Her ears rung from the impact of Viola's palm on her cheek. The left side of her face was as red as a cherry, the pattern of her sister's fingers neatly outlined on it. Her eyes burned from the tears that involuntarily blurred her vision. Rage clogged her throat, trying to push a scream out of her throat. But Eve clenched her teeth, trying to control herself from acting out.
'There will come a day,' she reminded herself, 'But not today.'
As her vision slowly cleared, a peal of high-pitched laughter filled the room. Eve shifted her eyes from the fuming blonde in front of her, to the younger of the two sisters. Pavia leaned back on her sister's bed with her long curly blonde hair undone, wiping the tears that slipped out the corners of her eyes as she bent over, laughing.
"The look suits you," Pavia said, pointing towards the fingerprint on her face as she struggled to keep a straight face.
Eve looked away. She knew that the statement was only to try and instigate a fight. Such things never turned out in her favor. She had learned at a very young age to let the young age that it was best to let it go. But she also knew that Pavia was not going to let it go. Out of the two sisters, she was the smartest. The little devil would turn to her own sister if she didn't manage to get to her.
Just like she predicted, the younger sister turned to the fuming older one. "You have a huge hand, sister." She said, laughing as she kept her finger pointed at Eve's face. "Look at the imprint."
"Shut up Pavia!" Viola shouted, annoyed at her sister's effort at getting the most entertainment out of the situation.
Pavia put a hand to her mouth, giggling as she lay back against the piled-up pillows to watch the drama. Viola ignored the devilish teen and turned back to her, her eyes wide with anger. Picking up an off-white piece of cloth from the chair beside her, she threw it at Eve's feet.
"What is this?" She asked, pointing to the crumpled cloth with a shaky finger.
Eve sighed, bending down to pick up the silken cloth. "It is your petticoat, ma'am." She replied, keeping her eyes low as she straightened from the position.
She knew that it was one of Viola's most favorite petticoats. The soft silken material was something that the likes of them hardly could afford to stitch their dresses, let alone petticoats. Viola had two of them and she cherished them like they were her own children. She wouldn't allow anyone but Eve to handle the material out of fear that something would happen to it otherwise.
Eve unfurled the crumpled cloth, carefully folding the petticoat that she had ironed it with much care only yesterday. A faint brown stain marred its surface. It was then that she knew what the entire episode was about.
"What is that on it?" Viola's asked, pointing at the stain in irritation.
Eve shuffled uncomfortably in front of the girl. She had half a mind to throw it at Viola's face and fume out the room. But she held herself back, keeping her mouth sealed and her head low.
"That is your period stain, sister." Pavia offered, happy to fuel the fight.
Viola clenched her teeth, ignoring her sister's comment as she took a step towards Eve. "Why is it still there?!" She asked, her eyes spitting fire.
Eve took a step back. "Sister I-"
"What did you call me?!" Viola's voice rose, cutting her off in an instant.
"Oooh!" Pavia cooed excitedly. "Now you're in trouble!"
"I-I mean ma'am." Eve stuttered, her hands clenching into fists, inside the crumpled mess of a petticoat. Her heart was beating hard against her chest, pumping adrenaline into her system, pushing her to resist. She was being shouted at for something that was completely out of her hands. Raising her eyes towards the blonde, she said, "I tried my best to rub it off. If you would have given it to me sooner, it would have been completely-"
*PLACK!*
The second slap stung more. The petticoat fell to the floor as Eve's hands instinctively reached up to press against her right cheek in pain. It felt like the skin on her cheek was completely ripped off. She bit into her tongue, trying to hold back a whimper. Pavia's laughter echoed the room once again.
"How dare a mere servant like you talk back to me?!" Viola shrieked, dragging her hand away from her face.
Eve was at the peak of her patience. She was about to raise her hand when Dodie rushed into the room, pushing her to the floor in a quick move.
"Agh!" Eve cried out as her back hit the corner of the door.
But no one paid attention to her. Pavia's laughter died down to suppressed giggles. As she watched, Dodie turned to her daughters with a stern look.
"What is going on here?!" She asked authoritatively.
"Mother!" Viola exclaimed, running towards the woman with tears streaming down her face.
Eve shook with rage, seeing Dodie embrace her daughter softly, cooing to her gently as if she was talking to a child instead of a thirteen-year-old. If it were not for Dodie's insistence, Viola would have been married off to someone already, unlike her, who wasn't even considered for such things, much to her luck, Eve thought to herself as she watched the act in disgust.
"It's okay darling." Dodie cooed, stroking her daughter's hair gently. "You can tell me what happened."
"She ruined my new underskirt!" Viola replied, sobbing into her mother's chest.
Dodie looked at the crumpled cloth on the floor and back towards a glaring Eve. The woman narrowed her eyes at her in irritation. But before she could say something, her younger daughter cut in.
"It's okay," Pavia said, waving at the mother-daughter duo dismissively. A mischievous smile spread on her lips as she continued, "I'm sure mother would be able to find another skirt that Grace Tarleton discarded in her box for the poor."
"Pavy!" Dodie warned, turning towards the twelve-year-old.
"What?" Pavia asked, shrugging off her mother's warning nonchalantly as she slid out of the room. "It's not like I said anything wrong."
Dodie's mouth fell open at her daughter's snarky remark. Viola's sobs grew louder as the younger one's laughter filled the corridor.
Dodie sighed in irritation, patting the girl on her back as she turned back to Eve grudgingly. "What are you still doing here?! Go get it cleaned!" She shouted, pointing towards the crumpled silk. "I don't care how you do it, but I want to see the silk as pure as I got it!"
"Yes, ma'am," Eve replied, reaching out to grab the cloth before slipping out of the room hurriedly.
As she ran down the stairs, her vision blurred with tears once again. She hated the house. She hated all the people who lived there. The only reason she hadn't left till now was because of the memories that she had of her mother in the shoddy place, she thought as her heart clenched and unclenched, the wound in her heart overshadowing the pain from the pulsing area on her back.
Before she knew it, she had hit something really hard and was falling down. But something had cushioned her fall. Eve blinked, trying to clear her vision. Her eyes widened in shock as she met a familiar pair of gray-rimmed brown eyes.
"Father!" She exclaimed, hurrying off of the old man. Reaching out to pick the man up, she asked, "Are you-"
The man slapped her hand away irritatedly, cutting her off mid-way. "Get your filthy hands away from me you- you!" He exclaimed. Eustace's face was red with anger as he pointed a calloused finger at his daughter.
The reaction felt like a punch to her guts. Though it was of no surprise after years of getting beaten up by her own father, it still hurt when he did things like that, glaring at her with such an expression of utter disgust. Eve's body shook with the sobs that she could barely control anymore.
"Are you still here?!" Dodie's high-pitched voice rang from up the stairs.
Eve quickly got up from the floor, letting the hungover man stay on the ground as he wished. "Sorry, sir." She murmured as she rushed out the house with a heavy heart, banging the kitchen-door shut behind her.