The ginger menace was on the floor, palms pressed neatly against her knees, head bowed. Freckles caught the light, and her lips trembled like some bullied schoolgirl being dumped sewer water on while in the bathroom. Her tears ran faster than her mouth, which was already quick as hell.

"I should not have approached Miss Smith while she was still resting," she sniffled, wiping her cheek but leaving an artful streak of shine for Eirlys to notice. "It was my fault. I only wanted to wake her gently, and I was careless. To disturb her sleep is unforgivable."

Oh, hell no. Ain't no fucking way someone was about to believe this nonsense.

"It's not your fault, now stand up." Eirlys said with her arms crossed, before glaring at me, "While you… You're still sleeping at this hour?"

Don't tell me she buy that story… Seriously, jesus christ, Eirlys Sonder. Are you so immersed in the role of those kind of CEO/Chairman?

I sat up, hair everywhere, still half in dreamland, pillow-crease denting my cheek.

"That's not what happened," I rasped, my voice like gravel. "We just… we bumped foreheads. Accident, of course. I sat up too fast, she leaned too close, boom, basic Newton physics. No one's fault, I got hurt, too, see?"

Anshur didn't even look at me, she dabbed her eyes with her sleeve, slow and delicate, like she was on a drama stage, before standing upright again and bowing down to me like I was some kind of dictator.

"No, it was my mistake. I leaned in too close. I should have known better."

God. This bitch was good, too good, as a matter of fact.

Eirlys stood at the doorway, framed in soft daylight. She had that kind of stillness that didn't need to be loud to make you feel guilty, just a hand resting lightly on the doorframe, eyes unreadable, but heavy as stones.

"You hit her hard enough to knock her to the floor, Cory?" she asked evenly.

"I already told you, jeez!" I felt heat climb my neck. "I didn't hit her. I jolted awake! She was like, right there in my face, and I panicked. That's not the same thing, why are you saying like it's my fault?"

Eirlys's gaze shifted to Anshur, who ducked her head further, shoulders trembling like she'd been struck down by lightning.

"I should not have startled her," Anshur whispered, her voice breaking just enough to sound believable. "If anyone is to be punished, it must be me."

My jaw went slack. "You're making it sound like I attacked you. That's not what… Oh my God, Eirlys, are you really buying this?"

Her eyes flicked back to me, cool and steady. "I would rather believe the maid who has worked here faithfully than the guest we chose to shelter."

The words hit harder than the forehead collision. For a second, I couldn't even breathe.

I was about to say some mean shit about her and her family, god damn billionaires, god damn optimistic little air-head that slowed down my progression and now I'm stuck with, and god damn you, too, Eirlys, who does not even have a personality more than your workplace.

I scrambled out of bed, the hem of my shirt riding up in a way that made me feel stupidly exposed.

"You've got it backwards. She once tried to choke me, you remember that night after our first dinner? She's an evil menace! This isn't some sweet little Cinderella crying for her poor soul and poor life, she knows what she's doing! She's evil!"

Eirlys didn't answer, but she moved, calm as ice, to the desk by the window. The one where I'd been supposed to spend the morning scribbling out my punishment like a middle-school delinquent.

"You were told to write it one hundred times, the promise that you would not put my precious little sister in danger" Her slender fingers brushed over the page as she spoke. "You've managed ten all morning… So you did woke up, but chose to go back to sleep."

My stomach dropped.

I glanced at the paper, still blotched from my half-awake chicken scratch. The lines read like a broken record before trailing off because I felt sleepy, the ink line breaking like my willpower.

"Yeah, well, I got… distracted," I muttered weakly, though we both knew "distracted" meant I logged onto Darkmoon Adventure to did the raid boss

Her sigh was soft, but it cut. "You had all morning."

I tried to speak, to defend myself, but nothing coherent came out. Anshur sniffled again behind me, and the sound knifed my nerves raw.

Eirlys turned her back to the desk, arms folded now.

Her gaze was steady, the kind that made my skin crawl with shame.

"Sometimes I forget you are just…"

She didn't finish, and frankly, she didn't have to.

The silence after her words was worse than a slap.

I stood there, barefoot, hair a mess, fist balled up, staring at her like she'd pulled the floor out from under me. Anshur kept wiping her face while snobbing softly, perfectly timed, perfectly framed in the corner of the room like she was the victim of some tragic opera.

And me? I was just… the problem.

"I will assign a different helper for you, Cory, do not repeat this, do not disappoint me… Remember, you're only here because I need you to help me with my career. Anshur, you are dismissed from Cory's aid until further notice."

With that, she left.

The second that door closes, Anshur stared right back at me with a smile.

A very cute and warm smile that I didn't notice at first, until I turned away from the door to look at her.

With my fist already balled up, I was ready to throw hands with this bitch.

But deep down, I realize that I was nothing but inconsequential to her schemes.

"I hope we do not cross paths again, Anshur… I don't want anything to do with you, and I don't want trouble." I said simply.

"Then I hope you learn your place, you rat." She said, so softly and cutely.

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