Chapter 14

It was a bit surprising that Lucien had released me so early, and I was glad for it. He also gave me a flimsy cotton dress so I wouldn't have to walk all the way to the servants' quarters naked, and I was almost grateful for it until he said, "I alone should see you naked as from now on; you belong to me."

I walked briskly, but every time, it felt like my knees would buckle and my legs would give and I would fall, so I reduced my pace. A lot had happened that day and it wasn't even noon yet. I reached Elias's chamber, hoping he wouldn't notice that I was passing by. But it wasn't my lucky day. Before I passed by, he came out of the room. One of his eyes was swollen and he had patches of dried blood all over his face. He looked pitiful, but I decided to just walk by and go on to the hostel.

"Don't you move an inch," he commanded, and I stopped in my tracks.

He came close to me me and ran his hand over my face, clutching my neck tenderly. And then he slapped me hard on the face. By now, I was becoming used to constantly being hit and it wasn't too much of a surprise.

"You dirty bitch!" He said through clenched teeth. "I can smell that bastard off of you. Have you no shame? You left me and jumped right into bed with him, eh? Shameless slut!"

I didn't know I smelled of me, but really, it was the least of my worries. But I thought it was highly unfair for Elias to accuse me of jumping into bed with his brother as if I had had any choice. I was being pushed about like a pawn piece on a chessboard and he was making it seem like I was somehow in control of my actions.

"I'm sorry," I said to him, but without any remorse in my tone. "But I didn't have much of a choice."

"Of course you'll say this, you little slut," he said, grabbing me by the chin. "Of course you'll say this. I bet when we were fighting, you loved it, you loved seeing me getting beat up. I saw the loom on your face, bitch; you were enjoying it. I'm sure you practically ran into his arms. But do you know one thing, you'll never be his. You'll always belong to me."

I simply looked at him, hoping he would let of my chin. And he did. He walked right back into his room and I continued towards the hostel. When I reached there, this time, I wasn't ignored by the servants. They all stopped to look at me, looks of accusation in their faces. They all thought I was responsible for Janice's death, but I decided I wouldn't let it bother me, so I walked to the hostel. I could hear mutters of "murderer" and "witch" as I walked, but I ignored all of them. I went to my bunk and lay there thinking.

After a while, a shadow came over me. I looked up and saw that it was Yvette. She had on a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay, dear?" She asked and I sat up.

"I've been better," I said and tried to smile, even though every muscle, every bone and every joint in my body ached.

"You've been through a whole lot since you got here," she said, sitting beside me. "You're too young for the stress you've been through."

"I manage," I said, feeling tears well up my throat. She shook her head.

"I hear you are now with Master Lucien," she said and I was taken aback.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"Ohh, word goes around, you know," she said with a small smile. "Master Lucien and his brothers are brutal. It's so unfortunate what you're going through, really."

"It is," I said, sniffling.

"Also, I know you can hear the whispers," she said. "People are pointing fingers at, accusing you of taking Janice's life, calling you a witch. I know that is hard, but you have to be strong. It's going to go on for a while. Try and be nice to everyone, even those who are mean to you and everyone will see that you're not so bad. Okay?"

"Okay," I answered. "Has she been buried?"

"Yes, she has," she said. "The poor girl has not had a day of rest since she came to this palace. I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of glad she's dead. She deserves the rest."

And immediately, it struck me that I could end up like her, be used by Lucien and his brother, like an object of their fascination, until one day, I would die of sheer exhaustion. The thought made me catch in my throat and Yvette looked at me, her eyes filled with terror, almost as if she knew what I was thinking.

"You're very tired, I know," she said, placing a hand on my lap. "You need some food first before you sleep. How about I get you some porridge?"

"You're too kind, Yvette," I said, smiling, touched by her kindness. It moved me to tears but I controlled myself till she left. In a minute, she was back with a hot plate of food which I ate greedily. After I was done, I had a bath and collapsed on the bed. For the first time in a long time, I felt something like freedom. I tried not to think about all that had happened, instead focusing on a time in the past that I had loved — like my time with Hilda. I lay in the bed until sleep descended and I nodded off.

When my eyes were closed, I saw myself walking on a sandy plain. Ferocious winds blew dust into my eyes and I shielded my face with my hands. I tripped over something and almost fell. And when I stood up to look at what it was, I saw that it was the bloodstained corpse of Janice. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and grabbed my hand, a sick smile on her face.

"You're next, bitch!" She said.