章 2: Game
The carriage moved along a cobblestone path leading to the Blackwood mansion, guided by the beautiful light of the full moon.
Anna watched through the window, her eyes still adjusting to the sudden change.
She had gone from the neglected walls and constant noise of the orphanage to this imposing castle in the middle of the woods. The lights hanging from the windows shone with an intensity she had never seen before.
Everything seemed bigger, more luxurious, but also cold and empty.
Despite everything she had gone through at the orphanage, Anna couldn't help but feel a tightness in her chest at the sight of the mansion.
It wasn't what she had imagined. She thought a new family would bring her peace, but with each passing second, the atmosphere grew heavier, more uncomfortable.
'This place... doesn't feel like a home,' she thought as she clenched her hands on her skirt. She felt as if every movement was being watched, every breath analyzed. The silence between her and the Blackwoods was broken when her new mother, Mrs. Blackwood, looked at her with disdain.
"Those rags you're wearing are unacceptable," the woman said in a cutting tone, her voice filled with contempt. "Go change. You can't walk around the house like that."
Anna blinked, feeling her stomach churn.
Before she could respond, Mr. Blackwood simply looked away, as if she didn't exist, and their son, Damian, let out a mocking laugh before following his father to another part of the house.
"Come along," ordered one of the maids, a tall, stern woman. Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Anna by the arm and led her through long hallways filled with portraits of people who stared down at her from the walls with vacant eyes.
The luxury was evident: thick carpets underfoot, golden chandeliers, and enormous mirrors that reflected every corner of the house.
But to Anna, it was like being trapped in a glass cage.
They took her to a room with a white marble bathroom, something she had never seen at the orphanage.
But what could have been a new and exciting experience turned into something distressing.
Two more maids appeared, and without saying a word, they began to undress her.
"I can bathe myself!" protested Anna, her voice trembling as she tried to cover herself.
"There's no time for that," one of them said coldly. "The mistress likes things done quickly."
Anna tried to resist, but it was useless.
They stripped her and, without care, began to pour buckets of cold water over her head.
The icy liquid ran down her body, making her shiver from head to toe.
Every complaint, every attempt to protest was ignored by the maids, who seemed more concerned with finishing quickly than with her discomfort.
Anna closed her eyes, wishing with all her might to rewind time, to avoid all this. But nothing happened.
She didn't feel the same sensation she had felt so many times before, that sharp twinge in her chest that warned her danger was near.
'Why isn't it working?' she thought desperately.
Since discovering her ability, the power to rewind time had been her only certainty.
She had learned that time would stop when someone was in danger, giving her the option to intervene or let things play out. Like when Leo had gotten into a fight at the orphanage: she had felt that chance to change things but had chosen not to.
'Maybe... maybe I'm not in real danger…' she tried to console herself, though deep down, something didn't add up.
Finally, the maids snapped her out of her thoughts when they started drying her off and dressing her in an elegant but uncomfortable dress.
It was made of a rough fabric that scratched her skin, tightened in a way that made it difficult for her to move freely.
Anna felt trapped in this new body she didn't recognize, as if they had turned her into someone she wasn't.
Following the maids' orders, she was taken to a grand room where Mrs. Blackwood was waiting for her.
The woman looked her up and down coldly before nodding.
"Now you look decent," she commented, her voice as icy as the bath Anna had just received.
Anna, still uncomfortable with the dress and the situation, bit her lower lip.
Was this what it meant to have a family?
To always feel judged, always on the verge of making a mistake?
In front of her, on a dark wooden table, there was a chessboard.
The pieces were perfectly aligned, as if they had been waiting for her arrival.
"Do you know how to play?" Mrs. Blackwood asked, folding her hands in front of her.
Anna shook her head, nervous.
"Then learn quickly. It won't be enough for you to just know how to play cards. If you don't master this game too, I assure you, you'll end up sleeping with the maids," she warned, her voice sharp as a knife.
With a lump in her throat, Anna sat where she was instructed, swallowing hard as her 'mother' explained the basic rules of chess.
Despite her best efforts to understand, the woman's words overwhelmed her.
She could barely concentrate; the pressure was too much, and the rules seemed to tangle in her mind.
The first game ended in minutes.
Anna moved the pieces randomly, without really understanding what she was doing, and soon her queen was captured.
Mrs. Blackwood's face turned to fury.
"Again!" she ordered, resetting the board.
Again and again, the result was the same.
Anna lost each game faster than the last, her heart pounding in her chest.
Tears began to well up in her eyes until, finally, she couldn't hold them back any longer.
"I can't!" she sobbed.
Mrs. Blackwood rose from her seat with a look of disdain.
"If you're going to act like that, you'd better forget about ever leaving this house," she said coldly. "Tomorrow you'll have another chance. If you don't improve... we'll throw you out on the street."
Anna looked at her, tears streaming down her cheeks, feeling lonelier than ever.
'Leo… Edrick…,' Anna thought with a hint of sadness.
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