Mated (The Queen's War #1)

Chapter 35

The hustle and bustle of the servants entrance was a fond reminder of what the main residence was like in Undercity. Women and men in maid uniforms rushed in and out of rooms with open arches. There were no closed doors and the heat of all the people packed into the windowless level was stifling. The cramped corridors were lit with the soft pulsing glow of angelfire in the chandeliers high up in the vaulted ceiling and the effect was beautiful as it lit the gold detailing in the tapestries that lined the walls.

Perci was jostled as she stopped to get her bearings and was soon merely pushed along with the tide of workers. Clearly, these were no nonsense people and that became all the more clearer when someone grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the people-river. A pinched-faced woman who unusually had a slighter older face than most immortals she'd seen glared at her and fingered her clothing distastefully.

"You must be the new hire." She sneered. "Didn't Amora tell you to arrive in the uniform we sent?"

"No ma'am." Perci answered and bowed her head quickly. She'd hoped she'd said and done the correct thing which was confirmed when she looked up and saw the pleased expression on her face.

"Well at least you appear to have the correct manners." She huffed. "You'll need to collect a uniform from the laundry room and then report back to me. Quickly now!"

Perci rushed to follow the finger which pointed to a large closed door down the hallway. It took some sharp elbows and gentle nudges, but eventually she weasled her way through the fast flow of bodies and opened the heavy wooden door.

Inside she found a humid room that smelled of fresh lemons and large baskets of folded fabric. There were a few seraph who stood around a large shallow well in the middle of the room and were alternatively scrubbing cloth and dunking it under the sudsy water. Large archways either side of the room led to more baskets and more wells and a hole in the far part of the ceiling rained crumpled cloth every now and again.

"Can I help you with something?" One of the seraph by the well asked her.

"I was told to fetch a uniform." She said, closing the door behind her.

"Just over there through the door on the right."

Perci smiled at the larger woman and skirted the large well to reach where she had gestured. It was nice to finally be somewhere relatively safe and out of the way from knight eyes. Everyone here treated her as just another immortal and it was heartbreaking to know that if her species was revealed she'd be hunted and killed. It disgusted her that for all the power immortals flaunted, they were no better than the humans who still fought in pointless wars. Perhaps she would live to see a day where their two factions wouldn't be at war, but for now Perci shook off her woes and closed the door behind her as she entered.

It was empty inside the room and much cooler. Three large baskets sorted by uniform size sat along one wall and a small area cordoned off by a wooden screen provided her with somewhere to change. Not wanting to linger, Perci quickly dug through the smaller basket to get something in her size and rushed over to the screen to undress.

She had only just stripped off her clothes and slipped on the simple white shift that would sit underneath the maid dress when the door suddenly opened. Perci stilled with wide eyes and held the rest of her uniform to her chest. Moments later a young girl came around the screen holding a half-filled bucket of water.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She squeaked, jumping at her presence. "I'll just..."

A rock settled in Perci's stomach as the girl's eyes looked at the brands on her throat and upper arms. The seraph couldn't be any older than fifteen or sixteen and no matter how much she needed to not be found out, Perci knew she wouldn't be able to take this one out.