That witch.

City of London, 1700.

In the busy city of London, carts filled with fruits and vegetables, goods, wines and people rolled past the stone way streets in the middle of the market here and there... 

In the front yard of a huge brown house that stood majestically beside the street was a seated girl who was rethinking and reliving her past and going over her plan for the umpteenth time for any glitch in it.

There must be no slight mistake in any way and her plan must be carried out smoothly.

"Are you okay, My Lady?" A young lady albeit 20 years dressed in worn out pale green rough corset asked looking down at the brunette sitting on the floor with her leg tucked safely under her brown corset whose condition was no better than hers staring at the garden of flowers in front of her.

By her side was a rake lying down with a pile of yellow maple leaves shed from the Silver Maple Tree not too far from them. Even though the maple leaves have been gathered in a pile there were still litters of it on the floor yet to swept.

Looking up at her maid, Letitia let out a long yet sad sigh before she patted the ground beside her lightly.

"Here, Stance. Have a seat beside me. The flowers are looking pretty today."

Constance, the girl in the faded out green corset eyed the space before taking it beside her lady, Letitia who was dressed in a simple pale brown corset that looked too small for her.

"Look up at the flowers. They are all looking so happy and bright yet they have their own problems. I'm just like them you know? I smile at the villagers even though they don't smile back, yet I try to be cheery– I really have no idea why I try so hard, but I do– but in the house... it's nonsense," Letitia, the legal daughter to the manor behind them spoke in a sad voice containing so many emotions.

Anger, Hurt, Sadness, Betrayal, Hatred... They were all swimming in her eyes.

"You'll be fine, my lady." Constance replied instead and Letitia was quick to shake her head disagreeing with Constance.

Of course, she would try to give her false hope. She wasn't the one it was all directed at... She actually didn't blame her maid.

"I plan to run away tonight." Letitia whispered after some seconds of silence.

Enough was enough. Ever since her mother died and that witch of a woman has stepped foot into their house, it had all been nothing but agony and pain combined with sadness every day. 

Punishments on every little mistake she made, for not answering immediately, for not doing something that wasn't her job, for literally breathing... All to her Father's ignorance. Or so she thought...

Her Stepmother gave her menial jobs meant for the maids and while she tried to run away in the past, she would be threatened by the thing that her Stepmother knew she held value to. Her two daughters were nothing compared to their mother. She knew it well that if she didn't elope someday, she would be killed in her own Father's house.

Constance let out a gasp almost immediately after Letitia voiced her plan.

"My lady, you know very well the dangers that lurks around the streets of London at night. Who would dare to go out at night with all the news of kidnapping here and there that they keep talking about? I respectfully disagree with you, My lady. I know you're tough and strong and want to escape the clutches of that evil lady, Hell I would help you elope but not this. Not in the night. You can't run away in the night. I can't allow you to go on and face danger head on." 

Letitia looked at her maid and shook her head at her foolishness. Her mother had died since she was six years old. When she was 10, her father introduced Doris to her as the person he was seeing.

She should have known something was up when suddenly her father called her to the living room a week before he brought Doris home.

"Titia?"

"Yes, Father?"

"Dear, do you sometimes feel lonely?" 

"No. I have Constance to keep me company." She replied gesturing at the 10 year old girl looking down with her hand folded on her stomach.

"Hn." Her Father replied his eyes washing over Constance's clothes before he looked at his daughter smiling.

"Dad, do you feel lonely at times? I can keep you company." 

"I was just asking. You smarty pants. Since that's all, you can go back to your room."

"No, I'll stay and keep you company. Should we go to the peach blossom tree and visit mother?"

"Sure. Let's do that." Her Father replied with a light laugh while patting her head.

And then a week later, Doris was introduced. Letitia was furious at her father. She knew that was the main reason why he was asking if she felt lonely. He was bringing her a new mother!

Ever since she set eyes on Doris, she had decided that she would never be her mother. Her over caked face that was filled with white powder with red powder on her cheekbone representing rouges making her look like a porcelain doll, fake smile and too much sweet talking was enough to dismiss her.

She complained to her father and how she thought Doris was a gold digger but as things were presently, her father had ignored all her accusations and went ahead to marry Doris.

She promised to not be present at the wedding and kept her promise despite all her ladies–in–waiting cries.

He married Doris, and she came into the house as the girl's new mother and the new wife of the manor. Along with her was her two same character twin daughters who were the same age as Letitia. 

Some months later was when all her hardship started.

 Despite the fact that she was the legal daughter of the manor, she treated no less than a maid. There weren't any maids at her beck and call, no ladies–in–waiting at her disposal except Constance. She was left with Constance even though all of her maids were gone.

No piece of jewelry to adorn her self, her hair or anything. She was reduced to the level of being the one to sweep the shed dry leaves of the Peach blossom and the Silver Maple tree in their yard– Both planted by Letitia and her mother.

Her Stepmother, Doris, had once threatened to have the trees cut down when Letitia was being stubborn. Letitia knew her Stepmother's threats weren't to be taken lightly. 

Seeing she had done the work diligently all because of her empty threat to Letitia about the trees, she threatened her with them more often.

But what Letitia didn't know was her Stepmother wasn't allowed to step two feet from the trees. 

"You can have the whole house, everything in here belongs to you. But that Peach Blossom and Silver Maple trees in the yard, you're not to touch neither should you go near it. Same thing applies to both your daughters," warned Arthur, Letitia's father to his newly wedded wife, Doris on the second day of their wedding.

Rules had to be set and he would see to it.

"My lady? Are you okay?" Constance called yet again breaking Letitia's walk down the memory lane.

Ah, she so dearly misses her mother.

"Yes? Is anything the problem?"

"You seemed kind of out of it. Even when the maid came just now, you didn't seem like you heard her."

"A maid was here? Why?"

"That witch is calling you," Constance replied gesturing at the house behind them with her thumb.

"You should refrain from calling her that all the time. The walls have ears, Stance. And I wouldn't like it if you starved tonight again." Letitia scolded oblivious to the fact that their dinner last night was the last meal they would have in that house.

Constance held the urge to roll her eyes at her Mistress's words. Starve her? It wasn't the first neither would it be the last. For eating last night, they had been starved of breakfast.

"Alright, my lady. Your Stepmother is calling you." She corrected much to her displeasure.

She always like calling that woman a witch but she knew very well the consequences of the nickname reaching her ears. And so, for her Lady's sake, she corrected herself.

"Alright then. We should get going. She was quite cranky this morning."

"Don't wanna get on her bad side if we want din—"

"Letitia!" Doris's voice cut through the courtyard that a few people who were awed by the coach in front of the house turned their head to the extremely loud voice.

Constance turned her head to Letitia who let out another sigh in defeat. Speak of the devil.

"Come on, then. Let's see what she wants."  

Letitia and her maid walked to the manor unprepared for the change of fate that was about to take place and Letitia, totally unprepared for what was to hit her.

"Letitia!"

Do not kill yourself woman.