Chapter 6: Absence Keenly Felt

Later that day, Irene's mother was a vessel of silent fury as she visited Irene after informing her child's teacher of her daughter's absence. Momo had informed Freida as soon as she could.

Her body was taut as she entered, her lips formed a thin line as she eyed her daughter who was lying on the bed twiddling her fingers. Her silver eyes flickered to her daughter's tiny hands. For a lady, the shape of their hands is very important. Irene's hands were showing signs of not matching the ideal shape of a noble lady's. Her fingers were too short and they were not as soft because she likes to get her hands busy instead of keeping them out of harm's reach. Now they had glaring red cuts and a faint sheen of green from the herbal salve.

When Irene returned yesterday, Freida took her daughter into her arms. She relished in the warmth as her child leaned into her embrace, her eyelids were sewn shut as she breathed tiny warm breaths against her neck. The thought of dust or grime on her daughter's body never crossed her mind, her entire focus orbited around Irene lying safely in her arms. She pressed a kiss to her daughter's crown as she redirected them to the washroom.

That night, Freida cleaned up her daughter just as her mother used to with her. She gently woke Irene up, propping her sleepy head on a wall as she stripped her off her dress. The periwinkle day dress was a disaster. There were cuts on the lace hemming of the skirt and it stank of sweat. Freida dropped the fabric into the laundry basket, making a mental note to tell a servant to dispose of it if it couldn't be restored to its original glory.

Once the washing was done, Freida calmly informed Momo who was waiting outside patiently.

"Momo, dear?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Could I trouble you to bring Irene to her room and tuck her in? I have some things to take care of." Freida's tone was polite, but her face revealed barely concealed fury. Momo, ever the professional, compiled with Freida's orders and gently carried Irene who was dozing off in her nightgown.

With the madam of the house angered, the servants immediately began avoiding Freida like a plague. Her walk to the telephone had been unobstructed as she turned the numbers.

A few rings later, a static voice boomed from the phone by her ear. "Freida?"

"Melissa, my deepest apologies for ringing you at this hour. My daughter, Irene is in need of medical attention. Could you-"

"Can you give me a scope of the wounds?"

"Terrible, purple bruises around her wrists. Her shoulders aren't better off, they are starting to turn blue, the bruises, I mean. There's another red bruise on her back. I also need an ointment for cuts on her knees and hands."

"Alright, I'll be there in 15 minutes."

The static went out as Melissa hung up. Freida placed the phone back on the receiver and took a steady breath. She turned to Eric who lingered at the entrance. His face was pale as his mouth opened and closed like a fish; he must've heard the entire conversation.

"Irene, is she?" He mumbled unintelligently.

Freida brushed past her husband; she would deal with him later.

"Wait until Melissa gives a diagnosis. I can't say anything yet."

X

When Melissa arrived, it was pouring outside. Freida felt terrible for waking her friend up, making her walk all the way (there are no carriages at this time of night) in the rain. Melissa pushed down her dripping hood and gave Freida a small smile to reassure her it was no problem. Time was of the essence, Freida directed Melissa to Irene's room.

Momo had dragged Irene's study chair over by her bed and had a stool prepared beside it. She met Freida's eyes and gave Melissa a bow in greeting.

"Thank you Momo, I'll take over from here," Freida said, but her eyes were glued to her daughter, who looked small on her bed.

Melissa pulled the covers off of Irene and proceeded to undo the nightgown by simply untying the strings. She frowned when she saw the blue bruises on her tiny shoulders. Her eyes trailed down to Irene's other serious injury on her wrist. She carefully picked up Irene's hand and twisted it gently, part of her was relieved when nothing felt off about it.

"How is it?" Freida inquired.

"No fractures, just very swollen," Melissa replied, placing Irene's hand back on the white mattress. "I have some heavy-duty salve that should help."

She moved onto the wounds on her knees as she picked up the skirt. There were no more pebbles, but some particularly sharp stones had cut her skin. "Must've been a hard fall," Melissa commented.

"Well, I think all she needs is some time to recuperate at home. She's allowed to move about, but I would suggest not letting her out of the mansion until these bruises fade. She might hit them again by accident and slow down the healing," Melissa concluded her diagnosis.

Freida breathed a sigh of relief. She seemed to age five years in the span of a couple of minutes.

"Thank you, Melissa. Please, won't you stay the night? It's still pouring out there," Frieda offered.

Melissa shook her head. "No, I'd hate to intrude. I'll be making my way home; it won't be much trouble."

In the end, Freida refused to let go of Melissa without a guard to escort her home. Melissa left Freida a couple of salves in wooden cases. She was supposed to apply them to the wounds twice a day until the purple starts fading.

X

Irene wanted to sit up to greet her mother, but she was told by Momo not to move if she could. She didn't want to further upset her mother, who appeared to be on the verge of another tantrum, but she couldn't help but feel like she was being disrespectful just lying down.

"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" Frieda asked when Irene remained silent.

Irene bit the inside of her lips. At her mother's stern stare, Irene gave in.

"And these injuries, how did you get them?" In the end, she spilt everything out, all except the strange girl.

"I just fell, mother. It was hard to sneak into the palace," Irene mumbled.

Freida's eyes spelt out her discontent, but she otherwise said nothing. After a moment of silence, she said, "No more visits to the palace, understand?"

Irene bit her tongue, but she forced herself to nod. The less she said the better.

Freida seemed to notice something else was off, but she wordlessly left Irene to herself in her room.

Irene leaned into her pillow; she breathed a small sigh. In her mind's eye, she saw the beauty's figure staring at her. Her face was morphed in disapproval as if she was disappointed that Irene broke her promise. She whined in her throat, feeling helpless and terrible.

Then suddenly, there was a knock on her window. Irene nonchalantly turned her head, expecting to see a bird or something of the like. Her eyes widened, because there was the beauty, propped on the windowsill, and her fist hung in midair.

Irene's mouth parted in a silent scream.

X

When the beauty left the palace, she initially had no idea where to go. She had no idea where the girl lived. All she had was a barely tangible scent of Irene that acted as a poor navigator, as it wasn't precise enough to form a clear trail. She was left with no choice but to follow the vague trail around the city. The tunnel led to a grass clearing that was fenced by tall oak trees. She supposed it was so the existence of the tunnel would be hidden.

She followed the source of sound down east because humans tended to live together. Irene should be near the other humans. She expected a simple trek through the city, but she was assaulted by the amount of noise.

On the streets, there were many carriages passing by causing the cacophony of the neighs of the horses and the occasional whiplash of the drivers. The citizens were all engaging in conversation. It was unlike the palace where one should only speak when spoken to. She heard all sorts of conversations from an exchange of items at the market to the gossip of a group of wives. It was so wild; she couldn't even begin to comprehend how humans won't go insane from living in this sort of noisy environment from the day they were born until they drew their last breath.

The weather was chillier today, the sun was hidden behind a layer of clouds. People wore longer sleeves with more layers because of the drop in temperature, so most of them wore something like her; long sleeves and long pants. She sniffed; the sight was the most unusual as people in the palace wore clothes depending on their status. Here, there was barely a divide between anyone.

She shook herself out of her reverie, she shouldn't be gawking, she should be searching for Irene. Yet, the beauty stayed rooted between the borders of the oak trees and the city streets. When asked, she would deny ever being intimidated by the city she lived in. But at that moment, like the little girl she was, it took her a few hesitant steps before she could plunge herself into the world of the common.

Her striking hair was starting to gain the attention of the people. She heard more whispers about her as she passed, though they lasted no more than a nanosecond as the people turned to the matters they were discussing before she arrived. She was being dismissed and it was a very, very odd experience.