2. Astraea #3
She seems not to notice, nor care, that her nightdress reveals more than is considered proper, leaving her flowy robe open and everything on display.
The men begin walking away through the dimly lit space, ignoring everything I find fascinating.
What is so clearly new to me is nothing out of the norm to them.
I thought we would be going to somewhere like the past taverns, but this place feels more like a home than it does an inn.
Although I don’t really have much experience with either, the atmosphere is what I imagine a normal home might feel like.
I watch as Kensa has a whispered conversation with another woman with blonde hair.
She is just as beautiful and just as scarcely dressed as she is, and they both eye me like I’m some sort of puzzle.
Looking over my shoulder, I catch Kyros as he stops just beyond the room in a darkened hallway.
Worry and something else appear to be written on his face, but before I can discern it, he purses his lips and turns the corner, disappearing from sight.
“Did you hear me, hun?” Heat rises in my cheeks as Kensa softly touches my shoulder, grabbing my attention.
I flinch away from her hand, and she jerks her hand away just as quickly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” She looks down at where she touched me.
Did she feel that too? The shock of her touch on my skin felt almost like touching a pot that was just removed from a flame.
“It’s not you. It’s been a long night. I think I just need some rest.” I say, shrugging in on myself.
“Of course. I’m going to have Maisy take you to a room for sleep, but first I suspect you are hungry?” As if on cue, my stomach lets out an audible growl.
“I think I could eat.” I give her a subtle smile, barely finishing the words before a young girl comes striding in from behind Kensa.
Her hair is dark, a deep chestnut brown, nearly black, and bobs around her rounded chin.
As soon as I see her, I see myself when I was a girl.
Her large, round, deep blue eyes brighten when she sees me; flecks of gold sprinkled throughout her irises shine like jewels, and a wide, gap-filled smile greets me.
“Good! We just brought in fresh eggs and fruit! We always get them before the sun rises and the chickens know we’re snatching them.
The blueberries are soooo delicious and juicy.
They’re my favorite!” The girl grins ear-to-ear as she reaches into my cloak, surprising me.
She grabs my wrist and whirls me around in the opposite direction.
I gape at the two women who look shocked and embarrassed as the young girl pulls at me.
“Maisy! What have you been told about keeping your hands to yourself?!” The other woman—the woman I thought was named Maisy—scolds the girl.
She yanks her arm back away from touching me, squeezing her wrist and leaning down, speaking hushed into the girl’s face.
I barely hear her say something about Lord Kyros, and then the girls’ eyes widen.
“It’s ok really. She didn’t mean any harm,” I say, stepping toward them.
“She knows better. She should be punished for that outburst.” The woman says, and heat flares in my cheeks as my brows drop at her use of words.
“No.” I say, firmly placing myself between the woman and the girl.
The former has her hands resting on her hips in frustration.
“I said it was no bother. The girl is just excited about a newcomer. She does not need a punishment for her excitement.” I grind the word ‘punishment’ between my teeth, having heard it too many times in my life.
The anger in my response to this stranger, though, surprises even me.
The unnamed woman seems to sense my rising irk and drops her hands to her sides, disbelief and anger simmering in her eyes.
“Maisy, just please contain yourself next time.” She speaks around me, still hissing her words in the girl’s direction firmly.
When I look back at Maisy, her cheeks tint pink, darkening her freckles that remind me so much of Cole.
She nods, and her sheepish demeanor that has taken over her energy makes my brow drop further.
I turn back to face the woman again, though the words that were building fall away as Kensa clears her throat.
“As I was saying, Maisy will see to making sure you eat… And Maisy, dear, can you please make sure she is shown the pink room to get some rest after food?” Kensa steps forward, pulling the nameless woman to heel, and Maisy nods at them before offering me a crestfallen smile.
I turn my back on the two women without any thanks.
This time things will be different. I will be different.
I refuse to allow people who use their position of power to demean and destroy the souls of those they deem weaker.
I will prove to everyone that complacency will be their downfall, because while they are feeling good about their reign over those they deem less, we are learning there is strength to be found in kindness.
It is a power often mistaken for weakness, but it builds numbers far greater to fight evil with.
“Please, show me to these blueberries. I’m simply famished.” I whisper to Maisy, offering my upturned palm, and when she looks at it, her eyes brighten with joy before she puts her hand in mine.