Chapter 1
"Celeste, Celeste, Celeste!"
I jumped up, gasping, after getting a bucket of water dumped on me. "Shit, I kept yelling your name; why didn't you get up the first time I called Wench? Now my shoes are all wet!" Amber yelled.
"I'm sorry, your majesty," I said sarcastically. "Don't talk back to me," she screeched, grabbing my arm and yanking me on to the floor, causing me to sprain my ankle, and I bit my lip to muffle my scream. I look up to see Amber smirking as a tear runs down my face. "This is all your fault, so don't cry. Now get up count Vincent said it's time to eat breakfast," she said before leaving me sobbing in pain.
I make it down to the dining room to see My father, sister, and brother already sitting down to eat. "Good morning," I say to them, slightly limping over to the chair. I received no response, just stares. "I thought we were supposed to wait until everybody was at the table to start eating." I asked sitting down, "Be grateful you're even eating with us." My older sister sneered, but I just kept quiet because I knew if I said anything, I'd get in trouble.
I'm used to getting treated like this by my family, so I'm not really surprised, but I don't even know what I did for them to hate me this much. No matter how hard I've tried to get them to like me, It just never seemed to work.
It hurts.
After breakfast was over, I went back to my room to read a book, and after a while, I suddenly got a knock on my door, and I immediately knew it was either Lillian or Louie because no one else respected me enough to knock. "Come in!" I yelled, and both Lillian and Louie walked in, closing the door behind them. "We heard what Amber did to you and rushed over. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help," Lillian said, walking over with the bandages.
"Don't be sorry, It's not your fault," I told her with a slight grin. "But how did you know about what Amber did?" I asked as she started to patch up my ankle. "That bitch was bragging about it," Louie pitched in. "You're only a child; how can she do that, and you're her master at that? I swear when I get my hand on her, I'm going to bea-" "Okay, that's enough; our little miss doesn't need to hear all of that." Lillian said stopping Louie from finishing her sentence, and I couldn't help but laugh.
Lillian has been with me since I was a baby, and Louie came a few years later, and they've been looking after me all this time.
"By the way, I'm Thirteen, not a child," I jokingly said to Louie. "Little miss, to me, you're still a toddler." She laughed.
"All done, how about we go for a walk later today?" Lillian said, and me and Louie looked at her in silence before bursting out laughing. "How can you ask her to take a walk after she just broke her ankle?" Louie said, catching her breath, and Lillian's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, Little Miss, please forgive me," she said, clasping both her hands together. "It's okay, Lillian, I would love to go for a walk later," I told her, and she grinned.
Ok, Little Miss, let us leave you back to your reading," Louie said as they walked out.
A few hours later I was refreshed after taking a nap and I was ready to take my walk, so I went downstairs to find Lillian and Louie, and I ran into my father on the way. "Hello Father," I said, stopping at my tracks to greet him. "Uh, um," was the noise he made, and I already knew what he was directing it towards. "Good afternoon, Count Vincent," I said, and he nodded his head and walked away.
"Father !" I heard Anne, and I turned to look behind me, and it was her running toward her father. "There's my Daughter!" He smiled, and I felt a sharp sting in my chest. A tear rolled down my cheek, and all I could think of during that moment was that i wanted to be loved too.