2 Chapter 2 - The voice

~'Ow... Why does my body hurts so much?'

I felt numb all over and aside from that I could feel the cold wooden floor.

'Did I fall asleep? The masked man.....ring....'

I attempted to open my eyes, but they felt so sore.

-touch (wince)

I winced as my fingertips made contact with my eyes.

'Why? What happened to me? Did that guy do this to me?'

I was in so much pain that it wasn't normal for my body to feel this way. My limb felt dislocated at some point and I couldn't feel my legs. I had no choice but to half open my eyes. The cut from yesterday's wound was gone. But I could see different shades of green to purple from my arms.

'Was I beaten up?...damn, I can't stay here too long'

I had to crawl all the way to my granny's bed as I tried to stand. I've never been in such a helpless state. What's more, I've notice my body was heavier than it was and some lump was forming inside my stomach. It was bulging upfront.

....this can't be?'

~(hhmm whaa)

I vomited on the floor. 'This can't actually be happening...'

I'm pretty sure this bulge meant I was...pregnant. Looking at my puddle on the floor gave me paralysis.

'Nausea in the morning...but I haven't'

I walked over to granny's desk to find some mirror-well if this is what walking looks like. I stumbled my way and fumbled through the drawers. But then I noticed my surroundings. Nothing seems right.

'Why does granny's' room seem spacious than yesterday'

The floor was shining. Furniture from yesterday was not at the same places and some are not around here anymore.

'Am I really in the same room?'

"No...This isn't granny Mar's nor was it my room. Where is this?"

'Was I kidnapped?'

I continued to fumble again and found a tiny mirror. My hands were shaking just from gripping it.

'Why? .....am I scared?'

Taking the mirror with both hands, I raised it to look at my reflection.

"How terrible...who could have done this horrifying things to me?!"

My left eye was completely sore from a fresh wound and the other had a black circle surrounding it. I could barely see my blue eyes piercing through the small opening my eyelids gave. I looked horrible.

Aside from that, my long curled chocolate hair was no longer up to my waist but was rather cut in neckline and some were shoulder line too.

'Who gave me such a crappy cut?'

I held my stomach as it rumbled, was I hungry? Somehow my body is giving me a sign of reflex action from nervousness and anxiety which meant this wasn't the only time this body was abused.

'But how could this happen?'

~(footsteps)

Right there and then, Ophelia's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the loud footsteps approaching her room. Why, o why was she feeling this way? She covered herself with the blanket on top of her bed. And she felt teary too but she held back the tears.

~(halt)

The loud steps stop at her door as it slightly opened -revealing the culprit behind her wounds. Ophelia's eyes bulged in disbelief despite the pain; she was rather surprised, for the person in front of her was none other than her fiancé. -Oscar Hastings.

She gaped at him with disbelief, because first, Oscar had a beard and seemed a little older and second he was wearing their wedding ring. She scanned him a while and looked down at her finger.

'No ring..but....what is going on?'

Then suddenly Oscar yelled at her which made her flinched in response.

"What do you think you're looking at?! Filthy wench, you dare and make me wait."

'Did he just call me wench? What in the world is happening'

This can't be reality, but I am also not dreaming. One thing for sure was that I am not myself as I usually am. And this isn't the Marcias estate. I must be in Hastings right now. He had the wedding ring on, so we must have wedded but I am as confused as to which part of the future I am.

'Right, there was a light and I felt unconscious and woke up to all of these.'

Ophelia was still confused as the scenes before her unravel. She tried to recollect what happened yesterday as if trying to make sense of the things happening around her. She was in the future she thought. But this could be the present as well and she might have dreamed about the past. But yesterday she just saw her granny's ring came into existence so she wasn't sure how to connect everything.

At the moment, all that she could do was watch as the Hasting's household maid groped her body hastily without consideration as they cleaned her up with icy waters.

Later on, she was sent to the household kitchen to have breakfast (which is an insult for a noble to eat with servants). There she met a very old Zachy and a previous maid from the Marcias in her late 40's.

"Zachy, Brenda.....why is the two of you here?" Her eyes weld with tears.

"Your grace, please do not talk loudly or they'll hear." Zachy warns in a worried voice.

"That, insolent bastard, he dare do this to you again." Brenda whispered in malice.

Ophelia felt relieved for a moment and thought again about how this moment became their future.

"How long have you guys been here?" she managed to barely ask.

The two servants were perplexed with their young lady's question. After all, they have been with her from ever since she wedded and until the dreadful day of the fall of the Marcias Dukedom.

"Your grace, we have been with you ever since you wedded two years ago, we've been working under the Hastings ever since the Marcias Dukedom came to ruins." Zachy responded with careful details.

'She seemed out of it.' he thought.

"I'm sorry if this is quiet rude to ask, but is your head okay my lady?" Brenda worriedly asked in curiosity.

'Maybe she finally lost it.' the thought crossed their minds.

However, Ophelia could not believe her ears.

~' The Marcias dukedom fell into ruins?!'

Why? Why is this suddenly happening. Couldn't the Marcias do anything about this? What had happened to them?

She couldn't stop wondering and she felt broken inside.

"H-how?" –She managed to ask.

Just then, a knight came to the kitchen to fetch her, probably assuming that she had finished breakfast.

"His grace has given you enough time, I am told to escort you to his office. follow me." The knight coldly stated.

And without much choice she followed the knight while trying to hold herself together and wincing as less as possible from her wounds.

(Step, step, step, knock.)

"Your grace..." the knight asked for permission.

"Let her in." a cold stern voice replied.

Ophelia entered nervously. She was trembling as much as she hated to.

"Sit down; it has been two years since the contract. I've been thinking of terminating it."

Ophelia still confused at his words sat down in pain and she was handed out a paper. It was a contract and it had her signature on it.

'This is.... the marriage contract'

She couldn't remember when she signed it. Eager to know, she scanned through the whole document.

'Duchess in name only.' she read in her mind.

This wasn't what was written before. as far as she knew Oscar Hastings was to be the temporary Duke to manage the Marcias. The contract was the other way around.

Oscar smirked at her peculiar reaction. She seemed fearless compared to how she reacted before. -Especially when she was covered in bruises.

"Why? Have you forgotten that you signed that yourself?"

"You bastard! You have been fooling the Marcias all along." She glared at him in pain.

Ophelia's blood boiled in anger -how frustrated she was to lose the Marcias Dukedom and for the family friend to manipulate the contract and work behind the shadows in order to earn the whole estate. She had been careless.

It was useless now. Her life was an utter failure in keeping the Marcias running. She was better off dead than to live in shame and be the Hastings entertainment.

Her life didn't matter anymore. She was ready to throw everything away. It was all a lie; everything was just her wishful thinking. She thought her life would turn around ever since she was named a Marcias, to love and to be nourished and to have a family of her own.

~'It was all just wishful thinking.'

She thought as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Everything had been crumbling apart.

But when did it all started?

Was it because of her?

No, it wasn't.

The Marcias were to blame at their own end. But she couldn't help it, wasn't there anything that she could have done to prevent all of this and start anew again?

To start again-

'Granny Mar....'

She remembered that name. She held unto that wrinkled lady who had made her feel love.

'If she weren't dead, none of this would have happened.'

-Or if she had known the Marcias secrets then she could have taken precautions and acted more like a Marcias.

'None of it would have been buried for good.'

"Wake up...

..child

....you must choose"

A voice came out of nowhere. Ophelia, who was still sitting, looked up and saw everything in white again. It was like a dream of yesterday.

'What is going on?'

She heard that voice before. From granny's room...

No, she was sure this time.

"Granny mar, is that you?"

She choked back her tears. This was impossible. Was it magic? Was granny mar able to do such thing or was she associated with dark magic.

Although confused, nothing mattered to her than hearing her voice.

"I'm sorry." Granny Mar spoke.

Ophelia listened obediently. She couldn't deal with the pain that she went through. How realistic it was, it was far too great for her.

"Listen to me....

Granny began.

....I may not last long for now, but this is a moment that you must take Ophelia..."

Ophelia, speechless and confused felt even more desperate.

"Go back....and find out.....this time you must not fail..."

Her voice was shaking and fading away...

What did she have to choose? There was no answer heading forward to the future. It was clear to her.

'Should I go back?'

Would things change for her, for the Marcias if the past was sorted out? If this was dark magic, she thought. But it would have been worth the risk if she knew everything back then.-Back when Icarus was still alive.

'It is a choice I have to take.. a god-given chance to start over.'

...like granny said...

'I must not fail'.