novelxo Chapter Get Ready
[Arissa’'s POV]
An insistent knocking drew me from my nightmare-filled sleep, urging me to get my ass out of bed and go greet whoever was there. Groaning, I pried my eyes open to find that, based on the tilt of the sunlight that lit my room, it was close to noon.
Cursing, I got out of bed and let out a yawn. How Ivan had managed to convince me to go along with this ridiculous outing was beyond me. I had absolutely no interest in looking into the face of my tormentor or even his father. However, here we were and I was about to have to play victim to his crazy head maid's turning me into a proper lady.
As I stood debating whether or not I should actually open the door, the knocking grew louder. It seemed that Christine was getting impatient, and if I wanted any chance of her being kind to me, I would need to go ahead and let her in.
Grumbling to myself, I moved out of my room and into the living room. When I finally opened the door to allow Christine to enter, her face was stiff and a clear annoyance shone in her eyes. Shit, she was definitely going to make me pay.
"About time you answered.” She snapped, shoving past me. "I've been knocking for almost five minutes."
"It wasn't five minutes.” I sighed, shutting the door and following her towards my room. "It was two or three at most.”
Whirling around, she fixed her angry gaze on me and let her eyes sweep up and down my body, clearly calculating just how much work she was going to have to do.
Feeling self-conscious, I wrapped my arms around myself in hopes that it would hide me.
"You've never bothered to properly maintain yourself, have you?" Christine asked, stepping forward and grabbing the hem of my shirt.
Maintain myself? How the hell was I supposed to maintain myself when I was constantly fighting for survival and being treated as nothing more than a slave? Was she not aware of my background, or did she just not care?
"Kind of hard to do in a killing camp.” I hissed. "Sorry that fighting to stay alive trumped proper hygiene.”
For a moment, she stared at me as if debating whether or not I was telling the truth. After a while, her face softened ever so slightly, and she let out a sigh.
"Come, you're going to need a shower before anything.”
I didn't exactly know how to react to the sudden kindness that radiated in her tone. Was she now going to pity me because I revealed a bit of my history? In a way, I hoped she didn't. I didn’t need anyone's sympathy, nor did I want it. Yeah, my past sucked and most wouldn't even be able to begin to fathom what I went through, but it made me stronger and it happened. There was no changing that. So I didn't have the habit of dwelling.
"Take your clothes off while I run some water.” Christine commanded, snapping me out of my head. "There is no time to waste.”
"Will it really take over five hours for you to get me ready?" I asked, feeling a sense of foreboding beginning to make its way through me. "I just need to put on a nice dress and do my hair, right?" Was this dinner truly that big of a deal to the point that I had to look like an outstanding aristocrat? "You will be dining with the master's father.” Christine responded. "Do you understand the importance of looking presentable when you are in front of him?"
Hm, did I? No, but then again, I didn't give a damn either.
"That old fart can go suck a..."
I didn't get to finish as Christine suddenly grabbed my shoulders and flung me into the tub that was now full.
Gasping, I flailed, sending water flying onto the floor below while I tried to make sense of what just happened.
"That was on purpose!” I growled, shooting Christine a look. "Why didn’t you just let me get in by myself?"
"You were about to say something vulgar.” She pointed out, grabbing a bottle out of the bag that she had been carrying when she arrived. "A proper lady does not speak like that.”
"I think you've forgotten that I'm not a proper lady.” I smirked, “therefore there is absolutely no reason for me to act as such.”
"Despite your circumstances, you were still born into the hierarchy.” Christine pointed out, dunking my head under water to wet my hair. "That means that even if you don't feel as though you are meant to be a proper lady, you still are.”
For a moment, I considered what Christine was saying. In a way, it felt like she was trying to build up my confidence, not that I wasn't confident, but it was strange that she was suddenly being nice. "There's no point." I sighed, allowing her to begin to lather up my hair. "My chance at ever having a proper life or family disappeared long ago. Now I am simply meant to wander this earth, causing trouble and killing, until the moon goddess decides to take me home. "
Christine didn't bother responding as my words settled. Instead, she continued to wash my hair and clean me. She also didn't respond as she helped me get out and dry off. I guess she didn’t know how to respond to my morbid view of the world, and that was fine. Anyway, I didn't want to discuss hierarchy or proper etiquette anyway. Instead, I just wanted to let myself get lost in the world of movement and chaos that was Christine, turning me into a proper lady simply so I could appear at the dinner and cause trouble.
Once she was finished, the sun was already beginning to set outside. I guess she was right about it taking a while to pretty someone up for an obligatory dinner date. Sighing, I collapsed on a stool as my head pounded from my hair being pulled and twisted to the point where it felt like it would be ripped out at any second.
Stepping back, Christine examined her work as a smile of pride began to creep across her face. It was clear that she felt she had done a great job, and I felt the sudden urge to try not to ruin my appearance.
Getting up, I began to make my way towards a mirror so I could see, but stopped as my door flew open and Ivan appeared fully dressed to perfection and ready.
He stood in place, looking around until his eyes settled on me, and then they simply stayed there. What the hell was he looking at and why did he suddenly develop a look of hunger just from seeing me?