Villainess Reborn: SEASON ONE

67

Elliot lunged into Tatiana's arms.

"I missed you so much!"

"Awww, I missed you too!" Tatiana enveloped him in a warm embrace. The week passed by fast, but it felt like months to Elliot. He had no one to talk to or hang out with since his sister wasn't there. He would occasionally go with William, but the old man was busy as well.

Bjorn and Morgan retreated to the training ground to meet with the knights, whose short vacation had ended now that their captain is back. Bjorn is especially fired up for training and couldn't wait to arrive at the training grounds.

Emma came with Tatiana to her room and saw that William and Elliot were waiting there for her. William cleared his tasks for the evening since he knew that the princess would arrive.

"Would you like a snack? Or a cup of tea, your highness?" William offered and presented a table full of desserts and tea. The food sparkled from the princess's point of view. The color was vibrant, and the smell called out to her.

She sat down on her soft chair, gradually sinking into its softness. Tatiana really missed her room, not to mention the tasty desserts that William prepared for her. There were so many to choose from that she had a hard time picking which dessert she should choose first but ended up picking a yellow macaron.

The sweetness melted in her mouth like cotton candy, and it was chewy and soft as well. She felt like she was eating a cloud. Don't get her wrong, Mr. and Mrs. Red's bread was delicious, but it's things like this that remind Tatiana that she is a princess.

This is one of the small lists she has to be grateful for being royalty.

"Tatiana, I have so much to talk about!" Elliot started talking about what he did that week while Tatiana was away. He was busy studying in the library about the flying transport that he wanted to do as a project in the future.

In return, Tatiana also talked about what she did during the week, leaving out the details about her getting hit with a rock and, of course, the failed assassination. Now that she was talking about it, she realized that she was extremely productive during that one week. If it weren't for Bjorn, it would have taken more than just that.

"So, the lady of Iondale provided you with people to help out at the orphanage?" Elliot's face grew bright. His sister is only fifteen, but she already established an orphanage even with their father's help. "You're so cool."

"I didn't expect that the Iondales would send their people." Tatiana shifted in her seat, "but I really wouldn't be able to do this without their help. It would take me ages to build the house if it weren't for Bjorn and other people who were not willing to help take care of the orphanage, so the Iondales sending me people was really helpful."

Tatiana continued to talk about the children. Their names, their personalities, and what it's like on a day at the orphanage were talked about. She also talked excitedly about every detail, and even Emma and William stayed silent as they listened. Emma was there and she experienced it but when it came from the princess's mouth, it sounded even better.

Elliot looked up at her. A feeling inside him grew. If his sister can do that without the help of their father, maybe he can do great things too. When his sister talked about what they did back at the orphanage, he couldn't help but feel inspired. He felt empowered and thought that he wanted to do something on his own as well.

The night grew deeper, and Emma and William retreated to their quarters while Elliot stayed and slept with his sister.

Tatiana was snoring softly in her bed. This was her first peaceful sleep after a stressful week. All the work finally caught up with her, and now she's trying to replenish her energy.

Elliot stayed awake a little longer. He was working on something at Tatiana's bedside table. While the rest of the room was dark, Tatiana's lamp emitted a warm light. Elliot was scribbling words and drawings on sheets of paper at a high speed. The words looked like wriggly lines since his mind was working faster than his hands, but it was something only Elliot could understand.

He faced his sister after the last sheet of paper. To him, she was someone that made him want to do great things and become a better person. This was something he didn't feel like doing back then.

He groaned when he felt a sudden tug in his chest. These days, the pain gets even worse and worse. Through the days, his chest would tighten and his body would turn numb for short periods of time, but lately, it became even more painful, like his whole body was on fire.

It was hard to breathe, and his vision looked like a swirl of different colored lights. He would feel light-headed and pass out, then his servant would find him unconscious in his room or in the library.

This time, he fought the pain and tried to calm down until the pain went away. Sweat dripped on the side of his face as his body grew tired from fighting. He panted and shook his head, trying to keep himself awake.

He does not know how much time he has left. He's afraid that one day he won't wake up after the pain. On some days, he wished that would be the case because it would mean that there would be no more pain, but as he watched his sister sleep, he realized that he couldn't die like this. He can't leave his sister behind.

Even if they just recently grew close to each other, he doesn't want to feel the pain of leaving her behind. His sister is all he has, and she's the only one who cares for him.

He could never leave her behind.

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END