Alexander who had changed into his own clothes and was holding the dress he had worn previously, in his hand, was heading for home, but he kept looking back to the path that led to the castle.
"Is that guy really her brother?" Alexander muttered to himself, "They don't look alike at all." Then he remembered what had happened earlier.
When he and Alethea had been found by William, William had given him a look of hostility, while claiming that Alethea was his sister.
Alexander was conflicted at first and didn't want to hand over an unconscious and vulnerable Alethea to just anyone, but the raw emotions of worry, and something else that he saw in William's eyes, made him unable to doubt him, so he gave her to him at the end.
"Why is she here? Is she sick?" Alexander asked as William carried Alethea on his back. "Her body is cold, and she is quite pale. I think it would be best to bring her to a physician."
William didn't respond, and was still looking at Alexander with a little bit of hostility as he eyed him from head to toe.
Alexander noticed that William was looking at his clothe, and then he realized that he was still putting on a dress.
"Oh…" Alexander laughed in embarrassment, as he explained. "Don't misunderstand. Um.. this is like a work uniform for me. And it's not the kind of job you must be thinking… I'm selling something, and…" He fumbled with his words, and William got tired of hearing his explanation.
"Do you know my sister by any chance?" William asked.
Alexander thought of what answer to give. He didn't know if saying yes would put Alethea in some kind of trouble, so he said, "No."
"Anyway, thanks for helping her. I'll take care of her from here on in, so you can go. Goodbye then." William said, and nodded his head at Alexander, which Alexander reciprocated, before William then left with Alethea.
Alexander sighed as he snapped out of his thoughts. "I wonder if she's going to be okay. She looked really unwell." Then he shook his head, "Why am I even being worried about someone else, when I have my own problems."
He continued on his way, and then he spotted someone familiar. "Mother." He muttered to himself, wondering why his mother was outside very late into the night.
In front of his very eyes, she was then suddenly ambushed by four men, who had carried her by her arms and legs.
"Mother!" Alexander yelled, and he ran towards them, but before he could reach them, he was hit on the head with a log, knocking him out cold.
….
Ronan had left home in a hurry after seeing the state his son was in, and went to find Alethea. As he got to the house, he could see that the quartz stones were completely damaged.
"Alethea!" He called out in worry as he ran into the house.
He saw Alethea lying in the middle of the room, unconscious, and fear gripped his heart, as he bent down and placed her head on his lap, while gently shaking her. "Alethea! Wake up!" He kept calling out to her.
Alethea's eyes slowly opened, and Ronan sighed in relief. "Alethea. Why… why did you do this?"
"Father." Alethea could only weakly manage to say.
"Why didn't you listen to what I told you? Why?" Ronan continued to gently question her.
"Why… is this happening to me?" Alethea asked instead, "I'm so scared, father. Please, save me."
Ronan pulled her in for a hug, patting her back as a means of comfort. "I will, my child. I promise you this."
….
Eldrid Castle
Queen Namarie was using a wet napkin to pat the forehead of her son who was still yet to awaken. "How could this have happened?" She asked Nimueh, who was also in the room, together with the Queen Dowager and some maidservants.
Nimueh stayed silent, and this agitated Queen Namarie. "I asked you a question!" She yelled, "Didn't you say that he would be fine? Then what's this then? Save him already! Save my son!" She kept on yelling as she went close to a Nimueh, holding her by the neckline of her dress.
"Escort the Queen out." The Queen Dowager ordered the maidservants.
"Your majesty, please calm down." The maidservants tried to appease her, but Queen Namarie pushed them off as they tried to touch her.
"Crown Prince, please… open yours eyes. You can't die!" Queen Namarie cried, while shaking Tristan, but he still didn't wake up.
Nimueh on the other hand, just stood there, looking at Tristan with an intense gaze, and then she muttered in suppressed anger, "Sir Ronan."
….
Alexander woke up, and his head felt sore and heavy from being hit by a log. When he looked around, he saw that he was in a dark and abandoned road, but he couldn't even get a moment to process his thoughts, as he saw something that was wrapped with a linen material.
It was wrapped very tightly that he could see the curves and shape of whatever that was beneath the material, and it looked like it was a human.
"Mother!" He exclaimed as he remembered that she was the last person he saw, but he was held back by three men, and that confirmed his thoughts.
"Let go of me, you bastards! Mother!" He continued to cry out as he struggled against their hold, but he paused when he saw another familiar figure approaching.
Lady Blackwood approached where he was with some men who were holding sticks, trailing behind her, shocking him to his bones. "Lady Blackwood." He said in surprise.
"I thought you were a clever young man, but it seems you are not aware of your place. Therefore I'll thoroughly educate you tonight." Lady Blackwood said with so much spite in her voice.
Alexander, terrified by what Lady Blackwood was intending to do, fell on his knees. "Please stop whatever you are planning to do. Please!" He pleaded.
His pleas fell on deaf ears, and Lady Blackwood ruthlessly ordered her men, "Begin."
Immediately she gave out her order, the men then began to hit whatever it was that was wrapped on the ground, while Alexander continued to plead with Lady Blackwood, especially when he saw that the material was beginning to get stained with blood.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, tell them to stop." Alexander was beginning to cry profusely, and Lady Blackwood smiled in satisfaction. "Please spare her life!"
"Stop!" Lady Blackwood finally said, and the men immediately stopped. Then she bent down so she could look directly into Alexander's eyes as she said, "I heard you've been working hard to buy your mother's ownership papers."
Alexander didn't say anything and just looked at her, as she continued, "Alex. There's one thing that people like you tend to misunderstand. They mistakenly believe that they can escape their wretched situations in life. However, there's something you can't escape, no matter how hard you work."
"It's one's parentage. A parent who is affluent can offer their child a lavish life. However, the only thing poor parents can offer their children is the sheer pathetic nature of their lives. Since parents pass on the quality of their lives to their children, you should never have been born into this world. Not being born would have been the best for both you and your mother. You can only blame your own cursed life for being born to such a mother."
"Don't do anything. Don't try to fight against fate, and just live life like you are dead. That's the only way you and your mother can survive. Do you understand?" Lady Blackwood finally ended her long and derogatory speech.
Alexander who was still in tears, burned in seething anger and hatred as he listened to the nonsense that came out of her mouth, but he knew it would be useless to fight back, as it would only hurt him and his mother.
"Y-yes." Alexander answered, and Lady Blackwood then stood up, and began to leave with the men.
Alexander then quickly went over to unwrap his mother, but what he saw beneath the material was a dress that had been stuffed with bright red tomatoes, which had been smashed by the sticks of the men.
Lady Blackwood then turned to look a him. "Heed my words, or next time, your mother would really be in there." She said in a warning tone.