Her Broken Spell

Chapter 5

If observed from above, the entire manor was shaped like a letter U. There was the left wing, the middle hall, and the right wing. The space between both wings was a huge courtyard.

Dionne had her defense training in the courtyard where it was open and spacious. It was also properly groomed where the grass was always maintained and the trees were trimmed into shape. There were no flowers in sight, only greenery because of the ornamental trees.

She walked past the bronzed fountain in the center of the yard towards her favorite spot. She had some stretches and breathing exercises. Then she proceeded to act on the routines that were taught to her. After a while, Ghandi appeared and they started their next lesson.

"That's better than the last time. Good. Now, how do you defend yourself from this?" Ghandi asked her before he raised a fist towards her.

She parried it with her left arm then twisted her body so that her right elbow would smack Ghandi on the abdomen. But it was a wrong attack since she gave him her back. He was able to start on his choke hold but Dionne was swift to her feet as she anticipated this move. She closed her chin and pressed it down his arm which was around her neck. Then she held onto that arm and stepped a little forward then kicked backwards. Her backward kick almost hit his groin. He tried to move away from the kick which made him lose a little grip.

She used this opportunity to get free from his hold but he struck back. He used his right leg to kick the back of her knee and used his left arm to push her shoulder. This made her lose her balance and hit her head on the ground.

She wasn't able to tap out because she was momentarily paralyzed. There was a sudden pain in her head. She saw some flashes like a slideshow of images played in half a second speed.

Then everything was clear again, mind blank as a clean slate.

"I'm sorry. I hit you too hard," Ghandi apologized.

"It is fine," she said, not fully understanding what happened.

"You weren't responding for a few seconds there. I don't think you're alright."

"I do not feel any pain."

"Still, let's have you checked," he insisted. Then he asked one of the butlers to search for Karyl.

They went straight to the library where they waited for Karyl to show up. She was holding an ice bag against her head as she looked around the library. The room was enormous with its floor to ceiling shelves that contained books of different eras. Almost a quarter of the library turned into a small clinic with a bed, curtains, and medical stuff.

"Sorry, I took so long. I came as soon as I was able to," Karyl explained.

"It's alright, love. We were waiting for only a few minutes," Ghandi said as he approached her and kissed her forehead.

Dionne always noticed that they would find ways to have physical contact whenever they saw each other. Even though they just saw each other mere hours ago, it was like they had not seen each other for a long time.

Karyl checked Dionne's head and vital signs and suggested that they observe for some pain within the next twenty-four hours.

"Did you experience anything else?" Karyl asked.

"I think I saw some of my past earlier."

Karyl's face lit up in glee. "What do you mean?"

"After I hit my head, I saw several events and places."

"Like you were witnessing a story but the images were flipping really fast?"

"Yes."

"Then what happened?"

"I felt that for a second, I remembered everything. But then I remember nothing."

"This is a good sign, sweetie. Your memories might be coming back," Karyl said as she squeezed her hand.

She just nodded because she did not want to have her hopes up. She might remember, she might not.

---

The next day, she woke up to the sound of the birds nestled on the tree by her window. She decided not to follow her usual routine because Karyl told her to rest. She did not want to stay all day inside her room so she thought that she would just skip her exercise and training for the day. But she will still go and help Annette.

She was clad in a long sleeved shirt tucked in loose slacks, and flat open-toed shoes. This had been her style everyday except for when she was exercising and training.

As usual, she braided her black hair at the crown of her head. She remembered when she asked Irina why she was always sporting a ponytail. Irina explained that she did not want her hair to get in the way because she might be in a fight anytime. Just like Irina, she also did not want to have it in the way but she also did not want to cut it. In the end, she learned how to braid.

She stared at her plain self in the mirror and thought that she was ready for the day. She stopped by the kitchen to greet Von and have some breakfast.

"You should have some snacks while you do some work. Before I forget, can you bring Annette her breakfast? She'd skip because of too much work, but nobody gets hungry on my watch so please tell her to eat, alright?" Von said as he put some food on the tray.

"Yes, I will."

Von handed her the tray with all the food, "These are your snacks and tea for later. This is Annette's breakfast."

She held the tray with both of her hands.

"Hmmm. I'll just ask a maid to help you."

"I can manage. You need the maids here and I am also on my way to the right wing."

"It seems that all your training is paying off. You're a lot stronger now," Von complimented.

Indeed she felt strong for carrying the tray earlier in the kitchen. But now, as she descended to the first floor, her arms started to protest.

The only way that someone from the middle hall could enter the right wing was through the doorway at the first floor. This door served as the entry and exit point where it was guarded by a vampire. This was also to ensure that none of the human guests could wander off to the middle hall and left wing.

She reached the doorway and greeted the guard with a nod. It was still early, maybe around five-thirty in the morning, so she was not expecting to see any guests in the lounge.

Dionne saw a butler wiping one of the figurines. "Excuse me, mister? Can you please help me with this?"

"Uh, alright? Sure."

"Thank you. We will just go to the second level then you can go back to what you were doing," Dionne said as she handed him the tray while she carried the jar of snacks.

They walked quietly until they reached one of the public offices and she instructed the man to place the tray on the table.

"Thank you for your help. You can go back to wiping the figurines now."

The man's eyes widened a little then he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked to his left then to his right before he spoke. "About that. Well, I wasn't wiping the figurine. Don't tell anyone, but I broke it. I was trying to put it back together."

Understanding dawned on her. That was why she could not recognize his face. "It is fine. Von will be lenient to you because you are a new butler," she assured him.

The man's jaw dropped. "I... I'm not a butler. I'm a client."