Once Upon An Us

Ch. 2

Xael kept her head to the side, watching the stranger through the  tinted window. She hadn't met anyone like him before. Most men she knew were sophisticated: they wore expensive suits, designer shoes and held themselves in high esteem.  He on the other hand seemed quite unbothered with life. 

"You shouldn't have come all the way here, ma'am. I would have come for you at school." Johnathan reprimanded. His tone was firm but it was caused by the fear of what could have happened. Not only was he late, she walked to the worst part of town. 

Their gazes met in the rearview mirror. He sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry I came late." He apologised. Per usual she remind silent. 

He had been her parents chauffeur even before she was born, long enough to notice her drastic shift in behaviour. The once happy  girl had completely disappeared and was replaced with a dull girl who was tired of life. Money didn't really buy happiness indeed. Now she was left with the one person she wanted to be away from the most-her step mother.

His expression saddened once he realised they would have to face her. He could only imagine the harsh words about to be thrown their way, especially since it was all his fault. 

"How was the art class today?" He asked, finally making her smile. He smiled back. That was their little secrete. Evelyn would not allow her join the class and when questioned about it, she always found the most senseless  excuse but he knew why. She knew how passionate she was about art and wanted to take that too away from her. Xael was as good as a prisoner except in her own castle. 

Soon, he was parked in front of heavy iron gates. A security guard attired in all black peaked from his little space at the corner of the gate. They nodded at each other before he went back to his cabin and pressed a button, opening the gates. As they drove by, he locked gazes with Xael and when he smiled, she looked down, hiding her own little smile. 

"Home sweet home!" Jonathan murmured. He looked down at his g-sport; 9:45pm. There was no excuse now. The Madame was going to have his neck. A light shudder passed through him as he remembered her altercation with a maid the day prior: the poor girl only spilled some salt on her polished table top. She looked down , shoulders hung and shaking as she sobbed while Evelyn barked venomous words her way. No one was immune to her cruelty, not him and definitely not Xael. 

He walked to the passenger side and opened the door. Quite effortlessly, he noticed how her orbs dilated as she stared at the mansion before her. 

He placed his hand on her lower back as he directed her inside. As the reached the door, a maid opened it and greeted Xael, who replied with a shy smile. 

She appreciated the warmth she met in the house followed by the scent of freshly picked daisies with a hint of artificially generated flower scents. The same maid waited for Jonathan to hand over the back pack per usual but showed empty hands instead, "She didn't have one when I picked her up," he stated. 

Only then did she remember. Her hand shot up to her neck but instead of feeling the roughness of her necklace, she was met with smooth, naked skin. Her eye frantically searched around her with pure fight dominating her features. "My necklace." She whispered. 

The maid looked at Johnathan for help. "Where did you put it?" She asked. 

She run her fingers through her hair then pat her back.

"Where did you leave the backpack?" The maid asked but didn't get a response. Xael looked up at Johnathan,p, this time with glossy eyes. She started scratching her neck with her french tips, creating marks and redness on the skin. 

"Stop!" Johnathan yelled. He snatched her hand with more force than intended. He noticed the scowl which formed on her lips as well as the slump in her shoulders. H felt bad. He didn't mean to yell at her. Xael self harmed ,a lot, and would do so in any instance she got.

"We'll find the back pack." He added in a much softer tone, "I'm sure you left it on campus, or..."

"You missed dinner." 

The three heads snapped up. Descending the stairs was  Evelyn,clicking her heels as she brushed the tip of her fingers along the rails of the stairs. It wasn't long before she stood right before her mini crowd. Knowing better, the maid excused herself. 

"Why did you miss dinner?" She asked this time. 

"I had to..." Jonathan began but was immediately cut off by Evelyn.

"I was speaking to my child."

She c****d her head to the side and crossed her arms as she waited for the answers she very well knew she would not receive. As she stared, Xael bit her lower lip as she looked at Johnathan anxiously. All she wanted was to find her necklace. 

"Alright then!" Evelyn clapped, "go to bed then."

Johnathan shook his head and replied, "she hasn't had dinner yet."

She hummed. "If she wanted dinner, she wouldn't have missed dinner."

Johnathan could feel his heart begin to pace, "It was my fault." The forty five year old shrugged, "well I guess you both learnt a lesson." She finished with a smirk. 

Xael ignored her comment and grabbed his arm. She needed the backpack. Johnathan understood her visual plea. He placed his gently put his hand on hers and started rubbing on a small part of the skin. "She needs to find her bag," he pointed out, "her necklace is in it."

Evelyn shifted her gaze to Xael who was nodding in agreement. "She's not going anywhere. She has way too many bags to be worried about one." Xael shook her head at this conclusion. "My necklace," she whimpered, her voice shaky.

Only this little piece of information would draw a smile on the woman's face. She got the gold piece from her biological mother before she passed and god forbid someone touched it. Once, probably two years ago, she misplaced it and the entire household had to flip the city inside out, searching for it. Evenly made sure to stay away from all the drama because her fathers "people" got involved. She wasn't bothered then, she most definitely won't be now. Just another mishap she prayed to happen. 

"Go to bed, Xael." She insisted. 

She tightened the hold she had on Johnathan's hand. "Every," he started, "you know what that necklace means to her. It won't take that long to find the bag on campus." That was true. Most lost items were sent to the lost and found cabin. It was on rare occasions the students stole from each other. 

Try as he may Evelyn wouldn't see reason. In fact this was the main cause of fights between them. The man always interfered with her dealings with the girl. The only thing that saved him was the fact she couldn't fire him because by will, he was part of the family till he decided to leave. She personally didn't care about the requirements but if she went against it, she wouldn't have the states top lawyers to answer to. 

Although, he knew that.

"See you tomorrow, Johnathan." She dismissed and grabbed Xael's hand, dragging her upstairs and into her room.

Time was static as it seemed they were staring at each other for a very long time. Xael's drowning green eyes were squinted as her shoulders heaved. After long, she licked her lips and walked into her bathroom. No matter how much she begged, Evelyn would not have a change of heart. It was like arguing with a wall.

Just as she heard her bedroom door slam shut, she spun to her  mirror and that's when the tears began. 

Her breathing intensified and she grabbed the edge of the granit sink for dear life. In...out...in and out, she tried regulating her breath. Once again she let go off the only memory of her parents. 

Her biological mother, Isabella Labyrinth meant the world to her father. She witnessed her father, with all the power he held, break down, wailing as a baby as he clenched portraits of her, begging for her to comeback. She would often hear him cuss out anyone who spoke about her in the past tense. He wouldn't leave his room for close to a year, neglecting her, all alone for the maids, nannies and close family members to take  care of.

Then one day he had an awakening. She was rushed to the hospital after a seizure. It was then he found out all the illnesses she had collected. He was angry. Why didn't anyone tell him about it! 

He wouldn't leave her side after and even when she was sent home. He apologised to her every way he could and promised himself, his deceased wife and her that he would be there for her; their bond stronger than ever.

That's when Evelyn stepped in. Xael had never seen her before a few years after, her father married Evelyn and every memory of her mother was erased from the mansion, safe the necklace.

"Arrggghhh!" She screamed as excruciating pain rippled through her heart. She clenched at her chest as she slowly slipped to the floor. By now the every inhabitant of the mansion could hear her wails. 

In...out...in...and out. She tried once more but it didn't seem to work. A swirl of heat appeared out of no where, sweat wetting her forehead. She needed the necklace and she would get the necklace.

Evelyn smiled to herself as she sipped her Cheval Blanc 1947. "Just like music to my ears." She made sure to say in a tone past a whisper. Xael's personal maids stood before her, with their heads bowed. Martha, the oldest among the five boldly raised her head. She felt the child's pain as if it were her own but could she really Stan up to the woman before her? 

The girls screams sounded once more and that's when she spoke, "Ma'am."

Evelyn c****d her head. "We need to attend to the madam so if there is nothing you need..." 

"I need you five to help the others in the kitchen." She interrupted.

Now the mothers raised their heads and stared at each other questionably. They kneels what this was. The whole mansion did. 

"Ma'am, there are past forty maids in this mansion for that. The Madam needs us right now," Martha responded. Her nose was flared and eyes squinted at the lady. "That's why we where hired."

"Last time I checked I was the parent here," Evelyn retorted, "not you." By the way she continued to sip her wine and keep her voice calm, it was obvious to the women how little she was worried for the child's well-being. 

"Then act like it." Martha spat.

Evelyn, in complete rage, threw her glass to the ground and stood toe-to-toe with the sixty five year old. Her chest heaved as her fist clenched and unclenches at her side. "Leave us." She murmured loud enough to for the other four to hear. Although hesitant, they obeyed. 

She counted to ten in her mind before releasing her fists and drawing a cunning smile across her lips. It was not just the woman before her, she felt she was slowly loosing her power in the mansion. She noticed how they referred to her as ma'am and Xael as madam and although she would never break from character, it angered her. She was in charge! 

"You seem to be getting too bold for your own good." She spat.

"I could say the same about you." Martha retorted.

Evelyn crossed her arms, raised a brow, and snickered, as if asking her to explain herself further. 

"What will the lawyers do when they find out how you treat her?" She asked. "That child is sick, suffering in ways you will never understand or be able to endure yet you treat her like the outsider when it is you in her home. She has no one! All this belongs to her. The least you can do is take care of her as if she was your own instead of swimming in it like a gold digger!"

Just as the words came out, the metallic taste of blood followed by pain on her left cheek left Martha both breathless and speechless. The only thing the two could hear was their own ragged breathing. 

"Don't you ever..."

"She's gone!" Someone cried. 

Martha's heart pounded in her chest. She immediately knew who was being referred to. She run to her room and into the bathroom. There she met little blood drops and shattered glass. "Get Johnathan!" She exclaimed.