Villainess Reborn: SEASON ONE

CHAPTER TEN

TATIANA LORIEL

Norma clenched her jaw after she left the princess's room. She felt her blood boiling, and her head felt like exploding from the heat and annoyance she felt when she was in there.

"Does she think I'm stupid?" she scoffed, "pretending to be an angel when everything won't work on me."

She pushed the trolley and marched away, bumping into William, who was staring at her expression. A sudden rush of worry washed over him when he saw Norma's angry expression. A part of him feared that something bad had happened or that the princess had regained her memories and gone back to her old self.

Just when she was finally starting to change as she forgot her past and the pain that came along with it, William feared that the princess would be pulled back into her dark past again. He is not thankful for the fact that the princess was poisoned and lost all her memories, but with that experience, he saw how she was given another chance to heal and start over.

"This is William, your highness. I will now be entering—"

He was not able to finish what he was saying when the door opened and the princess pulled him inside. He was shaken and lost in thought for a while, trying to process what had happened, and when he came back to reality, the princess was already looking at the paper bag he was holding.

Tatiana looked over at what William was holding as excitement and anticipation washed over her. William cleared his throat to the princess's attention.

"I will be fired if the king or queen discovers that I gave you this," William calmly explained, "this isn't right for a royalty, your highness, I suggest you don't go through with your plan."

Tatiana pulled the paper bag from William's grip and looked inside of it. She sighed and nodded her head.

"This is the perfect disguise," she said, "I won't get caught, I promise. I just want to learn about the palace on my own."

"I can provide you with great teachers that will teach you about the—"

"They won't be able to give me the answers that I'm looking for," Tatiana said, "I want to see their world through their eyes. I will learn more about everything there than from listening to boring lectures."

William was stunned to speak. Hearing the princess say that felt like she was speaking a dead language. She never had an interest in commoners, let alone the workers in the palace, and now she wants to learn about them.

Tatiana went over to her walk-in closet to change into the clothes that William had brought for her. She stared into her reflection at the mirror, wearing an indigo-colored print gown down to her ankles and a white apron over it. She also buttoned the cuffs on her wrists and wore a white headpiece over her black wig. She would easily be recognized if she didn't wear a wig over her hair.

To complete the disguise, she also had large glasses that filled almost half of her face, and when she was satisfied with her look, she came out of the closet with William waiting.

She grinned and ran over to William, who looked like he was regretting the choice he had made. He lowered his head in disappointment after seeing the princess.

"Please reconsider your plan, princess," he said, "I really think that this is not a good idea."

"Don't worry about me," Tatiana answered while straightening her uniform, "I won't be getting into trouble. I'll just look around and gather information."

William sighed in defeat. If there was a trait that the princess had before and after she lost her memory, it was that she would do anything to get what she wanted, no matter how hard it was to attain. But looking down on the princess, his eyes softened and the side of his lips slightly lifted.

Deep inside, he was relieved that the princess was still the same. The princess was coping and doing well these days. She would go to the library and spend time with her younger half-brother, Elliot, something that she had never done before. She wouldn't even spare him a glance.

William knew that the image of her brother only reminded her that her mother was replaced by a stranger that never cared for her. She could not accept the fact that her father, the king, easily replaced the previous queen and pretended as if nothing had happened. Hatred towards her father started to grow inside of her heart and the world became dark from her point of view.

Now that the princess has lost most of her memories, she has been given a chance to forget the pain and start over. No one knows when she will regain her memory or if she will ever regain it again, but one thing is for sure, William will see to it that the future queen of Aragon is well taken care of.

"Let's go?" Tatiana asked him. The thought of exploring the palace this time wearing a disguise excited her and made her nervous. She just hoped that nobody would be able to recognize her.

William and the princess walked out of the room and acted like it was nothing. One of the guards stepped in front of them, which made Tatiana freeze. She was only two steps outside of her room. Would she be discovered and be sent back in?

"Who is that? We never saw a young maid enter the princess's chambers." The royal guard suspiciously examined Tatiana. She lowered her head and avoided the guard's gaze, scared that she would get caught.

"What do you mean? I was with her when we entered the princess's chamber early this morning," William answered, "are you sure that you weren't half asleep when we went here?"

The guard froze and looked at the other two. Both of them shook their heads, which made the guard in front of us clear his throat. So, they were half asleep during duty, after all.

The royal guard stepped aside to let them pass. Tatiana felt like her whole body shivered and her knees almost gave her away. She was almost caught, and without William, she would never be able to go out of that door again.

William turned around, which made Tatiana jump, but she quickly composed herself and went behind William.

"The princess wants to rest today and will therefore not be accepting guests." He told them, "I hope you remember this since we all know what the princess becomes of if she gets disturbed while resting."

The guards looked at each other and nodded at William. Tatiana felt that something heavy was removed from her chest after that. Her heart started beating, and a jolt of excitement sparked inside her.

This was it. A chance to explore the palace.

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END