Chapter 13: The Weight of Truth
SERAPHINA
I tugged my dress down. I knew I stank, but pulling my dress from my body—my black royal wedding dress—made all the horrible events that had happened during the past few days crash through me.
The dress hit the ground at my waist with a soft thud, followed by sharp gasps from the room.
I looked up, staring at the maids who stared back at me with their mouths parted in shock. Their eyes roamed over my naked body like I was some kind of prize on display.
"She's a hot slave..."
"Gertrude!" Sable's voice snapped at the maid who had whispered those words, and instantly she clasped her hands around her mouth, eyes wide with fear.
"Take her to the bath and scrub off every dungeon scent from her body," Sable commanded.
The maids dragged me into the washing room, which had a large bathtub in it. The marble floors felt cold under my bare feet, making me shiver.
The tub was already filled with foamy scented water that looked almost too clean for someone like me.
I stepped into it, and the warm water gently soaked into my body, seeping into every cut, every bruise, every wound I'd collected. For a moment—just a moment—I felt relieved. I felt the dirt and filth of the past days slip away into the foamy water, disappearing like it had never been there at all.
The scented soap smelled of rose, strawberry, and vanilla. Sweet scents that reminded me of my old life, of being a princess who smelled like flowers instead of fear and sweat and blood.
My heartbeat quickened for a moment, knowing the real reason for this preparation. I was being prepared for the Alpha King, for Draven, and he'd... I closed my eyes tightly, stopping the thoughts from slipping into my mind. I couldn't think about that. Not yet. Not ever, if I could help it.
The maids roughly scrubbed hard against my body—they weren't gentle at all. Their scrubs were harsh and unforgiving, like they were trying to scrub away my entire past. I knew that after this, my skin would end up covered in angry red marks. But I bit down on my lip and took it. What choice did I have?
"You should be so lucky that the Alpha is choosing you to be his personal slave. You get to fuck his cock. Do you know how many of us want to be his slave, get to fuck him?" one of them said, scrubbing even harder against my body, which made me wince with pain. But I didn't show it openly—couldn't show it. That would only make them scrub harder.
"You are so lucky, to grow up protected and shielded from the dark parts of this world. We were ripped from our packs by your father and other lords because they deemed Draven to be a curse. But you? You only watched from afar. Did nothing to stop your father from making children into slaves. You did nothing."
The maids scrubbed harder, so hard that my skin burned raw and angry. Then they poured scalding water against my skin, which burned me even more. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood mixing with the bathwater, but I didn't cry out. I wouldn't give them that satisfaction.
"I hate that your life got to be perfect, Seraphina, but I'm happy that you get to suffer exactly what we suffered. From princess to slave."
They finished, pulling me out from the bath forcefully, so rough that I almost slipped and crashed onto the marble floor. They threw a rough towel at my hands and walked out from the bathroom without another word, leaving me standing there dripping and shaking.
I closed my eyes tightly, water still dripping from my hair down my back, mixing with the bathwater pooling at my feet.
I couldn't speak because they were right. Every damn word they said was true.
I couldn't do anything back then. I couldn't fight for them when my father was destroying lives, when he was turning children into slaves and tearing families apart for his own gain.
I had always thought I could stay protected, safe in my little princess bubble, far away from this cruel world my father had created. I thought if I just stayed quiet, stayed out of the way, pretended not to see, none of it would touch me.
But I wasn't protected. And now—now—I was living exactly what they had lived through. Except they'd been innocent children when it happened to them. But I was just a child too back then, like them, wasn't I?
Nothing. I had been nothing but a coward watching from her tower.
I pushed the door open slowly, stepping back into the room with the towel wrapped tightly around me. My skin was still burning from their rough treatment, red and raw.
I found myself staring at the three women who stood waiting for me—Sable and the two maids who had just made sure I understood exactly what kind of person I really was. A coward. A princess who let children suffer.
"Rub the scented oils on her and ensure her hair is well done, Gertrude," Sable said, her voice all business now.
Gertrude stepped forward with a bottle of oil in her hands. Her eyes were still cold when they met mine, filled with years of resentment.
"Sit," she commanded, pointing to a wooden stool.
I sat eagerly, not trying to provoke her any further. I'd learned my lesson about resistance.
She rubbed the oil on my body roughly, not caring if her fingers dug too hard into my bruised skin. The oil smelled expensive—lavender and something else I couldn't name. Something meant to make me smell appealing.
The fact that I was getting dressed up to be offered as a sacrifice sounded funny in the darkest way possible.
I had always been dressed up for ceremonies because of men. My entire life had revolved around men—my father's decisions, political marriages, alliances built on my body.
And now this moment, it was painfully clear. I was still just a prize to be given away, except this time without the pretense of royalty.
"Stand and get dressed," she said roughly, jerking me up from the stool.
"Easy, Gertrude. Don't break her bones. She's a damn princess..." Sable started.
"No more a princess anymore but a slave. Respectfully speaking, Madam Sable," Gertrude interrupted instead, making Sable sigh deeply.
A soft piece of cloth landed in my hands with a thud.
I stared at the material in my hands. This wasn't real clothing. This was nothing.
A sheer black lace piece that was more holes than fabric. It was see-through everywhere, with only strategic patches of lace covering what would make it completely indecent. The top was barely two thin straps connected to a piece of fabric that would cover my breasts but leave everything else exposed. The bottom was the same—just enough lace to technically cover me while showing everything underneath. It looked like something the pleasure slaves wore in the lower quarters, the ones men paid gold to touch.
I was forced to put it on, my hands shaking through the entire process.
I had never been in something as disgusting as this. This was exactly what I'd seen on the whores and slaves in the pleasure houses, and now I was wearing it.
Gertrude pushed me roughly toward the mirror to stare at myself.
My heart broke at the sight.
I looked like a slave. The dress clung to my body like a second skin, transparent enough that you could see the dip of my hips and the full swell of my curves through the lace material. I looked completely different from the princess I'd been days ago. My breasts were exposed in a way that made them look like they would spill out any second from now, pushed up by the tight lace.
I looked like I had been prepared for hundreds of men to touch, to use, to take whatever they wanted.
The disgusting sight made my eyes water with shame.
Quickly, I pinched the bridge of my nose, stopping the tears from pouring down my face. I wouldn't cry. Not in front of them.
"Gertrude? Leave with the rest. Your job is finished," Sable said.
Gertrude scoffed at Sable's words and quickly grabbed her girls, and they walked out together.
The moment the door closed, Sable walked toward me, yanking me forward roughly. My eyes found hers, which for a second seemed surprised by my direct stare, but the fire in her eyes didn't fade either.
Her claws dug into the softness of my skin, which would cause redness and bruising after she finally loosened her grip.
"One piece of advice for you, Seraphina. Tonight, when the Alpha King tells you to strip, you strip without thinking twice about it. Because if you don't, you will end up dead. If you want to live long enough to see another sunrise, do exactly what he says. No hesitation. No princess pride. Just obedience."
She released me, and I stumbled back slightly.
"Do you understand me?" she asked, her voice dropping lower.
I nodded slowly, my throat too tight to speak.
"Good. Because Draven doesn't give second chances, and he definitely doesn't care that you used to wear a crown. To him, you're just another body to use however he wants."