Of fire. (Shadowed fire-1)

III

Katya

*****

Lucia wasn't the only one who hated me.

The other maids hated me too.

Lucia's two cronies, Valerie and Nisha, also hated me. They went out of their way to make my life miserable.

Lucia threw another bucket of clothes at me. "Here. Wash them before evening. And they must be properly dried," she said, and Valerie and Nisha snickered.

"Hey, would you like helping, instead of laughing?" I called.

Valeria stepped forward, a very sweet smile on her face. "Of course," she said. "I'd love to."

Huh. That was strange.

She suddenly kick dirt into the clothes I washed. Lucia and Nisha laughed, then walked away. Tears burned in my eyes. I was tired of this place.

Each and every one of us has a purpose on earth 

That was mother's angelic voice....

I scowled at the huge pile of clothes waiting for me to wash. Then at my arms, which were red from washing every single day. I didn't even know what this place was. I was even harassed by Victor, the prince. Sure, he was handsome and angelic. But I hated that he punished me for refusing to have sex with him–

"Having second thoughts about me, Althea?" A voice snickered from behind me.

Speak of the devil. Victor stood behind me, arms crossed, mouth set into a smirk. His black hair hung before his eyes, and his green eyes stared at me hungrily. His gaze travelled down my body and lingered on my chest, before making it's way up again.

"Hey, you highness." I greeted with clenched teeth.

"Hey, yourself," He scowled. "Changed your mind?"

"Nope. I won't be the one to warm your bed, sorry." I taunted.

His gaze darkened as he came closer. "What a pity that lovely body had to waste," he shook his head. "If you had just listened, maybe I'll have removed you from being a kitchen maid." He sighed regretfully.

"Hate to break it to you, your highness, but I quite enjoy where I am, thank you." I spat.

He sighed. "You're feisty. Another thing I love about you."

"Do not say the L word." I glared. "You have many girls who would kill for you. So scurry along now. Go look for another girl to have sex with. I'm not quite willing to loose my virginity, Victor." 

He scoffed. "Virginity. My ass. So you'll suffer yourself all because you want to keep you 'Virginity'?" He shook his head again. "You're strange."

"Well, how about you go toy with Lucia and her minions?" I burst. "I have to finish this pile before evening. You're wasting my time. Go. Now!" 

His face morphed into one of anger. "How dare you talk to me like that? Do you know what I could do to you? Do you—"

"Fuck off with the threats. If you think–"

"Don't you interrupt me, Althea!" He yelled. "I swear I could kill you right now."

"How sad," I pouted. "To bad there won't be anyone to warm your bed." 

Then slowly, teasingly, I raised my dress a little to reveal my thighs. He raised a brow and licked his lips, staring at my thighs. Then with a swift sharp motion, I spilled water on him. He stared at me in anger.

"Still want me now?" I grinned.

He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, then stormed out. I shook my head and washed the clothes.

********

If you thought Victor was annoying, you thought wrong.

His newest lover, 'Katya', hated me. Probably because of the way Victor liked flirting with me. She was a red-haired girl of 20, only a year older than me. 

Honestly? She had no reason to be jealous. I mean..... It's not like I was gonna sleep with Victor anytime soon.... Right?

But now she stared at me with a narrowed gaze as I came into her room to serve her tea. She sat Indian-style on her bed with only a bathroom robe. Which meant she was waiting for me to set her bathing water.

More annoyingly, Victor had made me her maid. Which meant I was serving a woman who hated me. *cringe* 

"Good evening, Katya. Do you need anything else with your tea?" I asked.

"Ummm.... No. Nothing." She replied.

"Shall we?" I gestured to the bathroom. She only sat there staring at me with her beady little eyes.

Huh. What now?

"What did Victor say to you?" She asked sharply.

"Ummm..."

"Don't you Um me, Althea." She snapped.

"Nothing, actually. He just..... Um.... Came to assign me to duty—"

"Oh, don't you lie to me, Althea. I know you want to sleep with him." She hissed dangerously.

I laughed nervously. "Umm.... And why would I want to sleep with him? Sorry, but my body kind of censors anything that has to do with 'Victor' and 'sex'"

She looked me up and down. 

"Really," I smiled. "You have nothing to worry about. I can't try to sleep with the prince."

"I hope so." She muttered, hopping off her bed and heading to the bathroom.

"I know so. I just hope your mentally affected boyfriend stops trying to seduce me." I muttered under my breath, before running into the bathroom with her.