The Beauty in Pain | Book One of In Pain Trilogy *EDITING*

19. Match

Sunlight filtered in through the pink drapes, casting a soft rosy glow on Mynera's cheek. With a smile, she let her eyes drift open, a sense of peace settling over her body. After days of being woken up by Saenar to get them moving, or by her own paranoia at whatever tiny sound she happened to hear, waking up like this felt like heaven. Even though the sunlight was beginning to burn her face, she felt well-rested and at ease. The morning was so bright, the soft breeze wafting in from the window so cool, that she felt peace. At long last, she didn't feel so fearful.

Mynera sat up in the bed and stretched her hands far up above her head, stretching any remaining kinks out of her limbs.

The room looked far more beautiful under the morning's sun and she saw that the food that had been at her bedside had been taken away. She flung her legs over the side, kicking her dusty boots away. She was still aware that she was in the same traveling clothes she had been in upon her arrival. The dirt felt as if it was burning against her skin. Maybe she shouldn't have fallen asleep in this state.

As soon as she thought it, a knock came at the door.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened and two female servants rushed in and bowed. They both had mousy brown hair tucked under their mob cap, hands placed on the stomachs as they lowered their upper bodies parallel to the floor. 

"Good morning, m'lady," the first said. "We were ordered to help you wash up for breakfast."

Mynera looked at them and smiled. They reminded me of the handmaids she had back before everything had happened. Even Charmaline, her fiancé's lover. Mynera looked down at the handmaids' bowed heads and sighed softly.

"There is really no need to bow that long," she told them. "But thank you. You two may draw the bath while I pick out what I will be wearing."

The handmaids straightened, bowed again, then hurried off to do as they were told. Mynera, in turn, faced what she assumed was the wardrobe. She pulled the door open. Inside was an assortment of dresses, nightdresses, riding gear, and the like. They were in all different colours. She pulled one out, admiring the design and the nice, light blue colour.

"The bath is ready, m'lady."

"Yes, just one moment." Mynera turned to face the handmaid. "This is what I will be wearing for today."

"An excellent choice, m'lady. Lord Ingstad will surely love you in that dress. His daughter wore that dress often."

"His daughter?" Mynera raised a brow in slight confusion as she looked around the spacious room. "Was this her room?"

"Yes, m'lady." The handmaid nodded her head. "She died on that bed."

Mynera glanced at the bed she'd just risen from and tried to tamper the chill that went down her spine. She was certainly not snobbish enough to scorn a dress that a dead person had once worn but she couldn't help the goosebumps that rose on her skin.

"Nevertheless, I will be wearing this," she stated, tucking the feeling aside. She laid the dress out on the bed.

"A fine choice, m'lady," said the other handmaid with a small smile. It was getting it far more difficult to tell them apart. "Lord Ingstad will be pleased."

Mynera allowed the handmaids to lead her to the bath. Stripping her dirty clothes, she frowned. "Why do you keep mentioning that Lord Ingstad will be pleased? What care should I have?"

One of the handmaids blinked in her own confusion. "Do you not want to please the lord, m'lady?"

"Well..." Mynera chose not to answer, knowing very well that she might upset Lord Ingstad's ego if she dared to say the wrong thing. Instead, she sank into the hot water with a sigh of contentment. One of the handmaids took up a piece of cloth, dipped it in the water, and proceeded to run it over Mynera's skin. The other handmaid poured warm water over Mynera's hair.