Garden Of Poison

When Charlotte left, Anastasia closed the door and placed the little pot in her room against the door so that she would know if someone would enter. Alone now, she removed her dress, the same green dress that had turned maroon.

Placing the dress on the bed, Anastasia ran her hand over it.

A gasp escaped her lips when she noticed the dress turn into a plain white night dress, leaving her in shock.

"I should speak to Mary about this," Anastasia said to herself. This dress seemed to be able to transform, and it was changing according to what she wanted, which on some level, scared yet excited her.

Anastasia quickly grabbed the dress and put it on once again. She said, "Turn into a soft nightgown made of satin…"

She noticed the fabric beginning to change, and from cotton fabric, it turned to satin under her touch.

Removing the dress again, she looked at the fabric closely when her eyes caught sight of something written beneath the hem of the dress— Wash it after the fifth change of dress. Clean, fountain water only.

Anastasia wondered how this dress had come to be in this palace and how had it been left untouched and abandoned. Unless no one knew about it. She doubted that what Marianne had known about the dress was true. Hiding the magical dress between her other clothes, she said,

"Looks like I don't have to worry about what to wear tomorrow."

Anastasia then placed the burning lamp on the floor, along with a clean new parchment and charcoal pieces. Sitting on the floor of her room, she tried to recall Lady Sophia Blackthorn before she began to sketch with all her concentration. Hours passed, and the stress she had been carrying until that moment started to dissolve.

Even though tired, Anastasia stayed awake as she enjoyed what she was doing. She continued to sketch until the wake of dawn. When she finished sketching, she finally pulled herself back to sit straight, feeling her back ache.

"Finally, it is done," Anastasia said, raising the charcoal drawing from the floor and looking at the sketch of Queen Sophia.

When she heard someone's footsteps in the corridor, she leaned forward and blew the flame of the lamp she had left burning the entire night.

Someone knocked on the surface of her door, and she heard Charlotte's voice, "Anna, are you done?"

Anastasia was so tired that, for a moment, she forgot that Charlotte didn't know that she could speak, and she parted her lips to answer. But Charlotte woke her sleepy self up when she pushed open the door, and the pot resting against it fell and rolled over. The maid said,

"I am so stupid to be waiting for you to reply to me from behind the door."

Anastasia stretched her hand and handed the parchment to Charlotte.

"You finished it?" Even though Charlotte didn't see how it had come out, she was in awe. She said, "Thank you for saving my life, Anna! I will see you later then?" And the maid closed the door behind her as she left the room.

Anastasia realised she had sacrificed her sleep for a gold coin. She closed her eyes for two minutes when the door of her room burst open for the second time, and it was one of the senior maids, who scolded her,

"What are you doing sleeping in when the sun is about to rise?! Out of bed! There's so much work to do before everyone wakes up," she clapped her hands before walking to the next maid's room.

Anastasia stared at the door and softly whined, "Kill me…"

Anastasia decided to wear the magical dress, turning it back to the lowly maid dress and tied her hair into a tight bun after braiding her hair. She made sure that her alter ego, Tasia, and the maid, Anastasia, had two different styles so that no one would ever recognise her.

In the kitchen, Anastasia moved to where the water was and washed her hands to get rid of the charcoal powder.

Mr. Gilbert entered the kitchen and said to the maids,

"All the maids who were assigned to serve the guests, you are to head to their rooms and offer them morning refreshments after your first duties. Make sure when you draw the bath the water is warm enough but not cold. Make sure to see to it that every request of theirs is fulfilled, and I don't want to hear any complaints," he said, looking at each one of them.

The maids bowed in compliance, and Mr. Gilbert then moved to speak to the kitchen staff about what to prepare for lunch while the maids got on with their early morning duties.

Anastasia and Theresa made their way to clean the floors. On noticing Anastasia yawn and stare into space, the older woman asked,

"Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

"I didn't sleep…" came the tired words from Anastasia.

"Why not? I told you we have everything covered," Theresa frowned, and she then asked, "Are you falling ill for real?!"

Anastasia shook her head and widened her eyes, which only turned small. She brought her hand to cover her mouth, before which a big yawn had escaped from her lips and a small pool of tears formed in the corner of her eyes. She replied,

"No, I am just sleepy," Anastasia said, and she looked at the corridor, where there was only a male servant who was fixing fresh candles on the stands at the other end of the corridor. She stepped closer to Theresa and whispered, "Give me your hand."

When Theresa brought her hand forward, Anastasia turned it around before placing the gold coin in the older woman's hand. Theresa's eyes widened, and she asked, "Where did you find it?!"

"Charlotte gave this to me in return for the drawings. This is for you," Anastasia said with a smile. Right now, she had no use for the coin and wanted to return the money she owed the older woman.

Theresa shook her head, staring at the coin. She looked up at Anastasia and said, "I cannot take it, Anna. It is too much for a person like me."

"I think it is too little for a person like you," Anastasia replied in a lowered voice. Theresa had helped her when she needed it. She doubted the others would have done the same for her, and she said smiling, "If I ever need to borrow it, I will ask you."

Theresa had never held a gold coin before and was in awe. She asked, "Are you sure?"

"Mm," Anastasia nodded, and she felt good giving the coin to the older woman. She heard the woman say,

"I won't use it, but I will keep it safe until you need it. So that we don't have another robbery incident, no?" And Anastasia couldn't agree more because Charlotte wasn't the person they thought they knew.

Finishing their work there, Anastasia and Theresa went back to the kitchen and then carried juice and snacks to Lady Amara Lumbard's room.

Theresa softly knocked on the door with her free hand, while Anastasia carried the tray containing a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice and morning snacks made just this morning.

"Milady, we are coming in," Theresa didn't speak too loudly before she turned the doorknob and entered the room.

Anastasia, who was about to step inside the room, heard one of the doors unlock and noticed Dante step out of his room, who was already presentable. He wore a dark brown jacket over his clean white shirt. Before he could notice her, she quickly slipped inside Lady Amara's room and kicked the door closed, which banged louder than she had expected.

"Ah, who is disturbing my sleep?!" Came Lady Amara's sleepy voice, who was still in her bed.

Theresa quickly apologised, "Forgive me, milady! Would you like to have tea or juice? You are expected to join the royal family for breakfast soon." She then turned to look at Anastasia on what she was trying to do, who mouthed 'sorry.'

Anastasia quickly placed the tray on the table and went near the windows before pulling the ropes to draw the curtains away from each other.

Lady Amara pushed the blanket off her body and yawned, "Why is the morning so early here? Bring me a glass of juice and snacks too."

Theresa brought the tray towards the bedside and was pouring the juice into a glass when the door opened. It was Mrs. Lumbard, who was already dressed with hair styled with three roses pinned in a line.

"Take that away," Mrs. Lumbard ordered the older maid, who was about to hand the juice to her daughter.

The young lady frowned and said, "I am hungry. I need to eat and drink something."

"You ate more than enough last night to last you until lunch. We need you to look lean," Mrs. Lumbard turned to the maids and said, "Prepare the bath. There are fragrance oils in the cupboard. Pour them into the water. We need Amara to smell like a flower today!"

The two maids bowed and walked over to the bathtub, turning the faucet and soon water began to fill the tub. Anastasia went to the cupboard and grabbed the fragrance oils before returning to the bathtub. They heard the conversation between the mother and daughter.

"Amara, you need to capture Prince Aiden. Not Prince Dante, who is of no use. Not to mention you failed terribly at gaining his attention," Mrs. Lumbard scolded her daughter for her failed skill.

"But Prince Aiden is younger than me, and I like Prince Dante. I think I have fallen in love with him because my heart doesn't stop beating loudly in his presence," Lady Amara expressed with a smitten look, but then her expression turned sour. "If only that Tasia or whatever hadn't shown up at the celebration."

"It would be better if her eyes were on the useless prince. Could you imagine what would happen if Prince Aiden took her to the dance floor?" Mrs. Lumbard asked, before continuing with a huff, "I can't believe she tried to outshine your presence."

"Mother!" Lady Amara shouted to gain her mother's attention, as her mother wasn't listening. "I am not giving up on Prince Dante. He is the one I chose as my husband. I can feel these intense emotions in me, and I might turn out to be his Crux."

Mrs. Lumbard gave it a thought before she said, "Touch him once. If nothing happens, you give up on him."

Though Anastasia's back was facing the mother-daughter duo, she pursed her lips because this wasn't going to end well. But then again, at the same time, she remembered Dante's hands around her waist and hands, pulling and pushing her, which made her heart shudder.

Lady Amara pulled the string off her dress, which pooled at her feet. Naked now, she walked towards the bathtub, stepping inside it and immersing herself in the water.

"These bath oils smells amazing, Mother," Lady Amara hummed. She raised her hands so that the maids could start washing her.

"They do," Mrs. Lumbard agreed and said, "No one will be able to resist you."

Theresa picked up the little mug, while Anastasia lifted Lady Amara's hand. She was about to rub the soap on the young woman's hand when Lady Amara whimpered,

"What do you think you are doing?!" Lady Amara splashed the water from the bathtub on her.

"What happened??" Mrs. Lumbard hurried towards the bathtub. She glared at Anastasia and grabbed her hand harshly. She demanded, "What did you do to my daughter?"

Theresa turned startled, as she was right there and she saw nothing happen. On the other hand, Anastasia winced at Mrs. Lumbard's iron grip that only tightened with furious eyes glaring at her.

Lady Amara frowned before complaining, "I don't want this maid touching my skin. Why is it so coarse? It makes my skin crawl." She took a look at her hand before shifting her eyes to Theresa and ordering. "You will wash me, not her."

Mrs. Lumbard let go of Anastasia's hand and ordered, "Don't touch my daughter with your hideous hands. Her skin must be in good hands as she will be marrying into a family of high status, and should not be touched by someone repulsive. You can pour the water instead."

Anastasia felt her cheeks burned at the woman's remarks. Her eyes prickled, but she blinked them away.