All I Need ✔️

Chapter 10

Safania's POV

"Hello Safania!" were the first words that greeted me as I awoke. I blinked, taking stock of my surroundings. The gloom and rain of last night had been replaced with sunlight that streamed in from the large window. Everything appeared to have a kind of glaze over it – Emalina's smiling face, a plate full of food on the table, even the bed seemed glossy.

"What happened?" I asked groggily.

"Well they set the leg. And they were going to do a full body exam, but I convinced them to let me do it."

I immediately shot up. "What?"

"Don't worry, they still don't know anything."

"But they were going to just strip me and evaluate me? Without even telling me?" I asked angrily.

"They . . . didn't think you would accept the sedation if you knew," Emalina said quietly.

"Of course I wouldn't have!" I exclaimed, now fully awake.

Emalina shrunk as I raged. "I'm sorry," she told me quietly.

My anger immediately faded. "I'm not mad at you Emalina," I explained. "I'm very lucky you were there. I'm lucky I can trust you."

Emalina nodded. "Safania . . . your eyes were . . . when you were mad, they kind of ... glowed."

I closed my eyes and sighed. You're lucky you lost your temper in front of Emalina, I told myself.

"It's related to . . . you know," I said.

"Can we talk about . . . you know?" she asked.

"Not here," I replied. "It's too easy for someone to overhear."

"I'm really not supposed to take you anywhere . . . " Emalina said apprehensively. "But maybe I could take you to my room? I'm Cassius' only maid, so I have a private bedchamber. And we could go in my bathroom so I can do your hair and get you dressed for the day. No one could eavesdrop through the walls, and we would hear anyone come into the main room so no one could eavesdrop through the door either."

That seemed like a really good excuse. And I was looking forward to getting out of this room. After a bit of fumbling, Emalina had me loaded in the wheelchair and was pushing me to her room.

"Fortunately it's on the same floor," she told me. "I have no idea how you're going to do stairs."

We arrived in a simple room, smaller than mine, but with more décor. Garlands of dry flowers hung around the room, and mirrors seemed to make the room brighter.

"It's beautiful," I told Emalina.

"Thank you," she said, beaming. "Summer is my favorite season, so this makes me feel like I have a little bit of summer year round."

She wheeled me into her bathroom, and then returned to her wardrobe. "Do you have a favorite color? I mainly just have my maid dresses, but I have a few dresses I bought from the market just for fun."

"No preference," I replied. "How did you become a maid?"

"The maids are typically chosen from the village widows and orphans," she replied. "My dad died when I was 10. My mom went a little mad after his death, so I had to figure out how to support myself. I was too young to join a brothel, so I went through training to be a maid."

"Would you have chosen the brothel?" I asked.

"Not sure," she replied. "Significantly lesser risk of death from execution, significantly higher risk of death from illness. Better hours, worse work, in my opinion. I'm not a fan of most of the men who come through the brothels. So I probably would have still picked being a maid."