Lydia walked back to the obryn base feeling happy, though she missed her way several times because she didn't know the way back, but a royal guard escorted her.
"What is your name?" he asked, standing outside the gate. Lydia smiled awkwardly, looking at the young royal guard who was handsome and eye catching.
"Um… I don't think it's necessary," she replied and was about to enter, but he held her hand, stopping her.
"Please tell me…" he pleaded with a warm smile.
"Who is she?" came a nearby voice from an obryn girl who stood with another girl. They looked at Lydia with disgust.
"My name is obryn Lydia," Lydia said in a haste and freed herself from his hold quickly, going inside.
The two girls walked in too, and when they passed the gate they walked further and further.
"Hey! Stop there!" one of them shouted; she was tall and looked chubby.
Lydia didn't turn back, thinking she wasn't the one being called.
"I am talking to you!" the girl shouted and Lydia felt her scalp tingle. She turned back and saw them walking toward her in big strides, their faces angry.
"What do you want?" Lydia asked when they got closer to her.
"You're flirting with a royal guard, huh? Don't you know the rules here?" the chubby girl spoke in an unpleasant tone.
"So what? Are you a watchdog?" Lydia asked back; she hated bullying.
The chubby girl laughed in disbelief at Lydia's boldness. "You're a newbie, right? You don't know me?"
"So what? What does knowing you add to me? Do you think I will let you bully me? And if I am flirting with a royal guard, so what? Why doesn't he chase after you, ugly duckling!" Lydia spat in anger, glaring at the chubby girl.
The chubby girl stared at Lydia in disbelief a newbie obryn dared to act rudely to her. She raised her hand to slap Lydia, but Lydia held her hand midair and pushed her away before running off as fast as her legs could carry her.
When she finally got to her room, she met no one there. She lay on her bed, panting heavily.
"You should be careful, Lydia," Delia advised, causing Lydia to roll her eyes.
"Stay out of it," Lydia spoke rudely. Then she remembered something…
When the queen asked the obryn and head nurse to leave, she asked Lydia if she would like to work in the royal house, and she agreed without thinking twice.
She knew working in the royal house would be far better than working as an obryn. And the queen also told her that the word 'obryn' is not accepted in the royal house she would work as a servant rather than a slave.
She was still thinking about it, her face beaming with joy, when she heard a loud bang on the door, startling her.
"What are you doing in here, lazy ass?" she heard a harsh feminine tone. When she raised her head, she saw it was the senior park hand.
"Why is this woman always picking on me?" Lydia murmured under her breath and got up, walking slowly toward the door.
The senior park hand held her ear and dragged her out, only to find almost all the newbie obryns gathered outside her room.
"What's going on…?" she wondered, her eyes scanning the faces of the obryns. They seemed disgusted by her appearance.
"Tell them what you did earlier!" the senior park hand barked, pinching hard on her ear, causing Lydia to flinch in pain, her ear hurting even more.
"Ah- it hurts," Lydia muttered lowly, her eyes filled with pain.
The senior park hand left her and looked directly at her.
"I am talking to a living thing , not a corpse! Answer me!" she shouted, startling Lydia.
Lydia wondered what she might have done this time. Was it because a royal guard escorted her, or because she defended herself when those bullies showed up?.
"I done nothing wrong," Lydia spoke with all confidence. She knew she did nothing wrong, so there was nothing to confess.
"You filthy thing!" the senior park hand shouted in anger, slapping her hard across the face, imprinting her five fingers on Lydia's cheek.
Lydia's head spun and she felt a bit dizzy. She bit her lower lip, trying to calm herself down.
She lowered her head, avoiding the fierce gaze of the newbie obryns and the woman. Then she heard footsteps. When she raised her head, she saw the chubby girl that tried to bully her earlier, and she guessed she was behind everything.
"Good thing you are here. Since she is lying that she did nothing wrong, I want you to tell everyone what you saw her doing," the senior park hand spoke.
The chubby girl looked at Lydia, a faint smirk appearing on her lips. "I saw her doing dirty things with a royal guard outside the obryn base!" the girl shouted, earning a surprised gasp from the obryns.
Lydia was stiff; she couldn't believe her ears. She looked up and met the girl's pleased face.
"And when I caught them and confronted her, she tried to bully me," the girl spoke, now changing her voice into a sad tone.
"Look, everyone! She even inflict an injury on my arm. It hurts so much!" she said, showing them a fresh cut on her hand. "This is what she used! She used purple venom stick on me!" she added, and the obryns erupted, most of them swearing and cursing at Lydia.
The purple venom stick is gotten from a purple venom tree which was only found in the ancient snake kingdom. It was said that the snake king grew the tree using his own venom and dark magic. He used it against the werewolves in war in ancient times. When the stick is used to injure a werewolf, it takes days for the injury to heal.
Lydia stood there like a robot, watching everything like it was a movie. Am I really the person they are framing? she wondered, still staring blankly at the chubby girl.
"Give me that!" the senior park hand spoke, collecting the stick from the girl's hand and placing it in her pocket carefully. "Where did you get this thing? It is banned in this park, yet you smuggled it in to hurt someone, you monster!" she shouted in anger, grabbing Lydia's shirt.
How can I prove to them I am not the one? This is a strange world without a CCTV camera like in my world. How can I escape this accusation? Lydia wondered, still staring blankly at the chubby girl, not minding her shirt being pulled by the woman.
Everything seemed slow. Lydia looked from the chubby girl to the audience, and then back to the woman. Immediately, they all heard gentle footsteps. Looking forward, Lydia's eyes locked with a beautiful lady who wore a pretty smile. Her black hair was flowing in rhythm with the gentle breeze, and she looked graceful and elegant like a princess.
Lydia blinked twice and heard her say, "She
is innocent! I have evidence."
And everywhere became silent, everyone staring at her.