." She shoved it to me. I looked at the black dress and white pinafore with ruffles around the shoulders. "This is the cap. “ She handed me a white frilly cap.

"There's no way I'll be wearing this."

The hunter smiled. "You have no choice. There are rules to follow, and your first rule is to wear this maid outfit. Understand?"

I grabbed the cap forcefully and stomped my feet to a screen to change. I couldn’t believe I was being this low just to get by!

"Do you need help, my lady?" Armina voiced out her concern.

I walked out from the screen wearing the ugliest uniform ever made in the history of mankind.

"You look so cute, my lady." Reina’s eyes widened.

I glared at her.

Armina chuckled and helped me placed the cap on my head. "Like a true maid." She said before she took a step back to see me in this uniform. "Well, I guess you need to alter this chest area to make it more comfortable." She looked like she was having so much fun playing dress up. "Reina, Eris, your turn."

Reina carried Eris to the screen, and I sat down n the chair. I noticed a pair of eyes staring at me. "Look away, hunter."

She finally let out her laughter and just bent down holding her stomach. "You ... hahaha... look ... hahahaha... terrible!" It was nice of her to finally be bold like that. "I'm ... hahahaha ... sorry." When Eris and Reina walked out, the hunter looked up and gave them a thumbs up. "Now, that's a looker." At least, she could be more reserved in her honesty!

I didn't even notice that Armina went to the screen and change until she came out wearing a tight uniform mainly in her chest area.

"Anyway, here are a few rules when you're working inside the Gavreau's castle. First, don't be afraid to ask questions. A lost maid will be a lost cause. We learned that the hard way. May her soul rest in peace." Somebody had died working here? "Moving on to rule number two, never, ever go up to the west wing of this castle. That's the Queen's sanctuary. No one is allowed. Not even her own husband and kids go as well. It's so secretive that she wants a few guards guarding it, too.”

Now, I was wondering about the west wing. Maybe I should go snooping around later on.

"Rule number three, since most of your work will be taking care of the crowned prince and princess, you'll be briefed by the royal nanny. The nanny's job is to teach them. Your job is to take care of their needs and protect them when they go to the city."

So I had to take care of brats? How inconvenient.

"Last but not least, rule number four, whatever the queen says goes. Because around here, it's the queen who commands us all. The king is useless." The hunter smiled and led us to another room. "This is the servants’ break room. You may come here anytime. We have food, drinks, music. Just enough for we servants to catch a break. But, no human sacrifices.” She whispered the last part. What did she think I was? A blood sucking vampire?

***

"Prince Gaultier, we have come with your new servants.” I was baffled to see how this hunter was being so polite to a kid. "Bow down." She said through gritted teeth.

Now, I had to bow for a child?!

Armina pushed my head down, and we all bowed. "I'm sorry for her rudeness, my prince." She apologised for me.

"That's okay. Rise."

I scoffed. You're just a kid, you brat!

"Brother.. you promised." This must be the princess when she suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Once again, Armina forced me to bow down. I clicked my tongue in annoyance. When I stood up straight again, this little girl stared at me for a couple of minutes before going to her brother's side and whispering in his ear.

"My prince, is there something wrong?" The Hunter questioned.

The boy shook his head.

"If so, I'll be going my own way. There's something I have to do. They will be in your care." The hunter bow and excuse herself, leaving us with these brats.

As for the four of us, we had no idea what to do. We didn’t even have proper training in this.

"Can you introduce yourself for us?" The boy said.

"I am Armina. This is Helvisa. That's Eris, and she's Reina. We hope to be of much help for you, my prince."

This girl seemed to be fond of me as she kept on staring at me. "Helvisa, what's that on your chest?"

I looked down at my breasts. I motioned to my chest, but she shook her head.

"This." She pointed at my battle scar.

"You can say it's a symbol." I said, keeping my stoic expression.

"Symbol?"

I nodded at this girl’s curiosity.

"Are you a soldier by chance?" Now, the boy joined in his sister's curiosity as well.

I glanced at Armina.

"Ummm your highnesses, can you please give us some chores to do? We're bored standing like this."

Finally, these brats turned their focus to Armina.

"Well, do you girls dance?"

Armina looked at Eris and Reina. "Well, Reina knows how to. Why is that, my prince?"

The boy stood up and offered his hand to Reina. "Elaria will have her recital in a few weeks. Her class chose ballroom dancing. Maybe with us dancing, she will learn something."

Armina pointed at the girl with her eyes.

I shrugged my shoulder.

The witch glared at me with her blazing eyes.

I sighed and offered my hand to the princess. "I'm good at dancing if you want to practice."

The girl smiled as wide as ever and took my hand. I was surprised when this little girl could actually dance. I wondered if her mother knew how to dance as well.

I smirked.

"Oh ..." I heard a voice coming from the door. "I'm sorry. I thought they're not practicing."

We all turned to the door and were baffled by this sudden surprise.

"Mother." The boy beamed.

So ... this was the queen up close, huh? two words. Not bad. From the smell of her blood, she must be in her early thirties. She was beautiful with a perfect figure. She didn’t even look like she pushed two babies out of her. Why was the king being that repulsive? He had the best wife anyone could’ve wished for!

Armina cleared her throat when she caught me staring at the queen. "Your highness." She bowed down, and so did the others except for me. "We are humbly grateful to be in your presence."

I was looking at the queen from head to toe. She was like a normal citizen.

"I was hoping to see you all here. I want to apologise, especially to you." She looked at me. "What the king did earlier, that's unacceptable."

I waved it off.

"Did Charlene showed you your quarters in the castle?"

Charlene? She must be referring to the hunter. So her name was Charlene, huh?

"I'm afraid not. She was in a rush."

The queen smiled, and at the same time, I felt my heart suddenly beat again. I touched my right eye as I felt stinging. Armina noticed the sudden change in me. I couldn’t believe the spell she cast on my face was wearing off at this moment!

The prince stared at me with the same curious eyes. "Mother, can we go to the library again? I need to find something. Elaria, come with us. I'll show you a book that will teach us about dancing."

Gisele was surprised by the request but she obliged.

"I don't know who or what you guys are, but I think I have a clue." The prince whispered and showed Armina the book he was holding. "I'll keep your secret." He smiled and grabbed his mother's hand.

"What was that all about, Gaultier?" The queen asked.

"Oh nothing, mother. I just want them to tidy up my room since my friends will be coming this afternoon."

Armina was speechless and froze on her feet. She slowly turned to me asking for some answers.

By now, I was sure my face was in its horrible state. I always hated this part of me. I traced the deep scar from my eyebrows across my eyes towards my lips connecting to the scar on my chest. This scar was the result of the fight I had with my father before he banished me. I sighed. "Can you fix this, Armina?" I asked the witch.

"I think so. I just have to get myself into the deep forest and find some herbs."

I caught Eris’s’s body before she fell on the floor. "She's weakened, huh? Reina, use that bathroom. Just do whatever you guys do."

Reina nodded and carried Eris to the bathroom.

"What should we do, Helvisa? That little boy knew from the first glance he took at us."

I shrugged. "He said he can keep a secret right? He's the prince. We should just listen to him."

Armina seemed worried about something.

Whatever it was, I hoped he was not going to use us like THAT person did.