Chapter 2.11: Injured Lamb

The heiress put her hair up in a bun to see Lili’s body properly. She wanted to check if the woman had any visible injuries. Elissa had been directed to go about her work and to keep quiet. Leila made sure to tell the woman she didn't blame her for what happened. That she knew the woman hadn't done anything to cause it and comforted her. A crying Elissa ran off to do her morning chores, leaving the heiress by herself. She was unsure what to do with Liliko'i lying there unconscious. Leila worried that the blonde may wake up and panic at the sight of the woman she feared. Or she wouldn't wake up and something was seriously wrong with her.

With a tired expression, she walked away from the girl's body and paced. The room wasn't empty, to her surprise, but full of items. These items had to be from the blonde girl's village. It was a lot of blues that reminded the heiress of the sea. The sight of it all made her feel sullen suddenly. From the walls to the floor, pieces of the girl's life sat before her. Leila figured it served as her only comfort in a new environment and toxic relationship. Her hands reached out and grasped one of the woman's belongings to investigate. In her hands was a seashell or possibly some sort of conch shell.

The teenager didn't know the difference. Either way, the shell was so large that it filled up all the space within her hands. She looked inside it and was met with emptiness. But it covered the outside in vacant spaces, hollow dips, and large bumps. The teenager rubbed one of her fingers against the shell absent-mindedly as she continued to look around. Leila knew it was wrong to dig through the girl's things while she could not protest. But the heiress only had this chance to find out more information about the stranger. Holding the shell carefully, she dug around the mess of a room. Within the room, she noticed that the blonde collected jewelry and makeup.

'Did Cale buy her all of this?" She picked through the various bracelets, necklaces, and rings with vapid curiosity. They looked extremely expensive.

The thought of her brother buying the woman such luxurious gifts made her laugh. It wasn't because she didn't believe he could afford it; he was rich. But it made her wonder just how long he had been courting the girl. Some bracelets looked worn and incredibly old. Quickly, the teenager checked behind her to make sure the pregnant girl hadn't woken up yet. A relieved sigh left her mouth as she saw her unconscious figure unmoved. Shallow gasps of air left the blonde's mouth, making her wonder if the girl had been sleeping this entire time. Not wanting to waste any time if this theory was true, she turned back and continued looking about.

The items became much older the deeper she searched. Some she recognized as being family heirlooms, confirming Cale had given them to her. But for the others, she didn't know what they were and Leila was sure her brother didn't either. Just by their design, the woman knew they were foreign. Possibly from the blonde's loved ones or someone else from her homeland. Either way, she decided that there was nothing else for her to find in the pile. Making it look like she had never touched anything, she put the last piece back. But just as she was about to move, something happened. Her hand instinctively moved upward as she felt wetness suddenly on her face. Leila looked down at her fingers and cursed in confusion.

"My nose is bleeding?" She touched her nose again and felt blood drip hotly onto her chin. Leila’s mouth hung open in shock as she tried to process what was happening. "I only get nosebleeds when Cleo's powers are being overused."

Her hand was covered in blood and snot, to her disgust. She wiped on her dress, hoping that it was finished. Only to see some drip all over her chest. The heiress stood there, unsure of what to even think. She hadn't used Cleo's powers at all and didn't get a headache like usual. Instead, her nose was slowly dripping blood all over her nightgown. In amounts that were only growing by the second. The first thing she could think was to get far from the blonde's belongings. Putting everything back into place was pointless when the blood splattered all over it. But as she stepped away, like before, something felt strange deep within her chest. Which meant something was going on. It wasn't just a feeling. Leila steadied herself, pinched her nose, and looked around the room. For what felt like an eternity, she went over everything she could.

To the point, she started to have the itching feeling that it was pointless. And maybe she was being paranoid. Then her green eyes widened in shock. More so, her mind became overtaken by a wave of disbelief at what she was seeing. Unable to pick it up, the heiress hesitantly inched closer to make sure she wasn't mistaking it. But as she came closer, the realization became much clearer. And a pit of anxiety began to fill her stomach as she took it in. Right before her eyes was the same bracelet that a creepy woman had given her at the festival. Or at least it was the same type of bracelet. This one was even older than the one she had in her ownership. The beads were smoother with brighter color and the thread looked like they had remade it. Somehow, Lili had the same jewelry.

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"What…" Leila's heart stopped as she heard the weakened voice of the woman in question. She wiped her nose and hands off to face her properly.

The blonde sat up against her bed's headboard with a distraught look on her face. Unlike before, she was sweating heavily with her clothes drenched. Her legs sat awkwardly like before, causing the heiress to worry. She broke them. With another intake of breath, she exhaled sharply before speaking. The entire display showed her how scared Lili was.

"Why are you in my room?" Lili's voice sounded much stronger now, but also it came off more raspy.

Leila started to walk over but hesitated at the blonde, throwing herself backward. "No…" Her shoulders tightened as she suddenly heaved.

This made the dark-haired heiress run over to her side. She got down on her knees and rubbed her head. This made the blonde flinch more, but Leila stayed firm and kept comforting her. It was clear now that she was hurt. The sudden dry heaving made it obvious there was a head injury. Her touch was gentle as she held a nearby basket under her chin to catch any puke. It would piss the maids off to clean out, but it would make their anger worse if it were on the bed. So, she helped her vomit and keep her long hair out of the way. After what had to be fifteen minutes, the younger of the two was done and sat in silence. Leila could tell that it exhausted the girl from the ordeal. Along with many other things going on with her.

"Liliko'i, we have never gotten the time to speak properly and I think that's caused some conflict. I have no ill will towards you. So I have to apologize if I've made you feel that way. I'm sorry."

"Um…" The blonde shriveled up and practically combusted into tears to Liliko'i's horror.

Unsure of what to do, the heiress quickly hugged the girl. The hug was fought against at first, but eventually, the younger girl gave in and accepted the affection being given to her. It sucked that it wasn't exactly genuine, but Lili didn't know that. The girl's tears proved that she at least wasn't hostile towards her. She was just scared of everything she had heard about her, which wasn't wrong. Leila would use her vulnerable state to worm her way into her heart. Play the misunderstood woman role and drag her out of Cale's grasp. Her hand softly patted the girl's back, not caring that sweat and vomit were getting all over her front. That could easily be dealt with by a maid later. Right now, she has to seize the advantage given to her.

"Hey, don't cry. It's going to be alright." She whispered, listening to the blonde sniffle weakly. "You are in a new place, with new people, and it hasn't been easy for you."

The blonde froze before nodding into the woman's chest. This led to more crying and her body shaking even harder. It had been hard for her to go to a new country and to be thrust into the limelight. Plus, Leila imagined her pregnancy hormones were making everything worse. Crying was the ultimate release of all the stress, doubt, and anxiety she felt. The heiress knew she had to be tightly wound by it. Her fragile state of mind due to pregnancy hormones made her amplify and exaggerate any small act of kindness.

"I'll make it up to you. Tomorrow, we can have lunch together and actually get to know each other. Is that alright with you?" She moved the girl back and was met with her scrunched-up red face.

Nervously, the meek woman swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. The warmth from Leila washed away any hesitancy directed at her. The heiress purposely moved a strand of her sweaty hair out of the way with a gentle hand wave. The two stared at one another for a moment, the blonde melting from shock. Instead of being met with anger from her display, she was given kindness. The jade-eyed teen moved to clean off the nervous girl's face with a nearby rag and helped her off the bed. Before her brother's fiancee could protest, Leila began to strip her bed of its linens. The teenager could feel how damp they had become and knew they needed to be washed. Or else the maids would have a tailspin from the mess everything had become. The entire time Leila folded the blankets and replaced them, Lili stood watching with a tense expression.

Leila noticed this and smiled brightly, having finished remaking the bed rather fastly. "It's alright. I'll call some maids to help you get ready and to bring you something soft to eat."

The blonde stood with a puzzling look. "Soft?"

"To help your throat when you vomit again. You need to eat something like peaches or broth until you're sure everything's out." She spoke in a quiet tone your mother would when you had scraped your knee as a child. The comfort and patience swam over the blonde as she accepted the explanation.

Perfect.