The long-awaited day had finally arrived! Vivienne had turned eighteen! The only suitcase for Vivienne and Emily was packed. Little Emily had been preparing for this day for a long time, imagining herself as a princess, living in a castle and waiting for her prince.
At nine in the morning, the housekeeper knocked on their door and led them to the exit. At the threshold of the orphanage, Valentina was already waiting beside a black Mercedes that gleamed as if it had just rolled out of the showroom. The windows were so dark that nothing could be seen inside.
Valentina extended her hands toward Vivienne and smiled warmly, congratulating her on coming of age.
"Congratulations! Make yourselves comfortable; it's going to be a long ride. We won't get home until the evening."
They were about to travel from the south of the country all the way to the north, where the borders are kissed by the sea on one side and mountains on the other. The girls were sitting in such an expensive car for the first time in their lives. Vivienne felt a little uncomfortable about how she looked. Even though she had carefully washed all her clothes, compared to the beige leather seats, she still looked dirty.
Around noon, Valentina instructed the driver to take a break. They stopped at a small restaurant to grab a bite. Vivienne was too embarrassed to even look at the place, let alone go inside, but Valentina insisted.
"Don't be silly! We still have seven hours to go. We need to eat, so let's go!" Valentina urged.
Little Emily firmly grabbed Vivienne's hand and confidently stepped toward Valentina. Vivienne, just like Emily, was feeling intensely hungry, so she gave in to the persuasion. All her worries vanished the moment a large plate of pasta in creamy sauce and two big salmon steaks were placed before her. The plates were empty before the waiter even managed to bring the drinks. Emily tasted a strawberry milkshake for the first time in her life, while Vivienne, at Valentina's insistence, tried real French white wine for the first time. And it had to be said — this was the best birthday Vivienne had ever had.
"You know, my master taught me a lot, but this habit of eating quickly has stuck with me till now…" Valentina said. "I just can't seem to break it."
Vivienne looked at Valentina in surprise and asked,
"Why? Were you taken from an orphanage too?"
"No," Valentina replied with a bitter smile. "I left the orphanage on my own." Her gaze fell on a half-empty bottle of white wine and lingered there. "When I was little, someone donated a large sum to our orphanage, and we went on a trip. Up north. So that the little and hopeless could see the sea at least once in their lives. And I saw a castle… the very castle where I live now. And I wanted to get there no matter what. The older girls started whispering that it was the man who lived there who had donated the money. And my desire grew even stronger…"
"And what happened next?" Vivienne asked.
"I turned eighteen. And without a second thought, I went to find out how to get to the castle. I stole money from a local shop and bought a ticket. The castle is far away, but I remembered the route… I arrived there late at night, tired and hungry. And I said I would do anything they told me, as long as they let me work there. That's how I met the master."
Vivienne placed her hand on Valentina's shoulder, but Valentina immediately sprang to her feet.
"Alright, we've lingered long enough. Time to hit the road!" Valentina said, urging everyone toward the car.
The journey was exhausting but fascinating. Neither Vivienne nor Emily had ever seen much beyond the city, and even the city itself was unfamiliar to them. For the next seven hours in the car, they marveled at the scenery. Mountains, fields, hills, little houses tucked in forests, and towering skyscrapers in bustling cities. Everything they saw filled them with awe and wonder.
As the clock neared seven in the evening, the smooth asphalt gave way to dirt roads. The sun was setting, and the lights of the castle began to twinkle on the horizon. At first, the girls couldn't grasp its scale, but the closer they got, the more enormous it seemed. Finally, they arrived at the main entrance.
The car stopped at the old wrought-iron gates. Valentina took out her phone and pressed a button the girls couldn't quite see, and the gates swung open. They drove onto the castle grounds. The entrance path passed through a garden. It was a huge garden with various trees, flowers, and bushes, arranged into small gazebos. At the end of the garden, right before the castle, there was a small round fountain with a statue in the center. Everything around was illuminated by old black wrought-iron lanterns. The entrance to the castle was marked by an old, rickety staircase, covered in moss in some places. Vivienne grabbed her suitcase and followed Valentina.
"Just a few hours ago, three other girls arrived. They are your future colleagues and your family," Valentina said.
Vivienne and Emily couldn't take their eyes off the castle. From above, it resembled a horseshoe, with the main building in the center and two long wings stretching out to the sides. At the end of each wing, there were two conical towers on the roofs. The castle had three floors in total, but due to the high ceilings, it looked like there were six.
"Now we'll gather everyone in the living room, where I'll explain what awaits you here, the general rules, and the essence of your work," Valentina continued.
The front door swung open, revealing a huge hall. The floor was laid with beige tiles. Massive stone columns soared several meters high. Couches and sofas were arranged with small wooden tables nearby. Countless paintings and collectible items adorned the room, gathered over centuries by the owners of this castle. And, of course, a grand staircase with a long, dark burgundy carpet led up to the second and third floors of the castle. The girls marveled at how much light there was. For such a gloomy-looking castle, it turned out to be almost the brightest and most beautiful place they had ever been in.
"Living room on the second floor, let's go!" Valentina urged the girls.
The way to the second floor split, leading either to the west wing or the east. Immediately to the left of the staircase was a corridor that led to the east wing. Vivienne and Emily clumsily trailed behind Valentina, afraid to dirty the luxurious carpet with their suitcase. They passed rooms with numbers "15, 14, 13… 3, 2, 1," like in a hotel, and guessed that these were most likely staff quarters.
At the end of the corridor, the glow of floor lamps and wall sconces already came into view, and voices of the other girls could be heard. Within a few seconds, they were in the living room. The living room was a huge hall; every wall and corner was covered with cushions, cabinets, and sofas. In the center stood two massive corner sofas, placed facing each other, forming what looked like a very soft rectangle, with a small table in the middle. On the wall opposite the exit, a fireplace burned warmly, while the left wall held enormous stained-glass windows and led out to a large terrace. It was both cozy and chaotic at the same time. It was immediately clear that over the years, the other girls who had lived here had really put work into shaping this space.
On one of the sofas, three young girls were already sitting, brought here a few hours before Vivienne and Emily. They awkwardly greeted each other. Valentina suggested everyone get comfortable, and within a few seconds, all four girls, along with little Emily, were settled on the sofas.
"Alright, let me remind you, my name is Valentina. And for the time you'll be living here, I'm your direct supervisor. I'll start from the very beginning. You are currently in the eastern wing of this castle. The eastern wing is fully open to all staff. You'll be living on the second floor. Each of you will have your own room, and you may use everything you find in them.
The western wing of the castle is off-limits to you! And that's the first rule! You may enter the western wing only if you have a scheduled work shift there. Under any other pretext, entry is forbidden! Any violation of the rules will be punished—sometimes with a fine, sometimes with immediate dismissal and eviction.
The second rule: when you have a shift in the western wing, you may enter any room only after knocking loudly three times and waiting five seconds! If you enter a room without knocking, even if it's empty, you'll be fined!
The third rule: always stay in touch! Each of you has received a special smartphone, without cameras, with our personal app installed, and you must always keep it at hand!
The fourth rule: absolute confidentiality! If you take anything beyond the walls of the castle—photos, videos, rumors, or even objects—eviction!
And finally, the fifth and most important rule, established by the master himself, we are all a family here! There are no seniors or juniors; don't interfere with colleagues at work, don't put your colleagues in a difficult position if it's your day off, and help whenever someone needs it! Keep in mind, girls, divas are the first ones out!"
At that moment, a door slammed somewhere in the corridor, followed by a sharp, girlish laugh. Someone was heading toward the living room, where the new girls were sitting. From the shadows of the hallway, two beautiful girls appeared, dressed in pajamas. One was holding an empty bag of chips, the other an electronic cigarette. They spotted the gathering in the living room and froze, awkward smiles spreading across their faces.
"Good timing, girls!" Valentina greeted them. "Meet your senior colleagues, they'll show you the ropes from here…"
Valentina smoothly approached them, nudging them closer to the newcomers with her hands.
"And they'll give you a little tour as well, right?!" she added with a smile.
The two girls grinned and let out something like a long, drawn-out "Uuuuhhh." After that, Valentina, wishing the newcomers good luck, left the living room. Silence fell over the space, heavy as a tomb, broken only by the crackling of logs in the fireplace.
The newcomers stared at the girls, waiting for something to happen. Finally, one of them, laughing, said:
"Ugh, I just ran out of chips, so I went for waffles!"
The second girl laughed, so loud and clear that the echo carried through the entire castle! Little Emily burst out laughing too, while the others awkwardly smiled and exchanged glances.
"Okay, seriously," one of them continued, "let's do this. I'm Diana, and this is Lily. We've been here almost a year. We'll show you everything and explain how things work, but first, give us a couple of minutes, alright?
Everyone nodded awkwardly, and Diana and Lily walked over to the right wall of the living room, pushing aside something that looked like a large tapestry. The tapestry was covering a door that led to another staircase, which went down to the kitchen and the dining hall for the staff.
Emily's smile never faded. Vivienne relaxed even more. By her logic, if these girls had been working here for so long, then things couldn't be as bad as she had imagined. The other girls thought the same, and one of them decided to speak up.
"They look healthy and happy… maybe it's actually nice here?" one of them said timidly.
"I was just thinking the same thing!" another chimed in, and everyone started nodding approvingly. "I thought they were taking me somewhere like slavery, where I'd… well… you know."
The girls fell silent, but Vivienne decided to voice her final thought.
"We're already here! Maybe yes, maybe we'll have to… do something, but we're here, and at least we should look around and see if it's really that bad."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Then, from the staircase where Diana and Lily had gone, footsteps could be heard. They returned carrying a small cardboard box.
"Okay, girls, first we'll tell you everything, and then we'll get you settled, go have dinner, and sleep, alright?" Lily began.
Everyone answered in unison, "Yes," and Diana placed the box on the table in the center of the room. She said,
"Dig in! Grab something to nibble on while we talk."
The girls swarmed the box like bees to honey. Inside were chips, chocolate, candies, waffles, cookies with all sorts of fillings, and a few bottles of sweet soda. Everyone grabbed a package and a small bottle and started crunching away on whatever they picked. Emily was devouring chocolate, while Vivienne couldn't tear herself away from the waffles with the nut filling.
Diana and Lily settled comfortably on the couch, and Diana began:
"So, you girls are all from orphanages, right?"
Everyone nodded in unison.
"I'm curious, how did this little one end up in the same boat with us?" Lily asked playfully, with a smile.
"This is Emily, my little sister. They offered me this job as the only way to take her out of the orphanage with me," Vivienne replied.
"Got it. Well, you're lucky," Lily continued, smiling at little Emily.
"You've been told everything, right? The rules, that you'll be living here? Maybe you want to ask something? Because honestly, I don't even know where to start!" Diana said, smiling.
One of the girls, at that moment, put down her chocolate-covered marshmallow, nervously bit her lip, and asked,
"I'd like to know… um… it's true, right, that here we won't just be cleaning?"
Diana was about to answer when Lily nudged her.
"Listen, let's discuss that last, after this little one goes to sleep, okay?" Lily said. "One thing I can tell you for sure: nothing here will harm you, and there's no violence. Everything else… later, alright?"
At these words, it was as if a weight lifted off all the girls' shoulders. Seeing Diana and Lily, everyone started feeling more relaxed and at ease.
"Alright, I get the whole confidentiality thing, I get that we can't tell anyone… but why can't we go into the west wing?" asked one of the girls, crunching her chips.
"Ahhh…" Diana smiled. "Because the owner lives in the west wing. He can roam the castle freely, but we can't. Well, I mean, we can walk around freely, but going up to the second and third floors in the west wing—nope."
"Can we go out from here? I mean, I don't quite get it," Vi asked.
"Look, about going out…" Diana began, "yes, of course you can go out. Not just into the garden or the greenhouse, but also to the city, sit in a café, go to the movies, shop… you can do all that. But, there's a 'but.' Let's say it's your day off. You take your card, by now, you've probably all got cards where your salary is deposited, and you write to Val from your work phone that you want to go into town. She'll call a driver for you. The driver takes you to the center. In the car, you leave the work phone with the driver, and in return, he gives you yours. If you don't have one, like Lily and I didn't at first, you go buy one. You know, we all make good money. The main thing is to return to the driver on time so he can bring you back to the castle! Otherwise, you won't be allowed in and you'll be fired immediately."
"Okay… I was under the impression we wouldn't be let out of here," Vi said.
"Why would you think that?" Lily asked, surprised. "This isn't slavery. If you want to leave, the door's open. Yes, there are some rules, but on the other hand, it's a 2.5-hour walk to the city. Want to go on foot? Go ahead!"
All the girls smiled. But Vi kept asking questions:
"Can you tell me… what it's actually like here? I mean, you're so far from the city, always in the castle. Don't you ever feel uneasy here? It's just… everything is so old, and now there's no sun, and I feel a little creeped out."
Diana and Lily looked at each other and smiled.
"I won't lie, it can be creepy here," Diana said. "Before you, other girls were here, and many don't last more than a month. Besides, they're predicting a thunderstorm all night tomorrow. That's when you'll really see how things are here…"
Diana's words were cut off by the buzz of a work phone, just like Lily's.
They grabbed their phones and checked the message.
"Oh, perfect! Now we'll get you settled. Grab your things and let's go. We'll show you around and explain everything along the way," Diana said, standing up from the sofa.
All the girls grabbed their suitcases and followed their senior colleagues.
"Alriiiight…" Diana began, staring at her phone. "Joanna Cross, room number 5; Anna Belford, room number 6; Jane Simens, room number 7; Vi and Emily Whitcrof, room number 9. You'll be my neighbors—my room is number 10," Diana added with a smile.
"Please, go ahead and settle in. But let's do it this way: be back in the living room by 8 p.m., okay?" Lily asked. "We'll all go to dinner together and talk about the rest, so it won't take long. Freshen up and head out."
All the girls scattered to their new rooms. The door to room number 9 opened, and Vi fumbled for the light switch, flipped it on, and was left speechless.
Vivienne and Emily's room was so large and tall that Vi felt her head spinning. Opposite the entrance, a wall held three enormous windows, draped with nearly black curtains that blocked out the light. Two big beds were positioned in different corners of the room. In front of the central window stood a huge desk with two chairs. On the desk lay a set of clothes—uniforms, a work phone, a written envelope containing a bank card and instructions on how to set it up, and two pairs of trendy sneakers for work.
To the right of the entrance stood a massive wardrobe with a built-in mini-fridge inside. To the left, there was a well-equipped vanity table. In the center of the room lay a large, evidently antique and expensive carpet. Opposite the beds hung an enormous television.
There was one more door right by the wardrobe. It led to the bathroom. Vi and Emily stepped inside and couldn't believe their eyes. A huge bathtub dominated the corner of the room. The floor and walls were covered in dark blue tiles. The sink was large and spacious, and a small cabinet held everything they could possibly need: shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, two electric toothbrushes, toothpaste, facial cleansing foam, hand and face creams, a pumice stone for the feet, a set of nail files, tweezers, and a set of six towels. The girls had never seen such abundance in their lives, and now it was all theirs.
Emily bounced around the room with joy, fully embracing the realization that she was now truly a princess living in a castle. Her excitement knew no bounds. But all the surprises were still ahead.
Vi sat on the bed, quietly enjoying the moment as she watched her sister. She couldn't believe that from now on, this would be their home. New friends and even a family. The older girls had proven to be kind and caring. A small tear of happiness rolled down Vivienne's cheek at the thought that maybe, just maybe, this place could become their true home.
None of the girls stayed sitting for long, because everyone was eager to go to dinner. Soon enough, they were all gathered in the living room.
"Got all your phones?" Lily asked.
The girls nodded.
"Then let's go!" Diana added.
There were four ways to get to the kitchen and dining hall, and the girls took the shortest path, a spiral staircase leading down. Emily stepped cautiously, holding tightly to the railing and to Vi. Finally, they reached the exit, and a flood of bright light greeted them. There was so much light that the dim lamps in the living room now seemed like a tiny match flickering in the dark.
The kitchen opened up before them. It was huge. Everything was laid with small beige tiles. Three long tables with marble countertops stretched across the room, and above them hung exhaust hoods. Along one wall stood four large glass refrigerators, filled with meat, chicken, and duck, various fish and seafood, cheeses and cold cuts, as well as sauces.
"All right, girls!" Diana began. "We cook our own food here, whatever you like, you cook. Here are the four refrigerators, any meat you want is here. If you want something else, you order it separately. And over there we have the vegetable and fruit storage." Diana pointed to a large white door and opened it. "Here we keep potatoes, onions, cabbage, bananas, apples, oranges… basically everything we eat, we store here."
Vi couldn't believe that now they could eat whatever they wanted.
"This is the other storage," Diana continued, opening the neighboring white door. "Here we keep all kinds of grains, rice, pasta, flour, sugar, salt, and so on."
"This is my absolute favorite 'storage'!" Lily said, grinning wildly as she opened the doors of the wall cabinet. "There's a ton of jars with chocolate spread, peanut butter, jams—strawberry, raspberry, peach—coffee, teas of all kinds and flavors, cookies, chocolate, and waffles."
Seeing all those sweets, Emily squealed with delight, jumped up, and clapped her hands! Lily laughed, grabbed a chocolate-covered marshmallow from the shelf, and tossed a pack to Emily. Everyone laughed.
"All right, pans, plates, and all the utensils and dishes are down there, under these countertops," Diana continued. "Usually everyone cooks for themselves, so now that you've seen all the ingredients, please go ahead and cook."
Vi already knew exactly what she wanted to make, and Emily was fully on board. The same dish from the restaurant that Valentina had treated them to earlier: pasta in a creamy sauce and salmon steak. It helped that the work phone was basically like a normal one, except it had no cameras. But they could still use the internet and social media freely, including searching for recipes. Otherwise, dinner would have been nothing but cookies and tea.
Vi made what she wanted, though the pasta turned out a bit undercooked, and instead of a creamy sauce they used bottled tartar sauce. The steak got slightly charred too, since Vi didn't realize fish cooks much faster than meat. But still, everyone was happy with their dishes. Some just made a salad, others made sandwiches, and some simply fried chicken with cheese. Everyone was exhausted from hunger and eagerly devoured their meals, enjoying every bite.
After dinner, nobody wanted to talk or even think about anything. All they wanted was a luxurious bath and to sink into their new, big, clean beds. Diana and Lily decided:
"Okay, tomorrow is Sunday anyway. Nobody works on Sundays; it's our shared day off, so we'll continue getting to know each other then."
Vi took a bath, and for the first time in her life, she felt so clean and beautiful. Emily couldn't stop marveling at the magical scent of the shampoo and the hot water. Just like every girl in this castle. The soft, double bed mattress happily embraced Vivi's tired body. The weighted blanket gently hugged her. The goose-down pillow was so comfortable that little Emily fell asleep almost instantly. But Vi stayed lying there, staring out the window. She still couldn't believe that all of this was really happening to her. Yet uneasy thoughts lingered, because tomorrow, on Sunday, the owner of the castle would personally meet each of the new girls.