章 1: The Beginning
Seraphina
"Take a deep breath, Sera. Don't open your eyes and pretend like she doesn't exist," I kept telling myself, trying not to look up at the mad witch yelling at me.
By mad witch, I was talking about my stepmother, who also happened to be my aunt, Lady Gianna. She was currently complaining about me to my father for the umpteenth time, and because I was so used to her yelling, I've taught myself how to zone out completely whenever she opens her mouth and starts spewing nonsense.
"You see, Koran, that disrespectful brat is not listening to anything I'm saying right now, and it's always like this all the time. She doesn't listen to anything I say, nor does she ever respond. All she does is blame me for her mother's death and accuse me of being jealous of her mother when she knows Hera's death was no one's fault," she blurted.
I hadn't been paying attention to anything else that she said earlier, but as soon as she mentioned my mother, I snapped.
"Stop talking about my mother already, you damn witch!" I hissed, raising my voice at her without considering the consequences.
It wasn't until after I yelled at her and turned to look at my father's face that I realized that she had baited me on purpose, knowing very well that I would react emotionally if she mentioned my mother.
Her goal was to prove her point to my father by having me yell at her in front of him, and like a fool, I fell into her trap.
"Is this really how you treat your mother when I'm not here?" My father, Koran Hook, major general of the kingdom of Aldoria and right-hand man to the king, questioned me in his typical stern voice that never failed to make me shiver in fear.
As much as I was irritated by the fact that he had just referred to Gianna as my mother, I knew better than to react to it.
My father was someone I was very afraid of, not just because he looked quite scary but also because I had witnessed firsthand what he was capable of and didn't want to meet the same fate as my brother.
"Father, it's a misunderstanding. I don't ever treat Gianna disrespectfully, and I always try to mind my tone with her. I just don't like when she talks about my mother," I stuttered in response, hoping that he wasn't going to punish me as usual, even though I could already hear him telling me that I'll be locked up in my room for the next few days, and when I'm locked up, I don't get food.
Funny, right?
Imagine being the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom, and yet, there are days when you have to starve like crazy because your father's punishment involves locking you in your room and leaving you with just a jar of water to survive.
"I believe that I have seen enough, Seraphina. It's high time you stopped behaving so childishly, and lashing out on the stepmother whenever your mother is mentioned isn't going to bring her back from the dead," he hissed, and I sucked in a breath to keep myself from making another mistake.
"Now, you already know the rules for disrespecting your mother, Seraphina. I believe I don't have to spell it out to you," he added, and I already knew what he was talking about.
I was going to get locked in my room and left to survive for at least two days without any food. And yes, school wasn't an option whenever I was under punishment.
Even though he was always strict with me and insisting that I needed to make sure that I didn't disappoint him in my academics, he didn't mind keeping me locked up in the house for a few days and making me miss school. And even after doing this, he still expects that I never fail a class.
"I'll be in my room," I muttered in frustration, preparing to leave the living room area and head to my room, until all of a sudden, Gianna would call me back and tell me to hold on.
"I don't think we should keep up with this punishment, Koran. It's about time we do things differently, because it's clear to me that punishing her is no longer working," she suggested.
I frowned. 'What was this crazy woman up to now?' I wondered to myself, not daring to say the words out loud.
"So do you suggest, Gianna?" my father asked, and I just knew by his tone that he was about to accept whatever nonsense she suggested.
For someone who was so powerful and well respected in the Kingdom, it sometimes surprised me how terrible my father was at thinking for himself when it came to his family.
"Let's send her to boarding school," Gianna blurted out, and as soon as the words left her mouth, my eyes widened in horror.
"You wouldn't dare," I voiced out without realizing it, and this time, I didn't regret what I said.
The fact that she was suggesting that I should be sent to a boarding school knowing that I had social anxiety and would struggle to adapt to a new school, much less a boarding school, was absolutely diabolical on her part, and I wasn't about to stay quiet.
She smiled at me, a sick, demented smile that subtly mocked me.
"And why do you think sending her to boarding school is the solution? Don't you think sending her off on her own would make her much worse?" my father questioned, finally saying the right things—or so I hoped.
Instead of responding immediately, Gianna placed her hands on my father's shoulders, a technique I knew all too well. She was about to say anything to convince my father, and the chances of her failing were usually next to zero.
"Seraphina has been shielded all her life, and I think that is one of the reasons why she became spoilt and disrespectful. We can't afford the kingdom to look down on you because you have a weak and bratty child, and I believe the best way to teach her respect, as well as help her come out of her shell, is to send her to a good boarding school where she can build her own character. Don't you agree?" she explained, wearing a look of false concern on her face.
I let out a scoff, staring at her with a look of disbelief on my face. Without hearing from my father, I could already tell by the look on his face that he was seriously considering her opinion.
I sometimes wonder if he was under a spell because there was no other way to explain why he always took everything she said like they were words spoken to him directly from the gods.
"What do you think, Seraphina?" he asked, turning to me for my opinion.
"If I tell you that I don't want to go, would you dismiss the idea?" I responded, wanting to be sure that I wouldn't be wasting my breath if I chose to argue.
"Are you even considering the possible benefits of going? Don't you think it's about time you come out of your shell and learn to be around actual people and not the stuffed animals in your room? You've been at your new school for almost four years now, and you don't have one friend to show for it!" he said.
I mentally rolled my eyes before firing back at him. "Since when is making friends an important part of being in school? Isn't it just a place for learning? My grades are stable, which is what you demanded from me, and it's thanks to your habit of locking me in my room that I learned to make friends with stuffed animals since I couldn't make friends with people."
He seemed shocked at first, but I could tell that he wasn't about to argue since he knew that I had a point.
"Well, it's time for things to change, Seraphina. I know it's going to be difficult for you, but like your mother has suggested, you need to come out of your shell, and if sending you to a boarding school is going to help, then so be it," he responded, much to my disappointment but not so much a surprise.
"Say goodbye to your teachers in your current school tomorrow because from next week, you'll be sent to a new school. My decision on this is final!" he declared.
I clenched my fists in anger, hating how powerless I felt at the moment. The smug look on Gianna's face also wasn't helping, and I wanted nothing more than to slap her hard across the face and turn her smile into a frown.
"I hate you! Both of you!" I yelled at them in my fury before storming past them and heading to my room with every intention to cry my eyes out.
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