Page 4 of The Endless Dance

“Delta.” It’s like he tastes the very word. Savours it. His pupils dilate, and his canines slowly elongate. Then he blinks, and his face clears. “Get in the bath. I will have some food prepared for you.”

With that, he turns and leaves, the opening of the tent flapping closed behind him.

Got it. Conversation over. Whatever.

The bath beckons me, and who am I to deny its call? As I near the steaming tub, I notice the water has a milky white sheen. I don’t know if it is from soap, milk, or even poison. At this moment, I couldn’t care less.

With a glance at the opening of the tent to ensure it was closed and I was still alone, I pull the filthy dress over my head and let it fall to the ground. My underwear quickly follows. The clothes were completely ruined, and I never wanted to see them again.

But as I lift my foot, I realise the stupid dress is all I own in this world. Reluctantly, I resign myself to the fact I will have to pull the filthy, stiff mass back onto my body soon enough.

I lower my foot into the bath.

“Ooh!” I moan. I lower myself into the hot and welcoming water. Sliding right down to my chin, I let my eyes fall close. Never has a bath felt so blissful before. I let myself fall fully into the calming and rejuvenating pull of the water.

* * *

I startle awake when the tent flap opens. I don’t know how long I’ve been unconscious; the water remains at the same heavenly temperature as when I entered it (which I suppose fae magic is responsible for.) But I feel completely revitalised. It had to be the water, or whatever the hell I was bathing in.

Three women enter the tent, wearing the simple white dresses of the ones and twos who served the Light Court. I quickly searched for Anya among the women, but was disappointed when I realised I would likely never see her again. Her dress had been black, marking her as property of the opposing Dark Court.

The women approach me without hesitation. I, however, quickly fold my arms across my breasts and sink lower into the water.

“Hello, Delta,” the woman at the head of the small group says with a small smile. “I am Rita. Behind me are Frieda and Laska. We have been assigned as your handmaids.”

Handmaids? Why do I need handmaids?

Seeing my confusion, Rita quickly adds, “The High Lord requested it. It is not up to us to question the decisions of any fae, let alone the High Lord of Light.”

I harrumph in agreement and study the women. Rita is the oldest; her hair worn short and grey. She has kind eyes and a reassuring smile. Frieda is younger, maybe in her thirties. Her brunette hair is twisted into a tight knot on her head. She has tired, almond-shaped eyes, a toffee complexion, and is very thin.

When my eyes move to Laska, I blink. She wasn’t human. Or not completely. She was very young, had a pale complexion, and long blonde hair so light it almost seemed to float around her body. Her eyes were a pale and almost translucent green.

Seeing my surprise, Laska steps forward and says in a bored tone that bordered on annoyed, “Yeah, I’m a half-breed: human mother, fae father. Unfortunately, I came out a little too human, hence my servant status.” She turns her head slightly and slips her hair behind her ear, producing a small and very much rounded ear.

I sit up, ignoring the fact that my breasts are now on full display to these unknown women (and female, I thought, remembering the correct terminology for fae sexes) who don’t even blink at my exposure. “Let me get this straight, you are forced to work amongst the humans because your ears aren’t all pointy?”

Laska smirks, a tiny canine making an appearance. “You catch on fast.”

“What did you expect? She is the first human woman ever to have caught the eye of Lord Draekoh,” Frieda says. My eyebrows jump at her clearly impressed tone.

She sets a plate of food down on the bed, and my eyes laser in on its contents. How I had managed not to smell the food until this moment was beyond me; the meat in the centre of the platter was wafting its heavy BBQ scent toward me. My stomach gurgles impatiently in response.

Rita smiles at the sound. “Right then,” she says, unravelling a towel I hadn’t realised she had been holding, “let’s get you dried so you can fill that angry tummy of yours.”

* * *

I groan and fall back onto the bed, patting my bloated belly.

“So good,” I say.

The platter had included cheeses and meats, biscuits and fruits, even chocolate! When I had asked Rita, she winked.

“The fae may be brilliant and powerful, but they have adapted much since coming to Earth. While chocolate is in abundance back home, it is rare to come upon it in Faezgard.”

After hearing that, I had split the chocolate into four and shared it with my new handmaids. While they had turned down sharing the rest of the platter with me, they couldn’t resist a piece of chocolate. We all savoured our pieces with small bites, letting the sweet and sugary goodness melt on our tongues.

As I lounge off my food coma, Rita and the others set to work. Laska takes the empty platter from the room while Frieda picks up my stained and ruined dress off the floor. She also grabs the damp towel I had discarded by its side after one of them had draped a dressing gown over my shoulders.