The Legend of Callistana

Chapter IV

Callistana was already sure that what happened during midnight was true and not just a nightmare. But when she asked around, the servants answered her all the same, saying that they didn't visit her. And some even said that it was impossible for someone to go in her room since it's forbidden.

Nari looked at her with indifference after she asked her. "That is impossible, Lady Callistana. No one would go in your room. Don't make this an issue because it might put us at risk. You're lucky that if something happens you won't be hurt. But us, the servants? We would be punished severely just because of your mistakes," she said, her voice was full of hostility.

She blinked then looked at Nari with hesitation. "B-but it felt so—"

The servant turned her back to her and went back to what she was doing. Callistana stared at nothingness for a second, processing what just happened. Then she silently sighed then looked around the servants who were busy doing their own tasks.

No one believes her.

Her face looked so sad. It is hard when no one understands her. She sighed heavily again.

"When are you coming back, Beatriz?" she murmured as she went out of the kitchen.

Beatriz is the only friend that she has. Other than serving her and helping her with her needs, Beatriz would listen to her kindly. She believes in Callistana more than anyone.

Just as if someone heard what she was thinking, she heard horse gallops outside the palace. Her eyes widened when she realized that it could be the purchaser with Beatriz!

She patiently waited in the hall since she was not allowed near the entrance of the palace. After a while, the servants went out. When they came back, they were already carrying goods and supplies. Callistana's heart jumped in joy when she saw Beatriz. Their eyes met and they immediately smiled at each other. She waved her hand a bit.

The servants carried the items to the kitchen. Callistana patiently waited on the living area for Beatriz to finish on what she was doing. And when she saw her dear friend walking towards her, she stood in excitement and immediately hugged Beatriz. The woman was shocked but smiled afterwards. Callistana pulled away from the hug and looked at her intently.

"It felt like years when you're not here," she dramatically said then pouted a bit.

Beatriz chuckled. "Oh, my Lady. It seems like you missed me!"

Callistana nodded without any hesitation. "Yes, I missed you so much and I am glad that you're back."

Even though she was really happy and excited, her voice stayed the same. Very soft and gentle.

Since Callistana doesn't have lessons for today because it was Sir Ali's rest day and time to go home, she has a lot of free time. Beatriz told her a lot of stories and her encounters when she went to the market with the purchaser. They are on the kitchen and Beatriz was busy cutting vegetables.

"And I saw a lot of knights marching towards the Imperial Palace. I am sure they are not from Ruana, they came from other empire but I don't know where it was exactly. And why they are here."

Callistana knew that aside from Ruana, there are other empires. There's Adaraha, Eldora, Agnaram, and Celestes. Eawa is wide and big. But her world is really small. It's limited to the cold palace that she was staying in.

Callistana nodded. "I hope that doesn't mean anything bad..." she said then suddenly remembered what happened. She looked at Beatriz. "May I ask? Is it possible to have a dream that is very realistic? As if you can feel the surroundings and the person who's in it?"

Beatriz nodded while her eyes were focused on what she was doing.

"Yes, my Lady. Sometimes, dreams are really like that. It can feel so real that you can't differentiate it into the reality. But that usually happens when you're very tired and you're sleeping deeply."

Callistana nodded as she realized things. "Then maybe I was just busy for the past two nights," she uttered, convincing herself.

Beatriz looked at her. She caught her friend's full attention.

"Why did you ask, my Lady? Are you having that kind of dream?"

Lady Callistana nodded hesitantly and stared at nowhere as she remembered what happened.

"For two nights, I woke up from my dream because I felt that someone was in my room. When I opened my eyes, I saw a figure and I felt that person's hand on my legs up to my thigh... Last night, my room was really dark. Then I caught the hand of that person but it escaped from me," Callistana explained. Then she looked at Beatriz. "I asked the servants and Sir Ali if they visited me but they said that they didn't and it was impossible since it's forbidden. After all, no one would dare to go against the Emperor's order. But it felt so true that I thought it was real..." she added.

Beatriz's hold on the knife tightened after hearing her lady's story. Her brows furrowed as she fell into deep thinking. She swallowed hard when she realized something. This is what she's been fearing to happen.

"Did you see a glimpse of that person's face, my Lady?" she asked gently.

Callistana shook her head. "The first night, although there's a dim light coming from the lamp, the figure was fast to escape. Then last night, my room was in complete darkness so, I didn't see its face." She sighed then forced a smile. "But maybe it was just a dream. A dream that felt so realistic..."

Since Beatriz told her that kind of dream is possible, she's now dismissing the possibility that it was real.

She looked at her friend and noticed that Beatriz was quiet and she seemed like she was thinking deeply. She worriedly touched Beatriz on her shoulder and gave her a smile.

"Are you okay?" Callistana's voice was light when she asked.

Beatriz blinked twice then forced a smile at her. "Yes, my Lady."

They didn't talk about that again. Callistana then just tried to forget it. The servants must be right. It was just her mind playing tricks on her. Just a realistic dream.

When the night came, Callistana did her usual nightly routine. Beatriz was with her in her room, helping her to prepare.

"No one would check on me tonight if I am already in bed since Sir Ali is not here," Callistana said while staring at their reflection on her vanity mirror. Beatriz was on her back, busy combing the lady's golden hair.

Beatriz nodded and smiled at her. "A little bit of freedom, right?" she said. She combed Callistana's hair as softly as she could. It is such a waste to see a few strands of her golden colored hair on the floor. Her hair is just so soft, shiny, and long. It's beautiful.

Callistana nodded with a smile. "Hmm. I like nights like this although it's very rare."

When she's all done, Callistana finally went on her bed. She laid her back then Beatriz put the comforter over her body up to her chest. Her friend made sure that she was well covered so she won't feel cold for the whole night. Then Beatriz turned the lamp into a dim light.

"Good night, Beatriz..." Callistana said then smiled although she was already falling asleep.

Beatriz smiled then caressed her rosy cheek gently. "Good night, my Lady. Sweet dreams," she answered that came out as a whisper.

When Callistana was already asleep, Beatriz left the room. She made sure that the door was closed and locked. She scanned the dark hallway before walking to the sleeping quarters for a servant like her. But she won't sleep. She has a mission tonight.

She got a fire lamp and prepared a match. She went back to her Lady Callistana's room but didn't go in. Just beside the closed door, she put the lamp there then she hid on the dark corner of the hallway.

No one is allowed to be seen there but she's going to risk it all just to catch the person who's been visiting her Lady for the past two nights. Although Callistana might not understand what happened, Beatriz knew it. Those kinds of touches won't just stop there. It was meant to do something more. Something really dangerous. And she needs to stop it.

She sat at the corner, waiting for the intruder to go to Callistana's room. Beatriz forced herself to stay wide awake even though it was hard especially because she was really tired. She was doing good on staying awake despite the darkness and complete silence. But it didn't last that long. She unconsciously fell asleep.

Beatriz was awakened when she heard the fire lamp tumble. Her eyes immediately opened then she saw a figure near her lady's room and it seemed like that person was also shocked by the sound that was made by the fire lamp that tumbled.

She immediately stood and walked towards the person who was trying to break into the room. Beatriz was torn between getting the fire lamp and lighting it up using the match in her pocket or catching the culprit. But she knew that if she would try to pick the lamp and light it up, the culprit would run away immediately.

Beatriz gritted her teeth and pounced on the culprit. It fell on the floor with her on top. She immediately realized that it was a man when she noticed the height and body mass. It didn't have a hard time to be freed from her. He just simply pushed her away from him but he did not escape that easily. Before he could run away from her, she managed to scratch him on his neck and his cloth was torn up.

She heard him hissed before running away.

Beatriz immediately stood and picked the fire lamp. She fished the match from her pocket and lit it up. She raised it forward to the direction where the man ran away and she only saw his back. She tried running after him but then, she saw a guard coming in her direction. She immediately blew off the far and hid at the corner. Once the guard saw her roaming around the palace at that time, she would be dead!

She closed her eyes tightly. That culprit was lucky!

Beatriz was feeling like a failure as she went back to the sleeping quarter. She's so disappointed. If she only didn't fall asleep, it might have turned different. She may have caught the culprit.

But one thing is for sure now... It was not Sir Ali. That person is not Sir Ali since the teacher is not at the palace at the moment. He will be back the next day.

He was her number one suspicion but now, he's out of the list. She needs to find him to make sure that Lady Callistana would stay safe.

If it's not Sir Ali, who is that man?

Callistana woke up in the morning feeling so refreshed and energetic. She looked around her room and sighed then she smiled. She's not awakened in the middle of the night. No one came to her room to touch her. The nightmare has stopped.

The door opened and she saw Beatriz who was the opposite of her.

Her friend looked sleepy and there were dark circles under her eyes like she lacked sleep.

"Good morning, Beatriz. Are you okay?" Callistana showed her a worried smile.

Beatriz nodded at her then smiled reassuringly. "Good morning, my Lady. I am very much okay."

"It seems like you didn't sleep well. You can rest here in my bed while I take a bath. You don't need to help me so you can rest for a while," she suggested that Beatriz immediately declined.

"No, my Lady. I am really fine. Don't worry about me," she said then went to the bathroom. "I'll prepare for your bathwater."

Callistana stood and wore her sleepwear. She went to the bathroom and watched her friend prepare her bathtub. She removed her garments one by one as she talked.

"I didn't have the same nightmare last night, Beatriz. I really had a good sleep. My dream was that I'm in paradise. No realistic nightmare anymore..." she uttered.

Beatriz nodded at her then smiled. "That's nice to hear, my Lady. I am glad that you had a good sleep. I hope it will always stay that way..."

After she took a long bath with the help of her friend, the servants dressed her up. They are the ones to choose her gown, shoes, and hairstyle for her. Callistana just went with the flow. She's used to this.

The maids were taking their time to dress her up when suddenly, someone came to the door. It is one of the servants and she looked worried.

"Sir Ali is back. He came earlier than expected," she informed them.

Callistana's brows furrowed. Sir Ali should be back tomorrow, not today. The servants made their movement faster. After a while, she's all done.

She doesn't know but she was feeling nervous about something that she can't understand. Callistana looked around, looking for her friend Beatriz but then she realized that it must be in the kitchen at the moment.

Walking gracefully, Callistana made her way to the dining area. As expected, Sir Ali was already there. The maids were preparing the plates and utensils that they are going to use.

Callistana stopped from walking when she was already near the long table.

"Good morning, Sir Ali. Welcome back," she said softly.

Her teacher glanced at her then scanned her from head to toe. His eyebrows twitched. It seems like he's in a very bad mood.

He didn't speak but Callistana felt that he was not satisfied.

They were already eating when he spoke. "Who chose those shoes for you? It doesn't go well with the gown. It looks disgusting," he coldly said.

Callistana bowed her head. The gown she was wearing is color sage green and her shoes were color cream.

"After eating, change that. What an eyesore," he added.

She immediately nodded then resumed eating. Callistana unconsciously glanced at him. It seems like he's really in a bad mood.

Her brows furrowed when she noticed something. Beatriz went to the table to fill the bowl of cut fruits since it was already empty. She was about to go back to the kitchen when she heard Callistana spoke.

"Sir Ali, are you okay? There's a scratch in your neck..." The Lady worriedly said.

The teacher immediately fixed his collar. While Beatriz froze on her spot and looked at Sir Ali's neck.