Chapter 3: Unforgiven
507 Words
"Mother!"
Diana ran straight to Mrs. Janet, who was sitting inside the iron cage. The bars were a barrier that kept Diana from hugging the mother she had missed so much.
"Are you okay, Mother? Are you in any pain?" Diana gently caressed Mrs. Janet's face. Seeing her mother in this state filled Diana with sympathy. Mrs. Janet's once youthful appearance had begun to show the signs of aging. Her mother was no longer the same as before. Once, Mrs. Janet had been an elderly woman who took great care of her appearance. But now, she looked like a beggar who hadn't had food for days and was waiting for death. Her gaunt face and emaciated body made Diana's heartache with sympathy.
In just a year of separation from her mother, Mrs. Janet's physical condition had deteriorated so drastically and terribly. The change in Mrs. Janet made Diana realize how much her mother had suffered during the time she had been in the palace.
"I'm sorry, Mother," Diana said, unable to hold back her tears any longer.
"What are you doing here, dear? I told you not to look for me anymore," Mrs. Janet said, also crying as she wiped away her daughter's tears. She hadn't expected that Diana would be found by the palace after a year of hiding. Mrs. Janet didn't want her suffering to affect Diana as well.
She had suffered enough. Not Diana, her beloved daughter.
She couldn't do anything to save her daughter. Mrs. Janet knew that the punishment awaiting Diana would be severe. Her beloved daughter was sure to suffer greatly.
"Aubriella, I beg you. Please, don't do anything to Diana. Punish me, Ella. Not my daughter," Mrs. Janet pleaded from inside the cell, her gaze fixed on Aubriella's frozen expression. Aubriella paused, a cynical smile spreading across her face as she listened to Mrs. Janet's pleas.
"Sister?" Aubriella sneered.
"Auntie begs again, Ella. I've already received my share of punishment. Diana is innocent. It's all my fault. I'm the one who—"
"Be quiet!" Aubriella's voice was so loud that it silenced Mrs. Janet's words.
"I used to plead like this. But did you and Diana ever care about my feelings? I nearly went insane, but neither you nor Diana showed any sympathy for me."
"This is just a small part of it, Auntie. My wounds haven't healed. The pain I've endured hasn't subsided. Even if I heal, there will still be scars that mar my life. And that makes me hate seeing you and Diana even more." Aubriella's eyes glistened with the resentment she held inside.
Mrs. Janet could only keep silent. She admitted that her cruelty towards Aubriella was unforgivable. She deeply regretted her actions.
"And one more thing. I never considered Diana to be my sister. You and Diana are not my family. I'm a princess of the Grandbell Kingdom. I'm not Cinderella anymore." Aubriella's cynical smile widened as she turned and walked away from Mrs. Janet.
"Forgive me, Aubriella," Mrs. Janet whispered, her voice breaking.
- Writer
