AUTHOR'S POV
A soft knock startled Diana. She gulped a hard lump, while glued on the chair. It knocked again. This time, lighter and much more quiet knocks came after. They were persistent, yet hesitant. It took a while for Diana to stand on her feet. Considering the prevailing circumstance, it never crossed her mind to open the door. In fact, she didn't want to open it for anyone. She won't let Roman touch her again. Seeing herself alone in a cramped room, she preferred it to be this way. Once again and as always, she found tranquility in solitude in the company of her own shadow - out from harm's way with a chance to ponder, and a time to wonder.
Diana leaned with her ear against the door, trying to hear the other side. She waited until the knocking stopped. Hearing footsteps walking away, Diana pursed her lips as she exhale shakily. Then she head onto the chair resting her chin with her palm on the small table, peeking out of the hole on the window. Taking a glimpse of the sky belonging to the millions of stars slowly vanishing in the morning dusk, Diana closed her eyes... and for the first time, Diana felt very lonely.
Time traveled. Diana woke up at the sound of the birds pecking on the window. Feeling her body ache from sleeping on a chair, she stood up and stretched her arms to ease her tightened muscles. Not wanting to see Roman, she stayed in the room for a while. Feeling stuffy inside the small shabby room, she tried to open the windows but it won't dislodge. The old rusty nails were entombed too deep, that she can't pull one. She sighed in grief, then she peeked out on the hole to see the wonderful sight of the natural scenery where the roots of the trees seems larger than life. She could clearly hear the waterfalls, splashing violently down. Looking closely, she caught a glimpse of Roman and his friends having a chat under a red tree. She quickly pulled away from the window, avoiding to be seen by Roman.
Diana was already thinking of food when she caught a whiff of a delectable aroma, making her empty stomach rumble from hunger. Knowing Roman is outside anyway, she let her hunger push her out. She opened the door inch by inch, not letting the hinge scream. Her stomach twisted at the aroma of the food, as she step out of the hallway. It was reeling her in like a fish trapped in a net. Noticeably, the house was empty. The furniture that were covered with soiled lines were already cleaned. The floorboards were patched up, and seemed to have been swept too. The cobwebs were no longer there. The scent of damp wood still lingers, but quite bearable. Diana head her way towards the table where a set of meal were steaming hot giving off its delicious aroma. Suddenly, Kristia popped out of the kitchen table catching her by surprise.
"You missed breakfast! You must be terribly hungry! Come on, let's eat!", Kristia exclaimed as she pull Diana to sit on a chair. Her eyes flickered - just once - to the marks on Diana's wrists, but chooses to ignore them. On the table, Diana's eyes feasted on the selections of food Kristia prepared. There were hot cross-buns, pumpkin soup, roasted chicken, grilled fish, stir-fry vegetables and some wild berries. Diana held her tongue while Kristia serve her with some food on a plate. She noticed how the house maiden handled her food with her shaky hands, especially when she spotted more red marks on her neck. The old house maiden couldn't even look nonchalant as she gaze at Diana's glum eyes. But then again, Kristia still smiled. A kind of smile that seemed unnatural. Almost too rehearsed. "All of us have already ate. You can have as much as you please ", Kristia turned the plate in front of Diana.
Diana took a piece of bread and felt heaven eating her first meal of the day. She ate like someone borrowing time. Kristia smiled seeing how Diana's face lightened up at first bite. She then sat beside Diana reaching for her arm but never the intention to touch the Luna. "How are you feeling, Diana?".
Diana paused for a while as she gave her a bitter smile. She had no words at all. That awful feeling gnawing her inside, and the tension she feels around Roman were simply beyond words. Sipping on a glass of water and clearing her throat, Kristia poured some soup on a bowl for Diana. "He's a good boy, Luna.", she started to explain. "There are instances where he's often misunderstood. But, Roman is a good boy", Kristia emphasized as she spoke in Roman's defense. Diana inhaled deeply as she grasp tightly on the spoon she's holding. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. "Roman is a product of sexual assault. His mother, Oli… was taken by force by Roman's father, Randall, on the night before he imprinted on another wolf..", Kristia clasped her hands on the table as she tell tale. Diana didn't looked at Kristia as she pause from taking spoonfuls of the soup. Suddenly, the sweet pumpkin tasted all too bitter as it swirl in her mouth. "Randall walked away like nothing happened, and went on his wonderful life with his mate. When Randall found out that Roman have become an Alpha, he banished his mate who failed to give him heirs, rejected her and returned alongside Oli... Well, of course... he can't. The moon goddess punished him to become a werewolf. Wolves pay the price of what we do, you know", Kristia chuckled lowly, unamused. "Roman acknowledged Randall. They are bound by blood after all. But, it was just that. He still chose to grow up with no father in a less privileged life with his mother. He was raised and taught solely by Oli to be self-sufficient. He was… taught to become a knight of courage and molded in cleverness and bravery to where he learned his roughness. Brought it along until he grew up..", she continued as if discussing weathers making Diana puke in her mouth, losing her appetite. Little by little, in every word that spews out of Kristia's mouth, Diana starts to get more hurt. "I, then, took care of him after his mother left him during his teenage years.. It was then he started to battle with himself. He started to question his existence. Soon after, Roman became troublesome and started to connive on relationships with various women.. He sought after his happiness with his friends and explored on his preferred directions in life. He perceived that only when he imprint, that's he would finally be happy and contented. ".
Diana bit her lip, trying her best not to let her distressing thoughts win. Then, she shifted her eyes at Kristia to see a clear view of the woman who doesn't even feel a little ounce of sympathy for her. "Do you see how I look, Kristia? Do you have a slightest idea what Roman did to me?", Diana clutched on her shirt with her other hand, looking at Kristia who can't even meet her eyes.
"D-diana, the imprint can be... overwhelming", Kristia blurted her a meaningful reason that would justify Roman's vehement acts, as if it was normal. "He didn't mean it. It was his instinct. The imprint is like a fire burning inside you. That only a single kiss, and a light touch with our mates can put out that the flames. We couldn't hardly control or stop ourselves like magnets attracting opposite poles. The closer you get to your mate, the harder you'll fall", Kristia said it as if what happened to Diana had a place in the world. A sense of normalcy that made Diana's teeth grind.
Diana snatched Kristia's wrist and saw deep scars marked on her arm. Just as she thought. Kristia flinched back, letting a smile arrive too quickly despite being seen with her old memories etched on her skin. Diana didn't exploded. She was in complete disbelief as she fold inward. Instead of acknowledgement and protection, she gets an excuse. She looked again at Kristia, who's now serving her a bowl of wild berries as the woman smile kindly at her. And then she understood, everything here is not kindness that meant safety. Kristia endured the pain of violence in the Lockwoods home. That survival meant smiling through it, and now, she expects Diana to be the same.
"Kristia, were you like this too with the Lockwoods?", Diana suddenly blurted out making the house maiden's smile on the lips slowly shift to a fine line. "Is this how you survived the violence with Viktor?".