-Chapter 53.5-
Penelope.
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Part One.
In another life…
Penelope, the young girl, stirred and moaned as stretched amongst her bedsheets. With a yawn and peaking one eye open, the twelve year old girl noticed that light was shining into her room.
“Hmm?” she drowsily sat up, rubbing at her eyelids, feeling a sense of oddity. The corridor outside her room was oddly quiet, the typical bustling of the servants absent. Furthermore, no maid had woken her up today.
Finding it strange, Penelope threw on a jacket over her gown and stepped, barefooted, out into her home.
Navigating the empty, colourless corridors eventually delivered her to her mother’s study. With a gentle knock, Penelope pushed the half open door wide open, finding her mother pacing the room, biting down on one nail.
“Mother?” Penelope softly called, and saw Leislette jump.
“Penelope!” the concerned mother called out. “Come here, dear.”
Penelope crossed the room, glancing at the portrait of her 5-year missing older brother, now presumed dead. Then, her mother pulled her into a warm hug.
“Mother, what’s happened to all the servants?” Penelope asked.
“...They’ve left the manor for now, Penelope.” Leislette turned away, returning to the window and gazing longingly out of it, something clearly hanging on her throat.
“Your father has gone out to war again.”
That was all she said, and Penelope’s eyes widened. “W-war? With who?”
Farrien had not taken in part of war since the time Aelius was born. Last time, it was a complex world war made of various kingdoms and empires fighting.
Who could it have been this time?
“With who?” Leislette chuckled, her eyes dropping to the ground. “With the invaders from the other continent, that we discovered three years ago. They arrived near our city, on the Southern Coast of Farrien, in large ships and flying machines made of steel. Technology more developed than dwarves could even imagine…” Leislette reached up to touch the window, her fingers wrapped into a clenched fist.
“He’s gone to fulfil his duty as the Archduke of the Southern region. Until the war ends, Penelope, our life may not be the same again. Forgive this mother of yours.”
Penelope joined her mother in the sun rays, looking out at the ominous, grey clouds off in the distance, where the ocean lay.
“Will father be okay?” she asked.
Leislette closed her emerald eyes, mustering a smile.
“I have faith that he will.”
—-----------------------
-One year later-
“Whew…” Penelope wiped her brow with sweat, leaning back as she rested her spine, gazing at the basin of water and numerous dirty clothes she had been washing.
Now thirteen, Penelope’s life had changed drastically from what it used to be. The young girl, her pink hair kept medium long in a ponytail so she could carry out chores better, was now studying and self-taught at home, having quit the academy. In her spare time, she aided her mother in maintaining the house and cooking.
Ever since the first day of the war, they did not employ servants again, even the ones closest to them who had been with them their whole lives.
It was hard for her at first, but when Penelope’s brother disappeared when she was only eight years old, she felt the fearsome weight of responsibility on her shoulders. For a child, the sight of seeing her parents grieve a sibling’s death felt both foreign and disheartening.
That was why, when war began again, Penelope did not throw a tantrum nor complain. Any dissatisfaction, she kept deep in her heart. She was used to the hardships that would randomly befall their family.
Penelope exhaled deeply, looking at the sky overhead, when she heard the door behind her thump open.
“Mother?” Penelope turned her head to find Leislette hurriedly rushing down to her.
“Penelope! I have such good news!” she called, holding up a letter with a familiar seal stamped on it. “Your father- your father has won!”
Penelope’s eyes lit up.
“Father… what? Father won?” the pink haired girl rose to her feet.
“Yes! He’s repelled the invaders, succeeded in personally conducting negotiations, and has brought an end to the war!”
Like a weight lifting off her back, Penelope felt her legs lose their strength, and she fell to the ground.
“Finally…!” After a tiring year, this nightmare was finally over. Perhaps now, things can finally return to the way they were.
“So when is father coming home?” Penelope asked, her eyes shining.
“First, he is heading to the Capital where he will personally receive a reward from the King. Perhaps two weeks from now, he’ll arrive at our door once again.”
Penelope rose to her feet, feeling tears begin to spill.
“You’ve worked hard this year, without seeing father, mother,” the girl stepped forward and the two women hugged each other tightly.
“You too, my dear daughter. You’ve worked so hard.”
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That night, they feasted together. Or well, it was a feast compared to what they had eaten for the past year.
Though their household by no means lacked wealth, many of it was not in the form of cash. Leislette had also been uncomfortable selling off the prized possessions of her predecessors.
Thanks to that, this modest meal of fish, a meaty stew, fruit and some vegetables, was the best meal Penelope and her mother had eaten in a long time.
Happily, they sat down, sharing a beaming smile with each other. The long nightmare was now over.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Penelope bit into the bread and bit down onto the stew, flavour filling her mouth in bliss. As she ate, a knock rang from the door.
Penelope raised a brow, but thought little of it, as Leislette went to the door in the next room over.
Wondering who it was, Penelope glanced a few times, but otherwise kept to her food. Her mother’s concerned voice was in a quiet whisper, and Penelope slowly began to put her food down, wearing a frown as she intently listened.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What do you mean, my husband has…?”
“I’ve already filled my obligation by informing you. From here on, our actions are simply following our protocol.”
“N-no, you can’t do this! Explain to me about- kyaaa!”
Penelope sprung to her feet, skidding out the room to see her mother being pulled outside by both her arms.
“Mother!? What’s wrong!?”
While one group of uniformed Knights Penelope did not recognise pulled her mother out the house, another group stormed in.
Penelope felt her breath catch in her throat as she found the multiple men coldly glaring down at her.
“W-what’s going on here?”
“Don’t touch her!” Leislette shouted, but Penelope was roughly grappled by two men and dragged out the house.
“Hey! What in Stecia’s name are you doing!?” she shouted at them, before they tossed her roughly onto the dirt.
“Consider yourselves lucky that, as relatives of a traitor, you at least get to keep your lives,” one of them remarked as Leislette was pushed off her feet as well.
“M-mother, what are they doing!?” Penelope called as the men swiftly began to carry out their paintings, furniture and clothes.
Leislette ran up to the guard captain and began to argue, but she was struck across the face with a slap.
“The king has declared you are stripped of your Noble status. You are now a commoner. This house and all of its contents are now seized by the King. If you don’t leave within the next few minutes, we will consider you trespassers.”
Leislette bit down on her nails as she turned back, glaring at the captain.
“This is arbitrary! My husband protected our nation! What sort of traitorous nonsense do you speak of!?” she demanded to know, but when she saw the knight reach down to the hilt of his sword, Leis lost her bravado.
Stumbling backward, Leislette grabbed onto Penelope’s hand.
“So be it, then. Come on, Penelope. Something has gone terribly wrong…”
Penelope bit her lip, knowing better than to stand up against the knights, looking over her shoulder as her mother led her out the gate, not knowing that was the last time she’d ever get to see her childhood home ever again.
—-----------------------
After an entire year of living frugally, Penelope and her mother only continued their lifestyle. Now, instead of even common clothes, they wore dirty rags, and had to push through the crowd blocking their view.
Somehow, one way or another, the two women had made their way to Farrien Capital, just in time for the fateful day.
As they tried to push to the front, they heard an announcer’s voice projected around them through Mana relays.
“The Archduke of Kanaria has been charged with treason. Not only did he violate the prestige of the Royal Family, Kael Kanaria has also put this entire nation in danger by his actions. The Archduke attacked and killed a commanding General of the Saints, who had come to our continent in search of peace. He jeopardised negotiations between two military forces, and even almost sparked war between two entire continents. Thus, the Royal Family and the Royal Court have unanimously agreed to sentence him to death.”
“What?” Penelope exclaimed, stepping up to the ledge, under the hot sun, to look down onto the large platform where she found her father. “None of that is true! He personally carried out peace talks and settled negotiations with them… This is a setup!”
“Oh god… this can’t be…” Leislette’s breath drew shallow as she saw the state of her husband.
Shirtless, with countless bloody wounds resulting from lashings, and heaving his breath heavily, Kael was on his knees before a bucket, his hands tied behind his back.
“For the purpose of our valiant Nation, we must uphold justice fairly. Thus, the verdict of such a high degree of treason is… execution.”
The mage on the platform turned to another, bulky warrior holding a large axe. “Do it,” he said with a nod, and Leislette screamed as the axe was raised to the air, and then swung down.
“NOOOOOO- AHHHHHH,” Leislette’s hands flew to the top of her temple as Kael’s neck was severed with a clean slice, and went rolling into the bucket.
Penelope immediately felt what little food in her stomach rebel and try to escape upwards, unable to process what she just witnessed, but was distracted when her mother fainted and fell to the ground.
“M-mother!” Penelope caught the older woman, barely heaving her up, realising no matter how often she called out, her mother was not going to open her eyes. “In Goddess’ name…” Penelope bit her bottom lip, only thirteen years old, and looked back out at her father’s corpse. Around her, the crowds cheered at his death.
“Kuh…” With tears streaming down her face, she began to haul her unconscious mother away from that cold, harsh place.
—-----------------------
Leislette had actually suffered a stroke, a diagnosis later revealed, after Penelope got her to a doctor.
However, she couldn’t afford treatment, and by the time Leislette reawoke, she had suffered some permanent damage that left her never the same.
Penelope could only read the newspapers about the aftermath of her father’s death, as she sat in the patient’s room, holding her sickly mother’s hand.
Though part of her was breaking down to cry, another knew what she had to do. Her mother needed treatment. In order to get treatment, they needed money.
And so, Penelope began to work whatever jobs she could find. It started out incredibly difficult. Jobs such as doing the laundry, washing dishes, working as a nanny for the odd Noble’s children, all left her physically fatigued.
She only slept 3 hours a night in the patient’s room on a chair, and this arrangement lasted for months.
Time began to fade away, Penelope even lost track of her birthday. But what gave her hope was her mother’s steady recovery.
On cold, lonely nights, Penelope only had her mother’s warm embrace to indulge in.
In the blink of an eye, two years passed.
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Things were finally looking up. Penelope had found a more comfortable job working as an assistant for an older gentleman, who was a herbalist.
He took her under his wing and mentored her, even allowing her to take a room in his humble home.
Penelope found a mentor who was like the grandfather she never got to have.
Then, one fateful day, she had the encounter that would yet again change her life forever.
Working with her head down at her counter as always, Penelope heard the bell of a door ring open and looked up. Now fifteen years old and eating a bit more healthily, Penelope’s natural beauty was gradually being restored.
She looked up and unexpectedly, it was a Nobleman who was her patron today. Well older than her, his eyes lit up upon meeting her’s. Penelope did not consider that meeting special in any way, but since that day onward, that same Nobleman would try to court her and woon her heart.
A few months later, she finally fell for his earnest charm. Her cold exterior broken, she found herself smiling for the first time around him, and they began to date.
She was fifteen and he was twenty-five, but these age gaps were incredibly normal.
At least, when Penelope told her story to this man, he was incredibly sympathetic. He promised to help pay off her debts, pay treatment for her mother, and look after them, should they get married.
Though Penelope felt they were moving a bit fast… her mother was in dire need of treatment for a breakthrough, and he did seem honest enough so… she accepted his hand.
They held a grand wedding, where Penelope felt entirely foreign. Nervously in her dress, she held a bouquet of flowers before the clapping guests, but her husband only wore a reassuring grin. Penelope felt her uncomfortableness fade away at the bright look in his eyes.
Perhaps, if she were to make a good wife, her mother can rise out of that bed once more soon. Maybe, this was her big break. After all the difficulties she went through, this was the Goddess’ blessing to her.
Her days are finally looking up.
Happily, Penelope tossed the bouquet into the cheering group of girls before her, joining them in song and dance. That day, she let go of the heavy burdens in her heart, and celebrated.