Dahlia had to face the rude awakening of her reality after her pleasant night with the king. In that short moment, she spent with him, she went through her main character moment for the first time in a while but now she was back to being on the sidelines.
"Scrub harder!" Jacinda yelled at Dahlia who was trying to clean the stables, reminding her of just how hard reality was.
'For someone who's lazing sounding rather than doing her job, you have no right to yell at me.' Dahlia wanted to say but kept quiet instead of making the situation worse.
Sometimes silence was the best fit for people like Jacinda who were out to cause trouble.
Not liking the silence, Jacinda decided to taunt Dahlia more just to get a reaction out of her. "You're hand looks a little too manicured for a maid don't you think?" She paused for a second before slamming the soul of her boots into Dahlia's hands. "That should fix it, you know you should thank me for helping you out like this." Jacinda let out a sweet chuckle as if she had just performed an act of kindness.
Dahlia hid the fact that she was in pain after getting stepped on, instead, she kept quiet and continued doing her job despite the now obvious reddening on her knuckles.
"How dare you ignore me?" Jacinda angrily asked as she pulled Dahlkia back by her hair, causing her to stumble back on the ground.
The brute force of Jacinda dragging her hair and yanking her onto the ground made Dahlia wince in pain. She had scratched her elbow in the process and was now bleeding but she still didn't utter a word.
"That's exactly where you belong, on the ground, beneath me." Jacinda proudly raised her head as she believed herself to be better than Dahlia despite them both being slaves.
"Does doing this make you feel better? Does this help you stroke your fragile ego? Do you feel like you're something after this?" Dahlia asked as she got up and began dusting her dress.
Although she didn't want to cause fights, there was one thing Dahlia couldn't do, and that was standing by like a fool while she got humiliated by someone who was nowhere near her level.
Despite all that had happened, she still had royal blood in her and her confidence had not faltered one bit.
"I keep quiet because I see no point in barking at a tree but do not mistake my silence for stupidity because the next time you dare pull such a stunt, I won't hold back." Dahlia calmly said her point with her back straight and shoulder squared, a look that would intimidate anyone staring at her.
"You think that's enough to scare me? Try again you witch-"
"My name is Dahlia, not a witch."
"I don't care what you're called, you are and will always be a witch!" Jacinda lost her composure and without thinking tried to land a slap on Dahlia's face but Dahlia was quick enough to block it.
Dahlia countered Jacinda's attack with her free hand and slapped her hard across the face.
The sound of the slap echoed in the semi-empty stable, making even the horses wonder what was going on between the two ladies.
"I told you I wouldn't hold back," Dahlia smirked, happy to have kept the proud Jacinda in her place. "You think your cheap bully tricks can intimidate me but darling I'm scarier than you can ever be. In my world, you're a rabbit and I'm a lioness, and I can make you crack without even having to lift a finger." She stared her down with a cold and ruthless look in her eyes.
Jacinda was too stunned to speak and too weak to hold back the tears that escaped her eyes running down her hot cheeks right past the red handprints left by the force of Dahlia's hands.
Having been trained nearly her whole life by the best of the best royal guards, it was clear that Dahlia's slap wasn't just any ordinary slap.
"Oh, darling, there's no need to cry," Dahlia mockingly wiped Jacinda's tears before proceeding to kiss both sides of her cheeks like she would a young babe, "This is just a preview of what is to come if you keep messing with me." She could feel Jacinda squirming in fear from underneath her hold and it made her smirk grow wider.
In one final move, Dahlia patted Jacinda on her shoulder before swiftly walking away, leaving her staring blankly at a loss for words and shaking in utter fear.
Unbeknownst to her, there was a pair of eyes watching her every movement ever since she got into the stables. Lyonne smirked as he watched the whole ordeal that played out between the two women.
Before things escalated, he wanted to step in and defend her but it was clear Dahlia was no damsel in distress that needed a knight in shining armor to save her. She was her own knight.
He initially thought Dahlia was a pushover who let just anyone treat her anyhow they wanted but her later actions shocked him. The way she calmly stood her ground and got back at her bully was a mesmerizing sight to behold.
"I can see why you've already fallen for her, Azriel," Lyonne smirked as he went after Dahlia, "This should be interesting."
From the few minutes he saw her, two things were made clear to him, the first being that her beauty was rather unrivaled and otherworldly, while the second was that she wasn't a force to be reckoned with or someone to control easily so clearly Azriel had his work cut out for him if he wanted to make her his.
He maintained a safe distance from Dahlia so as not to arouse suspicion that he was following her. In truth, Lyonne could have simply informed the head servant that the king requested Dahlia's transfer. However, he found himself fascinated by her and desired to engage in a conversation with Azriel's mate, a woman who would eventually become the queen of Zrika if all went well.