In Prince Adam’s chambers, Rhynera was helped into her new chambers, the heels of her shoes clicking lightly on the smooth floors as a line of maids bowed in perfect synch, their heads lowered, with their faces unreadable.
Rhynera had always dreamed of this life. The life of a crown princess. Her arm was wrapped delicately around Prince Adam’s, her fingers gripping tightly as if holding onto a dream that was finally becoming real.
Behind her, Mia, her handmaid, trailed in silence, her loyal footsteps soft, her eyes darting across every foreign corner of the new place they had entered.
The moment the doors closed behind them, the maids raised their heads and spoke in unison. "Welcome, my lady." Their voices carried no warmth, like they had been trained to.
Rhynera smiled, holding her head high, already picturing her new life. But before she could even reply, Adam gently nudged her fingers off his arm.
She blinked in surprise, but obeyed without question, her hands falling to her sides as he stepped forward.
"This is your lady now," his voice was sharp, "From this moment onward, give her the same respect you would show me. One complaint from her and I swear, I will not spare any of you."
The maids’ faces stiffened, their eyes wide. The warning had landed like a blow, and Rhynera could already sense their fear. She felt happy and satisfied being treated this way.
"Now... get to work," he dismissed them with a wave, and the maids scattered with silent footsteps, vanishing into their assigned roles.
Mia, however, stood frozen and confused. Then she leaned forward slightly. "My La..." Her words were instantly silenced.
"Someone take her," Adam growled, not even turning. "She’s to be taught everything a maid should know."
Mia’s eyes widened in panic. "My Lord?" She looked at him as if he had spoken in a tongue she could not understand.
"My Lord..." Rhynera stepped forward with a small, awkward smile, her voice careful. "You don’t need to teach her anything. She grew up with me. She knows all the customs of our house, she..."
He paused for a moment staring at her, before he finally took a slow step, Rhynera swallowed hard seeing how serious and scary he looked, and before she could think more he grabbed her hand.
His touch wasn’t a gentle one like she would always imagine her future man to have. His fingers coiled around her wrist, dragging her close until her breath stopped at how near his face was to hers. Her cheeks flushed, her heart raced like a startled bird in her chest.
But then his voice dropped lower.
"And that is exactly why she needs to learn. Because she was raised like you." Her smile faded instantly.
"My Lord, I understand that you are angry about my sister, but I swear I was brought up with..."
His hand snapped up and gripped her cheek, pressing her skin so hard she winced, the sting shooting through her bones and freezing her words.
Behind her, all the maids turned their backs, including Mia. Prince Adam leaned in, his breath hot on her skin, his eyes burning into hers like fire ready to consume.
"I married you because it was my duty. Don’t mistake this for affection. Don’t think you can speak to me as though we are equals. You will speak when spoken to. One more time you let your tongue run loose and I will remind you of your place."
Rhynera’s lips trembled but no sound escaped. She was still trying to process the sudden switch, the coldness in his voice, the hand that now shoved her backward.
She stumbled and her feet twisted over the fabric of her gown and she hit the cold floor with a harsh thud.
Her palms scraped the floor and pain sliced through her knees. The sting in her chest was worse. Adam didn’t even look back. Mia felt like running to her lady but dared not move.
"Tomorrow, both you and your maid will begin ethics training. Only when you meet my expectations will I consider you my lady," he hissed, then turned and walked out of the room.
"Wait..." her voice cracked, but he was already gone.
Mia rushed toward her but hadn’t even reached halfway before the other maids stepped in and shoved her back roughly.
"Wh... why..." Mia’s words were cut off when one of the maids seized her wrists, yanking her arms behind her back, and another struck her across the face.
The sound of the slap echoed through the chamber and made Rhynera gasp.
"Mia!" she shouted, trying to get up, but her knees buckled from the fall.
The head maid turned toward her with a soft smile that did not match the violence she had just delivered.
"She is still in the process of learning etiquette. She has no right to approach you until she earns it."
Mia’s eyes brimmed with tears, her face red, with her voice shaky. "My lady... I don’t want to go. Please... please don’t let them take me."
But Rhynera couldn’t speak. Her mouth opened but nothing came. It was Adam’s order, and she still had no power here yet.
The maids dragged Mia away, her desperate cries echoing through the walls, and Rhynera stood still as stone, swallowing every scream that wanted to escape her throat.
Then the head maid stepped forward again, her voice honeyed but firm.
"My lady... You should have your bath. And... this will be the last time you wear clothes from your old world. You must take on the scent of Drakonis, since you are one of us now."
Rhynera swallowed hard listening to her, No maid had ever spoken to her before in her father’s realm. But now, she was nothing more than a foreign bride, a girl brought here to fulfill a duty.
Her mother’s words echoed in her mind like a whisper, "Do not get on their nerves... blend in until you become powerful enough to rule."
She blinked, and when the tears came, she blinked them away. This was not the time to fight.
She stood slowly, nodding with quiet obedience. "Take me there," she whispered, her voice so low only the head maid heard, and with a smug smile, the maid gestured for her to follow.
Rhynera did, with footsteps heavier than her heart. This was not how her fairytale was supposed to begin.