"Mmm..." Jenna moaned. She didn't like it at all when she woke up with splitting headaches. Not that anyone does, but Jenna hated to go to bed drunk. Her brain always stayed muddled up making her very dull for the rest of the day. Rolling on the side of the bed, Jenna opened her heavy eyes and then closed them again.
She didn't remember any occasion that led her to drink so much. She had only drunk tea with the mean old lady and had returned to her room...or did she not?
These thoughts made Jenna roll on the surface she lay on, with her hand on her chest. Another moan escaped Jenna's lips and she turned this time, landing on the ground with a crash.
"Ow," Jenna cried, rubbing the back of her head that had landed on a basin. She tried to roll to the side and stand up.
"Another turn and you'll have a knife inside your chest," a woman's voice echoed, the tone dry and laid-back.
Jenna opened her eyes. She tried to turn against the person's warning but was stopped with a gentle kick.
"Do you really want to die on your first day here?" the young woman asked, picking up the knife beside Jenna. "And who did you fight with to leave your room in this state?"
Fight? Jenna repeated in her mind. She couldn't make sense of anything, and especially the woman talking down at her. Even though people no longer remember, but she was still the Chief Merchant's only daughter and as such should be respected.
Jenna slowly sat up, resting her back on the couch. Jenna glanced around the room. And the woman was right, either she had fought with someone or a wild animal had attacked her and turned her room upside down.
"I'm really concerned for whatever it was that happened here," the young woman drawled, her eyes on Jenna's body. "Seeing the state your body is in."
Jenna furrowed her brows. She followed the woman's eyes and stopped at her chest that was left bare for a reason she didn't know about.
"Argh!" Jenna shrieked. The horror on her face made it obvious that she didn't know how she was stripped. And in the moment Jenna actually felt it, the throbbing in her core and also the soreness on her nipples.
The woman scowled when Jenna scrambled to cover her body with any piece she could find. "You're ashamed of being naked in front of a woman like you but didn't hesitate to lay bare for a man," the woman judged with a twitch on her lips. "So much for women supporting women."
Jenna frowned, holding a piece that barely covered her thick chest. "I wasn't laying bare for any man!" she found the woman's words offensive. "And who are you to tell me what to do? Aren't you supposed to be like a servant?"
The woman scoffed dryly, picking up the empty jug that had Jenna's lipstick smeared on it. "So I look like a servant to you?" she asked, dropping the jug on the table.
"Oh lady, what shall I do to make you feel better this morning after your last night mistake?" the woman mimicked servants but also with a mocking tone.
Jenna wanted to stand up and drag it out with this rude woman, but she was naked. And also her body size always made her a little reserved in front of other women since she was bigger than them. She could only speak her mind when she was fully clad, and to do that this woman needed to leave.
"If you're not a servant then who are—" Jenna paused, inhaling deeply. "I don't care who you are, just leave so I can get dressed."
The young woman scrunched her nose. "You can get dressed if you wish," she eyed the piece on Jenna's body. "Though I'm sure you prefer to leave your body bare so you can seduce men."
Jenna sprang up as she could no longer take the woman's subtle insults. "I don't know who you are but you need to get out right now," she pointed at the door.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," the woman blatantly refused. "You don't get to tell me what to do when you're not a free woman yourself."
Jenna narrowed her eyes. The woman kept speaking in a roundabout way, leaving Jenna puzzled. Taking the opportunity that she was now standing, Jenna grabbed her shirt and donned it on her body, covering herself.
As she fixed her buttons, Jenna said with a calm voice, "I don't know who you are but please leave so I can figure out what happened to me last night."
"I can help," the woman replied. "It's easy, you were here with a man, and that explains the nakedness, the redness on your chest, disheveled hair and oh, not to mention when I walked in I saw a red mark between your thighs like you were marked or something."
Jenna wasn't one to blush easily or get flustered by mere words, but her neck up to her face had turned red. She didn't know why someone, a woman at that, could be so shameless as to say whatever.
"Can you not say..." Jenna exhaled softly, "Please don't say anything to me."
The woman shrugged. "I'm afraid that won't be possible either."
Jenna opened her mouth and closed it. "Is everything impossible for you?"
"Not everything," the woman replied with a nod, her eyes scanning the room. "How do you like this room?"
Jenna wanted to raise her voice but she noticed from the young woman's dressing she wasn't an ordinary servant, and the hairpin on her hair had a crest, the same one that was offered to her. Though the woman looked a little younger, Jenna could see from her eyes that she was far more experienced.
Her heart-shaped face and full brows, her very long hair bouncing down her waist and bright emerald eyes. And she reminded Jenna of someone; Jenna just couldn't tell exactly who it was. But someone she knew.
"What are you looking at?" the woman asked with a brow raised like she was offended.
Jenna shook her head. "I'm just wondering when you're going to leave so I can have my privacy and think. Thank you."
"Which part of that won't be happening didn't you understand?" the woman asked.
Jenna rolled her eyes. Either this woman was crazy or just too bold. "It doesn't make sense for me to understand. Why are you trying to force yourself into my space?"
"Oh, that's where you got it all wrong, prey," the woman retorted with a sneer. "When you became the hunter's favorite meal, I had to be put in charge to watch you so you don't go around walking into trouble."
Jenna raised her hand. "Hold on...wait...what did you call me? What hunter? What meal?"
"You sure do have a lot of questions," the woman nodded. "Well, I'll keep it simple. I'm to water you until the Scourge is ready to harvest."
Jenna still had confusion written on her face. She raised her hand, implying that it explained nothing.
"Well, Lady Jenna..."
Jenna's eyes widened when the woman she didn't know called her name so casually.
"You're an offering and it's my duty to keep you away from harm's way. As long as you are here, I'll be your duenna." The young woman stretched her hand for Jenna to take.
"It's not every day the Scourge has his eyes on something, so should I say you're lucky or in trouble?" the woman sucked her teeth, staring at Jenna's face. "Well, I'm Kali. Around here, some call me the Reaper's Hand, others the Scourge's lover."