Chapter 10

                                    

                                          
Rubbing your throat and holding a bottle of wine, you filled Lady Dimitrescu's glass. She kept a hand on your forearm, having a gentle grip. You were to only serve her for the meal. She loved the glasses so much, she had put the other cups in her room before dinner started. You let her keep your arm in her hand, it kept you safe from Cassandra during the whole dinner. You were to only tend to her for the rest of the week, be at her side.
                          
You had the whole castle, except the basement, memorized. You still counted how many steps you had to take for every one of her steps.
                          
One step, three steps, one step, three steps...
                          
Your mind was a fog, your throat still in pain. "I apologize for Cassandra's behavior. She's never like this." Lady Dimitrescu spoke softly, checking her vanity. You arranged everything inside by color and brand, even checking the date. Her cold fingers running along the warm bruises felt, in a strange way, soothing. You leaned into her touch, wanting her to soothe the pain.
                          
I'll make sure you're happy. I want to see you smile more...
                          
You placed your hand over hers, catching her gaze. There was a slight smile to her lips, which quickly faded once she moved her hand. "You'll be sleeping in my room, I don't want to take the chance of you dying in the middle of the night." Lady Dimitrescu spoke, raising her tone a little.
                          
Under Bela's supervision, you grabbed a few of your things. A blanket, your laptop and phone, a couple of pillows. You turned your phone on, seeing hundreds of messages. You forgot you left your phone on the charger for so many days, the amount of messages you had was almost overwhelming. You texted your friends and family back, explaining where you went in honesty. You were wandering and found yourself at Castle Dimitrescu, and now you have a job.
                          
You made your way back to Lady Dimitrescu's room, putting your stuff in a corner. Bela had her arms crossed, mildly impatient. Once you were done, you watched Bela leave to go back to her room. The moon was rising and Lady Dimitrescu came in. When she saw you, she immediately dabbed something off the corner of her lips that stained the cloth red.
                          
There you are.
                          
You went up to her, immediately taking her hand and holding gently. You extended one of her claws by applying some pressure to the final joint of her index finger. You didn't notice her expression, but you found it so interesting how she had long claws. Looking up, her expression was mixed. Anger? Embarrassment? Fear? Contentment? It was hard to discern her emotion. Carefully retracting her hand, Lady Dimitrescu looked behind you.
                          
I'm not scared anymore. You don't scare me.
                          
You looked at your stuff then looked back up to her. "You're not sleeping on the floor." Lady Dimitrescu spoke up, giving a small grin and a sigh of amusement. You tilted your head, your (e/c) eyes wide with confusion. "You're sleeping in my bed."
                          
Lady Dimitrescu's words struck you like a pillow at full velocity. Trying to make sense of everything in your mind.
                          
In your bed? Isn't this going a little too fast? I gave you a gift today! I know I got choked out by Cassandra, but I'll be fine. There's no reason for me to lay in your bed. I'm just a servant. I'm only just a servant!
                          
Your expression told only one thing, confusion. You opened your mouth to protest, but no words came out. Why did you have no words? Lady Dimitrescu placed a couple of fingers on your chin, bringing you to close your mouth. "You can sleep on the one side if you're not comfortable. I just want to make sure you're safe." Her words were soothing to your blushing face, bringing a smile to her lips.
                          
You drew Lady Dimitrescu a bath and waited. When you went to help her with her nightwear, she told you to turn around. You rubbed your arm, facing away from her. Looking back up at her, she was clothed. Her hair was no longer in a bun, but rather in a loose braid.
                          
Now in bed, you laid on the far side, curled up. Sleep came to you quickly and brought to you a dream. You were in the middle of a lake, feeling a hand around your ankle and being dragged down. Looking below you, all you saw was Cassandra's fangs and eyes. You struggled against her, but for every heartbeat you struggled, you were dragged deeper into the lake. Claws and teeth raked across your flesh, turning the water around you red. It wasn't until you felt something cold against your back that the nightmare ended.
                          
You were back in the field of flowers from before. You looked around, no growls and your leg was healed. You laid back down in the flowers, then closed your eyes.
                          
It was the middle of the night when you opened your eyes. You felt an arm around you, then it struck you as to what happened. You looked up, seeing Lady Dimitrescu asleep and her arm around you, her hand tucked under your arm. Your face felt hot, which radiated through your whole body. Closing your eyes again, you fell asleep, only to open them in the morning. The sun was just cresting over the horizon and the light orange light filtered through the window.
                          
You stirred a little bit, hearing a mewl of protest from Lady Dimitrescu. "It's the weekend, five more minutes." She mumbled, pulling you closer. You closed your eyes, the blanket lulling you to sleep once again. Then, it was noon. You felt Lady Dimitrescu's arm slip away from you, hearing her whisper. "Shit, shit, shit." You looked up at her, then blinked. "Where are you going?" You asked, clinging to her hand. "I have to get dressed. You can stay in bed. I have to check the vineyards." She whispered. You curled up in her spot, going back to sleep.