Sarah J Maas Fanfiction
A/N: I do not own any of the locations or any familiar characters; all rights go to the incredible Sarah J Maas.
I was sleeping in my small bed, at the back of the servants' quarters. The door to the hallway was at one end of the long room and bunks occupied the rest, set two abroad, with a walkway down the centre. My bed was a moderate size, and at the very back, the furthest from the hallway. I had lain awake for hours, thinking about nothing in particular, then fallen into a restless sleep.
I jolted awake at a thud coming from the hallway, accompanied by low swearing. I slowly rolled over to my other side, so I could see them better. They were two of Tamlin's favourite guards, one of them called Hart. The other's name I didn't know, but he had a brutish face, all angles and rough edges, and didn't look very light on his feet, tall and broad-chested as he was. It appeared that he had hit his head on the doorframe in the low- ceilinged servants quarters below the manor.
Hart and Mr Tall Guy came down the walkway, like they were trying not to wake anyone, but everyone was already awake. The snores had stopped the moment footsteps had sounded. Everyone wanted and was terrified to know who Tamlin's new toy would be. Only Mother Sangia and Sister Markove were safe. They were too old for Tamlin to bother with. They would last even less time than the others, which averaged about a week, and wouldn't be as pleasing to him as the young women, barely more than girls.
The two men stopped beside my bed and glanced at each other briefly before Tall bent down and picked me up, restricting my arms and grabbing my feet so I couldn't move. His hand pressed against my chest, and he smiled cruelly down at me at what he found there. There was no point in struggling; I wouldn't win this fight. I only moved enough that his roaming hands wouldn't feel the scars on my back.
He brought me to another room that I hadn't seen yet.
"This is the room where you'll be staying as Tamlin's mistress. Don't get too comfortable- you won't be sleeping much." He said in a gravelly voice and smiled cruelly at me once again as he and Hart walked out. I turned and assessed the room. I had been in here before. It used to be light and beautiful, all tones of gold and pearlescent white. It had been Tamlin's mother's room. Now it was dark and gloomy. The light fixture covered in cobwebs and dust, the walls slashed to pieces, long gashes covering them. Only the bed, a new bed, made of dark mahogany and dressed in dark grey sheets, was untouched.
I lay down and slept. The next day, when I rose, my friend Cath stood there. I greeted her as I would on any other day, but she didn't reply. She kept her eyes averted, and said,
"Tamlin requests your presence in the formal dining room." That was the last she ever spoke to me.
That night, I wandered back to my room, more alone than ever.