Chapter 14: Lily’s Pain
Lily sat alone in the corner of the servant’s quarters, her back pressed against the cold stone wall. The others huddled by the fire, laughing, passing around bread and dried meat. Her stomach growled, eyes fixed on the floor.
They thought she was proud. Arrogant. A snub. They still hadn’t realized she was mute.
No one asked about it either, they just assumed she thought she was better than them. A spoiled Brightpaw girl, too good to answer when spoken to. So they made her pay for it.
"She always acts like she can’t hear us," one of them said, loud enough for her to hear. "Too good to share the same food?"
“She can eat what’s left if there’s anything,” another replied with a smirk.
They laughed. Then someone kicked over the small bowl they had set aside for her. Bread crumbs scattered on the floor.
Lily didn’t move. She waited until they left the room one by one, dragging their full bellies to their mats. Only then did she crawl forward, picking up what was left, the bits no one wanted.
Her fingers trembled as she ate in silence, her throat dry, her stomach aching. But it wasn’t just hunger. It was the shame. The way they looked at her. The way they treated her like she was nothing.
She remembered the days when she was still known as the Alpha’s daughter. Life wasn’t kind then either. Her father was cold, her brother cruel. She was ignored and her pain was dismissed.
But not everyone turned away. The servants, especially Martha, looked out for her. Martha would slip her food when she was left hungry, hide her from her brother’s anger, and whisper comfort in the quiet. Those moments were small, but they mattered.