{Elira}
~**^**~
The corridor felt longer than usual and quieter.
Each step I took drew glances. Some servants tilted their heads. Others simply stared.
I knew what they were thinking—
Wasn't I supposed to be scrubbing the floors? Or running errands for Regina? Maybe being punished in the courtyard?
Their confusion echoed louder than their silence.
They might also be wondering where I've been since the night of the Mating Moon Ceremony.
Maybe news hadn't reached them yet.
At the corner leading to my room, I flinched at the sound of impact and turned.
The housekeeper had just cracked a plastic plate over another maid's head. Her hand still stung in the air from the slap that came before it.
The maid whimpered but didn't retaliate. She simply bent to pick up the pieces. Then I caught the housekeeper's gaze. Cold and ugly.
I looked away immediately and picked up my pace.
That little scene was all the reminder I needed of what life would have remained for me… if Alpha Cyprus hadn't intervened at the clearing and taken me under his protection.
I hope Uncle Marc never comes for me. I really do not want to return here.
I reached my door, turned the handle, and stepped inside.
A sigh escaped me as my gaze darted across the room. Everything looked… untouched—a big miracle.
I had expected chaos. Torn clothes. Burnt photos. Broken boxes.
I had expected Regina to happen, but everything was where I had left them. Maybe she was too occupied with other things for such thoughts to cross her mind.
I only had ten minutes left to gather my belongings. Rennon was still waiting outside for me, and twenty minutes had already gone by.
I moved fast, packing only what was mine. Nothing gifted. Especially not from Regina.
The old travel box had collected dust in the corner. It was a gift from my father. I couldn't leave it behind. I wiped it quickly with a scrap from one of my worn dresses.
Then, I crouched and reached for the second box—the heavier one, the one that held things, belonging to my parents.
I straightened slowly, letting my gaze settle on it.
I never got the courage to open it. The contents were a bruise I hadn't found the strength to press.
Dragging both boxes outside the room, I didn't spare another glance at the room. I wouldn't easily forget where I had come from. The picture was already etched deep in my memory.
I was just locking my door when I heard a voice—
"Miss Elira."
I turned and saw the only male servant in this house who had ever spoken to me like a person.
He eyed the boxes in my hands, then my face. "You're leaving?"
I didn't answer. I wasn't sure what to say.
Luckily, he didn't wait for one. "I can take these to the gate for you if you don't mind."
"Yes… please," I breathed, my heart lifting a little.
Dragging the boxes alone would've taken me two trips, and I wasn't ready to risk anyone else tampering with them.
He hoisted both boxes with ease and turned toward the corridor.
I followed.
I left everything that didn't belong to me. Every hand-me-down dress from Regina. Even the black gown from the Mating Moon ceremony.
I didn't want reminders of everything I had passed through in her hands. I want to continue life on a new slate.
Halfway through the hall, a maid appeared and blocked our path.
"Lady Maren said you are indebted to her daughter," she announced like she had rehearsed it. "And you cannot leave through the gates until you apologize to her."
My heart sank. I had already forgotten all about the apology.
Then, the maid turned on her heel and left, not waiting for a reaction.
I turned to the male servant. "Please, take the luggage to the gate. Someone is there to receive them. Tell him I will be out soon."
He nodded.
I didn't wait for a response. I dashed down the opposite corridor and took the first left.
Though I was a little nervous, I wasn't scared about visiting Regina. I actually never considered that something could go wrong.
Not with Uncle Marc in his study, and Rennon waiting at the gates.
I crossed the little courtyard leading to Regina's wing. The garden was well-kept. The pots and the flowers were familiar. They used to be mine.
I stopped at her door. But before I could knock, her voice crashed through it.
"How can this be?!"
"Shhh," Lady Maren hissed.
They were both inside. I stepped back quietly.
"Alpha Cyprus won't send her there, right?" Regina's tone was lower now.
"I doubt it," Lady Maren replied. "She doesn't qualify, but let's hope so."
"Mother, are you going to let that bitch take my man away? You have to do something about it," Regina pleaded with much urgency in her tone.
They were talking about me. My chest tightened.
"Relax. Luna Gwenith said the arrangement hasn't changed. Zenon still belongs to you," Lady Maren spoke confidently.
So that's what their tea garden talk yesterday had been about.
"Really?" Regina's voice lit up, before darkening again. "Even so, I will deal with that bitch for what she did. I was humiliated. She won't get away with it."
I froze.
This was not a good time to apologize.
I turned, intending to slip away without considering the consequences, but footsteps echoed from the hall behind me, followed by two distinct voices.
"You better hold the tray properly this time. If Miss Regina gets upset again—"
"I can't take another kick. My side still hurts from yesterday."
The maids.
I was trapped now.
If they saw me here and I turned back now, they would report it. Then, Regina and Lady Maren would know I had eavesdropped on their conversation. And that didn't sound like a good idea.
So, I did the only thing I could—
I walked loudly toward the door, dragging my feet just enough for the sounds to be heard inside.
The voices fell silent.
Then I lifted my hand and knocked twice.
"Enter." Lady Maren's voice was cold and sharp.
My heart raced as I stepped in and closed the door behind me just as the maids came around the corner.
Regina and her mother were seated on opposite single couches, their faces carved from stone.
Regina's glare followed me like heat.
Her skin was paler. Her eyes darker. She looked… unwell.
It seemed Lady Maren had been telling the truth when she said Regina had been crying since that night.
"What are you here for?" she snapped.
My throat tightened.
"I... I came to apologize. For the other night."
The silence that followed felt heavier than her glares.
She glanced at her mother and received the smallest nod. Then her expression twisted as she stood.
"Is that how you apologize?" she spat.
Her gaze raked me like fire.
"If you're truly sorry… you will kneel and beg."