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CRISIS OF MY FAITH. / CHAPTER THREE.
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The dark had never been welcoming to women. Even at the most guarded place in the entire Realm, it was rare that one would see the female staff running around the castle—and after queen Aemma's passing, her maids that usually were seen taking care of her during her last days of labour were no longer very active throughout the day or were put in different positions. Meliana was very aware of the dangers the night held for women like her. But being the princess' closest handmaiden meant that her job rarely ever finished and when it did, it was mostly after the sun had been replaced by the bright moon.
She walked the dimly lit halls of the castle careful not to draw much attention on herself. She was known for being under the custody of princess Rhaenyra, which granted her a lot of freedom compared to other servants, but she was still looking around as to avoid bumping into any guards. She never had the best experiences with the guards—as honourable as they were supposed to be, underneath their armour they were still men. It had been less than a year ago when one of the guards had been very inappropriate towards her. Of course, as soon as she told Rhaenyra, the man was dismissed, but the action still made many whisper about Meliana amongst themselves.
But she knew better than to think the whispers mattered. As long as she was loved by princess Rhaenyra, she had nothing to be scared of.
As she kept her head low to avoid making a target out of herself, she bumped into someone. She heard a startled squeak that couldn't have been possibly sounded from a male throat and she looked down to see lady Alicent. Under the light of the moon, she looked even paler than she normally was and her expression upon recognizing Meliana was horrified. "I am sorry, my lady. I wasn't watching where I was going," the girl muttered frantically. "I did not mean to scare you."
"I-it is fine, Meliana," she answered, although from the shaking of her voice it was clear that she was still very nervous. It didn't take the girl to guess that, perhaps, she was anxious about something else.
Alicent Hightower looked well-dressed for that hour—her hair was braided in an updo hairstyle and she wore an elegant dark dress that looked too good to be wasted in the halls of the Red Keep for no reason. Forest green, the colour of the Hightowers. She looked stunning, even in the dark where they could barely see each other.
"Do you need help, my lady?" Meliana said, her voice laced with unexpectedly genuine worry. "It's very late and you seem unwell."
"No. No, I- I just..." Her breathing got irregular for a moment and that only got the girl even more concerned. After a few seconds, the Hightower girl managed to calm herself from what seemed very similar to a panic attack. She drew a sharp breath and recollected herself. When she looked at the servant girl, she seemed slightly more confident. "Everything is fine, thank you. I was only visiting my father."
