Cimmerian Shade

Chapter 11

a/n-"I'm soooo sorry! I know I'm ridiculously late in posting this. I've had a lot of personal stuff goin' on lately and thats the reason for my tardiness...slap me on the wrist but don't hate me :P

Ok, so I wasn't as meticulous with the editing this time cause I just wanted to get this up for those that have been waiting. I'll respond to all of the messages/reviews when I get off work...k peeps? :) Hope you enjoy!

Ch. 11 “One kiss breaches the distance between friendship and love”-Unknown

Alla slowly walked up the staircase as she contemplated their previous conversation. What just happened? She’d felt another very noticeable change in her relationship with the duke. Oh, they still argued. But now, they knew things about each other. She wasn’t accustomed to having a normal conversation with him. Usually, when they spoke, it was in anger, but now things felt different. She felt different. She had gotten very upset with him over his implication that she failed to meet him; as if she did so on purpose. Yet, for once, her anger did not get the better of her. Alla didn’t know if that was because they had been involved in a pleasant conversation, or if she simply learnt to rein her mouth in.

One thing was for certain, she was not thrilled to be on friendlier terms with the man. Then again, she had to be mad. After all, what person would not want to be on good terms with their employer? Even if he wasn’t her employer, what woman would not want to be on good terms with a man such as Brandon?

“Alla, you keep that head outta the clouds girl. You a slave just like the rest of us!” Her mama’s words, though spoken to her when she was very young, still reverberated through her head. What am I doing? It didn’t matter how attractive she found Brandon. It did not matter whether they were friends or not. In reality, everything from her employment to their so-called friendship was built on a lie. If he didn’t know who she really was, could he really know her?

Alla shook her thoughts as she made it to the top of the staircase, she would just have to be careful. Somehow, it had to be possible for her to be friendly with him without becoming too close. She struggled to ignore the feeling of uneasiness that came over her as she walked over to the room that William was in. Peeking inside, she found him sitting on the floor with his legs crossed as he read aloud from the book she’d assigned to him.

Evening rays pierced through the large windows throughout the room and brightened the area all around the young boy. Alla smiled when his face scrunched in disgust. Curious, she walked into the room.

He instantly looked up and gave her one of his toothless smiles. “Hello, miss,” he greeted.

“Hello, William,” she returned, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked around his spot on the floor.“Are you enjoying the book?”

“I was…”

“What makes you dislike it?”

“The boy and girl part, yuck!” he emphasized, making a face.

“What boy and girl part?” Alla asked, befuddled. She sat on the floor next to him and stretched her arm out behind him, as she leaned in towards the book.

“They…well, read it, miss,” he urged as he pushed the book into her hands.

Alla took the book. “Let’s see… ‘The prince trembled upon seeing the princess’s beauty and fell upon his knees—“

“Why?”

Alla turned to look at William. “Why what?”

“Why did the prince tremble? He wasn’t scared, was he?”