I was sitting in the library, absorbed in a book about this kingdom's history, when Sasha entered hurriedly. The fear on her face immediately caught my attention.
"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost, Sasha?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She rushed to my side, leaned close, and began whispering in my ear. Ugh. I really hated when people did that.
"Lady Elena has called you to her courtyard. She wants to meet you," she whispered, stepping back with worry still evident in her eyes.
Ah. That explained everything.
Elena—my stepmother's eldest daughter—was not just infamous for her cruelty, but possibly the reason I was here now. After all, she had pushed Isla. That alone made her someone to watch closely.
My stepmother had two children from her previous marriage. Elena, the eldest, was three years older than me. Then there was her precious son, Lord Edward, only six months my senior. Oddly enough, she never had children with my father. Why? I had no idea. But something told me the reason wouldn't be simple.
"So that's why you're so tense, Sasha?" I said, glancing up from my book. "Let her come if she wants to meet me. I'm not going anywhere." I returned to my reading. If I had to live here, I might as well learn more about the place—and perhaps, it was just the student in me who couldn't resist a good book.
"But… My Lady…" Sasha's eyes widened in disbelief, making me smile. She was just too cute when flustered.
"Why are you looking at me like I just dropped a nuke on you ?" I teased.
Her confusion deepened. "Nuke? What are you saying, my Lady? I don't—"
"It's nothing, Sasha. Just forget it. Go and tell Lady Elena that if she wants to meet me, she's welcome to come here herself."
"But—"
"Shh! Don't argue with me. Just do what I said."
"…Yes, my Lady."
---
Not long after, Elena's furious voice echoed through the corridor.
"What did you just say?!" Her shout shook the walls. "Has your brainless lady forgotten who I am?! How dare she refuse to come when I summon her?!"
Sasha tried to shrink into herself, eyes cast down as if she could become invisible. But pain flared suddenly across her cheek, and she stumbled to the floor.
Elena's maid, Lumi, stood above her, smirking smugly.
Grabbing Sasha's hair, Lumi yanked her up with cruel force. Sasha winced in pain.
"Go tell your lady that if she doesn't come now, she'll end up worse than a rat caught in a trap." Lumi spat the words before shoving Sasha to the ground again.
Sasha didn't hesitate. She scrambled to her feet and ran as if escaping a fire, while Elena and her maids laughed behind her—cruel, mocking laughter that burned like acid.
"You did well, Lumi," Elena said with a satisfied grin, tossing a sapphire ring at her. "I didn't even have to lift a finger."
Lumi caught the ring with glee, showering Elena with praise like a hungry parrot. The other maids watched with envious eyes.
---
"What happened to you?!" I gasped as Sasha burst into the library, her face pale and tear-streaked, her cheek red and swollen.
"My Lady… Lady Elena said to tell you to come to her chambers or—" Her voice broke, tears spilling freely now.
"Or what, Sasha? Who did this to you? Was it Elena?" I demanded, my voice rising with fury. "Tell me everything—now!"
"My Lady, it's not important," Sasha pleaded. "We must go quickly. They said… they said they would do the same to you if you don't come!"
The fear in her eyes was real—raw and deep. My hands clenched into fists. I couldn't even imagine what Sasha or Isla had suffered under Elena's tyranny. But now… I was here. And I wasn't Isla.
I would not bow. I would not break.
"Yes, Sasha. We're going," I said coldly. "But not because she summoned me—because I intend to return the favor to whoever laid a hand on you."
I grabbed Sasha's trembling hand and pulled her with me, marching toward Elena's courtyard like a storm ready to break.
---
In Lady Elena's Courtyard
"Who was it?" I demanded the moment we entered. "Who did this to you? Tell me now."
Sasha looked down, silent. She was trying to protect me, but that only made me angrier.
"Are you going to tell me or not?!" I shouted.
Still, she remained silent, head bowed.
"What is this nonsense?!" Elena's voice rang out. "How dare you enter my courtyard without proper greeting, you brainless mutt!"
I turned toward her slowly, my blood boiling. Her arrogance, her cruelty—it was suffocating.
I didn't wait.
I marched straight to her, grabbed a fistful of her perfectly arranged hair, and threw her to the ground with such force that gasps rippled through the courtyard.
Elena shrieked in outrage. "How dare you!?"
She turned to her maids, pointing at me like a madwoman. "What are you waiting for?! Beat her until she screams for mercy!"
Her maids hesitated for a moment—then surged forward with determination in their eyes.
But the moment I broke the first maid's wrist with a twist and a sharp crack, their steps faltered.
Silence fell. Fear rippled across their faces.
I stood tall, the fire in my chest now a roaring blaze.
They thought I was Isla.
But they would soon learn—I was far worse.