Natasha moved next to Kiyomi and gave her a quick hug, sensing her disquiet and sense of being a bit overwhelmed.
"A lady-in-waiting used to serve a queen or princess normally. They are their companions, they help them get dressed, bathe them if they want, entertain them, basically, we are theirs to use as they often see fit," she started calmly as she thought of the other girls with her.
"Mine was a Russian empress," Natasha said as she ran a hand over a strand of Kiyomi's hair, "she was smart, smarter than most men, funny, and generous... however, we were hers. If she needed a political ally entertained, as in sex, then we did that. If she wanted us to dance with guests at a party, play games with them, invite them for tea... we did it," Nat told her kindly, there was no bitterness in her tone.
Nat had actually enjoyed her life as a lady-inwaiting simply because she had known only poverty before, and because she had been educated when most women weren't, and she had had money, and gifts. Life was not horrible. But it was precarious. A wrong word, a disappointed ally, could all lead to exile - or worse, death.