The Transcended: My Lord

Chapter 5

Meya woke up in the middle of the night. To her surprise, she was still in front of the hearth with Nina wrapped around her. As she sat up, Nina stirred.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Meya whispered.

Nina rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "It's fine. We should probably get off the floor anyway."

"I have to use the latrine," Meya whispered. "Where—"

"It's alright. Just walk out and go right; it's at the end of the hallway."

"Thanks." Meya grabbed the towel and wrapped it around herself.

Nina yawned and crawled into her bed.

Meya quickly went to the latrine. There were no lanterns illuminating the hallway, but at least the several windows in the room allowed for some moonlight as she relieved herself. She couldn't help but feel frightened, her heart pounding loudly in her chest.

It's dark and you're in an unfamiliar place. It's alright, though. Everything's alright. There's no need to be afraid. Everyone's asleep and soon you'll be too in a nice, warm bed. She gritted her teeth and pushed the thought about the slaver's carriage from her mind.

After washing up, she walked out and noticed there was a moving light at the far end of the hallway to her left. Her breath hitched.

It's probably just a guard. She stood frozen for a moment. Abi said walking around late at night was dangerous, but Nina didn't warn me, so is it really?

Not wanting to find out, she rushed back to her room, fighting the urge to sprint. She opened and shut the door as quietly as possible, hoping the guard hadn't seen where she'd gone. She crawled into bed, heart racing. After several seconds, she heard footsteps at the door. She held her breath, ears straining to catch every little sound.

The steps halted.

Not daring to breathe, she remained still, listening. Her lungs ached and just as she was about to give in, whoever had stood on the other side of the wood started to walk away. Relieved, she finally relaxed, though she muffled herself with the blanket as she caught her breath.

Great, spooked by a guard. Meya chided herself as she tried to relax and get comfortable. Despite the adrenaline in her veins, exhaustion claimed her and she fell asleep within minutes.

~⚜~

The sound of bells brought Meya back to the waking world. Confused, she looked around. It was gloomy outside—the sun hadn't risen yet.

Everyone else in the room was also stirring and Brit yawned loudly. "Good morning all," she murmured as she stretched herself.

The other women also mumbled good mornings and Meya chimed in. She got up, pulled the towel around her torso, and sauntered over to the wardrobe, but a tap on her shoulder made her jump.

"Sorry," Nina said. "I wanted to tell you that if you need to use the latrine, it's best if you use it now. There will be a queue soon."

Still half-asleep, Meya simply nodded and Nina practically dragged her outside—Meya had just enough time to tidy the towel around herself to be decent.

To Meya's surprise, there already was a small queue leading up to the latrine. There were five seats inside though, so they didn't have to wait long. When they walked out, the queue had tripled.

Back in their room, Meya quickly got dressed too. Her outfit was simple: undergarments, grey stockings, a brown dress, and a white apron. She was about to slip into her old sandals when Lea pointed at a pair of new shoes. Pleasantly surprised, she stepped into wooden-soled, leather clogs—only slightly too big—and met Nina and Lea at the door; the other women had already left.