Chapter Two
Whoever said home was sweet?
"Arabella? Dear, are you all right?"
I tried to open my eyes to the sound of my mother's voice, but it seemed as if they were as heavy as bricks.
"Mother, can't you see that she's fine? She's just pretending to be sick just so she can gain attention!" My stepsister, Stella, was as snide as ever.
"Stella!" My mother sounded aghast.
"Don't worry about it, mother, it's how she always is," remarked the voice of my brother, Seth.
"Let me try," urged yet another voice in the room.
Suddenly, a blanket of ice water covered me from head to toe, and my eyes popped open.
Before me, stood the blurry figures of Seth, Stella, my mother, and Benjamin.
"She lives!" Seth smirked.
"Pardon my remedy, miss, but your family was so worried!" Benjamin apologized.
"I wasn't worried," Stella remarked.
"Well, I was!" Grace, my eldest stepsister, swept into the room, "You nearly scared us all to death!"
I knew that it wasn't true. Grace was only trying to impress my mother by seeming to care about me when the others didn't. My other sisters didn't care. They preferred to show their true feelings than to lie about them. As I studied my small cottage room, I noticed how Grace batted her eyelashes at Benjamin while she poured me a cup of herb tea.
"I'm sorry to have worried you so much, but I'm fine, really." I sighed.
My mother seemed to be taken aback.
"Oh, well I have some business to attend to, so I will see you all in the morning." She briskly replied as she swept out of the room.
As if on cue, a messenger rushed into my small room and delivered a message to Benjamin.
"My master requests your company."
"Very well," Benjamin replied as he began to pack his possessions.
The messenger left in a hurry.
"You're leaving?" My sister could not hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Yes, I believe it is a very important matter, and so I must leave with haste." Benjamin intoned as he rose from my old wooden chair.
My sister's face fell, and I could see that she was desperately trying to think of an excuse to make him stay. Benjamin quickly realized his situation and tried to convince her to let him go.
"Do not worry, I will be back to pay my respects to your father."
With those parting words, he hurried out the door, and Grace rushed to the window to watch him depart. When she was sure he had gone, Grace turned and glowered at me.
"Oh, sweet sister, I believe that the man is in love with you," she sneered. "But of course it is of no matter of concern for you, for you can bewitch any man to your liking!"
Grace stormed out of the cottage door, forever shutting me out of her life.