Lycster attempted to reach for a box on the higher shelf. It was a bedroom set that included a miniature set of toys, in which there was a stuffed bunny. But the young boy was not tall enough to reach for it. He tiptoed and stretched his hands high up but was still not able to reach for it. Just as his fingertips were able to hold onto one corner of the box, a child who was running through the store ran straight into Lycster, causing him to fall onto his side; onto a small stack of toys that were on display.
The child who had ran into him also fell down, face first and slightly bruised on his knees. Everything happened in a split second and Vy could not grab hold of Lycster in time. The stack of toys broke his fall but their sharp edged bruised his skin.
"Lycster! Are you alright," Vy exclaimed in shock, rus.h.i.+ng forward to make sure he was alright.
The kid who had fallen face first was bawling his eyes out as his knees were bruised and red.
"Rowan, my baby boy! What happened!" A woman screeched as she rushed forward to console the crying boy.
The boy pointed out in Lycster"s direction and continued crying due to the stinging pain of his bruises. Vy on the other hand was helping Lycster stand but an intense pain in his right ankle caused him to lose his balance.
Vy tightened her grip on Lycster so that he would not fall back down.
-Dotty, access Lycster"s injury.-
Dotty nodded as she flew around Lycster a couple times before returning to Vy"s side.
-He sprained his ankle?-
u003cYesu003e
Vy could hear the commotion that was brewing behind her. As much as she could, she chose to block it out, Lycster was her top priority. Everything else was secondary. The intense pain from his sprained ankle was unbearable to say the list. From his winced expression, Vy could tell how much pain he must be in.
"Let"s get you to a healer," Vy said.
Without any hesitation, she lifted Lycster into her arms and turned towards the door.
"Where do you think you"re going?!" the woman screamed at her. She blocked Vy"s way.
Her furrowed eyebrows, adrenaline fueled heartbeat and angry tone gave her emotions away. Vy on the other hand, was one to match as well.
"I am bringing my brother to a healer. Where else would I be going," Vy said in a chilling tone.
Her face was void of any expression. She was trying her very best to keep her calm.
The woman let out a haughty laugh, "Your brother injured my son! Shouldn"t you at least apologise?"
"Yeah! We all saw it, shouldn"t you at least apologise?"
Some of the others in the store rallied behind the lady.
For the first time, Vy took note about every detail of the lady. She had her curled blonde hair up in a neat bun and wore a large sun hat adorned with a fresh flower garland as the hat band. She wore a pastel purple chiffon ankle length dress with a white leather belt to accentuate her waist, paired with a pair of white snakeskin heels.
She wore long gold hoop earrings with amethysts that dangle in the centre of each hoop and had deep green eyes. She had on a bright red lipstick and was not about to back down no matter what Vy said. Around the woman"s neck, she wore a gold pendant, with the emblem with three deer heads. The deer in the centre was front facing and had a pair of large antlers.
"Apologise?" Vy asked, her tone of voice tweaked a little.
"Yes, ofcourse!" The woman pointed to the boy, who was still crying, and said, "My poor Rowan was pushed by your brother!"
She glanced Vy up and down before continuing, "You probably can"t afford the medical bills anyway, so the least you could do is apologise."
Lycster, who heard every word that the woman was saying, tugged Vy on her sleeve and said, "It"s alright Vy. Madam I…"
"Madam," the woman scoffed, "Do you know who I am?"
"Please, Madam," Vy gritted her teeth, "enlighten us on who you might be."
"She"s Lady Ceraphina of House Tres! Even peasants know her!" Someone shouted out.
House Tres, Vy dived deep into her memory, recalling the book she had read on the guests who were in the Capital to attend the Masked Ball. House Tres was invited.
But Vy"s expression did not change. She was just another person, nothing special.
"Well, Lady Ceraphina, if you were paying attention to Rowan over there, you would have realised that he ran into my brother, resulting in his sprained ankle," Vy replied.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her emotions in check. The anger she felt was burning through her entire body.
Lady Ceraphina was taken aback by Vy"s att.i.tude. Most people of her status would not even dare to rebut her. She was too used to their cowardly behaviour. They would have apologised immediately.
Yet this young woman was different. Truth be told, she did not see how it happened, but she knew she had the backing of the people in the store. Of course she knew Rowan was not entirely innocent here.
She gave birth to him and spoilt him when she should never have. But that"s what you do, when you only have one son and he is the destined heir to the fortune of House Tres.
"The boy needs discipline," her husband Lord Tres always said.
-I should have listened to him more.- she thought to herself.
But in this moment, she could not lose the face of House Tres, she must do what she needed to do to uphold their reputation. Lady Ceraphina pointed to all the people who had surrounded them to watch the spectacle.
"You say my boy ran into your brother, but all these good people saw otherwise," Lady Ceraphina reb.u.t.ted, the feign bravery could not fool Vy, but it fooled everyone else.