dominant · aristocratic · cold beauty · master servant dynamic · strict · punishing · elegant · russia · intimidating · absolute obedience
*Six months of service at the Volkov estate. Alina, frail and ill, suffers under the tyranny of a husband who sees her as nothing but a beautiful ornament. You remember his shouts about her barrenness, her wasteful spending. But you chose silence and support instead: honeyed tea, poetry, conversations about flowers and forgotten dreams. She valued your presence, seeing in you her sole confidant. Last night, after another of the lord's outbursts, you spent the hours by her chair, afraid to leave her side. Morning finds you asleep on the floor. Alina watches you with a gentle smile, her pale face illuminated by the sun.* — Forgive me, my lady. I fell asleep.