Chapter Nineteen

"Isn't it great, now we're together all the time?" Layla smiled at her friend through the mirror as she tried to get her hair to stay up the way Kaitlyn always had it. She frowned when Nieve snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, wonderful," the brunette mumbled from where she stood near a wall with her hands clasped behind her back. Layla had already moved into a new room, much bigger and brighter than the servant room they used to share. She was sat on a fluffy chair in front of a large mirror, taking in her beautiful new dress with a little awe. She'd already adjusted to her new life, even though it had barely started. Nieve sighed when her friend kept looking at her questioningly. "We can't be friends like this," she said, knowing Layla wouldn't understand. But it was how she felt, and she couldn't change that.

"Why not? What's changed?" the blonde asked, turning around so they could look at each other properly. The frown deepened on her friend's pretty face, her face flushing a little in surprise.

"I'm your servant. How can you not see that?" the grey-eyed maid asked, a little exasperated. She held her dress and curtsied to make a point. Couldn't her friend see the inequality? How she was sat there comfortably, and she had to stand near a wall until she was allowed to relax. She knew Layla wouldn't mind if she slouched or even sat down on the stool next to her, but that was beside the point.

"You know I don't see you that way. And Ryan and Riven are friends," Layla argued, crossing her slender arms in front of her chest. She almost looked angry.

"I doubt Ryan would've given Riven a second glance if he hadn't been as powerful as he is," she shrugged. She knew she was hurting her friend, but she was so angry she didn't care anymore.

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. Their friendship is just as fake as…" she trailed off, letting the newly-made prime fill in the blanks.

"Just as fake as his relationship with me?"

"No, just as fake as the last time he was engaged," Nieve couldn't help but jab. She clenched her jaws when Layla's eyes started to tear up.

"I never knew you could be so mean," she sniffled a little.

It reminded Nieve of countless nights they'd almost starved together, where even the blonde had given up hope. But this was nothing like those times. She would gladly go back to being broke if it meant she got her freedom back. "Oh, don't act innocent. Like it or not, you broke up an engagement."

"We didn't mean to…"

"I don't see how that matters," she cut in. She knew Layla hadn't meant to break up an engagement. But she had, and she'd done it knowingly. She could have stayed away from Ryan, she could have told him to back off, reminded him of the fact that he was about to get married, but she hadn't.

"She's evil. You heard what she was planning," the blonde nearly cried out, obviously frustrated with her friend as much as she was with her.

Nieve rolled her eyes. "You didn't know that. No one did."

"Why are you defending her? I thought you hated her." Layla turned her back to her, the message was clear; this conversation was over.

"I do, but that's not exactly the point, is it?" she couldn't help but say anyway, their eyes locking through the mirror one last time. "If you don't mind, my lady, I'd like to take my leave," she added with a mock curtsy. She walked away before Layla could reply.

Kaitlyn looked up from her book when she heard a soft knock. "Come in."

"Hi Lady Kait…" Layla started but froze when her former Lady gave her a shake of the head as she held up a finger in warning.

"You don't have to address me as Lady Kaitlyn anymore, unless we're at a formal function," the young Simia heir pointed out.

"Sorry, none of this seems real yet, I guess," the blonde admitted as she made her way into the room, closing the door behind you.

"It's only been a day, it'll take some time," Kaitlyn said with an understanding smile. "How are you finding it?" she asked, indicating for her former handmaiden to take a seat next to her.

"Well, the bed and clothes are infinitely better," Layla admitted with a smile, brushing her hands down her new dress. It was a similar green to what she'd worn as a handmaiden, but the quality and design of the dress was much more elaborate. "But… ehm… I…" she wanted to talk to someone about her fight with her friend, and she didn't think Ryan would understand it fully.

"Is everything alright?" the white blonde asked worried.

"Was I only ever your handmaiden?"

"To start with, maybe," Kaitlyn started honestly. "But I'd like to think we became friends," she added fondly.

"So do I," the blonde agreed with a smile. "It's just… even though I would never ask Nieve to actually do things for me or stand to attention all the time, she said she couldn't be my friend anymore, because of it," Layla tried to explain the fight she'd had. She didn't want to cry, to show how much her friend's comments about her relationship with Ryan hurt her, but she could feel tears filling her eyes again.

"I'm sorry she feels that way, but I'm not sure what to suggest," Kaitlyn responded honestly.

"Yeah, me neither."

Riven had guarded Evangeline ever since she'd threatened the Simia family, and though it had only been a day, his admiration for her handmaid had grown. He'd never met anyone as angry as the redhead. He'd lost count of the number of times she'd wanted to use her powers on him, only for him to stop her by erasing the thought. He hadn't been able to resist and had searched her mind for memories of the grey-eyed brunette. He couldn't blame Nieve for wanting to escape, not after what he'd seen, how often she must have felt like she was dying when the redhead sucked the air out of her lungs.

How had none of the guards ever heard this? How had he never noticed? He could have done more; he should have done more. He clenched his jaws when the urge to wipe the airwielder's brain came over him. He'd love to see her brains turn to mush, but he knew that would definitely cause problems for the Simia family and the city of Serenissima. Evangeline's family was one of their biggest allies.

As it was, her family was on their way to pick her up. Lord Simia had told them that Evangeline was the one that refused to get married with Ryan, so they wouldn't come after Ryan and Layla. Riven had altered her mind so she now felt like she deserved better than Ryan, that she didn't like this city and its people. It wasn't entirely untrue, but he'd amplified whatever she already felt, and had taken out the desire to rule this city.

He looked at her as she stood next to him, waiting for her parents to show up. She kept her chin up, nose in the air, and her arms crossed.

"You'd best not think of messing with my head," she told him, probably feeling his eyes on her. "There's no way you can convince me to stay here a single day longer." A sudden crunching of the gravel behind them made them both turn around, though Riven knew who it was before he saw her, there was only one person that could sneak up on him after all. "Oh, come to beg me to stay, have you?" Evangeline snapped at Nieve, who already looked like fire could shoot out her eyes at any moment. The brunette opened her mouth to respond, but the gates opening stopped her from laying into her previous lady. Riven motioned for her to stand next to him. She rolled her eyes, then listened anyway; she couldn't afford getting in trouble this soon.

Two carriages drove through the gate, their white horses gleaming in the sun as they pulled their owners forward. The second her mother stepped out, Evangeline rushed down the steps and into her mother's arms. While her mother hugged her, she looked around her, noticing the absence of the Simia family before her eyes rested warily on the head of the guard. She didn't trust the narrative Lord Simia had given them, and rightly so, but she'd never find out otherwise. She whispered something in her daughter's ears before they stepped back into the carriage and left, never saying a word to Riven or Nieve.

"You wanna tell me what's got you fuming?" the tall man asked the second they were alone.

Nieve turned to him, her eyes big as she considered his question. Could she tell him she felt deserted? That she'd never felt more alone in her life? She wanted to, but she was scared about the way he'd respond. Scared he'd want to hug her, especially since she really wanted him to. "It's nothing," she decided.

His forget-me-not blue eyes searched her face. "I know you're lying," he said, though he technically didn't know the way he usually knew. He surprised her as well as himself as he reached for her hand.

"What are you-"

"I don't know," he said, pulling her along to a secluded corner. He really didn't know how to handle himself around her. He'd been relying on his power for so long that he'd forgotten how to deal with uncertainty. All he knew was that she looked broken, and he wanted to take that feeling away. So when he was sure no one could see them, he pulled her in for a hug. He didn't care that they'd never hugged before, not like this. The only time he'd held her, she was in tears and scared to death, and probably not entirely conscious about what she was doing. She was now. He could feel it by the way she tensed up for a few seconds, making his heart race and wonder if he should let go, before she wrapped her arms around him too.