Chapter 5: You are pathetic.
~Lyra's POV~
The maid who told me to shut up steps closer to me. Her eyes are full of anger and hate. I can see she is not scared anymore. Now she is mad.
It wasn't like I wanted to be here. She should be mad at her king and not me.
"You think you are so special, don't you?" she says with a mean voice, grabbing my arm and squeezing hard on them. "You think you are better than us?"
The other maids stop what they are doing and look at us. Some of them nod their heads like they agree with her.
" I never said I was better than you but I do not tolerate a servant speaking to me in such manner." If I was home, I would have dealt with her. However, I couldn't here.
This place is an unfamiliar environment. I can not act rashly.
"Listen here, princess," the angry maid continues. "You are nothing special to our king. Nothing at all!"
I decide to keep my mouth shut, but inside my head, Lauren is growling with anger. She wants to fight back, but I tell her to stay calm.
"You want to know why you are really here?" the maid asks with a nasty smile. "You are here to satisfy the king's beast needs. He needs sex, and he picked you as his next victim."
The other maids start snickering. Looks like they want to be chosen by that beast as well. I actually do not mind. They can have it, still I kept quiet observing them all.
"That's right," says another one. "You are just a toy for him to play with."
"A stupid one at that," adds a third maid.
The first maid laughs in a mean way. "We know everything about you, you foolish wolf. You couldn't even keep your own home safe. You let your sister steal your mate right from under your nose."
My heart starts beating fast. How do they know about that? How do they know about Lewis and Allora?
"Oh yes, we know all about it," the maid says, seeing the surprise on my face. "You were supposed to be a strong wolf, but you were too weak and stupid to keep your man happy."
"She probably didn't even know her sister was sleeping with her husband," another maid says with a laugh.
"Of course she didn't know," the first maid says. "She is too dumb to see what was happening in her own bed."
My hands start to shake. Lauren is getting very angry in my head as I was. She wants to shift and attack these maids, again, I hold her back.
"And just in case you think you are something special to our king," the angry maid continues, "you should know he has many, many women. Concubines who are much more beautiful than you."
The other maids nod and start talking about how pretty the king's other women are.
"They have long, shiny hair," one says.
"And perfect skin," says another.
"And they know how to please a man," adds a third.
The first maid steps even closer to me. "You don't come close to being as beautiful as them. You are plain and boring. No wonder your mate picked your sister over you."
I feel tears starting to form in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I will not cry in front of some stupid obsessed bitch that's upset because a beast didn't pick her.
"You know what you are?" the maid asks. "You are a slave now. Just like us. But we are better than you because at least we know our place."
"That's right," another maid says. "We are better than you because we never pretended to be something we are not."
"You came here acting like a princess," the first maid says. "But you are nothing. You are worse than nothing. You earlier you start remembering that, the better for us all. At least, no one will have to die again because of you."
Lauren is roaring in my head now. She is so angry she wants to tear these them apart. But I keep holding her back. She was right about one thing, I don't want to cause more trouble. I don't want anyone else to die because of me.
"Look at her," one maid says to the others. "She thinks she is too good to answer us."
"She probably thinks she is still a princess," another one says.
"Well, princess," the angry maid says, getting very close to my face again, "you better get used to being treated like dirt. Because that is all you are now."
"Dirt under our feet," another maid adds.
"And you will probably be dead soon anyway," the first maid says with a mean smile. "The king gets tired of his toys very quickly. He might play with you for a few days or weeks, but then he will throw you away like garbage."
"Or maybe he will just kill you when he gets bored," another maid suggests.
"Either way, you won't be here much longer," the first maid says. "So you better learn to keep your mouth shut and do what you are told."
I take a deep breath and try to stay calm. These women are trying to get under my skin, but I won't let them. I am Lyra Ellis, and I am stronger than this.
But Lauren is still very angry. She keeps telling me to fight back, to show these maids who we really are. But I can't. I won't. Not when it might mean more innocent people will die.
"What's wrong?" the angry maid asks. "Cat got your tongue? Or are you finally realizing what a pathetic, worthless creature you are?"
The other maids laugh at her joke.
"She probably is," one says. "She probably never realized how stupid she was until now."
"Her sister must have been laughing at her behind her back for months," another adds.
"Maybe even years," says a third.
The first maid smiles like she has won something. "See? Even she knows we are right. She knows she is nothing but a stupid, weak wolf who couldn't keep her own mate happy."
I close my eyes and try to block out their words, but they keep coming.
"You are pathetic," one maid says.
"You are worthless," says another.
"You are the worst kind of wolf," adds a third.
"A wolf who lost everything because she was too dumb to see what was right in front of her face," the angry maid finishes.
Lauren is screaming in my head now, begging me to let her out, to let her show these maids what happens when you insult an Ellis. But I can't. I won't. I have to be stronger than my anger.
I have to survive this.
Even if it means letting these maids say terrible things about me.
Even if it means staying quiet while they tear me apart with their words.
I have to survive.
Because if I don't, then Ragel wins. This might after all be one of his games.
" Is the slave ready?"