"My lady, may I enter?" a female voice asked.
That's the head maid and also one of Alicia's confidantes and also someone who served her since childhood… Is she here for what I think she is here for?
Elfanso gulped, sensing the tension, and quickly retreated beneath the blanket—not forgetting to take his fruits along in case something bad happens to them.
"You may enter," Celestira said, her tone polite, betraying none of her uneasiness.
The door creaked open, and it felt as if the room's air temperature dropped below zero the moment Celestira and the head maid's eyes met.
The head maid said with an icy smile, "Your ladyship, I have a message for you."
Celestira returned the same icy smile and, in an authoritative tone, said, "One would expect a greeting before stepping into my chambers."
In the past, I overlooked all this, thinking they were all in Alicia's good graces… not anymore.
The head maid, her thoughts now unreadable, said with a polite bow, "My apologies for this discourtesy, your ladyship."
Celestira traced her finger along the rim of a nearby cup and said coolly, "My dear sister has a message. What is it?"
The head maid replied, "Miss Alicia would like to invite you for morning tea in a few days."
Celestira thought grimly:
Just like before… but this time, I have a plan.
Celestira quickly changed her expression, smiling. "I would love to have tea with her."
The head maid, probably pleased with herself, smiled and said, "I will pass the message along to Miss Alicia. Now, your ladyship, I will take my leave." With a bow, she left the room.
A door clicked and the room fell silent.
Elfanso popped out of the blanket then scanned the room like he expected something dangerous to pop out. After seeing everything was safe he said, "Brrr, you both were smiling but it looked like the two of you might start flinging chairs any second."
"Sigh. I wish I could smash there head's off with a chair — but no. I will give both of them a slow, painful death, ten times worse than what I experienced," Celestira said with a sinister smile.
Elfanso shrank into a corner and muttered, "Something about you reminds me of my master."
Celestira asked, "What?"
Elfanso quickly said, "Nothing."
Changing the subject, he asked, "What's your plan… for this tea party?"
I never thought drinking tea with someone could be this dangerous… sniffle. Humans are weird, Elfanso thought sadly.
Celestira smiled. "Doesn't Alicia love using others as puppets? Fine. I will be her puppet… and slowly turn her into the most tragic, powerless puppeteer."
Celestira smiled dangerously as she added, "A puppeteer who dies at the hands of her puppet."
To be continued...