"ah!"
A sharp gasp escaped her mouth. Medea didn't know if it made sense at all.
After all, she died after being hanged outside the plaza. Touching her neck, Medea felt the sweat that soaked her whole body. Was it a dream? She asked herself before her body began to shake tremendously.
No… it couldn't be a dream.
But then, what exactly was that?
Just thinking about it gave her chills, and Medea started to hug her body with her arms, feeling that it would give her some bit of comfort that she never got when she was thrown to the dungeons.
Slowly, her tears gathered in her eyes, blurring her sight, and slowly fell from her eyes to her chin.
'Knock, knock'
"Your highness, is something wrong?" Medea heard her maid asking from behind the door.
Hearing Julie's voice, Medea couldn't help but look up and turn to the door. Julie… That was her maid who was there for her before dying in the hands of her brothers, who played with her like a toy.
Remembering her dream, Medea found it hard to believe that her maid died in it.
Jumping out of her bed, Medea approached the door and pulled it open.
"Your highne—"
The maid didn't even get to finish calling out when the door was pulled open and revealed a beautiful young lady In her nightgown.
"Julie…" Medea whispered.
"Yes?"
Medea didn't speak and pulled the maid to her arms. The maid was extremely shocked by the display of affection that the princess showed and wondered if she experienced a night.
Considering that the princess was still at the age of sixteen, the maid patted her back while reassuring the princess that she was safe and it was just a dream.
"Your highness, should I get a cup of chocolate for you to drink? It will help you calm your nerves and make you sleep." Elara said softly.
Medea nodded her head, seemingly lost in her thoughts. After the maid left, Medea finally returned to her room and went to the tall mirror in her room.
As expected, the tall mirror showed her what she needed to see.
The young woman in the mirror had pale blonde hair and an exquisitely beautiful face. But that wasn't important. Reaching out to press on her neck, she flinched at it. Looking at it closely, a bruise started to form around her neck, which didn't appear when she first woke up.
What is this?
'Did I die and returned to when I was sixteen years old?'
That thought seemed to make her laugh. But after seeing the bruise that perfectly matched from the ropes that strangled her life.
Medea drew back from the mirror and started to pace around the room.
If she was right with her suspicion, she was now sixteen years old. The scar that should be on her left wrist, which her brother gave her on her coming of age, was still not there. Hence, her coming of age didn't happen yet.
At this time, her father was highly dissatisfied with her for being weak and untalented among her other siblings. He would also single her out in public and humiliate her in front of everyone else.
Her other siblings weren't any different. They all banded together despite being irritated at each other to pull a prank and make fun of her.
Suddenly, her baby-blue eyes that everyone would usually describe as gentle cast a dangerous glint as she glared at the mirror. On impulse, seeing her face in the mirror upset her so much that she threw the comb that was on the table towards the mirror.
'Craaash!'
The sharp sound of glass breaking and falling to the ground soon filled the room.
Medea gasped loudly as she forced down the scream that wanted to escape from her mouth. She wanted to scream. She wanted to kill everyone who hurt her, make them pay for what they did to her.
The pain of being strangled didn't even amount to the pain that she felt after the betrayal she felt when her siblings and father did when they stabbed her in her back and dragged her to the dungeons to torture her.
Why?
Why me?
She wanted to scream and hurl that question at them.
All she did the rest of her life was to please them, to get their love and affection that she never felt all her life. And when she did get it from them, how ironic it would be for her to know that all of it was just an illusion when they found out her true form.
"Princess!"
Julie hurried inside the room as soon as she saw the shattered mirror on the ground. She put the cup she had brought for the princess and went to check Medea for any injuries caused by the flying pieces of glass.
Seeing that the princess didn't receive any wound, Julie finally released a relieved sigh.
"Princess, what happened? Are you alright?" Her eyes that were filled with worry, looked at Medea. Medea couldn't stop herself from tearing up once again as she realized that no one in this world could make her feel right like Julie does.
"I was combing my hair when the comb slipped from my hand and flew to the mirror." A lame excuse, but Julie quickly accepted it since she knew that the young princess was not someone who would cause a lot of mess for the servants.
Among the princes and princesses from the Kingdom of Ellesmere, only Medea treated the servant who was serving her accordingly and not like a tyrant or a bossy owner. She never even raised any complaints when most of the servants in her palace shirked their responsibilities and joined the princes and princesses group of servants to make trouble.
Medea glanced at the maid and said, "I'm feeling tired. If you please, can you let Annalyn clean this mess now?"
"Annalyn? Why, your highness?"
"I just felt like she'd be the best to clean it up."
Not thinking too much into it, Julie finally nodded and left the room. While she was closing the door, she wondered why Medea chose the maid who was too lazy and acted like a master on certain days inside the princess' palace.
Back inside the room, Medea slowly revealed a sardonic smile as she took the cup of chocolate on the table before pouring the contents of it on the shattered mirror and clean carpet.
"That's right, Annalyn. You'd be the best prey to eat tonight."