Today the weather was ironically gloomy. The grey clouds stuffed with water had finally burst, drenching the lands that lay beneath them. Instead of making the most of the wet evening outside, unlike my sister, I was bound to my room, only allowed to watch her from the comfort of my own window seat. People may suspect as to why a girl, an innocent youngling such as me, has been restricted to her room? Unfortunately, that is beyond my comprehension, for I have not the simplest clue as to why I have been caged like a circus animal waiting for showtime.
Placing a hand on the cold glass, I gaze outside into the unknown, imagining all sorts of things that a child would imagine, sun-filled days where I would graze an open field of colourful flowers, or a life lived in a deserted cottage, spending the years with the one I truly loved. Staring out into the nature that rests outside my home, I saw ducks fly by in a triangular formation, on their way to find a home; I spotted a mother robin, feeding her young in their makeshift nest of twigs and leaves; I can seeâ
"Elaine!" A deep and hoarse voice bellowed throughout my room, successfully frightening me. "Where is my chess piece!?" My 'beloved' elder brother, Norton, demanded an answer, clutching onto my frail wrists. "Answer me, now!"
"I do not recollect any moments where I have held your chess piece, brother." Answered I, quivering under his strenuous hold. With all my might, I tried to break free from his grasp as I wished no longer to be held by his rough hands that held no mercy. He looked at me as if a child would when their mother would not give them what they wanted; spoilt, unkind, and immature was all I could think of him at this very moment. "Unhand me, brat!" I exclaimed. Norton's face soon twisted into an expression of shock and anger as soon as I uttered those words.
"My dickens, how dare you speak of me in such a way!"
"I have spoken of nothing but the truth."
"You shall be punished by our father for your perfidious behaviour, sister."
Taking his rough hands off my dainty wrists, Norton stepped back to observe me in disgust, wishing that I were just a fragment of his imagination. As he turned around and left me to rot in my abode, my knees buckled as I felt that the blood running through them had stagnated. Another flaw that was of mine, was that I was built like a stalwart old lady who is crippled and cannot do anything by herself.
As I lay on the cold wooden floor of my bedroom, every minute that passed me was spent scorning my supposed brother. From all the novels that I had read, the typical brotherly figure was kind, caring, and most importantly, loving. Albeit these books were far from reality as my experience of an elder brother was warped and disfigured. Norton had not cared for not even a moment, for his ways of hatred clouded his ability to care. Every chance he saw, he grabbed it with a grasp as strong as iron; his clandestine attempts to harass, to assert dominance over me had engraved themselves amongst my very routine. Yet, I did no such thing to reach out, as I believe I would be chastised further. Norton never let a moiety of his abhorrent ways be shown to mother or father or my other brother, Mattia; the exception was I, or my older sister, Melinda. He was quite a tall fellow, with a well-structured face and broad lineaments decorating his permanent scowl. At only fourteen years of age, father was already training him to take on the family business.
Mattia was one year younger than Norton, and must I fret this point, not nearly as impudent as Nortonâto which I am very thankful forâ, albeit very reserved; the only people he would converse with would only be my mother or one of the nurses.
"Young miss! Please give the young lord his chess piece back this instant!" The young maid, Millie, tempestuously stomped into my room, severing my chain of thought. "I have no such thing, Millie," I replied, making the maid sigh in frustration as she seemed to be quite fed-up with searching for the missing chess piece. Sitting down on a lone chair that was conveniently placed near the door, she ran her hand over her chocolate-brown updo. "My, oh my, what shall I do? The young lord demanded that his rook was to be found immediately; If I do come back without it, I shall for sure be placed into another predicament!" Millie exclaimed as if returning to Norton would be detrimental; I still could not fathom as to why my brother placed so much pressure on the maids and servants to resolve his pathetic problems. I too let out a sigh of ineffable annoyance.
"Look at yourself, miss Andrade, you haven't even gotten ready!" Scampering over, Millie yanked my frock over my head. "There is no need, for I am not allowed to show even my face outside!"
I reminded her, yet she was not taking any excuses. As much as informed her how worthless it was, she continued to remove the clothes from my body.
"Hush, you are a lady, and ladies must always be presentable even if they may not be seen by the eyes of others." She proclaimed. Every new day seemed to be filled with the lectures of our dear maid Millie, it was best to agree with her as the small lectures would be full of more than just words.
As she finished with the final layers of my dress and tied a glistening blue ribbon around my waist, Millie left me to ponder on my thoughts as she gave me a request: that I was to attend to my father's study immediately. How unusual, how peculiar; it was quite the rarity that father âout of most people living in this manorâ would want to meet with me or have anything to do with me at the very least. It was a very wonton request, even Millie was unable to tell me the reason. Walking through the dimly lit halls of the infamous Greyfield manor, the bare thought of my father left me with an acrid expression upon my face: who could blame me? He was not the most genial father a young lady could have. As always, I must palliate these emotions and straighten my features to lessen the chance of awakening the monstrous dragon within him. After what seemed like a complete stroll of a maze, I had finally arrived, standing before the dark, mahogany doors of my father's study. Oh, how I was shivering in my very shoes! And with a shaky hand, I knocked on those doors that vexed my mind. After the sound of bone hitting wood rang through my ears, a lugubrious voice bellowed throughout the room and outside the doors. "Who is it!?" Taking a breath in, I prepared for the fate that awaited me. "It is I, father, your daughter."
"You may enter." He replied with his raspy voice.
Opening the doors, I was met with the unhandsome features of my father. His nose was quite irregular and his eyebrows too thick, so thick that they could hold his supercilious personality; it was also quite clear that he was balding due to age, is the reason why you will always catch him with a hat upon his noggin. "Greetings, Elaine. How are you, my dear?" He asked, trying to start a confabulation, yet, I had no desire to converse with him. "I am well, thank you, father. Although, I would be most pleased if you made this quick, as I have other duties to attend to." I replied, wanting to make this visit the shortest possible.
"What such duties must you respond to?"
"Studying."
"Aren't you currently resting?"
"It was my decision to study."
Father looked me dead in the irises surrounding my non-existent pupils, sick of the back-and-forwards dialogue. "I see; cutting to the chase, I have a request for you," Picking up the miniature globe that sat next to him, he flicked the sphere with his finger and watched the continents and countries pass by in a flash. "Mr and Mrs Holland have been invited here for tea, as you may have heard, they are very important individuals that are to be treated with the utmost respect, they also know that you are currently bedridden due to an illness. I demand that you act accordingly, they must not know the truth." Father demanded. Exactly what I had expected; another rule to mindlessly follow like a braindead servant. "My apologies, but we mustn't let them catch wind of your⊠condition." Ah, there it is, Lord Andrade's excuse that would make any noble sink into a bathos of sentiment before the first sentence had even concluded. "I have not any valid reason to hide, father, for I am perfectly fine!" I stipulated with asperity, denying all claims against me.
"You may seem fine, but the devil within you is not."
"I can inform you; this is far from the truth! I beg you to listen, fatherâ"
"I shall not listen to your nonsensical proclamations!" Father averred, his tone breaking at the seams with asperity. "I am ashamed that I must lock you away! The burden you place upon my shoulders is phenomenal; your eyes are far from normal, no soul would aspire to have you as their daughter!"
It seemed as if my body had ceased to function, the sheer tone of his voice made my insides turn the other way around. "Now leave, if I find you out of your room, there will be grave consequences." Leaping off the armchair in an instant, I pathetically uttered a 'yes father' and left the room hastily to avoid another situation.
With every step I took, the water that rested in the cervices of my eyes slowly began to trail down my lightly blushed cheeks: even after I wiped them away, they would continuously flow down, one after the other. Making my legs move faster and my steps more rushed, I wished to avoid anyone catching sight of my agitated and weak state, alas, nothing may always go right for me. Carelessly running ahead and not looking, I ran into the soft but silky fabric of a dress and the outstretched crinoline skirt. "Oh my, Elaine, are you all right?" The heavenly voice of my mother rang throughout my ears as her delicate, yet soft hands pet the brown locks resting on my head; looking up, I saw her untainted face and glimmering eyes. Finding the corseted waist of my mother, I hugged her tightly with my twig-like arms.
"Am I normal, mother?" I cried into her body. "It's my eyes, isn't it?"
"Dear, your eyes remind me of the purest diamond that cannot be found by others, as you are the rarest and most beautiful!"
"Why must I be hated and despised than!?"
Leaning down, mother cupped my drenched cheeks and kissed my forehead; the simplest touch from her seemed to calm the raging storm within me, making room for a rainbow to radiate happiness and joy. "Don't let anyone think otherwise, because Elaine, you have a unique gift that many have not received." She evinced. I could not fight against her any longer, for she had washed away all sadness that lay deep within me. Hoisting me by the legs, she carried me to my room; and with the movement of lulling me to sleep, I eventually gave in and closed my eyes as I was indisposed to keep them open
The blinding light of the morning sun forcefully pierced through my eyes, making them open slowly and adjust to the sudden and rude awakening. "Good morning, young miss!" The familiar voice of Millie greeted me cheerfully. "Good morning to you too, Millie." I bid her a good morning as well but took it back the moment she ripped the covers off me and left me to freeze. "Time to get dressed! The Hollands shall be arriving today." Millie announced, reminding me of the squabble I had with my father the day before. "I am supposed to act sick by the wishes of my father so there is no reason for me to get dressed," I stated, flipping over to the other side of my bed.
"Well, your father also wishes you to be dressed and prepared like everyone else."
"Father doesn't believe I am a part of this family."
"I for one, do believe that you are an important addition to this family. Now, come here." Eventually, I made my way towards the maid who held my clothes, and with the gesture of putting my hands above my head, I had given in and was ready to be dressed.