Chapter: 9: Maeve’s Justification

I didn’t hesitate to run toward Master Deveroux’s office when I realized that Knox could come out of his room again at any time.

Once I was there, I started working.

I needed to occupy my head but took my time cleaning, so I didn’t have to go out there again anytime soon.

The thought of Knox catching me before I could reach the kitchen made me shiver to the smallest of my bones.

“Are you all right?”

My heart stopped when I heard the door behind me creak.

Reluctantly, I looked back, and my body relaxed when I saw Milo with his hands wrapped in a towel.

“It’s just you,” I said, sighing loudly before I turned back to wiping down the desk.

“Were you expecting someone else?” Milo asked, closing the door behind him.

I stiffened. “No,” I lied, clutching the cloth harder. “And I’m okay. There are just a lot of things on my mind.”

The lies were easy to tell, but the tears pressing behind my swollen eyes exposed them for what they were right away.

“You don’t look okay,” Milo said, putting his hand on mine to make me stop cleaning.

The next thing I felt was his body heat surrounding me.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Will, but don’t pretend you’re okay when you’re clearly not,” Milo said, squeezing me until I was forced to free the suppressed tears.

“He’s awful,” I cried, burying myself into Milo’s chest, my tears staining his white shirt.

“Who?” Milo asked softly, gently caressing my hair.

I hesitated, but no lie could save me from the truth. “Lady Deveroux’s son,” I whispered quietly. “H-he—”

I couldn’t force the last sentence to cross my lips. The memories were still a jumbled mess in my head, and I couldn’t figure out how to explain them.

Then Milo pushed me away from his body to keep me at arm’s length without letting go of my shoulders. “What did that bastard do now?” he shouted furiously.

I blinked a few times to rid my eyes of the excess water, surprised by Milo’s reaction.

“Stay away from that guy, Willow,” he continued. “He’s nothing but bad news. He’s already got Maeve wrapped around his finger, and I refuse to let him have you, too.”

I sniffled and furrowed my brow at the thought of Maeve’s words. “Did you know about them?” I asked.

Milo’s lips turned thin.

“I saw her leaving his room, Milo, and she admitted they had some kind of relationship. Don’t lie to me now.”

Milo’s face was so red that his blood might actually be boiling. “I’m going to kill that bastard,” he said, letting go of me to march determinedly toward the exit.

“I’m going to kill him this time, even if it costs me my job!”

I forced my feet to move and run after him. He was too far ahead for me to catch up before he opened the door to rush out.

Mom would be furious if she found out, but I had no choice. Milo would lose more than his job if he challenged Knox.

I lifted my hand toward the door. The wind obeyed my command and slammed the door shut before Milo’s eyes.

He turned around, surprised by my recklessness. “Willow, you—”

I caught up with him before he could scold me and grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“Milo, stop! You’ll lose your life if you fight Knox!” I shouted, holding on so tightly it would take a knife to pry my hands open.

He stopped fighting and looked at me with worried eyes. “You know his name?” he whispered, defeated. “Then you’re already—”

“No,” I shouted when I realized what assumptions he was about to make. “M-Maeve told me his name when she found me hiding behind the corner.”

I looked away, embarrassed that I’d carelessly used the cruel bastard’s name.

“Blessed the spirits,” Milo said, squatting so he could hide his face.

“Why?” I asked, needing the answers Milo was hiding from me. “Why is she with him? What happened for her to sink so low?”

Milo sighed but eventually caved. “It didn’t start like that, but things got out of hand, and now I’m afraid she can’t get out.”

I didn’t understand a single word of that. “What do you mean?”

He bit his finger before he looked at me and continued. “Maeve might seem happy and cheerful, but it’s a disguise. Her family isn’t doing well.

“Her older brother is very sick, and he has been for a while. He can’t work, so she’s responsible for everyone.

“It was fine when she first came here, but then Knox began harassing her, and—she can’t say no to him. Not now. It’ll ruin her family.”

So, Maeve was forced to play a role she didn’t want. Her choice was to either listen to Knox and play along or lose her job and jeopardize her entire family.

It sounded too familiar to my own situation, but one thought bothered me.

Why hadn’t she reported his behavior to the guardians? We were protected from his kind of harassment by law, and she didn’t have anything to hide like I did. Did she?

***

For days, Maeve dodged every attempt I made to get in touch with her.

I checked her schedule daily to see if any of her chores partially aligned with mine.

So far, she’d been spending her time taking care of the residence hall, and I hadn’t dared go near that place again.

Today, however, the spirits had blessed me with a chance I wouldn’t waste.

Margaret had assigned me to take care of the alleged “premium guestroom.”

I’d never been there, but I’d heard whispers about the place from other maids. It was a room for influential people—important people.

There had been many of those kinds through this mansion in the weeks I’d been employed.

House diplomats, actors, singers, and academy presidents. None of them had been advised to use this room.

Whoever was visiting by the end of the week had to be someone extraordinarily prominent. Maybe it was someone from one of the realm houses.

Maeve was also in charge of the resident hall today, and I knew she had to pass the premium guestroom to get there. It was perfect.

I’d been sitting with my back leaned against the door, listening to footsteps echoing in the hall for almost an hour.

Finally, something disturbed the silence outside.

I opened the door enough for a small crack to emerge, so I could peek outside.

Strands of blonde hair bounced as she moved through the corridor, her eyes locked on the path ahead.

I didn’t hesitate and leaped forward to grab her arm and drag her inside with me.

“Willow?” she gasped once I’d closed the door behind us, and she’d recovered from the shock. “What are you doing?”

I turned around, narrowing my eyes at her. “We need to talk,” I whispered as loud as I dared. I didn’t want anyone to hear us if they passed by.

Maeve lifted her chin and straightened her back. “I have nothing to say to you,” she said, trying to maneuver her way around me.

I blocked her path. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since the Deveroux son came home from—”

“Knox,” Maeve corrected me. Her voice cut through the air to show me how little she cared about my attempt to remain quiet.

“Fine,” I hissed, clenching my hands into fists. “You’ve been avoiding me since ~Knox~ came home from his visit to the Inferno Realm. Why?”

Maeve’s hardened eyes wavered. “I-I haven’t necessarily been avoiding you. I’ve just been…busy.”

“With Knox?”

The words left my mouth before I’d considered the gravity of them.

Maeve’s expression turned into a scowl. “I told you to stay out of it, Will,” she growled, pushing me backward. “I have my reasons to be with him, and you’re—”

“I know about your family,” I said, interrupting her before she could tell me some half-hearted lie to cover for the truth.

Her eyes widened as terror carved her brow into wrinkles of distress. I didn’t waver.

“Milo told me about your brother. I know that you’re not with Knox because you want to be. You’re with him because you need to be.”

“You don’t know anything!” Maeve shouted, pushing me backward again. “My family has nothing to do with this; even if they did, it is none of your business!”

I’d been holding back so far, but now, fury made my eyes glow with madness. “You made it my business when you called me your friend, Maeve!” I shouted back, poking her shoulder.

“You made it my business when you defended that cruel psycho and left me standing defenseless against his violating hands that day.

“So, don’t you dare say this has nothing to do with me. Knox is exactly who I think he is: a cruel creature with no soul, and I have the markings to prove it.”

Warm breath heated my lips as I panted for cool air to calm my itching skin. If anyone had been outside that door, they would’ve heard us by now, but I didn’t care.

“He did what?” Maeve gasped, stepping backward until the wall stopped her.

I looked away and tugged down my sleeves. His hands had left bruises, and although I wanted her to understand how dangerous he was, I didn’t want her to see them. It would make his attack too real.

“It wasn’t long after you’d left me,” I whispered. “Knox must’ve heard us talking. He cornered me before I’d seen him. I only escaped his hands because he had something more important to do.”

Maeve suddenly fell to her knees. “No,” she whispered, looking at her trembling hands as if they’d been covered in the blood of innocents.

The intense feeling of wrath squeezing my throat faded. “Maeve,” I whispered, slowly stepping closer until I could squat beside her.

“I’m so sorry, Will,” she whispered, her hands gripping the fabric covering her chest to clench it. “I-I thought I could—”

Maeve stopped herself as if the words she wanted to say were too heavy for them to cross her lips.

“That you could do what?” I asked, lightly touching her arm to let her know she wasn’t alone. Something wasn’t right about Maeve and Knox’s relationship, and it was now clearer than ever.

She sighed, still refusing to look at me. “My relationship with Knox doesn’t simply continue because I’m afraid to lose my job,” she finally revealed.

“When I began working here, Knox had a girlfriend who kept his interest focused.

“Then they broke up, and Knox started to take pleasure in harassing many of the young women employed by his parents, myself included.

“The old me was quite defiant back then, but it only seemed to pique Knox’s interest even more. Then I found out he’d stopped harassing the other girls, and I just started playing along.

“I thought if I could be enough, he’d keep away from everyone else, but if he touched you—Oh, Will, I’m so sorry.”

I was speechless. Maeve was with that soulless monster because she was trying to protect everyone else. This girl…

“Our safety isn’t your responsibility, Maeve,” I whispered, tears welling in my eyes. “The law is supposed to protect us. If you—”

Maeve suddenly knocked my hand away from her and rose to her feet. “I don’t expect you to understand,” she hissed, wiping away a rogue tear from her cheek. “You’re still too new.”

Then, without another word, she walked past me and closed the door behind her.

A few seconds passed before I realized she’d left the room.

I sighed and leaned my back against the cold wall. I couldn’t figure that girl out, but maybe I really was too new to understand why she was doing this to herself.

Maybe she’d experienced something I never had.

I looked at my bruised wrist and the tiny clock we’d been given by Margaret a few days ago.

Time had passed so fast, and I’d already spent too much of it doing nothing. I needed to get started if I wanted to avoid receiving a purple note tomorrow.

I took a moment to breathe before pulling myself to my feet and dragging my feckless body to the housekeeping cart.

The hall I was in was dark and dull, except for one light brightening the gray walls from the ceiling. Then I opened the door to the next room, and my eyes opened wide.

It was gorgeous.

Large and colorful walls encased the modernized space. Decorations and other peculiarities had been carefully placed to make the room look warm yet spacious.

It also looked like it hadn’t been used for ages.

A thick layer of dust covered the room like a filthy blanket. Nothing smelled rotten, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I found a dead animal in here.

I’d drastically underestimated the extent of work this room required and immediately grabbed my tools to get started.

I needed to be fast but thorough.

They would be cleaning in here every day for the next week to ensure the room was spotless. I would be the one to set that standard today.

It was a strange task, but places could be missed, and repetitive cleaning would minimize the likelihood of that happening.

I started by wiping down the ceiling and the walls. One stroke and my cloth would be downright disgusting, and I’d have to rinse it all over again.

I’d probably have to refill the bucket with clean water ten or twenty times before noon. I’d never seen so much dust in my entire life. Not even at home.

I didn’t dare look into the other room or the bathroom, fearing the nightmares waiting for me. Besides, focusing on one room at a time was probably the best approach anyway.

The ceiling and the two first walls were done within the hour. I fetched a new bucket of water and began cleaning another wall. Then something clicked under the palm of my hand.

I held my breath and froze, terrified that I’d broken something I shouldn’t have.

Nothing seemed to crumble, and I carefully removed the cloth to reveal a button hidden by the layer of dust.

The sound of mechanical wheels grinding made me jump back before the walls started glowing.

The room disappeared, and I was suddenly standing on an island, surrounded by water, bathing in the light of the sunset. I panicked and pushed the button again.

The image changed into a naked landscape. Crops and trees gently waved in the breeze. Then the scent of soil brushed my nose.

Calmly, I pressed the button again and found myself in the sandy mountains of the Inferno Realm, standing next to a warming bonfire. The sky was dark, lit only by the stars and the bright moon.

What was this?

I searched my surroundings, looking for some kind of projector to make sense of this wonder. I just couldn’t find one.

Were these the integrated illusions Dad had mentioned a year ago?

If so, these walls could represent anything that could be uploaded to the mainframe: images, scents, and, sometimes, even physical perception.

I pressed the button again and felt a familiar calmness wash over me.

Sky-high mountains reached for the stars, and grass swayed in the wind that caressed my cheeks.

This was an illusion of the Sky Realm. I’d never been there to see it with my own eyes, but this was exactly how I’d imagined it.

I stared at the images for nearly half an hour before I realized what I was doing and shut the illusion down.

This was highly advanced technology and nothing for my eyes to see. I had a job to do, and it had nothing to do with my powers.

I wiped down the rest of the wall, but I couldn’t seem to forget about the illusions. I could still feel the wind on my skin and the heat from the fire.

My nose still detected whiffs of the damp earth and the salty wild ocean.

I stopped moving, cursing my childish stubbornness, but there was no way around it.

I needed to figure out how to get back to this enchanting place, so I could see more fragments of the world I’d only ever heard stories about.