"See what?", he asked and turned to face the direction she was looking at but before he could,the stranger went to the front of the carriage and stood.
Regia's eyes widened when he did so. She thought they were going to collide but instead,the man let out a menacing laughter revealing perfectly set and white teeth.
Mr Alsop seemed to be confused as he couldn't see what she was talking about.
The stranger then twisted his neck and smiled at her. The horses parted way on seeing him and with the speed of light,he broke the hook connecting the carriage to the horses and flung the carriage backwards.
He did so faster than the eyes could see and before Regia knew it,she was lying in the nearby woods. She had sustained a few bruises around her arms and neck.
She laid on the dried out leaves in a daze of what just happened. It was obvious to her that the man was not human.
On recollecting her thoughts, she let out a fearful gasp.
" Mr Alsop?,Mr Alsop where are you?", she said trying to get up amidst the pain coursing through her hands.
She got on her feet and looked around the forest.
"Mr Alsop?", she further called.
Then she heard a deep plain groan coming from her adjacent side. She turned to see their carriage and Mr Alsop's leg sticking out from under.
She rushed to his side and tried in vain to get it off him. She thought hard on what next to do and decided to go get help.
" Don't worry Mr Alsop, I will go get aid",she said and sought to make her way out.
She managed to locate her way out. She saw a few traders approach her and resorted to obstructing their path,screaming for help.
The traders looked at her confused. They were wondering what a damsel could be doing on the dangerous road alone. They then stopped to listen to her as she talked stammering and gasping for air and noticed her dress was bloodied.
They asked her what had happened and she tried to explain but when she saw that they couldn't quite understand her,she led them into the forest instead. They followed her wanting to see where she was leading them to and were looked in horror to see a man under a carriage.
They pulled the carriage off him and carried him to theirs. They also offered to take her to an inn to get her wounds tended to.
She obliged to their request seeing as her wounds were ugly to look at. They arrived at the inn in a few minutes and Mr Alsop was rushed inside and immediately attended to.
An inn maid was assigned to attend to her wounds and in a while,all her bleeding stopped leaving only cuts and scratches.
She looked at her clothes and sighed. She couldn't do anything about her blood stains and would have to go to classes that way.
She was then hit with realisation.
"My classes!", she said with a gasp.
She looked around thinking of how she was going to get there. She asked the traders but they apologized saying they were already late to their stalls.
After much asking and begging,a man agreed to drop her off but only a few blocks to the school. She agreed not having much choice.
They rode for a few minutes and the man dropped her off as promised. She thanked him and almost broke out into a run. After another few minutes of running,she arrived.
She looked at her clothes again helplessly,dusting and straightening it as though it was of any help.
She took a deep breath as she opened the door. She then tried to slip to the back of the class on seeing Miss Rosa facing the board but not much to her surprise, Miss Rosa called her name.
She stopped trying to hide and answered her with a feigned soberness.
Miss Rosa shook her head in disappointment,still facing the board.
" Regia,kindly move forward so I can see you",she requested.
Regia clasped her hands in front of her,head down as she walked to the front. All eyes were on her as the whole class anticipated what would happen next. The whole class gasped when she stepped forward
"Good morning Miss Rosa", she greeted softly.
Miss Rosa turned to face her and she too gasped on seeing her dress and the various scratches on her arms.
" Dear,what happened to you",she said as she dropped her chalk on the table.
"I was involved in an accident ma'am", she said scorning her silently for asking such a question with an obvious answer.
" You have a lot of bruises and we can't have that,excuse me class",she said and walked out of the room into her chambers.
She returned a while later with a bottle,
"This will help with the scratches", she said handing her the bottle and turned back to the board.
Regia took it as a dismissal and headed to her seat.
Miss Rosa turned and called out to her again.
" And oh Regia, I have wonderful news for you,meet me in my chambers after class",she said and turned to begin her teaching.
Regia froze on the spot upon hearing what she said. Miss Rosa only invited a girl to her chambers for one reason and one reason only,to deliver news about their engagement.
Regia shook her head trying to regain composure and returned to her seat. She listened absentmindedly to the rest if the class as her mind was fixed on the discussion that would shape her destiny for ever.
Regia drifted through the rest of the class apprehensive of when it would come to an end.
When the class was finally dismissed, she felt herself become tense as she watched Miss Rosa enter into her chambers.
She stood up jittery as she inhaled sharply,trying to regain her lost composure.
She left and began taking calculated steps towards the chambers. She then stopped on reaching the chambers,knocked and waited to be asked in.
A few seconds passed before she was asked to come in. She strode in as she was taught and paused by the seat also waiting to be requested to sit.
Miss Rosa stretched her hands towards the seat signalling her to sit down. She did so gingerly and folded her hands across her laps observing the delicate features of the middle aged woman before her.