2: A Bold New Life

"Miss, our lady just woke up. She's still very weak, so she's resting now. It's not convenient for her to see you at this time, please come back tomorrow." Nella voiced out, trying to dissuade the visitor from entering the chamber.

"How dare you?" A sharp voice yelled. The question was followed by the sound of a thunderous slap. "A maid, trying to stop me? You really forgot your position."

Carra couldn't help frowning. The wave of disgust that rose in her heart was for a good reason. Audrey Copperstone, the second daughter of lord Livingstone Copperstone, and the first daughter of her mother who was from the Cawthorne family, relied on the love of their father, lord Livingstone and the Cawthorne family. With all these, she was arrogant, self-centred, and typically stubborn.

Carra sighed deeply. The former owner of her body did not realize how much she suffered during her lifetime, only because of her weak perception and deceptively uncertain temperament. She could only dare to be angry but not voice her displeasure.

Carra put down the porridge bowl and motioned to Vira to let Audrey in. The old maid took out a veil and tied it carefully on her lady's face to cover her scars. Afterwards, the first daughter of lord Livingstone uttered slowly. "Nella, let my sister in."

Audrey snorted coldly and walked into the house. In a pretense, she took out a woven feather and fanned herself while wrinkling her nose in disgust. Then she said in a sharp voice. "Oh, my sister. What happened to you? I know that can never claim you in such a fire. It's good to see you awake so soon. You're really fortunate."

Nella could no longer bear it. This was too much for her. Her nerves found it difficult to calm down. She was about to come forward and tell Audrey her piece of mind, when she was quickly held back by Vira. The old maid shook her head gently in a signal for her to refrain from whatever she was planning on doing. Slowly, she moved to Carra's side, in a protective position.

Carra glanced at Audrey faintly and shook her head. At the age of sixteen, her half sister could be considered pretty. On this day, she was wearing a beautiful pink garment dress, her long hair was shining with ointments, and her beautiful skin was a novelty. What could she say about her sister's bright eyes and white teeth? Audrey was simply pretty and gorgeous. But she was arrogant and unnecessarily proud, showing how obvious it was that she was a spoiled daughter.

Carra searched her newly found memories and discovered that the previous owner of her body, also named Carra, suffered a lot in the hands of Audrey. Even to the extent that every time she heard Audrey's voice, she would become very frightened. Thinking of this, Carra raised her head and glanced at Audrey coldly.

Audrey looked at Carra's eyes and shuddered a bit. *Was this still the same Carra who would panick and tremble whenever she saw her?*

Carra told herself not to be angry with a little girl like her half sister. So she leisurely sat on the bed and continued to eat her porridge. After a while, she said. "As you can see, I'm alive. Now that you've seen me still breathing, you can leave. As you know, the doctor told me to rest properly."

"Carra, are you chasing me away too? I came to see you in good faith, but you're driving me away? What, in God's name, is wrong with you!" Audrey said angrily. While she talked, she looked at Carra's veiled face with a gloating expression on her face. "I heard that you were disfigured because of the fire, so I came here to sympathize with you, but you're sending me away."

Carra just frowned, but still ignored her. For people like Audrey, she decided not to give them her attention despite knowing that they would have more reasons to taunt her.

Audrey became angrier when she saw that she was completely ignored. If Carra was still cowering in her presence as before, maybe she wouldn't be so mad at her. But this Carra was so different, so bold, from the one she was used to, making her flustered in the process. So in utter disregard, she walked towards the bed, and stretched out her right hand in the direction of Carra's face. Her plan was to tear off the veil on Carra's face.

Seeing Audrey's hand shot forward in her direction, Carra instinctively raised her right hand and firmly gripped Audrey's wrist, causing her to stagger, and fell on the edge of the bed. Carra sighed inwardly after realizing that she couldn't drive this troublesome half-sister away. *Was this girl really determined to, embarrassingly, see her face today?*

Carra quickly pulled a bronze pin from her sleeve, pressed it against her sister's face, and said coldly. "Sister, you better not move. If you do, and my hand shakes, what do you think will happen?"

When the cold pin touched her face, Audrey became frightened. This Carra had become a lunatic all of a sudden. Out of breath, she said in a panicked tone. "You...don't you dare. You better let me go!"

Carra raised her eyebrows and smiled, but she didn't move her hand at all. She was savoring this unusual moment. She had learned grappling in her previous life, and her hand combat effectiveness was pretty good in situations like this one.

Audrey almost cried in anger and embarrassment. She had never suffered so much in Carra's hands before. Her sister was the one who used to shed tears in front of her. She glared angrily, and shouted fiercely at the two house maids who were at a loss themselves behind her. "You two, don't just stand there. Do something."

The two maids were dumbfounded. Carra's action was too fast for them to fully comprehend. They knew her as the weak daughter of lord Copperstone, so they were shocked for a while. When they regained their senses, and heard Audrey's cries, they wanted to move forward and pull Carra away, but stopped. *Why should they even help the lady Audrey? Was she not the one who had always been mean to them? Carra was the one who firmly protected them all this while, especially from the clutches of the second lady.

So the two maids decided not to get involved in the meantime. They were fed up with how Audrey dished out her anger on them everyday of the week. It was a rare occasion for them to smile, so they were naturally happy.

Although their minds were plunged into confusion, Copperstone castle's first daughter was different from her previous self. She was so calm, indifferent, and decisive. Very different from her usual self. But no matter what the young lady had become, she would always be their young mistress. Her person they must protect by all means.

Carra looked at Audrey condescendingly, ignoring her beautiful pair of amber eyes that almost burst into flames, and said faintly. "Audrey, I'm not in the best of moods today. Please leave, but If you don't, then don't blame me for scratching your face. You don't want your face to be like mine, do you?"

Although Audrey was arrogant and domineering, she was not a fool. Compared to being humiliated, of course her own reputation was more important. She could only hold back her anger, and leave with a burning frown. She was secretly thinking that no matter what may occur in the future, she must thoroughly decide what to do with Carra.

Carra leaned on the bedside again to breathe. Sure enough, this body was still too weak, otherwise with her original physique, how could she feel tired like this?

Nella and Vira also breathed a sigh of relief. They were now looking at Carra with a different eye.

Nella was bewildered, but excited at the same time. Their young mistress was so brave today that she dared to confront her sister face-to-face, and she still didn't suffer for it? In the future, she could finally stop being angry with those people that have wronged them in the past.

Whereas, Vira was more gratified. After experiencing a big fire and coming out alive, the young mistress had become stronger. *God bless the soul of Madame Celia. She must be protecting her daughter.*

To deal with a savage and arrogant people like Audrey, Carra knew that she must, figuratively, cut with the knife quickly and accurately, as if she was dissecting a corpse. She continued to think while she ate her unfinished bowl of porridge. After finishing her food, she decided to take advantage of her renewed energy, She walked to the outside yard, determined to have a look.

Then, another set of visitors arrived.