The emperor ordered, and Yennefer glared as the guards gripped her harshly by the arms and pulled her down from the wooden stage.
The faces of the crowds who were cheerful to witness her death crumpled, and deep displeasure emerged on their faces.
What was this? What about getting justice for the victims who died at Yennefer's blade?
Had that all suddenly gone down the drain?
Are they letting her off just like that?
They murmured among themselves, and the emperor stood up from his seat.
He glanced at them all, and without saying a word, he turned around and began to walk towards the royal sedan with the prince and Luthiel, including the royal guards, following behind him.
They locked Yennefer in the slave carriage and returned to the palace.
"Take her in, have the maids give her a nice bath to clean her up. She's an important guest, for now, so she needs to be presentable to the eyes. Also, one of the royal rooms shall be hers. It's the least I could do before I use her for my gain."
The emperor chuckled in amusement and, together with his escorts, he made his way into his royal, luxurious chambers and locked the door.
Luthiel bowed in respect and escorted William to his chambers.
Once he made sure that William was settled in and wouldn't be needing his assistant, for the time being, he turned around and made his way out of the chamber.
He strolled towards the maiden's shelter where Yennefer was staying at the moment, and with an indifferent expression on his face, he stepped inside and walked towards her.
Yennefer raised her head, and she couldn't help but find herself scrutinizing him.
He had long, silky black hair that was parked in a messy bun and a warrior-like body.
His eyes had these tiny gold tints above his green eyes that she swore she saw it sparkle in her memories at the moment he caught her and led her into the high walls of Gavaria.
It looked as though he had tears in his eyes, making them seem like glass eyes.
A slow smile emerged on her face, and a bit lost, she stared intently at him.
He... reminded her of someone.
Ahh... Yuri. The green emerald glass-like eyes explain it.
"Follow me." Luthiel's deep, unfriendly voice sounded and instantly snapped back to reality, Yennefer's eyes fluttered and she quickly shook her head.
Without wasting another second in the shed after his words, Luthiel turned around and walked out of the shed.
Yennnefer gazed at his disappearing back and, with a grumpy look on her face, she stood up from the chair she was seated on and strolled after him.
She followed behind him, and they made their way up the stairs to the second floor of the castle.
Luthiel halted once he arrived at a certain room and pushed its wooden door, with carved drawings on it, open.
He walked inside, and Yennefer stepped in after him.
He shut the door behind them and, out of the bathroom, two ladies walked out with not-so-happy expressions on their faces.
Without a doubt, it was obvious that they were unhappy with the fact that Yennefer escaped the execution they so looked forward to.
Luthiel glanced at the maids and, without needing to hear him speak, the maids, who already knew what his commands were, hurried towards Yennefer and grabbed her by the arms.
They led her into the bathroom and proceeded to give her a proper bath.
Luthiel who was ordered to watch her every second and never let his eyes off her ambled towards the seat within the room and sat down.
He crossed his legs and, with his hands holding onto the sword on his lap, he shut his eyes and patiently began to wait.
…
The maids loosened Yennefer's braided white hair, which reached her bottom and tore her filthy tattered clothing off her body.
The cold night breeze, as a result of the open window, smacked against her naked body, and quickly she wrapped her arms around her body, only able to cover little parts of her flesh.
"Step inside." The chubby middle-aged maid pointed at the bathtub filled with little petal flowers, and with a bit of hesitance, Yennefer slipped one of her legs into the bathtub.
Immediately realizing that it was very warm water, she quickly got in and a deep breath of relief exited her mouth.
Warm baths were her favorite as they helped her relax, so this was honestly a deep relief to her.
A smile spread across her face and disappeared almost instantly when the brown-skinned maid grabbed the sponge and gently began to scrub her body, trying to wash off the dirt on her soft skin.
"Livia, what are you doing?" The chubby one, who was confused as to why Livia was being so gentle, asked, and Livia turned her head to look at her.
"What do you mean?" She asked and the chubby one snatched the sponge from her.
"Well, she's filthy and stinking. We are meant to make sure that every single dirt particle is washed off her body and hair, so why are you being so gentle with her?"
She asked and shook her head in annoyance before Livia could utter a word.
"Give me that!"
She snatched the sponge from her and gripped Yennefer by the arm.
Harshly, she began to wash her skin and hair, leaving Livia to stare at her in speechlessness.
"Masha, easy, please. You are going to end up leaving bruises on her fragile skin..." She said, but Masha scoffed in ignorance.
….
Luthiel, who obviously heard all the ruckus going on inside the washroom, relaxed even more on the chair and waited yet another forty-five minutes.
The door to the washroom abruptly pushed open after a few seconds and Livia and Masha stepped out.
They respectfully bowed to him and made their way out of the chamber.
Luthiel opened his eyes, and slowly, he turned his head to look at Yennefer, who was clad in a white silk nightgown with her white hair falling down to her waist.
Yennefer shut the door of the washroom, and immediately she turned her head to look at him, he quickly averted his gaze with an indifferent expression still visible on his face.
"What are you still doing here?"
Not expecting to still see him there, Yennefer asked, but he ignored her, not uttering a single word to her.
Her brows arched in a displeased manner, and she walked towards the bed to sit down.
"Are you my personal guard?"
She asked, but just like earlier, he ignored her as though she was invisible and said not a word to her, which ended up confusing Yennefer even more.
"Are you mute?" She inquired, but immediately recalled earlier in the shed, she slightly shook her head.
"Oh wait, you are not mute."
She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Aren't you the prince's royal guard, the one who captured me? May I ask why you are here?"