Sarah Anderson and Matthew, Kitchen.
My mouth watered the moment I'm served an enormous platter of food; eggs, bacon, piles of fried potatoes... oh, and grain bread as well.
"Wow..." Matthew gasped surprised, widening his eyes a bit as he pulled a chair and sat down almost robotically. "I just... can't believe my ears!" He cried out, still processing.
"You can trust my words, Matthew." I said, munching a large piece of bread moisturized with the yolk from the eggs and bacon."Hm~ so good~!" I praised the cooking before sticking my fork onto several fries and stuffing them inside my mouth.
Matthew leaned back in his chair, rocking back and forward as if it were nothing more than a swing for children, still astonished with the girl's slickness. "How could she have fooled us for so long?"
I shrugged, not having an answer to give him. What could I say? She had some tricks upon her sleeves.
"U-uh, Erik must be SO pissed! Of course, I am as well 'cause he made herself pretend to be you and ended up being successful to do so but, Erik was the one who was sleeping with her after all and--" Matthew immediately fell silent when realizing what he had just said; such bitter words could stop my heart. He quickly averted his clean, blue-sky eyes to the floor and scratched the back of his neck out of embarrassment. "S-Sorry..."
I shook my head. "You don't have to apologize. I just have to face it... I've lost him." Biting my lower lip, I set down the fork at the side of the plate and, inadvertently, on top of the cream-colored folded napkin, touching its surface lightly; its plain texture felt like velvet-smooth against the skin of my fingertips. Just like his lips... A feeling of melancholy hitting hard on a sensitive spot. I wanted to feel his rough, thin lips against mine once again. They were softness, passion, and the promise of the sweetness to come. A heavy, unnoticed sigh escaped my lips. Lately, my mood ricocheted between low and even lower. I had no energy nor did I had the motivation whatsoever to fight back and turn the situation around.
"-- Don't say that... Show him! Make him see you're telling the truth, that she's a copycat! He can't be that blind--" Matthew's speech was interrupted by the dragging of a chair. He straightened himself up, allowing his chair's legs to resume their place on the floor. "S-Sarah..." Matthew murmured, guilt rising up in his throat to his dismay.
"You know what? You're totally right, Matthew." I whispered, feeling a wave of refreshing determination coming over to me. What was I doing?! Pitting myself? No. I couldn't be like that. I wasn't like that. I had to woman-up! I may have lost the fight, but I certainly have not lost the war yet. I got up, resolution fired up in my core, moving me. Tantivy, I bypassed the table and ran towards the door.
"Wait--!" Matthew jolted up from his chair, stepping forward.
I slowed down my steps, resuming a walking stance as I got closer to the door, but didn't stop nevertheless.
"Sarah!" He yelled in hopes to stop me.
Finally, I stopped my tracks; tilting my head to the side, I look at him from the corner of my eye. I broke into a smile and replied. "We are only blind as we want to be." And, with that said, I exited the room, with well-defined thoughts set in my mind.
(...)
Irene and Cinn, Royal Chambers.
Rage built in her core like deep, strong steel currents clutching at her limbs. She did everything right. EVERYTHING! And still, the control of the situation was slipping between her fingers. Everything she had to conquer until that very moment was being ruined by a spoiled human brat. That's when her anger came, unleashed without thought of consequence.
Her rage held all the power of hellfire, you could practically see the flames roaring in her eyes. Even those that didn't earn her wrath today would earn it at some point.
A flower's jar with the most beautiful Chinese design imprinted which sat on the surface of a jewelry wood desk went flying; Cinn was able to dodge it right on time. It shattered into millions of pieces as it clashed on the wall behind her. Her lady's tantrums were immediate and violent. There was no winding-up period, no warning. She was THAT unstable. "M-M' lady please c-calm down--! I'm sure there is a solution to this! We just have to think this through-- It's not the end of the world!" The fragile bunny girl tried to reassure her that everything would go as plan, that they would find some type of way to turn the situation around.
Irene remained still, glaring at Cinn, eyes locked right on her, through the mirror. There was a wrinkle in her nose, muscles tight and jaw clenched.
Immediately, Cinn gulped down, bowing her head. "M-M' lady..." She babbled not taking her eyes from her bare, sore feet, afraid that her anger and rage would turn to her.
"Ugh-- Who does she think she is?!" Irene yelled, smashing every object on the table onto the ground.
Cinn shrugged, stuffing her head in between like a sissy turtle upon listening to the objects smashing on the floor and become no more.
The intense silence that suddenly followed was like a silent scream coming from her. The eyes squinting with madness, the mouth closed and rigid, her way-to-much-embellished-up face quiet and static, the fists clenched with blanched knuckles and the nails digging deeply into the palms of her hand. "That little brat--" She cursed. "She'll pay. She won't take him away from me. She won't ruin this for me!"
"Does it must be that way?--" Cinn suddenly asked.
"What?" Irene's eyes widened in surprise.
"Must we hurt people to achieve our goal?" Cinn continued. "Must we crush other's happiness in the advantage of our own?"
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Irene pushed herself away from the jewelry wood desk and walked in Cinn's direction; she paced back a few steps, a sense of apprehensiveness and uneasiness. "My sweet, innocent Cinnamon~" Irene brushed softly one of Cinn's hair strands, making her flinch and close her eyes out of pure embarrassment. "You don't really understand how the world works, do you? Rule of the Jungle: Only the strong survive. Life is a bitch. There's no place for the weak."
A chill ran down Cinn's spine realizing, she was the weak one as Irene was the stronger one. If she kept trampling the line like that, it would definitively be the end of her, and by her beloved lady's hands. Suddenly, her rabbit ear twitched slightly to the side, unwittingly catching a sound from afar. 'Danger', was the vibe that signal gave to her. Was it alerting her because danger had them as a target or was it because danger would rise with the follow-up of that sound? Unconsciously, she looked at the door through the corner of her eye wondering what might be coming their way.
Irene frowned intrigued by her servant's sudden absence. "What's wrong?"
Cinn turned her head to Irene. "Er-r... n-nothing!" She babbled, crossing her fingers behind her back in hopes she would not pry the issue further.
Irene brushed Cinn's cheek gently with her thumb while grinning mischievously. Cinn remained there, frozen, both in fear and excitement from the butterflies in her stomach. Irene moved her head closer to Cinn; she leaned in, so her forehead would rest against hers. "Don't you ever think in betray me..." She said in barely more than a whisper. "I have eyes everywhere." Then, fiercely grabbed her chin, earning a squeal from the poor girl; her eyes were narrowed, rigid, cold, and hard. "So, please enlighten me about your recently acquired knowledge."