Almost Caught In The Act

Arya stepped back, moving away from Michelle with a dropped jaw. "Yo-you means, this dress belongs to my mother?" She sputtered.   Her eyes were fixed on the stunning red gown with admiration, and she suddenly felt emotional as a drop of tears escaped her eyes. "It's so gorgeous, and I love it," she whispered inaudibly. "How does my mother look like?" She diverted her gaze.

"Question, for another day... But have it in mind that you took after your late mother." Michelle dragged her to the mirror. "We need to hurry up." She handed over the gown to Arya. 

Arya shook her head slowly.

Michelle narrowed her eyebrows and asked, "What is it?"

"I'm feeling restless, and I'm having menacing feelings about these whole things," Arya admitted for the third time. "I don't want this whole thing to backfire on us." She muttered.

"I've got you covered, Arya. If these whole things backfired, they have to go through me first before touching you." Michelle assured her.

"Okay, then let me put this on." Arya walked into her small bedroom and changed into the gown, given to her, and she strides out almost immediately and sat in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection, her lips stretched into a smile.

The red dress hugged tightly to her skin from the tip of her neckline down to her waistline. The back of the dress had a V-shaped opening, and the lower area was flared out, giving it the look of a loyal princess. 

Arya kept staring at herself in admiration. "This dress looked so lovely, and the color blended so well with my skin." She flattered herself. For the first time in years, she had said nice words to herself, and she felt so happy doing that today, for the very first time.

Suddenly, Michelle's smile turned into a deep frown as she slowly approached Arya, who couldn't get enough of her stunning reflection in the mirror. "What is all this?" Michelle's right hand pointed at Arya's bare back. She couldn't believe it as she noticed it for the first time.

"I don't understand." Arya squinted.

"Where did you get these several scars from?" Michelle asked, trailing her fingers behind her back.

Arya sighed softly. "My stepmother."  She blurted, with her gaze diverted to the ground.

Michelle paced around the room, "How dare they! I warned them not to ever lay their hands on you." She lamented as her hand tightened into a fist. "And you didn't care to let me know?" Michelle asked, feeling disappointed. "Why?"

"I'm sorry," Arya whispered. "The last time, I told you about her ill-treatment towards me." She made me do Peggy's laundry and also tidy up the whole building, and she also threatened to make it worse if I ever said a word to you.

Michelle's jaw dropped as she found it hard to believe what she just heard. She couldn't believe all these things were happening right under her nose without even noticing a single thing. 

Perhaps Arya is so good at hiding her pains and emotions that it hurts her, even more, to see her little niece passing through all these misfortunes alone without her doing anything to stop them.

"I think I need to knock some words into Mara's skull," Michelle angrily made her way to the door, but before she could turn down the handle, Arya stopped her, hugging her from behind.

"Aunt Michelle, please let these slide. Father will never find her wrong; rather, he will always side with her and see me as the enemy instead. Please let it go." She pleaded, as her chest clung to Michelle's back tightly.

Michelle's anger diminished a little as she veered around, and faced Arya, who was still in tears.

"Look at you, Arya. You're a grown-up woman. You should learn to defend and speak for yourself at all times. You shouldn't be scared of anyone, most especially Mara." She scolded, fuming in anger, "Don't let them treat you like trash, because this house also belongs to you. Are my understood?" She asked, with her hands on Arya's shoulders.

Arya nodded her head in response.

Michelle's eyes wandered all over the red dress for a minute, and she shook her head afterward: "No, this dress won't do for the party anymore. I have to get you another one." She muttered with a deep frown.

"Give me a minute; I will be right back." Michelle insisted before exiting the room, leaving Arya all alone.

Arya strode back to her mirror and stared back at her reflection.  _I don't want to be caught by Father or even Peggy, because I don't want to get on father's bad side again._

Immediately, Michelle came back, holding up a long white dress in her hands, and said, "Okay! Check out this dress," she said, and the moment she said that Arya moved away from the mirror and was dumbfounded by what she saw.

 "This dress looks so different and beautiful, but I prefer the red dress more." She shook her head in disapproval.

Michelle's lips stretch into a smile: "These two dresses are your mother's favorites when she was still alive." She wore these dresses the night she met your father. And she wore the white dress on her first night with your father." She disclosed, "But she treasured the white dress more because, if you look closely and carefully, you will notice a blood stain on the left side of the back. That blood was your mother's, the night your father took away her virginity. She explained.

"Did my father ever love my mother?" Arya asked. "How then did my mother die?" Arya further asked the most important question that has been troubling her since she was a kid. "Wa--was I--I--I the cause of her death?" She stammered as her eyes got teary.

Michelle strode towards her and said, "You have no hands in her death." She muttered, avoiding eye contact with Arya.

"Why then did my father hate me so much and always want me dead?" Why!" Arya asked in a calm voice, as she quickly gripped hands. 

"I don't know!" Michelle replied, suddenly getting pissed off at the conversation because she don't like where it was heading to. "Can you now get dressed up and let's head to the party." she sighed softly.

Arya stared at her Aunt for a while and slowly shook her head. "Whatever you're hiding, I hope you tell me soon because I wouldn't want to hear it from anyone else but you." She muttered and snatched up the white dress from Michelle in anger, then headed to her bathroom to change.

Michelle sighed softly, as her head buzzed with several thoughts on how to go about this whole matter. She is certainly sure that these whole secrets about the past couldn't be hidden forever. She had succeeded in feeding Arya lies, right from her young age until now, because she had no other alternative but to keep lying to her. But her greatest fear is about to be revealed, sooner or later. She just hoped that Noal or Mara wouldn't disclose that scene out of hatred.

After thirty minutes, Arya strode out of her washroom, with her head bowed as she walked. Michelle, rushed to meet her before she got to where she was standing.

"Arya, you look stunning in this dress." Michelle complimented her with a smile on her face.

Arya only nodded her heard a response without muttering Michelle immediately noticed her change of mood.

"Arya, are you mad at me?" Michelle funnily pouted her lips, which made Arya chuckle softly.

"I'm just having bad feelings about this party." She admitted.

"I think and believe that nothing is wrong," Michelle assured again. "All you have to do is follow the secret passage at the back door and wait for some of me at the horse stable, while I will pass through the front door because of Mara, not to get her suspicious."

Arya nodded her head again in understanding.

"Your hair is neatly tied up in a ponytail. You don't need any makeup either, and your lips are naturally pink," Michelle murmured, letting out a few strings of hair falling on Arya's face.

"But...."

"I know he would come to check up on you the moment he returns, so we should keep everything low," Michelle explained calmly.

Arya's hand quickly went to her neck. "But I have no necklace to match." Arya brought it to her notice.

Michelle placed her hands on Arya's shoulder and said, with a smile on her face, "The only necklace you are allowed to tatter on this neck of yours is the one given to you by your late mother." She muttered.

Arya narrowed her eyebrows in confusion and said, "I--I don't understand." She sputtered.

"Don't worry; I will explain everything to you when we get back from the palace, and I will hand it over to you," Michelle promised. "Now go ahead."

"Give it to me, I want to see what it looks like," Arya requested.

Michelle didn't argue with her as she strode to her faded old handbag that was hung against the wall. She dipped her right and inside and brought out a black pose. She veered around and handed it over to Arya. 

"You can't wear it now. Just keep it somewhere safe; when you get back, you can try it on." She uttered the words with a smile.

Arya stared at her for a while and nodded her head afterward before she made her way through the secret passage in her room.

Michelle muttered a prayer in her heart for Arya—not to get caught by Edris; the son of the gardener. He won't hesitate to blurt out whatever he saw to Noal.

After Michelle was certain that Arya had long gone, she quickly exited the door to go join her outside, not to keep her waiting. The moment she exited, she hurriedly bugged Mara on Arya's doorstep, who was so startled, like a thief who just got caught stealing.

Michelle glared at her with narrowed eyebrows and asked, "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Of course, this is my home, and I can be wherever I want to be, and no one would question that," Mara uttered scornfully. "By the way, I thought you had left my house already." She rolled her eyes, waiting for Michelle's response.

Michelle let out a soft chuckle and said, "Left?" To where?." She questioned. "And don't tell me you could stoop so low to eavesdrop on our conversations." She mocked, furthermore, as her lips stretched into a smirk.

Mara smiled and asked, "Where are you rushing off to, and where is Arya?" She tried to sneak a peek at Arya's room which was half closed, as she ignored her previous question.

Michelle's jaw dropped, and her face suddenly went pale. "Arya...? She's in her room. W-why Do-do you ask."  She stammered nervously, and she regretted that afterward because she didn't expect her response to come out as a stammer. Now she was nervous because Mara is very sensitive, and she could find everything suspicious.

"There's no need to stammer, Michelle." I understand everything clearly. Now, I want to see her, at least to deliver the massage her father asked me to give her." Mara's lips stretched into a smirk. Her instinct kept telling her that something is off, but she couldn't point out exactly what is wrong; something told her it involved Arya. "Where is she?" I want to see her." She insisted.

Michelle's eyes widen in shock, but she is quick to mask it with a nervous smile: "Okay, wait here. Let me go in and get her." She said that and went back inside the room.