Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 225: The Old Scullery Maid

Tiana's POV

A sick realization washed over me. Theo didn't kill me. Yes, he had a hand in it but he was used.

Because why else would he have tried investigating my death if he had a hand in it? Except if of course, Peter was lying but there was no reason for Peter to. He seemed so honest and genuine when I spoke to him.

Theo was used, he has been out under a spell. Just like Layla and maybe just like Elara, maybe. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

Layla hadn't been bitter about me spending time with Theo. The thought was planted into her heart by someone, and then the person nourished it and eventually manipulated her. I just needed to find out how it was done and how possible it was.

The only person I could trust was Cecilia, Erika's grandmother. She could provide the answers that I was looking for. I needed to get permission to leave my duties but maybe much later because it was too early for me to be asking for a leave.

"In a trance you say?"

Thessaly stepped closer, voice trembling. “I kept something. From that night. I don’t know why I didn’t burn it or give it to Aunt Maris. Maybe I was waiting for someone to ask.”

“What is it?”

She reached into her apron and pulled out a small pendant. The design was unfamiliar to me. It had two crescent moons, one inverted and black, the other upright and silver, with a blood-red stone at the center.

"Where did you find this?" I asked.

"It fell from Lord Theo's sleeve. He didn't notice." She replied.

I took the pendant from her hand, feeling some sort of warmth when I held it. The kind of warmth that was associated with magic.

I wondered if it was Corvin's magic, but it felt wrong, ancient, like something that belonged in the sorcerer's world, or a black magic market.

"I think it's tied to the spells they used, the memory ones," Thessaly said after a few minutes of silence.

"There were rumours of forbidden sorcery after her death," she said. "But people had to stop speaking because they were scared. People forget things overnight, change, or even forget they had worked in the Queen's service."

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"They were dismissed or disappeared," she replied. I tightened my grip on the pendant, feeling a surge of anger. Thessaly looked around nervously.

"One of them... The old scullery maid ran mad."

"What?" I gasped, in shock. I remembered her.

"Yes, she started seeing things. Talking about eyes in the mirror."

"Where's she now?"

"Trapped in the servant infirmary."

"Why did you tell me all of this..."

"There was something compelling me to go to you. I have to go now," she said looking at the clock. "If the steward knows I spoke to you—"

"He won't. I'll make sure of it," I said, trying to reassure her. She bowed quickly and slipped out, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I sat in silence, pendant in hand, my heart racing with thoughts of Theo. The implications were staggering. What had really happened that night? And what role had Theo played?

I didn’t want to believe it. Couldn’t believe it. Was that why he had moved on to Elara so fast? Had Corvin had a hand in it so he could be with Elara?

But if Thessaly was right, he had been compromised. And if he had been compromised then, who was to say he wasn’t still being manipulated?

Suddenly, all of Theo's strange behaviour made sense. The guarded looks, the standoffishness, the moments where it felt like he was watching me with both suspicion and sadness. It was as if he didn't quite recognize me, but wasn't entirely comfortable around me either.

What if some part of him did remember? What if he was fighting against it? Or worse, what if someone was making sure he never got the chance to recall?

Later that night, I tucked the pendant deep into my coat and left my quarters. I walked through the long corridors, past the mess hall and armoury, and down into the eastern wing where the older servant quarters were still in disuse.

I waited near the kitchens, hidden by the firelight and the scent of stew, until the last cook stumbled out, rubbing his eyes. I moved quickly, my mind focused on finding the old scullery maid that Thessaly had mentioned.

She had gone mad after my death. Now, she lived in the servants' infirmary, forgotten and discarded. I needed to talk to her. There was a chance she wasn't really mad.

The halls leading to the infirmary were quiet, and I slipped past the nurse without being seen. I found the room easily, and inside, the air was thick with the scent of herbs and old paper.

A single lantern flickered near the bedside, where a frail woman lay curled up, mumbling softly to herself. I approached her slowly, my heart pounding with anticipation. What secrets might she hold?

Her eyes opened when I stepped in.

“Are you Death?” she whispered.

“No.”

“Are you Tiana?”

I froze.

She giggled. “Didn’t think so. You don’t look like her. But you feel like her. Something is wrong with your soul. You’re wearing two skins.”

My breath caught. She knew that something was off about me. How else would she have said I was wearing two different skins?

She sat up slowly. “They put the two of them in the water on their travels."

“What?” I blinked, quite confused.

“Corvin, Roman. They drowned them first. In the old magic. Then they gave them back.”

Her eyes found mine. “You want to know the truth? Find the boy who is lost in his own body."

“What boy?” I asked her, moving closer.

She smiled. “The one who screamed in his sleep since she died. The one who doesn't know who he really is anymore. One minute he's himself, the next he is lost."

Was she talking about Theo?