88 NEGATIVITY AND CONFUSION
"Mistress!" Olivia yelled after seeing things unfolding in her eyes. That bitch! How dare she try and mock her mistress? If she wasn't a damn Princess, Olivia would've attacked her till she has no hair left in that pretty head!
"Olivia, lower your voice," Felicia mumbled, turning her head towards Olivia who ran towards her and checked her. When Olivia reached for cheeks, she suddenly let out a wince, alarming Olivia.
"Oh, goddess! Did she do this to you? Did that bitch really slap you? I'm going to turn her into a bald eagle!" Anger clouded Olivia's eyes as she started to walk towards where Helena just left.
Shit, she's making it more troublesome. Before she could even stretch her legs to go and run towards where Helena went, Felicia reached her hand to Olivia, pulling her back and glared at her rashness. They are still in front of the Duke's office.
"If the Duke heard you, you would've been dead and I couldn't do anything about it. So shut your mouth and let's go. Let's not talk anything here." Felicia muttered with her tone clearly upset and annoyed, glancing at the door that leads to the Duke's office.
"Oops... I wasn't uhm... Careful. Sorry Mistress." Olivia apologized. "We should go now before the Duke checks us here." She added, dragging Felicia back to her room.
As they reached her room, she then locked the door, letting Felicia sit on the couch while she fetched a basin filled with warm water and a piece of cloth just to help her cheek not swell.
It was really red, the person responsible for the slap must have done it very strongly enough. Her face doesn't even look even anymore. The cheek that was slapped had grown quite plump while her other cheek was normal.
"Oh dear God, I swear if I get my hands on that annoying woman, I will gut her out like a damn fish and have her insides thrown towards the wilderness! How dare she not do this to you? That damn brat." Olivia started to ramble, placing the basin with water on the table and dipping the cloth on the bin, squeezing it first before placing it on her cheek gently.
"Tell me, should I just go and kill her?" Olivia asked, facing Felicia who was spacing out, staring on the floor. She didn't even feel the pain as the warm water touched her cheek. Olivia sighed, looking at Felicia with sadness and at the same time, pity.
"Mistress?" She asked, calling her out which seemed to have an effect as Felicia's eyes looked at her, meeting her worried eyes. "Does it hurt?" She asked, like a sad puppy.
'It's quite absurd for her to question me if it hurts or not. As if she didn't do such a thing back then.' A sudden thought flashed in her mind, making her blink. What in the world is she thinking? Is she being dragged by some kind of negativity after that slap?
"Mistress?"
"Yes... It does..." She answered, closing her eyes as she let the warmth of the cloth occupy the pain that hadn't subsided in her cheek. His hand must have left a big print on her cheek.
"Who did this to you?" Olivia asked. She's ready to attack of course—
"The Duke." Nevermind.
"HE DID?!" She exclaimed, shocked to hear that the Duke had slapped her. What in the heavens is this? Aren't their relationship slowly mending for the last years of hating each other?
Even the servants thought that Helena would finally be put in her rightful place as the adopted one. But with this, surely the servants will surely sugarcoat their way towards Helena as she's being favoured suddenly once again.
"What in the hell... Wasn't your relationship currently being mended?" Olivia asked, still in disbelief after hearing this. Meanwhile, Felicia doesn't want to think of anything right now, anything related to the two.
"Olivia? Can you prepare my parasol? I would like to explore and have my tea at the gazebo." She said as she stood up. Her whole body is still in shock and filled with hatred towards Helena and the Duke.
If she could just pull her sword and strike the two. No, that would only worsen her situation if that happens. She calmed herself, breathing in and out.
"But my Lady, let's patch up your wound. Because if you go out with your cheek looking like that, rumours would surround the whole manor and we should avoid that." Olivia mentioned as she stood up and went to find soft cotton and some medicinal tape to cover her cheek.
As soon as she found one, she requested for Felicia to sit down again which Felicia obliged. Olivia then started to patch her cheek, in order to hide the mark that was left by that evil Duke.
Her mistress doesn't deserve such a thing.
"Alright, it's done. I shall bring your parasol to protect you from the scorching sunlight." Olivia informed, looking for her parasol as Felicia once again stood up and walked towards the door.
"Let's go now, Milady. We need to clear your mind." With enthusiasm led by Olivia, both of them left the room empty and locked, to avoid getting framed or robbed.
Who knows, maybe someone plans to frame her once again.
—
"What happened to your cheek?" Alexander asked as he approached the table where Felicia was currently having her tea. She was staying at the gazebo, surrounded by flowers currently in bloom.
"I tripped." She said shortly, sipping her tea in which Alexander frowned. "Don't give me that bullshit, Felicia. Tell me the truth." He warned, glaring at her for refusing to tell what caused her cheek to turn numb and red.
Whoever did this to her will pay the price of hurting her.
He just came back from the training ground. It's his duty, after all, to maintain the knights in excellent health and state. He was about to go back into his room when he suddenly caught Felicia in the gazebo.
So he approached her, only to see her cheek with a patch.
"I told you, I just tripped. Nothing happened." She said, glaring at him ferociously. So something really happened. She would not bear her canine towards him if something didn't happen but right now? She's showing it.
Alexander glanced at Olivia who remained quiet, standing white far behind Felicia who continued to act as if nothing had happened. Olivia, being caught in Alexander's eyes, shakes her head, refusing to tell Alexander what had happened.
It's not that she doesn't want to. In fact, she really wanted to tell Alexander what happened so that he could speak this matter towards the Duke but if Felicia won't tell him then she won't either.
Felicia is her master, not Alexander.
Alexander sighed. Even if he were to glare towards Olivia, he knew she would never spill anything. "Please, Felicia. You are my sister after all. What happened? I am really concerned about you." He sighed, pleading for Felicia to tell him what was wrong.
'Your sister? You should've said that long before you abandoned me.' Her thought once again let out a negative opinion, making her blink twice in surprise. What's with the sudden negativity?
"Tell me, Felicia... Tell me what makes you worry." He once again pleaded, making Felicia sigh at his consistent pleading to tell him what happened. "You're so nosy." She replied, shaking her head in contemplation.
"We just argued. The Duke and I argued and it ended up getting heated... And he hit me." She gave in, telling him.
His face suddenly went dark, staring at her cheek. His hands curled into fists, seemingly shaking as he suppressed his anger inside of him. Suddenly, he stood up, reaching for her cheeks as he gently touched them, still void of emotion.
"Does it hurt?" He asked, gently lifting her face to make her look directly at him. As she gazed into his eyes, her heart skipped a beat as a familiar feeling coated her heart, making it leap a lot.
He cares for her, he's mad for her, he's ashamed of himself for letting her experience such a thing. He really does care for her as his eyes showed how much he regretted this happening even though he wasn't even there to begin with.
"It doesn't." She said, lying as she couldn't bring herself to tell him that it does hurt a lot. Especially in her heart. It was breaking apart, coincidentally aching with her cheek. Why is she feeling so negative today?
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you... I'm sorry I wasn't there to hold and defend you. I am truly sorry for not being able to stay at your side when you need me." He apologized. His tone is filled with sincerity and regret, clearly blaming himself for what happened to her.
But in Felicia's eyes and ears, it felt like he was apologizing for his past mistake, for the way he chose to ignore her and treat her like nothing. For abandoning her in times of her needs.
"It must have hurt you... Don't cry, Felicia... You have me now, no one can ever hurt you anymore. Not even I, myself will hurt you from today onwards. Please stop crying now, little sister."
'I'm crying? Why am I crying?' she soon realised that her cheeks were coated by her tears, sobbing as her arms wrapped around Alexander, crying on his shoulder while he knelt for her.
The sudden feeling of heaviness inside her, felt like it was slowly getting lifted. It felt like the dark place within her was slowly beginning to show the light she needed before, the light that provided warmth within her.
"No one will hurt you, Felicia." He whispered, adding more tears in her eyes. Yet still, the question remains within her as her heart finally opens for Alexander with a single apology from him.
Why is she affected by these heavy feelings when she's clearly not Felicia? Who is she?
