"My lady," Alice called out, slightly shaking Victoria's sleeping body. "My lady, it is time to wake up. You have been sleeping for a few hours; you missed lunch."
Victoria groaned and sat up, her eyes still closed. She finally opened her eyes, her vision blurry from just waking up. "I am up, Alice." She says, "It is late, my lady. It is almost time for dinner."
Victoria got out of bed and stretched her arms up high. "I will brush your hair, my lady." Victoria had a bedhead and nodded with a yawn, "Thank you, Alice."
"After brushing my hair, leave it down," Victoria tells her as she sits down at the vanity table and Alice begins brushing her hair. "You do not have to do my hair up; it is only dinner." Alice nodded in understanding.
"I understand, my lady." She sets the brush down after brushing Victoria's hair. Victoria stood up from her seat. "Will father and mother be eating as well?" She asked as the two walked out of the room.
"The madam left not too long ago, and I was told that the master is busy in his office," Alice responded.
Victoria hummed in return, "So it will just be me eating." She says, not glancing at Alice as the two make it to the dining hall. Alice pulled out a chair for Victoria to sit down and scooted her close to the table.
The servants began putting food on the table, and she began eating in silence. She was unable to taste anything, feeling her servant's eyes piercing her back, watching her eat in silence.
From the corner of her eye, she sees the butler standing with the other servants as she eats. Looking down at her steak and began talking to Alice, "Alice. Once mother returns later, give her something to eat in her room." Alice nodded in understanding, "Yes, my lady."
"I will do it, my lady." The butler says, not looking at her and having his usual poker face. "It does not matter who does it. Make sure my mother eats by the time she comes back."
A few servants looked over at the butler, but they only looked away when the butler made eye contact with them. Victoria stood from her seat and said, "I will be leaving now." She says as she walks away from the table, Alice following behind her.
Once Victoria made sure the two were out of earshot, she turned to look at Alice and said, "I have something to do, Alice. I need your help finding a dress that would not stand out and a cloak."
"Are you sneaking out at night, my lady?" Alice questions. "Is there a reason why you are sneaking out?"
Victoria didn't answer. Not even when the two made it into her room did she ever answer Alice. "I won't need a carriage. I do not want the servants getting curious." Alice could only nod as she got a black cloak.
Victoria went deep into her closet and grabbed a plain brown dress. "When did you get such a dress, my lady?" Alice questioned as she stared at the dress in Victoria's hands, "I bought the dress with Mrs. Johnson a few months ago. This dress will make me look like a commoner, which is what I am going for."
Alice lets out a sigh, "Please be safe, my lady. Do not get in any trouble." She pleaded. "I promise. Stand in front of my door; I'll go out through the window."
"My lady! What if you fall?" Alice said in a worried tone, and Victoria put her hand on her shoulder. "I will climb down using the bed sheets and blankets; I will not get hurt. You have to trust me on that."
Alice hesitated a bit but reluctantly nodded. "I trust you, my lady. Please be safe. I will make sure no one gets in your room until you get back." Alice tells her as she walks out of the room and closes the door, standing in front of the door as promised.
Victoria took off her dress, set it on her chair, and began putting on the brown dress and then the cloak, putting the hood over her head.
She walked towards her bed and began tying her blankets and sheets together, tied the end of it to her bedframe, and tossed the rest out the window.
She made sure that it was sturdy enough, and once she confirmed that it was, she began climbing out the window, holding tight onto the sheets and blankets so she wouldn't accidentally fall.
Her feet safely touched the ground and she headed towards the gate after making sure the guards were nowhere near her. She grabbed hold of the gate bars, squeezed through them, and saw the carriage from the corner of her eye.
She clutched the cloak close to her and began running, the mansion becoming smaller and smaller the farther she ran.
The reason why she decided to sneak out so late at night is because she is suspicious of her mother. She already had her doubts about her for months, but she wasn't sure. The fact that she was gone when her father came back made her want to check.
She heard the butler mention a man named Cobb Thyne. Her mother could not have taken the carriage, so the place that her mother and Mr. Cobb must be close. Her mother hates walking around so much.
Victoria isn't sure why she's actively looking for her mother. The two don't have a good relationship, so why is she trying to prove to herself that her mother is a faithful woman?
She is still her mother, and she still cares a lot about her. So many thoughts ran through her mind. What if her mother cheated on her father? Or what if that man does something terrible to her mother?
Victoria is still her daughter, and as a daughter, she will always care about her mother. Victoria won't know what she would do if something did happen to her mother.
Victoria stopped running as she stood in front of a forest, the wind beckoning her to come in.
She clenched her fists and finally took a step inside the forest, praying that she would find a cabin or her mother. The forest speaks to her in many languages in an eerie tone.
Every time she hears a twig snap, she wonders if it is her own doing or the wild animals in the forest. A hand touched her shoulder, and Victoria turned around and was about to punch the person who touched her shoulder.
The person caught her first, and her scared expression turned to one in relief, "It's you." She whispered. "The boy from the garden," she looked down at her; she wondered if he was since she still couldn't see his eyes behind those messy bangs.
"What are you doing out here in the forest?" He asked her. She can't tell him the reason why "a baron's daughter should not be out here. Even when you are almost like us commoners, it is still dangerous." He warned her.
"I could ask you the same question," she says once he finally lets go of her first. "I am looking for something," he gave her a vague answer, which made him seem suspicious under the moonlight.
"Now answer my question," he spoke bluntly. Victoria took down her hood and crossed her arms. "You should not speak like that towards a lady. No matter what class you are in, you still must be respectful towards a lady." She scolded him.
He became stiff and looked away. "Right. Apologies, Ms. Violet." He said in an awkward tone, and Victoria chuckled, "I see you remember my name, Mr. Oscar." She said it in a joking manner.
"I see you remembered not to call me sir. May I know why you are out here, Victoria?" He asked, in a less blunt way this time. "I saw a mysterious woman walk in this forest, and I followed her to tell her it was not safe. But she disappeared." She was lying through her teeth.
"Now I am wondering if she is a ghost," she says with a nervous smile. "Just like how I thought you were a ghost the first time we met."
"Ghosts are not real, Ms. Victoria. And I assure you that I am also no ghost," he reassures her, and she just laughs. "Right. How silly of me. I thought you were a ghost when you disappeared," she says.
"Sorry. I am the new gardener that Mrs. Johnson was hired for, and I had to get back to work." He tells her that as the two were about to walk, he heard a woman start giggling.
The two froze, and for a second, Victoria did think that it was a ghost. "That was a coincidence. You shouldn't be afraid," Oscar says, and Victoria narrows her eyes up at him. "You are shaking like a leaf. I should say that you should not be afraid," she whispered to him.
"Let us go see," she began walking towards the sound of giggling, and Oscar followed her, telling her that this is how people get into accidents and to not do such a foolish thing.
The two hid behind a few bushes and trees, and there Victoria saw her mother with Mr. Thyne. She was relieved that nothing bad happened to her mother, but she was still on guard about what she was doing with Mr. Thyne.
"Good thing it isn't a ghost," Oscar says with a sigh of relief. "But why is a noblewoman with Mr. Cobb?" He wonders out loud.
Victoria looked up at him in question, "You know that man?" He shrugged his shoulders "He works at a shop that sells baked goods." He answers her.
She hummed and looked back at the two, and what she saw shocked her more than anything. Her mother and that man were kissing each other, and he was hugging her close.
Victoria quickly looked away and covered her face with her hands. "That noblewoman is creating quite the scandal," Oscar says, and he finally looks down at Victoria. "What's wrong? Your face is red. Have you not seen a person kiss before? Are you shy?" It felt like he was teasing her at this point.
But Victoria isn't nervous. She's red from anger and embarrassed that her mother would do such a thing. But she didn't want to say any of that, so she punched his shoulder "Of course!" She whispered harshly at him, "I have not even seen my two parents kiss or show that much affection towards one another."
She looked back to see her mother and Cobb Thyne going inside the cabin together. Her mother, a woman so full of pride, committed adultery, and she has witnessed it all with her own two eyes.