The hunt (1)

"Where could Viola have gone?" Rebecca said almost to herself as she paced back and forth, making James feel dizzy.

"Can you stop pacing back and forth? You are making me feel giddy!" James complained.

Rebecca stopped and placed her hands on her hips. Dark circles were visible underneath her eyes. "Viola disappeared two weeks ago! We don't know where she went. How can I stay calm?"

James walked closer to her and pulled her into a hug. "Just relax, Rebecca. It's not like this is the first time she had left without telling us." Although he said this, there was hidden concern in his eyes.

"But two weeks have already passed and she is not yet back! Usually she only disappears for three to four days then she will eventually come back," she said frantically.

James closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He did not like seeing her this restless. He stroked her hair gently and said softly, "We have spoiled our daughter too much. She has been misbehaving recently. When we find her, we will have to teach her a lesson. We can't let her go astray."

"Just find my daughter, James Carter," she croaked. Her eyes were red from crying too much. He felt devastated.

"I have already sent my men to find her. Don't worry... Stop crying, okay? Everything is going to be fine," he consoled her.

They fell into silence. James rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. She sobbed quietly in his arms. "We will find her," he whispered.

At that moment, someone walked in. Her head was held high as she walked past them arrogantly. She did not bother to greet them. Rebecca pulled away from James and went after the arrogant young woman. She managed to grab her arm.

"Are you hurt somewhere? Where were you all this time? I was worried about you," Rebecca said as she checked to see if she had any wounds.

"Why did you suddenly leave without telling us? Do you know how worried we were?" she bombarded her with many questions.

Viola looked annoyed and suddenly pushed her away roughly. Rebecca was caught off guard. If not for James' quick reflexes, she would have been laying on the ground right now.

"What got into you?!" James bellowed. He was completely pissed off by her actions. "How could you push your mother like that?"

"Mother?" She sneered. "She's not my mother! You are not my parents!"

"Stop throwing a tantrum and apologize to your mother immediately! I will not let you behave like this to your mother!" He demanded in an authoritative voice.

Viola's lips curled up into a mocking smile. She looked completely different from the Viola they knew. What happened to her that made her act like this? "Or what? Just look at her. So weak and pathetic! She can't even defend herself."

'If you did not pamper that filthy rat, this could not have been happening,' she thought.

His blood boiled in anger. "That's it! We have spoiled you too much!"

Rebecca recovered from her shock when James was about to hit Viola. She grabbed his arm and shook her head.

James looked at her in confusion. "Let me go! We can't let her get away with what she did to you."

Rebecca only flashed him a sad smile. Viola was taken aback when she saw how calm she was. At the same time, she felt anger. She pointed a finger at them. "You don't treat me like your own daughter! All you care about is that filthy rat! She doesn't deserve your care. Only I am your real daughter. Why would you treat a stranger like your own daughter?!"

James opened his mouth to say something but Rebecca covered his lips with her hand.

Viola began to laugh maliciously. "Guess what your precious daughter, ran away from the castle!"

Rebecca and James were shocked. Lord William had informed them only a week ago that the wedding had been postponed because Athena's illness had been acting up lately. They had been sending letters to her but she was not responding. They even went to the castle a couple of times to see her but Lord William said that they could not see her and even gave them various excuses. However they did not notice anything strange. They were only concerned about her well being.

They looked at her suspiciously. It was clear that they did not believe her.

"You don't believe me? Sigh, why do I have dumb parents?" She said sarcastically.

They fell in deep thought. It was actually strange that they were not allowed to see her...

"I heard that she eloped with a lover," she said nonchalantly. "The king is really furious about this and sent his men to search for her. It's said that if she gets caught by his men, she might get beheaded for betraying the king."

Rebecca felt her legs go weak and leaned on James. Even James was shocked and couldn't believe what she was saying. But Viola did not look like she was lying. "If you think that I am lying, why don't you go to the castle and find the truth for yourself?"

"We are going to the castle right now!" James said and dragged the frozen Rebecca. They did not believe what she was saying...

Viola watched them disappear from her sight and sighed in disappointment. Yes, it will always be her... Why can't she get out of her life?

She clenched her fists tightly and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she looked more terrifying than before. Her lips curled up into a sinister smile that could make someone feel goosebumps all over his body.

"You are doomed, Athena." She whispered as she stared at nothing in particular. "This is just the beginning."

..................

Athena was eating her breakfast when she suddenly sneezed. She looked apologetically at everyone else, feeling slightly embarrassed. She wondered who was cursing her.

The butler, Mr Harlan walked in and bowed. "My lady, Lady Eva is here," he announced.

"She is here already?" Lady Alisha said, looking slightly surprised. Both Trevor and Athena looked at her.

"What is she doing here?" Trevor asked, looking annoyed.

'Who is Lady Eva?"

"Aunt Alisha!" A sweet voice called

Athena cringed at the sound of the voice. It sounded too hypocritical. Athena turned to look at the source of the voice. A young girl who seemed to be a year older than her entered. Her hair was tied into a pony tail. She had light make up on. She was wearing a white dress. She looked so innocent and pure. The typical girl every man would want to protect.

"You came early," Lady Alisha said enthusiastically. "Come on and join us."

The girl named Lady Eva smiled sweetly and went over to sit down next to Trevor. Athena felt her stomach churn at her smile. It gave off a sickening feeling and Athena was having a hard time to control her emotions. This girl was just too much!

"Athena this is Eva Home, my future niece in law. Eva this is Athena, my goddaughter." Lady Alisha introduced them.

Athena choked on her food. Goddaughter? Athena picked up a glass of water and drank quickly. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you alright, kiddo?" Trisha asked worriedly. Athena bobbed her head as a response.

Lady Alisha gave her a gentle smile. Athena's heart melted. Trevor glared at Lady Alisha. What future niece in law? He had no plans of marrying her!

"It's nice to meet you Athena," Lady Eva said cheerfully and gave her a coquettish smile.

'Please don't give me that fake sweet smile!' she complained inwardly but forced out a smile and said, "It's nice to meet you too Lady Eva."

"There is no need to be so formal! Just call me Eva," Lady Eva giggled. Athena bit her bottom lip. She had the urge to puke in her face right now!

Lady Eva was very talkative. Athena looked at her food and groaned inwardly. This hypocritical girl made her loose her appetite! Athena looked at Lady Alisha who was listening to the girl earnestly. She was puzzled. Couldn't Lady Alisha see that she was fake? Her fake sweet smile... That innocent look...

She was just another white lotus bitch!

On the other hand, Lady Eva was secretly observing her. She looked like a scrawny little girl who was barely fourteen. She looked so naive and a bit timid. She smirked inwardly. It seems like luck was on her side this time.

Athena felt a scorching gaze on her and squirmed in her chair. She knew who was looking at her.

'Why is she looking at me like that? It's not like I did anything wrong to her!' she thought as she tried to concentrate on eating her food. There was something pretty off about that girl.

"Kiddo, where is Little Snow? I did not see him since yesterday," Trisha suddenly asked. Athena froze. "Athena?

She snapped out of her daze and said with a poker face, "He is still resting." Actually, she also did not know where he went. Everyone's gaze was fixated on her for a split second before they looked away. They were doubtful but chose to not probe further.

"Mother, can we bring Eva along to the hunt?" Trisha turned to look at her mother.

Athena turned to look at Lady Alisha questioningly. They were going out to hunt? When was this planned?

"Oh, sure," she readily agreed. Lady Eva's eyes sparkled. "I can come? Thank you so much. It has been ages since I last went out to hunt."

Soon they all went to the forest.

"We will be dividing into three groups." Lady Trisha said. "Sophia will be with me, Athena will go with Trisha and Trevor will be with Lady Eva. We will meet right here after two hours!"

Trevor was not satisfied by the arrangement but did not protest. The three groups went in separate ways.

"Trisha, can I ask you something?" Athena began as they walked deeper into the woods.

"Sure."

"Don't you think that umm... There is something strange about Eva?"

Trisha paused in her tracks and shot her a question glance. "Something strange?"

Athena bobbed her head slowly. "I can sense it. She doesn't seem to be what she appears to be."

Trisha chuckled. "It's just your imagination. Eva is a sweet and kind girl. She can't possibly even hurt a fly. She has a pure and innocent soul."

Athena scratched her head. Maybe her assumption was wrong?

"Stop moving. Stay here." Trisha said as she moved away stealthily. Athena obliged. She watched her disappear from her sight. Minutes passed as she stood at the same spot until she began to feel bored and decided to search for an animal. She began to walk aimlessly with her ears perked up. She heard something rustle and stopped walking. She listened earnestly. There was something rustling behind the bushes. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

She crouched down and peered through the bushes just to see a rock rabbit. Her lips curled up. She had just found her first target. She took out her bow and an arrow. Athena aimed her arrow at the little rabbit that was unaware of the danger around it. She pulled the arrow and hesitated to release it.

"Come on. I can do it," she murmured as she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She was going to do it. To her disbelief, when she opened her eyes, the little rock rabbit was nowhere to be seen.

"Eh? Where did the rabbit go?"

She looked around but could not find it. That was her first target! She felt disappointed and could not help but curse herself. If she had not hesitated, she could have caught that rock rabbit!

With a sigh, she began to walk forward. Her sharp eyes looked around in search of another target.

Not long after, she spotted something standing not far away from her. It was the same rock rabbit she had seen earlier. She felt ecstatic!

She did not waste anytime and immediately placed an arrow on her bow. She aimed it at the rock rabbit. The rock rabbit was completely unaware of the danger around it. Without a second thought, she let the arrow go but alas... She missed. The rabbit immediately fled after sensing the sudden danger. She could not help but curse.

Were her archery skills that poor? She looked at her bow and sighed exasperatedly. However she determined to not give up! Wouldn't that prove that she was a useless weakling? So she continued her search for another target.

Unfortunately, time passed but she could not find any other target. Disappointed rose in her heart. Maybe she was just a bad hunter?