Living in a Rewrite of My Own Book World

Chapter 6 - The Rewrite in which I become a double agent for the Prince

"Who are you?" I tried to sound frightened. It was less fake than I wanted it to be.

"My name is not your concern. For now, you may consider me an ally." She paused dramatically, as if expecting a reaction. Not wanting to piss her off, I nodded.

"I will help you dispose of that awful girl who sank her claws into the beloved Prince." She smiled at me, but it seemed more like she was baring her teeth. "Then when he is free of her influence, I will help you win his heart over like you've always dreamt of."

"..."

Pardon? Since when have I dreamt of winning the prince's heart? I mean he's good looking of course, but he doesn't hold a candle to James... oh yeah, she's thinking of old Katrina.

I had forgotten that since I refused to correct my image to the outside world, those outside of our household all still viewed me as a brash, foolish girl who coveted the prince. Ugh. Even though it was embarrassing, I decided to go along with it. I widened my eyes, fluttered my eyelashes, and pitched my voice a little higher into my best "stupid noble girl" impression.

"Really? You'll help me get rid of that witch?" I pouted, cringing internally. "That horrible woman must have put a spell on him! Otherwise how else would the handsome and wonderful Prince Coron choose a woman like her?! Especially when a beauty like me is walking about! He didn't even look at me last time! It's all her fault!" With that last screech I ended, pretending to look put out. I was worried my performance might have been a touch overdone, but when I glanced at the Duchess she seemed fairly convinced. Thank goodness for my bad reputation.

The woman in front of me smiled. "Good, then we have a deal. I want you to spy on the girl, report her every movement. When the time is right to act, I will send you further instructions."

I nodded in agreement. "As long as it helps me destroy that fake woman, then I'll do it."

"Excellent." She chuckled, an ominous sound.

"Umm... so can I go back now? I don't want them to miss me and suspect something."

At my words she seemed to glance off to the side as if looking for permission. Who would she be looking at though? Her husband was dead, her only family was her son William, the benefactor of all her schemes.

William was actually the final boss type villain in my series, but I kept him in the shadows until the very last book. I had received some criticism for not introducing him sooner, but I didn't want to risk his mysterious atmosphere. But since he didn't appear until late, I shouldn't have to worry about seeing him...

"One moment."

Well crap.

A young man stepped out, a villain from head to toe in his dark clothes, black mask and sinister aura. His long dark hair was pulled back, and his dark eyes were not as distinctive in the dim light of the torches in the room as they would be in the sunlight. Still, his gaze seemed to pierce through me, as if he already knew everything I was hiding, and found it amusing. I felt myself break out in a cold sweat and my heartbeat rose with each step closer he took.

Finally he stopped just inches away, bound at my hands and feet, all I could do was kneel, despite my embarrassment and rage I found myself trapped in that position before him. I stared resolutely at the ground, refusing to meet his gaze. There was breath after breath of overwhelming silence.

"You hurt some of my men." It was not a question. His voice was so cold it was painful to hear. Focusing on my words so as not to freeze with fear, I answered calmly.

"That much injury is to be expected when you break into a girl's room without an invitation."

I worried I had made a mistake in answering too forcefully. That wasn't quite the line that they would expect from my character. Hopefully they wouldn't notice! After a few more moments of silence, I felt an ice cold hand grip my chin, forcing me to look up. His eyes behind his mask captured mine and held my gaze, unconsciously I shivered with fear. He looked at me the way a scientist looks at a rat in a maze.

"Interesting."

Without another word he turned and walked away. Freed, I collapsed to the ground and hugged my chest tightly. This was not in the book. Things had changed.

I was scared.

They returned me home, promising to contact me soon with a plan. I waited a few minutes, making sure they had left the building before getting up and heading towards the rooms where James and his group were staying. Not wanting to get mistaken for an intruder, I cast a quick internal message spell. A small,white light passed from my hand, flying towards his room. I had imbued it with a simple message which he would hear once the light came in contact with him:

"We need to talk. I'm on my way."

By the time I arrived he was awake, albeit a bit ruffled and bleary eyed. His expression was concerned and I noticed he had strapped his sword on.

"Katrina! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

He walked around me quickly, as if assessing for injuries, and let out a loud sigh of relief as he found me relatively intact.

"I've just been hired by the Duchess of Savalle to be a spy."

"..." James stared at me in shock, before slowly responding "Perhaps... you should start at the beginning."

I told him what happened from the kidnapping to meeting the duchess.

When I mentioned being drugged, he stepped forward, reached out and gently turned my head to the side. I felt the light touch of his finger over the bruise on my neck where the needle had been inserted. My brain quickly overloaded from the contact and how near he was. I shivered and pulled back a little. He continued to stare at the spot, his face dark. His normal calm atmosphere had disappeared, in its place was an aura of rage and barely restrained violence. I looked in his eyes and felt my gaze shy away. For a moment I didn't recognize him and it scared me.

I put my hand on James' arm, forcing him to look me back in the eyes.

"Hey, I'm fine. I made it out in one piece, so don't look like that."

His eyes held mine, his expression unreadable.

"Look like what?" He asked softly.

"Like you're going to kill someone."

"Tell me the rest."

I uneasily noticed that he didn't deny anything, but continued with my story anyways. James raised an eyebrow at the name of Duchess Savalle.

"She showed her face?"

"No, but it was fairly obvious given her overall appearance, demeanor and motivation." He nodded at that, convinced.

I hesitated once I reached the portion about William. Again I felt the light touch of his hand on my face.

"He frightened you?"

I nodded slowly. "There's something very wrong about him. I can't describe it well."

Shuddering, I hugged myself tightly and looked away. "I would really like to avoid seeing him again."

"I would be happy if that were the case."

"Well on the bright side, we now have an inside source on the main competition. If they try to do anything to His Highness or Autumn, I should be in a position to interfere." I smiled, trying to dispel the gloomy atmosphere.

He didn't smile back. "Maybe this is too dangerous."

"It's fine, they think I'm an idiot anyways. I'll be careful."

He didn't look convinced but I wished him goodnight and headed back before he had a chance to argue. Hopefully he would take the time alone to cool off.

It wasn't until a couple weeks later when I heard rumors of a group of men dressed as bandits being massacred by an unknown magician that I regretted leaving him alone.