The villainess Returns
1106 Words
The brass doorknob turned slowly.
Ariana's pulse pounded against her ribs.
"Stay calm," Selene whispered.
"They're going to notice—"
"I know. Let me help. Follow my lead."
The door opened. An elderly woman in a dark blue maid's uniform stepped inside, followed by a middle-aged physician carrying a leather satchel.
The maid gasped, tears welling instantly in her eyes. "My Lady! thank Astra, you're finally awake." Before Ariana could react, the woman hurried forward and clasped both her hands checking she was solid, real, still there.
"You've frightened us all."
Ariana forced a faint smile. "I'm... sorry."
Selene's voice echoed softly inside her mind. "That's Martha. She raised me — from Childhood if I'm being honest. She's the only person in this house who loves me without wanting something back. Or without any expectations"
Ariana studied the older woman's face. The warmth there wasn't the polished warmth of duty. It was real.
The physician stepped closer. "My Lady, may I?"
Ariana nodded, and he checked her pulse, her breathing, her eyes,
his expression grew more puzzled with each time
"Remarkable," he murmured.
Martha's worry deepened. "Is something wrong?"
"Quite the opposite. She's recovered far faster than I'd have expected." He looked back at Ariana who is in Selene’s body. "Do you remember what happened yesterday, my Lady?"
Ariana hesitated.
*Yesterday.* She thought
Yesterday she had died in front of a thousand wedding guests.
Selene's voice cut in quickly, low and urgent. "I fainted during dinner. Tell him that's all you remember. Nothing more"
Ariana nodded slowly. "I remember feeling dizzy... after dinner. And then — nothing."
The physician seemed satisfied with that, closing his satchel with a small click. "As I suspected. Exhaustion, likely brought on by stress. You must be gentler with yourself, my Lady."
Selene gave a dry laugh. "If only he knew."
Once the examination finished, Martha saw the physician out. Before pulling the door shut behind her, she turned back, and something in her face eased for the first time since she'd walked in.
"I'll prepare breakfast. And—" a small, genuine smile, "—I'm glad to see you smiling again."
The door clicked shut. Silence settled over the room.
Ariana frowned. "Smiling again?"
Selene's answer came quiet, almost embarrassed. "I rarely did. Not where people noticed at least."
Ariana crossed to the window, and the estate unfolded below her like something painted r — rolling gardens, ancient oaks, a crystal lake catching the morning sun, rose-covered stone walls climbing toward the sky.
"It's beautiful."
"It is," Selene agreed, and her voice softened .
"I used to hide out there whenever it became hard to bear everything"
"You were lonely."
A pause, Then-
"...Yes."
Ariana turned from the window. "Will you tell me about your family? If I'm going to wear your life for a while, I'd rather not do it blind."
A long silence followed before Selene finally answered.
"My father is Duke Rowan Ashcroft. He isn't cruel — he just never learned how affection works, so he settles for correctness instead. My stepmother, Lady Vivian—" Selene stopped there, and Ariana felt the hesitation clearly.
"You don't have to tell me if it hurts."
"It does. But you deserve to know what you're walking into."after a heavy breath, "She's always believed I bring misfortune wherever I go. She's not entirely wrong to think it, given how this particular morning has gone."
"Do you have any siblings?"
Warmth crept into Selene's voice for the first time, unmistakable "Yes, i have a brother, moreover Stepbrother, Cassian. He's annoying. He sneaks books into my room when he thinks I'm not looking, and pretends he doesn't care whether I read many them to forget the loneliness. Even he's never once forgotten my birthday."
Ariana smiled. "So he loves you."
"He'd deny it to his last breath."
Three sharp knocks interrupted them — impatient, without waiting for permission The door swung open before anyone answered.
A young noblewoman swept in wearing an elegant emerald dress, two ladies-in-waiting trailing behind her, both wearing identical expressions of barely concealed amusement.
The newcomer folded her arms. "Well. So the villainess finally decided to wake up."
Selene went very still. Ariana felt the tension settle through her like cold water.
"Who is she?" Ariana asked silently.
"Lady Beatrice Evermont. My cousin, on my mother's side. She's spent three years making sure everyone in this house remembers the rumors about the night my actual mother died — and making sure they attach my name to them."
Beatrice circled the room slowly, studying Ariana the way one studies furniture being appraised for resale.
"I heard you collapsed." A pause, deliberately cruel. "What a shame. I thought we might finally have a peaceful household for once."
Her ladies giggled on cue.
Ariana met her gaze and held it, calm.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you."
The room went quiet. Beatrice blinked — and said
"You've become bold."
"Perhaps," Ariana said, offering a small, genuine smile. "Or perhaps I've simply realized that kindness costs me nothing, even when it's wasted on someone who won't return it."
*I never speak to her like that,* Selene said, quiet and stunned. *Not once. Not in three years.*
Beatrice's eyes narrowed, and she took a slow step closer, studying Ariana's face like she was checking it for a forgery.
"You sound... different."
Ariana's heart skipped. *Had she already made a mistake, on her very first morning?*
For several long seconds, Beatrice simply stared, searching for whatever had changed and clearly not finding a name for it. Then she let out a short, cold laugh and waved the thought away.
"No matter. A snake wearing silk is still a snake." She turned toward the door, then paused, glancing back with a smile that promised nothing kind. "Oh — the Duke has requested your presence at tonight's family dinner. I do hope you remember your manners this time."
The door closed behind her.
Silence filled the room once more. Ariana let out the breath she'd been holding since the knock.
"Is every conversation with her like that?"
Selene sighed, and there was something almost fond buried underneath the exhaustion. "That was one of the pleasant ones."
Ariana laughed despite herself, surprising them both. "So." She glanced toward the mirror, meeting the reflection "It seems we're going to have quite the adventure."
For the first time since waking, Selene laughed too — quiet, barely audible, a little rusty from disuse.
But it was the first laugh she'd shared with anyone properly.
Neither of them noticed the shadow standing just outside the mansion In the garden…finding something.
- Writer
