Beka's POV-
By the time Mischief and I rode into the castle's gates, the sun had disappeared behind the horizon and the sky was streaked with red and orange, meaning we were a 'tad' later than four o'clock....whoops. But it was a beautiful way to end a magnificent day.
Once I had taken off Mischief's saddle and reigns, I let him loose in the paddocks again, and he began to prance around happily. I laughed, adjusting my bag higher on my shoulder, and slipped on my shoes, before trudged across the big field, to the castle.
A smile kept coming to my face at the thought of my day, and much to my surprise, nothing went wrong. It was perfect. Every single clue and riddle that I found along the way only seemed to wipe away the emptiness I felt without Mitchell.
I scuffed my shoes on the marble tiles rhythmically, while whistling happily. I began to notice something that was out of place. The hall was deserted.
"Where is everybody?" I mumbled to myself. I found it quite odd, because the part of the castle I was in was usually swarming with servants, guards, and soldiers.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" I asked myself as a tingle started tickling its way down my spine. I continued down the halls, eager to expel my uneasiness, towards the Dining Hall, or at least to somewhere where there was someone familiar.
-
When I neared the dining hall, everybody was in a state of panic. Soldiers rushed passed me with swords and bows and arrows, ready to use, in their hands, and it only made the churning of nervousness in my stomach worse.
I found Simon in the Dining hall, as usual, sitting in his chair at the end of the table, but the scene looked very different than a regular afternoon. He was barking out orders to his employees as they raced around him.
It was very rarely that he raised his voice at anybody, so seeing him like this was a shock to me. I weaved in and out of the scattering people, and made my way over to the table. "Dad...? What's going on?" I asked panicked. Simon looked up from the several piles of paper that he had sprawled across the table.
"Rebekah...!" Simon exclaimed relieved. "Where have you been? I'm so glad you're ok." he said standing from his chair and wrapping me in a warm hug, patting down my hair. I rested my head on his chest, hearing his shallow breaths, but confusion was still portrayed on my features.
"I know, I'm sorry I was late, but of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? I just had the best day of my life. What happened?"
Simon stiffened, and took a slow and easy step back, avoiding my eyes. "I need you to go to your chambers and don't come out till I come and get you. Don't open the door to anybody, unless you hear them say your full name, do you understand?" He said, avoiding the question.
I tried reading his face but he kept sheltering it away from me, and I frowned. "I am not leaving this spot until you tell me what's going on." I said stubbornly, crossing my arms tightly across my chest.
"Out of all the moments, you choose to be stubborn now!" he exclaimed. I gave Simon a levelled look, that told him that I wasn't going anywhere without an answer.
Simon gave me a weary and frightful look, but eventually sighed and gave in. "...David's escaped prison, and we believe he is coming for you."
I froze with fright, and my eyes widened. I swallowed uneasily, and a cold sweat broke out on my neck. "No. This can't be happening. Not today. Everything was going so well." I complained, stamping my foot. "Where's everyone else?"
Simon returned to looking at maps, and other documents on the table. "I sent them to their rooms, so David can't hold them hostage, or use them in a way that'll affect us, but right now I need you to go straight to your room. Do you understand?" he asked seriously, not looking up. I just nodded my head.
Simon looked up, when he didn't hear my answer. "Beka...Do you understand?" he asked forcefully. I swallowed, before taking him in a hug again.
"I love you Daddy." I whispered, before taking off at a sprint towards my room.
My shoes slapped across the hard tiles, as my tiny legs rushed me through the halls. My heart was pounding hysterically in my chest, and my eyes were widened with fear. I felt like there were a million eyes watching me, following me. My paranoia only made it seem like my travel was much longer, but when I finally reached my door, I pushed it open hurriedly, and slammed it loudly behind me.
The room was darkly lit. The only light was coming from a candle on my desk in the corner. My pants for air were the only thing you could hear.
To make sure nobody could get in, I jammed the wooden chair under the handle, hoping that it would hold. I sat on the end of my bed with a shuttered sigh, brought my knees up to my chest, and watched the door nervously. I put Tiggers and Chester on the bed with me to try and gain some comfort, but to no avail, my stomach was still tying itself in knots.
I was scared, unbelievably scared. David had promised that he'd get what he wanted, and all he wanted was me. I was quite sure that I could take David on in a brawl if I needed to, but I prefer to avoid him completely, less people wouldn't be harmed that way.
-
It had been at least an hour before I felt comfortable enough to not stare at the door. I swallowed the lump in my throat and cautiously moved around the room. There wasn't much to do, but I tried as hard as I possibly could to preoccupy my thoughts.
I was absently drawing a flower on a piece of paper when there was a noise that came from the bathroom. I snapped my head up in that direction, feeling paranoid again. What if there's someone in here? What do I do? I looked over at Tiggers and Chester to check I hadn't just imagined the noise, but no, their ears and heads were turned to the bathroom entry, and their fur was standing on end.
My heart began to flutter nervously again, and a bead of sweat trickled down the back of my neck. I waited, frozen, in my position, for another sound, but nothing came. My ears began to ring because I was listening so hard.
When I was about to forget about the sound, and think that it was just a jar falling over, a flash of movement caught my eye in the dark. I gasped and pressed myself on the furthest wall away from the bathroom. "Who-who's there...?" I said trembling.
Again the dark was filled with movement, but this time, a figure stepped out into the light of the bedroom.
"Hello Beka...it's been a while."
My stiff shoulders slouched, and my face turned to confusion. I was no longer scared, but concerned and deeply confused. "Paul?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"
Paul stepped further into the light and made his way over to me. I met him half way, and looked up at him, waiting for a reply to my question.
Paul hadn't changed much. He was still the same man as I remembered, but there was black bags circling his eyes and his face seemed to have age tremendously. Paul smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, like it used to. "I came to wish you a happy birthday." he said kindly. All the stress of the previous moment eased out of me, and a smiled slipped across my face. I took him in a warm embrace, and he rubbed circles into my back fondly.
It was a long embrace. I had missed him so much. I had missed his whole family. They reminded me of who I used to be, just an ordinary girl, and without them I felt like I had no past.
"Thank you for coming Paul." I whispered to him. "Look at all the presents I got today. I want to show them to Daddy...um Simon, and also tell him that you're here, he'll be thrilled." I said, excitedly, whilst planing to move the chair that was wedged under the door handle.
A small sniffle came from Paul, and I figured he was crying about seeing me, so I held him to me again, this time tighter.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered back, sounding distressed.
I realized what he meant. "Don't be. What happened with my family is history now. You need to move forward. It's what they would have wanted." I told him.
Paul sniffled again. "No, not for that..." he cried.
"Then what...?" I asked.
A sharp pain entered my body as Paul pushed an arrow into my back. I pushed him away, feeling the stinging pain spread through me. I looked at him shocked, trying to reach the arrow in my back, but a drowsiness came over me quickly. TI realized what he had done. He had drugged me, poisoned my veins. My breathing became heavy, and the room started to spin. I fell to my knees dizzily, and tried to determine which way was up. The spinning increased, and my breathing became faster, ragged. A white light began to fill my vision, taking over the spinning room, and I fell to the ground, unconscious.
The end-
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So there it is guys. The end of my first book. I hoped you liked it. I know I said I was going to wait until tomorrow but then I got really excited and couldn't wait.
Love Always
Beka Fisher
xoxo