Selma scurried out the secret room, nearly tripping over herself. She quickly picked herself up, her cream-colored night dress brushing against the dust covered walls.
I have to tell them, she thought. I have to get there before something bad happens. If they use too much magic without the fuel…
She clenched her fists as she ran.
She couldn't think like that now.
She just had to get to the Princesses.
"Hurry!" A voice called from one of the rooms.
Selma nearly didn't stop. Her first priority was the Princesses. But then —
EEEEAAAAOOOWWW…
The Darkspirit's screech.
A group of women screamed, crying out for one of the women to hurry.
"DONT LOOK BACK!" Another voice cried out. "Don't listen! Keep your ears plugged!"
Selma had heard that voice.
Harriet — Cora's maid.
Selma stopped in her tracks. There was usually at least one door in each wing, many of them leading to servants' quarters, most likely to keep out of the eye of the other royals.
Her gaze snapped down, pulling her map frantically out of her bag. She instantly found the lines on the map that indicated she was closest to the washing area where the maids cleaned the linens. This door was less of a door and more of a crawl space to the corner of the room.
Her eyes brightened.
That meant that not only was there an entrance to the room, but they were also near a secret exit that led to the outdoors.
She had a chance to help the maids.
Selma rushed around the corner, her heart pounding in her chest. She placed her hand on the metal and just as she was about to pull the stone block from the wall, she had an eerie thought.
What if one of them is infected? She asked herself. What if one of them isn't just a maid anymore?What if I give away a secret so well kept that even I continue to find new corners of this place? If the monsters find out…I won't be able to help anyone.
"Close it!" Harriet's voice yelled again. "Don't let it through!"
Selma jumped, startled.
Her mind raced with ideas of what to do. She wanted to help them but by helping, she worried she may just make matters worse. If the Darkspirits figured out that there were secret hallways, those halls may never be safe again.
But then what's the point of a secret hallway if it can't even be used for good? Selma thought. If there was ever a time to put this place to good use, it's now. It's what the Goddess would want me to do.
Her mind wandered back to the map; its design etched into her mind.
The crawl space is in the adjoining ironing room but based on their voices and words, they sound like they're in the main washroom where the main doors are. She thought. If I can ensure none of them see where the crawl space is, maybe it could delay the Darkspirits from finding it.
Selma pulled the stone from the wall, as quietly as possible and pushed her small frame through. It was tight but large enough for a decent sized man to squeeze his way through.
The ironing room was empty, thankfully. The maids' voices were clearer than before.
"Leah, are you alright?" One maid asked, her voice filled with concern.
"I'm fine," Leah responded. "It will heal."
A shiver fell down Selma's spine.
"Excuse me!" She called through the door, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm here!"
Selma pushed her way through the door and came upon a scene like nothing she'd ever witnessed.
Nearly fifteen maids huddled together in the washroom, many of them injured. Several pressed cloths against bleeding wounds while others leaned against walls, trembling with pale faces. On the far end of the room, closest to the door, she spotted Harriet, who held Leah.
"Princess!?" Harriet's eyes widened. "You escaped!?"
Selma rushed over, careful not to shove her way through the frightened women.
"Yes," she replied. "I heard the commotion just before they attacked and retreated through a…secret door of sorts. I believe there's a way out but…"
Her gaze drifted across the sea of injured maids, many of them with claw marks, cuts but several with clear bite marks. She had read that book on the Darkspirits front to back and knew exactly how those things infected others. And a bite mark, closest to the center of the infection, was the easiest way to transfer a spirit.
Selma knew these girls barely escaped death by some miracle.
Still, several of them were almost certainly infected, even if they weren't symptomatic — yet.
She could not tell them of the halls she'd worked so hard to keep secret.
Not until she knew who was human…
…and who was not.
"But it's a bit more complicated now," she finished, lying through her teeth. "It seems I found myself stuck in this room so I holed up in the back, hoping they wouldn't find me there."
"Well, you're not alone," Harriet replied, gesturing with her thumb to the infected that let out that awful screeching sound on the other side of the door. "Those buggers cornered us here. We lost several girls during the chase. It was awful."
Her voice cracked, and she turned her face away, blinking rapidly.
"Well anyway," she continued, wiping away a single tear that fell. "We're safe for now — as long as those creatures stay on the other side of that door. We were hardly able to get that thing locked."
Selma's eyes snapped to the door. It wasn't particularly old but the doors in the castle were all of good handiwork. She knew it should hold — for a time.
Her gaze drifted back to the women in the room, particularly Leah. She had a clear bite wound on her ankle and several scratches and bruises on her neck and arms. Selma deduced that she must have been slower due to her injuries.
"I just can't seem to understand why this happened," Harriet continued. "Things were fine and then all of a sudden…"
She trailed off, biting her nails anxiously.
Selma eyed Harriet carefully.
There were two problems that needed sorting. The first was that the infections could spread in the room at any given moment. The women needed to know how to protect themselves. But the other problem was that Selma didn't know who she could trust.
She'd already made the poor choice of coming into this room to save them. Luckily, she was able to cover it up. If she chose wrong again, she likely wouldn't have a way to turn it around — especially considering the circumstances.
But even if she delayed, the infection could spread. She had no choice but to trust somebody.
"Harriet," Selma said. "May I speak to you in the other room?"
Harriet was hesitant for a moment, searching Selma's face. Then, her expression became serious, mirroring Selma's.
"Of course, Princess," she replied.
And Selma led her to the ironing room.
***
"So, you're saying anyone who was bitten is infected with an evil spirit from another world?" Harriet asked, a bewildered look on her face as she pulled her clothes back on.
When Selma led her through, she asked Harriet to strip her clothes so that she could inspect her body. As she did so, she explained the situation. Harriet was hesitant at first — rightfully so. But she allowed Selma to complete her exam.
"Yes," Selma nodded, stepping away. "And I believe Maren and Cora are the only ones who can save the castle."
Harriet finished buttoning her blouse and placed her hands on her hips, her eyes darting around the room, deep in thought.
"So what do you propose?" she asked, meeting Selma's gaze.
Selma was surprised at her lack of resistance. She knew that Harriet likely didn't fully believe her, but after seeing what she did, Harriet most likely didn't know what to believe.
Still, Selma wouldn't waste this moment.
"I'd like to keep the bitten in that room and move the rest of the women into this room, and lead them out of the building without the others knowing," Selma explained. "The Darkspirits can't find out about the secret passage and they can't know that we know about them."
"And there's a chance none of them are infected?" Harriet asked.
"Yes, but it's unlikely," Selma responded. "Given the amount of people bitten, it seems like the spirit is trying to spread the infection — probably to guard itself against the Starblessed."
"But if they're not showing symptoms, can't we take everyone?" Harriet asked.
Selma shook her head. "Absolutely not. The parasite spirit may not have taken control but it can still use the host's senses to see and pass on information to the others like a hive mind."
Harriet's expression twisted into something resembling frustration and pain. And when she gazed back into Selma's eyes with a hard, distressed expression. "Leah was bitten."
Selma bit her lip, and whispered, "I know."
"I can't leave her," she said. "I've worked alongside that girl for too long to abandon her in this hellscape."
Selma nodded, "I understand."
"You take the girls," Harriet commanded, "and I'll stay behind with the others, watching them to see how they do."
"But how will we-" Selma began but was quickly cut off.
"I'll handle that," Harriet interjected with an expression that was sure as steel.
Selma nodded again in understanding. She nudged a laundry basket in front of the crawl space and they pushed their way through the door.
"Alright everyone listen up!" Harriet said, clapping her hands, the sound cutting through the panicked chatter. "Many of us are injured but many of us are not."
She gestured to Selma, "Luckily, the princess here recently took a medical class at the Academy and learned the human mouth contains more bacteria than any other known animal in the world. Other than the monster on the other side of that door, this is your biggest worry. If you'd like to avoid infection, please stay in this room to wait for medical treatment. Everyone else — follow me into the ironing room for emergency supplies and lessons."
Selma didn't let it show on her face but she thought Harriet was a bloody genius. It was the perfect setup to corral everyone who was healed, including them, into a separate room for a decent amount of time without causing a fuss with the Darkspirits.
"Right this way!" Selma said with a smile.
As the maids filtered into the small room, Selma slipped into the crowd, finding her place near the far back, beside the opening in the wall. The women gathered around her and Harriet, gazing at Selma expectantly.
"Where are the supplies?" One maid asked.
"Well," Selma began, her voice low and soft, "There was a recent shipment that never made it inside the castle due to the monsters. Unfortunately there is a bit of a trip we must make to get there."
The women looked at each other, their faces weary and full of concern.
"But we won't have to face those things again," Selma continued. "There are secret hallways throughout the castle, behind the walls."
"Secret halls?" One woman asked.
"Yes," Selma replied, pulling out the map. "I've spent years mapping them. As far as I know, nobody else knows of their existence."
The maids shared varied expressions — some relieved, and some weary. But none argued. Selma knew, just like her, they each wanted to escape this place.
She looked up at the group, meeting each of their eyes, "But we have to move now but it's dark in there so remember these rules — keep hold of someone's hand at all times. Do not let go of the person in front of you."
Each of the women placed their hand in the palm of another's.
"Follow behind me in a single file line and never venture elsewhere — no matter what you see."
The maids began to line up as Selma braced herself for the venture, her words echoing in their minds.
"And above all, you must remain silent. We can't risk giving away our position. I will lead us through, and get everyone to safety."
Selma slipped through the hole in the wall first, as Harriet positioned herself last, helping the women through.
They had decided that she would stay behind and help the girls in case anything happened. Selma appreciated Harriet's loyalty to the people around her, and to the Princesses.
She wanted to stay behind herself but she was not Harriet. She had her own goal to fulfill.
To get these women to safety.
"I will get you out of here."