Grieve and Madness

"He will what?" Mary fumed.

"Calm yourself down, Mary." Mrs. Lana scolded her. "He may be cruel and heartless, but he is still your master."

Mary murmured to herself while Mrs. Lana seemed to be thinking about something. Mary looked at Ashley, who was looking troubled.

"I don't want to attend, but I couldn't decline." Ashley sighed. "I got taken aback that I even forgot to breathe."

"But to be introduced in a funeral…." Mrs. Lana said. Suddenly there was a shout from outside the room. They got startled because it was so loud.

"My daughter! Where is my daughter? Give me back my daughter." The Countess screamed so hard.

"You should stay here." Mrs. Lana said as she walked towards the door. "Mary, I'm counting on you."

Mary locked the door as soon she got out. Mary then looked at the troubled Ashley and sighed.

"Don't worry. She won't be able to hurt you." Mary reassured her when a loud slam on the door suddenly made their hearts jump.

"Elizabeth! My daughter! Please come out! I know you are in there!" It was the Countess yelling outside Ashley's room.

"Madam. Please stop. Lady Elizabeth is not here anymore." They heard Mrs. Lana's voice outside the room, trying to calm the Countess and some other maids.

"No! My daughter is not dead. I know she is here. Elizabeth! My Elizabeth! Why won't you come out and see your mother." The Countess kept on yelling outside while she kept on knocking on Ashley's door.

Ashley just sat anxiously inside the room with Mary, guarding the door. She seemed to remember the memories of the attic whenever the Countess hurt her, and she started to tremble.

It was then they heard the voice of the Count speak that everything went silent.

"What is the commotion here about?"

Mrs. Lana curtsy to the Count and told him. "My Lord, I apologize for the noise. Madam is not in her right mind right now because of Lady Elizabeth's death."

"Elizabeth! Come out! I know you are in there." The Countess kept on yelling at Ashley's door while she knocked on it. 

Then she turned to the Count and said in rage, "It's your fault. Elizabeth won't leave this room because you keep saying she is dead."

The Count got angry and slapped her, which surprised everyone there. The Countess was so surprised upon receiving that slap that the Count yelled, "Ashley is inside this room, not Elizabeth. Your child is DEAD. GONE. Face the truth, Reeva."

Upon hearing those words, the Countess crouched down and wept. The people around her pitied her, except for the man who was standing in front of her. Losing a child is one of the most painful things a parent could experience. Death is inevitable, but it is painful for those who remain.

"Stop this madness already and get a grip. What's gone is gone. Stop your whining now, and you better fix your appearance." The Countess didn't stop but wailed more, just like a child, which annoyed the Count.

The Count sighed and faced Mrs. Lana, "Bring her back to her room. And don't let her out until we finish the funeral. I don't want her to cause another commotion before the other nobles." Then he walked away from them.

Mrs. Lana stood there dumbfounded upon hearing his order. She couldn't even reply to him, so she just sighed and ordered the maids around to help the Countess. Ashley and Mary, who were still inside the room, heard it all.

"I know that the Countess is not in her right mind, but does he have to do that?" Mary complained while Ashley kept quiet.

"Being unable to see her daughter for the last time…" Mary said with a troubled face as Ashley stood up and started walking to the door, which confused Mary. "Ashley?! Where are you going?"

But Ashley opened the door and left the room while Mary tried to stop her. When they got to the hallway, Mary gasped while Ashley stood there with a severe face upon seeing the Countess assisted by the maids. Her hair was messy, and torn at the bottom of her skirts could be seen. She got bags under her eyes and tears on her face. She has bare feet on the floor and wounds on her hands.

Mrs. Lana saw the both of them and yelled, "What are you doing out here? Get inside your room!"

But Ashley won't budge a little from her position. She was still looking at the Countess, who was still sobbing. As Ashley stood there, remembering her past. Ashley saw how a loved one died in front of her. She wondered how it would feel if she couldn't see her mother until the very last moment of her life.

She started walking towards them, making Mary panic and trying to stop her. Mrs. Lana frowned upon seeing Ashley acting on her own.

She inhaled deeply when she finally got there before speaking, "I… am not your daughter. I am Ashley."

The Countess, who was still crying, looked at her. Ashley continued, "I… am the one you had always hurt, yelled at, and cursed at. And it felt so painful." A tear fell from her left eye as she continued to talk.

"The pain engraved in my heart upon losing my mother and the pain you incurred to me as you hurt me; they were too much for me. I was too young, but I felt so much pain."

The Countess didn't utter a word but nodded. Her tears fell one by one as Mary, Mrs. Lana, and the maids around started crying too. Ashley wiped her tears and spoke with a cracked voice, "Now that you felt it, I hope you'll realize how painful it is for me too. So painful that it will make you insane. Cry as much as you want, but it will never change anything. I hope you'll overcome the madness that pain brings you."

Then she started walking away from her. Mary, still crying, followed her while the Countess cried silently with Mrs. Lana and her maids.

Ashley walked towards her room with Mary, and as soon as the door was closed, Ashley's knees gave up—Mary, behind her, panicked again.

"Ashley! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" She asked.

"I-I said something bad, Mary." She answered as tears fell from her eyes. "I-I just wanted to tell her that I was in pain too. That I-"

"Shush… It's alright. You did nothing wrong." As Mary hugged her, Ashley wept just like a child. Mary tried to hold back her tears and let Ashley cry until she fell asleep. Night came, and it was time for dinner.

"Ashley, wake up. You need to get ready for dinner." But only a soft groan was her answer. Mary saw Ashley full of sweat and tried touching her forehead. "Goodness! You have a high fever!"

She got a towel and a basin of lukewarm water then she informed Mrs. Lana about Ashley's condition. The Count was already in the dining room when Mrs. Lana told him that Ashley couldn't join him for dinner because of a high fever.

"What?! Then you should have called a doctor. Carl, send someone to the Wels town and fetch the available doctor there."

"Yes, My Lord." Carl left the room while Mrs. Lana added, "My Lord, the Countess is suffering the same condition as Ashley and wants to see you."

The Count sighed and said, "Let the doctor check on Ashley first. After that, lead him to Reeva's room."

"Yes, My Lord." Then she exited the room.

Ashley's fever was so high that even a towel soaked in cold water wasn't helping. Mary got worried that she would stay beside her. 

"Ashley…Please hang in there." She said as she held her hand. 

Ashley could hear Mary's voice even with her eyes shut.

"M-Ma…ry?" She uttered.

Mary was surprised to get a response. Thus she cried. "Ashley… Don't worry. The doctor will be here soon. Just hang in there."

Ashley passed out again and fell into darkness when the Count and a doctor came. Upon checking her condition, he spoke, "She is suffering from a fever not caused by a virus but by too much stress. Was the lady exposed to too many emotional events that caused her stress?"

Mary nodded while the Count asked him, "Will she be okay?"

"This kind of fever is short-term and can be resolved independently. No medicine for this sickness exists, but you can help lower the fever by placing a soaked towel on the forehead. If the patient can get up, you can give her a bath with lukewarm water. Give her plenty of fluids for hydration and let her rest."

"Thank you." The Count said to the doctor as he tidied his things.

"I suggest you should keep her from things that will cause her too much stress to avoid the occurrences of the fever. If anything happens, call me again." The doctor said upon closing his case.

The doctor left the room with Mrs. Lana, Mr. Carl, and the Count while Mary stayed. She tended to Ashley as she slept through the night and never left her side. She stayed in her room until morning came.