Do You Have Parents?
He asked with a gentle look on his face, and Yennefer let out a deep breath.
"Do you have... parents?" she inquired, and Luthiel, who was a bit pulled back by the question, stared at her, unable to say a word.
"Uh... why do you ask?" He asked, and she let out a soft breath.
"Well, I have parents, good and wealthy ones, but... they don't love me at all," She replied, and a bit confused, Luthiel furrowed his brows at her.
"Why? Are they not your real parents?" He pried, not sure why they wouldn't love her.
"Well, I don't know why. But for some reason, they believe that it's my fault that so many things are wrong in the family. I cannot go into details, but yeah, I have parents who don't love me at all, and I have been having constant nightmares about it."
"They abandon me and leave me out to die. As much as I do not want to think about it or have it in mind, it just keeps coming almost every night."
She explained, and Luthiel gazed at her for a short while.
"I have parents too, and yes, they abandoned me as well." He spoke while averting his gaze from her, and Yennefer, who was quite surprised, turned her head to look at him.
"Really? Why?" She inquired, and he shook his head at her.
"It's a long story that I do not want to think about or talk about. I just want you to know that I am in a similar situation, so I guess I understand how you feel."
He clarified, and a soft smile spread across Yennefer's face.
"I am very sorry about that. It really sucks. I guess parents should simply just not have us if they do not want us, rather than birth us and make our existence hard and painful."
She commented and Luthiel slowly smiled, having never genuinely smiled in his entire life.
"You kind of have a point." He chuckled softly and gently patted her on the head before standing up from the floor.
"You should sleep. You have training early in the morning." He reminded her, and she nodded before standing up with his help.
She stepped out of the washroom, and he shut the door behind them.
She strolled to the bed and laid down, then turned her head to look at him.
"Good night," She said to him.
"Um...goodnight." He awkwardly replied and dissuaded his gaze from her.
___________
The early morning rain hit the glass windows, and Daphne, who was seated on the bed, clad in her white nightwear, let out a soft breath.
She climbed down from the bed and proceeded towards the window.
She gazed at the raindrop slipping down the glass, and a low breath fled her nose.
"Good morning, princess." Her personal maid, including the rest, walked into the room and greeted them with their heads bowed.
She turned around to look at them, and a half smile formed on her face.
She acknowledged their presence, and they straightened up.
She strolled into her bathroom, knowing it was time for her bath, and they helped her out of her robe.
She stepped into the hot tub and rested her back.
The maids gently washed her body, and suddenly feeling like talking to one of them about something she was really pondering about, she turned to look at her head maid.
"Hey...," she called.
"Yes, princess," Her head maid answered.
"I want to ask you a question."
"Go ahead, princess."
"Um... would you ever marry someone you don't love and will never be happy with, because... you're afraid?"
She asked, and her head maid flickered her eyes, having sensed where her question was coming from.
She stayed quiet for a few seconds before letting out a soft breath.
"No, I wouldn't...," she replied.
"Why so?" Daphne turned her head to look at her.
"Well, someone always said to me that life is too short, and therefore, we should cherish our lives on earth and try to make the most out of them."
"You may be the princess, and a lot is expected of you, but... I believe you deserve to be happy too."
"You're not just a princess. You're a human like any other. Seek your happiness and put yourself first. You matter most to yourself. This is my humble opinion, princess."
She explained with a smile on her face and warmed by her words, a half smile spread across Daphne's face.
"Thank you."
She said appreciated her words and stepped out of the bathtub once they were done washing her.
They dried her up and wrapped her up in her inner garment.
They walked her to the changing room and dressed her up in a flay green dress.
They brushed her hair, and once they were done dressing her up, they bowed respectfully to her and proceeded out of the chamber per her order.
The guards shut the door afterward, and she looked at herself in the mirror, heavily contemplating over something.
'Should I go speak to my father?' She questioned herself, unsure how he would react.