I had to be careful.
I used the two hours I had been given before freedom to dig around for as much information as I could find before they would lock me up in my room. I had a lot of questions that needed answers and very little time to find them. I had made a little progress from eavesdropping on a couple of conversations.
Aimee was temporarily in charge of managing the household. It was some form of training Mother was making her do to get ready for her potential marriage with Midas.
Someone had found out about Lin and informed Aimee about it. Aimee was the one who found Lin leaving Lucas's room and asked Mother to help her with the issue. Lin was currently locked up in her room with no food or water and also heavily wounded. When Aimee had left with me that morning, she made sure that Lin was left tied up out the back in the sun without any food. When she had arrived with the rest of us, she set the whipping into motion. No one was sure whether it was Mother's idea, or Aimee's. I couldn't guess either, which made me a little bit frightened. I hated not knowing.
Lin was being deported to one of the farms out of town. We would probably never see her again. Knowing my mother, she would set Lin up to be married to someone, just to make her life that much more miserable.
"Madeline!" I called out to the girl who stood talking to a tree in the garden.
Despite her being potentially crazy, she was the only one who still liked me enough to listen. And Aimee wouldn't be happy to hear that I was begging Lucas to talk to me so Madeline was the best choice.
"I need your help," I told her after looking around to make sure that no one saw us.
"What can I do, Moonflower?" she said, beaming brightly.
"I didn't do that to Lin. I could never do anything to hurt anyone!" I first said to defend myself.
"Of course, I know that. Silly," Madeline chuckled.
I felt a small smile growing on my face. At least a crazy person believes I'm innocent. That should mean something, right?
"Thanks so much, Madeline! But I still need to help Lin. They're going to send her away!" I told her. "I don't know if this will do anything, but you need to tell Lucas. Maybe he can do something to help her."
"What about you?" Madeline asked, tilting her head to the side.
"What?"
"Can't you help her?" she reiterated.
"This is the only way I can think of. I'll try to come up with something. Will you talk to him? He doesn't want to see me," I said sullenly.
"I'll do my best, Moonflower," she cheerfully assured me as she beamed.
I smiled back but sighed, my smile slipping off my face. "I probably won't see you in a while. I just hope you can save Lin."
Madeline looked confused as I turned and walked away. She will find out what I meant soon enough. In the meantime, I needed to find a backup plan for Lin. I gathered some supplies before I returned to my room. Aimee arrived a minute later with Ms Angel.
"Angel will be watching over you," Aimee told me. "You should tell her if you need anything."
I nodded silently as I got comfortable on my bed with a notebook in hand, doodling away. I wasn't happy with being in this golden cage. They all knew how much I loved my freedom so I would not pretend to be happy. I was going to ignore everyone. And anyway, that was the only way they wouldn't get suspicious.
I went to bed early, before they could bring my food. Unbeknownst to my matron, I had stored enough food around my room to last me a year, most of it being junk food but it was still food. Ms Angel tried to wake me up until she gave up. I wasn't going to relent. As soon as she left, probably to report to my mother, I slid the backpack I had hidden under the bed onto my bed and sneaked into my balcony. Over the years, I had expertly left a path on the wall to climb down. I got help from a couple of vines and the cover of the darkness.
The major difference between Aimee and me, after the obvious acting-like-a-princess one, was our dressing. Aimee preferred the floor-length dresses, which were borderline a gown, just as my mother did whilst I liked to be spontaneous. My dresses and skirts were usually short, that is, just below the knees and at half the calves. It's not as short as I would like to explore but that's the length my mother could tolerate. It helped me move easier, especially when climbing down walls and running across the garden to get to the servants' homes. I had to duck into the shadows so that I wouldn't get caught.
I cursed when I found the door locked so I worked on picking the lock. This was a trick I had learnt from one of my books and it proved to be quite handy. My heart dropped to my stomach when I saw Lin lying across her bedding on the floor. I slapped a palm over my mouth when I looked at the form she was in. She was whimpering every time she breathed. Crimson blood was crusted over her wounds.
"Lin," I called out to her as I knelt beside her. "Oh, Lin. Let me help you. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."
I swiped at my cheeks with the back of my hands, afraid the salty tears would hurt her. Lin was being kept here without any medical help or a drop in its water. Whatever fool it wasn't smart enough or was trying to kill her. I brought a bottle of water to her parched lips and made her drink some of it. I wanted to feed her as well but with how she was lying, that did not seem like a good idea.
Lin and a small stove in her home along with a small cupboard, table and chair. I found some pots and luckily, there was some water. I heated it until it was warm. Next, I took out a cotton cloth from my bag and dipped it into the warm water after applying some salve I kept in my medicine cabinet. I was careful with her wounds, afraid to inflict any more pain. However, as I slowly cleaned her up, I could feel her muscles relaxing and her breathing evening out.
"Do you feel any better?" I asked her, remembering to keep my voice down in case anyone passed by.
"Yes," she replied with a soft voice. "Much. Can you help me sit up?"
I did as she asked. She couldn't lie on her back until she healed so this was the only way of feeding her without her choking or throwing up. I brought out the tins of food I kept in my room. She seemed to appreciate it as she ate everything I gave her, and drank more water. My hands were trembling and my cheeks were moist with tears as I felt guilt at every purple, blue and red wound on her pale skin.
"It, 's not your fault," she tried to reassure me, her voice hoarse.
I shook my head. "We both know it is."
"I know who did this. I can't tell you but I know who did this to me and it's not you," she whispered.
I clenched my hands around the peach in my hand. "Who was it?"
"Someone saw me when I was leaving Luc's room. They're the ones who went to your sister's. I thought they were just going to tell Cook," she said. "I never thought that they'd..."
"Just tell me who it was," I begged her.
"It doesn't matter anymore," she dismissed my plea. "I don't regret it, Amaya. If anything, I'm grateful to have gotten a chance to be with Lucas. A girl like me just dreams about that. That one night is enough for me."
"What about Lucas? He could kill for you right now," I told her.
Tears glistened in her eyes as she pulled out the ribbon tying her hair into a ponytail, even though it was all messy now. "Give this to him. It's something to hold on to, to remember me by."
A sob broke free from my chest. "I'm so sorry, Lin. I'm s sorry!"
She watched me cry, letting go of a few tears herself. She probably missed Lucas and regretted never getting to see him again. I hated that I was the reason her life was failing. I'm the one who threw her into this, sweet, innocent Lin. To top it off, everyone thinks I'm cruel enough to stab her in the back. Do they think that of me?
"I'm still hungry," she said after we had both calmed down some.
I chuckled as I opened another tin, which cakes this time. The poor girl would have to fill her stomach up with sweets because of my sweet tooth. Maybe I should try to find a way to get her real food. Afterwards, I gave her some painkillers and offered to wrap up her wounds.
"No," she declined. "They'll know someone been in here. You can't get into any more trouble."
"But you won't heal fast enough and you might get an infection!" I argued.
"Let's hope I don't," she simply states. "You've been there long enough. I'm going to be fine, Amaya."
I sigh. "I'm going to leave some more food here. I'm hiding it in your cupboard. You have water but I also brought cleaner water. Drink that. There's plenty of pain medicine in the bag and some other things too. I'll do anything I can to get you out of this, I promise."
She squeezed my hand weakly. "However it turns out, know that I'm happy to have you by my side."
I left after she had fallen asleep. I had probably been gone for a little over an hour. I snuck back into my room, only to hear my matron talking to Mother. I tried not to panic and crouched by the balcony, pretending to be asleep whilst I kept my ears peeled. They were looking for me. I couldn't come out on my own, they had to be the ones to find me. It didn't seem like a good idea with the cold wind nipping my skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps. Eventually, I had fallen asleep. I was shaken awake by Mother, who frowned down at me. My incessant sneezing had probably alerted them of my whereabouts.
"What are you doing here, Amaya?" she almost screamed, barely able to keep her voice down.
I frowned, looking around me, having forgotten how I ended up here and sneezed again before I could reply. "I could ask you the same thing."
"We've been looking for you for hours now! Why are you out here?!" she yelled.
"I'm pretty sure my balcony is part of my room," I grumbled as I tried to stand up on my now dead legs. "It's not like I left or anything."
"We were worried about you," Mother confessed, her voice going down a notch, thankfully. "you should warm up and eat something."
"I'm not hungry," I declined, going to my bed. "Could you turn off the lights before you leave?"
I ignored whatever else she had to say. I would have to pretend to go on a hunger strike until they let me out of here. I was probably going to end up with a cold from staying out though. I would worry about that later.
I fell into a fitful sleep afterwards, only to be woken up by an abrupt knock on my door.
"Go away!" I groaned, my nostrils clogged up.
They knocked again, louder this time. I sat up and watched the door as a thought crossed my mind. I was locked in. Everybody knew that. So who would knock on the door?
"Who is it?"
I didn't answer but I saw something slip under the door and slide across my floor. This was new. I scrambled from my bed and went to pick up what turned out to be a letter. The handwriting on the envelope was a bit messy but I was able to make it a familiar name.
Madeline.
I quickly opened it and read through it. It took me a while to decipher but I got the message. Midas wanted to see me. They were going to organise a meeting. What could Midas possibly want from me? Was he helping out with Lin's case?
Morning couldn't come soon enough. I was plotting in my head, assessing every possibility. Did Madeline all Midas help out? We had better chances of saving Lin with his backing. Wait. I was seeing Midas again. My heart fluttered excitedly, and maybe a little painfully too. It was like the pins and needles I felt in my legs when I stood up from the balcony yesterday as if my heart hadn't been getting the oxygen it needed.
A frown formed on my face as it dawned on me that Mother might not agree to it. I had realised that the real reason why I had to be locked in, other than for the gravity of my crime, was because of how close I was getting to the Northerners. I wasn't blind enough not to notice how Aimee had been looking at me lately. I think she is a bit jealous, especially after that encounter with Midas. I don't blame her. I'm known for messing things up. I could ruin things for her and Midas, unintentionally or otherwise.
Could I still trust Aimee? Did I have to show her I wasn't a threat? That would be a lie. I am a threat. I want Midas, not sure how exactly I wanted him. A crazy idea crossed my mind. What would happen if I touched Midas? I only felt that once, and the memory made me rub my wrist which began to tingle. I had something to go on, that is, the feelings I had for Midas and the way my body seemed to react. If I touched Midas and didn't feel anything, I was going to let go of my infatuation and make peace with my sister.
"Oh, good, you're awake," Ms Angel said after unlocking the door and walking in with Aimee close behind.
I had already dressed up in a green jumper dress that was above the knees and striped green and white socks that reached my knees. Mother would probably get me to change before I could leave but I was just trying my luck.
"You're having breakfast out today. Let's go. We're late," Ms Angel said.
"Sleep well?" Aimee asked with a forced smile on her face.
Wow, she hates me.
"Yup," I replied, putting on some white sneakers and fixing up my hair which was in two short low ponytails, complete with green ribbons.
I was feeling cute today. We walked in silence to the garden and I instantly regretted not putting on warmer clothes. My bedroom temperature was deceiving. The gazebo was where breakfast had been set up, with my parents present as well as Midas, Madeline and Lucas. Ms Angel forced me into a chair between her and my mother, whilst Aimee took the empty one between Ms Angel and Midas. Madeline was grinning, as always, whilst Lucas had a smirk that made me feel uneasy.
"I'm afraid today's breakfast agenda isn't quite pleasing. Amaya, we have a few questions to ask. Mr Kennedy decided to investigate his own. You're going to have to answer all of his questions, Amaya," Father said, holding his fork above his plate as he looked at me.
I was surrounded by a lot of good things right now. The sun was bright in the sky, goosebumps were trailing my skin, the flowers were in full bloom, the bacon was coincidentally placed in front of me and Midas was here. I could smell him, I think. It was a weird combination of carrots and well.. tree bark. See, weird. I do know how it's even possible for medicine to smell good on him.
"I understand that Lucas, here, acted out of turn, violating the rules set in place here. He will receive his suitable punishment," Midas started, his voice deeper, probably because it was still morning, and u snickered at the scowl on Lucas's face. "However, I need to see how this all played out. Would you like to tell us, Amaya?"
I frowned as I realised I would be talking throughout breakfast, which would mean no food for me. Plus that stupid hunger strike I started...
"I noticed that Lucas was interested in Lin so I decided to provide an opportunity for them to meet," I explained with a shrug.
Midas nodded. "Thank you, Amaya. Lucas, do you have anything to say?"
"It's all her fault," Lucas said, to my surprise. "I had no interest in Lin. If anything, Amaya came to me over dinner and offered me, and I quote, 'Lin or any other girl on a golden platter."
I gasped. That son of a-
"I thought she was joking. She was saying all kinds of things that didn't me sense so I just humoured her for a while. I didn't think she would bring Lin to my room! We were both surprised by what happened."
Lucas just sold me out! "I didn't-"
"Are you saying that Lin didn't seduce you?" Mother asked as Father watched on curiously.
"Not at all," Lucas replied before I could. "From what she told me, Amaya just dressed her up and brought her to my room. If anything, I did the seducing."
"Mr Ronan," Aimee interrupted with a sweet smile. "It seems to me that you are quite smitten by Lin. Could it be that you are trying to protect her?"
Did Aimee just stand up for me? I must have been wrong about her.
"There are reports that you visited the kitchen often to see Lin, and even requested that she prepares your food. Lin has been working for us since she was born. Unfortunately, most of the maids despise Amaya because of who she is so it is understandable that Lin might have taken advantage of Amaya's innocence and asked her for a favour. Lin also stole Amaya's clothes when she was supposed to be taking care of her," Aimee stated.
"But-"
"It seems as if you are protecting your sister, Lady Aimee. I can assure you that in as much as I was interested in Lin, she made no move to seduce me, Lin isn't like that!" Lucas protested, slamming his hand on the table.
"Is it alright if I talk to Lady Amaya, alone? Maybe after breakfast," Midas suggested.
Did he say alone? I could feel the butterflies begin to flutter in my stomach.
"I don't think that's possible," Aimee stubbornly refused, even though the question was meant for Mother.
"You should do that," Father said, disregarding Aimee. "I don't see what the big deal is but women are women. They'll drag this out longer than it should take."
"Robert!" Mother gasped in disbelief.
"Amaya has always been like this. I don't know why you had to suddenly take drastic measures of extending her punishment, or for the other girl as well," he said. "it ruined a good breakfast."