LOGINShare
Chapter 2 Good Help is Hard to FindThree Years Later
Last Updated:
2021-07-31 09:35:11-Three years later-
*Ana*
“I can’t take it anymore.” The maid screams and throws down the brush. Her face almost as red as her hair. She’s still huffing and puffing through her fangs as I reach down to pick it back up.
“But my hair-” I see the wild mess in the mirror. I can’t remember how long since the last maid combed it. And it was bad then.
But now, I can’t even pass my fingers through parts. The long, curly silver hair is starting to lock up. It’s going to hurt even more than usual to untangle it.
But, it needs to get combed.
“I know no one wants to touch it, but it will only be worse if you don’t-”
“I can’t touch it,” The maid goes again, making a face. “It’s gross! Don’t make me touch it!”
“But -” How am I to get the knots out?
“Today was supposed to be the designated day.” I go. “We agreed, didn’t we?” but the maid charges for the door.
“Well, I changed my mind. I’m not doing it..”
“Please-” I try once more. “IF you just do the back-” I can do the rest. But, I don’t get another word in before the maid whips off her apron.
“I quit!” The maid shouts and opens the door just in time to see Aunt Funda standing, ready to knock.
“Your Empress? What is-” Aunt Funda seems almost as stunned seeing the maid as she is her, but the maid quickly comes back.
“Forgive me, Lady Funda.” The maid bows her head. “But I can’t do it.” And she walks past her.
“What?” Aunt Funda blinks after her. “Wait, where are you-” But the maid is gone. She won’t come back.
They never do.
“Empress!” Aunt Funda turns back to me. “You! What have you done now?”
“Nothing,” I hold up the brush. “It-” It’s combing day, but I don’t get the words out before Aunt Funda turns.
“This one didn’t even last till the end of the month.” Aunt Funda holds her head. “Did you have to be so difficult?”
“I-”
But Aunt Funda waves her hand. She doesn’t want to hear it.
“You are not even eight; you are such a pain.” She looks at me before shaking her head.
“It was the last one I could find. There isn’t anyone else.”
“I’m-” I try apologizing again, but Aunt Funda is turning away.
“No one else wants to do it. Not even with how much your uncle pays them.”
“Aunt Funda, I really didn’t mean to.”
“I’ll have to advertise from the outside at this point forward.” She grumbles to herself as she makes for the door. “It’s going to be so expensive.”
“Wait,” My hair; I get up from the chair with the brush. “I need help-” I can’t get the tangles. But I am too late.
She is already gone and down the hall.
“Aunt Funda?”
I don't think she'll be coming back anytime soon.
I am now alone. Again.
“I just wanted my hair combed,” I whisper and sit back down. My hands cradle the brush before it starts. The tears are coming up.
“No,” I shake them away. I don’t want to cry.
Crying will make things worse.
“I will have to try myself then.” Instead, I pick up the brush to start combing what I can. But it’s not long before I feel the first snag.
“Ah,” a tear slips out when I do. But I quickly wipe it away and try again, although I can already see it’s a fool's mission.
There are just too many knots. And my arms are too short. I won’t be able to get all of it.
“But I have to try.” Because it’s better than nothing.
And Anything is better than nothing at this point.
I stop as a strand of hair falls down my lap. I pick it up to look after it. The silver color shines easily in the light.
It’s a beautiful color on its own. And If it were anything else, it would be very pretty. But when it’s hair- my hair, especially, it’s anything but.
It’s just painful.
I let it go as I needed to wipe away another tear. But I’m doing better today. A few missed tears are a great improvement.
And I have something else to look forward to.
“I hope the new maid comes soon.” I go and try for the comb again.
And Maybe she'll even stay this time.
-x-
*?*
“You understand the gravity of this mission, Mrs.-” King Alexander stalled to look at his butler and oldest friend, Johan, for the name.
“Bustlier,” Johan went, not surprised his majesty had already forgotten.
“Yes, Mrs. Bustlier-”
“I prefer Maddie.” The middle-aged woman with greying bangs went. “Mrs. Bustlier was my mother. And she’s long dead, thank god.”
It was meant to be a joke, but it seemed to fly past both men. King Alexander only sat back to regard her.
“Do you understand what your mission is, Agent Maddie?” King Alexander lifted the advertisement.
“I do.”
“We have been waiting for an opportunity like this to arise for the past few years,” Johan added. “There may not be another chance to get inside without raising suspicion.”
“This means you can not fail.” Johan met the woman’s brown eyes as if to measure her out.
“You have to get in.”
“You can trust me, Your Majesty.” Maddie went to bow. “I will not fail you.”
“If they catch you-” King Alexander started, but Maddie lifted her head with the most confident smile.
“Have no fear. Mission reconnect with your estranged daughter will be a success. I will bet my life on it.”
Latest chapter
Will Bear the Moon Chapter 69 Wolves And Company
*Ana*The room is bathed in amber light. For the first time in days, the clouds have scattered. That stubborn ceiling of winter-grey that's clung to the sky like a brooding bird refusing to leave her nest has finally taken wing. And in its place—sunlight. Glorious and gold, spilling through the carved arches of the Moonroom like a long-awaited blessing from the old gods. It dances along the mosaic tiles, each piece catching fire in miniature suns, warms the brass lanterns overhead until they gleam like captured starlight, and settles over the divans and embroidered pillows in waves of honey and liquid fire.I'm grateful for it. The palace has felt dismal lately—each hallway too dim, too chilled, too full of things left unsaid. Or worse, too many things heard that I'm unable to forget.But this—this warmth—it feels like permission to hope again. Or at least pretend for one more hour that things are going well.I sit where I always do—centered, composed, draped in my choice of pink vel
Will Bear the Moon Chapter 68 Matchmaker
The Green Drawing Room is quieter than I expected it to be. Pale winter light filters through tall windows, breaking apart on the thick clouds beyond before pooling in uneven patches across the intricate rug beneath our feet. Every shade of green imaginable lies woven into the fabric—moss and jade, seafoam and deep olive—colors rich enough to speak of distant lands and conquered artisans.I've always wondered about this tapestry. Some fallen kingdom, perhaps, from the early days of the first emperor's reign when borders expanded and cultures disappeared into Nochten's shadow. The rug might be all that remains of someone else's legacy, buried now beneath our own. Each time I look down at it, the weight of what came before settles heavier on my shoulders—the prices paid for this throne, and the costs yet to come. Hidi doesn’t glance down at the rug. She doesn’t notice it. Or if she did, she quickly lost interest. Her gaze, instead, stays transfixed on Nicoli sitting next to me on the c
Will Bear the Moon Chapter 67 I Told You As Much
Alexander hated that ceiling.The turquoise and gold swirls once praised as Nochten's finest craftsmanship now seemed like a cruel joke—ornate spirals twisting endlessly above him, bright enough to mock but never change. Their splendor had long worn thin, weeks ago. He had memorized every fleck of gold leaf, every chipped mosaic tile, every maddening geometric whirl. The patterns seemed to pulse with his heartbeat, a kaleidoscope of confinement that made his skull throb.He'd dreamt, more than once, of taking a hammer to it.That dream was starting to feel like a promise.His breath fogged faintly in the cold air as he shifted under the covers, silk sheets rustling like dry leaves against his fever-warmed skin. Another deep, raw cough ripped from his chest—a barking reminder that the illness hadn't fully left him. The sound echoed off the stone walls, harsh and wet. But it was loosening. Finally. For the first time in weeks, he could feel his thoughts lining up again, not stumbling or
Will Bear the Moon Chapter 66 Secret Burdens and Family Obligations
*Bruno*Through the frost-laced glass, Anastasia looked like a figure in a painting—small, red, and alone. Her shawl was pinched tight around her neck, a splash of crimson against the garden's pale marble and ice-bitten hedges as she retreated one slow step at a time .Her breath hung in the cold like smoke, her movements stiff, like every part of her was holding something in—pain, secrets, the weight of a crown too heavy for her shoulders.Bruno watched, unmoving, until the window clouded over with his own breath. Sticky and hot enough to form pebble-beaded drops, obscuring all into blobs of frozen green and a blurry red. The glass felt cold against his forehead where he'd unconsciously leaned forward, drawn to her retreating form like a moth to dying flame.He blinked after a moment, not realizing he was that close, and leaned back. The sudden distance from the window left him feeling hollow, untethered. He rubbed the fog away with the rough sleeve of his woolen tunic, the coarse fab
Will Bear the Moon Chapter 65 Can't Convince Me
*Ana*“See?I knew you’d come around.” Hidi beams, twirling back toward Nicoli as if she’s just won something precious at court. Her skirts billow around her like victory banners, and the motion sends a waft of her perfume toward me: lemon and herb, cloying in the cold air. “I’m going to make you so happy, Nicoli, just wait and see.” Then she pivots to face me, her eyes glinting with triumph, her eyes glinting with triumph that cuts through the winter light like shattered emerald. Her smile stretches so bright, so sharp, it makes my teeth ache as if I've bitten down on something too sweet."And you too, Sister. We can always be together."The word Sister lands on my skin like acid. Burns. Spreads.I open my mouth to speak—to add something, anything, to fill the hollow space her declaration has carved in my chest—but Hidi doesn't wait for me. She never does. She’s already turned away, already basking in the warmth of a moment she crafted so expertly. Once again, getting her way in an
Will Bear the Moon Chapter 64 Don't Convince Me
*Nicoli*The roses were long dead. Winter took her debts. But death still had another victim to claim—one which staggered to breathe against the frigid air now. The sight before him, the words circling in his ears like ravens.‘…it’s time you two talk.’ Such simple words, yet the weight behind them, the speaker—Nicoli choked back another vapor puff that blinded his sapphire eyes, now dimming grey between the smoke and the heavy sky, before he could blink and see anything but scarlet-colored eyes full of pain as another's peridot glowed in satisfaction like a broken moon.Brittle petals were scattered between the brown leaves of the bushes, curled in on themselves like secrets never spoken, their frostbitten edges clinging to thorn-laced stems with desperate, dying grace. The cold was everywhere—climbing into his lungs like icy fingers, lodging behind his ribs, numbing the tips of his fingers despite the gloves—Hidi's gift—all but gritty sandpaper against his skin now. And still, it
You may also like
To Be Yours Again
Taylor997.1K viewsThe CEO's Addiction To Love
Moonlight City948.7K viewsSpoiled by Mr. Russell
Luminous Night1.0M viewsI Want You Back
Meminger517.3K viewsEyes Of Lust
Mel Burgess346 viewsFALLING FOR MY HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH (Forbidden Romance)
Favourite154 views30 Steamy Adult Vignettes
Goody420 viewsBURNING BETRAYAL: My Mafia Professor.
N-Victory157 views
