In This Life, I Will Protect You

-Chapter 10-

"My Lady, wake up~"

A voice interrupted my slumber. I yawned, not wanting to leave the warm confines of the bed. How long was I up for yesterday? I remember stopping sometime when the moon was high in the sky and just barely making it to my bed before passing out.

"Come on, you'll be late for breakfast," The same voice said again, slightly shaking me.

"No," I slowly grumbled.

"My lady, please wake up, you have an appointment with the doctor today, and you really mustn't be late."

I immediately bolted up. The weirdo doctor? No way in hell was I seeing him today. I had better things to do than stare at some old dude's bald head. "Mila..?" I muttered, seeing a hazy outline of a girl's face. Rubbing my eyes, I looked again. Mila beamed down at me.

"Good morning, My lady," She laughed. "Do I really have a doctor's appointment today?" I asked.

"Yes you do, right after breakfast, which is why we mustn't be late for either of them," She responded while folding up the bedsheets. I groaned. She smiled. "Oh My Lady, it's only for a little bit, we can go to the library after," She replied.

The library? Oh. The original Atalanta loved going to the library. I suppose she liked the feel of escaping reality, with being in her sister's shadow all the time. If I declined, it would be extremely suspicious, even with my 'amnesia'.

"I suppose," I said, still not fully awake. Mila gently pushed me to the bathroom and started brushing my hair. "My Lady, you really shouldn't sleep with your hair down like this, it causes more tangles," She scolded. Yawning, I replied, "Okay I guess."

Mila kept brushing. I almost fell asleep, but she woke me up again. Soon though, I was awake and ready.

"Come on Mila, let's get to breakfast!"

~ ◇ ~

"Eughh..." I weakly groaned. Breakfast was delicious, as always, and now I had a stomach ache from stuffing too many muffins in my mouth.

Catherine had taken one look at my muffin filled mouth, and left, muttering something about schedules. Wasn't the Female Lead supposed to be nice and helpful?

"Don't worry My Lady, I'm sure the doctor will be able to solve your stomachache," Mila laughed.

"Please don't remind me of the doctor," I muttered. I don't know why I didn't like him, he was perfectly nice. But something felt off about him. 

"Come on My Lady, your doctor's appointment is in 30 minutes," Mila said, gently tugging on my sleeve. 

I stood up. Maybe it was just the muffins, but I had a bad feeling in my stomach. "Let's go," I told Mila, who nodded. As we walked through the hallway, I couldn't help the sense of dread. The doctor's chambers wasn't far, just a few doors from the servants quarters. I hesitated at the door, looking at Mila. She blinked. It's okay, get it together, it's just a doctor, nothing's going to happen. I mentally scolded myself. 

Raising my hand, I knocked on the wooden door. 

It swung open. The wrinkly face of the doctor greeted me. "Good morning My Lady, do come in," He said in greeting. I gave him an insincere smile and stepped inside. 

~ ◇ ~

"You say you've got some of your memories back?" The doctor raised an eyebrow. 

"I- yes, I do remember somethings, but they're still fuzzy," I replied. Yes, I realized that giving up my amnesia excuse was extremely dumb, but if it got the doctor off my back, I didn't care. He just sort of rubbed me the wrong way. For starters, he resembled a certain bald doctor with a rage at blue hedgehogs. That would be enough to creep anyone out. 

"I see, can you tell me some things that come to memory?"

I flinched. I didn't expect him to ask something like that. I racked my memory of the novel, trying to come up with something, anything. Unfortunately, there weren't many past memories of the villainess, as the story mainly focused around the Male and Female Leads.

Both Mila and the Doctor stared at me.

Then it came to me. In the novel, when Catherine was talking to the Male Lead about her childhood, she mentioned a handmade blue bow she had given to Atalanta for her 9th birthday. Hopefully, it would be enough. 

"Well, I remember that time when Catherine gave me a blue bow for my birthday," I said. 

The doctor raised his eyebrows. "Interesting. I suppose people remember more prominent things in their childhood first." 

More prominent? Well, he was right in a way. The blue bow was a key event in which the Male Lead realized how forgiving the Female Lead was, to make a gift out of her own hands for the person who tormented her. Of course, this was before Atalanta started bullying Catherine outright, but he didn't know that. 

"It seems that My Lady is well on the path of recovery," The Doctor said, standing up. "She will most likely regain her memories in a month or so." 

Was it just me, or did I see Mila's shoulders slump just a tiny bit? Perhaps it was from relief. 

"Thank you very much," I said, smiling. But the doctor wasn't finished. He went to grab something from his drawer, and came back holding a needle. 

"If I may, could I take a small blood sample from you? It would help me very much in finding out a faster way to cure you," He said, smiling. 

Now, this made me a tad suspicious. He said I would recover in about a month or so, wasn't that fast enough? But maybe I was overreacting, I didn't know anything about medicine. Still, the feeling in my belly would not go away. I looked at Mila, who smiled encouragingly. I put out my hand. 

He gripped my wrist while I looked away. I was not afraid to admit I was a tad bit afraid of needles. I cringed as it poked into my flesh. He filled about half of the needle before pulling the needle out and gently putting a napkin on the affected area. 

"Thank you very much My Lady, I promise I will not disappoint," He said. I felt my belly flipflopping, as if I had done something wrong. But I had no reason to be suspicious, so I just ignored it. 

"That is all for today, if the Lady has any questions or problems, my chambers are always open," He smiled. 

"Thank you Doctor," I said, standing up. "But I think I'll be fine." 

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine. Goodbye My Lady, I do hope you will stay in good health," He replied, shutting the door as we walked out. 

I shuddered as we walked back upstairs. "Mila, did you think it was weird for him to ask a blood sample?" I asked. Mila tilted her head. "I suppose it was a bit strange. But the Doctor is a professional, and knows more than I do," She replied. 

"Hmm."

As I got closer to my room, the feeling of dread worsened, and I felt nauseous. Looking closer, I could see that the door was slightly open. "Mila," I said. "Were the maids in my room to clean today?" She looked confused. "No? They usually clean around lunchtime."

Then who was in my room? I walked up to the door and grabbed the handle. As I pushed it open, my stomach dropped into my shoes. I could see a person with long blonde hair reading a book in front of the couch. She looked up with a horrified expression. Her blue eyes met mine. Catherine. But it wasn't her I was focused on, it was the book in her hand. 

{Blossom of The East}