This wasn't the right time!
But he continued walking, and no one was stopping him. At that side of the room, the servants were all too busy with one thing or the other.
It would arouse curiosity or maybe even suspicion if she went to the other side to stop Alaris, but even the consequences of that would be so much better than what Alaris was about to do.
Her feet moved quicker than she had anticipated for them to and soon enough she was stumbling into Alaris who seemed to snap quickly out of his daze for revenge at that.
But the water is the bowl splashed on one of the men seated around the table; it wasn't the White King. So maybe that was good.
She fell on her knees quickly, trying to beg her way out of this.
Attention.
The very thing they didn't want was now upon them.
“How dare you, Filth?!” A hand swept swiftly across her face and this time it took biting down her tongue not to return the favour.
Someone rushed right next to her, apologizing to the woman who had been seated on the legs of the man the water had splashed onto.
It was probably the maid that planned on reporting her to their Mistress earlier. Because now she was painfully pulling Belladonna by her ears, dragging her out of the room.
Her knees scraped the floor and her ears hurt like they were on fire. Tears ran down her cheeks.
She was trying to stand but the swift movement of the maid dragging her away kept her on the floor.
Not this again.
By Ignas, not this again!
For Eli, anything for Eli. She had failed him by losing their child, she should be able to do this for him.
Before she knew it, another maid was pulling her by hair and the force of this made her cry in pain. Flashes of different times she had been for ed under different torture ran through her mind and she suppressed them.
Maybe this was better. Maybe they were trying to get her out of the room quicker because if she stayed worse punishment would await her.
She tried to crawl out faster but suddenly they stopped and turned back and only then did she realize why they had stopped.
The man she had wronged held out a goblet to her. He was still seated in his seat and the woman that had slapped her was back on his legs .
She tried to stand up, but a maid forced her back on her knees, while another pushed a golden jug into her hand.
He wanted her to serve him? Crawl to him too?
Lunatics!
What was the implication of doing that?
With her peripheral sight she tried to search for Alaris, but if this had any implications at all, he didn't seem to understand it, didn't seem to even know.
She crawled to him and poured him the goblet of wine. She tried to avoid their gaze as much as possible, that might bring upon her another punishment. Tears threatened to overwhelm her and at a point, they welled up in her eyes.
The woman collected the wine, spat in it and gave it back to her.
“Drink it and show some gratitude that we are merciful.”
Belladonna’s hand trembled slightly as she took the goblet. Anger filled her veins and her hands itched to pour the wine on her face, but that would bring more trouble.
She stared down at the wine, watching the spit float.
A hand went under her chin, the golden rings that adorned those long fingers brushing against her skin, lighter than the claws did, as he made her look up at him. His black mask, along with the strands of his glowing silver hair that fell over his forehead, served as an hindrance for her to completely make out his face and when his thumb brushed her tears away, confusion ran down her veins like cold water.
Those eyes…
Those brown eyes.
A combination of feelings; a sense of recognition with a lost meaning.
It felt strange.
It felt almost like she knew this man.
Who was he?