Janessa sat in the cart that was escorting her to her new home. She fumed silently. Lady Leta, concerned about how the witches of the kingdom felt towards her, had decided to send Janessa off to be a servant for one such family. Janessa knew not which family it was, nor where the family lived. All she knew was that she had been put into a servant’s plain gown and shipped off. Of course, with her body and face, she made even the plain gown seem lovely, but it was the principle of the thing.
Finally, the cart came to a stop in front of a large manor house. One of the guards escorting Janessa went to the door and hammered it. A blond-haired man opened the door. Janessa strained her ears, but was unable to hear any of the conversation. The guard returned to the cart. He dragged Janessa out of the cart.
“Welcome to your new life, whore,” he said. Janessa spat in his face. The guard raised a hand to slap her.
“Hey!” a voice shouted. Janessa and the guard looked over. The man from before had emerged from the house. “You said she is my servant, correct?”
“Uh, yes,” the guard said.
“Then you have no right to discipline her,” the man scolded. He looked at Janessa. “Janessa, did this man lay his hands upon you during the travel here?” Janessa shook her head. If they had, she would have used the amulet. But she wanted to wait to see how things would play out, to see if the family she was being sent to was all right. “Consider yourself lucky, guard. If she had nodded, I would have turned you into a beautiful woman yourself and sent you to the closest brothel.” The man waved his hand. The guard was enveloped in a bright light.
When the light cleared, a handsome woman stood there. She gaped at herself.
“But I’ll only turn you into a beautiful woman,” the man said. He smirked. “The spell will wear off when you arrive back at the Palace. Unless you have become impregnated or want to remain a woman. In either of those cases, the transformation will not wear off and you will need to seek a witch to return to your former self.” The man turned away. “Come now, Janessa.”
Janessa quickly scrambled after the man. She glanced over her shoulder at the guards. The newly female one was clearly distraught, while the remaining male one was visibly attracted to her. A butler closed the door behind her as she entered the house.
“Why did you do that?” Janessa asked the man, her new master.
“No matter what Lady Leta does to curry my family’s favor, we will remain loyal to the proper Royal Family,” the man said firmly. “I also refuse to let a man abuse a woman defending herself, particularly if that woman is my little sister’s peer.”
“Huh?” Janessa asked. The man chuckled.
“My name is Mikhail Copperstone. My sister, Anya, was in the harem with you.” Janessa felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. “I have been receiving letters from Anya here and there. She is headed this way, though slowed down by the chaos caused by the coup. Hopefully her worry about Prince Jasper is helped when she is able to reunite with you.”
“Yes,” Janessa murmured quietly.
“Now, I must keep appearances to a certain extent,” Mikhail said. “No doubt Lady Leta will be sending someone to keep an eye on how things are going. So you will remain a servant. But you will be treated far better than you could ever expect.” Janessa’s shoulders slumped in relief. Finally, some good news!
“Klark, please show Janessa to her sleeping quarters,” Mikhail said to the butler. The butler bowed his head.
“This way, please, miss,” he said. Janessa followed Klark out of the manor and into a nearby house that served as the servants’ quarters. She knew Anya’s belonged to a rare witch noble family, but hadn’t realized just how wealthy the Copperstones were. Klark brought her to a small but nicely furnished room.
“What should I…” Janessa trailed off uncertainly. Klark smiled at her.
“Once you have had some time to settle in, the head maid will visit you to give you your first instructions.”
“Thank you,” Janessa said quietly. Klark merely bowed his head and left, closing the door behind him. Janessa laid on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her mind was racing, but one thought was loudest. Mikhail thought she was a mere concubine. But Janessa could always tell him who she really was…