Alex stood still with her hands folded. Her cheeks were bruised and red.
"Azrael, where are you...?" She said to herself in a low tone.
The Chief maiden who couldn't hear her properly thought Alex was cursing her. "What did you just say to me...?" The Chief Maiden said again as she prepared to smack her face.
At this point, one of the women in the crowd ran up to Alex and got in between Alex and the Chief Maiden, and went on her knees.
"Chief Maiden, please give her some time, she would wash the clothes, I promise you... please spare her... She is not used to our customs and it would take time to learn... I will teach her." The woman completed while folding her hands in a pleading manner on her knees.
The Chief Maiden reined in her wrath and restrained her hands from moving any further. She simply turned with her entourage and left the gathering.
Whispers started to rise from every corner of the room.
"She seems to be stronger than expected. She has survived 30 minutes, so pay up..."
"Is she stubborn or crazy...?"
"Wow, I Think I like her, she didn't even bend till the end, maybe she might just give us a show..."
"My money is on this girl, she has something about her that makes her different."
While they were discussing, a woman named Biolu who came to her rescue, went close to her and helped her to adjust her clothes.
She picked up the basket of clothes and brought it to Alex.
"My name is Biolu, you will only survive this place if you follow their instructions. Since I got here, only one person has left, and you could be the second, you will soon discover that this place is more favorable that out there. Most of us chose to stay here because when we adapted we got to enjoy it... Maybe you could try and..." While she was trying to console and advise Alex, Alex turned and walked out on her.
Biolu went with the clothes and went to wash, rinse and spread them on Alex's behalf.
Alex walked outside and noticed guards placed by every corner, she couldn't escape even if she wanted to.
She looked on with a pitiful glance while thinking about Azrael.
For a couple of hours, she stayed under a tree, while she occasionally stood up and sat back down on the ground.
Biolu came to join her after a while and sat beside her. "I've washed the clothes and dried them for you, when the chief Maiden comes, you can just take credit for that..." Biolu let out slowly while looking into the distance.
Alex turned to her and studied her face for a while. She noticed a lot of scars on Biolu's face, she could tell that she also had suffered the same treatment that Alex was now suffering.
"Why are you helping me...?" Alex asked with a furrowed brow.
Biolu kept looking into the distance as she spoke, "I've also been in your shoes. I was even more stubborn than you are. For three days I didn't eat nor obey them, but they broke me after one week, I was nearly killed, just lucky to be alive."
"I don't want you to suffer the same fate, it's just a needless struggle, give in to their demands and survive, and maybe one day you could get your revenge but if you keep going on this stubborn path, you won't live long enough to get your revenge..." Biolu explained while sighing deeply.
Alex looked at her while pondering on the words she said. The words touched her and she pondered on them.
"How long have you been here?" Alex asked Biolu.
"Three years!" Biolu responded.
"Why? Isn't it just one year sentence...?" Alex couldn't understand.
"I was stubborn in the beginning and because of that, Lord Chadwas decided to add 10 years to my sentence, so I have about 7 years more," Biolu spoke regretfully.
"But.....?" Alex was conflicted.
"That is why I came to help you, I don't want you to make the mistake I made, only one of us has been able to leave after one year, the rest of us have been here for so long, we are just kept here to be the plaything of Lord Chadwas. He comes, picks us as he likes, and does whatever he wants with us..." Biolu spoke regretfully.
"My lover is a werewolf...." Alex suddenly interjected and paused before she continued, "He will come and save me and when he does, I will ask him to save you too" Alex added confidently.
Biolu smiled as if she didn't take those words to heart. "Your lover is long dead by now. We are all wives or lovers to one werewolf or the other across the country, after the Monsignor kills the werewolves, he brings their wives, Us, to Lord Chadwas to fulfill the lustful desires and do with us whatever he wants."
"Your Lover would most likely be dead now. The werewolf bond is probably severed." Biolu said as tears started to stream down her face
She thought of her husband as she spoke.
He reached out and held Alex's hand, "Please don't suffer unnecessarily, your lover is long dead, find a way to survive if you ever want revenge..." Biolu got up after saying those words and went away. Tears were flowing down her face, and she didn't want to stay any longer and be reminded of what she used to have, she rushed inside while trying to clean her tears.
Alex watched her walk away and was lost for words. She saw how the discussion affected her but that didn't stop her from believing that Azrael was alive.
"My lover is alive, I can feel it..." Alex muttered to herself.
Just as she was sitting on her own, a pair of feet appeared right in front of her. Alex looked up from the feet to the leather-covered legs to the cotton-covered thighs to the thick leather-buttoned chest to the stern face.
It was the Chief Maiden who stood in front of her, but this time she didn't come with her entourage.
"Have you washed the clothes...?" She asked Alex in a condescending tone.
Alex Bayly initially wanted to ignore her, but she remembered the words of Biolu, where she said, "Don't suffer unnecessarily" and she decided to take a different approach.
"Yes, I have" Alex responded while trying to fake a smile.
"Good, where are they...?" The Chief Maiden looked surprised to hear that but was able to quickly adjust and demand to see the washed clothes.
"Biolu helped me to dry them so I will have to find her..." Alex added confidently.
The Chief Maiden frowned at that.
Helping another person carry out their task is a serious offense. She would not expect Biolu to do that,
'Maybe she just assisted her since it's her first time...' The Chief Maiden thought.
"Let's go and check the clothes..." The chief Maiden commanded.