"You might as well get your own," a heart-wrenching voice resonated through the cookery, slicing through the awkward tension like a blade.
Thalina's head snapped toward the entrance, her eyes locking on the source of the voice. Eryssia.
The annoying head of maids stood there, her towering frame radiating authority as her cold, silver eyes narrowed on Thalina.
This time, Thalina didn't even try to mask her disdain. She rolled her eyes with enough force to make her head tilt slightly.
"Now what do you want?" she asked, her tone exasperated, almost as if she were dealing with a pesky fly instead of a mountain of a female.
Eryssia's lips curved downward, her disapproval evident. "Did I not give you work to finish?" Her voice dropped an octave, cold and cutting, making Thalina shiver despite herself.
The reminder hit Thalina like a slap. Oh, right. The pearls. Those cursed pearls she had completely ignored because, well… she valued her sanity.
Thalina hesitated, her brain scrambling to calculate the odds of her surviving this encounter.
Eryssia was at least fifty times her size—probably more, if Thalina's imagination had anything to say about it.
And if this escalated into a physical fight? She'd be reduced to a red smear on the pristine kitchen floor.
Her gaze flicked toward the male still standing in front of her.
His tall, sturdy figure radiated protective energy, and she bit her lip. Would he step in to shield her?
She'd have to turn up the charm to make it happen, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"I asked a question," Eryssia snapped, her voice slicing through Thalina's scheming.
Thalina squared her shoulders, her frustration bubbling over. "No," she snapped back, her voice fierce. "No, you did not give me a punishment. You sentenced me to death."
Eryssia's eyes narrowed further, but Thalina wasn't done. She jabbed a finger in the maid's direction, her voice rising with indignation.
"And for the record, I don't think I need to clean anything. You, on the other hand, could use a little pearl-cleaning excircse. Slim down a bit, maybe?"
The male in front of her choked on a laugh, his broad shoulders trembling as he tried—and failed—to hide his amusement.
"You little—" Eryssia hissed, taking a menacing step forward, her fists clenched at her sides.
Thalina's bravado wavered as she took a cautious step back. Abort! Abort mission!
But before Eryssia could reach her, the male moved. In a flash, he stepped between them, his towering figure shielding Thalina completely.
He stood firm, his voice calm yet authoritative as he spoke. "It's inappropriate to harm another female, Eryssia."
Eryssia scowled, her glare bouncing off him like a blunt arrow.
"And," he continued, glancing back at Thalina with a small, almost amused smirk, "I think this female here is on the winning side."
Thalina blinked. Winning? Did he just call me… a winner? Her chest puffed up a little, and she shot Eryssia a triumphant look.
The male turned back to Eryssia, his tone turning sharp. "How could you give her the Pearls of Death to clean?"
Thalina had really never seen anything like those pearls before. And what even are they!?
Wait did he just say pearls of death!?
"Wait, wait," she squeaked, peeking her head out from behind the towering male's back. It wasn't her fault he was huge—his shoulders practically formed a protective wall.
"What do you mean by 'pearls of death'!?" she asked, her voice laced with both confusion and alarm.
The male looked down at her like she was a lost lamb. His expression practically screamed Oh, you poor, clueless thing.
"We call them that because they never run out. If someone said they wanted to clean them all... well, they'd die before finishing. That's why."
Thalina's jaw dropped as her head, still half-hidden under his arm, swiveled to Eryssia. Her eyes brimmed with accusation.
Eryssia avoided her gaze, turning her head to the side like she wasn't guilty of a near-death sentence.
"What?" Eryssia's guilty tone betrayed her, even as she crossed her arms defensively. "I was just trying to teach you a lesson, not kill you."
"Revoke it," the male demanded, his deep voice brooking no argument as he leveled a stern gaze at Eryssia.
Eryssia huffed like a child forced to share her favorite toy. "Fine," she snapped, rolling her eyes.
"You, Thalina, are now tasked with going out to gather your own herbs for the next week. No help. No supplies. Nothing from the kitchen."
The cook stepped forward, his face twisted in concern, ready to intervene, but Thalina stopped him with a raised hand.
"Wait," she said, her eyes sparkling with a sudden surge of excitement. "You mean, like... out of the castle?"
Both the male and Eryssia looked at her like she'd grown a second head.
"Yes?" Eryssia answered slowly, as if talking to someone with questionable intelligence.
Thalina could barely contain herself. The gods were finally on her side!
This was her chance—her golden ticket out of this ridiculous castle. She'd endure anything if it meant leaving.
"Don't worry," she declared with far too much confidence, puffing up her chest and stepping out from behind the male. "I'm an independent woman. I can do this."
The room fell silent for a moment. Eryssia's shock quickly morphed into a dark, knowing smirk.
Thalina's enthusiasm was almost adorable, considering how utterly doomed she was about to be.
"Well," Eryssia purred, her smile sharp as a blade, "I'll be waiting to hear all about it." (That's if she even makes it out alive).
Without giving Thalina a chance to reconsider, Eryssia added with a flip of her hand, "And remember, nothing from this kitchen." She strutted out, clearly pleased with herself.
The male stared after her, then turned to Thalina with wide eyes. "Why would you agree to that? I could've spoken to the lords about her!" he scolded, his voice a mix of frustration and worry.
Who did the man think he was to scold her, and even bring those stupid lords in. She'd rather die than drag them into this.
"I'll get some males to accompany you—"
Thalina cut him off, waving her hands dramatically. "Oh, no, no, no, no! That won't be necessary!"
The male blinked, confused.
She stumbled over her words, realizing her eagerness might have blown her cover. Quickly backtracking, she plastered on an innocent smile.
"I mean, uh, I'll... I'll go with some males." She emphasized the last word, mentally kicking herself for almost blurting out her plan to go alone.
The male's face lit up like a sunrise. "I can pick a few trusted—"
"Ah-ah!" Thalina interrupted, holding up a finger. "I'll pick the males myself. Just to be sure!" She nodded sagely, as if she hadn't just come up with that excuse.
His smile faltered, the light in his eyes dimming. "Oh. Okay," he said softly, the faintest pout tugging at his lips.
Thalina tried not to laugh at his expression. She wasn't sure if he was more disappointed about her rejection or the fact that he wasn't the chosen one.
Thalina thanked him one last time and headed toward the gates.
Yet, even as she walked, she couldn't shake the image of his face before she left—crestfallen and pitiful, like he'd just been told his favorite meal was off the menu forever.
It was obvious that if she'd given him even the faintest green light, he'd be at her door tomorrow morning, arms overloaded with gifts, grinning like an idiot and ready to pledge his undying loyalty.
Thalina was like four feet away from the gates when she saw the looming figure of the two hefty male alien guards.
Their massive forms cast long shadows across the stone, making the entire gate feel like it was part of a fortress meant to keep her exactly where she was.
Oh nah nah nah, why did no one tell her that the gates were guarded?
These males would never let her out of the palace unguarded.
You know what? Fuck it, she was using her charms on them.
Although her face was marked, she knew that men, no matter what age, size, or species, would always fall for—shit, what if they already had mates?
Her plan would definitely fail if they did. Sighing, she approached the males anyway, silently praying they'd fall for her tricks.
Her sandals clicked faintly against the stone, the sound swallowed by the sheer size of the gates.
"I want to take a walk," she said abruptly, her voice a mix of confidence and impatience.
The stoic face of one of the males softened the moment his gaze landed on her, his dark brows raising slightly.
"Sure, female. Where are your males?" the guard asked, his tone neutral but tinged with curiosity.
Thalina blinked, a flicker of irritation crossing her features before she pasted on an innocent smile.
"I told them to follow me, without me seeing them," she lied smoothly. She wasn't about to let these hulking walls with legs ruin her plans.
She noticed the other guard, a beast man with two thick stripes marking his rank, giving her a quick once-over.
His gaze lingered on her body. "But there are no mating marks on your body," he said, his tone careful, like he was stepping on eggshells.
"So?" Thalina raised her voice just enough to make them flinch. If she couldn't seduce them, she'd intimidate them. "Must I have mates to have protection?"
The two males exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of confusion and concern.
"Oh, no, no, you've misunderstood us, female," the beast man said, his hands lifting slightly as if to calm her.
Thalina rolled her eyes, already tired of this interaction.
She could tell neither of them was planning to make a move on her, which meant one thing: they definitely had females already.
Still, the fact they seemed afraid of upsetting her was a win, however small.
"What do you mean then?" she demanded, fixing them with a glare that said, choose your words wisely, if not you'll regret it.
"He meant nothing, the other guard said", as he walked over to a small table, picking up a bracelet, he handed it to Thalina.
"Please place this on female" He said like he was offering a ritual to a god.
Thalina frowned, her patience waning. "The fuck is that?" The words slipped out before she could stop them, and both guards visibly froze.
The striped guard exchanged a quick glance with his companion, both clearly confused by her choice of words.
After a beat, the purple-haired one cleared his throat and replied awkwardly, "It's… a tracking bracelet."
Silence. A heavy, suffocating silence, broken only by the distant chirping of birds.
She let out a tired scoff, throwing up her hands. "You know what? Fine. Give me that."
She snatched the bracelet from the guard's outstretched hand and slipped it onto her wrist. She didn't need a detailed explanation; the name gave everything away.
The moment it touched her skin, the bracelet dissolved, sinking into her wrist and vanishing completely.
"Aaaaah, what is happening?!" Thalina screamed, flailing her arm as though the motion would bring the bracelet back. Her heart pounded as panic set in.
"She must be new to the palace," one guard muttered to the other.
"Everything is okay, female," the striped guard said quickly, stepping forward in an attempt to calm her down.
"Why did it disappear?!" she demanded, her voice high-pitched and frantic. Was she trapped in this cursed palace forever? Her mind raced with worst-case scenarios.
"Don't worry," the beast man said soothingly. "It'll reappear once you return to the palace."
"It's only for your protection," the other added, nodding like he was trying to reassure himself as much as her. "It activates if needed."
Thalina gave them a long, skeptical stare, her lips pressing into a thin line. Finally, she huffed out a breath.
"Fine." She clutched her basket tighter and adjusted her grip. At least she wasn't stuck with the damn thing forever.
Clearing her throat, she walked past them, her sandals clicking sharply against the ground.
"Stupid beast men," she muttered under her breath, the words carrying just enough bite to make her feel marginally better.
CITY OF ALIEN WORLD
Thalina stood in the streets of the alien world, her jaw tightening as she took in the sight before her. This wasn't be the world she had created.