Alexandria: The Lost Princess

Chapter 19 - Part 2

Estella nods, and I climb into the cupboard. "We've got it from here," she promises, pushing a stack of sheets in front of me before closing the door.

Darkness consumes me, the crooked door allows a streak of warm light into the cupboard, but nothing more. My heart pounds in the silence, not a soul moves. A loud crash of the door echoes throughout the room, and I tremble, covering my mouth from screaming. All the maids gasp, realizing who I had run from. Footsteps thunder through the room. A loud crash rips through the gasps, and a maid cries out in fear.

"Where is she?" Nicholas demands in a slur.

"W-who are you referring to my lord," a maid bravely asks in a stutter.

With a loud scraping noise, dozens of things crash to the stone flooring. "I know she is here! Where is she?" Nicholas roars, I can hear the spit coming from his drunken rage.

"Allow me to assist," an elderly lady kindly offers, "Who are we looking for? I will help you find anyone you request."

"Princess Claire, you imbecile!"

"Oh, at this hour Princess Claire always goes to the kitchens for a snack," the woman cunningly lies, "Follow me, my lord."

The door clicks closed, and I hold my breath unsure if he actually has left. A heavy silence hangs through the room, and then a loud patter of steps echo along with the sliding of a lock. Shuffling fills the room, and the cupboard door slowly opens. Estella kneels in the opening. "He's gone now and won't be back, the door is locked," she informs me.

A shaky breath rips through me, and I silently cry. My head tipping down into my knees. A gasp fills the room. Estella shoves the sheets out of my way and flicks one out, swinging it around me. "Can someone inform Sir Wilfrid of the situation, please? He should be at the ball still," she booms with authority, taking command of the room.

Tugging the blanket around me, I wipe my endless tears into the sheet, staining it with dampness. The door opens, and I clench a fist into the cloth. Immediately, someone locks the door. They won't return. Wilfrid is out hunting down Tristan, the one man who could have rescued me from all of this. He is killing the wrong man and once again I'm alone.

Estella shifts closer to me and a screech rumbles out of me. She freezes taken back by my abnormal behaviour. "Chloe, it's me, Estella."

I shake my head aggressively, and my trembles turn into a constant rocking motion. Silence fills the room, my rigid breath the only thing filling the silence. No one knew what had happened and I couldn't tell anyone for Estella's safety. King Thaddeus favours this man, and I'm but a commoner from the forest, brought to the castle. How will anyone believe me? My head throbs with the fearful thoughts pounding inside my head.

A knock ripples through the door, and everyone turns towards it nervously. The door is a barrier protecting me from unknown beasts threatening to burst through with the second knock. "It's me, open up!" A high pitched voice echoes through the door in a muffle, "I have Sir Wilfrid." Everyone releases a breath, and the door is opened.

Wilfrid wanders in, looking around in confusion from the disaster of the room. A table lay sideways. Another cleared with all its items sprawled across the floor. A pile of sheets toppled over around the cupboard I'm hiding in. His eyes land on me and they widen in disbelief. Rushing down before me, he reaches out for me, and I screech once more. "Enough, you're safe," Wilfrid hisses firmly.

My glossy eyes shine into his, and a flash of familiarity passes through him. He sighs, carefully leaning in to touch me. I whimper under the touch of his hand on my knee. We remain like this for a moment, my trembling remains. "I'm picking you up, we're going to relocate to your room," he warns.

"No!" A strangled voice rips through me, and I shove his hand away, scooting deeper into the cupboard. My back pressing against the backboard. Nothing can get me here. Nothing can touch me.

Frustrated, Wilfrid groans, "I can't help you if you don't let me touch you." He sits on his bottom giving up. "We can stay here as long as you need."

"I'm here Chloe," Estella coos, "We aren't leaving you."

"Estella, what happened?" Wilfrid whispers with a hiss.

"I'm not sure, it has something to do with Lord Nicholas." My trembling increases under her words. "He came in here like a mad man. He will know she is here if we don't do something soon." A loud sob rips out of me.

"Nothing is going to happen, Chloe. I'm here," Wilfrid coos calmly.

"Not my room. I don't want to be found," I whisper.

Wilfrid quickly nods and scoops me up, pulling me out of the cupboard. His touch burns me, and I try wiggling out of his grasp. My protest is ignored, and the maids open the door to the hall for Wilfrid. Slipping through the doorway, he nods to Estella. I weep uncontrollably, burying my face into my hands. Silently, he carries me away and up the stairs. Noticing my room approaching, I gasp, wiggling under his grip.

Tightening his hold on me, he turns towards Kalen's room. In one swift motion, he leans his elbow down, pressing the latch, kicking the door open and effectively stepping through the doorway. The door clicks closed, and he places me on the bed, trying not to scare me, he carefully stepping back to his usual chair. Curling my knees up to my chest, my stomach squeezes nervously, and we watch each other in silence.

~

Cold air blows into the room, my stained cheeks feel like icicles. The air cools my warm body, I feel almost ill again. Fear holds my tired eyes open, I lay on my side, curled up in the middle of Kalen's unused bed. Wiping my stained face clean with my silk sleeve.

Wilfrid leans forward on his chair. "Are you ready to talk?"

Quickly, shaking my head, my cheek scraps against the blanket. The dizziness sending the room into a spin with the movement.

He racks his hand through his thick blonde curls in frustration, he struggles to contain the need to yell. "Chloe, I'm here to protect you. Aren't I scary enough? I'll spook anyone who comes near you. Just tell me what happened and I'll make it go away."

A small tear runs over the bridge of my nose, and I wipe it with the back of my hand. Fiddling with my skirt, I remain silent. My voice is gone. The energy to speech has just drained out of me from the trembles.

"You know I'm really good at one-sided conversations, it's the same as arguing with Kale," he hums, crossing his arms, "You can't even argue if I make a decision, this is great."

He waits silently for me to argue with him, but I'm frozen, weak and just can't manage to gather any strength to use my voice.

"If you don't start talking, I'll just have to follow you everywhere." He lifts his eyebrow anticipating a reaction. What reaction though? He already follows me practically everywhere. He wasn't there for me; instead, he abandoned me to search for Tristan. My hand trembles in reminder, I'm alone.

"Chloe, talk."

Silence overwhelms the room, and it is driving Wilfrid into insanity. I barely have the strength to shake my head for him.

"Did Nicholas hurt you?"

*

Instantly, my body convulses with tremors, and a hysteric sob rumbles out of me. Squirming under the tingling memories of his touch, I claw at my dress fighting the feelings. Wilfrid gets up, grabbing the blanket folded at the end of the bed he flicks it into a roll in the air. It falls overtop of me, and Wilfrid returns to his chair. This will be a long night for both of us. Exhaustion fights me, my sobs take every ounce of strength I have left. The nightmares are coming for me.

*

"I'm not leaving, not ever," Wilfrid mumbles under his breath.

~Vote if you hate Nicholas! Comment some awesome woman power to the maids who stood up and protected Chloe! Is anyone mad at Wilfrid for leaving her unprotected or would this have happened anyway?