Give In - A Lady D x Fem Reader Story

Chapter 28: Getting Accustomed

"Are you finished packing?" Bela had knocked on her Mother's door. I was finished packing some of the old clothes Zara had given me when she came in early in the morning. She didn't say much; she gave me the clothes then went to the kitchen to make me something to eat before the carriage would arrive to pick me up. I gave her a bittersweet smile and continued to pack.

I looked up, a bit jumpy at her sudden appearance. I was used to it by now. Now I was going back home. The normal strange occurrences would go back to being strange occurrences. 

"Oh, uh, yeah. Just tidying some stuff."

The sunrise glare from the windows gave Bela's skin an orange tint and her eyes a fiery gold when she neared, her arms crossed. 

"Two weeks and two days. Maids would often last four, also depending on their capture. Your unusual amount of endurance and luck provided you with enough privilege to be able to request your leave. To put it in simple terms, I'm impressed with you, Aria."

"Oh, I...Thanks, Bela...I haven't even realized it had been four weeks. I guess I was too busy trying-"

"You smell like...Mother." Bela glanced at me up and down, invading my personal space. I grew increasingly uncomfortable.

I smiled nervously then shrugged. "I guess it's because I was with the Lady sometime in the night." Did that sound wrong? Pretty wrong? It sounded normal in my head.

Bela didn't say anything for a solid minute. She pursed her lips and muttered, "You...take care of yourself." I heard her cut herself off of whatever she was going to say. Bela left without another word. 

This was it. I was going home. 

Zara and Daniela were in the kitchen when I entered, as I was told to meet them once I was finished packing. Daniela was sat on the counter with her back turned, watching the fired oven preparing something sweet, her legs kicking out in anticipation, waiting for the clock to go off. 

Zara met my tired eyes and approached me with an expression similar to mine. "That was quick."

"Didn't have any personal belongings, I guess, except the ones you gave me."

She smiled. "About that...Daniela?"

Daniela spun around the counter, then hopped off once she saw me. "Finally! We have a surprise for you." She grabbed a familiar bag from the corner and offered it to me.

All of my equipment and possessions were still in the bag. They looked as if they hadn't been touched; they hadn't aged a bit. That was what scared me. How it felt like I had been here in the castle for months, and even if I had, my belongings remained inside my bag, continuously existing whether or not I lived, died, stayed, or went back home. Their duty was to remain in the bag at all times; they were dedicated to their purpose. 

I grew unusually jealous.

"And another thing." Zara said.

Daniela frowned but didn't move.

"...And another thing, Daniela.." She beckoned softly.

"Yeah, yeah, here." She handed me my rapier, in the same condition the other items were in. 

"Thank you, Daniela-"

"I didn't use it." She remarked in a deadpan tone. 

"..Ah..."

"Do you have to go? Where are you going, anyway?"

I held the rapier in my hands, tilting the weight and observing the glow of the tip. "Where I belong. It's best if I did."