Lienna.
Days flew by and I was slowly getting acclimated to thew new life in the Shifter Kings fortress. I now worked as a maid, who washed and cleaned various portions of the castle when I was assigned to and although it was a lot of work, the moment I got used to it, I started to enjoy it. People didn’t stop giving me weird stares however, which I did my possible best to ignore, focusing on what I was here for.
I also have been steering clear of the Shifter Kings as well and so far it has been working since I barely bump into them except for moments when I catch a glimpse of them in the distance. King’s Caspian warning wouldn’t stop echoing in my head, coupled with what I went through with them. I didn’t want another reoccurrence.
The same couldn’t be said about their Mistress however, as it seemed like we crossed paths almost daily, her presence always leaving me with a sense of unease. Sometimes, I caught her staring at me from across the hall, her expression unreadable. Other times, she would appear beside me, her voice dripping with sweetness as she asked about my duties. Her gaze seemed to bore into my soul, as if searching for a secret I didn’t know I kept. I tried to avoid her but despite my efforts, the Mistress continued to seek me out. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was waiting for me to slip up, to give her a reason to pounce.
I also had a new friend apart from Mara who helped me tremendously in the fortress. Her name was Daisy and she was one of the few humans who worked as a maid ij the fortress. She was a really sweet girl who had lived all her life as a slave before she was purchased by the castle and assigned to work as a maid. She was always with me and made living in the fortress a bit more bearable.
As for the moon goddess, despite my best efforts to try and awaken whatever dormant powers I had residing in me or even communicate with her to see what the future held for me, nothing was happening in that area. Sometimes, I forget that the moon goddess resides in me sometimes due to how smooth my life was progressing.
My luck finally ran out one day while I was washing some linens in the maids quarters. As it turns out, Mistress Veronica also turned out to be head of the castle which gave her the authority to check up on maids periodically. I was washing some clothes and hanging them to dry when she arrived. As a result, I didn’t see her quickly enough to bow my head. By the time I noticed, she has caught me already.
“Hey, you!” She called out, her voice as sharp as knives. “Come over here!'” she snapped. I stiffened at first before hurrying towards her, my heart racing in my chest.
“So, you’re going to tell me you didn’t see me when I arrived?”
“You highness… I’m sorry for my delay, but that is the truth, I didn’t see you.” I said as I kept my head bowed. She pulled me up my hair, an act that was totally unexpected. I screamed out in pain, doing my best to try to get my hair out of her grip but it was impossible. Dragging me closer to her face with it, she sneered at me.
“How dare you disrespect me!? You scum of the earth!” She yelled at me, the grip on my hair tightening, my scalp already hurting.
“Disrespect you? I swear I had no intention of doing that! I just didn’t see you when you arrived!” I said right back, the pain coursing through me dulling my senses.
“Ha! You insolent fool. You think because you hot lucky once, you can do whatever you want!?” She let my hair go with a yank, causing me to stumble to the ground, my entire body hurting and my scalp burning. I glared at her, tears filling my eyes but I refused to let them fall. From the corner of my eyes, I saw other maids move very far away from her and a flicker of surprise went through me. What the hell is wrong with this woman!?
“Now, apologize.” She screamed, lightly stomping the ground as she put her hands on her waist, her breaths coming out in ragged off. I bit the inside of my mouth, getting to my knees and lowering my head till it hit the ground.
“I apologize, your highness. This will never happen again.” I muttered, my voice slightly trembling as burning anger coursed through me. Still, it wasn’t enough for her. She yanked me up with my hair once more and while I was still coming to terms with that pain, slapped me in the face. A collective gasp went off behind me and I decided I had enough of this bullshit.
Without giving myself time to think the decision through, I turned around and slapped her too, the sound echoing in the entire courtyard. A louder gasp went off behind me and a shimmer of satisfaction went through me. “I haven’t done anything to you, why are you taking out your frustration on me?” I muttered through gritted teeth, staring in satisfaction as her head remained whipped to the side and the part where my hands made contact with already turning pink.
By the time her gaze returned back to me, I regretted my decision almost instantly. The mistress had begun to give off a morbid energy, the corner of eyes turning black. A jolt of fear went through me and I froze completely, shocked. She blinked and it disappeared but her anger remained. Stalking towards me, she gripped me by my dress and pulled me closer.
“How. Dare. You!?” She seethed, punctuating each word. I opened my mouth to speak but thought against it and snapped it shut instead. She let me go and that acidic smile retuned to her face. A shudder went down my spine and my hands grew clammy with sweat. “You really have grown confident, Lienna. To think you would raise your hand and slap me, the Shifter’s king Mistress.”
“Guards!” She screamed at the top of lungs and two heavily built men rushed out from nowhere and stood beside her.
“Bring her with me. It’s time I taught her a lesson or two.” She said as she turned around and began to walk away. My mouth fell open with shock but there was nothing I could do as I had brought this upon myself. The men grabbed me and pulled me along with me and I could only look on helplessly.
Oh gods, what have I gotten myself into!?