The Legend of Callistana

Chapter III

Seeing her dear friend being punished because of her was enough to scare Callistana. Ever since that happened, she became extra careful in everything that she does, afraid that she might accidentally make a mistake that would risk Beatriz again and her other servants. She doesn't want that to happen again. She will never be able forgive herself if someone gets hurt again just because of her.

So what if she wanted to do a lot of things? What about her dreams and ambitions to experience new things, especially those stuff that she was forbidden to? All of that doesn't matter anymore. Her priority is her safety as well as her servants' security, too. Not to let them be punished just because of her dreams.

Callistana knew that since Beatriz was punished, some of the servants began to be indifferent towards her secretly. Even they try to hide it, she can feel it. But she understands them. They are doing their job everyday, serving her and the teachers who teach her. And just because of her, their life might be put on risk. They are someone, too. Their lives are precious, too, just like her. That is why she has to be extra careful.

But if something or someone has not changed, it was Beatriz. Callistana forced herself to stop dreaming for those things but Beatriz keeps on dreaming for her. She always swears to her that she will be free from this place one day. And she can sacrifice her life for it. But Callistana doesn't think about it anymore. She stopped hoping for it and just focused on her real purpose which is to be the perfect Empress of the future and a flawless personal servant of the next Emperor.

Callistana was busy arranging the flowers on a vase when someone knocked at the door of her room. She glanced at the door and when it opened, her servant who was also her secret friend opened the door.

"The food is ready, my Lady," Beatriz told her with a smile.

Callistana nodded and finished what she was doing. She went to her bathroom and washed her hands before going out of the room. Beatriz was behind her, following her closely.

The servants were preparing the table. There are a lot of cut fruits and vegetables on the plates. The main dish was a seafood soup.

As soon as she sat on her chair, she prepared her table napkin. She gracefully picked up her spoon and fork and began eating while the servants were watching her.

They are required to watch her in case she has sudden allergic reactions to the food that they serve. Fortunately, that never happened ever since she was a child.

Callistana nodded in satisfaction as she tasted the main dish. She sipped a small amount of water on her glass before gazing at the servants.

"This is delicious. Thank you so much for cooking," she uttered softly then resumed eating.

Her teacher Ali suddenly came. He sat beside her and automatically, the servants prepared his plates, utensils, and food as quickly as they could. While they were moving fast, Ali was staring at Callistana intently. He gazed on her face and his eyes focused on her lips.

Callistana then glanced at him and gave him a sweet smile.

"Good noon, Sir Ali. The food is delicious. You will like it," she uttered.

The teacher was still staring at her. It was an intense kind of staring. The corner of his lip rose.

"Right. I am sure it's delicious," he answered meaningfully.

Beatriz who was standing on the side slowly looked up to watch the teacher. She observed him carefully and she immediately noticed how his gaze almost never left Callistana's face. Beatriz gritted her teeth and bowed her head again. She's been watching him since he became her lady's teacher because she can feel that his stares mean something. She squeezed her own fingers to calm herself.

She has lived long enough in this world to know that kind of stare. But her lady, Callistana, is innocent and naive. She's not realizing what kind of eyes are looking at her closely.

Beatriz needs to watch him closely.

After finishing the main dish, Callistana ate the fruits and vegetables that were prepared for her. She noticed that her teacher kept on looking at her. She smiled at him and he just plastered a ghost of smirk on his lips.

"You're growing into a really beautiful woman, Callistana. Your physical aspect is maturing perfectly. I wonder if your brain is maturing, too?" he asked in a mocking tone.

Callistana didn't know how to respond to that but Beatriz felt so uncomfortable for her.

She just gave him a smile and sipped on her glass of water.

After her lunch, she went back to her room. She let the food go down on her stomach while standing. Callistana was not allowed to sit down for too long after she ate that is why she immediately right after that and just walked around. Her teachers taught her that because they believe that sitting would cause a build up of fats on her stomach. And that is not allowed to happen. She has to have a perfect body.

She brushed her teeth after a while. Callistana has to follow a lot of strict rules and routines but it's not hard for her anymore because she's been doing that since she was a child. Everything was in order. Everything has a reason. And she's not allowed to miss even just one of her routines because it would ruin her perfection.

The night came and that time is a bit of a challenge to her sometimes. Although she's used to not eating anything for dinner, there are times that she gets hungry but she can't do anything about it.

Beatriz handed her a glass of fruit juice. That is the only thing that she could take every night.

"Thank you, Beatriz," she said softly then accepted the glass. She slowly drank it, enjoying every drop of the juice since it would be the only thing she will have tonight.

After that, she handed it back to her maid. Beatriz smiled at her.

"Start doing your nightly routine, my Lady so you can lay on your bed early," Beatriz reminded her.

Callistana nodded then she went back to her room. She has to be laying on her bed once the clock hits eight p.m. Her teacher would check her and if he found her still standing, she would be punished.

Before the clock struck 8, she was already on her bed. She closed her eyes and immediately tried to sleep but just a few seconds later, she heard the door open. She knew that it was her teacher, Ali. Callistana heard his footsteps towards her. He looked at her through the dim light from the lamp beside her bed. Then he left the room after that.

Callistana sighed as soon as the door closed. She kept her eyes closed, waiting for her to fall asleep. After a while, she fell into slumber.

She was already dreaming. Callistana saw herself in the middle of a vast field where different flowers are surrounding her. She giggled and ran around while holding the hem of her gown. It was a joyous feeling, a glimpse of freedom. But then, the surroundings suddenly went dark. Her consciousness became awake.

She felt something warm on her feet. It was caressing her soft skin up to her knee then up to her thigh.

When she opened her eyes, she realized that it was really happening. It was not a nightmare.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. With the help of the dim light, she saw a figure near the footboard of her bed. She suddenly sat that surprised the person. Before she could even reach for the lamp to brighten up the light, the figure left her room.

Callistana was confused. She blinked profusely and clutched on her chest. She can't understand what just happened but her heart was pounding on her chest.

"What was that?" she murmured. "And who was that?"

Could it be one of her servants? Probably Beatriz... But why would she touch her like that?

She was really confused so as soon as she woke up in the morning, she asked the servants who were bathing her.

"Did you visit me in the middle of the night?" she asked with a small smile.

The servants immediately shook their heads as their answer.

Callistana nodded but then, she began thinking deeply.

"I see..." she simply uttered.

During her breakfast, she didn't see Beatriz. According to one of the servants, Beatriz was with the purchaser. It was the time of the week that they have to buy the supplies needed for that place. She will be probably back on the next day since the marketplace is far from the palace that they are living in.

When her teacher Ali came, she looked at him intently. When he saw her looking at her, he raised his brow.

"What is it?" he asked.

Callistana smiled a bit to show respect. "I am just curious if you visited my room last night, Sir Ali..." she said hently.

His forehead creased. "Yes, I did. I checked if you were asleep."

She shook her head. "I mean, after that... Like, in the middle of the night? Because someone was in my room."

He firmly shook his head. "No one is allowed to go near your room at that time. You must be dreaming," he answered her nonchalantly, dismissing her other statements.

She slowly nodded to accept his answer. No one is really allowed to go to her chamber at that time. Sir Ali would be the last person to visit her just to check if she's already on bed. But after that, everyone are expected to be asleep and no one is allowed to disturb Callistana's sleep to make sure that she won't be lacked of it.

"Thank you for answering, Sir Ali..." she said and smiled again.

Right. It must be a dream.

But it felt so real.

Callistana tried to forget it. She doesn't want to think much about it. Her teacher must be right. It was just her subconscious, creating a realistic dream that she had a hard time to differentiate between reality and dream.

The night came again. Just like usual, Sir Ali visited her exactly at 8 p.m and right after that, she fell asleep.

Although Callistana never had freedom, she somehow experiences it in her dreams. And she doesn't know if it's a good thing because it makes her crave for something that she can never have. It makes her eager to taste even a glimpse of it.

Just like what happened last night, the paradise she was in turned dark. Then she felt that she was in her room. As soon as she opened her eyes, the darkness filled her vision. The lamp on the side of her bed was off but she was sure that it was dim light before she fell asleep.

Her consciousness embraced her body. She then felt that someone was touching her again. The person was caressing her skin on her thigh and it was about to touch her femininity. She was feeling really scared and nervous but she forced herself to be tough. Callistana caught the hand of the person even

"What are you doing? Who are you?" she asked while holding the hand tightly.

She was about to sit and reach for the lamp while still holding the person's hand but the person was strong. With a small effort to be freed from her hands, he succeeded and immediately left the room.

With shaking hands, Callistana opened the lamp beside her head. She turned it to the brightest light that it can give. She was breathing heavily as she looked at the door that was a bit open. She stood and walked towards the door. Then she glanced outside her room, scanning the whole hallway.

It's empty. No one's there.

But this time, she's sure that it was not a dream. This is the reality. That person left the door open when he escaped.

Callistana locked the door and laid her back on her bed. She covered her body with the comforter but she stayed wide awake.

'Who was that? Why was that person touching me? What is his purpose?'

A lot of questions were running through her mind. She closed her eyes tightly. This is the first time that she felt unsafe. What if that person comes back to her room and hurts her?