"I wonder why everyone hate me so much, the only person they think as the best is my sister. Everyone says she is better than me, she is more beautiful. She is kind hearted, she is the only loyal princess. She is gorgeous, she is...
"Your highness, my hand." Julia cried out in pain.
"Oh! I'm sorry" Celine apologized and let go of her hand.
Julia looked at her shocked. She never expected her to apologize, this is the first time she heard the princess speaks politely.
"Hope I didn't hurt you? I was so lost in thought and forgot I held someone." Celine complained.
"No, your highness. I'm fine." Julia replied and smiled. If the princess apologized sincerely, she shouldn't do anything to make her feel bad.
"Thank goodness. I'm relieved." Celine beamed.
"Your highness, don't think about it too much. You will only hurt yourself and everyone." Julia assured.
"Tell me the truth Julia, my sister is better than me in everything, right? She is kind, loyal, obedient, calm and lovely. Right?" Celine asked softly.
"But I am wicked, very wicked. I don't deserve to be treated well. Father is right, I should have been a slave and not a princess. So anytime I misbehave, my master will not hesitate to punish me." Celine lamented and started crying.
"His Majesty insults you?" Julia inquired.
"He didn't insult me, he told me the truth" Celine said as more tears trickled down her cheeks.
"And he was right, I'm not a good person. I'm not supposed to be a princess. I'm wicked, selfish, heartless.....
"No, your highness. You are not like that, you are the best princess in this kingdom and everyone can boast of that." Julia interjected and wipe her tears. Celine looked at her puzzled, she wondered why Julia was being nice to her, despite her mistreatment.
"You are saying this to make me feel better, right? Why are you supporting me so suddenly? I have never been nice to you, I treated you like a slave. I.....
"Your highness, you are my best friend. You are like a sister to me. Since childhood, I have been with you. I was never lonely because of you. Even if you treated me wrongly, I will always support you." Julia interjected and smiled. This made Celine more puzzled.
"You are more than a friend. You are more than a family, but I was never nice to you." Celine complained.
"Don't say that, your highness. I never complained about it, you know.....
"You hate it, and you also hid the fact that you hate it. You always try to suppress your emotions. I have seen you cried in secret because of how wicked I am, but you never tell me anything." Celine pointed out. Julia looked at her shocked, she never knew or even imagine the princess saw her crying once.
"Today will be different, you must tell me everything I did wrong. You must punish me for it, you must make me realize that being a princess does not give me the right to hurt you." Celine beseeched and looked at her.
"No, your highness. I can't do that, how can I punish the princess? What will the king do to me? Please your highness, you can keep hurting me as you want. I will endure it but I don't want to die." Julia confessed and bow her head.
"Who will kill you? Are you going to tell people you punished me?" Celine asked and turned to the mirror.
"You have to flog me Julia, flog me mercilessly like I used to do. Flog me till you see blood gushing out from my back. Only then will I change? Only then will I cherish and love you? Only then will I feel the pain you go through everyday? Only then will I know and understand what it means to be heartless? Only then will I feel the pain of mistreating others? And you must do it." Celine explained as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"I can't, your highness. I can't do it, I can't even imagine doing it." Julia replied.
"You must do it. It is an order from the princess and if you failed, you will be killed." Celine blurted out while Julia looked at her shocked.
"Get the stick and start flogging me." Celine ordered. Julia blinked multiple times, trying process the princess message. How can she flog her? Even the goddess will punish her for doing it.
"What are you waiting for? The stick is in the storeroom, go and bring it now." Celine yelled.
"Yes, your highness." Julia said and bow her head, ready to leave.
"Don't waste time there. I will come for you if you don't return and better don't tell anyone about it. I will kill you if you do." Celine threatened. She didn't mean it but she need to instill fear in Julia.
Julia nodded and swim out without a word, she was very scared. She was scared for her life and the punishment she might receive from the goddess. If she refused to obey the princess, she will be killed.
And if she obeyed the princess, she will be punished by the goddess. Who knows if her punishment will not also be death? She swim away slowly, it was as if her heart was in her flukes. Because the flukes suddenly became heavy and she's finding it difficult to flip them freely.
Celine looked at her through the mirror and sigh deeply, she knew Julia was scared. Maybe it's because of her threats. She felt bad about it, she isn't still nice. But after today, she sworn to be nice. Even if she's nice, she won't be weak. She won't show anyone her true self.
Julia returned few minutes later, she was holding a long, slender stick. She never imagined flogging the princess and now she...
"I can't, your highness. Please flog me instead. If you really want to change then you can, while flogging me." Julia said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Do you want to disobey my order?" Celine inquired.
"No, your highness." Julia replied and bow her head, she was very scared.
"Then, flog me like I used to do. Don't hesitate or stop a bit." Celine ordered.
"Yes, your highness." Julia agreed. She was tired of trying to persuade the princess. She knows the princess don't change her mind easily so everything she's saying is just a waste of time.
She closed her eyes and sigh deeply, trying to get hold of every available courage in her. She needs enough courage to flog a princess anyway. She opened her eyes and saw Celine laying flat on the table.
Julia sigh again and started flogging the princess. She used all her strength to flog her, using her magic to inflict more pain. That's what the princess usually do to her. Celine yelled as she tried to endure the pain, she also tried to minimize her voice so no one could heard her. She don't want questions from anybody, especially not from her mother.
Celine wailed in pain as the stick keep touching her back rapidly, she wondered if to be flogged is this painful. Yet she never hesitate to flog others, especially Julia. She flogs her maid almost everyday but today, the reverse is the case. She will receive all the pain she usually inflict on her.
King Olive is in the dinning room with his wife, waiting for his daughters to join them. He had sent a servant to invite them for dinner. It's been a while, he sat down to eat with them. So today, he made sure he was free to join them. Few minutes later, Dior joined them.
"Father, you sent for me." Dior said and bow her head.
"Yes, my dear. I want to have dinner with my family today, I have been too busy lately. I wonder why your sister is not yet here." King Olive said and looked around.
Dior sat down close to her father, she usually sits close to him at every gathering. The creatures even prefer to call her. Her father's daughter. Some believed her husband will be the next king. But no matter what they think, fate destined Celine to rule over.
"She will be here soon, she might still be going through the trauma of your insults." Queen Analse replied.
"Insult? Did I insult her? How can you say that? I tried to correct my daughter and you call it insult" Olive inquired.
"How could you speak to her harshly? You indirectly insulted her. You would have praised her like you did to Dior, she might have listened if you had spoken more nicely." Queen Analse explained.
"Listen to yourself woman, how could you say that? You want me to talk to her nicely when she did something wrong. You are responsible for her bad behaviour, I simply disciplined her orally, I should have flogged her instead." King Olive yelled.
"I'm not responsible for her bad behaviour. I'm just telling you to start pretending you love her. It's better you pretend than she knows you hate her with passion. Stop yelling at her, speak to her with love. It's better that way." Queen Analse pointed out.
"Please mum, dad it's okay. Are we going to argue while eating? It's not good. Let's not ruin the mood with arguments." Dior complained.
"Don't mind your mum? She's ruining your sister's life in ignorance, how can she even say that?" King Olive queried in annoyance.
"You are talking as if I'm wrong, you are being partial in dealing with them. How can you insult one and leave the other, especially when you know how sensitive they are?" Queen Analse questioned.
"I don't want to talk about this, I will leave the table in peace." King Olive said.
"Mum, dad please stop this argument. How can we even eat if there's commotion? After meal, you can discuss." Dior complained.
"Yes dear. I'm sorry, your majesty." Queen Analse apologized. Dior and Olive smiled.
"I know you will come around. It's good. Now I can stay and finish this food on the table." Olive boasted and they laughed.
"Yes, I did. You must apologize to Celine when she comes, that's my only option for you." Queen Analse requested.
"I will, my queen." King Olive replied.
"Can you even finish the food on the table? You are just boasting about it." Dior inquired.
"Of course, I can. I will finish everything in your presence." King Olive boasted.
"Who's talking? Can you even finish the plate of food in front of you?" Queen Analse teased and they laughed.
Suddenly, Julia swim inside the room. She looked at the happy faces and realized Celine was really not treated as part of this family, she was just there maybe to complete the number of four. She bow her head, it is a great sin to look at the king in the eyes especially as a lady.
"Your majesty, the princess won't come. She's in pain." Julia announced. The royal family were surprised, what type of pain is that?
"Is she still thinking about what I said?" King Olive inquired.
"No, your majesty. She's treating her wound." Julia explained.
"Wound? What happened to her?" Queen Analse queried. She was worried.
"Your majesty, she forbids me from telling you what happened." Julia replied.
"She said you shouldn't bother. You should enjoy the meal without her." She added.
"Where is she? I want to see her." Queen Analse requested.
"Sorry, your majesty. You can't see her tonight." Julia replied.
"Why? What happened?" Queen Analse asked.
"She wants to be alone, your majesty. She has a request also, should I say it?" Julia asked in a low voice.
"What is her request?" Dior inquired.
"The royal meal should go on without her and no one should come to her room. She wants to be alone this night." Julia answered.
They exchanged glances and turned to Julia who was still there.
"Is there anything else?" Dior asked.
"No, your highness." Julia replied.
"It's okay, we will do as she said." Queen Analse assured.
"Yes, your majesty." Julia confirmed and swim away.
Olive looked around sad, he wondered the trauma his daughter passed through for his sake. The Queen was right, he shouldn't have been rude to her. Next time, he will speak to her consciously. Dior noticed the bad environment and she smiled, trying to cheer her father up.
"Father don't worry, she will be fine. She is just sad and I know she will come around tomorrow." Dior explained and smiled.
"You are right. Let's eat even if, it's little." Olive agreed.
"Alright." Analse said and they started eating.