Give In - A Lady D x Fem Reader Story

Chapter 9: Bloodlust

The afternoon went by fairly quickly. Zara and I spent the day cleaning windows, scrubbing floors, and doing laundry. We were finishing a load up when the events of last night popped in my head.

"Do you feel bad? For... Cassandra?" I asked.

Zara wiped her hands idly, her brows furrowed. "I try not to think about it. About her."

"How did you end up here, Zara? What's your story? Who are you?"

"You ask a lot of questions." She smirked.

"Just trying to get to the bottom of things." I shrugged.

"... You may not be able to climb back out." 

"What do you mean?"

"There are some things that you may not be able to forget."

"I wanna know."

Zara paused before she began. "About two years ago, my mother met a man and got engaged to him after a few months. He was charismatic and made a steady income as a hunter, while my family was poor and unstable. We had lived in Rupea until he invited us to live with him here in Sinaia. My mother accepted the invitation, of course. He made time to bond with me and my older sister. When it came to me, though, he was a lot more generous and friendly. Bought me gifts; clothes, jewelry, flowers, and other accessories. One evening we had a few guests over to celebrate the engagement. He went to fix everyone's drinks and my mother told me to go with him. He pushed me against the counter and told me to keep quiet. It went on for a few weeks until I couldn't take it anymore. I was going to tell my mother, but he beat me to it."

Zara took a breath, biting her lip. "I was sixteen."

I frowned. "... Beat you to it?"

"He accused me of touching him. And that I wouldn't stop... Even though it was the other way around. Long story short, she disowned me and threw me out on the streets. I begged her to believe me and refused to leave. He had his hunting party capture me and deliver me to the castle, where they were sure they'd get paid and I would get torn apart." Zara laughed, her eyes beginning to water. "They were wrong. The moment the sisters sniffed them out, they dragged them to the cellar and waited for the Lady to arrive. She must have read my mind because of the look she gave them..." Zara wiped her tears away and looked at me. "That's my story, I suppose. She gave me food and a bed, it was the best sleep I've ever gotten."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's really horrible."

"It's alright. I felt trapped there, anyway. I feel more loved here than the place I struggled to call home."

 "Because of the Lady?"

She shrugged, walking across the room. "What about you, Aria?"

I followed her. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" She turned towards me.

"Evade my questions, change the subject as if I'm too slow to notice. You're hiding something. Why not tell me?"

"Because I don't want to ruin everything."

"How would your affection for the Lady ruin everything?"

Her eyes widened. "What-"

"You didn't do a good job hiding it if that was your intention."

"You...knew?"

"I know you are in love with her. At first, I thought you looked up to her, that she was like a mother to you. But then... the way you looked at her last night... something told me it was more than that."