Ella creaked open the window of her friends apartment. She inhaled the fresh air of Narlands with a beaming smile.
Her eyes fluttered in awe of the magnificent view before her that looked like a picture in a painting.
"Wow. This city is beautiful," she muttered to herself, inhaling the purified air.
She had never thought of leaving her home town to work anywhere else but the money she was to get by taking up the job of a maid in Narlands would earn her double the amount she'd get in her home town in six months.
"It's lovely, Dominique," Ella squealed, taking a look at the hand crafted houses opposite hers and the people loitering around.
"I told you, it's one of the best kingdoms in the entire world, it's like paradise too," Dominique said to her best friend. "I'm so glad you finally agreed to come," she added.
When Dominique left her hometown, a small kingdom known as Agric, she invited Ella along, but Ella refused to follow her; she was sticking to her fruitless search for a job back in Agric believing she'd get a good one soon.
Back in their Kingdom, Agric, they did more of fishing, rearing of cattles for a living, and just twenty percent of farming. The kingdom was named on the basis of Agriculture.
When Dominique told Ella of the job she found for her in Narlands and the amount she earn from it, Ella took the offer instantly, finally deciding to leave her kingdom where she got little amount from whatever she did.
Earning over 10,000 Nars was a huge amount of money compared to what she'd earn in her Kingdom. Nars was the highest currency in the world and when converted to her kingdom's money, she'd earn up to half a million Rees.
She wondered the work maids of Narlands did that warranted a huge pay.
"Thanks for having me in your home. I must say it's really nice," Ella complimented her friend.
"Compared to you, I earn just 3000 Nars a month. But it's fine, it's a bountiful sum here. I must warn you though to be very careful," Dominique stated, throwing Ella into a state of confusion.
"I don't get you." Ella frowned.
"Being a maid for the prestigious royal mansion is a huge deal, gossiping and lurking around aimlessly could lead to..." Before Dominique could complete her statement, the sound of gun going off made them lay on the floor, their hands placed at the back of their head.
Ella's eyes darted here and there, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. Why were they shooting guns and who were they shooting? She pondered.
"Shh," Dominique said to Ella. "It's going to be fine, it's nothing, it's just the way it is everyday in Narlands," she explained.
"What? It's...it's...it's a daily routine?" Ella asked, stuttering.
"Not really, but here in the Narlands, guns are like outfits. Dominique answered.
"Wait... What?" Ella cuts in.
"I'd explain later but for now, you have to lay low so as not to loose your life recklessly," her friend warned.
Ella was shaky, she wondered what the kingdom was like. Back in her hometown, a small kingdom that wasn't really known to the world, it was peaceful—nothing as a gunshot sound to disrupt the quietness of the place.
She heaved a sigh, wanting to know all there was about Narlands.
Soon, everywhere became calm, and both friends stood upright. Ella placed a palm on her chest, calming her frightened heart.
"It's really scary here Mimi," Ella said to Dominique, calling her by her nickname.
"As scary as it is, it's still one of the safest places in the world, ironically," Mimi said.
Ella furrowed her brows, "Ironically? Tell me all about this place, tell me how it's like, I want to know, Mimi," Ella's spoke, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Although Narlands was known to be the richest kingdom in the world, it was also known to be a kingdom where not just anyone moved with ulterior motives and survived. It was a kingdom ruled by a particular family who passed down the position to their generations and have relentlessly improved the kingdom, making sure to attend to every area that needed it.
"You are to be a maid in the royal mansion, the mansion where the ruler of Narland resides. Anyone who works in the royal mansion is paid higher than any other place in Narlands. The lowest amount of money given to a worker of the royal mansion is 10,000 Nars," Mimi said.
"But, there is more. The ruler is also known as the Death lord, whose pocket knife is faster than a bullet. His actions speak louder than his words and he shows no mercy to anyone other than himself."
"Narlands isn't like any other kingdom, it is one of the safest yet the most dangerous place in the world. The law is the Death lord and likewise. Once you commit an offense, you are killed and even if you are given a second chance at survival, you must loose a part of your body."
Ella gasped. She couldn't believe her ears, she had never heard such and didn't pay much attention to anything other than her kingdom. She had no idea that something like that existed and now—she was more frightened, somehow wondering if she made the right decision coming to Narlands.
"Do not let him catch you lurking around as he is always on guard. He isn't loved by all and has been attacked a lot of times but none lived to tell the story and those that did feared to cross paths with him. There are still kingdom trying to attack Narland and overthrow the Death lord, but none has been successful. Enemies that try to gather information ended up going back to tell the story of their fate in the hands of the Death lord!"
"It's...it's...so scary. How do you survive?" Ella asked Mimi.
"Like I said, it's the safest in the world yet the most dangerous. And the gunshot you heard earlier are from the parade group, warning and sending fear to infiltrators, that they are alert," Mimi concluded.
Ella took a deep breath, trying to understand all Mimi had told her and asking herself if she wanted to take on the job, knowing it could lead to anything.
The sound of a gun made the bird chirp as they flew up to the sky. From a very far distance, the sound of gun could be heard.The Death lord stood at a far distance from the infiltrators who were all tied to a log with a rope opposite him. All the bullet been shot at the five men forehead weren't missed by the Death lord in one shoot.The Death lord smirked, his target was sure to never survive because he never misses. He heard the footsteps of his men approaching him, one of them gave him a towel to wipe sweat off of his face while he handed his hand gloves to the other man."My Lord, we've caught some infiltrators, one from the kingdom of Darkards and the other from the kingdom of Levine. It was a tough battle as two of our men lives were lost," One of the men explained with his head bow."Cyprus, they lost their lives?" The Death lord asked, his voice low and calm as usual.&nbs
Ella looked around like a lost puppy as she wondered where she was to go next in the huge Mansion. She was looking for room 63 for the first ranked people. The first ranked people were the people of higher position who worked with Death lord. She was asked to serve them lunch and she forgot the directions she was given.While she walked around the corridor, she looked around until her eyes met with someone at the opposite end of the corridor clad in white rope and black pants.For a second she was enthralled by the sight of the person before her and couldn't take her eyes off him.The Death Lord looked at the young maid whose eyes met with his but she hadn't taken her eyes off as she was supposed to. Instead she kept looking at him and that baffled him.It was well known to the people of Narlands not to look at the eyes of the Death Lord as it could lead to your death. Everyone knew who he was
"Death lord?" Ella asked wanting to confirm if what she heard was right. She turned to look at the Death lord in front of her.She remembered what she told him earlier; she told him his nickname was bad and had suggested he chose something better not knowing she was speaking to the man himself.Was that why he didn't say anything? She asked herself. She also thought he was deaf and dumb. Her eyes widened in realisation and she felt like collapsing that moment.She has finally come to meet her end by speaking without thinking. No one had trespass and escaped from the clutch of the Death lord without getting killed or loosing a part of their body.Cyprus grabbed Ella arms in an harsh way and she winced in pain. "You bitch! You sure don't know anything at all!" Cyprus spat out."You will surely meet your end! My Lord, what should we do with her?" Cyprus asked.Immidately Ella fel
Once Ella got into her room, she crumbled to the floor as she curled her self, hugging her knees tightly with tears in her eyes.This was the most terrifying day of her life. She had never been in a situation before. She should have known he was of the higher class and ignored him but she was so adamant in making friends as all of the maid were giving her attitude ever since she started working in the royal mansion.She should have known that something was wrong and now she had crossed paths with the Death lord and worse of all, spoken words she shouldn't have to him.Mimi warned her, she warned her not to speak recklessly and to stay to herself alone. This was what Mimi meant and now she understood.She looked at her arms, there were red marks around them, gotten from the ropes they used to tie her to the log. Her wrist was bruised because the wicked man had kicked her so hard.She stiffl
Ella washed the dishes while isolating herself from the others who had shown dislike for her from the first day she started work.As much as she tried not paying attention to them, she couldn't help it as their whispers could be heard and their annoying giggle."The Death lord is a snack, I am so filled now that I took a glimpse of him. He is so sexy!" One of the maids squealed with excitement laced on her tone."You know, I really want to see his eyes, I'm sure they must be adoring," The other maid said.After the incident that happened two days ago, Ella was told the do's and don't of Narlands and one of it was to never look at the eyes of the Death lord.The thought annoyed her, was he a god or what? She was told looking at his eyes was a mean of daring him to do his worse. She was also told to not be caught saying mean things about the Death lord for he was the savior
Ella followed the rest of the maid into the dinning room. She was nervous, she was starting to find it hard to breath.Once they entered the big dinning room with a long table and over 15 chairs surrounding the table, her eyes widened. She had never seen a dinning room this big before with beautiful wallpaper beautifying the room. A chandelier was hunged at far end of the ceiling with unique decorations that were captivating to the eyes.Twitching her eyes, she looked away, gently placing the dishes on the table before the arrival of the Death lord. As soon as they were done, all the maids stood at the side of the room waiting for the Death lord arrival.After some minutes, the humongous door was opened by two guards dressed in their guard attire, then the death lord entered.Silence! Absolute silence!Nothing could be heard not even his footstep. He walked as if he was a ghost, looking at
Ella didn't make an attempt to take her eyes off. She looked at him and for a moment she felt sad for him, he was a monster.He enjoyed killing for a living as if lives could be made so easily. There was no way she'd stay in Narlands for long, she was going to leave after getting her first pay.The Death lord walked away, with the guards following him. The maids soon rushed back to the dinning room to clear the table.Once they were back to the kitchen, they started to gossip. "Lima is gone, just like that?" Cheryl spoke baffled."That suits her, next time she wouldn't misbehave in front of the Death lord and that's if there is a next time," Naomi spat out."That's true, she is always acting as if she was one step ahead of us and giving off that arrogant vibe," Layla seconded.Ella felt disappointed in them, weren't they all gossip partner? They felt no remorse over the de
Stella and Cheryl smirked when they saw Ella walking towards their directions, they had ulterior motives while approaching her.With a fake smile plastered on their face, they walked towards her. "Hi there Ella!" Stella greeted with a fake smile on her face.Ella was taken aback by their approach, neither of them has ever approached her before. She wondered what they wanted from her."Hey," she replied with a force smile on her face."We've been looking for you for a while now. The chief of maids said to give you this curtain. She said to go change the Death lord curtain," Cheryl said."What?!" Ella asked in shock. Going into the room of the Death lord was obviously out of her list. She