BREAKDOWN

My eyes fluttered open, feeling a full ache pulsating through my body as I pushed myself up. Confusion clouded my mind as I struggled to register where I was. The dimly lit room revealed itself to be the prince's chambers, the lavish décor a stark contrast to my hazy state.

Memories from the previous night flooded back to me in disjointed fragments. I remember the fear and the mocking laughter. Me running down the hall trying to find an escape but eventually they caught up to me. I reached up with shaky hands and touched my chest. I looked down only to see I was in a loose brown shirt that didn't belong to me but I was going to worry about that later. I frantically pulled the ropes at the knot and peered down at my chest but it was bare, no scars.

Panic gripped my chest as I struggled to make sense of it all. I was sure something was terribly wrong. Pushing the duvet away from my body, I stood up with shaky legs and stumbled towards the mirror on the dresser my heart pounding in my chest as I stared at my reflection. I focused on my forehead, where I was certain a scar should have formed from the vicious claw of the guard that attacked me last night. But to my astonishment, there was nothing there. No trace of the terrifying encounter that had left me shaken to my core.

I reached tentatively, running my fingers over the smooth skin of my forehead. My gaze then fell to my chest, no scar too. It was if the attack never happened but I knew it had, the pain was all too real and I still remembered the guard's snarling face as he used his sharp claws to carve my skin which sent a shiver down my spine.

I gazed into the mirror, searching for any hint of the truth behind my ordeal. But all I saw was my own reflection, a mask of confusion and disbelief staring back at me. The mystery of the missing scar lingered in the air, a silent reminder of the night that had changed everything.

Something was definitely off here. How could I have escaped unscathed from such a brutal attack? Was it possible that I had died and come back to life, spared from the physical scars but burdened with the emotional trauma of the encounter? No, that wasn't possible! This real, if I died, I wouldn't be in the prince room unless the gods decided to make me his servant in the afterlife too! I wouldn't put it past them, they were judgy and hold grudges too!

I was still contemplating and trying to put the pieces together when the door suddenly slammed open. On instinct I whirled around and grabbed the thing closest to me which was a candle stand. But it was only Anya who stared at me with a raise of her brows.

"You are awake." She stated.

I dropped my hands but still held on to the candle stick. "Should I not be?"

Anya's gaze moved to the way my hand was holding the candle stand. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I wasn't going to believe that, if there is one thing I've learnt after my ordeal, it is never be unarmed. Especially when you are in the midst of supernatural creatures!

Anya seemed to notice that I wasn't going to drop my 'weapon' she released a sigh and sank into a seat. "It's a good thing to see you didn't die!"

"Were you the one who saved me?" I threw at her.

Anya shook her head no. "I was a bit preoccupied at that moment but you are lucky the shadow fae was there at that moment."

"Shadow fae?" I frowned at her in response, such things exist? I asked myself before realization dawned on me. "Your other friend?" I asked as I remembered the darkness that enveloped the corridor and the distant screams. "So does this mean that…what happened to the guards?"

"Taken care off, you don't have to worry about them ever again!" Anya informed me. "You really need to start your training, we can't have you all defenseless and wasting magic just to heal you!" Anya muttered furiously

The way she said it made it seem like a chore. Also, I almost died and what she was worried about was wasting magic? I scoffed at her in response as I slammed the candle back on the dresser. "Find someone else to train with, I'm no longer interested."

"You think you have a choice in the matter?"

"I know I don't." I told her before I raised my wrist where the runes were showing. "This is what you want right? The purpose of all this?" I asked her and she just stared at me with furrowed brows. I walked towards her and stretched it towards her while she arched a brow up at me in silent question but I just nodded my head at her.

"You can cut it off." I told her, "It's obvious this carries some sort of power, so you can cut my wrist off and use it for whatever it is you want to do but I have no plans to partake in it." I said.

Anya gazed at me then down at my outstretched which she smacked away. "What are you saying? Do you think it works that way? If it does then trust me, we wouldn't have brought you here, we would have just killed you and taken what you wanted!"

Right, they would have done that! I thought to myself, "Well then, find a way to get the runes off me, until then, I will learn to keep my head invincible and fulfill my duties as a maid." I said heading to the door but before I could leave, I felt a cold metal suddenly pressed into my neck.

"Do you really think you have a choice in this matter?"

"Right now it seems the only choice I have here is death." I told her not even feeling afraid. "If you don't kill me, someone else will, so it's only a matter of time."

"Which is why I suggest you train? Do you like feeling defenseless and unable to protect yourself?" Anya asked me with a sneer, "We watched you know? But it was so pathetic watching on you struggling to take out those two brainless idiots!"

Something about the way she said it suddenly made something click in my brain. I turned to look at her with a look of disbelief on my face. "We?" I asked her and Anya pursed her lips as if she shouldn't have said anything. "So that time Corion left me alone, you were also there? And he left because he wanted to see if I would handle two full grown werewolves?"

"It doesn't matter we saw that you couldn't so we sent help afterwards!"

"I was dying!" I yelled at her.

Anya merely blinked at me, "But here you are still alive are you not?"

I scoffed at her in disbelief, this people were fucking crazy! I thought to myself as I turned and headed straight for the door, I needed to get out of here! I needed to leave! I thought to myself but before I could reach the handle, Anya reached out to clasp me in my shoulder. With speed and strength I didn't know I possessed, I grabbed Anya and hurled her in front of me. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared up at me.

"Stop me from leaving one more time and I will fucking find a stake and drive it to your cold heart!" I snarled at her in a voice that didn't seem much like mine and before she could say anything else, I stepped over and went out of the room.

I headed straight to the maid quarters ignoring surprised looks I got from guards and maidservants. I entered the servant quarters and everyone immediately turned to look at me. Ignoring their looks, I headed straight to my corner only to see Flora standing beside it.

"Are you o..okay?"

Instead of answering her, I laid down on my bed and stared at the wall dismissing her. When Flora got the hint that I didn't want to talk to her, I heard her sigh and then leave. The other maids seemed to notice that I wasn't in the mood to talk because they all left me alone, leaving to go about their chores.

It was only when I was alone did I finally allow myself to break down and cry!