Reborn As A Maid

The doors of the Queen’s private chamber closed behind Jennie.

It was soft, but the sound echoed the finality of the moment—a separation from the outer world and the beginning of a new reality inside the chamber. Heavy wooden panels, decorated with the images of the ancient queens and the mythical battles, blocked the faraway murmur of the palace and the footsteps of the servants, the gossip of the nobility, who would definitely talk about the strange meeting that happened only some minutes ago.

For the first time after the ceremony, the place was empty.

There were no knights, standing at attention and making the armor clank with every move they make.

There were no nobles, calculating with their eyes.

There was no roar of the thousands of people, cheering the champions of the battle.

Only silence.

The chamber was beautiful in its sacral way—the tall windows reached up to the ceiling and the glass reflected the silver light of the rising moon. Bookshelves lined the walls of the place and the shelves were full of the leather-bound volumes, whose spine contained centuries-old knowledge. The fire in the fireplace burned quietly and the flames were telling stories of their own.

But Jennie didn’t pay attention to all this beauty.

She watched the Queen.

Lilia was standing near the tall window and the rays of the moonlight made her look almost divine—the halo of the silver light was shining around her golden hair and transformed her into something sacred and mysterious. She changed from the ceremonial robes into the other gown—deep blue dress that was looking like the piece of the water surrounding her.

Moonlight shined into the room, reflecting from her silver hair.

For several minutes, they stood in silence.

The quiet silence was full of expectations—as the pause before the thunderstorm or the last breath before the prayer. Jennie could hear the beating of her own heart, could feel the medal of the champion still hanging from her fingers and could feel the presence of Excalibur on her side.

Finally, the Queen broke the silence.

"Raven."

Jennie watched her.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

The smile appeared on Lilia’s lips—it was the little smile that was very kind, almost playful—a gap between the mask of the ruler and something that was hidden beneath this mask.

"You can call me not ’your Majesty’ when we are alone."

Jennie hesitated.

This was like the invitation, the question and the beginning of something.

"Lilia?"

The heart of the Queen was jumping from happiness.

This name.

She heard this name for the thousand years before she met Jennie and this name sounded like a word of the ancient language, the song of her heart, awakening after the long winter sleep.

She put one hand on her chest.

Beneath her palm her heart was racing, but not from the nervousness, from the recognition.

"Yes."

Small smile appeared on her lips.

It wasn’t the polite ruler’s smile, but the real one.

"Just Lilia."

Jennie nodded.

The movement was slow, like the cautious approach to the wild animal, afraid of every sudden movement.

"Then... Lilia."

It was strange to say this name for Jennie—no, not unpleasant.

It was absolutely natural for her and it frightened her a little bit.

Lilia approached.

She walked on the polished floor silently and the flames of the fire gave her golden and amber colors.

"I wanted to talk with you privately, because there is something that I do not understand."

Jennie didn’t speak anything.

She waited.

"Why did I choose you?"

Jennie’s eyes were narrowing a little bit.

It was a simple question, but there were many implications behind it.

Lilia continued.

"It was possible to appoint any knight, noble or the servant as my personal maid."

She looked into the eyes of Jennie.

Those blue eyes asked her a question—a plea, almost.

"But when I saw you standing there..."

Her voice became quieter.

It was so quiet, even than the whisper, than the breath.

"I simply knew."

Jennie looked away from Lilia.

It was too much for her—this gaze saw and understood too many things.

"You don’t remember."

"No."

Lilia shook her head.

The movement of the Queen sent waves in her golden hair, which caught the moonlight.

"Not properly."

She touched her temple.

It was almost childish gesture—the gesture of the girl, trying to catch a dream that is vanishing fast.

"I have some memories, but they are incomplete. It’s like the pieces of the dream."

Jennie didn’t say anything.

Her silence was the shield, the wall, the desperate attempt to protect herself from the emotions that overwhelmed her.

"I remember a tree."

Jennie froze.

These words cut her like the sharp sword—so clean and sharp and devastating. She could feel how her heart stops beating, could feel how the blood drains from her face and how the world starts tilting.

"I remember running."

Her breath became slower.

Each breath was the conscious act for her—the fight against the memories, which were ready to swallow her.

"I remember someone’s hand."

Jennie clenched her fingers.

Her nails dug into her palms, the pain kept her in the reality, even though the past was dragging her into her consciousness.

"And I remember laughing."

Lilia smiled sadly.

This smile was beautiful and heart-breaking—the smile of the girl, who lost something precious and who doesn’t remember what it was.

"But whenever I’m trying to remember the person’s face..."

She watched Jennie.

Her eyes were searching, pleading, desperate for the answer to the question, which was impossible to formulate.

"...it’s blurry."

Heart of Jennie was aching.

The pain was physical—one more sharp ache in her chest that made it impossible to breathe. She wanted to look away, to run, to escape from this room, this conversation and this woman who sees too much.

But she couldn’t.

Lilia continued.

Her voice was soft and insistent.

"I don’t remember fully the reasons why I chose you."

She was stepping closer to her.

The distance between them was decreasing and the air was warming with every step.

"But you remind me of someone."

Her carefully erected walls of defense fell apart, piece after piece. Yet Jennie could not prevent them from collapsing.

"Someone you loved?"

Lilia nodded. The movement was slow and deliberate, as if to emphasize something she was trying to convey to Jennie.

"Someone I trusted."

Silence fell heavy and oppressive between the women.

Fire crackled. Wind murmured near the windows. Distant nightingale sang its sad song.

Jennie looked down, being unable to meet Lilia’s gaze. Unable to see the hope, the trust and love Jennie could not allow herself to accept.

"Sometimes..."

Her voice was low. So low that Lilia had to come closer to catch the words.

"...people become delusional and think they remember things that never happened."

Lilia frowned. The look on her face was hurt and confused, like someone whose heart had been rejected.

"Do you really believe that?"

Jennie did not answer.

She could not.

Because she believed every word that Lilia had said, experienced each of those memories. Yet it was dangerous. To believe. To remember. To love.

And Jennie had spent centuries avoiding all possible dangers.

Lilia looked toward the sword at Jennie’s side. She stared at its hilt, at the worn leather and the strange glow coming from its blade.

"Then why are you still carrying this sword?"

Jennie froze.

Her hand instinctively moved toward Excalibur. The legendary blade was hot in her palm, full of a peculiar pulsing, like heartbeat.

Lilia continued in a gentle tone. "Why does this sword seem familiar to you?"

Jennie looked at the sword.

Excalibur was silent.

But she could sense it – could sense the sword’s consciousness, its awareness and longing. For centuries it belonged to Leonis. The sword of a dead hero. The sword of someone Jennie tried to leave behind.

But the sword would not leave her.

Could not leave her.

Because it was a part of her as well.

Lilia came closer. Now she was standing just a couple of inches from Jennie – close enough to feel the heat coming from the Queen’s body, to smell the fragrance of roses in her hair.

"You don’t have to tell me everything."

Jennie looked up. Her gaze met Lilia’s and the whole world seemed to freeze for a moment.

"I don’t care whether you are the White Hunter..."

Lilia’s voice became even softer. Soft as silk and snow.

"...or Raven."

She stretched her hand towards Jennie’s.

It gave her all the chances to pull away, to step back and reconstruct her walls.

Jennie did not move.

Lilia gently took her hand. Her fingers were warm and soft, quite different from rough palms of Jennie. And yet they matched perfectly – two parts of the puzzle that should be reunited for too many years.

"I just want the person who can stay beside me."

Jennie’s eyes widened.

Something inside her snapped.

It was an imperceptible sound, barely noticed. But it was enough. It allowed the light in and the warmth through. To begin the long process of healing.

All the walls she had raised around herself started falling down.

Piece after piece.

Stone after stone.

Century after century.

She turned away from Lilia. She could not stand seeing the hope in her eyes – the hope that Jennie had finally found what she was looking for.

"I am afraid."

Lilia’s look became softer. There was no judgment in her gaze, no impatience, no demands. Only understanding.

"Of what?"

Jennie’s lips trembled. The words she wanted to say were hidden behind several layers of fear, guilt and grief.

She lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper.

"If I get too close to you..."

She swallowed, feeling the pain of doing that.

"...I will lose you again."

Lilia’s eyes widened.

Again.

One single word pierced deep inside her.

It was like a key that turned in the lock – the lock which Lilia did not know existed. All the pain that had been dormant for so many years came to the surface, flooding her with it.

A pain she could not explain resurfaced in her chest.

It was the same feeling she had during the ceremony.

The same feeling in memories.

As if someone had taken away from her.

As if someone had broken her heart.

As if someone had died in her arms.

Lilia slowly approached her. Her movements were gentle, reverent – as if she was approaching something sacred.

Then she wrapped Jennie in a tender embrace.

Jennie froze.

She did not expect this.

The warmth of Lilia’s body pressed to her, the tenderness of her arms around her shoulders, the fragrance of roses filling her senses – everything was overwhelming, terrifying and wonderful at the same time.

For a moment, she did not know what to do.

Her hands hung at her sides, being absolutely useless. She had been wielding weapons for centuries, swords and spears and axes. But she had forgotten how to hug someone. How to be hugged.

Then her hands slowly dropped down.

Lilia held her even tighter. Her voice trembled as she whispered in Jennie’s ear.

"This feeling..."

Her breath was warm on Jennie’s neck, sending shivers down her spine.

"It is happening again."

Jennie’s eyes became wet. The tears, real tears, appeared in them, blurring her vision.

"It feels like someone is piercing my heart."

Lilia closed her eyes. Finally, the tears she was holding back started streaming down her cheeks.

"Like someone once broke my heart."

Jennie could feel Lilia’s heartbeat against her. Fast. Warm. Alive.

It was the heartbeat of someone who was alive – someone who was present in this moment, in this embrace. Someone who had not been lost in the flow of the centuries.

Lilia whispered, her voice barely audible. "I don’t understand why."

Tears fell from her closed eyes, raining down upon Lilia’s golden hair like little stars.

Neither of them knew exactly what happened in the past.

Neither of them could recall all promises.

Neither of them could regain all lost moments.

But somehow...

They remember with their hearts what is impossible for their minds to understand.

Lilia pulled herself away from Jennie slowly. Her hands rested upon her shoulders for just a little bit longer as if she was hesitant to let her go completely.

She looked deeply into Jennie’s eyes without the slightest sign of any hesitation and without any doubts that she had before.

"I don’t need you to explain me everything."

Jennie gazed at her.

The tears continued falling from her eyes, but she did nothing to stop them.

"I don’t need to know if you are someone I have met before."

Lilia took Jennie’s hand. Her fingers explored lines on her palm that had been there for millennia.

"I don’t even need to know your true identity."

Her face lit up with the softest smile under moonlight that shone on her face like on an angel’s face.

"I just know that when I look at you..."

She smiled.

It was a purest, kindest and lovingest smile.

"...I don’t want you to go away."

Jennie’s eyes began trembling again.

The tears fell down faster, but they were tears of release now—tears of giving in to emotions after being tortured by them for too long.

"Lilia..."

"Stay."

The word was simple, but it sounded so powerful that it could last forever.

Then Lilia said softly like a prayer:

"Just be my Raven."

Jennie did not say anything.

The name sounded differently when said by her.

Not like an order.

Not like a title.

A choice.

A present.

An invitation into a new life.

Jennie smiled.

Small and fragile smile—first smile she has worn for so many years.

"Okay."

Hope appeared in Lilia’s eyes.

Hope that was bright and beautiful.

"Okay?"

Jennie nodded. It was such a small movement, but it meant so much.

"I’ll stay."

Lilia smiled.

For a while, they stood under moonlight.

No Queen.

No Sword King.

No Phantom legends.

No forgotten war.

Just two people who have somehow managed to find each other again.

Moonlight flooded the room, turning Jennie and Lilia into silhouettes. Soft sounds of crackling fire added warmth to the evening chill. Somewhere outside the palace walls the world turned.

But in this room it seemed like time stopped.

Jennie looked at Lilia really looking at her. Golden hair that glowed like spun sunlight, blue eyes full of kindness and strength and smile that had been haunting her dreams for so many years—all of this were visible to her now.

And for the first time in ages she allowed herself to feel hope.

Maybe this time it would be different.

Maybe this time she would be able to stay.

Maybe this time their story would have a happy ending.

Outside of the chamber, wind was blowing through the garden of the palace.

White flower moved under moonlight. Its petals were so delicate and translucent as if they would catch starlight.

And somewhere deep inside Jennie’s heart, memories started stirring.

Two little girls holding her hand.

A voice asking:

"You’ll stay with me, right?"

Jennie did not remember exact words.

But this time...

She knew her answer.

"Yes."

She would stay.

The night deepened.

Moon climbed higher, pouring its silver blessing over Seraiya.

In Queen’s private chamber, two people stayed together—not as Queen and servant, not as strangers who met for the first time, but as something older, deeper and more valuable than either of them could call.

Jennie was sitting on the cushioned chair near the window. Excalibur laid across her knees. The sword was silent, and its soft glow has weakened. She was caressing the sword with her fingers.

Lilia was sitting opposite to her, holding a cup of tea in her hands. Steam was rising from it in gentle spirals catching firelight like dancing spirits.

"You know," Lilia said quietly, "I have never told anybody about my memories."

Jennie looked at her. "Even Sir Arthur?"

Lilia shook her head. "He would think that I am imagining. Or even worse—he would think I am going insane."

"Really?"

"No." Lilia smiled. "But I did not want to burden him. He has so many burdens already."

Jennie was silent for a while. Then she said: "You are kind."

Lilia was confused. "What?"

"Kind," Jennie said quietly. "You care about others. And you do not want to burden others even if you are the one who suffers."

She looked at Lilia. Really looked at her.

"I have known someone like that once."

Lilia was surprised. "Who?"

Jennie was silent for a long time.

Then she said: "Someone who was doing everything for others, someone who cared about everyone but never cared about himself."

She paused.

"Somebody who died because of that."

Lilia’s eyes were widening.

Jennie looked down at Excalibur. The sword was warm under her fingers as if it was listening.

"I don’t want that to happen again."

Lilia put her cup aside.

It quietly clicked against saucer on the table, making a loud sound in the quiet room.

"It will not."

Jennie looked at her.

Lilia met her gaze. "I’m not that person anymore. Whoever he/she was—this person is not me."

She reached across the gap between them. Her hand found Jennie’s hand and entwined her fingers with hers.

"I don’t know what happened to me and you. I don’t know our relation. But I know who I am now."

She squeezed Jennie’s hand.

"And I know what I want."

Jennie’s heart was pounding. "What do you want?"

Lilia smiled. It was a bright, warm smile, full of hope and life.

"You."

Jennie gasped for air.

Lilia leaned closer to her.

"You. Raven. Whichever of those names is the right one—I want you."

A tear ran down Jennie’s cheek, but she did nothing to wipe it away.

"Why?"

Lilia looked puzzled.

"Why what?"

"Why me? What can I give you? I am—broken. And I... I’ve hurt people. Killed people. Betrayed people—"

Lilia put a finger on Jennie’s lips to silence her.

"Stop."

Jennie stopped.

"What do you think I care about all of that?" Lilia looked deeply into Jennie’s eyes.

"I don’t care about your hands dripping with blood," she went on, her tone growing softer. "I don’t care about the mistakes you made. I don’t care about your past losses and defeats."

She gently wiped a tear from her face.

"Everybody has scars, Raven. Everybody has regrets. Everybody has done things they would not be proud of."

She smiled.

"That doesn’t make them unworthy of happiness."

Jennie just stared at her as the tears flowed freely down her face.

"I..."

Lilia embraced her, putting her forehead to hers.

"You don’t need to say anything. You don’t need to explain anything. You don’t have to pretend to be someone else."

She closed her eyes.

"Just stay with me."

Jennie closed her eyes too.

For the first time in a thousand years, she let herself stop running, hiding, concealing and pretending. For the first time in a thousand years, she simply... existed.

No masks.

No walls.

No secrets.

Only two fates, bound by destiny and memories and something beyond both of them.

The night passed.

The moon drew its path across the sky, covering the earth in its silvery veil of mystery and wonder. Stars appeared in the sky—endless number of tiny glowing points in infinite darkness.

And somewhere in the depths of the palace, a sword that saw many battles finally came to rest.

Not because there was no more battle.

But because, for the first time in its existence, it found a reason to stop.

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