As most of my mornings began, I was awoken by my loyal maids, Anna and Maddy.

“Lady Alexandra! Please wake up. You have a very important event today,” Maddy shouted, shaking my sleeping form. They had been saying that nearly everyday I’ve been here. How eventful can the life of a villainess get? Nearly half the things I’ve done so far weren’t ever mentioned in the book. I’ve been progressing in this world almost completely blind, unaware that half of these events even took place. Things that the author encapsulated in a single sentence play out to me as whole scenes, and in all of them I end up looking worse than before.

Today, however, was different. For once in a while, I knew what would happen. I would have tea today at Lady Antebellum’s, and I would meet Catalina there. Catalina, the protagonist and the beloved saintess of Lumina. The girl I’ve spilt wine on, and would once again I’m supposed to humiliate today. But, I know now what Alexandra is going to do, and I’m going to do everything in my power to stop it.

Anne pulled me out of bed, leading me to the bathroom where my bath was drawn. She leaned down, hand swishing in the water to test its temperature, before raising up and nodding at me to get in. I placed both feet in, plopping down and letting them wash my hair. I had by now given up on asking to bathe alone, as my maids would not listen. Instead, I sat back and let them handle washing me, as weird as it was.

Maddy fetched me a towel, handing it to me. I wrapped myself around it, drying off my body as I walked towards the bedroom. Anne had gathered my undergarments, and Maddy had picked my dress, holding it up for me to see.

“Would you like to wear this one, my lady?”

The dress itself was opulent. The bust was white, its corsets strings a baby blue, along with the bones of the corset. The skirt of the dress was a matching blue, the unreflective side of the satin crinkling around her fingers as she held it.

“It’s perfect.” I couldn’t have imagined a better dress for a tea party. It was like I was able to live every little girl’s dream. The dress once on felt like a dream as well, the corset tight around my bust yet it flared out and looked puffy past my waist. My maids did my hair, having half of my dark curls up in a bun and letting the rest down. They did my makeup, painting my lips and cheeks a rosy red that complimented my eyes.

Once I was ready, they escorted me downstairs for a quick breakfast. Today, the duke had been out to check on the troops, and the duchess was at an appointment at Camelot Castle, which left Nicholas. He sat at his spot on the table, across from me. He spread butter on his bread, looking down at his plate before glancing over at me.

“Are you ready?” He asked, glancing my attire over.

“I guess I am.”

He looked for a moment longer, judging me silently as I ate my grapes.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he said, putting down his cutlery.

“Why? Did Lady Antebellum invite you too?”

He stared at me for a moment longer, shaking his head.

“No. Lord Antebellum did.”

I guess Meredith is not the only Antebellum hosting an event today.

“Why?”

“The seasonal croquet match.”

That explained his weird attire. He had on a light green polo shirt, with a matching pair of plaid shorts. He still wore dress shoes, which I guess was weird to me despite the sporty-looking look.

He stood up from the table, pushing his chair in and walking out the dining hall, leaving me to finish breakfast alone. I decided to not take my time and wrap it up quickly, leaving after him. He was at the end of the staircase, he held a leather duffel bag to his side. His eyes met me and he did not say anything more before walking out into the front lawn. The Montfort carriage was drawn for us, and we both stepped inside. The ride to the Antebellum estate was a bit long, and it seemed to drag on as awkward silence filled the carriage just as it usually did when two Montforts were left to socialize. I took to staring out the window to avoid Nicholas’s all-staring gaze. It was a nice view. From nobility estates to the town square to rolling planes; my eyes absorbed the changing landscape, glued to it to have some sort of entertainment. When we arrived at House Antebellum, a butler greeted us.

“Lord and Lady Montfort,” he said in courtesy, head bowed low.

I never knew what to do when people did this, so all I ever did was stand awkwardly and avoid eye contact with whoever showed me deference. He finally raised himself back up, hand folded in a 90 degree angle against his chest.

“Please follow me,” he requested, leading us through a cobblestone path into the gardens. A small patio, with its own winding path leading to a round table full of girls.

“Lady Montfort, follow that path to Lady Antebellum’s tea party,” the butler said, before continuing down the path and disappearing around the corner with Nicholas. That had left me by myself to go and face my (formidable) fate.

I walked there as slowly as possible, though none of the ladies really seemed to care, too absorbed in their own chatter. My heels clicked against the stone, and as my steps drew closer, the conversation grew quieter.

A ginger girl stood up from the table, nodding at me, before curtsying in greeting.

“Greetings, Lady Alexandra. Welcome to my tea party.”

I nodded, just ready to get this over with.

“Sit anywhere you’d like,” she insisted, despite there being very few seats around the table. The table had a glass dessert stand in its center, piled high with various cakes, cookies, and biscuits. Next to it stood a teapot, expertly painted with roses and peonies. Tea cups and matching tea plates were sprawled about the table.

There were two seats left, one next to a bronze-toned lady, and another empty one to that. The other seat was closest to the edge of the patio, which would make it easier for me to stare into space. So, I took that one.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Conversation seemed to carry on as normal, and they didn;t make much of an effort to include me. I was fine with that, they left to their peace and me left to mine. The peace didn’t last long, as the butler led a familiar pink haired lady into the patio.

Lady Antebellum stood up, smiling as she curtsied at the new lady.

“Greetings, Lady Catalina.”

She had arrived. I had to be on my best behavior. I didn’t even dare to look in her direction, afraid that she– or the story would dare to use that against me.

Head still bowed, she spoke up again. “Welcome to my tea party, I’m Meredith Antebellum. It is a pleasure to have you here.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Lady Antebellum,” she replied, her voice sounding sickly sweet to me. It was like sugar to a diabetic. I held back a cringe, staring into the oak tree to my side. My head leaned against my palm, which were held by my elbows on the table. I had my face completely angled away from her, and did not move once. Even as she approached. The sound of her heels against the path rang like deathbells in my ears.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

The sound stopped. I was covered by Lady Antebellum’s looming shadow for a moment, before she stepped away. My breath hitched in my throat, though a gust of wind seemed to drown out that faint moment of terror. Catalina took a seat next to me, her shoulder grazing against mine as she sat down.

Do not look.

Do not look at her.

Hope she doesn’t look at you.

The ladies began talking amongst themselves, though I didn’t listen to a word they said. If I didn’t listen, I would never get mad and– no. Don’t think about that.

I turned my attention at the oak, its leaves falling one by one as it shed them for the upcoming winter. One by one they fell, some piling up with others, some landing in completely new spots.

“Did you enjoy the banquet, Lady Santos?” Meredith asked. For some reason, that piqued my ears. No, Emily. Concentrate. Look at the leaves.

“It would have been much more enjoyable if you could’ve stayed longer,” she added.

I needed something– anything to distract myself. So I began playing with my hair, winding my fingers up into my curls and back down. Up and down. Up and down. Up and do-

“Such a pretty dress stained red. The one you have on today is quite pretty, Lady Catalina. Shame if someone were to ruin this one as well,” another lady chimed.

That was it. That had gotten to her. To Alexandra. My fists clenched, and I felt very real anger boil up inside me. This could still be avoided. Just breathe, Alexandra. In and out.

Before I could get another breath in, I spoke up. “It would be a shame,” I murmured, hands moving on their own as they reached for the tea cup.

No. No. No. It’s happening again.

My body moved on its own, pressing the cup up to my lips.

Good, keep it there. With all my might, I tried to suppress my hand movements, keeping the cup pressed to my lips. I was fighting tug of war with my own body, and losing promptly as it came back down, but not before flicking my wrists and purposefully spilling the contents of my cup of tea all over poor Catalina.

Poor, poor Catalina, who was now all scorched. She stood still for a moment, oh so very still, in shock as she realized my actions. She stood up, arms falling to her side before bursting into tears and running away. I had done it again. I had become a villainess, for no real reason. Was I going to keep letting this happen? Simply letting my body act on its own and end up facing consequences for something I didn’t want to do?

I thought back to the night of the banquet. The yelling, the disappointment. It all came rushing back. I do not want to be a villainess, not anymore.

She faded into a blob in the distance. A pink blob, which I was determined to follow. I stood up from my chair, acting on my own as I chased after her.

“Lady Catalina! Please wait!” I called, running after her. I didn’t bother to look back at what they were whispering about. It didn’t take a genius to figure out it was about me. They don’t matter. They;re not going to be yelling at me. They won’t be the ones getting their heads chopped off.

So I ran after her.

“Lady Catalina!” I called again, desperately clinging to that far away blob. She seemed to get closer. She was slowing down. Yes. I could reach her. I picked up my pace, but not before running into a wall.

“Agh.” I grunted, looking up at the wall I had run into. Puzzled golden eyes stared back at me. That wall had a name, and it was Arthur.

“Are you super clumsy or am I just so attractive you want to run into my arms?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Neither. But if I said that, I would be seeing my end sooner rather than later.

“I didn’t mean to run into you, your majesty-”

“Arthur,” he corrected.

“--Arthur,” I paused, slightly confused as to why he had me drop the formalities. Oh well. My main priority is slowly disappearing out of my sight and I really need to talk to her. “I have to get going,” I explained, walking away.

“Alexandra,” he called, stopping me in my tracks. How much of a royal penalty would I receive if I ran away from the prince as he was talking to me?

“I got your gift,” he said, hands in the pockets of his shorts.

Oh, so he received my bribe. That’s good. I hope he remembers it the day he’s going to kill me. Maybe he’ll feel slight pity.

“It’s an apology for the banquet,” I replied eyes trained on the ever more blobby blob.

“Speaking of apologies, I have another one to hand out-”

“Come to the castle.”

“What?”

“I want to properly thank you for your gift.”

Arthur, this is no time for formalities! I glanced back at Arthur, his golden eyes staring warmly at me.

“I’ll be there.”

“Good. I’ll send you a proper invitation later today,” he said with a small smirk, walking in the opposite direction.

When I had glanced back up to look for Catalina, she had disappeared. Not only had I not been able to fix my mistake, but I just made a whole new one accepting an invitation to Camelot Castle. I’d be up and close personal with the man who’s going to kill me.