The Bane of the Empire

Chapter 20

The castle caught on to her and Luke much faster than she would have liked. But they hadn't tried to hide that well either. Coming out of a closet, her clothes in disarray and followed by an equally disheveled Luke did not exactly hide anything.

And so they stopped their feeble attempts at hiding all together.

"Shouldn't you be helping Gus with the inventory?" She panted as Luke anchored her against the wall in a dark closet not far from the kitchens.

"I rather be here with you." He said before capturing her lips in his.

When they left the closet they found an angry Gus waiting for Luke with his hands on his hips and his impatient foot taping on the floor.

They had grinned and before Dawn could have a quick exit, Luke pulled her back and planted a firm kiss against her lips. Her nights were the same, only they could take their time and explore each other thoroughly.

"Why do you have a sword?" Luke asked after one such night where he had come knocking on her door.

Her sword lay in its scabbard against the far wall. It had collected a thin layer of dust from disuse.

"Why does anyone have a sword? To use and fight when the time comes."

He pulled back from her and looked into her eyes. Her disheveled appearance was reflected in his eyes and she reached up to pat her hair down.

"Do you still practice?"

She shook her head. "I haven't had the time, I find myself preoccupied these days."

He gave her a triumphant grin. "There are men who train in the courtyard. I can try to convince them to let you train with them." She perked up but he quickly added, "Don't get your hopes up though, their Captain isn't the most open to women among his men."

Her shoulders deflated and she slumped against him.

Dawn kept her eye out for the men training in the courtyard but it remained empty. She asked if Luke had got around to asking on her behalf but he said they were on a task out of the city and would be back soon. 'Soon' slowly became a week and despite her not so clandestine encounters with Luke, she had an itching feeling he was not being honest with her.

On a few occasions she found him coming into the castle grounds from the service entrance and when she asked Gus he had informed her that Luke did not handle the acceptance of deliveries—he only placed the orders. The castle sentries had also begun following her with their gaze. When she would walk toward the Library she felt the stare of the gate sentries on her back. Those stations on her floor had, however, disappeared. At night, she would hear the sounds of footfalls as they walked by her door. This continued until she asked Luke if this was normal.

"You don't need to worry about that. Castle sentries are a mystery." And when she asked about the absence of guards on her floor during the day he responded, "they must be re-stationed with the upcoming All Souls celebration."

She nodded but was not content with his answer.

And then the night, she had been dreading came. She was asleep in Luke's arms when the memory of the intense grief that had consumed her tainted her dreams. The crippling sorrow that had bathed her body invaded her blissful slumber until she was shaking from sorrow. It was as if all the events that had made her life miserable came back together. The loss of her family, the final look Ryder gave her, the fear of The Guild chasing her through the Forest, sending Lilly to her death—it all came back at once. Each scene flashing before he eyes.

"Dawn."

Someone was calling her name. It sounded as if said from under water, the voice muddled in her dreamscape.

"Dawn!" The voice changed and she felt arms grip her. Her eyes flew open and met Luke's. She was panting from the nightmare, a sheen of sweat covering her skin. He cupped her cheek and scanned her face, brushing the tears that slipped from her eyes.

"You were crying in your sleep and then you started shaking." He rested his forehead against her. He did this, she noticed, whenever he held her tenderly or after a gentle kiss.

"I was dreaming that—" The words caught in her throat and her hands began to shake again. Gripping them tightly she tried to push the feeling away.

"Hey, hey," His hands went over hers, slowing opening her fists and threading his fingers between her's. "You are safe. I am here with you."

He laid down on his side and pulled her to his chest. "I will be here to chase the nightmares away."

She closed her eyes but the figure from the Library was there, waiting for her in the dark recesses of her mind.

"I can't." Her voice broke as fresh tears fell against her cheek.

"Shh, it's all right." His low voice tried to sooth her but even his comforting caress along her spine could not abate her tears.

She wrapped her arms around him and held on, desperate to believe his words.

"There is a story about the castle my aunt told me when I was a young boy." Luke's voice rumbled under her ear as he pressed her cheek against his chest. "Legend says that when this castle was built, the first King specifically built secret chambers throughout the structure. Many say he was mad, building false doors and antechambers that locked from the outside. But there were rumours that he was secretly hiding his riches in those chambers, all the treasures of The Lands he collected during his reign are hidden somewhere in this castle. This attracted many fortune hunters over the years, but not one of them every discovered the hidden chambers of Ilaburn Castle. It is one of the many mysteries of this castle."

She looked up at him. "One of?"

He smiled, probably because he had successfully steered her attention elsewhere. "Yes, this castle has as many stories as it is old. Gus will probably know more than me, his love for storytelling growing fonder with every day."

She nodded but there was another part of his story that had caught her attention.

"You said 'the first King'? What was his name?"

Luke tilted his head and arched a brow. "I don't remember his name. It was many years ago, long before anyone we know was even alive."

He ran his hand along her back, trying to sooth the tension in her muscles. But the knots in her muscles were not from the nightmare.

"Do you remember who the King before King Arnoldus was?" Her low voice halted his hand. He met her gaze, his eyes narrowed with a hint of suspicion in them.

"Why do you ask?"

Dawn pulled away from him. "Do you know?"

Luke was reclined against the pillows, his arm bent under his head. But his eyes betrayed his relaxed pose.

"You know."

He clenched his jaw and his hand gripped her arm, pulling her down against the bed with him above her.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice sharp as a blade. "How do you know any of this?"

Her eyes were wide, taken aback by his sudden change. She gulped. Luke scanned her face, his once kind eyes transformed into an evaluating glare.

"You should stay away from things that don't involve you. It is for your own safety."

Luke pushed off her and stood by the bed. "You can sleep here tonight. No one will disturb you."

She watched as he thrust his legs through his pants and grabbed the shirt he had thrown to the side earlier this evening.

She laid there, the sheets pulled up against her chin as she watched him close the door behind his retreating form.

A/N Luke has some explaining to do.