Olivia thought she was free from Graciella's clutches. She had had one day of freedom. Just one measly day of freedom. Then the maids marched in and got her bathed and dressed and began to pack her things. Then they took her things and left a very shocked Olivia standing in the middle of her room.
She quickly came to her senses and grabbed the diary from its hiding space.
She was not leaving that anywhere for someone else to find. She still didn't know how it worked. It had changed when she came to the Praxis house and Olivia had written [good luck]. So far its contents hadn't changed with events, but maybe it would soon.
She had just finished hiding her Diary under her dress when Graciella came in crying out " No! Don't go!"
...
...
Graciella didn't like this, she burst into the room begging Olivia to stay. She turned her teary eyes to her father and mother next to the door. They had just been about to enter right before she ran past them. Her big teary eyes were swollen with crying. How could Olivia be leaving today!?
It was too much!
She had been so shocked that Olivia requested an annulment. Then she heard that the Duke Caliban agreed to it. He agreed to break off the engagement between her beloved sister, and her other toy! There had been an Officiator present as well, so everything had been recorded. It was official. Her two toys would not get married.
Like any spoiled child she had wanted to marry her dolls. How could she be satisfied if she didn't see this come to fruition? Damn it!
Oscar ate everything out of the palm of her hand! He was a perfect match for Olivia. He would treat Olivia as she told him to. Olivia's marriage to Oscar could have been planned out by her! But now she lost her firm grip on this situation. He was such a good toy. It was ok to lose him though. As long as she didn't lose her favorite toy.
She had trained that toy for years, there was no way to get a new one who was as obedient so quickly. She had plans for another one, but they couldn't be implemented yet. She had needed everything to go according to her plan. Olivia was not cooperating. Shouldn't she have married Oscar obediently?
...
...
Seeing Graciella's tears, their father almost wanted to relent. He almost said that Olivia could stay. Olivia saw the doting look on the Marquis face and grew desperate for a moment. She could not let him go back on his decision to send her away. She hadn't personally suffered at the hands of Graciella just yet, but from what she read in the diary, she knew it was coming. The long suffering silent torture the original Olivia had gone through was horrendous. She had coping mechanisms she had learned from years of therapy. The original Olivia however, had none of those. She wondered if the original Olivia left because she knew what was coming. If she did, wasn't that completely unfair to herself as Olivia Carter? She was not going to suffer like that. Not in this lifetime!
She opened her mouth before the Marquis could change his mind. "I have to go to the convent Graciella, I don't want to drag down your reputation any further. If I go to the convent, and repent then your reputation will remain unharmed."
"But didn't the King say no one would dare to drag down your reputation? Dear sister please don't say you will leave me," Graciella argued.
"... ", Olivia was stunned. 'When did he say such a thing?'
The Marquis was jolted back to reality. Of course this would ruin Graciella! He had to get this beast away from his daughter. The king wouldn't allow Olivia to stay with them. Besides, it was better for him to send Olivia away from Graciella, so she wouldn't be influenced by her. He should have done this long ago, before Graciella became so attached.
Marquis Praxis pulled Graciella away from Olivia, held her to himself and said to Olivia, "You will leave for the convent. Now."
Their mother comforted Graciella as big tears fell. The Marquis marched Olivia out of the room with Graciella and his wife following. Olivia was rushed out of the house. She could barely see anything as she went by. Not that she was sentimental about any of this. She's not the Olivia who grew up here. The sun was bright and high in the air.
Before her was an unmarked carriage. The windows looked like they were blocked on the outside, so that when they closed she would not be able to open them. She could feel panic welling up inside her. She did not want to enter such a strange looking carriage. If she went into it would she ever be able to get out of it alive? In spite of the foreboding feeling she had, she stepped forward.
As Olivia was about to enter the plain carriage she felt someone pull her away from the carriage. She suddenly felt Graciella throw her arms around her neck in an embrace. She was sobbing. She quieted down, she said to Olivia in a voice no-one else could hear, "Even if you go now, it's not like I can't find you again." Graciella released Olivia slowly.
'WTF!' was her first thought as she stepped back from Graciella. 'I've gotten out of a marriage destined for failure. But now I'm doomed to be stalked by Graciella until I die?'
She had to come up with a plan to run away the moment she arrived at the convent! Or should she fake her own death?
Because of Graciella's actions Olivia no longer hesitated to step into the carriage. "Good bye," she said right before the door closed. Then she heard a clink. The carriage door was locked.
...
...
Marquis Praxis was not willing to allow Olivia to become the queen. He knew he was defying the King by doing this. But he would not allow Olivia to make it to the castle. He had already paid the driver to get rid of Olivia and the evidence of her demise. The carriage would be lost, never to make it to the castle. Then the king would have to marry Graciella.
...
...
Olivia had time to calm down after leaving the Praxis residence. It was about an hour and a half later when the carriage suddenly stopped. She was jostled with it's ceasing of movement. She thought, 'This is it. This is where I'll die now. Any moment now the carriage door will open and I will be killed, never having made it to the convent. Eff my life.'
Instead of the door opening, and her dying, the carriage took off again. This time at full speed. She had to hold on for dear life as the carriage surged forward. She had been in really fast cars before. Heck 80 miles per hour was already considered normal on the highway! Even though the speed was not nearly that fast. This was scarier than all of that.
Had the driver thrown the carriage off a cliff or something?
...
...
Olivia is pissed. She had spent most of her day in a rickety, bouncy carriage. The carriage ride had not killed her, but the drivers were switched halfway for some reason. She had been expecting to arrive at the convent to "repent" for her sins, but was taken to the castle instead.
And why was she at the castle? No one would tell her. 'What the heck happened to my escape plan!?'
She sat in the king's quarters and waited for him like she was instructed. She recognized the room from the last time she was there. She didn't have a choice. She was sure there were guards outside the room, and for some odd reason the carriage driver that had driven her to the castle had not left her sight once. He remained in the room, still as a statue, and awkwardly not answering Olivia at all.
The conversation went like this. With Olivia doing all the speaking.
"Hi, what's your name?"
"..."
I'm Olivia. Nice to meet you."
"..."
"You're the one who drove the carriage right?"
"..."
"Are you also waiting for the king?"
"..."
"Do you not know how to speak? ... I'm not trying to be rude. There's nothing wrong if you can't speak. I can learn some sort of sign language ...if you like. Do you use sign language?"
"..."
"Okay," Poor Olivia was getting nothing from this man. "Do you know how long we will have to wait?"
"..."
Finally she decided to simmer her anger at this ridiculous situation in silence.
She sat for what felt like eternity. She still didn't even know why she had been brought here. She was getting antsy. She got up to start pacing, but then the carriage driver looked at her with his silent stare.
"Uh- I'm just getting some water," she was supposed to be a noble right? Why was she explaining her actions to this man? She walked over to the table where the water pitcher was.