The Royal Table

Cora treated Aria like livestock being prepped for an auction. The bath was a mechanical, punishing affair, stripped of any gentleness or care. Cora scrubbed her skin with a stiff-bristled brush until it burned a painful red. She rubbed heavy lotion into Aria's skin with rough, jerky movements, treating her with cold detachment, and blasted her hair dry with aggressive pulls of a comb.

Aria felt