Scarlett was having a hard time understanding the concept of maids.
Several women showed up in her room, carrying buckets of warm water meant to fill the tub in the washroom. She thanked them and waited for them to leave. But the women just stood by the door, waiting for something to happen.
“I will bathe now,” said Scarlett tentatively, hoping that would make them go away. But instead, the maids went to the washroom.
Were they supposed to watch her bathe?
She walked in cautiously, not knowing what to say. She didn’t want to offend them, but there was something in this ritual she was obviously not understanding.
After a few minutes of silence, one of the maids diverted her eyes from the ground.
“Miss, we are here to assist you. You don’t have to be shy,” she said, blushing.
“Oh, no! Thank you, but I don’t need any help to bathe. I’m fine. Did they tell you I was sick?”
Luca leaned in, grabbing Scarlett’s jaw with one hand bringing her face close to his. She looked into his eyes and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. When Luca moved in to kiss her again, she moved her head to the side and started kissing his lightly stubbled chin, then his cheek, moving onto his neck. While she did that, she began to remove his armor. It was heavy, and it made a clang on the floor when it fell to the ground. Luca let himself be kissed, feeling Scarlett’s skin beneath his hands. He caressed her back, slowly moving his way down towards her bottom. This time her senses were alert and not muddled from the ale. His coarse hands moving through her body made Scarlett shiver with pleasure. When the last piece of Luca’s armor fell on the ground, it seemed like a weight had been lifted from him. With one swift movement, he took off his white shirt and grabbed Scarlett, picking her up by her butt cheeks. Scarlett wrapped her arms and legs
When the three girls entered Queen Edda’s dining hall, Scarlett understood why the Queen had gone through so much trouble to get them to dress accordingly. A long mahogany table stood in the middle of the room, with eight seats on each side of it. And almost every seat was filled, except for the one in the head of the table, evidently reserved for the queen. At the opposite end of the table, there were four places missing too. Those had probably been meant for them. The unfamiliar faces in the room belonged mostly to men, except for one woman who was the oldest person Scarlett had ever seen. All of them except her stood up once the large door opened, and Scarlett, Pakuri, and Voty walked in. Of the three, Voty seemed the one more comfortable in her green flowery dress. It complimented her reddish hair and dark eyes, making her look a lot older than she was. Pakuri, on the other hand, had said none of the dresses fit her, so she wore a suit similar to Gr
This time, Prince Marcellus's hands were bound by chains. He took slow steps towards the table. The closer he got, the more the people at the table stirred. One man even pushed his chair away and stood up. “This means…” “He’s Davorin’s heir!” “Why is he still alive?!” “Send back his head!” “Silence!” said the Queen. Prince Marcellus just looked bored, as if this were all beneath him and a waste of time. In fact, Scarlett thought the same thing. What was the need for so much protocol and dining? It would have been easier if they had all just sat down to talk. There were much more pressing matters than having to entertain these old men. “Queen Edda,” Prince Marcellus said all of a sudden, slightly bowing his head. “Explain to my council why you’re here,” said the Queen. “King Davorin has been sending troops to this side of the wall for some time. They move around, so it’s hard for them to be spotted. The at
More than the fact that she was being used for food, what bothered Mimbi the most was doing nothing all day long. She was happy she was mostly ignored. Ever since she had been claimed as Lord Galax’s ‘vessel’, no one really paid attention to her. But there wasn’t really much to do in the Hova camp besides walking around like a lost dog. The soldiers did all the cooking, cleaning, and washing, and even stopped Mimbi from washing her own clothes when she had tried to do so. It was all quite strange. They didn’t allow her too close to the girls, but if they didn’t see her approaching the area directly, they didn’t notice her once she was among them. She’d sneak in and then sneak out. The Hova had moved the other captives from the cages into a well-guarded area, where they had also been given tents and an area to wash. By now, most of them had the wounds of where they had been fed off. Luckily, the little ones had been spared. A
No one had warned Scarlett that getting out of the dress would be even harder than getting into it.She tried to unlace the straps holding it onto her body, but whenever she twisted her left shoulder, a pang of pain made it impossible to do anything but pull. After a few minutes, she was sure that she had tangled the straps on her back.Hoping that Voty might still be up, she left the room, trying not to make noise. Thankfully, there was no one in the corridor. As she passed Pakuri’s room, she was extra careful not to walk into a statue in front of it. When she arrived at Voty’s room, she knocked on the door, but no one answered. She opened it slightly and peeked inside.Voty was at the foot of the bed, crying. She lifted her head up towards Scarlett, wiping the tears that had dampened her cheeks.“What’s wrong?” Scarlett said, walking into the room and closing the door behind her. She meant to sit on the bed but she tripped
“What are you doing here?” Luca growled. Scarlet froze in her place. She realized how bad this looked. Her dress was loose as if she had just put it back on or been in the process of removing it. And Prince Marcellus didn’t look too good himself, with his hair all messed up. But it had been that way before he arrived… not because they had interacted physically in any way. “I just came to give Miss Scarlett some information. I’ll be going back to my room. Don’t bother with the chains,” Prince Marcellus said, holding his hand up as if it were beneath him to listen to Luca. Then he walked away, leaving Scarlett to face Luca, who looked at her as if he wanted to kill her. “Information?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “It’s a long story,” said Scarlett, sighing. “I am all ears.” “It’s... something I can’t share with anyone, just yet.” “And you expect me to believe that all you were doing with that monster was talking? Look a
“What… what does that mean?” Scarlett said, sitting down on the bed. Of all the things that could have happened to her, this one was the one she least expected. “Just that it’s in your blood. I don’t know what… triggers it, so to speak. I don’t know anything at all, actually. I only tasted it once, a long time ago. On someone who later died because of an unnamed disease. And it doesn’t smell like sickness to us. Remember I told you I can smell diseases on humans? To me, you smell normal. So it has to be that…” “So you’re not technically sure, then? Are you?” “I’m pretty sure,” said Prince Marcellus matter of factly. “I’m not going to tell anyone… if that’s what you’re worried about.” Scarlett held her head between her hands, massaging her temples. “You just told me I may have an incurable disease that may or may not kill me someday. Do you really think it matters if anyone knows?” “It does if they think you’re part Hova. They’re convin
“What are you doing here?” Luca growled. Scarlet froze in her place. She realized how bad this looked. Her dress was loose as if she had just put it back on or been in the process of removing it. And Prince Marcellus didn’t look too good himself, with his hair all messed up. But it had been that way before he arrived… not because they had interacted physically in any way. “I just came to give Miss Scarlett some information. I’ll be going back to my room. Don’t bother with the chains,” Prince Marcellus said, holding his hand up as if it were beneath him to listen to Luca. Then he walked away, leaving Scarlett to face Luca, who looked at her as if he wanted to kill her. “Information?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “It’s a long story,” said Scarlett, sighing. “I am all ears.” “It’s... something I can’t share with anyone, just yet.” “And you expect me to believe that all you were doing with that monster was talking? Look a