Ophelia's eyes narrowed; with swift precision she kicked the door open and found the person running away. It was a girl an obryn. Ophelia ran after her and in no time caught her, slamming her back to the wall and grabbing her top. "Ah-" the girl murmured in pain.
"What did you hear?" Ophelia questioned, her eyes fierce. "N-nothing," the girl stammered, almost shaking in fear.
"Speak the truth!" Ophelia demanded, still holding onto her top forcefully.
"Why are you bullying the little girl?" came a calm voice. When Ophelia looked back, she found out it was the queen, and behind her was the head nurse, who wore a devilish grin.
Ophelia quickly released the girl and bowed to the queen. "My apologies, Your Majesty," Ophelia spoke and dared not look into the queen's eyes.
"Ophelia…" the queen said with a slight pause, "you know so well how I hate bullying, and yet you are pulling the same stunt in the royal house. Don't you think you are committing a great sin?" the queen added, her voice now cold.
Ophelia knew the queen was very angry, so she immediately dropped to her two knees and bent her head low. "Have mercy on me, Your Majesty," she pleaded. The queen can be easygoing, but if you defy her authority you will be severely punished.
Before the queen could reply, the head nurse leaned closer to her and whispered some words to her, and what she said made the queen's aura grow colder.
"You destroyed the spy doll? You know so well it is treasured in the Woody family, and it's not a thing they would want to lose, and yet you destroyed it," the queen spoke, her voice dripping with chill. She sighed and continued.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing, Your Majesty," Ophelia lied. She didn't want to lie to the queen, but she had to, because what she knew was not something all ears were meant to hear especially the head nurse, who was now wearing a pleased smile.
"Guards!" the queen shouted, and two hefty men who came with her stepped forward.
"Seize her!" she added, and they took hold of Ophelia. "Lock her up for the meantime until a proper investigation is carried out." She added, and the guards responded in unison, dragging Ophelia away. But before Ophelia left, she gave Lydia a strange look, and Lydia knew what it meant she was not to say anything unnecessary.
The queen now looked at Lydia, who seemed scared by her commands. She smiled and approached Lydia, holding her hands.
"Don't be scared. She has to be punished for bullying your colleague," the queen spoke calmly to Lydia. But Lydia wasn't happy; she felt oddly connected to Ophelia despite being scared and wary of her.
Noticing her sad countenance, the queen looked around and asked the head nurse and the obryn to give them privacy, which they did.
When the head nurse noticed she was alone with the obryn, she cornered her and made sure no one was looking.
"What was she asking you?" the head nurse asked the obryn, who avoided her gaze.
The head nurse scoffed at her attitude, and her eyes flashed with anger. "Ignoring my question, huh?" she asked, and this time the obryn laughed and stared deep into her eyes.
"So what? Are you going to bully me like she did? Do you think I am scared of you or something?" the obryn spoke back in a disrespectful manner, causing the head nurse to be surprised and super angry.
How dare an obryn a low life talk to her in such a manner?
Smack! The head nurse gave the obryn a hot slap, leaving a red finger mark imprinted on the obryn's cheek.
"You!" the obryn spoke, about to slap the head nurse, whose eyes twitched in anger. Her whole body began to shake in anger.
"You filthy thing!" the head nurse said, catching the girl's hand midair. She whispered some strange words and released the obryn's hand, which remained suspended in the air.
Then the girl began to feel a burning sensation all over her body, but she couldn't scream. She used her other hand to fan herself, but it wasn't helping.
She tried to shout, but no words came out. The burning sensation was too much, like her entire body was being gutted with fire.
"Make it stop… please," she begged, surprised she could speak , though she still couldn't scream.
"Dare mess with a Woody and you won't even know how you died," the head nurse spoke with a pleasant smirk.
"Please, make it stop! I'll tell you everything!" the obryn pleaded. The head nurse's smirk deepened. Then she clicked her fingers, causing the obryn's suspended hand to drop and her body to return to normal, though she was drenched in sweat.
"Now… tell me what she was asking you."
"S-she asked me to say what I heard, but I didn't tell her anything because I didn't hear much," the obryn replied calmly, as if she had never been rude.
"But what did you hear?" the head nurse asked, brow raised.
"Um… the other obryn with her hasn't transformed into her wolf yet," the girl said, causing the head nurse's eyes to widen in amusement. Satisfaction curled on her lips.
"She told her not to tell anyone that she hasn't transformed yet," the obryn added and watched as the head nurse laughed joyfully.
"Ophelia… you're trying to cover up for a cursed obryn?" the head nurse scoffed, laughing in disbelief. Then she looked at the obryn. "You will spread the news that she hasn't transformed yet to the whole obryns. Understand?"
When the girl heard this, her face changed. They were warned never to spread damaging rumors it was written clearly in the obryn constitution. If she got caught, she would be punished severely.
"Um… I-I'm sorry, I can't do that. Please ask me to do something else but not that… I'll be punished severely," the obryn pleaded, dropping to her knees, eyes moist.
From afar, the queen saw the obryn on her knees and wondered what was happening.
"What is going on here?" she asked, and the head nurse's heart raced with fear as she turned to face the queen's sharp gaze.
"Umm… she-she is begging me to put in a good word for her so she can work in the royal house," the head nurse said, scratching her head nervously. The queen knew instantly she was lying.
She looked at her coldly. "You know very well I hate lies." Then she looked at the obryn. "Leave us."
The obryn felt relieved and bowed before leaving. Now only the queen and the head nurse remained.
"Speak the truth now," the queen said calmly, but her tone carried a clear warning.
"Oh- Your Majesty, there's a dirt on your hair," the head nurse said suddenly and reached towards the queen's head as if to remove something, but it was a lie. She muttered words silently.
The queen frowned. "I'm having a slight headache… head nurse, you need to check me." Her tone sounded different.
The head nurse bowed. "Okay, Your Majesty, let's go," she said and followed the queen. A smirk tugged at her lips she had just erased that part of the queen's memory. But it wasn't a simple task; she felt something warm dripping from her nose. When she touched it, she realized it was blood. She quickly wiped it with a handkerchief and tucked it back into h
er pocket.
She thought no one saw it but unknown to her, a figure was silently watching.