This love is like a curse (10)
From that day on, Thalia almost stopped eating. She just couldn't believe there wouldn't be something terrible in the food.
The nanny, not understanding the reason, only became annoyed, believing that the girl was simply being capricious.
Thalia was silent, eating only fruit and honey, which the woman occasionally brought as a snack.
Loneliness no longer mattered. In the most luxurious and luxurious place in the world, she had to fight hunger.
Sometimes she was so hungry that she reluctantly touched the food that the servants brought. But every time the food contained worms, rats or balls of curled hair, the origin of which was completely unknown.
After several such incidents, she stopped eating altogether. Over the course of a few weeks, her face became haggard, losing its former prettiness.
Even the clueless nanny finally suspected something was wrong and rushed to the empress, shouting that her only daughter was dying.
Thanks to this, Thalia saw her mother's face for the first time in months.
- How did you come to this?
These were Senevier’s first words when she, as if completely forgetting about the existence of her daughter, appeared in the small palace.
Looking at her mother, blooming like a summer flower, Thalia, all exhausted and broken, could not hold back her tears. Fury bubbled up inside her when she saw that innocent, serene face.
She wanted to scream, ask how you could be so selfish. But instead of words, sobs burst from my chest.
Thalia cried like a baby and told her mother everything - from the horrifying antics of the servants to everything she had been through.
Senevier sat silently at the head of the bed and listened to her story to the end.
Thalia thought that her mother was silent, holding back her anger. That she was struck by the suffering of her only daughter and she simply cannot find words.
Roughly waving her hands, Thalia demanded:
- Mom! Make them stop making fun of me! Do something immediately so that no one dares to offend me again!
- Why should I do this? — Senevier asked, tilting her head to the side.
Thalia was speechless at the unexpected answer. There was only sincere curiosity in the Empress's eyes - like a person who truly does not understand why an abused child would turn to her for help.
“Thalia, this palace is yours.” All servants here are your property. You are already nine years old. Are you throwing a tantrum at your mom just because you can't handle one of your things?
The girl was speechless. Seneviere sighed with genuine disappointment, pressing her hand to her daughter's cheek.
- You are the emperor's daughter. I don't understand how you could let these lowlifes push you around. I am terribly ashamed that my daughter is so helpless and weak.
- Mom... mom...
Seneviere looked thoughtfully at the candle by the window. There was not an iota of anger on her eerily beautiful face at the abuse her daughter had suffered. Only slight disappointment, irritation, and also deep thoughts about how to reason with a stupid child.
Talia felt as if in front of her was not a person, but an insect, skillfully imitating a human appearance.
After a long pause, Senevier snapped her fingers and said:
- That's it. I will leave you one good guard. The man I trained for a long time. If you learn how to handle it, it will be useful to you.
With these words she stood up as if everything was decided. Thalia grabbed the hem of her dress in a panic.
- I don’t need anyone! I want to be with my mom!
A look of disgust flashed across the mother's face. The girl turned pale from shock. Senevier peeled her daughter’s fingers off her clothes one by one and, leaning towards her, clicked her tongue in annoyance:
“Talia, it all started with me.” But do you know why no one puts rats in my soup?
The daughter froze, like a mouse in front of a snake, unable to utter a word.
Senevier continued in a gentle tone:
- Why is the bathing water always warm and fragrant, why is my table always bursting with food... Why don’t they dare to do to me what they do to you... Do you want mom to tell you this secret?
Her lips, scarlet as blood, gently touched her ear:
“They don’t dare because they are afraid of me,” she said. “Some of them even feel something like awe.” Although, of course, there are many more who feel disgust and contempt for me. But even they treat me with caution, and not as an object for bullying. Because I am the embodiment of menace.
She looked intently into her daughter's eyes. Thalia noticed something dark and sinister swirling in her mother's eyes.
Senevier straightened up and finally said:
- Remember: what is strong and beautiful evokes fear and envy. But the beautiful and the weak... are simply trampled on. Especially in this palace. If you don’t want to be mercilessly torn to pieces by the predators who will come for you in the future, at least try not to show your weakness.
With these words she left. Leaving behind my daughter, completely broken and devastated...
That night, Thalia replayed her words over and over again in her head.
The weak are trampled. And Senevier will not even think about protecting his daughter, allowing her to be trampled.
This is probably how a defeated warrior feels, having lost his last stronghold. The body shook with fear of what might happen next.
And even if she is treated even worse, no one will come to protect her. Even if his own mother turned away, would the emperor look at the illegitimate daughter who was a stain on his name?
Huddled under the blanket, Talia chewed her nails in anxiety. The servants' legs flashed before her eyes as she vomited onto the stone floor. Careless steps walked around her emaciated, pitiful body, helplessly spread out in a puddle of her own vomit... It was not at all difficult for her to imagine how these feet trampled her like an insignificant insect.
The eyes burned as if they were on fire. Mom was right. Soon she will simply be crushed without leaving a trace.
And all because she herself pleaded guilty. It was the feeling of guilt that made her weak.
As soon as she started acting like she deserved it all, they immediately realized that she would not resist. In her stooped back, downcast gaze, halting speech... they immediately recognized the victim - and gave vent to their cruelty.
With the first rays of the sun, Thalia finally understood what she had to do.