.RAY. (GL)

"Zuha! Run fast, or else we will be late!"

Her friend shouted. Zuha stopped running and growled. It's not her fault if she's so hungry she can barely move.

"Just wait for me!" She took deep breaths between her steps.

Her friend stopped running and went near her. "Fine, it's our first day today, so it's alright if we are going to be late." She said to make Zuha feel worried. Though she thought of not saying it. Looking at Zuha right now, she really can't deny the fact that her friend is pretty, although her sweat is dripping all over her face.

Zuha has always been beautiful in her friend's eyes.

The girl is Zuha's best friend. They were friends since they were kids and grew up together. Surprisingly, they also got hired to work for a family since they had already reached the right age. This is their first day serving a family in Noble City.

"Marly, do you think they will be kind to us?" Zuha asked her friend.

Marly shrugged. "You know them, Zuha." And then she sighed.

Zuha knows it. If the rich are kind, then why did they let other people struggle so much, treating them merely as servants?

"We're almost at the gate. Did you bring the blue paper they gave us?"

Zuha nodded. Zuha extended her hand to hold Marly's. Marly also did it. They softly giggled when both of them touched each other's hands. They clasped it and held it tighter.

The wind blew Zuha's hair. She fixed it. This is just the beginning for her and Marly.

A guard stopped them at the gate while shouting, "Card?!" The guard even stared at them from head to toe.

Both of them extended the blue paper in their hands. "May Pass" was written in it. has a unique logo on it, so it's impossible for them to lie.

The guard opened the gate. "You filths, get in."

Zuha didn't react at all. But Marly.. so she held Marly's hand tighter. "No. Just relax."

"The guard has just this stare that is very infuriating." Marly sighed.

"Don't mind it. Who knows what will happen to us if we try to fight back?"

"Fuck them. After I get enough money, I will fucking leave this kingdom."

Zuha understands how hard it is to live in this kingdom. Discrimination against the poor is obvious. The Common City, where Marly and Zuha live, is the evidence.

The kingdom is divided into two, separated by a high border and a big river connected to the ocean.

Noble city. From the name of it, only rich people live in this place. And the royal family is living in an amazingly big royal house in the middle of the city.

Common city. You can see every facet of poverty here. Malnourished children are seen playing on dirty streets. The people living here can't even afford to eat three times a day. The houses were so poorly made that they might collapse with a strong wind. There are no schools here. It's like this city is neglected by the royals.

You need to walk over an hour on a bridge to reach the border. Behind it is Noble City. No one from Common City knew what Noble City looked like, except for the people who were made as servants.

Zuha stopped walking. It's like her world turned upside down; suddenly, she felt nauseous, and her tears started falling. She noticed that Marly was also crying in silence.

Marly whispered, "We're really here. Look at this place. It makes me so sick."

Zuha wiped her tears. Damn right. The shabby houses in their city are nothing compared to the houses here. Instead of feeling envious and amazed, both of them felt sick. This just shows how neglected their city is.

"Oh, you two must be Zuha and Marly."

Someone spoke behind them. "We are the family who chose both of you as our servants."

Two females are standing in front of them. The lady standing in front is the mother, while the girl behind her is her daughter. Their family is known for doing filthy things with the commoners. Marly and Zuha don't have any idea about it.

"Mommy, they're so gross. Look at those clothes." The daughter was so disgusted it made Marly want to punch her face.

Zuha stopped her by signaling.

"Hmm, what do you expect? They are from the Common's city after all. You, follow me." Her finger pointed at Zuha. "While you," Pointing at Marly, "Follow my daughter."

"We will work separately?" Zuha became nervous when Marly didn't hesitate to ask.

"Mommy! She's talking without your permission!" The girl behind her mom is really irritating. She's not even that pretty.

"So what if you work separately? Do you have a problem with that?" Based on her voice, she's just suppressing herself to shout.

"No, ma'am," Marly answered unsincerely. It's best not to provoke them.

"Good. You filthies are really idiots. Why can't we just hire people from this city? Ugh."

Zuha bit her lips. Unlike Marly, she is not suited for fighting. She has a frail body, and she's not brave.

"Hey filth, let's go." The daughter ordered Marly to follow her.

Marly mouthed, "I love you, goodbye." At Zuha. Zuha smiled. Her friend couldn't just slip any chances she gets from saying I love you to her.

Zuha also followed the other lady, the mother of the irritating girl. When they reached the Nilou family's house, Zuha saw how clean the floor was, so she left her dirty sleeping bags outside.

"What are you doing? Ugh. My son will be disgusted with you. You should be happy you have that face."

A man confronted them when they entered the house. He has a smile on his face that you can't describe.

"Mom? Is this the one?" He asked, with a smile full of evil intentions.

"Yeah, before you use her, make sure she'll have a decent bath. Ugh. I'm outta here." She didn't even bother talking to Zuha again. She just walked away.

"Thank you, Mommy!"

The man stared at Zuha from head to toe. "Hmm. Not bad. Even though your clothes are disgusting, surprisingly, you have a very beautiful face."

The man is the oldest son of the Nilou family. This man always makes requests from his mom to get a pretty girl in the Common city. Either way, he will make them his toys, and if he gets tired, he'll have you go back to being a servant.

The rumors about the family are true, but no one dares to butt in because for them, people from Common City were born to be their servants. Besides, they are not the only Noble family to do filthy stuff.

"Good day! Do you want me to clean your room, sir?" Zuha tried to be as polite as possible.

His smile disappeared. Zuha gasped when he suddenly grabbed her face.

"S-sir?" She felt his grip tighten. Zuha started feeling nervous.

There are people in every direction cleaning the house, but they are not even looking in their direction and just continue working.

The man started walking while holding Zuha's face. It seems that they will go upstairs to start toying with his new toy.

"Stop right there."

A voice made them stop. Zuha was even freed from the tight grip of her supposed boss.

"P-prince Ray, wow, it's a pleasure to have you in our house. Welcome!" The oldest son of the Nilou family started trembling. The servants also disappeared.

The man who just came handed an envelope to her boss. Zuha tried catching her breath to calm down. She's starting to think of various negative scenarios. What if her boss will kill her?

Zuha trembled at the thought. No one will save her.

"H-huh, It's not like that, Prince Ray. We are not doing anything in this house." It seems that the envelope has something written on it.

Prince Ray boredly sighed. Making the eldest son of the Nilou family leave with no choice. "Yeah, Prince Ray. It will not happen again. I swear to my family's name." He walked away after.

"Wait—" Zuha was planning to follow him when Prince Ray stopped her.

Prince Ray finally looked at her, and when he did, he was stunned. In the back of Prince Ray's mind, he couldn't deny the fact that the commoner standing in front of him was beautiful. He cleared his throat.

"Follow me." He immediately looked away.

"Ray, how did it go?" A deep, stunning voice emerged from the door.

A new face entered the house. This time, the one who was stunned was Zuha. It's like the moment the lady appeared, her negative thoughts also disappeared.

The lady who entered the house was like a goddess to Zuha. Zuha blinked many times after; she just swore she saw shining flowers beside her.

"Scarlett, why did you come here? I said I could handle it." Prince Ray asked.

Scarlett clicked her tongue. "Yeah, I'm also wondering why."

Zuha is still staring at her. She just can't take her eyes away from her.

"Huh?" Zuha notices herself kneeling on the floor.

Her legs gave in, making her kneel. This shows that she was just acting brave. The truth is, she was super scared and she wanted to go home.

*****

Damn bro, the third person's POV is super hard; English isn't even my first language. I needed to translate every time.