Accursed

Chapter 3 - The Talk

I didn't even try to hide Klaus when my parents came home. There really was no point, but it certainly didn't help either of their reactions when the wooden door slammed shut behind them.

My father, instantly knowing that Klaus wasn't from town, bristled and took a couple of giant steps towards him menacingly. "Who are you and what are you doing in our home?!" He outburst and caused me to stand quickly, making myself a barrier between him and Klaus.

Mother stood behind my father, her body as close to the front door as she could possibly be, but her eyes trained towards Aksel's room. No one even knew about him, but she feared for his safety all the same.

Klaus stood behind me, his back straight and his body quivering slightly. "I mean you all no harm. Your daughter here rescued me from being torn apart by the lovely townsfolk." He swallowed, meeting my father's gaze hesitantly.

I made sure that I was a barrier between my father and Klaus, as my father would never lay a hand on me. Father lifted his chin at me, his nostrils flaring. "Katrien, explain yourself. Now." He spat through clenched teeth. Father wasn't angry often, but when he was, he was a force to be reckoned with.

"This is Klaus. The son of the Grand Sirw of the Faye Kingdom." There was no point in sugar-coating it, I realized. I also knew that my parents were trustworthy people having to keep a secret that their son was hooked up to a machine in a coma in our own home.

Father's eyes slightly widened at this news. Mother's head perked up as she peeked around Father to get a better look at Klaus. "And you thought it nice to bring a Barwn from the kingdom into Cyfuniad?"

I furrowed my brow at his accusation. "Do you honestly think I would leave the boundaries of the Secluded Forest to find Faye nobility only to bring him here?!" I couldn't help but raise my voice at him even considering that I could do something like that.

Klaus inhaled deeply and placed his hand on my shoulder, causing me to flinch and turn to him. He shook his head and gave me a rather sad smile. He then focused on my parents with as much of a hardened expression as he could. "I found my way into Cyfuniad through the Secluded Forest. I'm on the run from the kingdom and am no longer welcome there."

The anger suddenly vanished from Father's face. A slightly sympathetic look in his eyes washed over him and he finally unclenched his fist. "Still...why would you ever leave the safety of the kingdom?" He questioned slowly, stepping towards the table and taking a seat beside where I had been sitting. He still seemed on guard, but less ready to attack.

"I'm a bastard," Klaus answered simply. "I managed to escape but my mother decided to stay." Even though Klaus was calm in his disposition, his hands were tightened at his sides and his teeth were firmly clenched whenever he spoke of his mother. "She will be put on trial now, however, since my true parentage has been revealed to the nobles. She could be executed." He said it so emotionlessly before adding, "And I don't really care if she is or not. Although, if she were, it would make my life all the easier."

I was quite taken aback after his last uttering. I couldn't imagine ever wishing death upon my parents, especially my mother with all the turmoil she has been through. "What of your father?" I asked a bit bravely.

Klaus craned his neck to look back at me with a blank expression and cold, dead eyes. "He's dead already."

Father was very still for a moment, stewing in his thoughts. "You can stay here, but only for a couple of nights until you can figure out where you'd like to go next. You cannot overstay your welcome in Cyfuniad. Whether or not the Faye know the way to Cyfuniad, they may as well find it just as you found us. The longer you stay here the more likely they are to find you and find us."