Lona grabbed the book turning so white she looked like a ghost. She couldn't believe what was in her hands. In a panic I tried calming her down.
"Lona. Why are you calling it filth? It's only a book."
Her face changed from horror to anger, then back to horror, "Only a book?! Do you even know what this is?!?"
I smiled innocently, "I thought it was a regular romance novel. Is it not?"
"IT'S NOT!"
Watching her panic I couldn't help but smile more. "What is it then? Could you explain it to me?"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
I covered my ears, "Lona, you're shouting."
"I AM NOT."
She realized she was freaking out and attempted to calm down, "Why do you even have this?!"
I chuckled dryly, "Hah... I found it on the ground. Looked interesting so I picked it up."
"The ground."
"Yes."
"Really."
I pouted, "You don't believe me?"
She paused for a moment, then walked over to the fireplace. There was a small fire already started and she glanced at it. My face fell.
"Wait... Lona... Don't do anything rash now."
She gave a smile teeming with anger, "What do you mean? You mustn't pick up dirty things off of the ground. Filth must be burned."
Without another word, she chucked it into the fire. I screamed and ran over to it. I tried to grab it but the fire was too hot.
I sobbed, "Lona!!! How could you do that?!"
"Why do you care? After all, you found it on the ground."
I stared at the burning book, "So?! It's still just a book! You can't burn books! That's... That's blasphemy!!"
She pulled out another book, "Oh look. Another filthy thing you found on the ground."
I wanted to scream! Not the new sequel to my favorite novel!!!
She didn't give it another glance before throwing it into the fire. I could only sit and watch in horror as all of my hard earned books were tossed into the fireplace and set ablaze.
Usually I would have screamed and shout, but whenever I looked at her swollen eye, all of my anger would disappear and be replaced by overwhelming guilt.
She made sure to check my room for any other "filth" but luckily she never found my hiding place. She eventually left me to sleep, but as everyone was worried I would try to sneak out again, I heard multiple people open my door to make sure I was in bed asleep.
That night I didn't sleep a bit. I couldn't help but think about poor Lona and how I hit her.
I decided I had to make it up to her.
I woke up early and got myself ready. I picked out one of the dresses Queen Luna had given me and attempted to put it on. I struggled to brush my hair. It got too irritating to do anything with, so I decided just to tie it up with a ribbon. Then after finishing, I waited patiently for Lona to come in.
Lona walked in and spoke, "Little Miss, it's time to-"
She stopped in her steps seeing me obediently standing there waiting for her. I curtsied, "Good morning, my heavenly angel."
She paused at this and pinched herself quickly, "Huh... I'm not dreaming."
"Of course you're not."
"What are you doing?"
"I've decided that from now on I'm going to be a good girl for you."
Lona stood there for a second staring at me. She burst into uncontrollable laughter. She held her sides and I couldn't help but feel aggrieved.
My face twitched, "I'm not joking."
She chuckled and wiped away a tear. She walked over to me and began to fix the dress I so sloppily put on.
She smiled, "I know. But you don't have to try so hard."
"No Lona! I'm telling the truth. I'm going to be a good girl."
"Oh? I wonder how long that'll last."
I frowned, "Forever. I'm determined."
She chuckled, "We'll see."
"Why don't you believe me?"
"It's not that I don't believe you. Remember what you told me? You don't look for trouble, trouble finds you."
I opened my mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything. She was right. No matter how much I tried to avoid trouble, it seemed to make me more likely to find it.
I blame my impulsive personality.
We walked downstairs and I noticed my father and mother waiting. They were sitting patiently at the table. When I walked into the room I noticed their faces grow uncomfortable.
They both wanted to say something but seemed like they were afraid they would witness another episode. I looked up at Lona who smiled at me encouragingly.
I sighed and looked at my parents with determination. I bowed deeply, "I am greatly embarrassed by my actions last night and I apologize for my behavior. It wasn't okay and for that, I apologize."
They both looked stunned and didn't know what to say.
I continued, "Since my actions weren't warranted, I will accept any punishment."
My father finally got control of himself and cleared his throat. He looked around anxiously, "I also apologize for behaving how I did."
My mother whipped her head to him, "Husband! Why are you apologizing?!"
He held his hand to her, indicating her to be quiet. She closed her mouth and he continued, "I wronged you so I understand why you got so angry. I won't punish you for trying to run away, but the mess in the main hall is unexcusable."
He glanced at me worried that he stepped over the line. However, I remained calm and Lona nodded to him. He continued, "So, as for punishment, I won't ground you. However, when you get home tonight, I expect you to clean the mess you made in the hall."
I nodded, "I understand."
He looked at me timidly, "Also.... You can tell Dante that I changed my mind. I won't threaten him anymore."
I smiled, "Thank you Daddy."
Hearing me say Daddy, he cheered up quickly. He added, "I won't threaten him about training, but if he so touches a hair on your head I will-"
My mother interrupted, "Husband."
He glanced at her, "Oh. Well anyway, that's that."
And so I received a minimal punishment for what should have been a bit worse. I couldn't help but feel proud at my luck.
I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't be grounded again.
I left for school and we arrived earlier than usual. William was there waiting and was surprised to see us there.
He forced himself to speak, "You're... Early..."
I curtsied, "Good morning, Prince William. How do you do."
His mouth dropped. He looked over to Lona who shook her head in exasperation. He looked back at me and pinched himself.
He looked a bit shocked, "Huh.. I'm not dreaming."
My face twitched. Why does everyone keep doing this.
I looked up at Lona and said goodbye. I couldn't help but wince at that black eye. I started walking to class.
William followed me, "So what are you trying to do?"
I raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"
"You've never acted this civil before. You must have an ulterior motive."
I shook my head, "I have none. I've seen the error in my ways and decided to walk a new path. Is that so wrong?"
He looked away uncomfortably, "No... I guess not."
We continued walking in silence and he spoke up again, "Your hair... Looks different."
"Yes, your highness. I did it myself."
His mouth dropped once more, "Are you sure you're really Seri?"
I remained composed refusing to get angry, "I am."
"Oh... Well..." He tried to think of something to say but was having a hard time. He timidly forced out, "I think it looks nice."
I glanced at him and noticed he was blushing severely. I had to hold back my desire to call him a tsundere.
I smiled at him, "Such a compliment from a Prince makes me happy."
His mouth dropped again. I noticed we were at my classroom and I curtsied to him, "Thank you for accompanying me. I will take my leave."
He stood there still surprised, "Huh? Oh... Yeah..."
As I walked into the room, William decided that he didn't like this new version of me and was determined to make it go away.
I sat down next to Millie and sighed. She looked at me surprised, "Seri. You're not late today."
I shook my head, "Nope. I'm turning over a new leaf. From today on, you will be seeing a new Seri."
She smiled, "Well then, I'm proud of you. Just how do you intend to change?"
"Well, I'm going to attempt to stay out of trouble. Then I'm going to respect people more and treat them better. I'm also going to start paying attention in school instead of sleeping."
She looked at me and smiled, however it was very clear that she didn't believe me. "I see. Well good luck."
I frowned at her, "I'm serious."
She had the same smile and nodded, "I'm sure."
I sighed and looked ahead. I felt her grab my wrist and roll up my sleeve. Her voice sounded different than usual, "What's this?!"
I looked down and noticed the bruises on my wrists that I had gotten from the drunk man the night before. I pulled my hand away and rolled my sleeve back down.
"It's nothing."
She looked at me with a serious expression, "Tell me or else I will go ask Dante."
My eyes flew open and I shook my head quickly, "No no! Not Dante. Anything but that!"
"Then tell me."
I sighed, "Alright. But no matter what you can't tell anyone. Especially Dante and William. Got it?"
She nodded, "Alright, alright."
I held out a pinky, "Do you pinky promise?"
She looked at my pinky with an eyebrow raised, "Pinky promise?"
I grabbed her hand and wrapped my pinky around hers. I shook them, "Yes. A pinky promise. If you break it that means I can take your pinky."
"Wow. That's such a serious agreement. Alright, I pinky promise."
I smiled, "Good! Well, I may have snuck out last night..."
She looked surprised, "Seri! That's dangerous!"
I chuckled, "It's not that bad. Usually people will respect me, but I ran into some creep. He smelled like piss and alcohol. He wore this red shirt and hadn't bathed in weeks. He ended up grabbing me to try to kidnap me."
Her eyes widened, "How did you get away?"
"How else? I kicked him where it counts then ran away."
She lowered her gaze, "I see. Did he get caught?"
"I don't think so. He's probably still running around the red light district causing trouble."
I looked over at her and froze. Her expression was... Strange. I had never seen her look like this and it made me feel a bit uncomfortable.
Her face looked abnormally dark and almost evil. It was as if something she had been repressing rose to the surface.
My voice caught in my throat at this sight. Although my body was warning me, I knew that her expression wasn't directed towards me. Rather, it seemed that I was so nervous that it meant something much worse.
She caught me staring at her and quickly smiled. All traces of that dark expression disappeared.
She spoke normally, "I'm glad you're alright."
I chuckled dryly, "Yeah me too." I was too afraid to ask what her expression meant just now. I changed the subject, "That's not even the worse part though. I got caught by General Simon who brought me home."
Her eyes widened, "General Simon? I know him. He doesn't have a good reputation."
I nodded, "Yes and I'm afraid that his bad reputation doesn't even come close. He's a lot more vile and untrustworthy."
She frowned, "Did he do something bad to you?"
I shook my head quickly, "No. On the contrary. He was actually overly nice."
She tilted her head in confusion, "How do you know he's vile then?"
I shrugged, "I'm not sure myself. Just a vibe I got. Either way, it's best if I avoid him from now on."
She nodded, "I see. I will keep that in mind as well. So, you did your parents get angry?"
I chuckled and scratched my arm unconsciously, "Well... They tried... But I may have overreacted a tad."
That's an understatement. I went beserk. I destroyed part of the house and then punched Lona so hard she had a black eye.
Another wave of guilt washed over me and I grimaced.
I realized I grew silent and forced a smile, "Anyway, it's all good now. I'm not grounded. I just have to clean up a mess I made."
She nodded, "I see."
The teacher then walked in and noticed I was already there. He looked surprised and started his lesson.
As promised, I tried to pay attention and sit up straight. The teacher kept glancing at me a bit worried.
I started shaking as I forced myself to stay awake. However, it was difficult. I was bored and extremely tired.
After struggling for so long, my head smacked the table loudly. I was fast asleep.
Millie rubbed my back, "Well, at least you tried your best."