Lady Maggie stood like a stone out of the words which were spoken by her step-mother. She hadn’t expected her to remind about her mother. And she stood like time had halted at that time. Realizing it was the truth which Fleurance had uttered just now.
If her mother was alive, she would look at Maggie with disappointment in her eyes which had crossed a few times before her mother had passed away in her bed. The truth was that if their mother was alive, Penny wouldn’t have been let off this easily. She would have faced far worse by her mother. Fleurance was not even half of what her mother was as a pureblooded vampire.
One of the well-known things, when it came to the pureblooded vampires, was the tight integrity of the family. The rules and the laws of their own which were to be followed. To respect elders no matter what without questioning the a.d.u.l.t’s decision. Such was the environment when it came to the pureblooded families. Especially the ones which fell into the farthest and oldest lineage like the Quinn’s.
Her mother was a beautiful woman with wavy brown wavy hair that was often tied lowly into a pony-tail. Sharp eyes and nose, her beauty that apparently which got passed on to both her children but more on to her younger brother which she didn’t mind.
She remembered the old times when her mother was still alive and she and Damien were young children who barely reached the age of ten.
‘It was the time of Winter just like this. Much harsher though. Her mother had caught a man walking in the children’s room, snooping and looking at the objects there. He was a peasant who had only joined the mansion to work and had meant to leave early after stealing some basics things without much value. The story was that his daughter was ill and needed food and medicines which he didn’t have time.
He had spoken to the house butler but the man had refused, saying the wages would be given only after the month’s work but that man had no time. As back at his home, his daughter was not getting any better.
“How dare you try to steal in the Quinn’s home. What a nerve you have,” her mother questioned the man while the poor man had his forehead touching the ground. The man quivered in fear.
Her brother Damien and she were young at that time. Standing behind the large pillars to see what was going on when they heard the commotion. Her father had gone out for council work that day due to which the lady of the house had taken control of the situation.
“Milady, I didn’t mean to! Please forgive me!” pleaded the poor man, “My daughter is very sick. She needs medicine.”
“You could have asked and help would have been offered. But picking up my children’s belongings and trying to sneak away with it,” her mother stated to have the man raise his head to defend himself.
“I-I spoke to the butler, t-the but-butler said they don’t give the money on the second day,” there were evident tears in his eyes which had made little Maggie sad after hearing to the story he was saying, “It is all for my child. She will die if I-I don’t get her the medicines told. Please forgive me, milady,” the man continued to beg. Her mother stared at him. As if noticing her children’s presence, she looked to her side to find her two children standing behind the pillar.
A smile broke on her lips looking at her children. She raised her hand in their direction, “What are you doing there? Come here both of you, this is your own house. There is no need to be shy.”
Damien and Maggie came to walk away from the pillar and towards their mother. Their small steps reaching to stand on their mother’s side while looking at the man quietly.
“Milady…my daughter is as old as yours. Please spare my life and hers,” the man continued to beg, tears falling down from his eyes which broke Maggie’s heart. Out of the two children, Damien was hard-headed while Maggie was the one to have received the emotions of compassion which was not something that she had received from her mother.
She looked at her mother, and when her mother’s eyes met hers there was a certain unpleasant look that she received as if she weren’t happy with her daughter’s reaction.
“Dear Maggie,” she called her, “You should remember that people who don’t follow rules of this house ought to be taught a lesson such that they don’t repeat it and neither will the others,” the other servants who stood far away from the scene could hear the lady of the house say it with a smile on her face, “Thieves need to be punished for stealing something that belongs to us or you. Of course, this holds for you too Damien,” the young boy nodded in reply.
Walking towards the man, she placed her one hand on his shoulder as if wanting him to stand up. Startled, the man stood up.
“Watch and learn children,” their mother said before ripping the man’s head apart from his body.
The scene was vivid in Maggie’s mind and eyes. Damien had picked on his mother’s traits while she hadn’t. Even during their first kill, Maggie hadn’t come out triumphantly as Damien which had lessened the affection towards her.
It wasn’t that Maggie hadn’t tried to make her mother happy but little things weren’t sufficient. What their mother wanted was blood on the hands which often made her question if her mother would be happy for what she had done to the maid by killing her. After all, she had tried to fight for something that belonged to her.
Until her mother’s last breath she had done nothing but tried to impress and make her mother proud but it always felt like she was failing which step-mother must have learned from her father.
