Chapter 42
1156words
My door shut with a bang that made me jump, I feared for my life.
'Undo whatever you are doing to her now!"
'You shall not use such voice on me! She is wasted by the way, so you can have it."
Moon heaved in relief when she felt like her head got lighter and her body returned to normal.
'She is wasted?" Now she could see clearly, Aiden questioning the smug Diana.
'The King's guard came to her in his wolf form."
'What!?" Aiden thundered and Moon scrambled away.
Moving towards her as if his life depended on it, Aiden made to take the letter, but Moon shifted away from him, the confusion still lingering in her eyes. Not understanding what they were saying.
How was Diana related to her state of confusion and imbalance? How did Aiden know she was the one behind it? Why were they in her room?
'Just hand it over." He ordered.
He didn't look gentle, he didn't act nice, he smelled like something awful and she scrunched up her nose. He has eye bags, and his face has lost some fat.
Lost in her observation, Aiden reached out and snatched the letter from her, tore it open, and his eyes greedily began to read the words of the letter.
Moon, who was now at the corner of her room, looked at Aiden, who now sagged in relief, and Diana, whose face, squeezed in confusion before marching forward and snatching the paper from him.
She watched Aiden look at her; Diana's face turned into an ugly scowl; she dropped the letter and marched out, stomping her feet as she left.
'Moon, come here?" His now gentle voice called her, his eyes lingering more than usual on her but Moon stuck herself to the corner of her room and refused to move an inch.
'It's okay." He said as if reassuring himself more than he was reassuring her.
He began to arrange her room himself while Moon watched him.
'You don't have to worry anymore Moon." He told her.
Moon looked away from his caring eyes.
'The letter…" Aiden pointed to the letter on the floor.
'It wasn't a death sentence as expected." His voice shook at that.
He didn't look at her this time, his hands worked nimbly, not matching the emotion in his voice and his facial expression.
'A death sentence?" Moon asked, her brain slow in understanding what he meant.
When she finally got its meaning, she slid down on the floor, her butts hitting the floor as her eyes looked at the dusty floor of her room.
'It only contains your punishment, Moon. Clean the pack house starting this evening before you can get your food. It's an official order."
She saw Aiden's toes, then she felt him move. He squatted before her, holding her shoulders. She felt repulsed but was too weak to shrug him off.
'I…I apologize for my actions before this Moon."
But Moon didn't move a bit.
'I'll sneak in food so you can hurriedly eat, freshen up, and get started. Flaunting the orders will mean more punishment."
'Moon?" Aiden used his index finger and raised her head to look at him, and his breath got cut off at the sight of her face.
She looked lost, the look of hurt not hidden either. A puffy eyes with tears still streaming from it.
'What did she do to me?" Moon's small voice pierced his heart.
He searched her eyes and she searched his. He could not bear to look at her longer before doing something he knew would increase her hatred for him.
'I – I – will be right back." He stammered and stumbled out of her room.
Crawling slowly, Moon grabbed the letter, straightened the wrinkled part of it, and sat down to read it, a tremor running through her hand once in a while.
She is being addressed as a thief when she did nothing, given a punishment for a crime she knew she didn't commit.
'A week. It will only last for a week." Moon mumbled, with the wall as a support. She dragged herself up, and slowly, she walked towards the door.
The hallway was almost empty, but she still felt a lot of eyes looking at her; her breath shortened, but she didn't stop walking.
Down the stairs towards where her broom, duster, and other cleaning materials were kept.
Looking around the huge park house, she felt a wave of nausea hit her.
'Where would I start from?" She whispered into the wind, cleaning her eyes dry with the hem of her cloth.
Walking slowly, she already imagined her death from exhaustion. Now she knew why they said getting a letter from the King's guard was a death sentence.
Reaching the pool, Moon paused before squatting, her eyes containing envy at the stillness of the water.
If only she could be as peaceful as that, always reflecting the sky.
Moon's thoughts were cut short by the slow clicking of heels. She kept still but when it felt like the direction of the heels were pointed toward her, she wanted to turn towards the owner of the heels to see who it was.
What if it was her mother? No, she could not bear to face her. Moon kept her face forward, her eyes shut so she didn't give in to her wants of looking at the owner of the heels.
When the clicking of the heels stopped a few steps away from her, Moon had goosebumps lining her skin; her head was beginning to feel weird again.
‘Diana!' Moon's eyes widened.
'Do you want to jump in?"
There! She was the one. Moon stood abruptly but her dizzy state and weak body brought her to the ground.
She heard Diana begin to laugh, a laughter that gave her chills, it felt ominous. Moon turned to look at Diana and saw her shoulders shake along with her laughter.
'I haven't done anything to you," Moon said slowly as she tried to crawl away.
'You think?" She bent her head slightly to the left as she observed Moon in her weakened state. Somehow, it made her happy.
'I told you to stay away from Aiden." She had this venom in her voice and Moon knew she would be stung if she kept staying longer.
Moon struggled to get up, dusting whatever remained of her, not daring to look at Diana as she slowly walked away.
'Where do you think you are going?" Diana's eyes narrowed into slits, her nails elongating.
'Come back here!" She half whispered and half shouted as she reached out for Moon's hair, and dragged her head towards herself, ripping off strands of hair in the process.
Moon didn't have the time to scream at the pain from her scalp because Diana started forcing her towards the pool.
