The maids get me ready rather fast, to a degree that I was even showered against my will.
Everything about it felt very violating.
But now I'm done, and heading towards the dining hall.
The maids still at my side.
Which does a good job of elevating the stress that settled in my heart and thoughts.
Stress, stress pertaining to the thumping of my heart, in a way I don't want to understand.
And stress in a way that I imagine Darius showing me Rosemary's head on a plater.
The image raises the hair on my body, and I suddenly become colder.
I just pray it isn't that.
I tap my pelvis, feeling the totem carefully tucked away in the shorts underneath my gown.
I think about Elias, and I feel some form of strength surfacing within me.
I take a deep breath, and I keep my focus forward.
We make it to the dining hall, and inside, I find Darius, seated in his throne seat.
And at once, our eyes meet.
And my heart thumps, for the wrong reasons.
Get it together.
