16~ A Narrow Escape

[Celia's POV]

What would she do? Her heart was beating rapidly as she stared at the door in apprehension. The knock came once again. "Celia, are you inside?" Mrs. Gibson asked from the other side.

Celia prayed to Heavens above to save her this once. One perk of working at the Wilson manor was that no one disturbed her after her work hours, but now she was an apprentice and she should have known that she might be needed for late-night trips to a patient's house.

She heard a grumble on the other end and then retreating footsteps. Her heart was still pounding in her ears as she waited for something worse such as Lucian coming to knock on the door and worse even force it open.

However, no such thing happened and she let herself calm down.

She raised her hand to look at them, furry, and she even had claws for nails. What was this form? She almost looked like a deformed animal. The pain hadn't subsided at all but throbbed like a reminder of what she had turned into. She could feel that her entire body had become furry.

How would she ever be able to escape another such summon from Lucian? What excuse will she give him for not accompanying him to a patient's house?

Celia felt suffocated. She let out a groan which came out like the growl of a wounded animal. She placed a hand on her throat, stunned. Her voice never changed completely like this. It might have become raspy once or twice, or even shrill but her voice did not completely change.

She tried to speak and felt horrified when all she could utter were groans and growls. Her calmness dissipated. Will she turn back to normal this time? She felt her throat tighten, and short of breath. Her vision turned blurry and saw black spots in her peripheral vision. Before she knew it, her head became lighter, and she slanted sideways until her head hit the floor with a low thunk.

When she opened her eyes, the daylight was flooding into her room. She squinted and shielded her eyes from the light. She sat up, registering the ache in her bones, and then everything came flooding back to her ― the transformation, the call from Mrs. Gibson, and then the loss of her voice.

With a quivering heart, she tried to speak, and to her relief, she heard her voice. She felt her eyes well up again. She buried her face in her hands, letting the tears of relief wet her palms.

Once she felt composed, she stood up, washed her face, dressed, and then went to stand in front of the mirror. Her face and hands showed no trace of the transformation, the painful transformation she had to go through last night. She closed her eyes to thank the Higher-ups.

However, her heart stuttered when she entered the back garden and came face-to-face with a very annoyed Mrs. Gibson. Celia had wanted to avoid her due to which she skipped breakfast but it looked like she was not so lucky.

The older woman crossed her arms and looked at her, or rather glared at her. Celia pretended to not know the reason behind her anger and greeted her. "Good morning, Mrs. Gibson."

"Why did you not answer the door last night?" The older woman bit out.

Celia tilted her head, trying to act confused. "Really? When? I apologize… I may have slept heavily…"

Celia hoped that her act was convincing enough. She tried to look apologetic but going by the older woman's expression, she might not be doing a very good job.

Silence settled heavily around them and then Mrs. Gibson said, "An apprentice cannot be a heavy sleeper. Start being more vigilant and for now, look after the plants. Mas- Doctor O'Neil is out of the house now, but when he returns he would want to speak with you." Celia nodded vigorously and kept her gaze downcast as Mrs. Gibson passed by her and left.

Opening her notebook, Celia began to inspect each plant, checked the soil, and checked the leaves and stems. According to the instructions she got from Lucian yesterday, she watered the ones that needed watering, pruned a few plants, and plucked out weeds.

She wiped her sweaty forehead as she finished picking out the last one. She felt a bit weak after having worked for so long. The sun was almost overhead so it must be sometime near noon.

"You are quite a hard worker." Celia bit back a yelp and whirled around to find the Duke standing near one of the rows of herbs meant for acting as sedatives. Her eyes widened at seeing him again after tomorrow after Lucian had promised her that she wouldn't have to go back, but she knew that was impossible.

Celia forced a smile on her face and greeted him with a curt bow. "That is kind of you, Your Highness."

"I am being sincere, Miss… Heart," he said, emphasizing her last name. Celia's eyes widened and she felt herself blush although she did not why.

"Your employer went to visit yesterday and told me that you won't be visiting the palace to assist with the medication," he began, and suddenly Celia wanted to vanish into thin air. She could hear the accusation in his tone and the blatant verbal one came soon.

"Did I treat you so badly, Miss Heart?" He asked and it was then that Celia realized that he had come far too close, not close enough to invade her personal space, but close.

She lowered her gaze and shook her head. "You could never treat anyone badly." She did not know what to say because anything she would say might go against her later on.

Why did she think that Lucian's visit would be fruitful? It was not like the Duke was trying to make her uncomfortable, it was just that the man was formidable.

"Then why?" He asked, and Celia glanced at him. His eyes were fixed on her, the gaze so intense that Celia had to force herself to look away.

"I―" Celia was saved from answering by a very familiar voice.

"Vitya, why are you at my house?" Her eyes widened when she heard Lucian's angry tone.

'Will they begin to argue now?' She thought fearfully. She could only hope that the Duke would have the goodwill to keep her out of it.

But that hope was doused by the Duke as he answered, gesturing in Celia's direction, "Why, to meet this beautiful woman of course?"