"Slap!" there was a clear loud noise in the air.
Astrid was a person who practiced all her life. Her actions were fast, and she had an accurate and concentrated control of her own power.
All of the sudden Iona's two cheeks looked puffed up like leavened steamed bread due to this slap.
Everything had happened too fast and too suddenly for anyone in the room to react.
As soon as everyone came round again Astrid was just brushing herself down and looking at her wrist.
Ginevra was the first to come to her senses, flinging herself upon Iona and looking anxiously at Iona's cheek. Then she sent a string of directions to the servants for ice.
Casper came to his senses also at hearing of all the instructions. He looked first at Iona's puffed cheek and then turned and narrowed his eyes at Astrid.
A glaring threat flashed in his pale eyes.
"What?" It took Alaric the longest to understand what happened as he pounced at Astrid like a ravenous lion trying to skin her alive.
This youngster had a habit of arrogance. He was spoilt by his parents and sister as he was the last child in the family. Apart from that, he had attractive features and he came from a rich family background thus everyone wanted to be friends with him.
He never knew how it felt to not hit a woman before. He would make the whole family and the person who made him upset sad.
Astrid would surely have his revenge on his sister now that he had vanquished his brother of his lovely and kind sister.
"You're playing with death!" Alaric tried to strike at Astrid.
Reaching up, Astrid caught him by the wrist.
It was only a small thin hand, but it gripped his wrist with surprising strength and would not release it.
Alaric pouted and looked up at Astrid. He hadn't paid too much attention to his new so called sister before. Having two older sisters or another sister didn't matter t Alaric really, the Bennetts were rich enough and didn't want anymore kids in their brood.
However, this Astrid had upset Iona and that was unacceptable to me.
"I had vowed when Iona was born to be her guardian and her protector for all of eternity. People could yell at me all they wanted but not at Iona. It is not on, no."
The woman before him was thin, and something indistinguishable flickered between her brows. She had Ginevra's look.
Alaric felt a brush against the gentleness of his heart as he saw that the woman looked like his dead mother, and some of his wrath went out of him.
He wasn't nearly as grumpy, but he still just looked at Astrid blankly.
Astrid gave Alaric a cold look, then threw her wrist around, using it to push him away as she released.
She glanced over a Casper.
Earlier, Casper had been calmly watching Alaric pounce on Astrid. But, why did Alaric frown and speak in an icy tone "why did you hit Iona?" when Astrid pushed him aside and held him back. Looking up at her, Astrid trailed her fingers and her lips curled at the corner into a small beautiful smile.
It was the first time she smiled after meeting the Bennetts.
She looked gorgeous as she walked into the living room. Her skin glowed with a beautiful tan. The deepness of her eyes was like that of an ocean. Her presence felt calm if she didn't have a smile on her face, but when she did, the tiny dents on her cheeks just added to that perfection of hers.
She just repeated their words, and tipped her head back, and said, "I didn't mean to hit her." It was all right for her to do that. That has nothing to do with me at all! And anyway she's not dead. She's O. K. We're a family. Let's go on from here.
It was obvious that she was making fun of them.
"Don't be angry," Iona suddenly said timidly. "It's my fault. I almost hurt Astrid because I made a bad decision. She should hit me to get her anger out."
She then looked at Astrid, her eyes brimming with tears and wet pleading. "I'm sorry, Astrid. I was wrong. I know you're going to replace me and Mom and Dad aren't going to like me anymore when you come back. I finally got a real mom and dad after being an orphan all my life. I don't want to lose it again. I didn't mean to hurt you that day, Astrid—I wasn't—trying—to kill—you! Really!"
I'm to blame. I am solely to blame." With tears streaming down her face, Iona bowed her head. "Astrid, slap me once more to let out your rage."
What nonsense are you saying, Iona? It's not even remotely your fault. That terrible person decided all on his own. Ginevra was horrified by how hard her poor Iona was crying, so she hugged her in an attempt to make it better.
She turned eventually to Astrid after managing to get Iona to stop wailing.
And she looked at the young woman standing in front of her.
Ginevra knew Astrid was her daughter, the one she had missed for eighteen years, when she saw that Astrid had Ginevra's eyebrows.
Gentlewoman Ginevra had excellent eyesight so she could tell that Iona's hands were not on Astrid and that Astrid was wearing plain garments. Iona did no live labor taks so she low-status rounded peasant fingers pale.
Astrid had rough, dry hands and the small calluses that come from working with your hands that had formed over her finger pulps.
Astrid?"
Iona knew when she felt Ginevra's unsettled emotions that something was wrong. "Ouch," she silently shouted to her.
Indeed, Ginevra, who had spent well over ten years in Iona's company by this stage, actually loved Iona more. She had taken to Iona instantly and seen her sorrow-filled puffy face.
She offered some soft words to Iona for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Astrid.
Ginevra wasn't in any condition to feel sorry for Astrid, after Iona hadn't been hurt. Actually, Iona had worse injuries now.
However, Iona did not have the guts to correct Astrid and in any case she was wrong to start with Astrid.
Ginevra thought about it for a second. "Astrid? Can I call you Astrid?"
Astrid kept quiet unless she caught a glimpse of the others. "Iona is," Ginevra began, "to blame for all this. I'm not going to pretend I'm not mad at her or that she didn't try something foolish and dangerous just now—what if there hadn't been any consequences? She needs to be lectured after this is over, but…"
She spoke, keeping Iona ever in her eye!
Astrid listened, and then raised her eyes to look at Ginevra.
She didn't have any clear memories of her early childhood. Because when she was five-year-old, she had gotten lost. Her memories had gradually disappeared over time.
But in the deepest part of her memory, there has always been a woman with the most beautiful eyes, looking at her with love and calling her 'My favorite little princess'.
Astrid saw her mother in this.
The eyes she had remembered so intensely from some unreachable place in her mind were here before her, today.
"But too bad, the little princess, which the owner of this pair of eyes love the most was no longer me."