I throbbed with pain, though I tried to hide it. I didn't want both of them to worry. A thin layer of clouds obscured the full moon and filled the room with its blue light. As I walked down the hall towards my room as silently as possible, I sensed something was different, though nothing seemed strange. It was as if my sixth sense kicked in. I tried not to think much but just went to bed with the pain I was feeling today.
I woke up to the sound of a bird singing on my window sill. I didn't feel that much pain today, but I am a little tired. I just laid on my back and stared right at the ceiling. I felt like I should get up, but I didn't feel like it. So I decided to wait for Laura to wake me up with her warm and loving smile. However, without realizing it, I fell asleep again.
Some time has passed but Laura still didn't come, and not even her shadow could be seen. I woke up by myself as I felt my body has replenished its own energy. Still, I couldn't help but feel anxious about what was happening right now. I changed out of my nightgown with my mind all over the place. This has never happened before, she always came to wake me up. The only time she couldn't come to wake me up was when I was being held in my room by my stepmother. However, everything seemed fine and I was not locked inside my room either.
Thus, I opened my door and called the maid who happened to walk past my room with a feather duster.
"Excuse me. Have you seen Laura?"
I asked the maid, concerned yet curious as to what had really happened.
"… I am not sure, my lady," she said as she fidgeted.
"Thank you. You may go."
I could see that she was restless, and I know I could get nothing out of her. At that point, I knew who would tell me what had happened; that was the kitchen staff. So I rushed there and prayed that nothing bad had happened.
As I walked in, I could see everyone avoiding my gaze and pretending to be busy. They all looked sad but also guilty. Without thinking any further, I stood there and voiced out my anxious heart.
"Have you all seen Laura?"
I asked them, but none said a word, only looked down as if they were in the wrong.
"I don't care who, but somebody, please answer me."
I started to cry as I said the words. How can I not cry? Laura is my family and the only one who has always been by my side. Through her, I have found hopes and dreams. Through her, I have found the will to survive. Through her, I found the light in the darkness. How can I just stand there and do nothing?
"Ple..ase..tell..me.."
I broke down on the floor as if all my energy was gone. I continued crying on the cold floor, while the kitchen staff just stood there like before, silent as a tree. I am desperate, but nobody tells me anything. At that time, I knew something bad had happened. I was once again couldn't protect her, my shining light.
"I am sorry. Please don't cry."
Chef Thalia hugs me and started to cry as well. She couldn't bear to watch me crying desperately as if my whole world crumbled down. Then all the kitchen staff who stood silently before came towards me. We hug each other with the hope of comforting one another. We cried like there was no tomorrow.
If one told they were sad, I believe they weren't sad enough like I did that day, because at that time I couldn't remember the words 'sad' but I only felt pain, like a blunt knife carved on my heart.
"Can you tell me what happened? Where's Laura? Please... Please tell me."
I looked at Chef Thalia who was in front of me. My voice sounded hoarse and my eyes were red, as I begged her with a sniff.
"I heard from the maid that Lady Chlaricia was looking for you yesterday. When she couldn't find you, she seeks for Laura," Chef Thalia said, though she tried to hide a few facts.
"So.. where is she now?" I asked as I sniffled.
"A wagon took her out yesterday. Nobody knows where," she said.
"Are you trying to hide something from me? Tell me exactly what happened. I don't care what you saw or heard, I want to know all of it," I demanded.
I know Chef Thalia is a kind person, but because of this, she tends to think of what was best for others. However, right now, I want nothing but facts of what happened yesterday. I don't need her to ease my pain but only the truth.
"Lady Chlaricia and Lady Eliana came to your room yesterday, looking for you. As you were not there, she whipped Laura's back. The sound of the whip could be heard even in the hallway. When she has done with her, two men carried her out, and some maids were called to clean your room. They said there were shattered glasses and drops of blood inside your room and a trail of blood outside the room. Everyone there was afraid to say anything and some still shivering from yesterday's event,"
Chef Thalia explained what had happened, based on what she knows.
"I heard one of the men said they were bringing Laura to the woods," one of the maids said.
I sat there quietly with my head facing down. Although the floor was cold, I didn't feel it at all. It felt like my body was numb already or maybe the pain inside my heart was too excruciating.
"It's not your fault, my child. Don't blame yourself. Laura wouldn't want that," Chef Thalia said as she stroked my head to calm me down.
My mind started to collapse. At the moment, I still haven't made any sound and my eyes which were red from before didn't drop a single tear. I lifted my head up and looks towards them. I couldn't hear anything, though their lips were moving. It was like my ears were blocked from all the outside voices or it was me who tried not to listen to anything. Without showing any emotion on my face, I stood up and walked out of the kitchen.
I continued walking like a dead person. Some stares at me silently, and some started talking behind my back.
"I can't believe she's been playing with men. She looks naïve on the outside."
"That's why you shouldn't judge her by her looks."
"What so surprised about that? She's rich and the eldest daughter of the Duke."
"Do you want to have a guess how many men have she slept with?"
All the talking and giggling from the maid didn't disrupt my focus. I just continued walking forward.
Then, I reached my destination. I knocked on the door a couple of times before it was opened. A man who was in front of me looks happy to see me, but I couldn't smile at him. And the smile on his face didn't last long as he saw my red eyes. Thus, he walked me inside his office before he said anything that has been lingered inside his head from the moment he saw me.
Despite my red eyes, I walked inside with confidence, like nothing could stop me now.
"Deanna, are you alright?"
He spoke with a soft voice and full of concern. Maybe I was in the wrong right now, but I couldn't help but showing a cold expression towards him.
"Deanna?"
He seemed worried but I was indifferent.
"Father, I would like to say something," I said with a firm voice.
"Yes," he breathed a single word. He knew something bad was about to come.
"From today onwards I will take back everything that was mine. I will not back down," I said with confidence, though he seemed confused.
"I want my right as the eldest daughter of this house, and as well as the future duchess of this house."
I said to him as I looked straight at him. I have been out of their way all this time as I thought I didn't want to be caught in their net before I grew stronger. It was a mistake of me to wait. As I, who was only gazed at the shining stars and the moon above, she took it all away from me, leaving me with nothing but darkness.
"First, I want to move back to the main house. Second, I want the authorities to attend any official gathering either on behalf of you or with you. Third, I want to do a thorough investigation on the finances of this household."
I know Baron Marcius who handles our financial is honest and benevolent, but he couldn't win against the devious mind of my stepmother. There were many ways to hide the tracks of her money flows. As she was used to this, it was like child play for her. Hence, I need to find that loophole.
He doesn't say a word but only stared at me with neither frown nor contempt. I know my father is a great man, but it didn't stop me to say what I was about to say.
"I am going to bring hell to Chlaricia," I spoke with contempt.
He looked shocked by what I just said. The woman he brought in to be the mother for me, to show me from right to wrong, and to love me endlessly, that woman's name was the one he heard.
"I am not going to marry someone for the sake of power, and I certainly wouldn't beg for your help. But I am going to make her suffer using my own hand. If you care for her, tell her to be ready, because sooner or later I am coming for her."
He was shocked. He didn't know that I hated Lady Chlaricia this much. He thought everything was alright. He thought she was like a mother to me. He thought I was loved. His mind was all over the place. He tried to come up with words, but couldn't. He didn't know what to say or how to act.
I stood up to leave his office as there were no words coming from him. I knew his mind must be all jumbled up. He looked at me with an eye that was somewhat guilty. I looked at him with a cold stare and walked away. I couldn't help myself at that time for blaming him. For he, who was the one that brought that wretched woman inside this household.
"She took the only person who was important to me, and now, I am going take someone important from her," I said as I stopped myself in front of the door, for my final declaration.
"Herself," I continued my words as I turned my back towards him and walked out of the office.
When I was put into this sort of situation, I have got nothing else to do but fight and grow stronger each day. The weak child who stood silently in front of her was gone, as I am going to bring down hell to her life. I will be satisfied when she wished dying was better than living.
I walked out of the office and went straight to my room.
The tears that I have been holding before, fall down like a waterfall. I cried and cried till no tears were left in me. Then, a knock was heard through my hard wooden door.
"Laura!" I ran towards the door, but only Chef Thalia was in front of me. So I turned my head away and went back to bed.
"My lady, come eat this. I cook something delicious for you," Chef Thalia said, trying to comfort me.
"I don't feel like it," I said with a low tone and a sniffled.
"Please my dear. Just a bit, I don't want you to get sick," she said with worried.
I walked towards her and silently tried to eat the food as I didn't want to make her worried. However, I kept on remembering the day when Laura was here. All the memories that both of us share played like a movie.
"She's always here, but why she's not here anymore," I said with a silent voice as my tears started to fall down again.
"When I was being stubborn, she's always here. When I acted spoilt, she's always here. When I called for her, she's always here. But why she's not here anymore? I called her... I kept on calling her," I grab Chef Thalia's arms and said with a loud voice, as my tears kept on falling.
"Why…?" I cried and Chef Thalia hugs me tightly without a single word.
A few minutes had passed but Chef Thalia was still here with me. She didn't say a word but only accompanied me, so I wouldn't feel alone. I felt a bit calmer now, thanks to her.
"I am not going to lie by telling you I wouldn't cry anymore, but this time I will make her pay with each time I cried. So keep watching me, Chef Thalia."
I determined to make her pay for everything she did to me, Laura, and the original Deanna. Sooner or later, I will make sure she experienced the pain that I felt right now. I promise that.
"I hope you live a long life, so you can see how powerful and happy I have become. While you still crawled like a rat, pretending to be a cat. Keep watching me as the day will come. The day of your downfall," I thought to myself as a vow.