Lily opened her eyes, only to find herself standing, in the middle of the hall of the pack house. Her eyes widened as her heart began racing, staring at where she had thought she would never see again. How did she get back here??
She slowly turned around, and she was met with a sight that made her blood run cold. She stood frozen, her feet bare and her heart racing, as she took in the gruesome scene before her.
Alpha Jederek and his family knelt on the cold, stone floor, their eyes fixed on her with a mix of anger and accusation. The guards stood behind them, their swords raised and ready to strike.
Lily's gaze locked onto Alpha Jederek's, and she felt a chill run down her spine. His eyes seemed to bore into her soul, filled with a malevolent intensity that made her skin crawl.
The guard's sword flashed in the dim light, and Lilly felt a scream building in her throat. But it was trapped, silenced by some unseen force that left her mute and helpless.
The sword sliced through the air, and Alpha Jederek's head rolled off his shoulders, landing with a sickening thud on the stone floor. Blood gushed from the stump, pooling around Lily's bare feet like a dark, crimson sea.
She tried to step back, but her feet seemed rooted to the spot. The blood crept closer, tickling her toes and sending shivers up her spine.
A voice, low and menacing, suddenly seemed to come from all around her. "You're the cause of our death, Lily. Our blood is on your head. You cursed soul!"
Lily's eyes snapped open, and she jolted upright in bed, gasping for air. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her sheets were drenched with sweat as she rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the vivid, disturbing images that lingered in her mind.
She placed her hand over her chest and slowly calmed her pounding heart, her heavy breathing gradually becoming steady.
Then she paused. Why does this bed feel softer than usual? And this wasn't her room!
She looked around in panic, noticing that this looked nothing like her room.
She jolted when she heard the door open, immediately becoming alerted.
A maid walked in, rolling in a trolley along. Lily, who was frozen, watched the maid roll the trolley next to her bed and she could see the variation of food loaded in it. Lily's confusion right then was to no end.
She must still be dreaming. Yes, that was definitely the perfect explanation for this.
When the maid noticed that the little miss was just staring at her, not looking ready to utter a word. She cleared her throat and smiled warmly.
"Good morning my lady,"
Lily narrowed her eyes. Why was she calling her 'my lady?' Did she look like a noble to her?? What sort of weird dream was this?!
It was then, the realization slowly dawned in. She suddenly remembered all that had happened; from the visit of the ancient king, to the beheading of Alpha Jederek and his family.
Lily's eyes went wide, she looked up at the maid, silently praying it was the opposite of what she was thinking right then.
"W-Where am I?"
The maid saw the nervous look in her eyes, a little surprised that she also had no idea where she was. "You're in the royal palace, my lady."
Lily's heart immediately sank the moment the maid gave her a reply. So the king had really brought her to the palace...
She turned to the maid again.
"W-Was it the king who brought me here himself?"
The maid looked at her weirdly before answering, "yes my lady. The king had requested for you to be placed in this room. I would have helped change your clothes yester-night, but we found you asleep and his majesty demanded that no one disturbed your sleep."
The information gently sank into Lily's brain, as she stared at the maid, her shoulders hunched with an unhappy expression. Her brain was trying to understand if she was just the most unfortunate person in this world right then.
How could she have fallen into the hands of someone, whom she had done her possible best in avoiding?
Lily couldn't think straight, the headache sneaked in like the thief of the night.
"Um….my lady?" Lily reluctantly raised her head and turned to the maid who had called her.
"Are you hungry?" The maid smiled, leaving Lily utterly speechless.
If only she knew what she was going through right now, food would certainly be out of the question.
However, that theory was cut short when she heard a low grumble from her own stomach. A blush red of embarrassment tinted Lily's cheeks as she smiled weakly at the maid. The maid sported a smile back at her, in her mind saying; poor thing, she looks so thin and deprived of food.
The maid immediately brought out a few dishes that she knew the miss would like. And indeed, when Lily saw the food, her stomach grumbled again, louder.
The maid couldn't help but chuckle; "here you go, my lady."
"Thank you…" Lily began eating as soon as possible. As she tasted the warm food, a moan escaped her mouth. When was the last time she had such a good and delicious breakfast? She thought.
After she was done eating, the maid cleared the plates and came back to continue her job. Lily saw her return after some minutes, and wondered why…
There was now an awkward silence between the girl and the maid. Until Lily had to ask, "is….is there something else you need?"
"No, my lady. Your bath is only ready," the maid answered.
Lily heard the word 'bath', and her cheeks flushed, as it reminded herself of how dirty and unkept she probably looked. The maid also glanced at her, wondering why she looked like this. At that moment, even the maid looked so much healthier than the girl.
Lily knew she had to concur with this. She slowly got up from the bed and was led to a door that was at the other side of the room. Which made Lily finally notice and acknowledge how big and spacious the room was. This was just the size of a master's bedroom.
The maid opened the door and she stepped in. Her mouth slightly parted in awe as she witnessed another large room, but this one had a big bathtub at the center and a few shelves and cupboards.
The bathtub was already filled with warm water, which looked very inviting. She watched how the clean water slightly swayed, until she noticed something sparkle. She lifted her head and found a large mirror standing by her left. Walking towards the mirror, Lily was feeling a little hesitant to see herself in it, but she moved anyway.
She calmly glanced at the mirror, and met a tiny looking lady standing in a wretched looking dress. She could even see her bones, her hair looking like it hadn't been combed in a long while. She looked nothing like a noble, just a mere slave.
Lily sighed, raising her hand to feel how deep her collarbone was, until she heard the maid call for her.
"Come, my lady."