The door handle shuddered and the door creaked open.

I took a step back, brandishing my knife once again.

Bella appeared in the doorway.

I supposed she must have heard the struggle in the corridor as we passed by my room.

Her jaw dropped as she took in the scene.

“Miss Rose!” She bustled into the room and locked the door behind her.

“What have you done?” “What does it look like?” I snapped.

“You killed them.” She gaped at the corpses.

“Oh, no, no, no.

You did a very bad thing, Miss Rose.

A very bad thing.

If Master finds out about this…” Her voice trailed off as she approached the nearest body and dragged it into the center of the room.

She did the same with the other two corpses.

Her hands were shaking as she approached a cupboard fixed high up on the wall in the far corner of the room and pulled down what looked like a machete.

She approached the corpses again, knelt down on the ground next to them and, to my surprise, began hacking through their limbs.

“We have to hide them.

If Master finds out you did this, we’ll both be in big trouble.” I wasn’t sure what Bella planned to do with these huge pieces, but brandishing my own knife, I began to help her as best as I could.

We must have worked for almost an hour until the bodies were chopped up into small pieces.

Small enough for Bella.

We were both coated with blood by the end of it.

Bella walked over to a corner of the room and lifted up the lid to a bin.

Except, as I approached, I realized that it wasn’t a bin.

It was fixed into the floor, and it was some kind of chute.

Bella walked back over to the bodies and, filling the cauldron with them, dragged it over to the chute and emptied it into it.

She repeated the process until all the pieces were gone and all that was left was a bloody pool on the floor.

She walked over to the sink and grabbed a pile of cloths, dabbing down the blood and rinsing the cloths in the sink until the floor was completely clean.

Then she cleaned the pot, the knives, dried them, and replaced them.

Once she was finished, she stared at me.

I pointed to the waste chute.

“Won’t someone see those bits and pieces if they go through the waste?” She shook her head.

“That goes down to the compost heap at the base of the mountain.

Someone goes down there once a year to make sure things are in order.

They’ll be rotted before then.” She grabbed my arm and brought me over to the sink.

She washed her hands and face, and then pushed me against it.

“You need to clean yourself.” I did my best to wash off as much blood as I could, though there wasn’t much I could do about the stains on my clothes.

She heaved a frustrated sigh.

We were both still covered in blood.

We needed a shower.

Spotting the keychain attached to my waist, she ripped it from me, then caught my hand again and dragged me to the door.

Opening it, she peered through the crack.

She lurched forward so suddenly I almost lost my footing.

“Hurry,” she hissed.

“We need to get back before anybody sees us.” I ended up climbing onto her back so we could be faster.

Thankfully, we reached the room without bumping into anybody.

We hurried into the room and Bella locked the door behind us.

I went straight into the bathroom.

It was huge—tall and wide enough to hold at least four full-sized ogres.

The shower was so high up it could also hold an ogre.

I stripped and got in the shower, pulling the curtains around me.

I soaped myself down and cleaned my hair thoroughly, from the roots to the tips.

When I was finished, I pulled the curtain aside and reached for a towel.

Wrapping it around me, I stepped out.

My bloody clothes were nowhere in sight.

Bella sat waiting for me on a bench, still wearing her own bloody clothes.

“You need to have a wash now,” I said, looking at her pointedly.

She nodded and walked into the shower.

I left her alone and walked into the bedroom to find some clean clothes.

I wasn’t sure what she’d done with my dirty clothes—disposed of them safely somewhere, I hoped.

I walked over to the cupboard and opened it.

I couldn’t find anything comfortable—like pants and a shirt—so I had to settle for a silk dress.

It was the loosest thing I could find.

I slipped it over my head and walked over to the bed, sinking down on it and staring at the wall.

Now that the rush was over, I was suddenly aware of the ache in my muscles.

My wrist hurt—I was sure that I’d strained a muscle.

I lay my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes, breathing steadily as I listened to the sound of running water, Bella showering next door.

The bathroom door clicked open after five minutes and she walked out, wearing a crisp white smock.

She had the keychain in her hands, which she proceeded to tuck into her bra again.

She shot me a glare and waved a finger at me.

“You shouldn’t steal, Miss Rose.

I already told you what happened to my daughter.

It will land you in trouble.

You don’t know these parts.” To my surprise, she walked over to me and pulled me to my feet.

“You wanted to go for a walk? Then come, I’ll take you for a short walk.” I had to admit I’d lost my appetite for a walk now.