More Like A Rose Than Daisy [2]

"I don't know. You seemed like a daisy type of person" Elijah spoke before averting his eyes.

A daisy. That's new.

She turned her head away from him and then back towards the bell-shaped flower, 'lily of the valley'.

"Daisy type, huh?"

Innocent and pure like daisy.

That's what people always assumes about her, every time.

She wondered if they knew that the sweet Layla, daughter of the kind-hearted woman Chloe, was out here to get her family's blood. To get revenge on father, mother and Elijah.

Pure and generous Layla, the empire's angel. That's what people called her in her previous life. Someone who would always be there for them and always available to help others. No way, the angelic Layla would ever turn down from helping anyone.

She genuinely liked helping others, she really did. Doing so gave her a sense of purpose and also made her happy. But people, they were like predators with their never ending hunger, always kept on demanding more and more. It was as if there was no end to their greed. She always gave and gave without any questions, and they all shamelessly took it, without giving anything in return.

Although it broke her heart, she tried to be not mad at those people, because her mother used to say 'to be of service to others is the greatest gift of all'.

Was it really? When faced with these shameless people, can one really call helping others as a gift. She was a human after all, sometimes it exhausted her. For her, it was always a one-way street. With all these rejections how could she not feel, all those negative emotions.

The pain of being abandoned and their betrayal made her feel unloved and unwanted, which developed to hatred for those people. And she, a virtuous woman, felt ashamed of herself when she felt such emotions.

It was a never ending cycle for her. Her helping them expecting something in return and them just turning away completely crushing her hope.

She doesn't blame them anymore, though. They were human, too. Of course they would do things necessary for survival. So they only took from the source that can provide for them, because of their selfishness. This world is all about 'survival of the fittest' after all.

Their betrayal and pain was insignificant compared to what her loved ones did. They were strangers but those were her loved ones, stabbing her on the back. And that pain was the single blow that ended that cycle.

"If anything, I would be more like a rose."

Yes, a rose. A rose that allures someone with its beauty and then when they try to grasp it, the thorns pierce their skin and inflict pain.

"Hmm… is that so?" Elijah said, tilting his head, trying to relate what his sister said.

"Well i better head back or else i will be in trouble" Layla said getting herself off from the ground, while dusting her dress. She turned towards Elijah, "Enjoy your visit, brother. And hopefully you find your favourite flower" she smiled.

"Yes," He replied. But Layla didn't care any more; she turned around and dashed to the kitchen.

She completely lost track of time while talking. It's been so long that the warm liquid in the pot truly has cooled down.

She can't give them more reason to torment her. Her losing track of time was so unlike her. Moreover why was he talking to her so nicely though?

Her unathletic body ran until she reached her destination. She flung open the kitchen door, grabbing the attention of everyone present there. She supported herself against the wall while loudly panting.

"S-Sammy h-hot-t w-ate-r" she asked while breathing heavily. Once her body had calmed down she looked up at the cook. But standing next to him was Beth, with an angry expression on her face.

"What took you so long!" she yelled out. "Mistress was waiting for so long, that she send me here to fetch the water"

At that moment Layla knew, she fucked up.

Layla just closed her eyes and accepted her fate. "As a punishment, the mistress said you have to clean the stable for two days. Starting today and without anyone's aid" Beth said with an authoritative tone.

Damn it.

And now Layla was stuck with cleaning the stable. How ionic few days she wanted to help Henni clean this place, and now she got the job herself.

Layla looked around the place. It had only been a few days since Henni had cleaned this place, so how had it become so filthy?

Layla taking the broom, she quickly went to work. The stench was making her sick, but she doesn't want to give her stepmother more reason to torment her. In spite of her firm resolve, her aristocrat body wouldn't comply with her wishes. Her hands started to shake after a few minutes of firm sweeping. The stench was so bad that she felt like vomiting.

She didn't feel this sick when she met with Henni here. Maybe she cleaned all those messes before, or maybe it's another of her stepmother's tricks to mess with her.

She quickly got out of there and sat outside under the tree's shade. Her hands were cold, and her body was covered in cold sweat.

After breathing in the fresh air, her body settled down. As the nauseous feeling went away, her breathing became normal. She looked up at the sky. How was she going to finish all this by herself?

"Oh, my, what would a pretty little maid such as yourself be doing in this place?"

Layla recognised this voice. It came from somewhere nearby. She got up from her seat and followed the rustling sound of the leaves. It was coming from behind the stable.

Layla peered from the side. It was Fred and the new maid from the other day. He had her cornered against the wall. Maybe the rustling sounds of leaves were her backing away from him. Fred put both of his hands next to the new maid to block her escape.

"It must be my lucky day to stumble upon you," Fred said with a lustful tone.