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"Not a word from you," she snaps. "Nothing, is that understood?"
"But Hazel—"
"I said nothing!" Merelda shrieks. "Another word from your lips, and I'll tan the girl's hide to within an inch of her life."
Cyprian's fingers tighten around my wrist, but he presses his lips into a thin line, the sharp angle of his jaw hardening. Stepping forward, Merelda tugs me from Cyprian's grip, even as he tries to reach for me again.
I give Cyprian a look that stops him in his tracks as Merelda drags into the house and back to the kitchen. As much as I appreciate what he's done for me, he'll only make things worse trying to help.
Merelda says nothing, but I can feel her anger rolling off in heavy waves, threatening to drown me at any moment.
"I'm at my wit's end with you, girl," she finally says through gritted teeth.
We've come to a stop before two large buckets full of water. Steam curls thickly into the air from one as she kicks out the back of my knees, forcing me to the floor before them.
Before I have a chance to react, Merelda grabs a handful of hair at the back of my head and forces my head down into the steaming water.
It burns, stinging my eyes and filling my nose. I let out a gasp of surprise, the air bubbles that stream out tickling my face as I inhale water out of pure shock.
Just when I'm sure I'm going to drown myself, she pulls me out. I cough and splutter, gasping for air and just barely managing to get some before she dunks my head into the second bucket.
Ice cold water sends pain rippling through my mind and body. My lungs burn with water as I close my eyes against it, and I can't help wondering if this is how I'm going to die.
Just before the burn becomes too intense to bear any longer, I'm pulled back up for air. Once more, I gulp at the air, fighting my lungs as they try to clear themselves of water first. I don't know how long she intends to punish me like this, or if she means to drown me.
Part of me hopes she does. That she'll end me before I'm forced to live here without my father. Before I'm forced to marry such a vile man as Lord Payne.
Merelda dunks me into both buckets twice more, each time feeling longer than the last. My body goes limp as I give up fighting her, saving what remains of my energy for the brief moments when I surface for air.
I barely manage to catch myself as I'm unexpectedly tossed aside, landing hard on the cold stone floor of the kitchen, gasping and half-drowned. Merelda kicks the toe of her boot roughly into my side, but I can barely let out a whimper despite the pain.
"I expect dinner to be ready in an hour," my stepmother says, glaring down at me as I look up at her. "Don't be late, or there'll be more than this for you to deal with before the night's through."
With a final look of disgust, she turns on her heel and leaves the kitchen. The door slammed shut behind her, I curl in on myself as my lungs struggle to return to normal.
For a long moment, I don't move as I rest my head against the floor.
As terrible as that was, I'm almost surprised she didn't do worse. Despite my soaked dress, and the bruise that may form where she kicked me, there are no other visible marks of her cruelty.
Not this time.
Somehow, this realization has the hairs at the nape of my neck standing on end.
8
Hazel
Standing in the corner of the dining room, I watch as Merelda and her two sons eat. Well, at least Amadeus' does. Cyprian does little but push the food around his plate.
When I began to set the table, Merelda had made it clear to me that I would have to wait to eat, as she wasn't in the habit of allowing animals at the table. She'd delivered this news to me with a cold smile, and I had made no argument against it.
I'd decided it was better than having to endure eating with them. A cold dinner was little punishment in comparison.
"The peas are rubbery," Amadeus complains.
"You won't have to deal with the girl's cooking for much longer, dear," Merelda says. "It's honestly a miracle we've yet to die from her lack of skill. Shame to think her mother was such a great cook."
"And beauty, too."
