The Touch of Demise │18+

12: Mate

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄

She had off today. It was rare that she had off. She liked constantly working. It kept her mind off things. However, she was excited to have a break. She finally had a chance to move her clothes and shoes from her luggage into the drawers and closet in her new room.

She even placed her books on the bookshelf and organized them by color. When she was finished, it was around noon. She put on a heavy coat and boots and made her way outside. It was freezing out. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay out for long, but she wanted to check on her garden.

Well, it wasn't her garden. It was the Primus', of course, but she was the one who worked on it. Unfortunately, her favorite flowers weren't in bloom because of the season, but there were some Phlox blooming.

She picked up some trash around her garden that pack mates had left, and as she did so, she thought about him.

She was profoundly fascinated with him. Why wouldn't he touch her more? He didn't hurt her...

She sighed. Picking a flower, she brought it to her nose. It smelled beautiful. She shivered from a sharp breeze and she decided then to go back inside. She went to his room, knowing very well he wouldn't be here at this time. She left the flower on his bed and then left, hoping it would make him smile just a bit.

He didn't call for her that night. The next day, she walked into the kitchen only to see her flower in the trash. That made her heart sad. She didn't understand.

Trying to not let it ruin her mood, she began her chores, and around noon they had a servant meeting. They all gathered in the boardroom. Some sat at the table, others stood on the periphery. There were about fifty servants, some were chosens, others chose this as their career.

The head servant, Connery, started speaking about scheduling and upcoming events. He was polite and sometimes funny, attempting to give everyone a detailed schedule of the future. "All of you have worked so hard, so I think it's only fair that you are repaid. All of you have off tonight and the pub in town is expecting you to go down and have a fun evening."

At the conclusion, Grace pushed herself off the wall and started going back into the kitchen. Someone grabbed her arm.

"Uh, hi," the woman stuttered, taking off her hand. "Sorry, didn't mean to grab you like that. I just wanted to get your attention." The lady was remarkably pretty with dark, curly short hair. She smiled. "You're Grace, right?"

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry. You are?"

"My name is Angelita. I see you around and you're pretty independent, aren't you?"

"You could say that. It's nice to meet you."

"Are you planning on going to the pub tonight?"

"Well, no, I'm not exactly..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I was going to invite you to come with us," she gestured toward another girl and a guy who waved at her. "We just thought you'd need a friend, and if you were going to go, you should go with people. It's dangerous to go by yourself."

Grace was shocked that someone actually cared. She had a feeling this woman did things like this for many women, which was relieving. Women needed to protect women. She smiled, about to say thank you, but no thanks, until she remembered that not only did Demise throw away her flower, he also didn't summon her.

He said he was possessive over her, yet they spent the days apart and at night they simply talked. He never said he wanted her, which she understood; she was far too weak for him, anyway.