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“Fuck you, bitch!” I yelled, not giving a damn how much she begged and pleaded with Thorsten. Nothing would make me happier than to see her walking out of that front door.
Gio released her and stood aside.
“Gio, call every servant in the house here,” Thorsten demanded.
“Yes, sir.”
Diana continued to plead her case that she would never be so stupid as to hurt me, but it was all lies. She had no problems threatening me, calling me a whore, and making sure I knew I had no place here. She had allowed her obsession with Thorsten to drive her to hurt me, and I didn’t give a damn about whatever lies and excuses she spun.
“I swear, if you’re still working here, you’ll regret it, so you might as well leave now,” I said, meaning every word. “I’ll show you what a street rat can do.”
All the servants arrived and lined up in this great marbled room like jurors presiding over a trial. The color drained from Diana’s face, and she suddenly became silent. I stopped talking as Thorsten narrowed his gaze at me. He wanted me to shut up.
Tears fell from Diana’s eyes as she looked up at Thorsten, her eyes pleading, yet she did not speak a word. Thorsten looked to me, then back to her.
“Perhaps I’ve been a terrible master.” He said, addressing the servants in the room. “You’ve all grown so used to only taking care of me. Preparing my meals, and so on that introducing another element into this house was like pouring hot milk on cold creamed eggs without bothering to temper them first. Some of you have been able to adapt, but for others, it’s been much harder to let go of the past or accept the lot which fate has given you. You plot and scheme for power you can never have, and it has caused you to make idiotic choices, even if you do not entirely see it that way.”
He seemed to address the small group more so than anyone, and I wondered if there was more behind the scenes than I realized.
“Diana, you are now stripped of your title as head servant and all rights, privileges, and protections of this house are no longer yours.”
She lost it and wailed uncontrollably. Her voice falling into a clear accent of the lower city as she mumbled a string of gibberish before hollering about how much she loved him and served him faithfully. She pointed an accusatory finger at me. “He turned your mind against me! Against everyone here! You’re ruining yourself and this house for him! When they find out what you are doing, you will lose everything!”
“Goodbye, Diana. You’ve served me with all your heart.” He said passionately. He then muttered a short phrase in his language.
“No!” Diana yelled as if she understood those words. At this moment, I remembered the poisoned needle embedded within the jewel of my collar. He had mentioned that the servants had something similar on their armbands…Oh Gods! What have I done? The light fell from her eyes before she keeled over onto the cold marbled floor, unmoving.
“What?” I said, my voice trembling with shock.
Thorsten ignored me and turned to the others. “Every last one of you will suffer the same fate if you displease him. Contact the disposal unit, tell them to treat her kindly, and I would like her ashes brought to the house once it’s finished.”
He headed upstairs, and I followed, unable to keep up with his long stride.
“What just happened?” I said, following him to his room. I knew what happened, but I needed to hear from him.
“What does it look like. You wanted her gone, and now she is gone.”
“Wait! No! I never said kill her! I didn’t want that!”
“What did you think would happen? That I would let her go?”
“Yes! I wanted her out of the house, not dead!”
“We fire no one in a noble’s house, little one. I thought someone as well versed as you in the hardships of life would know that nothing is ever so simple here.” He sneered as he removed his sash and flung it on the bed. “If I had let her go, then another noble will take her in and force her to spill whatever she knew while living here. Or she would be hell bent on her revenge against you that she would do something foolish.”
“Those bands on their arms and of course my own. You never intended for me to leave this place alive.” The revelation was like an anchor drop into the sea. When I walked through the threshold of this luxurious cage, he had never intended to let me go.
“I never promised you anything, pet.” He stroked my cheeks and chin, his touch gentle as usual. “Do you feel sorry for her? Even though you believe she injured you, took your sight away from your right eye?”
My head was swimming with doubts. “Did she do it?”
“I don’t know, you didn’t give me time to investigate before all but declaring her guilt to the entire house.”
“Then you should have let her live to make sure?”
“And why would I do that?” He asked, astounded. “All it would do is send the message that you have no power to determine their fate, and if she didn’t do it and someone else did, then it would only make them bolder. Now he or she understands that your words carry weight with me.”
“Do you think she did it?” I asked again, tears welling in my left eye, but my right remained dry behind the medical patch.
