first Laugh

I was still unconscious when the smell of fresh flowers brushed against my nose. As I opened my eyes, the sharp sunlight pierced my vision. I shielded my eyes with my forearm and sat up on the bed.

Ah! Now I remember! All the things that happened yesterday flashed in my mind, causing a sharp pain in my head.

"Hiss," a sound escaped my lips as I squeezed my eyes shut, pinching them before my gaze fell on the red mark on the bedsheets. "Did my period come?" I jolted up to look at my pants, like a dog chasing its own tail.

I finally got off the bed and looked at my rear. "Hm... there's no stain though..." I traced my hand over my back when I noticed that the dry blood had cracked on the skin of my right hand.

"Did I cut myself?" The room was still messy, with the papers Richard had thrown lying scattered across the bed and floor, one of them stained with blood. At that moment, I remembered feeling a sharp pain yesterday, and for some reason, a smile tugged at my lips.

I wanted to clean my hand, but before that, I decided to clean up the mess. I carefully picked up each paper. Although the maids would clean it at my word, I didn't want to explain anything. Besides, I was good at cleaning, so it wasn't a big deal. In a few moments, the already shining room became even brighter, almost blinding me.

"Hah! At least I'm good at cleaning up my own mess," I said with a soft smile.

I took the stained sheets and shoved them into the washing machine.

Coming back to the bedroom, I opened a secret door—well, it's not really a secret, just hidden behind the mirror. It led me to an endless collection of branded dresses, shoes, jewelry, bags, and who knows what else. A sparkling place.

I found it while desperately searching for clothes, but guess what? I didn't find anything appropriate.

I picked a light pink dress from the closet, but it was nothing but netting. Even if I wore my undergarments, I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it. And if I wore clothes under it, why wear netting? It made no sense. Why would she even buy something like that?

My sharp gaze fell on another dress, one that was cut in the places, which people wore clothes to hide.

I sat on the floor, holding my head. Did she have no sense of humor? My eyes were fixed on the ground, but when I looked up, I found a box buried beneath a bundle of clothes, like something forgotten. I grabbed the box and walked back into the room, sensing that this held something I could actually wear.

I was walking toward the bathroom when my eyes fell on the stack of papers on the table. "Ah! What did Richard say yesterday?" Unconsciously, my grip on the dress tightened.

I took a deep breath. "Let's think about it in the bathtub, bathtub and thinking-- perfect combination."

***

I was sitting in the white marbled bathtub, warm water washing off my fatigue. I slid down, submerging my mouth in the water. My eyes were fixed on the ripples as I concentrated, trying to remember what he had said.

"If you want me to come back, you must get the lead role in that drama." Argh, my eyebrows furrowed as a sharp pain struck my head.

"Or else, we're done for, Elijah Rawlinson."

"Wah!" I hastily grabbed both sides of the bathtub and stand. "Eli... Elijah Rawlinson?? Me and Elijah Rawlinson? Don't tell me she-Nina wanted me to step down and let other actresses shine?" I muttered, standing in the bathtub.

"Are you kidding me? She has this whole palace to run with workers' payments, taxes, electricity bills, clothing, petrol, and most importantly, FOOD! Does she want me to beg??"

"Oops," a soft hiss from someone standing by the door made me realize I was basically n*ked--standing in the bathtub and shouting at--no one.

Embarrassed, I hurriedly sat back in the water, hiding as I asked, "Who are you?"

"Bruh, they told me you're some kind of devil, but you look like a child to me," the voice said, sounding like a tomboy before quickly covering her mouth. "So... so sorry," she pleaded.

A girl, short and looking under eighteen, wearing a maid's costume that made her seem like she was cosplaying, stood in front of me.

"A new worker?" I asked, blowing bubbles in the water like a turtle.

"Yup," she replied enthusiastically.

I was processing the information when, what she had said crossed my mind. Once again, I was standing naked in the bathtub. "What's your name?" I asked enthusiastically, unlike myself.

She covered her eyes with her palm. "Oops again!"

"SO SORRY!" I shouted and sat back.

***

She told me her name was Yiyi before she closed the door.

Hah! I hugged my knees and let out a loud exhale. "So the problem is that I'm an actress, which means that's my way of earning a meal. Then, I'm told to stop acting. And third, Richard—my secretary—will leave me if I don't get the role back."

Silent tears were flowing in my heart. "And an actor can't do anything on her own without a secretary, especially someone like me who's never done anything like this before."

"So in conclusion, I should practice begging... but first of all, branded clothes won't do...I need to look poor."

After a teary bath, I walked out of the bathroom and saw Yiyi holding the blood-stained paper with teary eyes. "Milady, you got hurt," she said, sniffling.

I don't know why I smiled when someone was crying. "It was a small cut," I said, walking toward the box on the bed.

"A small cut leaves so much blood," she said.

I turned to reply but was shocked to step back as her face was inches away from me. When did she get so close?

"Yeah, yeah, it was small," I reassured her before opening the box. Before I could see what was inside, Yiyi yanked my wrist, making me spin.

"Let me see it myself," she said as she scanned both my hands. How was she so strong?

"Here," she said, pointing to the cut. She made me sit on the bed before starting my first-aid.

"Where did you find that box?"

"When I saw the blood on the paper, I went to ask for it from the old lady," she replied, carefully cleaning my wound.

"Old lady?" I said, raising my right brow as a smile spread across my face.

Yiyi locked eyes with me before twitching her nose upward. "She's stingy."

I didn't know when I started chuckling, but my laughter echoed in the room. Yiyi stared in awe as I couldn't control my laugh.

This was the first time in five days... no, the first time in the last three years that I'd laughed like this.

The memory of that time had already become blurry. Hah! I really like this girl.