Word Count: 1540

~Millicent

I was late to the temple. Not that it bothered me much.

I'm required to go, but a little defiance is what I'm known for. However, with Analia's visit today, and my tardiness, I can't help but wonder how much patience he has left. As much as it hinders my plans, it is best I lay low for the next few days. Once he grows bored of monitoring me, I'll be free to do as I please again.

Thankfully, my escorts are prompt in returning me to my room after the ritual. Usually they take their time, rambling between each other about gossip that has come out of the prisons. Most of them are glorified guards who worked in the Moon's sacred prisons once.

Now their jobs entail following me around, ensuring I don't go anywhere aside from where I'm authorised. The expanse of the Moon's estate is great, most of it I've not discovered.

And that bothers me. A lot.

Instead of taking me to my quarters, which I'm usually required to remain in until Lucy takes me to the dining area for lunch, they take me directly there themselves.

Lucy waits at the other end of the table as I sit down, watching the escorts leave with a scowl etched into her face. She has come very protective over me recently, hating the way the escorts treat me. I dismiss it, not bothered by their whispers and flirtatious remarks. They will burn with this entire place when I'm done with them.

"This is new," I comment, looking at the food laid out in front of me. From an untrained eye, it would appear as though I'm well looked after here. I suppose to some degree I am given the best possible treatment. It's too keep me sated, I assume. Stop me from causing trouble.

Lucy sits patiently, waiting for me to begin eating before she can start also. It doesn't matter how often I offer for her to eat first, she never takes it.

She really has given her entire life to me.

"I was escorted here also. They mentioned to me something about needing lunch to be eaten promptly, and that no time could be wasted," Lucy tells me, as I pick at the wrap that has been folded for me so immaculately. It must be because I was late this morning to my temple ritual. Schedules are well regarded here.

However, the moment I take a single bite out of my wrap, which is usually made exactly how I request it daily, I realise why I was brought to sit here right now. My mouth filled with warm liquid, that tasted sharp like metal.

I drop the wrap, spitting out what I had just placed into my mouth. It splatters across the table, Lucy jumping up to come to my aid.

It's blood.

My urge to vomit became so intense, I almost do so, however, I hold it in, spitting blood out onto the table. Lucy escorts me back to my quarters, to my bathroom, where I strip down immediately, stumbling into the shower. I spat blood all over myself, which I wash off promptly, while Lucy stands by, waiting for me to finish.

I know why this has happened. It's a message, a warning. I'm meant to be the doting Goddess who everyone adores, and who keeps in line without becoming curious or even considers questioning authority.

I'm handed a towel as I step outside the shower, shivering. The implications of this are not good, yet, I'm angered now, revenge flirting with my mind.

I've had an idea for awhile. Now might be the time to explore it.

Lucy doesn't ask any questions once I'm dressed and back into my room. She already knows why this happened and who is behind it. She knows that a simple command from this man when he is bothered by me could lead to a creative punishment each time. No consequence has ever threatened my life, though.

Casting Lucy a glance is enough to send her out of my room wordlessly. We don't need conversation to establish how we are feeling. After what happened to me today, she will be assuming I need space, to think.

And she's not completely wrong. An idea lingers within my mind that has been put on hold recently. Now, this incident has activated it.

Sitting down on my bed, my mind wanders.

Underneath my pillow, Sinful's note still resides, scrunched up into a ball. My fingers itch to reach out and grab it, unfurl it and read what he has prepared for me.

No, I shouldn't. Sinful has been out of my life for quite some time, and that has been okay. Yes, Analia comes around often as my mates impatience grows, but I've been punished less for his advances.

Gritting my teeth, I decide against reading his note. Maybe at a later time I will sit down and observe what he is trying to communicate to me. I can't help but wonder if he wrote me a love letter, which is something between us that has never yet been explored. We may be mates, but I've avoided romance with him.

Today, I have other plans, though.

I may have been just been punished for stepping out of line, but this idea might just work. Plus, I've stepped on his toes enough already, which might mean he is less observant of me. What I'm doing, though, doesn't appear suspicious. I head to the library often, considering how little there is to do here within the Moons estate other than to read.

"Heading to the library," I says as I walk out my bedroom, Lucy standing guard at the door. "I'll meet you back here before dinner."

Lucy doesn't follow me, thankfully. The last thing I want to do is to get my little angel in trouble with him too. He is cruel, heartless, and not human. He lurks these halls with a watchful eye, reading to punish whoever steps beyond his laws.

We call him the Moon. He doesn't have another name.

Whether he is a conscious entity or not, we don't know, but what I do know, is that he had a large library built right in the centre of this manor. I'm thankful for it, and it is often a reprieve from the repetitive life here.

However, I have suspicions that there is something more to this library. Beyond the walls, while I rest on the supplied chaise lounge, I once heard noises coming from the other side of the main wall. As far as my knowledge serves me, nothing exists past the wall, which might not be the truth now.

I want to explore it. The secrets being kept in this place are immense. Whispers suggest it's apart of the Moon's private quarters.

If I'm ever going to get a chance to get in there, who knows what I could uncover.

The library is empty as I wander through the stacks. It often is during the day, since all the staff in this place are working. It gives me the privacy to explore without the worry of being watched and reported back to him, the Moon. The last thing I want is to lose access to this place.

Walking along the perimeter wall, I read the spines of all books that line these shelves. A lot of them are books on the different Immortals. I've always chosen to ignore those particular books. I'm not sure who the authors of them are.

Nothing that I come across seems out of place here.

Each book fits so perfectly, no outliers becoming apparent. For whatever reason, my foolish imagination is hoping for a magical entrance to his side of the wall through a book. I doubt that's true. The Moon might be sneaky and manipulative, but I doubt he would want to give any chance for a single person to get close to him.

Staring hopelessly at the books, I wonder what my next move should be. How can I get to the other side of this wall if there is no entrance?

Maybe there is nothing on the other side and I'm crazy...

Wandering back to the lounge area, I head straight for the wall I first grew suspicious of. Placing my ear against the wall, I listen intently. At first I hear nothing, and just as I was about to turn away and call my endeavour a loss, I hear something that definitely not coming from this side of the wall.

Mumbling voices, and perhaps the sound of music becomes apparent. No matter how much I strain to listen, I don't catch any coherent words. But what this means, is that there is something going on behinds these walls that are being kept from me.

"This could get you in trouble you know," someone says from behind me. I turn around, pressing my back against the door, mortified.

My eyes fall on who has caught me, and it is the last person I would have expected.

It's Sinful.

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If you're liking the story, head over to Radish, where this book is ten chapters ahead (:

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~Midika 💜🐼