Evil

The Princess have a lot of question that she would like to ask but it will serve her well to tread carefully. The Duchess does not show all her cards at once, and it will be hard to convince her to do so.

The Black Lady now known as the Duchess of Emerald City, is as cunning as the snake that convinced Eve, to bite into the fruit of knowledge that doomed humanity. In front of the Duchess, the Princess was a mere child, ignorant of the real world that's cruel and ugly.

But the Princess is aware of how the Duchess views her. Playing along as the ignorant child, and as the spoiled Princess who lost her mother at a young age, everything was to avoid the watchful gaze of the Duchess who slithers behind the Palace's shadows.

"Well, Dove? Are we to stand here all day?", The Duchess eyes lit up in anticipation as she spoke. It was as if the world stood still for the two of them inside the very room where her dearest father resides.

"The Prince... Where is he?"

The Duchess sighs, disappointment obviously on her face.

"The Prince is fickle, indeed. Not a very good liar too. The Duke caught on to the Prince's intention for this marriage and he grew suspicious of his movements—so he followed him, and, to be honest, darling. I don't know exactly where on Earth could he be. I'm not even entirely sure that he would show up today, on your wedding day."

The Princess let's out an amused chuckle.

"How can you be so sure that he won't show up?"

The Duchess smiled, her eyes not breaking contact with the Princess's intense gaze that could burn holes, if only, her eyes were ball of flames, that aims at the wicked being that deserves to burn for her sins.

"Well, for a start. I made sure he won't be able to come back."

The room's temperature suddenly felt cold, and even the wood layered table beside the Princess that was supposed to be warm to the touch, felt like cold marble. The Princess hesitated for a moment to ask the next question. She fears that her words might seal another's fate.

"You... killed the Prince?"

The Duchess bursts into laughter, hearing the words from the Princess herself. Her shoulders shook along with her body, as she let out a hearty laughter that fills the Princess's heart with an awful feeling.

"Oh, dear! I didn't know you had such dark humor, Princess. Why would I do that when I hardly have any evidence against the Prince? We, both know, I don't have that kind of power. But the Duke does.", The Duchess sat on the wooden table beside the Princess who was still paralyzed in place, "You do know what that means, right? The only thing that I did was to feed information to the Duke, and the rest would be up for him to decide. The Prince's movements, the letters he would exchange with his father, and even his secret escape at midnight. If the Duke find the Prince guilty of treason then it's guaranteed that the young Prince will not come back, and the engagement will be broken. And, do you know what is the amusing part, Dove?"

The Princess glares at the Duchess but the woman remains unperturbed. The smile on her face was steady, and there is no sign of the Duchess feeling intimidated by the Princess.

"What do you mean, your Highness?"

The Duchess lean forward and whispered on the Princess's ear, "The Prince is indeed guilty of treason. I did say, I don't have much evidence against the Prince, but forging one isn't that hard. Especially, when your father is too much of a fool to trust someone like me who killed your dear mother."

There was no need for the Princess to go roundabout her true intention. The Duchess answered the one question that she was curious about all this time. But why does it feel like she lost the battle that she was preparing herself for, all these years? She knew the Duchess killed her mother, and this was the moment she had long waited for. All those hardships she endured was for this one chance to reveal to the world how much of a devil the Duchess truly is.

But, what's the use if the Duchess herself, revealed the truth with confidence? It can only mean one thing, and that would be the Duchess knew all along.

And, what she didn't see was that the Duchess is already aware of her plan, and that the devil herself is going to admit her sins. So, it was no use if the Duchess did admit in killing the innocent lady's mother because the Princess cannot do anything without real authority or evidence.

      From the very start, she already set the stage, and the Princess was nothing but just purely for decoration, for her little play of deceit.

The Princess was just another pawn, a powerless brat, and a naive little girl whose whole life must be surely haunted by the sight of her mother's body falling on the ground after sipping her last serving of tea that day. The young princess was unable to tell anyone else because she feared that no one will truly believe her after her own father, the Duke, did not entertain her childish warnings.

The Duchess already set a plan in motion to get rid of the Princess after successfully kicking out the eldest Prince, and today was the beginning of it all. The curtains arise, the crowd is holding their breath in anticipation, and the play is mere moments away from truly starting.

              The Princess fell for the trap as expected by the Duchess, and now all it takes is for her to lose herself in anger. The Princess needs to act her part perfectly, she needs to fly into a rage and do the unthinkable while there is a crowd to witness the whole thing to play out. The Duchess eyes the two maids at the far corner of the room, and wait for the Princess to say her lines. The atmosphere grew heavy, and the Princess's expression at the moment is just the right recipe for the disaster that was about to ensue.

"You shameless bitch. Was it that fun to live in the shadows of someone you coldheartedly murdered?", The fire lit inside the Princess eyes was enough to burn holes into the Duchess but the Duchess who was expecting her to act this way was smiling from ear to ear like a madwoman.

Even the Duchess herself could not believe how effective her plan was.

"That's right. I relished every moment as your mother gasped for air, her frail body on the ground, and her eyes wide while pathetically looking up at me. I truly appreciate her sacrifice.", she whispered as if it was a precious secret that was meant only for the Princess's ears.

It was the last straw.

And, the Princess almost immediately lost control of her emotions, and slapped the Duchess across her face.

The Duchess loses her balance, and fell on the ground with a confused expression. The Duchess made sure to act pitifully as she fell, and to make her act more believable—tears started forming in her eyes as she looks at the Princess who perfectly fulfilled the part as the insane Princess who threatens the poor, and defenseless Duchess.

"You should rot in hell where you belong for your sins! You demon!", The Princess screamed, and the maids witnessing everything was startled, unaware of what was the cause for the Princess's outburst.

It was perfect. The Princess has lost it, and she is towering over the Duchess who looks like she is scared to death.

"H-Help! Help! The Princess has lost her mind! Please do something!"

The Princess scoffed at the poor acting of the Duchess. She thought that if this is her way of begging for mercy from her, then the Duchess had messed with the wrong person.

Blinded by rage, the Princess grabbed a handful of the Duchess's hair, and slapped her face again. She knows that it was not like her to lose control but would one truly be able to suppress these swirling emotions inside? It was like her heart was about to burst from the pain, the memories she kept in the back of her mind of her mother was overflowing, and more than the fear of the punishment she will face, the Princess felt for the first time in her life, the desire to completely crush a living being.

The maids were in shock of the scene before them. The Princess was holding the Duchess by the hair, and slapped her multiple times. The Duchess was trying to escape the firm grip of the Princess on her but it was no use. The Duchess squirms, and scratch the Princess's hand but the crazed Princess would not let her escape.

"Ngh! Ah! Let go of me! Let go of me this instant!", The Duchess was screaming but the Princess remains silent.

The maids saw the lights go out of the Princess eyes, and when she stood up while her hand remains on the handful of hair she's holding that belongs to the Duchess, she drags the Duchess without a second thought.

The Princess drags the Duchess by the hair out of the Duke's chambers, and towards the staircase. It doesn't matter anymore if it was the right thing to do, the Princess was not able to think straight anymore because of the insanity slowly consuming her mind. It felt like if she fight against these feelings, it would only consume her further inside.

The maids unable take it anymore throw themselves in front of the insane Princess in an attempt to stop her from hurting the Duchess.

"Please, your Majesty! Don't do this!"

"Please let go of the Duchess, your Majesty!"

But even that was of no use.

The Princess easily shoved the maids aside, one of them hitting a vase with her back, and falling on the sharp scattered pieces. The other maid who was also shoved aside noticed her friend who wasn't moving anymore, and saw blood coming out of her.

The maid was flustered, and began shouting for help.

But the Princess, who was usually the first to empathize with the servants, was void of any emotion, and the cry for help of the pitiful maid fell on deaf ears.