Dinner and Consequences

I stabbed at the waffle with more force than necessary, watching the fork pierce through the soft bread with vicious satisfaction. That's his face, I thought bitterly, stabbing again. Arrogant bastard, smug , manipulative… Another stab… Infuriating monster. I’d been sulking all day. Ever since he'd laughed with me like we were two normal people having a normal sparring match, and then had threatened my sister like I was nothing. The kitchen was quiet, I sat alone at the counter, my waffles long gone cold, pushing food around on my plate and pretending it made sense to be this angry with someone who'd just threatened everything I cared about. "Your fighting stance earlier was impressive." I looked up to find the maid who'd woken me the morning of my arrival. The woman was older, maybe in her fifties, with kind eyes and a knowing smile. A smile bloomed across my face without my permission. "Thank you. I… that's kind of you to say." "I'm Maria," the maid said, leaning against the counte