Queen of Rosewood Forest (On Hold)

Chapter 47

Alun's family estate is the largest in Rosewood. The halls are lined with windows, but all of the curtains are closed. The halls are dimly lit by bronze sconces that line the wall. The carpet is a deep blue that almost looks black in this lighting. I would think it was black if it wasn't for the little shreds of light that hit it when the curtains part. Alun walks in front of me turning back every few seconds to look at me. We finally get to a small set of dark wooden doors and Alun opens them for me. This room is a lot brighter than the hall was. The back wall is taken up mostly by a large window and the side walls are bookcases. There is a small desk in the center with the name Kwon engraved in small silver lettering along the edge.

"I knew we needed to tell the village the truth about what happened, but didn't think it would be a good idea to break the news all at once," Alun says as he walks over to the desk. He takes a small key from under a paperweight and uses it to unlock a drawer in the desk. "This is all of the proof that I've found to corroborate our story but I'm not sure if it will be enough." In the drawer there are multiple letters with the same four pointed star seal. Most of them are sealed with blue wax but there are a few sealed with other colors. "I still need proof of wrongdoing by the council to show that they can't be trusted, but these letters clearly show how they went about changing the history of the village and who all was involved."

"That's amazing, but how do we do this slowly? If we don't want to cause chaos, how do we use these to keep that from happening?" I say as I walk over to the desk.

"I want to choose a few of these letters to start out with and place them on the door to the city hall. It would all be anonymous so no one would be able to prove who it was who posted them."

"Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?" I ask as I look at him suspiciously.

"My family, along with the other elders, have certain reservations about you." He's clearly trying to avoid the question. "You would most likely be the first suspect if we go through with this."

"So basically if we do this there's a chance I get found out, but if we don't I'll never be allowed to reveal the truth about my powers to anyone."

"Sadly yes." Alun looks at me with a guilty look in his ice blue eyes. He's a hard person to read, but as I've gotten to know him I've realized his eyes allow me to read his every thought.

"What if we make sure I can't be connected to it at all?" I ask as a glimmer of hope crosses my mind.

"What do you have in mind?" he asks confused and intrigued.

"If we could cause a distraction, and make sure that I'm either involved or at least visible, then we could have someone else place the letters. With countless eye witnesses no one could accuse me of anything."

"They could think it was staged," he points out. "They don't trust you."

"But they trust you and the guys." I smirk a little as I lean on the desk. "They wouldn't think the future council members would be the ones to help me stage a coup."

Alun leans closer making my heart race a little. "What do you suggest we use as a distraction?"

The door behind us slams open as Aaden storms in. He pauses for a second noticing how close Alun and I are to each other, and suddenly an orange glow erupts from the hallway. "Get away from her," he growls. Alun doesn't move, but I back up a little in an attempt to ease the situation. Neither of them seemed fazed by the fire in the hall as they stare each other down."She was with you this whole time and you didn't think to tell anyone?" Aaden slams his hands on the desk. "You knew Neven and I were waiting for her all day! When we got back we were told you were with her all day!"

"She's not a child!" Alun's voice is dark. His posture never changes as I try to force myself not to tense and shake at the yelling. "She went to the library and I found her there on accident. I was not with her all day. Not that I should have to explain the actions of two adults to you." I glance out the window and see snow falling and frost quickly spreading across the glass.

"Would both of you stop?" I finally break through the fear and shout. "Alun is right. I don't need you to watch me all the time," I say to Aaden before turning to Alun, "and I don't need you to speak for me. I'm not sure if either of you remember but I'm still pissed at you both for hiding things from me and making decisions on my behalf. If you want to redeem yourselves your behavior needs to change." My whole body feels like it's vibrating. I start to look around me hoping there are no plants popping up, and to my surprise and delight there is nothing. I look to the fire in the hall, and then to the snow storm outside the window. "I think I might have just figured out a distraction."