The Transcended: My Lord

Chapter 20

With a plate of food, Meya sat down at an empty table. Most of the servants had already finished their meals and were leaving to commence their daily chores. Famished, Meya started to devour her chunk of bread. She wasn't even halfway when she noticed a presence behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see not only Juris but also Nina and Lea standing there.

Juris and Lea looked at Meya worriedly, while Nina avoided her gaze, fumbling with her apron.

"Where were you?" Lea asked. "You were gone all night! We were scared you—" Her voice broke.

Juris placed a hand on Lea's shoulder to comfort her. He looked at Meya. "You probably don't know this, but there have been disappearances in the past. We didn't know where you were, and I think you can imagine what we thought..."

Meya's gaze went from Juris to Nina. Her cheeks had reddened and she was looking at the floor. She didn't tell them what I was doing? For a moment she wondered why, but then she realised she probably didn't want to tell anyone anything without her permission. Oh, Nina...

Lea swept Meya into her arms, hugging her tightly. "We were so worried! We hoped Juris would know, but he was just as surprised by your absence as we were."

"It's fine." Meya sighed. "To keep it short... I made a deal with Lord Deminas. He would shorten Gail's punishment if I was to suffer in her stead."

Lea gasped. "You what? Are you alright?" She held Meya at arm's length and scrutinised her. "You look pale—paler than usual. What did he do?"

Meya shook her head. "That doesn't matter. At any rate, I was away all night because of that. However, Gail's stitches are to be removed after breakfast." She smiled.

Juris looked shocked. "That's... extremely brave of you to do. I'll go get some food for Gail and drop it off at her desk, so she can eat when she returns—I bet she's hungry."

"That's very sweet of you. Thanks, Juris. Just, ehm..." Meya hesitated. "Try not to let too many people know about this, please? I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea."

Juris nodded and walked away.

Lea looked a bit uncomfortable. "I'm not so sure if we can keep this from the other servants, though. We sort of asked around." She noticed Meya's expression and quickly added, "We were worried! We thought you had been taken, or..." She trailed off.

Nina sighed. "I'm sorry. I tried telling them not to worry, but they wouldn't listen to me."

Lea turned to Nina, her eyes large. "So you knew? You knew she was with the lord?"

Nina nodded, clearly ashamed. "I didn't want to tell... It wasn't my place. I also didn't want to raise any false hopes on account of Gail... If Meya hadn't succeeded, it would've been so horrible for her if we had all been expecting—"

Lea hugged her tight. "You're a terrible roommate but an amazing friend. You left us worried, but all because you were trying to protect Meya." She let go of her and smiled. "At least I can be certain the lord won't ever have to sew your lips shut."

They giggled. When the laughter died down, Lea excused herself and dragged Nina along with her, leaving Meya to finish her meal.

~⚜~

That evening, Meya and Nina sneaked into the lord's old chambers again to talk in private. They sat on the bed whilst Nina braided Meya's hair.

"I have to say, I never expected you to not tell anyone about what I was doing yesterday for Gail. Thank you for that."