After that uncomfortable first day together, the two women tried to settle into a normal, if not tense, routine. Violet seemed to only speak if she needed to address an issue or expand on a lesson from earlier in the day. Much to the consternation of Isabella. Especially since there were apparently a lot of issues that required a comment.

Miss York…Miss York…Miss York…

At this point, Isabella wouldn’t be surprised if she began to hear her own name being called out repeatedly in her sleep. Despite her frustrations, she continued to seek out pleasurable respites where she could. Her baths in the evening, reading at night, and, of course, delicious food.

Thankfully, she’d made it through to lunchtime on a new day. Which meant she could once again take some solace in the upcoming meal. Unfortunately, a student who wasn’t quite aware of her eccentricities decided to sit next to her and subsequently try to strike up a conversation. Violet was away getting her lunch so Isabella was left with no one to shoo the troublesome stranger away. Of course, the one time she needed Violet she wasn’t here!

As the student spoke, Isabella tried her best to nod awkwardly in response to the chatter coming from the other woman. She even tried to form a sentence or two to attempt to respond to or halt, the deluge of information and questions thrown her way. However, she ultimately came up short. By the time Violet returned with their meals, Isabella had well and truly become overwhelmed.

In an effort to make room for her lunch, her hands frantically began moving things aside but, in the haste, she ended up knocking over her glass of water. Which wouldn’t have been a big problem if it had remained pooled on the table or even run off onto her. At least then she would have an excuse to leave! But no, the stream of liquid quickly found the lap of her talkative neighbor instead.

“Oh!” A gasp escaped the lips of the poor girl as she jumped back in a vain attempt to not get her dress wet. Meanwhile, conversation in the area noticeably waned as all heads turned to see what the commotion was about. Before Isabella could do anything, not that she would do anything, Violet sprang into action. She first picked up the fallen glass before shifting her attention to the girl and her dress.

“Here…” Violet started before pulling her handkerchief from its place in her dress. “Please use this to dry off, Miss.” She went down on her knee then, her hand coming up to offer the item. The young woman hesitated a moment while her gaze went from the offered cloth back to the clear blue eyes. In the silence that followed, Isabella heard whispers coming from the other students. A few were even loud enough for her to make out the words.

“Wow, she’s just like a knight! Like a princess-knight!”

“That’s so dreamy, I wish someone would spill some water on me! Just to have her come to my rescue.”

“Miss York is still settling into this routine, so please be patient and forgive her for this little incident.” Violet’s explanation made Isabella’s cheeks turn red in shame, even if it was the truth.

Soon, the hands of the young woman came up to wave back and forth as if to assuage any worry. “Oh, it’s alright!” After speaking, she reached out with tentative hands to take the handkerchief from Violet’s grasp, “It was only an accident, after all.”

Isabella’s embarrassment soared throughout the exchange. She wanted to turn her head away and close her eyes to block out everything that was happening, but she couldn’t. She kept her eyes mostly focused on Violet, with occasional glances at the women in their immediate vicinity. Most of them stared at the Doll as well, with looks ranging from admiration to jealousy. Seeing the way the other woman looked at Violet and watching how the handmaiden doted over the girl only furthered Isabella’s unease. She tried to stem the tide by bunching her dress in her fingers, so hard that her knuckles soon turned white.

Her head felt like a maelstrom of emotions. Some were expected given the situation at hand, but there were others that confused her. That couldn’t be squared. In the end, it became too much and Isabella abruptly stood. She hesitated only a second but once eyes began to shift to her and her latest movement, she quickly turned and stormed off towards the door. This time she finally did turn her head away from the dining room proper, both to hide the tears welling in her eyes and to not make them come faster by seeing the looks she was getting. She had to get out of this room, had to get somewhere where she could calm down and think.

She brought her arms up and quickly threw open one of the large doors that led out of the dining room before slipping through into the hallway. She could head back to her room…but that was far. Her eyes found the stairs up to the second floor then and her feet were on the move before she fully formulated a plan. Headed towards the staircase that would take her up to a large multipurpose room that she knew wasn’t currently in use. Up there she could hide and–

“Miss York! Please wait!”

Violet’s voice rang out behind her, causing Isabella to stop about halfway up. After a second of indecision, she turned back towards her handmaiden with tears streaming down her face. She had to pause to wipe her cheeks with the back of a sleeve but shook her head once she’d done so. “You make me feel so useless…” The words were bitter in her mouth but she couldn’t hold back against the mounting frustration. “Like I’m nothing!”

They were fortunate there was no one else around due to lunch or else this shout would’ve caused quite the scene. Isabella took another deep breath to try and calm herself, but it barely dimmed the fire in her chest. “You’re just perfect, aren’t you? Talented. Beautiful. You carry yourself so well that you could easily pass as royalty. Like a real princess, not just a nickname given to you by the others.”

Isabella’s voice softened the more she spoke and there was a growing strain with each word as she tried to hold back an even greater flood. Eventually, she had to avert her gaze to try and stem the flow. When she failed to find a suitable alternative object to stare at, she chose to close her eyes instead. “You’ve only been here a few days and everyone loves you already. I’ve heard their whispers. Seen how they look at you.” Finally, Isabella turned and made to start back up the stairs. However, she stopped again after only another step. “I feel even more alone now that you’re here…”

With those final words, Isabella continued her ascent to the second floor. She needed to put some distance between her and Violet so she could calm down and hopefully, the handmaiden had enough sense not to follow her. Her steps rang out in the empty room as she went, echoing off the bare walls back to her ears. After crossing half the room, Isabella bent down and tucked her arms tightly to her chest. A distant part of her mind knew she was being unreasonable. Knew that the handmaiden was simply doing her job. But reason couldn’t contend with her anger. Born of jealousy more than anything else.

“Why…why did it have to be you…”