Loathe to Love Ch. 05 - Sex Stories

Loathe to Love Ch. 05

... went to the linen closet, taking long steps to stretch my legs along the way. As I searched for a suitable dishrag, my mind wandered back to when I'd hid in this very spot weeks ago. Back then, I'd been distraught wanting something I didn't understand. Now, I feared I couldn't have what was making me so distraught.

I grabbed a shoddy rag from the bottom shelf and walked back to the parlor.

I had to tell Natalia what happened. It would get back to her regardless--better for her to hear it from me first. Especially since rule seven demanded my honesty. I hadn't technically broken any rules, but my conduct had clearly been way out of line.

I'd failed.

I slapped the dishrag down onto the floor and started sopping up spilled tea.

My attempt to change my ways had barely lasted a week before crashing back into reality. Apparently, obedience just wasn't in my nature. Selene and all my teachers must have seen that and recognized the necessity of punishment to compensate. And now Natalia was about to as well.

I finished cleaning. I kept running the dishrag over the hardwood floor in jerky, circular motions.

Maybe everyone hadn't mistreated me at all--maybe I was just a bad apple they'd been keeping in check to the best of their ability. What was it I'd said to Natalia during our picnic? A fourth born princess is a feral beast? How fitting.

I tossed my rag into the corner and slumped down to the ground, spent.

Time passed. I pointedly ignored it, running my ...

... fingers over seams in the floorboards.

Thea came by at one point, hovering by the doorway. "Are you alright, princess?"

"Yes. Sorry. Again." My voice was flat.

Thea hesitated for a moment. "Is there anything you need?"

"No. Thank you."

"Yes, princess." She left.

There were a lot of seams in the floorboards, I discovered. I'd never been down so low for so long to check before.

I was in the process of counting them when Thea reappeared, two plates of food in hand. "I thought you might want lunch. And company."

I pushed myself up to a seated position and shrugged. "Okay."

She set the plates of chicken and wild rice down on the floor, taking a seat beside me. We mostly ate in silence, but the food and her presence helped to drag me out of the ditch I'd fallen into.

"Are you upset with me?" I asked her toward the end of our meal, my eyes fixed on the chicken bone I was pushing around my plate.

"Not particularly."

I met her eyes. They were guarded, but not fearful. "Why?"

Thea shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you seemed tired and upset. And..." her voice trailed off.

"And?"

"...May I be frank, my princess?"

I nodded, curious if somewhat wary. "Yes."

A bit of tension drained from the servant's shoulders. "I learned long ago that it's not worth taking those sorts of things from you personally."

I frowned. Her words weren't the harsh reality I'd been expecting, but they didn't exactly comfort me either. Not that they had to--with the ...