MASKED CHARADES

CHAPTER 26

There were only a couple of hours left for the first blush of sun to appear and Aileen was relieved she was able to return to the estate before anyone in the house was awake. She dismounted from the horse a few steps away from the stable and covered herself with a black cape completely, in order to avoid any one to notice or recognise her. She took the horse slowly towards the stable and removed his saddle, leaving him at the same place she took him from.

Damon was appeased on his arrival at estate, before anyone was up from their slumber. He had already left his horse at the stables and now he was slowly making his way towards the manor. Suddenly, he heard slow impact of hooves nearby, he turned around only to locate nothing. He tried to observe the estate outside as far as his vision allowed him in the darkness but he could not catch sight of anything. He thought perhaps his wound is clouding his judgement and making him hear the sounds that are otherwise non existant.

At the particular moment, he was about to turn around and enter the house, he thought he saw a figure in the darkness nearing the stables. Holding his injured arm with other, he was about to make his way back to stables when a thought struck him,'Perhaps someone is going for an early ride, I should not take risk in this condition, what if it is a guest?' He retrieved his steps and decided to enter the manor and reach his room as early as possible. It was not safe to roam around the house packed with so many guests in such attire.

Damon started walking towards the staircase slowly and steadily, looking in every direction, swiftly without making any noise he escalated the stairs. Once, Damon was in confinements of his room, he released the breath he did not even realised he held captive. 'That was a narrow escape.' He thought. Then soon enough, he discarded his clothes and tended his wound. Once everything was taken care of, he safely kept the papers in his secret chest so that no one was able to get any hold on them. He will look through them later. With that thought, he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. An image of Aileen came in his mind, her smile, her eyes, her frangrance of sweet berries filled his senses and thoughts, then the image was replaced by that masked wench aiming her sword at him, moving hastily towards him and that smirk of her. Damon jerked open his eyes and sat up on his bed.

"Lucifer's Keister" he cursed his thoughts. He had thought a brawl with some men might ease his anger to some extent, by relieving it through the violence but that jaded masked minx ruined it as well. Since the years he had been fighting, never once his opponent was able to lay a finger on him, now he was injured by a chit. Even though the wound was not deep and would be healed within a few days, his ego was bruised enough by the girl.

Suddenly, Damon's thought went to the silhouette figure in the dark outside the estate. It seemed particularly familiar. 'Could it be her?', he contemplated and then thought otherwise. His thoughts again went to the certain images and the similarity between the two girls who seemed to have made it their aim to make his life miserable or rather challenging. However, even he could not deny the similarities in two girls and then also the contrasting personalities as well. Their will seemed same, though their behaviors were different. Damon shook his head and laid on his back again, perhaps he only require some sleep. He can deal with the task of locating the chit later.

Aileen was now in front of the main door of house and slowly she opened it. Before she entered, she looked around to make sure no one was in surroundings. Then she entered the house slowly tip toed towards the staircase, ascertained that there was no one to witness her arrival at this ungodly hour.

While Aileen was climbing the stairs she noticed something over them. There were a few drops of a liquid, may be water on the steps. Then, out of curiosity, she bent down to have a closer look at it, she touched it and then realised it was no water, it was blood. She had a candle with her to guide her ways in this humongous manor, she brought the lighted candle nearer to the steps and noticed, indeed there were blood droplets on each step of the staircase.