Villainess Reborn: SEASON ONE

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Days went by and the tea party was getting near. Tatiana once again stayed in her room, but this time, she wasn't forced to. She refused to see anyone except William. After the incident, she hasn't been doing well. The queen shouted things at her for placing her teacher in the dungeon. She also took Elliot away and banned him from seeing her.

That was the first time the present Tatiana met the queen, and it turned out that the rumors weren't rumors. They were facts. They both knew that they truly hated each other. Now she had one more person on her hate list, and it just kept growing longer. She didn't want to attend the tea party if it was possible, but sadly, it wasn't. Now that she couldn't meet with Elliot, she became even more depressed inside her room.

"Your Highness, it is time for the afternoon tea!" a voice called out from the room. Despite her not answering, the doors opened.

She was lying on her bed with her back turned away from the door. She wasn't in the mood for an afternoon tea and sat up to tell the servant, but as soon as she saw the servant's face, her body froze and she went back to lying down and covering her face.

Meanwhile, the servant gazed at the princess and around the room. She gasped at the beauty and shine of the princess' chambers. This is the first time she has ever entered a room that belonged to a royal family member.

She thought that the princess would throw things right at her, but it seemed that the princess had no energy to do so.

'Why is she here?! She should be in the laundry station!' The princess thought. It turns out that Emma, a palace servant, was the one who entered the room and brought her tea. She bit the bottom of her lip and tightly shut her eyes.

She had already told William about the situation with the servants who saw her face and knew her as Maria. Turns out that the real Maria appeared at the end of the day and both the servants were left thinking who was with them.

"Your Highness, your tea is ready," Emma said, looking over the princess and attempting to take a slight to peek at her face. She has never seen the princess' face before, but everyone says that she is beautiful, though her personality is the complete opposite.

Tatiana raised her arm and waved the servant away. She did not want to speak since Emma might recognize her voice. She's just hoping that Emma understands what she was trying to say and goes away.

But Emma did not go away. And she did not understand what the princess had meant when she waved her hand. Instead, she walked towards the princess.

"Are you alright, your highness? Do you need help with something?" Emma asked worriedly.

Tatiana's eyes widened when she heard the footsteps getting closer. She started to panic and thought of a way to stop the clueless Emma.

Tatiana coughed, "I do not feel well. I would like to rest."

Emma grew worried about the princess but stopped in her tracks.

"Oh no!" Emma exclaimed, "then I must inform the royal physician immediately! The princess must be treated before it gets worse!"

"What?" Tatiana gasped, "no! wait!"

But by the time she sat up to stop Emma, she was already gone, and the door just clicked. Tatiana's heart started to beat wildly. She needed William, but she could not go out of the room because she was scared that she might run into Emma or the queen.

She messed up her hair and got up from her bed. She walked around in circles, trying to think of ways to avoid the situation.

Should she hide in the bathroom? Should she hide in her closet? She looked around the room for an escape anyway, but her gaze landed on the window. Should she escape?

If she hid in the bathroom, she would end up worrying everyone and thinking that she was trying to unalive herself. If she hid in the closet, she would still end up getting found, but if she were to escape from the window—

She shook her head off the thought. Just how many times would she jump from high places?

Tatiana heard a shuffling of footsteps and muffled voices nearing her bedroom. She frantically looked around once again for some sort of escape but she could not find any.

A voice announced from outside, "The Royal Physician is here, your highness!"

Time slowed down for Tatiana as the door creaked open. There was nowhere for her to go.

As the door opened, she jumped towards her bed, diving into the blankets. And when Emma, the physician, and other servants entered, Tatiana was already lying down, wrapped up in blankets, and her back facing them.

"I heard that you were ill, your highness." The royal physician asked. He was a man whose age looked like he was in her forties. He was short and chubby with his stomach bulging. The apron was crinkled from trying to wrap around it. He was wearing a plain white tunic with an apron on the front.

"I-I'm fine," Tatiana said, changing her voice so that Emma would not recognize it, "I just need rest."

"Hmm," the doctor said and walked closer, but far enough to keep the space. "You sound different, princess. Perhaps you are going down with a cold."

Tatiana was already sweating and suffocating from the heat under her thick blanket. It was summer, and summer in Aragon felt like being roasted in a microwave oven. She just hoped and wished for the people to go away.

"Please, I'm fine," Tatiana convinced them, "I just need to rest alone."

"But that would be dangerous, your highness. Catching a cold in the summer is rare. You might have another underlying illness." The physician looked at his nurses, and the nurses nodded back at him.

"It is vital to check the princess' health for the safety of the kingdom," the physician said and shouted, "all for Aragon!"

"ALL FOR ARAGON!"

--

END