Romanoff Dukedom: The Heroine (2)

Zarya slowly raised her head to gaze at the door, seemingly a tad calmed down as shown in the glints of her bedewed orbs. She opened her mouth to speak, yet the dryness of her throat simply made her let out a groan.

The lady freed her hands, using them to procure the pitcher and glass of water that were placed on her nightstand. Although her hands were still trembling, not a droplet fell on the sheet of her bed as she poured water to fill the glass.

Once the rim of the cup touched her parched lips, a wave of solace washed over her body. She was able to drink the glass of water in one gulp.

"Zarya! Are you even awake?! Geez, you're always so troublesome! I will go ahead and enter your room, whether you like it or not!" The maid exclaimed her intentions ahead of turning the doorknob to Zarya's chamber.

Upon entering the room, Elena saw her close friend looking like she had just bathed with the water from the pitcher sans getting up from the bed. Her eyes widened in horror as she made her way towards Zarya.

"Have you lost your mind?" Elena uttered breathlessly, taking the pitcher and the glass out of the lady's hands.

She then carefully placed the glass vessels back on top of the nightstand before she grabbed Zarya's arms.

Elena was the first person to befriend Zarya when she was just a newcomer.

Admittedly, at the outset, it was a tad difficult for her to approach Zarya by reason of the lady being perpetually aloof and adamant in conversing with others. It even took Elena a couple of months to make Zarya warm up to her.

Although Elena wanted to save her acquaintance from the bullying that she continued to receive to this day, there's only much that she could do since she's bearing the same daily torment.

However, it's absolute that the two found solace in each others' compassionate acceptance. They only had each other inside the enormous estate, but they wouldn't exchange their relationship for anything less than the world.

"Look what you did! Your bandages are all wet! It's not like we have an unlimited supply of this!" Elena barraged Zarya with her reprimanding remarks, but her actions were as caring as they could be.

She proceeded to remove the bandage that was covering the lady's right arm. The bandage was so drenched that it could barely hold itself together. Elena then dropped the wet bandages on the wooden floor. The echo of a teensy splutter once they hit the ground soon followed.

"Where did you even get these wounds? Did you let Helga push you around again? That woman should know her place, but you also need to fight back! Unreasonable! She bullies you because you're an easy target!"

"Then are you an easy target too?"

Zarya's query caught Elena off guard, making her stop what she was doing. She stared at Zarya for a few seconds before giving an answer.

"Isn't that why I'm being bullied too?! Why do you have to say it like that?! We're both easy targets, alright!"

The young lady simply let Elena do the talking as she indulged in the feeling of being cared for. Her previously anxiety-stricken face was now replaced with that of a mirthful child.

Elena's countenance, in the meantime, slowly hosted a frown when she noticed Zarya's expression.

"Why are you just smiling? I was asking you where you got these wounds! Smiling doesn't solve anything, you brat!"

Zarya couldn't help but flinch when Elena bellowed her query, so she stalled her response for a few seconds.

"O-oh, I'm sorry. Uhm, I was one of the maids on duty in Refecta and there was a canine shifter who went berserk. They were dead-set on going back to their residence while in heat. You know very well what happened next." She answered as honestly as she could to avoid infuriating Elena.

Unfortunately, her friend wasn't one to be lenient on such injustices.

"Refecta?! You've only been here for almost four months yet you were sent to Refecta?! Who sent you to that forsaken place?!"

Elena's concern was valid, owing to the notorious reputation of Refecta -- a rather dangerous place for humans to be in.

In the vicinity of the Romanoff Estate, there's a facility that served as a temporary prison for shifters and demi-humans who were undergoing their heat cycle, Refecta. Truth to be told, the non-human species had tendencies to succumb to their beastly instincts whenever their heat visited them.

Accordingly, the Empire mandated the non-human sector to be imprisoned all the while they're in heat. The Duke of Romanoff heeded that order immediately and built an establishment that could accommodate the affected populace.

There were instances when Refecta would be short-staffed. Thus, some maids from the main mansion of the Romanoff's would be parlayed to the facility for added helping hands. One such instance was the night before by virtue of the heat season's first wave.

As was the custom, solely the experienced servants would be requested to aid Refecta's staff. Hence, Zarya shouldn't have been in the aforementioned place yesterday.

"A-ah, yes. I was suddenly dragged. I had no choice." Zarya explained as she tried to assuage Elena's unnecessary rage. The latter merely stared at the former, frustration flooding in her eyes.

Elena held Zarya's hands and massaged her knuckles with her thumbs.

"Zarya, you should learn to speak up for yourself. I am not capable, nor the Head Maid, of defending you from everyone who tries to antagonize you. No one has the right to mistreat you, remember that." She consolingly said to the lady as she frowned even more.

Zarya gave Elena's hands a reassuring grip, allowing a smile to show on her face.

"Don't worry, Elena. I'm very thankful for what you've done for me, so I don't want to put your efforts to waste."

"If you're claiming that, then act on it! You're all talk!" Elena threw a tantrum along with wailing both of their arms in the air.