Dalia froze, staring at Katia with wide eyes. "Miss Katia, are you... do you not need my service anymore?"
"That's not what I mean." Katia said quickly.
She reached out from the water and held Dalia's wrist.
"I just..." Katia took a deep breath. "There are many rules in the palace. It will be dangerous. I don't know if I can protect you."
Everyone around me dies.
The thought coiled in Katia's mind like a poisonous snake.
"Miss Katia." Dalia gripped Katia's hand tightly.
"I didn't have a good life in Snow Moon Pack either," Dalia said softly. "But staying with you, at least... at least you never hit me. Never yell at me. Sometimes you even say 'thank you'."
She smiled bitterly. "Do you know what that means to a servant? It means you see me as a person."
Katia's
