"Puhhh!"
She opened her eyes, feeling something wet on her face ,and immediately regretted it.
There was something black and furry on her neck. She could feel its weight pressing against her skin.
After wiping her face with her hand, she reached out.
"What the hell-"
It moved. It was alive.
She shoved it away on reflex and finally saw what it was.
"Is that… pee?"
still sleepily.
It just stared at her with those giant glass-blue eyes, almost laughing -slyly. If she hadn't seen its body, she would've sworn it was possessed.
Long, fox-like ears, tiny paws, and two short tails curling behind it. She rubbed her face, then slapped herself a few times just in case. She looked around and panicked.
No water? Seriously?
"BAAM! Get the hell up! Work's starting!"
The water that hit her face stole her breath. Ravion had kicked the door open and hurled a bucket of water at her to wake her up. Seeing that she was already awake only amused him more , because Cassira never woke up on her own.
Water dripped from her hair, splattering on the floor. Her eyes were tightly shut, mouth open in shock. Slowly, she wiped her face with her arm.
"A Hipchiiiii!!"
Ravion lunged at the black-furred creature, remembering the one he'd once owned , except this one was a little… off.
She couldn't even say anything. He wasn't the pretty boy anymore - just plain stupid. She didn't even want to breathe the same air as both of them, so she threw herself out of the room.
"He soaked all my clothes, that idiot. I've got nothing dry to wear."
She muttered to herself while walking down the corridor, her steps still uneven , her mind still not used to this new body. With each step, she left faint dark footprints on the wooden floor.
Darkov emerged from the first room, looking like he'd already finished all his tasks. His eyes shifted toward her, landing on the wet footprints. Without hesitation, that familiar judgmental look appeared.
"Clean the floors before you start work."
"I'm soaked head to toe!"
"And?"
She could feel the vein in her temple twitch from rage.
-
Her clothes were still damp, and it had only been four hours since she started working - not a minute to breathe. Ravion was nowhere to be seen, and Cassira was at the counter, flirting for a few extra coins.
She felt utterly wronged , scolded all morning, doing the the most disgusting jobs, while that woman got by on her looks.
No. That wasn't unfair. It wasn't Cassira's fault. She was just smart enough to take advantage of chances.
The one who couldn't… was me.
"When you earn your first pay, buy yourself a few clothes."
Darkov's voice - followed by a 'comforting' pat on the back. She watched him leave the room, wondering how she could ever talk to him about who she really was. The more she tried to escape this world, the deeper she sank into it.
-
Hours passed, but her clothes were still damp. As night fell, the air grew cold. Her body trembled; customers were fewer now. The other workers had left, leaving her alone to handle the kitchen.
She carried the trash bin out to the back garden -apparently because she was 'a man'. Her nose was running, so she kept sniffing it back. Her body was shaking from exhaustion.
She should've been used to this by now, right? her body belonged to a slave. Maybe it wasn't physical exhaustion. Maybe she was just emotionally drained , her tears weren't falling from her eyes but dripping from her nose.
The garden was surrounded by tall wooden fences. When she saw a shadow leap over the fence, her attention snapped to it.
Her heart started racing. Her body wanted to run, but her mind stopped her. If someone broke in and she failed to stop them, she could imagine exactly what would happen to her, especially Darkov.
But she didn't need to move , the shadow was coming toward her. As it approached, the light from the house revealed more.
It was a human. Dressed head-to-toe in black. Looked like a thief - except no thief would walk toward their witness.
As the light hit its face, she realized even that was covered , black cloth wrapped around everything below the eyes.
The trash bin slipped from her hands. She couldn't take it anymore , couldn't stand being scared, couldn't stand being tired. Her eyes burned. The closer he got, the blurrier her vision became. Whatever he wanted , he could take it.
His face was covered up to the bridge of his nose, and the rest was hidden under a black material leaving only his eyes and brows visible.
"What do you want?"
Her voice tried to sound strong, and maybe he understood that. She fell on her knees. His green eyes scanned her trembling body as he knelt to her eye level.
"Who are you?"
His voice was deep but gentle, almost soft -like he hadn't come to harm her, but to help. Despite the furrow in his brows, his gaze was kind. It was the first time anyone had asked who she was.
Something about him felt familiar. He reached out without thinking. His thumb brushed away a tear from her cheek before his hand dropped to her shoulder.
"Your clothes… they're wet?"
Her heart wasn't pounding from fear anymore. Beneath those long golden lashes, there was genuine concern. He didn't flinch from her smell , damp clothes and garbage combined.
She couldn't speak. Her throat was tight. Yet somehow, he seemed to understand even that. Despite her ragged state, despite looking like a boy, he treated her with kindness.
She wanted to lean on him and cry ,but held herself back. For the first time here, someone was treating her like a person.
His eyes flicked toward the trash bin, then back to her. Thoughtful. He stood up slowly, straightened the bin, then looked at her again.
She wiped her tears out of instinct. Why? Did she want to look… pretty? As if that was even possible.
"Come on. I'll get you some clothes."
He lifted the bin with one hand and extended the other toward her. Clothes? He lived nearby? She took his hand.
As they walked back toward the building, panic set in , this wasn't the way in through the bar. But how could she resist him now?
"Any trace of Gralik, Koren?"
Darkov's voice cut through everything.
Gralik again. So… me?