Chapter 21: Broken Dreams
As she walked down the halls of the Rochester mansion, Felicia endured the stares that bore holes into her body with a stoic and nonchalant face. Truthfully though, she was on the verge of collapse.
Before she would leave the estate, Felicia chose to see her Miss once more. If they met, Felicia decided she would shamelessly beg for her forgiveness. She would kneel, admit her own mistakes, and ask the Miss for permission to stay in the mansion.
After all, getting fired would completely ruin her life. Even worse, getting fired for abusing coworkers was one of the worst reasons to be fired for, and Felicia would have a hard time finding a job in the service field for influential society, the only field that she has experience in.
Felicia also never wanted to return to the slums; she dreaded that disgusting place. It was filled with too many horrid memories. In addition, she most likely wouldn't survive there anyway, with her growing age and lack of education.
As expected, the only solution is to beg Miss Eyrie, Felicia thought with nervousness. Would she succeed? Eyrie has the kindness of a goddess, so it should work… Yes! It will work.
Wait… Maybe this entire situation is actually a ruse!
A trial for Miss Eyrie to test her loyalty! That must be it, Felicia thought. A goddess won't grudge against her subjects for such a small matter, nor would she dismiss them for no reason. This explanation also explained Mr. Rochester's casual interrogation; Felicia heard that he was normally very ruthless when dealing with misbehaving subordinates.
As her thoughts wandered, Felicia quickened her steps, not wanting to wait any longer. She fervently ran up the stairs, and her nervousness transformed into anticipation. Maybe she'll even get a reward for not letting the cat out of the bag that Mary is the one who instructed her to torture that maid!
However, as Felicia neared Miss Eyrie's room, someone coldly blocked her from continuing her venture.
It was Mary. She had just come out from her mistress' room and saw an unwanted person in the periphery.
"Why are you here?" She asked emotionlessly.
Felicia replied evenly, with no fear or any hatred in her voice, "Mrs. Mary! I would like to see Miss Eyrie."
"Why?"
"I wish to speak with her about a matter." Felicia smiled.
"You… Weren't you fired?" Felicia's attitude astonished Mary. She had thought this woman would hate her for framing her. Mary's brain churned quickly despite her old age. What did she want? Why does she want to see the eldest Miss? Did she perhaps think Eyrie would allow her to stay if she begged? No way, right?
Felicia smoothed out the wrinkles on her uniform and spoke with confidence, "He dismissed me and told me that I could leave the mansion whenever I want."
Mary narrowed her eyes in thought. At last, she replied to Felicia's request. "No. No, you may not meet with Miss Eyrie."
Felicia frowned. She was getting impatient; why is Mary still pretending not to know? "Please, Mrs. Mary, I just need to see her for one moment."
"No. Please leave, Ms. Felicia."
Felicia grit her teeth and declared with resolve, "I will not be leaving this hallway until I meet with her." Perhaps she needed to show more of her determination to prove herself.
Mary gave a strange look, "Sure, suit yourself."
After saying those words, the housekeeper left, walking in small, elegant steps.
This… she left? Felicia turned around in surprise. She frowned a bit, feeling a little unsure of herself. Was she wrong? No way, Felicia didn't want to think in that direction.
After a few minutes, seeing that no one came to receive her, Felicia bit her lip and proceeded forward to Miss Eyrie's room. There were two menacing guards with guns by the door, and Felicia didn't dare make eye contact with them as she pressed the pin on the door.
But right before her finger landed, one guard grabbed ahold of her arm and said in a gloomy voice, "No one is to enter Miss Eyrie's room nor to bother her unless summoned."
At that moment, Felicia flinched and wanted to leave, but her stubbornness kept her there. She took a deep breath and replied with a smile, "I understand." She turned around and began to walk away.
Yet suddenly, Felicia spun around and lunged forward to press the button.
"YOU!"
She succeeded. The guards were a step too slow; they had relaxed, considering that they found Felicia to be completely terrified of them and thought she wouldn't dare do anything out of line. The pair quickly grabbed ahold of the woman, but before they could do anything else, the door opened to reveal a person's figure.
When Felicia saw her, her entire person froze.
An unfamiliar face. The woman had bloodshot, dull gray eyes, messy brown hair, and a ghostly pale complexion. The hand that was running through her hair looked thin and bony, as if she had been starved for days.
This isn't a goddess… In fact, she looked more humane than anyone else Felicia had seen.
"… Miss Eyrie?" Felicia asked with uncertainty. This couldn't be the same Eyrie that met with her a year ago, could it? After seventeen long years of serving her, this is the first time Felicia had seen her Miss look so ragged.
The woman looked at her in surprise, "Why are you here?"
"I..." Felicia hesitated, "I came to ask for your forgive--"
"Enough." Eyrie interrupted. After a moment, she sighed. "You may leave." She then shut the door.
Stunned, Felicia opened her mouth, but no words could come out. Eventually, she nodded and quietly left.
As she walked, Felicia thought to herself, depressed. After avoiding it and running away for so long, I still need to return to where I first began.
Like her mother, she will lead a meaningless life in the slums and then perhaps die of some strange sickness. She laughed deprecatingly to herself.
At this moment, Felicia had no more foolish dreams like she did in the past.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
_VA_
_VA_ How does Felicia grow as a person?
Why is Eyrie so weary?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone