"Give her twenty whips, Isabella" Reign heard her madam Linda instruct her daughter, Isabella. She groaned out in pain as the Whip landed on her back.
"Spare me, Madam. I'll never do it again" Isabella walked up to her and grabbed her by the hair.
"You should be begging me to spare you and not my mother. Take a look at my hair! You almost ruined it with your useless hands'' Reign looked up at her hair with a frown. She had only cut the tip of Isabella's bangs and had hardly even made a dent but anything she did made Isabella furious.
"S.. spare me, Isabella" Reign clenched her fist as those words left her mouth. She hated them so much but she had no choice but to tolerate them. She was an orphan and she had no home and the master of the house had been kind enough to take her in because apparently, her mother used to work for him when she was alive.
Isabella smirked.
"No. Next time, when you're touching my beautiful hair, you'll be careful. Do you know how much it's worth? More than you that's for sure" Reign winced as the whip connected with her back.
"I'm begging you, please stop this" Reign muttered in pain as she squeezed her eyes shut to stop her from crying.
"Next time when I tell you to do something, you'll do it right" She raised up the whip and was about to hit Reign when Mr Wright, Isabella's father, Jacob walked in.
"What is going on here?" Linda immediately rushed to her husband with wide eyes.
"Reign disrespected Isabella so she was just teaching her a lesson" He frowned.
"She can do that later, we have important guests coming soon and I don't want them to see this. Clear this up and prepare dinner" Linda bowed her head as he walked away.
She walked back to Isabella and grabbed the whip from her hand.
"Everyone go back to work now! Make sure to prepare a very delicious meal for dinner. We have important guests coming over" Isabella frowned at her mother.
"Why are you stopping me from disciplining this wretch?" One of Reign's closest maid friends, Anna ran over to help her up from the bench when Linda stopped her.
"We didn't cut off her limbs did we? So she can stand on her own. Didn't I order all of you to get back to work?!" Anna looked over at Reign worriedly before running away.
Reign slowly stood up from the bench and wore back her tattered garment.
"And where are you going?" Reign immediately paused in her steps then turned back to Linda.
"You said Everyone could leave," Linda nodded.
"But your punishment isn't over yet. Go to the horse's barn and make sure everywhere is sparkling clean by the time I come check it. If I see even just a speck of dust, you'll stay with the horses for one week. Understood?" Reign nodded then walked away.
Isabella stomped her feet childishly with a huff.
"Mother, I wanted to punish her!" Linda placed her hand on Isabella's shoulder.
"Do not worry, after the guests have come and gone, you can do whatever you want with her, okay?" Isabella nodded with a smile.
"Who's coming anyway?" Linda smiled.
"General Ian" Isabella gasped with her eyes wide.
"Why? Is he coming to ask for my hand in marriage?"
"Let's hope so"
•
Reign hisses as Anna cleaned up the wounds on her back.
"Those two are devil's, how could they do this to you?" Reign chuckled as she heard Anna mutter.
"I've been through worse and I can get through this too" Anna sighed.
"It shouldn't have to be like this, Reign. You did nothing to this family. If I were you, I would have run away long ago" Reign sighed.
"Are you done? Let me get back to work" Reign stood up slowly and grabbed the cloth. She has been through so much and she really hoped that one day, she could be freed from this family but for now, she had to listen to them so they won't kick her out.
Just then, her other friend, Jess, walked into the barn with a tray of food.
"You haven't eaten all day. Luckily I was able to sneak this out for you" Reign smiled gratefully at her.
"Thank you so much Jess" Reign grabbed the tray and began eating like a dog that has been starved for days which was kind of true. She hadn't eaten for three days straight because Isabella had thought she was getting fat which was false. Reign was so thin that her ribs could be seen because of how malnourished she was. If it weren't for Jess and Anna, she was sure she would have been dead by now.
"You guys should leave before you get in trouble, I'm sure ma'am Hilda would need your help in the kitchen" Jess and Anna nodded.
"Alright but when we're done, we'll come check up on you, alright?" Reign nodded at them with a smile which immediately faded away when they left. She bowed her head and let the tears slip down.
She was so tired of everything, of the suffering, the bullying, everything! But there was nothing she could do except accept it. She was a coward and was afraid to run off into the dangerous world and try to make it all on her own and that's why she never attempted to run.
She wiped away her tears with a sigh before going back to work.
•
Isabella's face lit up as General Ian walked in with his parents. They bowed at each other respectfully.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Lady Isabella" General Ian said with a smile which immediately made her blush.
"Why don't we go in and leave the kids alone for a while to catch up?" Ian's parents nodded, then followed Linda and Jacob over to the dining area.
Isabella turned back to Ian with a smile. He was a very handsome man and was very popular amongst the ladies in the kingdom. If Isabella got married to him, her social status would increase.
"I'm sure you have heard a lot about me, right General Ian?" She questioned as they slowly walked towards the dining Area.
"Not really but I have heard about….." Just then, Reign walked into the house looking like a beggar on the street. She had smudges of mud on her face but no one could deny her beauty.
Reign's beauty was so extraordinary that it made men feel weak to their knees and that was why Isabella always made sure Reign never went out with them so she wouldn't steal the spotlight but it seemed God wasn't on her side tonight.
As soon as Ian set his eyes on Reign, it brightened instantly.
"But I've heard a lot about her, she's the one I'm here for"...