After much too long a new chapter finally! Unfortunately, I'm still stuck with the other stories, but they'll be up soon ...


Abig came into the little maids' room with a dressing gown thrown on, where Anna was bandaging Melina's head injury. "What happened" said Abig angry. As always, there was no sympathy to be seen in the old greedy eyes.
"You have been hurt"
“Who was that?” Abig asked coolly, leaning against the door frame. Anna shrugged her shoulders, meanwhile her master had given up on her manners.
The maid had a mind of her own. She covered Ina and looked at her master with cold eyes.
"She didn't say much," she said darkly and pointed to Melina, who was staring straight ahead. Misha pushed silently into the room next to her father, with a bowl of soup and a small pile of clothes.
“What's that supposed to be?” Asked Abig roughly.
"We are not welfare"
Misha did not look up, passed Melina the soup with thin lips and squeezed past her father out of the room.
"I'm talking to you" Abig snapped after her and uttered a contemptuous sound.
"No good" he hissed and stepped over to Melina, he roughly grabbed her face and examined it.
“Will there be scars?” He asked Anna, who just shook her head slightly. She despised the old man from the bottom of her heart, it was he who ruined the court of her parents, similar to what is now done with the court of the girls. He wanted Anna as his mistress, but the mother prevented this by telling Abig that she was his daughter. Whether it was just a lie or Anna couldn't tell the truth, but Obig respected it, he took Anna in as planned after the ruin of his parents' farm, but he never touched her. Admittedly, Anna sometimes believed herself to be his daughter, she looked so much like Mischa that you could really mistake her for sisters.

"Take care of the two" he said coolly and turned away.
"I'll count it on your debts" He eyed the still rigid Melina and uttered a disdainful sound. With that he disappeared. Melina only looked with glassy eyes at her sister, who carefully placed a cool cloth on Anna's forehead.
“What happened?” Anna asked quietly.
"A man" breathed Melina. "He wanted to kill us"
“Kill?” Anna eyed her skeptically. Men were usually interested in other things.
"He was after Ina" Anna reached for the soup bowl when it almost slipped out of Melina's hands.
"Now you are safe for the time being" Anna gave her a restrained smile.
"The old man is cold-hearted, so he knows how to protect his house"
She turned around and quietly closed the door behind her. Melina sighed and put her hands over her aching eyes. She hadn't been unconscious for long. She looked tiredly at her sister and crouched down by her bed. She gently brushed one of the white strands from her forehead."Sleep a little, my dear" she breathed and put her booming skull next to Ina's head.
"For now we're safe" She didn't want to think about later.

The Crow Man grabbed Sam and threw him across the street, Sam got up and looked challengingly at the Crow Man.
"Your hour has passed," he gasped, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"My hour" croaked the dark clad.
"Never ends" He turned away from Sam. With a sharp scream, his body lost its shape and dark fog billowed over the ground towards the manor. Sam pulled himself to his feet. He couldn't give up, the lives of some were at stake. Panting, he dragged himself forward. He had been shown what would happen if he couldn't protect her, if he couldn't accomplish his mission. What threatened them all and only this girl could avert.

Misha opened the door to her room a crack.
“How are you?” She asked hesitantly and Anna managed a half-hearted smile. She felt sorry for the girl, she was treated badly by the whole family, and her way too friendly manner made her an easy victim of the general heartlessness in this house.
"You will survive" said Anna coolly and wanted to go on. "Anna" the maid paused.
"I'm sorry" The young woman nodded and left her half-sister in the dark. Misha felt called to feel bad about everything her father spent. But with that attitude she wouldn't get very far.
Anna stopped at the door to the basement. With a sullen sigh, she opened the door. It was a mild night, far too warm for this time of year, which would certainly give them a plague of flies in summer. She put the little candle on the ledge, gathered up her skirt, and paused. She stretched her head a little to get a better view of the courtyard outside. By the torchlight, one of the guards lay motionless in the twilight. She dropped her hands, grabbed the ledge, and tried to look down at what was in the hallway. Some of Obig's men were in the yard, leaning over the motionless man. Anna held her breath when a shadow moved into the light, embraced the men and silently sank their bodies to the floor. "My God" she breathed. The shadow took on a solid form. A man stood between the lifeless bodies, busily rubbing his hands. Anna couldn't quite recognize him, but a cold shiver ran down her back, his face seemed to be smiling and it seemed as if he had recognized her in the small, dark window. Anna turned around, ran through the corridors and threw open the door to the servants' room, but the rooms were empty. Her heart skipped. “Hannes?” She called into the darkness, she had forgotten the candle. Nobody answered her. She took a few steps in when her foot hit something, she leaned down and pressed her hand over her mouth when she realized that there was a person on the ground.She stormed out, without thinking, headed for Misha's room. She didn't care about anyone else, but Misha wanted to get her out of here. Something was going on here that they couldn't handle, they had to go.
She pushed the door open. The room was empty. With a gentle curse, she turned away. Where had this stubborn girl gone?

Misha poured water into the bowl, humming. She had forgotten to bring her guests something to wash.
She still couldn't believe that someone wanted something bad for the sisters. She especially liked Ina, who was always so kind to everyone and with her shy nature you just had to take her to your heart. She secretly suspected her father of having her fingers in the game again.
She sighed as she passed her father's quarters on the way into the chamber. He hadn't shared a room with his mother for a long time. Light fell on the hallway, the door was open. She pressed herself against the wall if her father would only scold her again for being kind to her guests. She looked shyly into the room and paused.

Above sat over the papers and signed some documents. He had been having trouble falling asleep for several years, so he couldn't just go back to sleep after the disturbance, but it was practical and would use the sleepless night for unfinished business. He was by no means annoyed about the disturbance, after all whoever was at work tonight had finally brought his sweet gold pieces into his house. He should thank the stranger, he thought pensively and in his mind already had little Ina in bed with him. He sighed in anticipation and winced when a malicious laugh came from the window behind him. It was too hot and stuffy to sleep with the window closed.
He looked around, jumped up from the chair so that he fell back, and grabbed the pointed letter opener from the desk. "What's the point?" He snapped at the strange stranger, who was crouching in the window, looking at Abig out of dark button eyes with a crooked head and grinning broadly. The stranger raised his head and sniffed loudly. "Hmm" he said thoughtfully. "Hmm" he repeated and giggled. Something flew in next to his head. A fat crow sat on the bedpost and both stared at the frightened Obig, who slowly pushed his way to the door and pushed the handle down.
"If you want to travel, someone should show you the way" hissed the stranger and before Obig could know it he grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back into the room. The crow flapped its wings. Above grabbed the letter opener more tightly and rammed it into the chest of the stranger, who, unmoved, pulled the metal out again with the other hand and let it fall carelessly. “Two little pigeons, did you see them?” Abig just stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. A telltale stain formed between his legs."You will go with me" said the Crow Man with a smile and looked into the old eyes.
"But I want to take my time for you and give you a present" He left it out and Obig hurried to the door when something struck in his back and tore him off his feet. The crow man sat relaxed on his back with his legs crossed and patted the back of the head with the sparse gray hair.

Laughing, he drew a blade and put it to Obig's throat.
"Drool, drool" he began, laughing softly. "Old zeal" he breathed in Obig's ear.
"If you wanted to kiss tender breasts, you will have to pay for it," he said in a good mood and pulled the blade through his flesh.
The Crow Man looked up and into the eyes of Misha, who stood frozen in stone in the open door. The Crow Man got off Obig's back and bowed.
"I'm happy to be a guest" he said with a grin and showed his sharp teeth. "I'm not a burden either"
The bowl slipped out of Misha's hands and shattered, water mixed with the blood on the floor to a pink shimmering liquid. The crowman grabbed her and pressed her to the wall of the hall.
"Seen, seen, won't understand, won't tell anyone, because nobody can ask you anymore"
He raised the blade and aimed at her eyes.
Misha just stared into those black little button eyes. Suddenly something bumped into the little man, grabbed her, and dragged her down the aisle.
"We have to get out of here," Anna puffed, holding Misha tight by the hand and pulling her with her.
"The others," Misha managed to say. "Are dead," Anna replied harshly. Even if they might not be now, nobody stood a chance against this guy who