"Eve!" A shrill voice called out to her, sounding urgent. "Eve!"
Eve groaned, turning towards the other side in protest. Sleep was weighing down on her eyes heavily and her limbs felt like jelly. She couldn't be bothered to even open her eyes for a second. She had started drifting off into the warmth of her bed when suddenly, her blanket was yanked off of her, followed by a gust of cold air.
"Get up, Eve!" Litty repeated, her patience running out as she reached forward to shake the girl's shoulders.
All the activity finally got to her. Eve sat up on her bed with a frown, her long brown hair disheveled from sleep and her eyes half-closed as she turned towards her friend.
"What time is it?" She asked, stifling a yawn with the inside of her palm.
"An hour to sunset," Litty replied, her arms folded across her chest as she stared at her with creased brows.
"What?!" Eve exclaimed, her eyes growing wide in shock, all and any remnant of sleep vanishing from her body within an instant. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?!"
She had come back late the previous night or at dawn that day- whichever suits the narrative best. A few minutes after she had slipped into bed, she had heard the rustle of clothes and the murmur of slaves slowly exiting the room.
She had closed her eyes thinking that she would take a few more minutes of rest before going up to the library to clean. After all, the regent was not in the palace. No one would mind if she were to go late. But what she didn't know was that she'd be skipping the entire day's chores due to that.
It was unlike the matron to tolerate such accidents, as far as she heard. Eve gulped in fear, the image of an angry matron filling her mind. She looked towards her friend, expecting an explanation.
Litty rolled her eyes. "Where were you yesterday?" She asked, ignoring her question.
Eve looked away, not knowing how to answer that question. She should have been happily sleeping in her room. She should have been. Yet, she was undergoing torture all night long from a tyrant who seemed to be bent on taking advantage of her social position to bend her to his will.
Images of the night flooded in her mind- the servant's pleasured screams filling her ears once again. She remembered her knees weakening, her mind clouding over, and finally losing footing only to fall on the bed. Before she could even squirm away, Theodore had pushed the girl onto her, pressing the servant down against her as he pleasured her.
She could still feel the girl squirming against her helplessly as the king licked and teased the girl's most private parts, his breath fanning her thighs as he inserted his tongue into the girl's core, making the servant grab onto her desperately, her tongue forcing down her mouth in the heat of the moment.
Blood rushed onto her cheeks in embarrassment. "I-"
"Never mind," Litty said, interrupting her. "Quick. Wash up and head to the king's room."
Eve's head snapped towards her friend in shock. Did she hear that right? Was she asking her to head to the king's room? But why? What kind of trick was he playing with her now?
Seeing her shocked expression, Litty frowned, narrowing her eyes at her suspiciously. "Royal orders. The matron is fuming." She explained, staring at her as if she owed an explanation for whatever was happening. "The king declared that he wouldn't go to tonight's ball without you. He wants you to personally attend him."
"What?!" Eve exclaimed, her heart dropping at the statement.
The man was abusing his power. If only the regent was here maybe...Eve shook her head. No. What was she even thinking? What happened that night was a one-time thing, considering her luck. She shouldn't be expecting such things out of him. Especially when they were socially and mentally eons apart unlike the king's accusation.
"Hurry!" "You have no choice."
Eve cursed, pushing herself off of the bed. The only one that could help her out of this situation now was herself. And she knew it. That damn shifter! He had told her that he would try everything in his power to get her to yield. She had dismissed it off as an empty threat when she had come out of his room untouched by his hands.
She didn't know that he would go this far to make her bend. If she were to let him push her around like this, there was no telling what he would do next. And hence she had to put a stop to this.
She was going to make him regret asking for her, she thought begrudgingly, stomping out of the room with Litty trailing behind her who was murmuring about how she had started to keep secrets from her.
When they entered the bath hall, it was filled with women talking loudly as they washed up for the night's activities. The moment they saw her, the hall fell silent, the echoes of their voices resonating low until it died out. Every pair of eyes were focused on her.
Eve ignored them as she turned to the first empty spot and stepped out of her clothes. Though she had half a mind to go just as, wearing yesterday's sweaty clothes, she didn't want to poke an already angry matron further.
And of course, there were other ways to make Theodore wish he never called upon her- ways that were at the moment simply escaping her mind. She hastily washed, not bothering to wipe herself dry before stepping into fresh clothes she had grabbed earlier from the shoddy trunk under her bed that was allotted to her.
Taking a glance at her friend who was still rubbing her wet scalp with a towel, she picked up her soiled dress, making her way out of the cubicle in a hurry, her wet hair dripping water from its ends. Litty grumbled in protest, quickly following behind as they hurried over to the exit. But someone was already waiting for them there.
Eve ignored her stepsister as she brushed past her, not caring to acknowledge her existence.
"You!" Viola's shrill voice echoed through the corridor.
Eve sighed, turning back in irritation. "Yes?" She asked, raising her brows impatiently.
Eve didn't know whether it was the crowd that had gathered or the mist coming out of the hall that had made her blind to the girl's movements. But she had ducked too late. As her wet hand slammed against her face, Eve stepped back with a hiss, glaring at the girl enraged.
"How dare you seduce the king?!" Viola shrieked, reaching out towards her hair in anger.
"Hey!" Litty exclaimed, her hands moving in a hurry as she pushed the girl away. "Watch your mouth, bitch!"
Viola screamed in agony as she fell, slipping on the water falling from Eve's hair, landing on the cold hard floor with a thump. Murmurs and faint sounds of laughter rose from the crowd gathered around them. As she watched, Viola got up, her long blonde hair whirling in the air as she charged towards an angry Litty.
The two girls fell on the ground, rolling and screaming as they pulled each other's hair, the tailor's daughter managing to land a few punches on her stepsister's stomach before she was flipped, Viola scratching her neck like a wild animal on the loose.
Litty screamed, pushing her elbow into the girl's waist. The sounds of cheers were rising around them. Eve shot forward shocked at their behavior.
"Litty! No!" She shouted, grabbing her friend by her arm. She turned to her stepsister and warned. "Let go of her Viola!"
The girls' screams rose as the intensity of their fight flared high, Eve's interference acting more like fuel than anything else. Suddenly a loud thump boomed across the corridor, electricity crackling through the air as a charged wind whooshed past them, the lanterns that lit up the dark path flickering violently under its force before coming to a standstill.
All three of them quickly stepped away from each other, Litty sticking to her side with a bruised face. Eve licked her lips nervously, glancing towards the direction of the echoing footsteps.
"What is happening here?!" The matron asked, her voice rising in anger as the purple in her eyes blazed brightly.
Litty and Eve exchanged a look with each other, choosing to stay quiet as they held onto each other's hands, knowing that they were doomed for good.
"It was my turn today!" Viola's voice rose above the silence as she pointed a finger towards Eve, shaking with rage. "And she stole it from me!"
The matron's eyes snapped towards the girl. "Watch your tongue, girl." She warned, her brows creasing in irritation. "It's not up to you to decide. It was the king's orders." She turned to Eve, shutting off the girl before she could protest. "You. Hurry along. What are you waiting for?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at her.
Eve nodded, her heart hammering against her chest in fear. As she rushed past the matron, she pulled Litty along with her, not wanting to leave her alone to face the repercussions. Their pace increased as they left behind the crowd until they were running through the corridors.
Their eyes pinched in relief as a nervous giggle broke out, the friends holding onto each other as they stopped in front of the place where the path split in two, one leading towards the kitchen and the other to the insides of the palace.
"Thank you," Eve said, pulling the girl into a hug.
Litty chuckled, patting her back. "Best of luck." She said, stepping back from the embrace with a smile.