The Transcended: My Lord

Chapter 14

"Whose room is this?" Meya asked as she walked over to Nina.

"This used to be Lord Deminas' room before he moved to his father's quarters."

Meya paled. "W-what?"

"Relax, sit down." Nina grabbed Meya's arm and tugged, pulling her onto the bed. "I know it's a bit stuffy, but I do clean the floor and change the sheets occasionally. The soldiers' quarters are in this wing, so no one notices." She smiled.

Meya anxiously looked around the poorly illuminated room, adrenaline coursing through her veins. "And the lord doesn't come here anymore?"

Nina shook her head. "I first broke into this room after I noticed it had been unused for months, and I've come in here ever since. It's only used rarely for special guests, and those always come announced to ensure the room is cleaned and aired." She smiled deviously. "By me. Though, I tend to be given the key for those occasions." She sniggered behind her hand.

Albeit reluctantly, Meya relaxed a little. "So... what now?"

"Well, from now on, keep your voice down. The men will go back to their quarters soon and we wouldn't want them to hear us. We'll sneak back later when the halls are clear." She reclined and turned to face Meya. "Until then, we have some time to talk."

Meya sighed deeply and lay down next to Nina. "I guess you want to hear what happened today..."

Nina nodded. "If you want to share, of course."

Meya bit her lip as she considered how much she would disclose. She hadn't had a chance yet to properly process everything herself, which made it harder to judge. I can trust her, right? She sighed. Perhaps telling Nina can help? It certainly felt good to share what had happened to me earlier... And I could really use some support right now.

Gathering her courage, Meya told Nina all about the dungeons. As she recounted more and more, she began to tremble, and Nina pulled her close into a hug. By the time Meya whispered how Lord Deminas had slashed the slaver's throat, she was crying into Nina's dress.

When Meya had finally fallen silent, stopping her story at the point where she'd left the dungeons with the lord, Nina said softly, "I can't believe Lord Deminas actually went through the trouble of capturing that pig. I never would've expected him to care for us servants like that."

"It's weird, right?" Meya's voice cracked.

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "Then again, he's cruel. The things he does to invaders..."

Meya shivered. "I know; I've seen the bodies on my way here."

"Perhaps he simply needed an excuse? You know, to capture and torture someone?"

"He's the lord, does he really need an excuse?"

Nina took a moment before she replied, "I'm inclined to say no, but he still needs his men to follow him. And I doubt he would want the people of Tristanja to hate him. Fear him, yes. But hate? That leads to trouble."

Meya sighed. "I guess you've got a point there. Randomly torturing and killing people without a good reason would be a bad idea."

Nina stroked Meya's back. "But let's not think too much about it. He killed the man who hurt you. That's a good thing. Besides, you're his slave, so it's not like he did it to impress you." She giggled.

Maybe not to impress, but what does he want from me? Meya sighed again. "I suppose you're right."

It was silent for a little bit.

"So... what happened after you left the dungeons? Some saw you covered in blood—the slaver's, I know now—but eh..." Nina tugged gently on the towel that was wrapped around Meya's body.