Light pierced the office of Alishe Julian. He sat, absentmindedly staring at his pen. He had been lost in his own thoughts all morning, from his encounter with Angelique. He thought of her spiteful, shining eyes. ‘I wish I could tear out her eyes one day.’ His usually blank expression suddenly turned bitter and he threw the pen at the wall. With a bang, it embedded itself in a painting.
Innocently sitting in the corner was Lorden Thinsen, the close friend and confidante of Julian. He practically leaped from his own skin when Julian hurled the pen. From the start of the day Thinsen had noticed the Alishe's careless nature and was at a loss for words. “What's the matter with you today, Julian?” he scolded, getting up from his seat and stomping over to the man's desk.
“The matter?” he hissed, his piercing gaze moving from the pen in the wall swiftly over to Thinsen’s freckled face. “I had the worst morning of my entire life.”
Thinsen let out a sigh and patted Julian’s back with sudden understanding. “Ah, I can relate, waking up one the wrong side of the bed. I know that feeling all too well, like when my wife kicks me in the night, or when a nightmare strikes, my entire day is ruined.”
Julian took a moment to think about it. “Have you ever had your wife climb two stories up to your window and make you sign a contract with her?” he asked. Thinsen froze, lifting his hand from his friends back and cautiously stepping away. He had remembered Julian’s insane wife, and how he was forced into marrying her. Recalling the glimpses of her screaming at maids and pulling their hair, he shuddered.
“Oh my…” he said, at a loss for words. Julian stared at him and asked, “What do you think about it? She climbed up into my room, told me she could undo the past, and somehow knew about me poisoning her.”
Thinsen gave him a shocked look, “But how could she have known, hasn't she’s been a stupid girl since birth!?”
“Of that, I am well aware, Thinsen, but she knew, and even dared to ask me to stop.”
“Well my first guess would be that one of her servants finally told her about it, she has 23 of them, yes?” Thinsen paced in front of Julian's desk before responding, “So what do you plan to do?”
Julian picked up a bell from his desk and rang it loudly. To its chime, a man in all white entered the room and bowed politely to both of them. “You called for me, Sir?”
“Yes,” Julian said, “I need you to increase the dosage of poison in the Lady’s food. Triple it. And along with that, have all her maids but one moved to another estate today.” The man left and Julian then shuffled through his desk to pick up a new pen.
“Are you sure that's alright? That poison isn't a joke, she may die and we may be under suspicion.”
Julian didn't even take a second to ponder it. “That's the plan, Thinsen. The sooner she’s dead, the better. Maybe we get lucky and it paralyzes her before killing her. That way she’ll learn a lesson about testing me.” Thinsen blinked at him, and then went back to his seat.
Thinking it over, from the news he had heard from Julian mere days ago, Alishen Angelique had fallen into a lake and lost her memory. ‘Strange, I need to check it out.’ he thought.
…
…
At that same moment, Angelique was riding a carriage down a bumpy road. She had returned to her room after her early meeting, avoiding her maids, and had called Minnielle to speak with her privately. Angelique knew Minnielle had practically spent her entire life with Angelique and was the only maid from her old house.
She told Minnielle to prepare a carriage, tell the other servants that Angelique was asleep and did not want to be woken up, and then wait for her. After that, Angelique was free to climb out of her window using her sheets and ride off with Minnielle to their first stop. Her father, at the Vosce Estate.
Minnielle stared intently at Angelique as the carriage wobbled down the road. Angelique's tired eyes and focused face looked strange to her since her lady was usually airheaded. Minnielle bit her lip forcefully.
The night of her Lady’s drowning, she had followed Angelique to the lake, watched her jump in, and stayed, staring at her sink, thrash, and sink once again. Her Lady had been submerged for 20 minutes, while she stood by, sitting on the lawn, waiting to make sure she was dead. But when Angelique began to churn the water after all that time, Minnielle was sent into a fit of screaming, which saved Angelique.
Now stuck in a carriage with the Lady, Minnielle looked up at her cautiously, and Angelique saw her glances. “Minnielle, are you alright?” she asked. Minnielle smiled and nodded along. Although her Lady looked the same after the drowning, Minnielle had spent her life growing with her, being beaten and mistreated the entire time. The polite, thoughtful girl she had seen for the past few days was not her master, she knew from the bottom of her heart.
‘I'll wait, I can confront this imposter once I have the proof.’ she thought, as the carriage wheeled to a stop. Angelique clapped her hands together with a smile. “We’ve arrived!”
They both exited the carriage and made their way to the front doors of the estate. “Wow! How majestic!” Angelique whispered. Minnielle instructed the doorman to inform the estate of their presence, and he dashed inside. After a few moments, the doors were thrown open before them, revealing the grand hall and staircase of the house.
Angelique's father, along with three identical, small girls, greeted her at the door. They all seemed wary. Angelique simply stood, staring at them for a few moments. Her father, a man with a large, angular grey beard with golden eyes, and the three girls, all with blonde hair and gold eyes, all greeted her formally. ‘Are these Angelique’s sisters? I don't remember them in the flashbacks?’ Angelique assumed they were her sisters, and her heart hurt with guilt. 'Angelique must not remember them because she never cared to visit them.'
One of the small girls lept out from the door and ran over to Angelique. She grabbed onto the hem of her skirt and flashed a large smile. Her father gasped a bit, and said, “I’m sorry Angelique, Rosa is still young and ill-mannered.” He ran over to the child's side, and whispered, “Please, Rosa, let go of your sister.”
‘So, they are indeed my sisters.’ Angelique looked up at their faces, identical and adorable. She blinked and then said, “I apologize, father.” Her father looked up at her, about to grab the girl. “What do you mean?!” A look of panic spread across his face. Angelique could only imagine what he must think of her, a cruel, violent girl. 'If I were him I'd fear me too, the old Angelique may have flung the poor girl by her hair.'
Angelique scooped the little girl Rosa into her arms with a grin and hugged her close. “I apologize for not visiting you, father, and I’m sorry for not mentioning I was coming.” she began to walk in, one arm holding up the smiling Rosa.
She squatted down to eye level with the other two girls and asked, “I apologize dearly to you all as well, it's been such a long time I have forgotten your names! Please forgive me, and tell me?”
The girls all giggled at Angeliques pleading eyes and answered, Rose and Ross. Angelique stood and turned to her father, who was frozen in place. “Father, you do not mind, do you?”
“Not at all, daughter,” he said quickly, “Let's have tea, come with me, girls.” He quickly stepped past them, and Angelique followed. They came to a greenhouse overlooking a field in the far end of the estate, and they all seated themselves as tea was served.
Angelique, who had not been able to eat much, since all her food was poisoned and horribly bitter, greatly enjoyed the scones and tea. The lack of poison was a relief. When she was finished she smiled at her father. “I have missed you a great lot, Father.”
The silence that followed was long. Her father’s eyes were dim, and he turned to the three girls, who had just finished their tea. “Rosa, Rose, Ross, I must speak with your sister privately, please play in the music room for a bit,” he said.
Angelique tensed up a bit. ‘He must have realized something was wrong. Did he not know about my near-death experience?’ She fidgeted as the girls left, and the door was shut.
“Angelique, you are my most beloved child. You look just like your mother,” he said. “What happened to you in the month you were away. Why are you acting so strange now.” He froze to lift his head and stare at her. “Are you even my daughter?”
Angelique looked into his piercing eyes. ‘The care he has for his daughter is immense, even though she was the devil. 'If the old Angelique could see this, would she shed a tear?’
She got up from her seat and walked over to her father. She carefully knelt down beside his chair and grabbed his hand, his eyes widened with shock. “Father, I almost died, just a week ago. My life came before my eyes and I realized the life I have lived was a horrid one. You and mother gave me life and so much more, but I only cursed you. Father, allow me to prove myself, to earn the title of your most beloved child. I will right my wrongs, I will make it all up to you, I-” She could feel her father's hand shake in her own, and she looked up.
A single tear fell from his eye, and she caught it with her finger quickly. “Why are you crying!?” She asked, puzzled. ‘I may have gone too far with the theatrics.’ she thought nervously.
“Do not worry, Angelique. I am alright, simply emotional. Please, continue.” he said. “Of course, father. I wish to make it all right, I must repair the noble family name that I tarnished. This is my pledge to you Father. From now on I will be the perfect daughter you deserve, the perfect sister. I must change myself to be charitable, to be kind. The only thing I ask of you Father is whether you’ll forgive me?”
There was no pause, only her father pulling her up from kneeling and squeezing her arms in his hands. “I forgive you, of course, I forgive you.” he burst out, smiling warmly. Angelique smiled. She did feel a little bad, for being an imposter, but it was nice to make her father happy. ‘The first step is done, I feel empowered!’ Her contagious joy shone through her like she was glowing. In her father's eyes, it was like a spirit had come down and revived his daughter's heart.
The outing lasted around two hours, with tea, conversation, and playing with the young triplets. Before leaving, Angelique left a small rose to her mother's shrine in the garden and promised to keep the family safe from all harm. ‘Although father may have committed crimes for the old Angelique, all he wanted was to make his daughter happy.’ she thought, smiling warmly. ‘They are a good family, I will protect them well.’
Angelique hopped on the carriage back home around noon. By then, her stomach was howling. She regretted not stealing more scones, but they had already lost sight of the estate. ‘When I get home I wonder if they will have a not poisoned meal for me?’ she wondered.
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