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Caenia hated water. Well, that was a gross simplification of the real problem, but the long and short of it was that she really hated everything about water. It wasn’t always like that. The beach used to be her favorite place in the world. But now, as the maid looked out the window of one of the royal family’s many coastal mansions, she couldn’t help but grimace at the stormy weather and the waves down below. It made Caenia think of “her,” and thinking of her made all those bitter, disgusting emotions swell.
“How long can one girl take in the bathroom?” Caenia tried to get her mind back on work. The second princess, whose name still wasn’t worth mentioning (“seriously, who names their kid that?”), was currently locked in the bathroom. Not sick or anything, just a regular trip to the bathroom that had taken over 40 minutes. Normally, the maid would start thinking there was a problem, but she could still hear her ward moving around in there, so thankfully, the princess hadn’t managed to flush herself down the toilet (that’d be more of a Princess Irene move). Unfortunately, with so little to do and no concerns to distract her, Caenia’s mind would wander back to the window, to the storm outside, and the ocean so close by. And then, she’d think of “her,” and this whole cycle would start anew.
Caenia turned towards the princess’s vanity and caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror. She had certainly cleaned herself up since those not-so-distant days of self-exile on the streets of the old city. Her hair was well-kept and brushed, her clothes were neat and ironed, her posture was perfect, and she even started using a little makeup again. But a small part of her old self still gnawed at her, telling her she could do so much better, that she’s so much more beautiful than this.
That small part of her missed taking pride in her appearance as well as her strength, but now all that mattered to her was the latter. What good was all that beauty for after dealing with Irene? What was the point in prettying herself up for people who didn’t actually care? Well, she did relish all those perks she got for buddying up with all the high nobles. Lord did she miss those fancy baths, they made her feel as fresh as a newborn baby. But that circled back to caring about her appearance, which she only did for the people who didn’t actually care about her. And again, baths meant water, and water meant “her.”
With the mirror doing no favors for her sour mood, Caenia turned back towards the window, back to looking at the rain, back to looking at the ocean, back to looking at “her.” She clenched her fist, trying to control her anger. When it came to “her,” it wasn’t like dealing with other nobles. Ze was just an adrenaline junky, Herme was nothing more than an absent-minded professor, Aré was full of herself, and Aphros was a moron. And oh, how Caenia hated Aphros. It almost made her laugh when she heard Serena complain about the blonde idiot. Serena thinks she hates Aphros, but she had no idea what it truly meant to hate someone. The best part was that Aphros was so much of a moron that you could insult her to her face, and she would refuse to comment.
The problem with Aphros was that she was always plotting something stupid in the background, so even though she’s a moron, you could never let your guard down around her lest you get roped into something ridiculous. But unlike Aphros, when it came to “her,” all bets were off. She wasn’t looking for thrills, she wasn’t an airhead, she wasn’t blinded by her pride, nor was she stupid. She was perfect. And not “perfect” like how the Queen was, no, the Queen scared the hell out of Caenia. The Queen was the kind of person who read you like a book with a single glance, then pretended like she didn’t know the first thing about you. But “her,” she could figure you out quickly, too, but she took her time to really understand you before making any moves. She always knew the right thing to say, she was always two steps ahead of you, she was unflappable, and she was perfection. And once upon a time, Caenia wanted to be just like her.
“So why?” Caenia clenched her hand harder until her nails dug so deeply into her palms that they started to bleed, “Why didn’t you help me?” That was the problem with “her,” she was just like the ocean. Beautiful, majestic, mysterious, and absolutely ruthless. And just like all the other nobles, when Caenia needed her most, she wasn’t there. Ze at least tried to help, Herme was oblivious, Aré thought it was beneath her to help, and Aphros had the nerve to scold the maid. But “her,” she didn’t even give an excuse at the time, because she wasn’t even there. And when Caenia reached out to her, desperate for help, she received no reply. Caenia wished she could declare her hatred for the woman, say all the same nasty things she’d say to the other nobles. But she couldn’t, because she was afraid of “her.” She couldn’t face her, she couldn’t mock her, she couldn’t even glare in her direction. But most of all, Caenia was scared to find out the real reason.
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If you're afraid of the truth, you'll never be able to face reality, and if you can't face reality then don't look in the mirror.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
