A Naive Girl.

She basked in the shocked look of the man in front of her. He had taken her maiden kiss. He had..! She felt angered but she did not show him that. She could not let him enjoy the fact that he had won against her.

"If there is nothing else, I will be going." she said only to make him blink and he nodded as he looked away.

In the whole journey he had a lot to say, now that he was silent, she felt that she had finally won against his pride.

But as she turned to leave, the warmth and confidence his presence had provided her had started to fade and the fear of the presence of their uncle started to fill her.

What if they were already in her room when she got there!

Her heart raced as she held her torn dress tightly in her hands and walked in.

She opened the wall and peeked in. To her relief there was no one in the room. Letting go of a deep breath, she was holding for long, she walked in her room and entered the wash room. She took off her clothes and burnt them as she washed herself thoroughly and wore a satin nightgown.

Once there was no sign that she had ever gone out, she walked into her room and slipped into her bed.

From the start to the end, she did not light the candles or make a noise.

"That is just a step back, not a failure. Taking a step back, I will only jump higher than before."

She closed her eyes with that thought and strong will power.

But….

"Knock knock!"

"I told you there is no need to knock. There is no one in the room. The princess had left the palace to meet her lover. She is shaming the family for giving her too much freedom!" too much freedom! She really wanted to laugh over it.

But she knew this voice. It was the voice of the maid she had trusted for a long time. Now she did not want to hide anymore! Ha!

Bragging that I had left with my lover and coming to confront my room. She had finally gained enough courage.

Penny opened her eyes with a snap as if she was never sleeping but acting like one. Her senses were sharp without a daze and her ears were perked up.

She could hear a mix of voices but she could distinctly recognize her uncle's voice and her cousin's voice and when she heard the creaking of the door, she closed her eyes again.

"My lord, you can see by yourself, I have told you that she is not… here!" The maid's voice suddenly turned louder as she stared at the bed with widened eyes.

She ran towards her and stared at her with the desire to shake her and ask what in the world was she doing here?

"Mary!" her aunt called her in a sharp voice. "What do you mean by this?" she asked as she walked closer to them and stared at Mary and then at Penny.

Penny could hear the relief but at the same time anger in the voice of her aunt.

"Both of you come out and talk. She would wake up if you would be this loud." said her uncle through gritted teeth when the room turned silent and she heard the sound of footsteps after a few seconds.

The door closed again with a loud thud as she thanked god. If she would have been a few minutes late, she would have been caught.

She could still hear their voices near the door and hesitated for a second before walking slowly towards the door and leaned on it.

"But my lord, I have shown you the letter. She was leaving. I did not know what happened but my lord, I am only loyal to you. If you give me another chance I will ask her and tell you. I will prove that you are my only master." She could hear the panicked voice of the girl she treated as her sister.

"Tsk! What an act. Penny must have realized her intentions and did this intentionally. Do you think Penny could play this easily?" asked her cousin with a disinterested voice as if he was forced to stand here.

"What are you talking about? Do you think that foolish girl had this much brain? She must have been scared to leave since she had never stepped out of this palace. Did she think it was so easy to run away? The world is too cruel. She should be glad that we are giving her such a good life. Many step mothers ask their step daughters to work all day like a maid and still beat them.

And here, I had never raised my hands on her or asked her to do any difficult work." claimed her aunt in a sweet voice as if she was the most caring and sweetest woman in the world.

Penny felt a gagging feeling when she heard those voices and covered her mouth to make any noise.

There was a thick silence again when Penny felt her heart racing again.

"No matter what. Since she is already here, there is no need to make so much noise. The accident never happened and we never came to check on her. Do you understand?" came the authoritative voice of her uncle.

After that she heard their footsteps fading. She walked back to her bed and sat on it with a tsunami under her heart.

They were going to be wary of her and that maid.. She would come again for her!

"But this time I will be prepared to get rid of you."