Thalia regarded the enormous glass window in front of her with gloomy eyes. This particular table at The Silver Spoon restaurant was her favourite.
The rain was coming down in torrents, and the air was chilling, but it was not as cold as her heart felt. She watched as the rain washed away a stain from the glass, and prayed she would simply vanish, and be carried away by the rain as well.
Drumming her fingers continuously on the table in a steady rhythm, she stared down the ominous object that had arrived at her apartment door that morning and destroyed her whole demeanour. The letter sat on the table in front of her, and she continued to just stare at it. Normally, she would have lit the letter on fire the moment she got it.
They were from her stepfather.
It was always heartbreaking and bone-chilling to read, always the same vile content, so Thalia stopped reading them a few years ago. Clutching the crystal necklace she was wearing, her body shook. She wasn't crying, but it wasn't laughter. She didn't even know what it was.
Maybe she was finally going crazy.
Maybe it was a chill from her cold heart.
Thalia rubbed the crystal necklace in a comforting manner. It was a beautiful aventurine necklace her mother had given her before she passed. The necklace was one of the most beautiful possessions she owned. The aventurine exuded an ethereal glow. Its polished surface shimmered with hues of vibrant green. The pretty green hues of the crystal resonated with her heart, reminding her of the boundless beauty of nature.
It whispered tales of distant lands and whispered secrets of forgotten places, sparking a sense of wanderlust within her. The crystal seemed to hold within it a reservoir of hope and optimism as if it carried the dreams and aspirations of countless souls who had come before her. It'd been passed down from her great-grandmother down to her mother.
It reminded her of her mother.
The aventurine crystal, with its enchanting beauty, became her steadfast companion in moments of uncertainty, a source of solace and strength. Solace and strength were what she desperately needed at that moment as she continued to stare at the ominous letter like staring at it would make it disappear along with all her problems.
The warmth she'd felt was short-lived.
A text message from her stepfather made her pick up her phone.
"I'm back," it said.
Her entire universe collapsed.
Her palms began to perspire, and she felt her heart almost drop into her stomach.
Her stepfather was freed from jail?
Her mother's killer.
He was the one person that haunted her dreams and life.
Thalia's most terrifying nightmare.
She hated him more than anything in the world, but she also feared him more than anything, and it truly made her sick to her stomach that she was still so scared of him.
David, her stepfather, took the most precious thing in her life away. Her mother. Then he began torturing her with those awful letters after her mother passed away. The eleven years following her mother's passing were agony. It was hell.
A hell that Thalia dragged herself through.
She made a promise to her mother. To survive.
And she fought to live.
After her mother passed away, she struggled with depression and attempted suicide for a while. After all she went through, she still made it.
She tried to live life enough for them both despite something in her dying along with her mother.
As a result of her vow.
Her promise.
That's why she was so enraged. She was angry at herself, her stepfather, and the world. Why did a single text message from a delinquent completely demolish the life she spent years painstakingly creating? She'd created a safe space for herself with her blood and tears.
She wouldn't call it a safe space though, maybe a safe cage?
Because she restricted herself from a lot of things.
Holding her head in her hands and pulling on her hair, Thalia tried to hold back tears and a scream.
She was sick of this.
She was sick of everything, and she just wanted to disappear.
Her thoughts came to a halt when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
She raised her head just to look into the beautiful dreamy eyes of a young girl. The child looked to be about 6 years old and she had beautiful blue eyes. It was more of light blue though, with a hint of green. Thalia could swear it was one of the most beautiful eyes she'd had the privilege to look into. The girl's hair was packed in a ponytail with a cute pink ribbon holding the ponytail together.
She was like a breath of fresh air to Thalia at that moment, because she was about to have a panic attack in the middle of a restaurant in broad daylight.
"Are you okay?" The little girl asked with a cute, worried frown.
Thalia stared at the child for a moment. She looked truly worried. Tears welled up in her eyes at the gesture.
It was so pure.
A woman came up behind the little child and picked her up. "Emma, what did I tell you about going up to strangers to disturb their meal?"
The child whom Thalia had come to know as Emma pouted and said, "She just looked so sad."
"I'm okay," Thalia said to her, with a warm smile.
Emma's mother turned to Thalia. "I'm sorry if she disturbed your meal…" She stared down at the table and saw there was no meal, just a drink, "sorry… drink."
"It's okay," Thalia smiled at the woman as she turned to leave.
She watched them walk away and noticed that they sat 3 tables away from her, and there was a man whom she assumed was Emma's father seated at the table, too.
Thalia turned away and faced the letter again.
Once again, she just wanted to disappear.
Maybe into a world where there were only pure and kind-hearted people like Emma... and her mom.
Everything was still a bit surreal to Thalia.She was in another dimension, a dimension where kings, queens, princesses and real royal families still existed. She just had dinner with a real Prince who gave her butterflies, and the said Prince insisted on walking her to her room after their dinner. Wow! The whole situation was crazy. And it just popped up in Thalia's mind. How truly batshit crazy and lunatic she'd sound if she tried to explain this situation to someone from her time? ‘So, I travelled back in time to Rivenland, and the moment I stepped foot there, I was immediately imprisoned for unlawfully entering the prince's room. After spending a few nights in prison, they upgraded me to a room that resembled a princess's quarters and assigned me a maid. I lived in the palace, wore century-old dresses and had meals with the crown prince and he even walked me to my room after one of our meals. Oh, and we played the truth game too.’ Thalia chuckled at the silly dialogue she was c
"How about we play a game instead?" Thalia suggested after a few seconds of suddenly forgetting everything about herself. Now that she was asked to talk about herself, nothing seemed to come up. "A game?" Prince Aldric asked. "Yes, I think a game would make it easier for me and you too, to talk about ourselves," she explained."Okay that's a great idea," The prince said, wearing that boyish smile that never failed to make her tummy dance."It's called the truth or dare game," she started. "Interesting…" he raised a deliciously thick, perfect eyebrow at the name."But we'll focus only on the truth because you want to know more about me and frankly I also want to know more about you." Thalia wondered where she got all the courage from. This was a prince she was talking to, a prince who would be crowned King soon. They were from two separate worlds both literally and by their status. "If it's a game, shouldn't there be a winner? And prizes too?" He asked and plopped a grape into his
They both sat at the table for a while without saying anything, they just stared. This time though she was sitting opposite him on a smaller table in the dining room, which she hadn't spotted before. This smaller table made them sit closer to each other. Prince Aldric had sent out all the servants a few seconds before. As excited as Thalia was to spend time alone with him in the huge dining room, she was also very nervous and it manifested in her tapping her legs, and wringing her palms together. Earlier after she arrived, the workers started to set out the food. There were so many different types of dishes and she wouldn't lie, Prince Aldric wasn't the only reason she was almost salivating. There were even dishes she had never seen before. 'Wow, is this how royals eat?' she thought.The prince had arrived first. That fact had horrified Ann and in turn she rushed to get Thalia ready, muttering something nervously. Thalia was sure she heard something about how you never made a prince
"Have dinner with me tonight?'It was strange how sound could send shivers running up and down her spine. How just a simple touch could make all her senses rejoice. Her senses vibrated and pulsed happily at his touch and her toes were wiggling inside her boots from glee at that little touch.Maybe she was touch starved.Thalia was struggling to regulate her breathing, all she could focus on was his hands on her bare skin and how she wanted him to go lower. Or bring his face closer…As soon as he'd caught her from falling, and placed his big hands on her bare back, everything else around them melted away. Everyone else too. She could only focus on his intense gaze and warm palm. His eyes had darkened at that moment and beautifully matched the greenery around them, and she was lost in them. "Have dinner with me," he'd murmured and she so desperately wanted to say yes immediately but her voice was stuck in her throat. She was busy admiring his flawless face which looked even more surrea
The next morning, Thalia was up early and ready to finally go outside. Ann had kindly informed her that she was free to request the things she needed as per the Prince's order. Whenever she met the prince again, she planned to ask him why she got such special treatment. He must have a reason. So she had conveniently asked Ann to bring some comfortable clothes for her since hers weren't too appropriate over here. So now she was staring at herself in the mirror noticing how well she fit the image of an 18th century woman because of the dress.According to Ann, it was the simplest she could find in the shops. It was a normal dress she'd probably see in a museum in the 21st century. It was an open robe with a petticoat. It had a fitted bodice, narrow sleeves, and double-layered cuffs. The thing Thalia found uncomfortable about the dress wasn't even the bodice. It was the fact that her boobs were almost touching her chin. With how high the dress pushed her boobs up, she could lick the to
Thalia looked at the shiny gold entrance plaque with wonder in her eyes. It gleamed in the sunlight seeping through her curtains. She admired the smooth surface and intricate designs while also not knowing how to feel. She suspected now that Prince Aldric also felt the spark and constant sexual tension between them, and now with him giving her something like that, she was sure he cared about her in some way.Maybe she was getting ahead of herself.Maybe he didn't care about her and this entrance plaque was fake. Maybe it was a test to see what she would use it for. Then she would never use it, she decided. Waiting till he summoned her wasn't a bad idea. She also needed time to kill all the butterflies in her tummy. They were too many and too active around the man.A knock interrupted Thalia's crazy thoughts. She knew immediately that it was Ann. Only she did it in such a slow, spaced, and quiet way. Thalia still confirmed through the peephole before unlocking the door, she wasn't ta