Crimson Desire (On Hold)

Chapter 2| Ivan

The door suddenly bursted open and two woman came into the room. One of them was an old lady, short and slim. Her face was wrinkled, an annoyed frown had taken over her features, but her brown eyes still managed to show kindness. Next to her was a young girl, probably my age, she looked so out of place as she followed the other woman around, holding a pile of clothes in her arms. I slowly sat up on the bed, pressing my back on the headboard as I looked at them curiously.

"Helena, place the clothes here." the old woman said to the girl. Helena approached the bed and placed the clothes carefully on the bed before straightening her posture again and lowering her head.

The other woman went to the window and pulled the curtains to the side, the sun hit the entire room now and everything became more visible. I blinked a few times and lifted my arm up to my face to block the light.

"I'm sorry, my dear, for waking you up, but we have to get you ready." she said, turning to look at me. A small smile was plastered on her face now as she approached my bed and I gave her a small nod.

"I was already awake." I informed her.

"What's your name, my dear?" she asked me.

"Natalie." I replied, looking at the the other girl who remained silent. She seemed scared to the bones, her fingers were trembling as she forced her hands into fists.

"I'm Cynthia, and this right here is Helena. The king brought us here to prepare you for..." her voice trailed off and her smile fell.

"For tonight." I finished for her, keeping a straight face.

She nodded and looked at Helena. "Go get the bath ready for her, please." she told her. The girl didn't say anything, just turned around and disappeared from the room like a scared cat. I looked at Cynthia with concern.

"Is she okay?" I asked her.

She cleared her throat as she looked at me. "She had an unpleasant encounter with the king's brother. She is new here." she informed me. The king had a brother?

Cynthia started pulling the covers away from my body and I stood up as she continued to fix the bed for me. I looked down at myself to see that I was still wearing the same white dress from yesterday. It was stained with blood and dirt. I definitely needed a bath.

Just then Helena arrived, holding two buckets of warm water in her hands. I followed her to the washroom, seeing that she was struggling to hold them, but when I tried to take one bucket from her she pulled the buckets towards her, refusing my help.

"I can do it." she whispered.

I stood in the corner watching her. She was pale and bruises marked her wrists, she looked exhausted...drained. Her eyes were a pale blue colour as they met mine, her blonde hair made her complexion appear paler if that was even possible. I resisted the urge to go and help her when she struggled to dump the water into the tub. When she finished she wiped her arm over her forehead and turned her back on me. It's then that I realised she was waiting for me to undress.

With a sigh I slipped out of my ruined dress and my undergarment. Gripping both sides of the bathtub, I dipped into the flowery-scented water. My eyes moved down to my inner thigh were the dried blood slowly dissolved and the small cross symbol the priest carved on me appeared. I touched it hesitantly with my finger, but since the wound was fresh it still hurt a bit.

Helena approached me slowly and knelt down beside me, taking a sponge in her hand. She dipped it into the water and took my arm, starting to scrub it gently.

"You don't have to do that, I can do it myself." I told her, smiling at her politely. She refused to talk to me, though, and shook her head. Whatever had happened earlier must have affected her a lot and it made me feel bad to watch her like this, even though I didn't know her personally. The poor girl looked frightened. I pressed my lips together and decided to not say anything to her, maybe it was better to let her be. When she finished with my back, too, she placed the sponge down and walked away.