I am Reborn through Revenge

She wiped my tears

I paced my eyes around, everywhere suddenly became quiet. I couldn’t tell how long I have stood there alone—maybe it was because I had been in a frantic state a while ago.

One person was gone, who was next? Me?

I realized that if I start thinking ahead of whoever it was after my life and also learn how to aid it with actions, then I might, just might have an edge over the i***t. I was at a loss. I haven’t been able to find out anything that will help me and the only person who would have given me something substantial or something meaningful had been assassinated. My eyes suddenly became heavy and itchy. My heart was filled with a lot of pain and I knew I looked worried. I wanted to let out a mournful cry— I thought it would ease my pains. I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore.

I heard gentle, quiet footsteps of someone walking toward me from behind. And at that moment, it was as though my body was nervous about everything—everyone was a suspect. I think it was a unique way of my body reacting to disturbing situations.

If not, why would I be freaked out by ordinary footsteps? Immediately I turned to confirm who it was that was coming towards me from behind, I noticed it was someone I never expected to see, someone I think for the moment I needed to see.

“Marie,” I said, my voice trembling.

She flickered her brows; she seemed to be surprised to see me too. “Your Highness!” she said and bowed respectfully. Her new hairstyle gave her a mesmerizing look I admired. A detail I think I missed the other time we saw each other. She was holding a small black bag that was left unzipped. I peered through the small opening, and I saw a letter inside the bag.

“If I may ask your Highness, why are you standing here, alone?” She asked. Her eyes were traveling, as if she was scanning my face— I loved it. The last time I saw her, she was resisting me. She avoided looking at me directly in the eyes but today, I was the one avoiding her gaze. Why was that? Why didn't I want to look at those eyes I have been dying to see? Those eyes that bring up good memories inside my heart?

“No. . . Nothing” I said, slowly losing control of myself. I could feel tears rolling down in a slow motion down my left eye.

She didn’t look away. Or was it that she refused to? “Are you sure you are alright?” she asked me, her voice, as soft as the wind.

I turned my gaze at her but this time, what I had been avoiding was revealed.

Tears!

Tears embarrassingly welled down my two eyes. I tried to sneeze, I tried to control it as if that would solve it. Immediately she saw my eyes, she quickly dropped the bag and shot a shocking gaze at me. She gaped and her face was furrowed in a sigh. More tears rolled down my eyes. I had initially wanted to cry, initially wanted to scream because I felt defeated. But she was there so I couldn’t do it anymore. I tried to control it but it seemed like the more I tried the more difficult it becomes. My heart fluttered as if it would blow up in my chest.

She ran toward me and enveloped me in a warm hug.

Of all people in the world, I never thought I'd get a hug from her.

She held me as if I was a child. She rested her head on my chest and her hands wrapped my shoulders. Her hair which was touching my jaw smelled like lemon mixed with sweet scents of grapes. The head she rested on my chest felt so good— I felt the fluttering slowly stopping. It was as though I was very thirsty and luckily drank a cup of chilled water in the middle of a horrid desert. The uneven rhythmic movement on my chest was abruptly brought to a halt. Maybe for what seemed to be a while, she realized she shouldn’t have hugged me or perhaps hugged a Prince tightly like a child, she slowly began to remove her head from my chest and was about to let go of her hands she wrapped around me before I stopped her.

I hugged her back, wrapping my hands around her and embracing her in a tight hug. I bent my neck so my head could rest on top of her hair. She gave up the decision of letting me go and she embraced me again. I closed my eyes, and some memories began to flush in. I tried to get hold of myself from overthinking or getting carried away, but I couldn't. This image that appeared in my head, I saw it very clearly. It was a woman who was not looking at me but rather faced the other side. The only thing I could see was her long black hair that cascaded down to her hip. I got worried.

Who was this strange woman who had refused to look at me? I tried to look around to see exactly where I was but there was nothing to see. It was as if I was in the middle of nowhere (maybe I thought that I would get a clue by looking around). There was absolutely nothing to see. Everywhere was just as white as the morning cloud, an endless horizon with a total noiseless background. There were no trees, no flowers, no bushes, just only sands, and the white cloud. Apart from the black hair this strange woman had, every other thing on her body was pure white. I tried to approach her but she vanished. Where could she have gone? Could she be my. . .?

I didn’t care, I just hugged Marie tightly, wishing the moment would not end. Wishing she would just hold me and until all my fears diminish to a pinpoint. Wishing she would always be available to cushion my anxiety, to relieve me of stress. But that was wishful thinking. I had other things I needed to sort out and I knew that she also had something to do.

When it seemed to me that my tears had dried up, I decided to let her go but I chose to do it slowly. When we were both free from our embrace, we traded glances for few seconds, my eyes against a mesmerizing and innocent beauty, but she quickly avoided my gaze. Then she managed to look up again then I saw those beautiful cat eyes she had been hiding. She had the most innocent eyes I had ever seen. It was as though she couldn’t hurt a fly. She looked like a girl with a beautiful face and a beautiful heart. Her innocence lies in her eyes.

If she doesn’t have a beautiful heart, I don’t she think would have had the guts to hug me when it seemed like I needed it the most, I thought. She broke my pain and she sensed that I was in great despair. I knew that a female servant caught hugging a Prince like that openly could bring damaging consequences if caught but I didn't care. Was I being selfish?

I wasn't sure if she knows this or maybe she knew but chose to ignore it as I did. And even if she does, it seemed like she didn’t care at that moment.

“Take this,” she said. “Wipe your face.” Her eyes flickered around again.

She gave me a pure white hankie and I took it. I wiped my face and handed the hankie back to her.

“You can have it. It’s yours now,” she said calmly. I wanted to reject it, but I couldn’t even bring myself to do it.

“Thank you!” I said, my voice wavering.

She shook her head and turned around. She went and picked the black bag she had left on the floor then turned and wanted to leave.

“Wait,” I said, leaning closer to her. She turned, looking at me. “Marie, I. . . I want you to be very careful. There are bad people around here who could hurt you. Please, be careful of them.”

She looked at me like she was studying me, her lips were slightly opened. I knew she would be wondering why I suddenly said something like that to her. I didn’t even know why I did that myself.

It took her a whole lot of time, possibly a minute to answer me. Maybe she was also surprised I said something like that to her. “Thank you, Your Highness. I will keep that in mind” she said. She didn’t flicker her eyes as she did before. She hurried away from the place like she was running late for something or maybe she had a tight schedule she didn’t want to miss.