"I trust that you enjoyed your exploration of the palace grounds, Aurelia."
Cassian's eyes met mine over the top of his raised glass. He took a slow sip, holding my gaze, waiting for my answer.
He made no mention of his watching me out of the window. Thinking it wise, I chose to do the same.
"Yes, thank you. Wrynn was a wonderful guide." I glanced to the Captain of the Guard who sat silently opposite me, he met my gaze with a subtle nod.
Cassian, being at the head of the table was sat to my left. Out the corner of my eye, though I saw his fist tighten ever so slightly around his glass, as he swirled his drink. I pretended not to have noticed.
What was that about?
"Was he..." the king's tone was careful, slow, contemplative. Almost as though he were fishing for more details without being overly obvious.
Still, Wrynn said nothing.
Unsure where to look anymore, I let my eyes fall down toward my plate and cut off a piece of what I think was chicken. I watched Cassian from lowered eyelashes.
"Indeed. I think I should like to see more of the gardens, tomorrow. Do you think you might accompany me, your—"
"Just Cassian, please." He interrupted me without so much as a glance.
I rolled my eyes, knowing that he wouldn't see.
Though clearly Wrynn had – he snorted, quickly covering it up with a cough.
Cassian looked up, eyes narrowing as he glanced between us.
"Something amusing, Wrynn?"
The king swirled his drink around in his glass in a most unbothered fashion but the ticking of the muscle in his jaw gave him away.
He was annoyed.
Annoyed that I had managed to make Wrynn laugh.
"No. No, your majesty. Just a bit of bone I think." Wrynn hurriedly picked up his napkin, pretending to correct the issue.
Cassian's eyes narrowed further still, I could have sworn, just for a second, they were darker. And then they were looking at me.
Those cold eyes, staring back at me. I struggled to hold his intense gaze.
"You had a question, I believe?"
Leaning back in his chair, he motioned for Darin to take his plate. The older man scurried forward. Cassian said nothing, entirely ignoring the fact that Darin was even there at all.
"Oh! I... Yes, I thought you might like to show me the gardens tomorrow, Cassian." I made sure to get his name right this time.
Darin appeared at my shoulder. "May I take your plate, princess?"
I looked up at him. "Yes, thank you."
"We do not thank the help."
My head snapped up.
Cassian was watching me coolly, those piercing blue eyes studying me.
I was indignant. The way he had phrased the word help made it seem as though he was talking about something stuck on the bottom of his shoe.
Unable to stop myself, I glared at him. "We most certainly do" — I turned to Wrynn — "If this was what you meant about your customs here being different to ours, I can quite see what you mean. Where I come from, politeness, even to those who work for us is common courtesy, your highness."
I spoke the last part to Cassian. He held my gaze, eyes flashing with a mix of anger and something else I couldn't quite place. Surprise, maybe... That was the most likely option, I concluded. Rarely, I imagined, was he, the king, ever spoke to in such a tone. I almost felt sorry. Almost.
He had been out of line. There was no excuse for rudeness, my mother had always instilled that in me – no matter someone's position, they should always be treated with dignity and respect.
If it were at all possible, Cassian's glare deepened, and his jaw ticked so violently that I was afraid he might dislocate it.
Darin disappeared silently through the mahogany double doors.
My eyes flicked back to Cassian, rigid in his chair. Finally, he sat back. Wrynn, wisely had stayed silent during our heated exchange, he now snuck a glance at Cassian. The king spoke.
"Believe me. I cannot think of anything I'd rather do less."
Huh? What was he talking about?
A spark of triumph glinted in his eyes as he appraised my confusion.
He continued, "To spend the day in your company would be... to put it lightly, insufferable. You are coarse, discourteous and have yet to learn your place and the places of those around you."
Turning to Wrynn, who hurriedly met his gaze, Cassian carried on as though I were not even there.
"I do believe, Wrynn. That she is the worst one you've brought back yet."
"I wouldn't say that—"
"I would."
And with that, Cassian pushed away his chair from the table with such force that it almost tipped over. Darin, who had just as silently reappeared, rushed to catch it. Cassian didn't spare him a glance sweeping from the room.
The room fell silent.
Once he was gone, Wrynn raised his eyes to look at me. Probably, he was wondering whether I had noticed Cassian's parting comment.
Well, I had. And I intended to ask about it.
"What did he mean?"
I set down my glass.
Wrynn sighed. So, he had been expecting my question.
"Aure..."
I held his gaze until he looked down again.
"Tell me, Wrynn. What did he mean?"
Reluctantly, Wrynn dragged his gaze up once again to meet mine running a hand through his silvery hair. Unlike Cassian's which had been tied back, Wrynn's hung loose.
"There... there have been others," he said finally.
It seemed as though it was a struggle for him to get the words out. As if it was something he was not used to admitting, even to himself.
"Others?" I pressed.
"Other girls, like you."
I was disgusted, wrinkling my nose up. "What? What is this then? What exactly am I doing here?"
Wrynn didn't answer. His lack of answers was really starting to annoy me.
"That's all he is, isn't it? The king. Just some womanizing, harem-building polygamist. 'There have been other girls' and what am I just the next in a long line of poor other unfortunate souls?"
I stood up from the table, in, I would later realise, a very familiar fashion to how Cassian had.
Wrynn followed me up, moving around the table.
"No. No, Aure. You've got it wrong. That's not Cassian at all. It's... there are no other girls. Not anymore."
He dropped his head.
"What? He got tired of them, did he? Sent them crawling home with nothing to show for it?"
My voice was rising, and I was only too aware that should Cassian be lurking, listening to our conversation, he would be able to hear every word. But why did I care? He had made it quite clear that he cared nothing for me. And it's not like I had anything to lose.
"No!" — Wrynn grabbed my hand — "Aure. No. That's not it... You just have to trust me on this."
Wrenching my hand free I backed away – toward the doors.
"No. I don't."
***
Back in my rooms, Florence waited silently. She undressed me without a word and handed me my night garments. Almost as if she knew that something had happened. Maybe she'd heard it. It wasn't impossible, after all Cassian and I had been rather loud.
I waited two hours after Florence had left. Two hours of sitting alone in the dark, watching the moon rise out of my window. Two hours watching the sky darken from grey to black. Two hours – and then I made my move.
Pulling back the covers, I slipped out of bed. The wooden floor was cold underneath my bare feet, and I suppressed a shiver. Grabbing the outfit I'd stashed under the bed, I now hurriedly shrugged it on, being sure to tie the cloak doubly tight.
As quietly as I could, I made my way out of my rooms and down the stairs. Holding my small lantern in front of me, I moved. I had to stick to the carpeted parts of the flooring to prevent my heavy snow boots from thumping on the wooden tiles. That would be sure to announce my presence to someone. Although I still had no idea as to where Wrynn's, or even Cassian's, chambers were, I knew they wouldn't be far.
I stole silently toward the main entrance, but I steered clear of the large double doors. Using them would be sure to make a noise. Instead, I opted to veer left, toward a small corridor.
During my tour of the grounds with Wrynn, I noticed several smaller, non-descript doors at various points around the outside of the castle. No doubt they had once been the servant's entrance's, not that they would be used very frequently anymore. It was for precisely this reason that I thought they would be my best chance of escape.
I was right.
Lantern light swinging before me, I crept along the darkened hallway. My plan also relied on the fact that I was hoping that since the doors were not commonly used, someone might have forgotten to lock at least one of them. Otherwise, I'd be back to square one.
The first door appeared to my left, visible in the yellow glow. I tried the handle.
Locked.
Unperturbed, I continued my mission. The second door was also locked. And the third and the fourth.
I'll admit, my hope was dwindling a little as I spied the fifth door. Sunk deep into the wooden paneled walls, it seemed to beckon me from afar. I heeded its call. Hurrying toward it, I breathed in a hopeful breath and pulled.
Nothing.
Sighing, I allowed my hand to drop back down to my side uselessly. I turned, back facing the door and leant against it.
And suddenly the door began to move. Not inward, but outward – out into the snow. Reaching instinctively for the door frames, I steadied myself, holding my body upright as my back rest swung away.
Freezing air blasted me from behind and I slowly turned, desperately hoping that no one had heard my little accident. I waited silently for a moment.
No one came.
And so, I left.
Bracing myself against the cold, my feet crunched over the snow as I slipped out. I pushed the door back into position and set off.
Guided only by the light of the pale moon and my lantern, I moved to where I thought I'd seen the stables earlier. There had to be at least one horse.
At least, that's what I was banking on.
Several times, I nearly tripped over, or slipped over. It turns out that navigating snow in the dark, is even harder than in the light.
By some small miracle, I reached the stable door. It was large, blue paint peeling off of its front. It was beginning to seem like many things at Evenspire, upon closer inspection, were not as they first appeared.
Silently praying that my plan would continue to unfold with relative success, I slipped inside.
Hot breath tickled the back of my neck. I spun around, eyes darting across the dimness.
Was someone else here?
My light fell upon the source, and I breathed a sigh of relief. A tall dappled grey mare stood before me, staring down curiously.
"Good girl," I whispered, reaching a hand up slowly to stroke the animal.
My touch was met with a small huff of air, and I smiled softly, setting down my lantern on the hay.
Golden light trickled across the small stalls. All but two of them were empty. The mare that had startled me and one other.
One for Wrynn and one for Cassian. No more were needed, not with the castle being so empty, so devoid of life.
And now one of them would become mine, at least for a time. Until I got home.
Now, I had to hurry. It was possible that someone could awake and notice my absence. And it would be just my luck. After all, I'd ended up in this situation, hadn't I?
Riding lessons from my youth had taught me well and I hurried to tack up the mare with equipment that hung on an adjacent wall. My fingers worked diligently, helping me through the familiar motions.
I led my mare forward and began to mount. She waited patiently. Without a block to help, it was a struggle, but I made it.
Reaching down to unlatch the stable door, I realised that maybe this hadn't quite been the correct order to do things in. But it would have to do. With a small struggle I flicked the latch.
Moonlight flooded into the room, and we started forward. Out into the snow.
And then came the screech. And my mare who had seemed so tranquil and docile before, reared.
I was thrown from my horse.
Everything went black.
************************************
Sorry to leave you all on a cliffhanger!
What do you think has happened to Aure?
Until next time!
Kalli x