Antonia appeared in her chambers this time around with a smile. She closed the door behind her, making the Princess to wake up with a jolt.
Due to her instincts, she grabbed the dagger that was always under her pillow and pointed it the direction of the door. Her expression was grave.
Antonia gasped immediately she saw the dagger with the Princess. Out of fear, she raised her hands to the air. It was a gesture that said she was harmless. But she could tell the Princess could hardly detect that.
This was a side of Olivia no one talked about. Of course, they were all busy throwing shades to her character while forgetting her fighting skills. Till now, they had no idea the Princess, although feeble-looking was really fierce.
Antonia's knees were about to give out because it looked as though Olivia was about to throw the dagger to her direction. Olivia's expression cracked and she blinked her eyes in astoundment, seeing Antonia shivering on the floor.
She hid the dagger immediately before rushing out of the bed. Olivia almost tripped on her steps, but she never worried about it. She was worried about the maid who was in a state of shock.
"Ah... Antonia! I'm sorry... I..." She had squatted and held the girl by her shoulders. Antonia's eyes had gone hollow in terror. It was as if she recalled a terrible memory seeing the dagger with Olivia.
"You... You shouldn't just barge into my chambers without knocking!" She stuttered in her words as she had no idea how to comfort a person. How would she, when this was the first person to approach her without bearing a malicious thought toward her?
What made guilt almost eat her up was the look on Antonia's face and the way she trembled. Her beautiful handmaid that was assigned to her look like a scared kitten. Her whole body was trembling as though she had been left out in a cold rain.
It only made the Princess curse her existence. She tried her best to make sure no one saw that side of her she secretly trained under her father's martial teacher's supervision.
The man had sensed something deadly blazing from the Princess, and he asked her to keep this away from the sight of anyone. It could lead to her death. That was what he told her.
And now that Antonia saw it, she was scared. She wasn't afraid to die. She was scared Antonia might blab this out to the other maids working in the mansion.
"Get up, Tonia." She was lost for words. Olivia helped her handmaiden to stand before she wore an apologetic look on her face.
"Look... it's hard but please don't let anyone know of this. You're the first to ever discover me in that state of mind. If anyone finds out about it..." She pursed her lips, while watching Antonia's face become gray as she processed the Princess's words.
State of mind...? She wondered if the Princess was sick for her to address her sudden defense mode. Maybe there was something that might be leading to.
But, she could not get the image out of her head. It unlocked some series of events that were supposed to remain buried in the past. And those events were painful and gory.
"If any soul knows of this... I'm afraid I'll have to kill you." Olivia whispered those words, her gray eyes turning steely.
She did not have to threaten the poor maid, but if she wanted to be selfish of her own safety, she had to. That was the only way to keep Antonia's lips sealed.
She watched the first maid, who was the one to admit her fear for her shudder in the intensity of her endangering stare.
Antonia knew she was overreacting. Even though there were bad rumors about Olivia, her instinct told her the Princess was a kind soul. But still her trauma from the past... she couldn't ignore it.
She tried her best to empower her thoughts with the best things that had happened in her life. Antonia tried to gather positive thoughts, as much as she could under the Princess's scrutinizing gaze.
She took in a deep breath while her amber eyes never left Olivia's gray ones. Princess Olivia was nothing but kind to her even though she only met her that morning.
The Princess only said such words because she wanted to protect her secret. Besides, for her to threaten her meant if this was found out by any other person, it might be endangering for her.
Antonia swallowed in some air before letting out a dragged air. "I promise never to let any soul hear of this, Princess. The day a word about what I see is revealed, you're free to take my life."
This was crazy! Olivia thought as soon as she heard those words escaping Antonia's mouth. The girl hardly knew her yet here she was, pledging loyalty to her. The most despised royalty in Napoleon.
The look of incredulity was seen in her gray eyes as she assessed the girl closely. For a moment, her eyes had softened. But all of a sudden they hardened.
"You do know what you're doing, right?" She raised a brow, while her other eyes squinted. She wanted to see if Antonia was saying this due to the threat.
But all she could see was genuineness in the girl's amber eyes. Maybe she was so up-tight. She wanted to let herself loosen up.
"I know. It's more like I'm pledging allegiance to serve you, even when I have no idea what is on your mind, your highness." She lowered her head, while her meek voice resonated in the serene room.
Olivia sighed and her grip on her shoulders loosened. This was the first time someone wanted to stick with her, even without knowing a thing about her except rumors.
Her eyes were almost pooling with tears because she realized that day-by-day, her real self was being proved to others. It wasn't like she hated herself.
What she hated was that she allowed herself to be the epitome of the person the public thought of her.
Antonia thought her a lesson today. A lesson that was bound to change her views about herself... forever.
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All I see is two strong women who are going through difficult times, trusting themselves without knowing much about each other.
Amber eyes (Antonia) is quite strong for a person who has gone through a lot.😁