Love your Enemy (Ruby Rose fanfic)

FOUR (Iselen POV)

I can't help yawning when walking out of the small shop with the tea my housekeeper ordered me to buy yesterday, plus some other purchases: I couldn't resist buying a pretty hand painted tin full of shortbread, I can't wait to try it with a cup of tea this evening. I didn't get much sleep last night and a nightmare woke me up at dawn... It's been a while since I didn't have one of those, so vivid that I could smell gunpowder and feel the bullets whistling close to my ear, hear the screams of my comrades and the voice of my commander telling us to draw back. It felt like being there again, trying to rescue the hostages in the midst of chaos... The day is grey and rainy, again, and it didn't help to improve my mood although Mrs Dunn's breakfast gave me the strength to take one of the several SUV in the garage and drive to Dunira.

The truth is that the village is even bigger than I expected, pavements are clean and houses made of stone are well-maintained with flowers in windows, the main street is a lively place although it isn't weekend yet since people from all the small villages around come here to buy groceries. Even Falkland neighbours given that they have no alternative: for example, the only chemist's and doctor's office in this area are here in Dunira. Anyway, I think my people tend to exaggerate things a little. It's true that there're half a dozen of pubs that offer accommodation too, a couple of restaurants and three small hotels, but they aren't enough to accommodate thousands of drunken youths and that's what some of my new employees have told me.

Whatever... I think it's time to pay the visit I'd planned, I'm not here to buy tea only. I get in the car and tap the wheel with my fingers, lost in my thoughts... I don't know if this is a good idea but we have to meet sooner or later. I believe this is the best option, I'll catch her off guard since she's not expecting me but I'll be mentally prepared for this meeting. I hope she's a person who's able to talk and reason without drama, this situation seems ridiculous to me and I'd like to reach an agreement with her in order to be cordial if we bump into each other in the street. I turn on the engine and follow the indications the shop assistant gave me to find the castle of Dunira. I left the scarf with the colours of my clan at home because I don't want to offend anyone and also payed attention to the way I look today. My housekeeper is right, I don't have many clothes, but I'm wearing my less worn-out jeans, new boots and a beautiful soft pink sweater, my dark hair is up in a ponytail and I even applied a touch of blush, mascara and lip gloss... last time I wore makeup was attending the wedding of a comrade one year ago.

The castle was built on top of a hill like mine, but the estate seems to be smaller since it's closer to the village. There's no doorman to my surprise and I drive across the gates without no one stopping me, I didn't know if she'd want to talk to me and I was ready to lie to the guard of the entrance gate, or rather, not telling him that I'm the duchess and giving him only my first name, but it wasn't necessary. I think she's organizing one of her legendary parties since there're several delivery vans coming and going through access road and several workers wander around carrying boxes. The building is an odd mix of styles, the Dukes of Falkland built a baroque palace in front of the castle in order to offer a unified façade if you look at it from the distance, but no one bothered to do the same here. The massive square, medieval tower is clearly visible on one side, a huge four-storey manor with a grey roof is attached to it, there's another square building that looks more modern on one side with only two floors and several more behind. A small portico supported by two columns shows where the entrance door is.

The forest that borders on my estate spreads behind the building but on one side there's a stunning geometrical and vegetable garden of French inspiration. Usually, English people prefer a well-maintained lawn and natural landscapes so French gardens aren't common in this country, despite they're better if you want to exhibit several varieties of flowers. I park my car on one end of the small terrace covered with fine gravel where I think it won't be a bother to any delivery boy and get out of the vehicle cautiously so I don't put much weight on my injured thigh. I've been very busy during the last two days and walking too much, my muscles feel really sore and the wet weather makes the pain even worse... I'll need to go back to the gym soon in order to keep working out.