I’ll admit it. I jumped. 

And… screeched a little, having not expected the scare, but then I recovered and scowled, turning around with a hand on my waist as I gave the tutor a look. I waved my other hand in the air exaggeratedly, before leaning against the wooden bucket I was using to wash my laundry. “Seriously!?” 

Everything I had found in the abandoned storerooms were a little suspicious, but they didn’t smell too bad and I’m not entirely sure if soap has an expiration date, so I mixed that and some bleach in with the water I was scrubbing with the wooden washboard. It was extremely old-fashioned and I missed mechanical washers and dryers terribly, but it was getting the job done and that was what I needed. It was just… exhausting, and my made all my wounds burn. The little energy I seemed to get from cool water did little to actually make me feel better. 

If anything, it just gave me the strength to be sassy. Which, admittedly, is… probably not a good thing. “Do none of you people know how to knock!?” I fashioned the older woman another glare, nothing she was dressed in a rather dark red today. “And you call yourself an etiquette teacher?” 

Red… Maia always loved the color red. Blue is better. 

Hmph. The red color is wasted on such a jerk. She should be wearing something ostentatious- like a… blinding pink-purple, or a neon green or yellow. Something acidic, colorful, and dangerous. 

Like the glare she was giving me; it screamed monster. I’ve never seen so many wrinkles on a thirty-ish year old woman’s face. “And just what do you think you’re doing, child!? You should leave such work to the maids!” 

Oh, her glasses match her dress. Huh. I never noticed that. Also, is that a trick question or…? There’s no way she’s being serious.

I stared blankly at her, deeply confused. 

Maybe sarcasm? She doesn’t sound sarcastic though…

It should be completely obvious what I was doing, given the wash bucket I was sitting next to and all the dirty and freshly-washed fabric surrounding me. My room was practically bare save for the rotting canopy bed and the vanity in the corner. Maybe it was a rhetorical question she was asking. She never did seem to like me. 

Oh! That’s it. She’s just being mean! Okay, got it. My expression shifted with my thoughts, from genuine surprise to a tired deadpan. Wow. She knows the maids hate me. Jeez…

Should I be mean back? There were so many glasses jokes I could make about her eyesight based off of what she just said. She’ll probably flog me for it, though. As much as I can handle pain, I’d rather not actually feel any, so… let’s not. 

Sass is more fun, anyways. 

“Well,” I waved a hand in the air, gesturing to the space around me as I shifted my legs to sit cross-legged, stating matter-of-factly, “as you probably saw on your way here… there are no maids on this side of the manor. So can ya shoo? Pretty please?” I waggled my fingers at her. “You’ll be gettin’ paid anyway, whether you’re “teaching” me not.” 

Wait a minute.

“Actually…” I furrowed my brows, watching in confusion as her face flushed a bright red at my next words. “How are you getting paid? Isn’t this family broke?” 

She grit her teeth. “How dare you!?

And I… honestly could not bring myself to care as she stormed forward, marching her way towards me and reeling her hand back. I just stared at her tiredly, already braced for the pain that was going to bloom in my still-not-quite-healed face. Her turquoise eyes were furious as they met my brown ones. 

“And how dare you-” With one smack of her gloved hand, I could already feel new bruises forming. “-look at me with such apathetic eyes! Do my words mean so little to you now!?” 

What am I even doing right now? What’s the point of it? Why am I trying to make things worse? I won’t gain anything out of acting petty; I’m just going to get hurt. 

“Such insolence will not go unpunished, young lady!” 

But… it’s been three weeks and my patience is running thin. I’m so tired of being hit. The more she shouts, the more I wanna shove this bottle of bleach down her throat. 

Hah…

I need to stay calm. Just breathe. I don’t have the strength or the skill to fight back. I have noodle arms and soapy laundry water. 

I can’t… do anything. 

I’m not smart like Maia or assertive like Clair. I’m not strong like our brother, Desmond, either. I can barely even…

Oh. A thought came to mind. There is one thing I can do.   

Lifting my head up slowly to stare up at Madam Morgrem, the woman leaning against the front wall of my room with a huff, her arms crossed over her chest. “Ma’am…” 

I could let the intrusive thoughts win.

To do that, however, I need to absolutely infuriate her first. Even if it hurts, even if she lashes out, she won’t be able to react right away. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, anyway; heck, if not for that, I wouldn’t have been able to last this long… or do any of the laundry. 

That bleach burns like fire from the depths of Hell. 

“If you don’t stop this right now…” The corners of my lips began to tilt upwards, pain blossoming in my cheeks. I flashed her the biggest smile I could possibly muster, my arms lifting up and curling instinctively out of habit into a more comforting position. My eyes crinkled sweetly as I tilted my head, my bangs tickling my forehead and aching cheek. “I will pour this soap in your eyes.” 

Something snapped then. 

It happened all too quickly. 

Pain erupted in my face, again-and-again, a hand gripping the collar of my nightgown as the other hit me repeatedly. Front, back, front, back- a busted lip, bruising and swollen cheeks- front, back, front, back- a bloody nose, a black eye. Hands shaking me violently. A voice screaming. 

I stopped existing during it all, detaching myself from the situation at hand and instead pondering the best way to carry out my plan. My face hurt so much it was practically numb, and though I was dizzy it was nothing compared to the lightheadedness I used to feel on a daily basis back in my original body when I was still “Eleanora Quince”. Glancing to the side, I could see the cap of the bleach bottle a few inches away from me on the floor. It was perfectly in reach. 

“With what tongue do you speak such insolent words!? You cut your hair, you talk back, and now you utter threats!? In what world could even be considered a nobleman’s daughter!? What demon has possessed you!?” 

What demon, huh? 

Heart cold and guarded, I reached for the cap while she was shaking and screaming at me. Barely reaching it with my fingers, I tugged it closer. 

Perhaps I was a demon. I mean, what kind of person just possesses another version of themself? I certainly wasn’t being the kind person my siblings believed me to be. They always said I didn’t have a mean bone in my body, that I was too much of a “marshmallow” to hurt others. But that didn’t seem to be the case anymore. 

“Where is the obedient young lady I painstakingly raised!?” 

I dunked the cap into the laundry bucket behind me. Not even a second later was I already yanking it out, splashing the soapy-bleach water into my abuser’s face. She wanted to know what happened to me? To “Eleanora von Ryker”? 

Well, if I really am a demon, then according to these memories of I now have… 

“She’s dead!” 

Madam Morgrem screamed, the sound so bloodcurdling it almost gave me chills. With her glasses having fallen so low onto her nose, there was nothing protecting her eyes from the burning pain- and she was quick to shove me into the wash bucket itself, knocking it onto its side. The act almost had me black out, the crash landing so rough on my weak body I almost couldn’t withstand it. Keeping my eyes squeezed shut as I found myself soaked, I rolled along the slippery wooden floor and groaned, wincing and blinking dazedly as I struggled to push myself up with my arms. 

All the while, the tutor was screeching, spitting and coughing as she tried to get rid of the soapy bleach water that got in her mouth. 

“My eyes! Y-You wretched beast! Wh-What did you do to my eyes!? It burns, it burns, it buuuurns!” 

Blinking a few more times, I shook myself out of it and flinched, vision seeming to glow a bit pink as I lifted my head and glared at my escape route. I need to focus, otherwise I would pass out. My entire body was aching and screaming at me. If lost concentration now, I was screwed. 

“I’ll kill you!” 

Hearing her heels clacking against the floor, I was quick to roll out of the way. “Nope! No thanks!” I scrambled onto all fours- slipping and sliding against the wet wooden floor. “I’m out! Bye!” One yelp, then another. “Have a nice day! See you never!” 

I was tripping over myself from the water so much I thought I’d never reach the door, and when I finally did I had to stagger onto my feet to open it- only to struggle twisting the doorknob. My hands were completely soaked from the water, it made getting a decent grip near impossible. 

Not good. “O-Open, open, open! Come on, please open!” 

My heart was racing in my chest, tearing stinging my eyes and dripping down my swelling cheeks. I jiggled the doorknob frantically, twisting it with everything I had in me. 

“Slippery hands, don’t do this to me!” 

“Eleanora-!” Hearing how close Madam Morgrem’s voice was, I screeched, whirling around in horror, only to watch as she faceplanted on the floor, her heels not at all equipped to deal with water puddles. 

At that moment, the door seemed to take pity on me, because I finally twisted the knob just enough that it creaked open. 

A glimmer of hope bled into my heart. “Ah! Yes! Thank you!” 

Holy frick, I can’t believe this. I might actually get out of here alive. 

“Victory is mine, bitch!” I exclaimed, a massive grin spreading across my swollen, bloody face as I ran for it. 

I could hear Madam Morgrem cursing my name as she tried to chase after me, only to blindly slip once more on the spilled soap water and crash into something. My heart was pounding, racing as adrenaline rushed through my veins. I was in a panic. Desperate, scared, and also a little pleased that my revenge scheme had worked, but mostly just panicked. 

I had no plan. I had nowhere to go. 

My body wouldn’t last much longer, either. Once the adrenaline rush is over, I’ll be K.O’d. Ah, whatever! Screw it. I’m too dumb for this. 

I’ll just keep running until I find an exit or something!