9 5

Something about today felt uneasy. It wasn't the extra figure added to the manor, nor the change in season that made the day feel different. Somewhere in my gut I knew that a storm was awaiting for me. Perhaps I was to be called upon by the castle; something that rarely happened in my past life. Perhaps, I was to face an old enemy that had yet to be faced. Lurking down the hall, I silently passed by my mother who was humming to herself as she sewed, then Coco who was teaching Opal the basic of cleaning, and finally, Draco and Becca who were in the kitchen- one cooking, the other taking out plates. I lead myself into the slightly cold outside, and walked towards the wilting roses. My heart began to beat louder and harder with each approaching step. My eyes gleamed and my senses heightened. I did not stop though. Instead I continued further past the roses and into the maze that my mother and the servants always warned me to avoid unless I had someone to watch over me.

Walking further in until I found a small bench to sit on, I let out the breath I did not realize I was holding. I had decided to sit down gently and with slight caution on the cold bench, looking up at the darkened sky afterward. Sure enough, as I let the calm take hold of me, I decided to speak up.

"Mind telling me what you're doing here?" I asked, a slight puff of air showing up.

A small laughed bellowed out, "You really are different."

I continued to look up at the sky, "And you really aren't a commoner.''

He walked out from his hiding and stood in front of me, leaning towards my face a little and blocking the view of the sky.

"What do you want?" I asked, reaching out my hand and poking his forehead with my gloved finger. He glided smoothly and took a seat next to me.

"You interest me," he said. Unexpectedly, he grabbed strands of my black hair and began to twirl it. Now or then, I have never truly liked physical contact, especially from strangers. I slapped his hand away and gave him a hard look. He gave a teasing grin in return.

"I won't rule you off as an assassin or anything, but I suggest you never come back," I warned.

He gave a small gasp, grasping his chest in a dramatically manner, "So cold."

I stood up and began to trace my way back, only to stop when the branches and leaves began to grow rapidly and block my way. "What's the meaning of this?" I asked.

"I just want to talk," he pouted. I gritted my teeth. It was pointless to use my magic, but speaking to him was also a waste of time. "I don't have time to entertain a suspicious person like you."

He walked in front of me, and leaned in. "If you stay and talk to me, I'll gladly give you something you might just like."

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. However, before I could reply I heard Becca's startling cry.

"Milady! Where are you?!"

He leaned away from me and sighed, "I guess we'll have to continue another time. Later!"

He retracted the branches and leaves before disappearing my sight. I shook my head and made my way out of the maze and towards the voice of Becca.

Becca appeared to be on the verge of tears when I found her. "What's the matter-" I was cut off by her unexpectedly grabbing me by the hand and dragging me indoors.

"His majesty is here!" she stated in a frenzy. I went numb at the mention of his majesty. He wasn't supposed to come back. He had no reason to come back. Biting back the fear of what was to happen, I allowed myself to be dragged along by Becca. We stopped in front of the living room door. Becca who was previously out of breath quickly fixed her messy hair and crouched down to help smooth out my dress. Standing back up, she opened the door and allowed me to walk in before stepping inside the room herself and gently closing the door behind her. She strode off and stood next to Draco at the corner of the room, head held low.

His majesty sat on the couch in the middle of the room. "Your majesty." I greeted, giving a bow. I took a seat next across from him.

As expected, he quickly got to the point, "You have been assigned a tutor. She shall be coming here in two days to help you with the studies of magic."

The idea of a tutor caused my blood to boil as memories resurfaced. I know for a fact that just because my previous tutor was a bad person, it doesn't mean the others are. That didn't mean I was going to easily trust them though, let alone allow them to enter my manor.

"If it's not too rude to ask, may I know who they might be?"

"Her name is Shelly. She's the daughter of Duke Jose from the kingdom of Hums."

To others it would seem that he was doing me a huge favour by assigning me someone of a high status, but I knew better. Hums was the kingdom from which Luna's mother came from. Meaning he was trying to test me, as well as cause tension, by letting someone my mother would most likely hate into our manor. But I bit back the harsh remarks I wanted to say and uttered out lies. "Thank you. It'll be an honour."

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Hearing my reply, he stood up. His guards that stood aside followed behind him. Once he was out of the manor, I ordered Draco and Becca not to bother me. I made my way to my room and locked myself in, the sense of loss and frustration overcoming me. It was obvious from my conversation towards his majesty that I was still too powerless to do anything. His eyes told me that I wasn't even acceptable enough to say no. For now, it was best to go along with his request and allow myself to have a tutor. Before she was to arrive, I have cleaning up to do. First thing first, I need to visit my mother and confront her as to why she wasn't present for his majesty's visit. It was too weird. When I saw her a while ago, she was sewing, so she should've been aware of his visit. I checked the spot I last saw her but found that she was no longer there. Pursing my lips, I made my way to her bedroom.

I knocked on the door, waiting patiently for the permission to enter her room. After a slow silence, the door creaked open and my mother greeted me. Her forehead appeared to be drenched in sweat as she forced herself to give me a smile. I felt an odd sense of insecurity as I looked up at her. She knelt down and pulled me into an unexpected hug, allowing me to feel her shivers.

"Mother?" I whispered, my voice being carried throughout the empty hall.

"You must always remember, Ice," she murmured softly, "that you are a Juntasa."

Pulling away, she brushed away blacks strands of hair from my face while peering into the depth of my brown eyes. It was weird to see her act this way. In my memories, she was always a mad and cunning woman, and vulnerable to greed. But never was she just…vulnerable.

My heart pace picked up at the slight hope that she was starting to change. Yet it brought me confusion as well. I hadn't done anything to help her change. Sure, she didn't meet my father like she was originally supposed to, but that alone was not something that could change someone. And I always knew that the name Juntasa had a special meaning, but never dwelled on it. For her to bring it up as a topic set off even more questions. At this point, planning out the next couple of years was going to be difficult.

Everything was changing too much, and too fast.

"Mother," I spoke up. She stood up and held my hand as we entered her room, and closed the door.

"Hmm?"

I looked up at her with hesitation, "His majesty came by today."

As though as switch had been flipped, her eyes started to gleam in a familiar way. She abruptly grabbed hold of my shoulders and a smile was brought upon her face.

"He came to see you?" she gasped. The excitement in her voice made me tremble in disgust, as well as regret for telling her. I should've known that someone couldn't change that easily. I opened my mouth to answer but was cut off by her.

"That's wonderful!" Her grip on my shoulders became tighter, causing me to flinch. "I told you he cared for us. The wicked spell by that disgusting Hums princess must've worn off-"

As she continued to ramble on, I couldn't find it within myself to listen to anymore of her nonsense. Grabbing her wrists and forcing them off me, I raised my hand and slapped her. My vision going red as the anger I tried so hard to maintain under control finally exploded.

"Enough! You're a fool, a bloody fool! I've said it before, and I say it again, a man like him would never care or even acknowledge people like us. The only reason he visits the manor is to maintain his image as a king! Other than that we are nothing more than burdens - burdens that can easily be trashed with one wrong move."

My mother looked at me in shock as she cupped the side of her face in which I slapped. Yes, it pained me to raise my hand at the person who was the only existing parent in my life, but words alone doesn't seem to have effect on her.

Letting out a puff of breath, I tried to calm myself down. "If-" I continued, "If you want me to even consider you a mother, accept the fact that nor you or I are cared for by the King."

Her eyes started to water as she took in my words, but I ignored the guilt from the heavy words I said, and walked away. Now the choice was up to her. It was either she loses me, or she throws away the 'love' she has for his majesty. "That being said, he hired a tutor for me. She's from the kingdom of Hums."

Once I left the room, I was met with the sight of a trembling Opal who appeared to be scared that she was going to be punished for witnessing something so private. I sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose at the fact that I failed to remember there was a non-human in the manor. Looking straight into her eyes, I reached out my hand and grabbed hold of hers. The two of us walked down the hall in silence. And surprisingly, it helped me calm down some more to hold onto her hand. Perhaps it was due to her energy as a familiar.