Chapter 63: For Sarah
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months blossomed into years. Loraine and Sarah’s relationship continued to strengthen through that period of time, the lowly good-for-nothing maid and the blonde maiden who she had considered her one and only friend, her only source of light in a house full of shadows and darkness.
Loraine was initially afraid that Sarah would abandon her the moment she found out about her unawakened status, but was surprised to see that Sarah still treated her with such kindness and warmth that it almost felt illegal to receive.
"You’re not...disgusted?" Loraine asked Sarah, raising a brow, her crimson eyes that were normally dull and devoid of emotion lighting up slightly as a tether of hope began to emerge within them.
"Of course not!" Sarah said, shaking her head. "Whether you’re awakened or not, I don’t really mind it like everyone else does." She said with a sweet smile, Loraine’s heart clenching in her chest at this unusual spark of warmth, the feeling a foreign one after constant neglect and ridicule.
The two of them kept meeting ever since that day, and Sarah would always talk to Loraine and treat her well as time went on, the white haired maiden would usually push her away and try to keep her distance, but Sarah was persistent and eventually found her way into Loraine’s heart, shattering the walls of ice she had built around herself.
Loraine still suffered here and there, even through all her years of hard work and commitment to everything, she wasn’t acknowledged for a promotion, her hard work was still seen as insignificant compared to the others, and her status for being unawakened weighed on her like a crushing weight.
"You’re doing well Loraine, keep it up!"
Sarah’s encouragement and warmth was the only thing keeping her together on days when she would feel like she were shattering, allowing her to endure the abuse and ridicule as long as she had Sarah to return to, as Sarah was the only light in Loraine’s life.
Nothing else mattered, nobody else mattered.
But even their pure bond wouldn’t go unnoticed, maids who were fond of Sarah and found her bubbly energy endearing would give crude and unpleasant looks at Loraine whenever the two of them were together, feeling as If Loraine had perhaps corrupted the blonde haired maiden.
"Tch, you shouldn’t stay with someone like her you know? She’s....well...Loraine." A maid whispered, trying to persuade Sarah from Loraine.
"Yeah, it’s not good for you to be unawakened people, you shouldn’t lower your standards around such people!"
The words were cruel and painted a picture of hatred and malice to Sarah, trying to make her reconsider being Loraine’s friend, but they often failed as Sarah’s will and her belief held her strong, ignoring every single attempt at their corruption as she was loyal to the woman she had now considered her best friend.
"No thank you, I like Loraine just the way she is, whether she’s unawakened or not, she’s still my best friend." Sarah said, turning around to leave as she continued down the hall, ignoring the frustrated grunts and murmurs of the maids behind her.
’These people are so cruel, they don’t know Loraine like I do.’ Sarah thought to herself, shaking her head as she walked down the hall, her gaze down to her hands in deep contemplation.
Bump!
Sarah’s eyes fluttered shut as she felt her head collide with a hard torso, being forced back as she took a step back, rubbing her head as she gazed up to see that she had bumped into somebody.
Sarah glanced up, her eyes widening in shock as she realized that she had bumped into Young Master Valmont, the young master’s gaze a searing heat that traced over every ounce of her body, a hungry gleam in his eyes.
"M-My apologies!" Sarah quickly scrambled to apologize, bowing her head low as her heart raced in panic.
"No need to apologize," Valmont spoke, a small chuckle escaping his lips as his eyes gleamed with darkness. "But...If you’re really sincere, then there is something you could do for me~"
"H-huh?" Sarah blinked in confusion, the young master instructing her to follow him, as without wanting to be rude, she immediately obliged and followed right behind him, heading towards the young master’s room.
"What are we doing here?" Sarah asked, turning around to face the young master, watching as the door closed behind him with a soft click, the lock clicking in place as Sarah’s eyes widened in horror, realizing that he had just locked them both inside, a wave of terror washing over her, as she just realized how Valmont’s eyes raked over her body with undisguised hunger.
"N-No! Wait!" Sarah screamed into the void, but it was already too late.
Loraine moved through the halls, carrying out her duties as she finished with all her tasks, as even through all her exhaustion, she couldn’t wait to see her best friend again.
’Wait a minute...’ Loraine thought to herself, realizing that she hadn’t seen Sarah, or heard about her whereabouts anywhere, not that anyone would bother informing her on the matter.
Loraine felt uneasy, a strange feeling settling in her chest as this wasn’t normal. She moved through the mansion, asking every maid if they had seen Sarah anywhere, but most would just chase her off and insult her for even trying to talk to them, giving Loraine no leads as to where Sarah could’ve gone.
"Where is she...." Loraine muttered to herself, the panic in her chest rising as she really started to feel uneasy.
She was about to give up and turn to leave for her room, when she saw Sarah’s figure descending from the upper floor of the mansion, slowly treading down the stairs, her eyes downcast and her expression hallow and empty, something Loraine had never seen before.
"Sarah!" Loraine called out to her best friend, a startled reaction blooming on Sarah’s face as she was shocked out of her trance-like state, her eyes widening with a fright, fear, and tension Loraine had never seen before, something was wrong and Loraine could feel it.
’Oh no...Loraine...’ Sarah thought to herself, her eyes still wide with the trauma she had endured just moments ago, her mind a fractured mess as the tried her best to return to her normal demeanor, trying her best to muster a smile on her face though her body seemed to rebel against the action.
Loraine ran up to her best friend, meeting her at the foot of the stairs as she wrapped her arms around Sarah in a tight hug, relieved to have finally seen her again.
"Where were you? I was worried looking for you!" Loraine said, pulling back to glance up at Sarah’s face, noticing the bags under her eyes that and the hallow stare in her gaze, she almost looked lifeless, the thought tearing Loraine’s heart apart as she was overcome with immense worry.
"Is everything okay?" Loraine asked, terrified about the state of her best friend as this wasn’t normal at all.
’Something’s wrong...what happened to her...she feels so...cold..’ Loraine thought to herself, noticing that Sarah hadn’t returned the hug at all, and almost seemed to recoil from her touch, it was unsettling and nerve wracking all at once.
"Everything’s fine, I’m just a little...tired is all!" Sarah tried to speak in a cheerful demeanor, trying to sound like her usual self but Loraine could tell that she was pretending.
"Are you sure....?" Loraine asked, her tone a bit doubtful but Sarah only nodded.
"Positive!"
"You know you can tell me if something’s wrong, right? I’m here for you Sarah..."
Sarah’s eyes twitched a little, a flicker of her resistance fading as she pushed herself off Loraine, "Excuse me, Loraine, I need to go...." She said, Loraine blinking in surprise as she walked away, leaving Loraine to stand there dumbfounded and a bit conflicted.
’Something’s wrong...I can feel it.’ Loraine thought to herself, her fist clenching as she felt a mix of pain, guilt, and grief wash all over her, her mind set to finding out what had happened to her.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Loraine kept meeting Sarah, trying her best to comfort her best friend and be there for her the best she can, but Sarah was more distant than usual, far more exclusive and hiding herself not only from Loraine whenever she could, but from everyone in the mansion as well.
It all got to a breaking point where Loraine couldn’t take it anymore, her emotions that were being bottled up exploding through her as she confronted Sarah, backing her into a corner as her emotions spilling out of her.
"Enough is enough!" Loraine said, her voice brimming with emotion as she glared at her best friend. "I can’t stand seeing you like this! It breaks my heart to see you act this way!" Loraine shouted, Sarah’s eyes widening in shock as she hadn’t expected Loraine to act like this.
"L-Lorain-"
"No!" Loraine grabbed Sarah’s shoulders, pulling her best friend close as she stared deep into her crystal blue eyes, Loraine’s eyes burning as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "Don’t you dare try to tell me it’s okay, because it’s clearly not! Something happened Sarah, even if you won’t admit it, something happened and it changed you!"
Loraine said, her tears streaming from her face as her body trembled with the weight of her emotion. "I know you don’t want to get me involved into this, I know that you don’t want me to worry about you, but I just can’t stop thinking about you!"
"You’re the only person I have Sarah, you’re the only one I care about, so please tell me, what the hell is going on!?"
The tension in the air was charged as neither one of them spoke for a few seconds, Sarah’s eyes brimming with tears as she stared at the emotional wreck that was Loraine, seeing that her attempt at keeping the secret a lie only serving to worsen the situation.
"I..." Sarah sobbed, unable to meet her best friend’s gaze as the traumatic memory of the event flashed in her mind, her eyes shutting as she wanted to block out the tragic memory. She stared up Loraine’s face, realizing that there was no hiding it anymore, the secret was destroying them both and the truth needed to come out.
"Loraine....Young Master Valmont....he...." Sarah choked, her tears streaming now as her body trembled uncontrollably, Loraine’s eyes widening in shock as Sarah began to explain the situation to her.
Each word that left her mouth feeling like a blow to Loraine’s heart and the sanctuary she knew that was Sarah.
’This...I can’t believe this....’ Loraine’s eyes widened with shock, igniting with a rage she didn’t know she possessed as her fists clenched at her sides, her irises dimming and narrowing with bloodlust that burned all forms of rationally in her mind.
Her mind dead set on confronting the Young Master for what he has done, as she wouldn’t let this go on any longer!
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Back to present day.....
"And that’s why I did it, that’s why I confronted that fucker for violating my best friend! Because I knew that if I hadn’t done anything, he would’ve kept hurting the only person I loved!"