Crowd

"Seems like that didn't work out well, huh?" I turned around and asked.

Rayas father squinted his eyes and stared at me, they were like tiny needles poking holes into my body.

He only sighed, "Raya, child, is that your answer?"

She had already cocooned herself, becoming one with the ground and stayed eternally quiet.

"I see. That is unfortunate, truly unfortunate." He gave a chilling response: "You and your sister always provide me great headaches. But it matters not, A great father knows when to back down. You have, in fact, chosen wrong. You will regret it, you will come back to me, and you will once again know what is right for you."

I expected some form of rage, but there was only cold; he gave an indulgent smile mixed with a tinge of disappointment.

I was sitting on the ground, placing Raya behind me. Some may even say I was protecting her, like a lion protected her cubs. There was a warmth when I touched her.

"So what do you want to do now? Now that you have failed."

"Failed? me?" He laughed, "what was there to fail? Just because my little girl temporarily found a backbone? It happens when they get older, they become rebellious, especially when they are under the influence of bad peers, such as you. She will eventually learn. Sometimes, she needs to touch a dog, to learn the bite, even if it pains me greatly to see. The real part, the reason why everyone is here— it is also because of you." He pointed at me.

The crowd stirred. A sense of excitement wafted through them.

"No, you you lost the only chance to shoot me down, the only thing that was within your grasps. Everything from now on will be outside your control."

"Have you always been so insolent? I do not remember. Your chattering is annoying me greatly, so I shall stop you," he swung his arms, "I now declare that your judgment has officially began."

The giddy reactions around us made Rayas father smile. It was as if he expected everyone to dance on his whims, his words were like law, and he controlled the whole hall.

"Are we repeating what we did two days ago? I would happily oblige, but don't you think it might just end in a disaster like last time?"

"I don't think you will be that lucky again."

His words evoked a slight chuckle in me.

"What is so funny?"

"I apologize. It was only the fact that you referred it to luck, which made me laugh."

"Do you know, normally, any of the words you are spouting would leave beheaded in the snow. The sheer disrespect is quite frankly, baffling."

"Beheaded, that would be bad. How would I look down on everyone when the inevitable time came?"

He ignored my statements. "Agnes, let me move to your trial. I will warn you, it will not be as lighthearted as it was with Raya. I act now as the representative of this household, not just a concerned father."

"Interesting, when you are neither of them."

"You should find work as a jester, you could make it a worthwhile occupation. That is, if you need work after all this." He gave me a ridiculing laugh, "now, I understand that we have been through this before, but let me do it again. I will now state all your offenses: You had you engagement with the prince annulled. You show little to no proper etiquette, the likes suited for a demure maiden. You desecrated the lords teachings by going against authority. Have I forgotten anything, if not, punishment is due."

"Sorry, but I will not allow you to harm this body. Not even a single strand," I faced him and mumbled, "but my words won't go through to you, I guess."

"That is not for you to decide."

I stood up and stared around me, imprinting the sight in my eyes. The walls, the paintings, the decor and the people. I stared at the D'Anelé family, I stared at the servants, I stared at Raya.

Her father did similar, rising from his seat, and announced, "I won't try to throw you out anymore. No, you will stay here, never setting a foot out of this mansion, confined in the chambers underground," his deep voice grumbled through the hall, "I will make sure that you never see the light of day again and cleanse the shame of our family."

I began walking around in the dim darkness. Slowly, I left my place and wandered through the halls, "I don't think I can agree to that. There's so much I haven't seen yet."

The absence of light made it hard for me to navigate, but I knew that the hall was mostly clear, so there was no need to worry.

"I will make you agree," he hammered down. Like a towering giant, he imposed his might. As he was standing, an abstruse shadow was casted on his seat, flickering whenever the flames did. Not even an earthquake would get him moving.

The people hiding behind the curtain of darkness snickered, like children would, late at night, when they hadn't gone to sleep yet. I could only hear their voices, discussing gleefully about my fate, about Rayas fate, and how they couldn't await to see my punishment.

An oddly joyful atmosphere separated the spectators from the tyrannical pressure inflicted on those standing on the stage.

"On what grounds?" I asked, silently but clearly. "I think we had the conversation before."

"Yes, indeed so," he nodded, "it must be fate that we continue what was interrupted. But this time, there won't be any aid coming for you."

"All I seek is an answer," I said while moving from tile to tile, too preoccupied to even face him, "You are not my father, you are not my fathers father. So, what right gives you to judge me, when you are not the head of this household?"

Amidst my walk, I ridded my socks, and I heard some gasps. I didn't see them, but I could imagine their faces; the astonishment and the embarrassment of seeing a woman undress herself in public. If this could be considered public at all.

From the back of my head, I heard Agnes sighing.

My bare feet touched the ground, I felt a slight cold, but it was mostly warm. Or, maybe it was cold after all. I couldn't decide. The temperature with each step changed like the tides in the sea, or the values of an era.

"Do you expect me to be enraged?" He scoffed while his eyes traced my path, "maybe so, but I won't fall for the tauntings of a child. What matters where my authority comes from, as long as I possess more than you?"

I followed the flickering lights, and when I arrived at the port, I gave the servant girl holding it an amicable smile, "would you lend me the candle you are holding?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, but only after a dazed pause of silence in which she didn't realize I was talking to her.

Meanwhile Rayas father kept incessantly shouting, "I made my name before you were even born, kid. All my siblings would listen to me, naturally that also included your father a long time. I, as the representative of this family's next generation have gone through much more than your tiny mind could ever imagine." His hands clenched, then opened, "I had braved against likes which would swallow overzealous youths like you without chewing. So how dare you— how dare you question my authority?"

The girl nodded fervently, and passed me the golden candelabra (or maybe I only imagined it golden) coated in thick meliting wax, in which a little flame rested. The orange light, soothed her delicate features, which were filled great confusion. But her confusion was over-waived by nervousness.

It was like being in a theater, watching a play, only to realize it was interactive, with the actors walking through the audience and pushing the limelight on unsuspecting spectators.

Hit with the sudden stage fright her hands quavered (but she bravely maintained her smile) and I grabbed the candle in fear of her grip loosening.

"I can't blame you, really. The piercing flares of the crowd can be quite unforgiving," I told the servant and went on my way again, my voice slowly fading from her ears.

"Look, just look at this," Rayas father yelled the dialogue which had somewhere in between turned into a monologue, "look where I am and where you are. I preside here as the lone judge over your fate, I am the person who will one day inherit this seat and the title alike, things you could never dream of," his veins popped on his neck from the strain of his laughter, "while all you can do is run your mouth, knowing no matter how great you talk it could never hold up against true power. All you can do is—-" he paused, "wait, what are you actually doing right now? Can you not stay still?"

I stood in front of a painting, illuminated by my candle. The wound that came from my death still ached, the last thing I saw before I transmigrated into this bizarre world, "I find this painting quite nice."

Agnes' uncle raised his brows, "so what." What is the point, is what he wanted to know.

I took a deep breath through my nose, inhaling the scent of burned wax and tepid wood, "I am imprinting the scenery in my mind. Because this will be the last time I will ever see it."

"So you do understand what will happen to you. Finally, the child speaks sense and listens." He joked sarcastically.

"That wasn't really what I meant," I scratched my head, "ah, well whatever."

He smiled, "do you really not get it?," He then shouted loudly for everyone to hear, "all who are here, they are all here to see a fiend meet its justful end. So even if per your words I am not graced with relevant authority, the voice of the masses cannot go unheard." He then laughed, "it doesn't matter how righteous you find yourself, how vicious your mouth can be, if the people do not agree, what is the point?"

I felt the crowd nodding. I didn't actually see it, but it seemed right in my mind that they did.

Thus, I glanced around— at the slightly bright faces, blurred by shadows and avoiding eye contact, but also into the dark corners of the room where many spectators hid their bodies.

"I find it good that you bring this up." I agreed and then continued in a sharp tone, "I am severely annoyed with the stares. Those fools who do nothing but cower behind the stands have little right to wish for anything, if they are not willing to stand on the stage themselves." The tone was seemingly sharp enough to cut the invisible curtains of the laughable play.

The people murmured shocked— but not shocked enough to step out and confront me directly. All they could do was silently chastise me, not even showing the guts comparable from two days ago.

"You cannot rest unless you vilified every single man on this world, am I correct?" Rayas father said, "is it not clear that the mere presence is akin to their agreement with my judgement!"

The crowd stood silent with an impish joy.

"I disagree."

"There is no place for you to disagree!"

"I have gotten sick of this crowd, only because they are faceless, they dare to act big. Today, let me place a face on the people, not as a group but as individuals and let us see if the authority you hold is as stable as you think."

If there was one thing I had to clear, it was the 'cowards' Agnes referred to, which have crawled deep under her skin and infested her with this endless rage.

For how many years had they watched, pretending to be innocent, when they were part of her suffering?

I promised to get rid of her regrets by the roots. So, I will confront them directly, corner them like mice, into a place where they could not hide anymore.

"Let me see~ Who shall we uncover first?" I licked my lips, "Let me see~ How will you fare under a the pressure of the stage? Let me see~ Who dares to act cheeky afterwards?"

With the lone candle dancing around me, I moved again, through the horrified crowd that scurried away like I was an unholy ghost.