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Today had been bad. Very bad.
From the moment you were assigned to Castle Dimitrescu as a servant for the family, your life was never easy. Her daughters, Bela, Daniella, and Cassandra, thoroughly enjoyed tormenting you, and your mistress rarely did anything to stop it. To make matters worse, the harassment changed on a daily basis; it ranged from everything from messing up the floors that you had just cleaned to using their blades to slice you, often making comments about how human skin was so tender.
The only members of the Four Lords that you’d consider friends were Donna and Karl. Donna knew of the situation, though she dared not to get involved, and you didn’t blame her for that. After all, you’d always assured her it was something you could handle.
Karl, on the other hand, knew nothing about it. The last thing you wanted to risk was an all-out war between Alcina and Heisenberg. It would only end badly.
But today, there was no hiding it.
Mother Miranda had called a meeting for the Four Lords, and for whatever reason, Lady D had insisted that you’d attend.
So here you stood, nervously standing next to where Alcina was perched on her seat, across from Heisenberg. Though you didn’t make eye contact with him, you could feel his eyes burning into you from behind the sunglasses he wore. At one point, you forced your eyes to look at him, where you offered him a small but warm smile, but you saw his eyebrows furrow.
“Y/N.”
You immediately perk up, turning your head to look at the woman, who was casually smoking one of her long cigarettes.
“Ash tray.”
“U-uh, yes my lady, I shall fetch one immed-”
“No. Ash tray.” She said this time, more sternly.
As you realized what she’d meant, you swallowed thickly. From your peripherals, you could see Karl, who had changed his once relaxed posture change into something more menacing, almost as if he was ready to pounce.
Unclenching your hands with a deep breath, you extended a hand palm-up to her, and fought back the screams from the cigarette burning a mark in the center of your palm. Through your time at Castle Dimitrescu, you’d learned a lot, including how to keep quiet when undergoing pain. Be it her or daughters, any reaction from you would only serve to prolong your own suffering.
Though your hand felt like it was engulfed in flames, you stayed put, allowing her to extinguish the damn cigarette and throw it away as if it were beneath her. You fought back tears before dropping your hand, not daring to look at the engineer’s face.
You couldn’t even remember the meeting itself. All you could think about was the radiating pain from your hand as you stared blankly ahead, trying to think of anything else. Anything at all.
Once the meeting had concluded, you went to follow behind Alcina as she stood and started back for the castle, but a gloved hand grabbed your upper arm, gently holding you back. You looked back to see Karl, who put a finger to his lips, signaling for you to be quiet. He leaned forward, his beard tickling the skin on the side of your face as he whispered to you.
“Wait here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Before you could protest, he walked away.
What was he going to do? Surely he wasn’t going to go pick a fight with Lady Dimtriescu?
Your head swam just thinking about it.
After what felt like years, you sink down onto the bench that your mistress had previously occupied with a shaky sigh, sniffilng as you ran your good hand through your hair, a few stray tears falling to the floor.
As if on que, Karl was soon kneeling in front of you, looking up at you through his shades.
“Let’s go, Y/N.”
You tense, furiously wiping at your tears with your fingers before nodding at him.
You let him lead you all the way to the factory without a word, any emotions all but numb as they bubbled just below the surface. Once inside, you let Karl lead you into to a small room off to the side, watching as he brought a chair over for you.
“Sit.” He said, his tone gentle but stern. He was being nice, but you definitely had no choice with this one.
Reluctantly, you sigh and take a seat.
“I-it’s not as bad as it-”
“Don't,” He says suddenly, causing you to jump slightly. He gently takes your burned hand, turning it over to examine the brand left by Alcina’s cigarette, a heavy sigh escaping his lips, though it sounded more like a growl toward the end.
As you studied his face, since you dared not look at the wound, you saw him look up at you, his face softening considerably.
“You don’t need to put on a brave face for me, Y/N.” He says quietly.
He resumed his work as you blinked at him, astonishment settling in along with a sudden warmth in your chest. The engineer leaves your side once more, returning a minute or so later, setting a small first-aid kit on the ground as he sits across from you with another chair he’d brought over.
Holding your hand steady, he douses the wound with disinfectant, shushing you quietly as you whimper from the burning.
“How long has this shit been happening?” He asks low, his voice still keeping that soft tone but there was definitely an edge underneath.
Then suddenly, it all just came out.
For what seemed like hours, you told him of all the stress that Alcina and her daughters had been putting you under prior to the meeting. Karl listened carefully, still holding your hand gently as he bandages it, not saying a word as he did so.
When you were finished, the tears had finally started falling. With a soft hiccup, you turn your face away.
“I-I’m sorry,”
The leather of his glove catches your chin and turns your head back to his, meeting his piercing blue eyes instead of his sunglasses.
“Y/N, listen to me. You don’t EVER have to apologize for something like this. This wasn’t your fault, understand?”
Swallowing the lump in your throat, you nod at the man, a stray tear falling from your eye. In a rare moment of tenderness, he gently dabs it away, being careful that the rough leather of his glove doesn’t scratch your face.
“I-I should go. Lady Dimitrescu-”
“Will be told that you are no longer in her service,” he cuts you off, his eyes meeting yours as he puts the roll of gauze back in his first-aid kit. When you give him a questioning look, he gives you this half-smile that causes you to melt into a puddle on the inside.
“After witnessing what that bitch did to you before the meeting, I spoke with Mother Miranda afterward. Made up some shit about needing an assistant, and that you’d be perfect for the job. She gave up after I told her that she essentially didn’t have a choice and that I was merely informing her.”
“But I don’t even know anything about machines.”
“Sweetling, that doesn’t matter to me. What mattered to me at the time was getting you away from Alcina. I suspect that she’s been doing a lot more than what I saw today, and I’d like to know the rest, but I figure you’ll tell me when you’re ready. So don’t worry anymore, okay?” He says reassuringly, cradling your good hand between his as he rests his bearded chin on your fingers.
Unable to take anymore, you bow your head as the tears start to flow, the brave mask you’d been putting on for so long shattering at the caring the engineer had shown you. Karl sits there quietly, letting you get everything out, occasionally squeezing your hand comfortingly or rubbing your back gently, resting his chin on your head.
“Just let everything out, darling. I’m here. She can’t harm you anymore. And, hey, I know it’s not much, but welcome home.” He says softly, the soft glow of the lantern in the room casting both of you in a golden glow.
You were safe.