MALIA’S POV
Wordlessly, I followed behind the two guards who conversed hushly among themselves as we moved. I wasn’t eavesdropping but I picked up something about a ceremony that will be happening in the coming week or so, I couldn’t catch much, their voices were too low.
Needless to say, we arrived in front of the door which they deemed suitable to be my room and one of them brought out a ton of keys from his pocket and picked out a particular one to unlock the door.
“Here, you have the room” He pointed towards the room while keeping the door wide ajar. I nodded thankfully at him and walked in.
Dust greeted me before any other thing and I instinctively stepped back.
“Apologies for that, the room hasn’t been put to use for ages but I will get the maids right away to help you with cleaning. Everything will be carried out immediately. Do feel at home” He stated and bowed curtly before the two walked away.
I didn’t have to wait for long before the maids arrived. Emphasize the “s” behind the “maid”
There were more than ten that presented themselves before me and got to work immediately. They didn’t even let me take part in any of the work and did everything on their own within a short period.
All I did was sit down on the already-made bed and watch them. They ignored my presence and continued to communicate cheerfully between themselves as they cleaned. I admire the relationship between the workers around here I would say.
After they were done with the cleaning, they even went as far as setting me some warm water for bathing and then getting me clothes to change into, food to eat, and a lot of services that made me feel right at home.
Thereafter, they left me to the room and all footed out.
Immediately I ambled into the washroom, I became so much aware of how dirty I looked. My hair was tangled and I could swear I had some twigs hiding in there somewhere. There were scratches on my face and dirt in every visible part of my skin.
I now understand why the guards asked Ryder if I should be taken to the servant’s quarters at first. I looked nothing short of that. One look at the bathroom mirror and I was hurrying toward the shower to rid myself of the dirt.
I washed my hair first and then scrubbed my skin until it was tender. I only left the bathroom when I was contented with the result of my effort. And then I slipped into the floor-length powdered pink gown with a slit reaching my mid-thigh. I let my hair air dry and sat down to munch on the meal.
I don’t know if it was because I was dead hungry, but the food tasted so much advanced than the ones I was used to eating and I almost licked the plate clean after the meal.
When I was finally back to my senses, everything began to replay back in full force.
I ran away from my pack.
My entire life as I used to know it has changed forever.
When I left, I was fuelled by so much anger and sadness. Now that the adrenaline had died down, I was beginning to face reality. Call me a weak person which I am used to hearing anyway but the thought of not being able to see Zade again forever was so terrifying.
As I sat at the window still and gazed out through the window which had a view of almost half of the vast pack from up here, I realized the hard truth that here, I was no longer a Luna. I am nothing short of a commoner and would be treated like everyone else.
Adapting to that is going to be hard in a way but I will try to keep up.
I don’t know for how long I sat there, just going through my life over and over again but it was long enough for the sun to gradually begin to retreat from the sky back to the horizon where it would rest for the day.
The sound of a swift knock on my door caused me to instantly drop down from the window still and move away just in time for the door to be pushed open even though I didn’t grant any permission for that to be carried out.
“I wouldn’t be pleased if you were trying to get yourself killed when I have pushed through different obstacles to save you”
I didn’t even need to look up to see who was speaking but I did anyway and my eyes collided with the mysterious Ryder. He was dressed so casually that I almost didn’t recognize him at first glance. He had his hands simply tucked into his pockets.
“I wasn’t….. I was just taking a look at the outside world. I wasn’t about to get myself killed” I responded, still keeping a safe distance between us.
The annoying part of everything was the fact that I have been trying to figure him out since we met but I haven’t been able to do so up till now.
The only thing I knew was that he was a vital part of this community and might as well be a beta but that was it. Nothing more. And to top it all, he wasn’t giving me the chance to read him through his speech. He was always reserved and emotionless.
Whereas, he always gave me this thoughtful look that made me rethink my entire existence. It almost felt like he was seeing right through me and knew everything about me even though I didn’t tell him anything just yet.
“I will take your word for it. How are you settling in?” He moved closer and sat on the coffee table at the far end of the room on a balcony which I didn’t even notice and indicated for me to move closer.
“Come sit and let’s figure you out”