A SEALED FATE: Emeralds and Blood (BTS)

Acceptance

The petite blonde sipped her tea nervously in front of you. Ruby drew on a scrap piece of parchment with a charcoal pencil while you tried to think of something to say. You didn't know what you wanted to ask her first. After you had called her name, she had dismissed herself from her male companion, who had a knowing look on his face, before she dragged you into what you presumed was her hut.

She broke the silence first, her voice quiet. "How did you know my old name?" She asked. "I remembered you from my first day at the castle." You answered. Then, you countered with a question of your own. "How did you manage to leave the dungeons?"

"Joseph. I'm assuming he helped you escape too. You don't look like you're simply returning home for a visit." She said. "A few days after Sanria had me thrown in my cell, I lost my baby..." She explained. "The rough treatment that I received caused the baby to die while it was still in my belly. Joseph appeared the next day with a stolen cell key. He snuck me out and told me to come here, where his family took care of me for a week. They gave me a new alias, and then married me off to Samuel."

"Do they push every girl into marrying?" You asked, almost to yourself. She shrugged. "Yes. It's safe, both for the girl and for them. This isn't a world made for single woman, you know." She mumbled. "You have to marry in order to survive. As you can see, our only job option available is something that we have to run from eventually."

You didn't want to think about the prospect of marrying Abel like James and Martha had suggested, so you changed the subject. "Rae was really worried about you."

Her eyes lit up at the mention of the red-headed maid. "How is she? I wanted to say goodbye, but Joseph said that it would put her in too much danger." She said. She sat her cup down and leaned forward, a small smile on her face. "We were really close...even though her and Alice had a thing, they always welcomed me in, y'know?" She murmured.

Your eyebrows shot up. "Close?" You asked. "As in...lovers?" Looking at them, you had assumed that they were just really good friends. You had always looked over the timid little touches that Rae and Alice would exchange, all of the glances they would shoot at each other when changing. It just seemed normal. Now that you thought about it, no other maids acted like that with each other.

Kassie laughed at you. "Never heard of female lovers?" She asked almost mockingly, leaning back in her seat. "They're common in maids quarters. No matter where you work, I assure you that there will be one duo. Alice was quite skeptical of allowing me into their little romantic relationship, but I won her over..." She sighed. "...Loving a man is simple. But loving a woman? A being just like you? There's nothing like it."

You didn't know how to respond, so you picked your teacup up again and took a long sip. Kassie leaned forward again and placed her hand on your wrist. "Listen, Y/N." She began. "I know your skeptical about marrying. I can see it. I was too, y'know? But it's not bad at all." She nodded her head to the window, where the man she was talking to earlier was peeking in, a silly look on his face. "That's my husband. He's handsome, he loves me, and he treats me right. He knows of my past, and doesn't care. He has a younger brother, Abel, who is just as kind as him. I think you should speak to him."

You looked down at your feet, feeling guilty. You knew that staying with the Dubois family would put them in danger. They were offering to help wed you to Abel, who seemed like a kind man. He was also coincidentally Samuel's brother, which meant that you could be close to Kassie too. You were uncomfortable with the idea of marrying so soon, but it didn't really matter in the end. Being shy and marrying a man you just met was better than risking good people getting killed. Plus, it wasn't like he was some old creepy pervert. He was close to your age, and seemed to be very light-hearted. You saw the way his muscles moved under his shirt earlier in the day too, which showed you that he was strong and capable. He could take care of you and keep you safe, and you wanted that. You NEEDED that.