This chapter is dedicated to shellbell232 because so far she's commented on all the chapters she's read and i love comments :)
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Chapter 13
A light knock interrupted his sleep and Rowan sat up quickly. He yawned and run a hand through his tousled brown hair. When he didn’t say anything the door opened somewhat and he saw Arabella’s eyes through the slit. Her eyes widened and she started to shut the door but he waved her inside. She did as he asked and entered the room with her head bowed slightly and her eyes carefully averted from him. A faint flush started creeping onto her cheeks. Rowan rolled his eyes and pushed the covers away before getting out of bed.
“Well? What do you want?” he asked smiling to soften his harsh words. Arabella fidgeted with her sleeve as a long silence followed his question. Rowan cleared his throat to break the silence which was about to become awkward and directed his gaze to the window.
“I was sent to tell you that your family want to see you,” she said. When he looked back he caught her staring at him. He smirked and she looked away with an annoyed expression. She hadn’t wanted him to see her staring.
“What for?” he asked curiously. She shook her head. He should have known his paranoid family wouldn’t entrust that kind of information to someone they weren’t fully confident about. He studied Arabella; the servant girl was hardly what one would think of as a threat.
“They didn’t tell me,” she said. He watched her walk over to the stool that he had some clothes lying over top and pick up one of the shirts. “Perhaps you should have put a shirt on,” Arabella muttered before throwing the shirt at him. He caught it and chucked.
“Why? Does it make you uncomfortable if I’m shirtless?” He inquired taking a step towards her. She stumbled back and then glared at him for making her do that. He just smirked back.
“Just put the shirt on. The castle servants don’t need anything more to gossip about,” she commented, meaning for it to be a simple, unimportant bit of conversation. It didn’t go the way she thought as Rowan became curious.
“What do you mean, anything more? What are they gossiping about?” he replied. Arabella grimaced as she realized he wasn’t going to let that go.
“It’s nothing,” she said quickly hoping he would forget about it. Rowan shook his head and took another step towards her. She gasped and ran to the door.
“Arabella, you know I’m going to find out one way or another. It’s only a matter of when,” he told her. She nodded slowly and for a moment he thought she would actually tell him but then she ducked out of the room.
"Yes, but I’m not telling you now,” he heard her say before she was gone. Rowan groaned and slipped on the shirt he held in his hands.
He had to go meet his family, but afterwards, he would make Arabella tell him what she knew, he vowed. He finished dressing and then left his room. He paused for a moment, he didn’t actually know where he was supposed to meet his family; Arabella hadn’t told him. He sighed as he set off to find his family. With any luck it’d be over fast. Even as he thought that he knew deep down that this would be important and with his family, important things always took a while.
Just when he neared the throne room he spotted Gavin. Gavin was of course, talking to one of the servant girls. The girl looked uncomfortable and when she saw Rowan a look of relief flashed upon her face momentarily. He smiled at her.
“Excuse me, but I must talk to my brother,” Rowan said earning a scowl from Gavin. The girl bowed her head.
“Its no problem, I need to be elsewhere,” she murmured. Rowan noted that she didn’t say where she was going, just that she needed to go. It was plausible that she didn’t have to be anywhere; she just wanted to be as far away from Gavin as possible. Gavin had that effect on females sometimes. However when he put his mind to it Gavin could become an amazing charmer, the only females immune to that side of him was Rose and his mother.
Gavin let the girl leave without further protest; his heart wasn’t in the game. Rowan narrowed his eyes at Gavin trying to figure out what he was up to, or rather who he was aiming on seducing. The servant girl wasn’t bad in terms of physical traits. Her blond hair and bright blue eyes would be desired by many; at one time Gavin would have wanted her too. Before they had arrived at the castle of Amstia Gavin would have most surely tried to make the girl like him.
“What?” Gavin asked shrugging. Rowan sighed.
“You know what,” Rowan replied irritably. “I wish you would stop treating girls the way you do,” he told Gavin. Gavin rolled his eyes.
“We all have wishes, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will come true,” Gavin said. “Now come on, we have a meeting to get to.”
“A meeting?” Rowan inquired. Gavin nodded and then started walking away from the throne room to the room on the opposite side of the hall.
“Yes, we are to discuss the interrogations we have done so far and talk about the results of the check ups on the servants’ families,” Gavin explained. “We’re meeting in this room because it’s more private and people are less likely to walk in on us.”
“Does the king know about the meeting?”
“See for yourself,” Gavin answered. He pushed open the door and Rowan was surprised to see the King inside the room. Gavin bowed to the King and Rowan hurriedly copied his actions.
His father nodded to Rowan and his brother as they took a seat. In this room was an ovular table. The King sat at the tip of the table facing the door all dressed in blue and silver with the golden crown inlayed with jewels on his head. The King didn’t do anything to acknowledge the arrival of the two boys. His father and Uncle sat on either sides of the King. His mother sat beside her husband and beside her was Rose. Gavin took a seat beside their uncle while Rowan opted for the seat near their sister.
“Well now that we are all present we may begin,” Joseph stated. “As most of you know this meeting is mainly to talk about what we have discovered so far and to inform the King on the progress of our investigation.” The King nodded once Joseph was finished.
“And what have you found out?” The King asked with an air of impatience. It didn’t seem to Rowan like he wanted to be here at all. He likely had other things to do than listen to what little information they had. The King didn’t believe there was going to be anything important in this meeting. For his father’s sake Rowan hoped the King was wrong.
“We have gone through almost all of the servants in your castle. Then we talked to their families to see if what the servants said in the interrogation was true,” his uncle continued. “There were some suspicious servants but since they seemed alright we couldn’t do anything without some more proof, which is why we had to talk to their families.”
Rowan sat back in his chair and made himself comfortable, there was no telling how long this was going to last. Rose glanced at him and shook her head slightly. Rowan doubted she wanted to be here either but she sure looked like she was absolutely interested in this meeting. Her eyes almost never left the speaker while Rowan looked everywhere but. She sat perfectly in her chair with her back ever so straight. Meanwhile was Gavin was slumped in chair, had his elbows up on the table holding his head propped up. He didn’t even have the decency to make it look like he was listening.
Rowan almost always was somewhere in between Rose and Gavin. He wasn’t exactly sitting straight and looking interested but he wasn’t sitting badly and obviously not paying attention like Gavin. Anyone who looked at Gavin could tell he was bored and almost falling asleep. Rowan hoped that his father would call upon Gavin to talk to show how much Gavin wasn’t listening.
“So you called me here to tell me that you don’t have proof my servants are werewolves or human,” the King demanded. Rowan’s father froze and shook his head immediately so the King would pause in his rant. “What?” The King asked.
“That was at first. When we talked to some of the servants’ families we got more information. I’m certain I know the identity of a few werewolves,” the leader of the hunters answered.
At that comment everyone perked up suddenly interested. Gavin and Rowan leaned in as they waited in anticipation.
“And,” the King prompted.
“And there are some werewolves close to you, too close for comfort in fact.” Rose gasped but Rowan only felt mildly surprised. He had expected this. There were many servants the chances that none of them were werewolves were slim.
“Who are they? I will have guards capture them immediately and-,” the King started to say. Joseph held up a hand to stop the King from making plans just yet.
“No, my King, let us deal with it. I hope you don’t take it personally when I say your guards are not well equipped to deal with werewolf threats,” Rowan’s uncle explained. The King frowned but remained silent.
“He’s right,” Joseph said. “It would be best to let us handle the situation. We are experienced in matters such as this one. We know what to do. Werewolves are dangerous when confronted with their secret,” he said. “They will attack when they find out we know, they may even shift into a wolf. It’s not safe for your guards.”
“You will be able to round up the known werewolves?” the King inquired. Joseph nodded. “When will you have this done by?” The King’s voice was infused with worry. “Will they attack me or my family by then?”
“No I believe not. If they wanted to harm your family they probably would have done so by now,” Rowan’s mother chimed in adding her reassurance to the conversation. The King nodded, slightly relieved but still worried.
“We will take care of it soon. We won’t risk your family being hurt. As soon as we are able to we will make a move,” Joseph said with a look at his wife.
“Who are the werewolf servants?” the King replied. Joseph shook his head.
“We can’t tell you that. The information might endanger your family,” Joseph responded. The King’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth. Seeing that he was about to speak Joseph guessed what he was going to ask. “It would endanger your family because if you or they react to seeing one of these servants the werewolf servant might see and guess you know their secret.”
“And that would be dangerous?” The King queried. Joseph nodded solemnly.
“Yes. The werewolf would rely on its instincts and its instinct will tell it to attack anyone in the room.” The King nodded absorbing the information. “It doesn’t matter how nice the werewolf is in human form or its personality, it can’t control its wolf form. Its wolf is a very primal part of them. They may not want to harm but the wolf doesn’t care, it wants to survive.”
“So are we done here?” the King asked. Now that he realized he wasn’t going to learn the identity of the known werewolves he was back to wanting to be elsewhere. Joseph nodded and the King stood up abruptly. “Keep me informed on any further progress, and next time, if it’s possible, don’t arrange a meeting; just ask to speak to me alone.”
“Of course, my King, I apologize for the inconvenience,” Joseph replied as the King exited the room. When the door shut Gavin sat up and looked ready to speak. “Yes?” their father asked him.
“So who are the werewolves?” Gavin responded curiously. Joseph sighed.
“That’s for me to know at the moment. I can’t have information leaking out before we capture the werewolves.” Gavin frowned at his father’s answer.
“Why? Don’t you trust us? I can understand why you won’t trust Rowan but me? How could you believe that we would let something slip?” Rose rolled her eyes as Rowan sent Gavin a glare.
“It’s not that,” their mother protested. “We trust you but everyone makes mistakes. You boys are young, less used to this side of being a hunter. It’s just a precaution.” Gavin frowned.
“Us boys?” he asked making their mother look uncomfortable. Rose looked down at her hands in her lap avoiding Rowan’s eyes. “Wait, Rose knows the identity of the werewolves?” Gavin guessed. There was a hurt look in his eyes for a brief moment before it vanished. “She’s only a bit older than me, why does she know? You believe she won’t make a mistake?”
“She knows because she helped discover some of the identities of the werewolves. She only knows a few of them, not all. We tried to keep the ones she didn’t know about a secret,” Joseph sighed. Gavin grunted and crossed his arms in annoyance.
“When are we going to capture the werewolves?” Rose asked.
“Why? Doesn’t the most trusted child know already?” Gavin muttered bitterly. Rose rolled her eyes ignoring his comment. Rowan’s parents did the same but their uncle gave Gavin an inscrutable look.
“We won’t do anything for today at least, maybe a few days. We need to prepare in the mean time,” their mother said. “You three may go now. This discussion is now for adults only.”
“Well then Rose should be staying apparently,” Gavin replied before standing up and exiting the room. Rose and Rowan exchanged looks before following. Rose grabbed Gavin once he was in reach and forced Gavin to stop. “What?” he asked.
“What was that in there?” Rose asked with a nod to the room they had just exited. Gavin shrugged.
“Why does it matter?” Gavin countered.
“You were behaving like an idiot,” Rowan answered, choosing to enter the discussion. Gavin looked at him in surprise.
“No, I wasn’t,” he replied sullenly before returning to his usual self. “So what if I was? Are you telling me you’re not annoyed that Rose was told the identities of the werewolves and we weren’t?” Rowan carefully made sure his expression was normal.
“No. I trust our parents. If they think they’re making the right decision then they most likely are.” Gavin snorted not buying it. “Rose only knows because she found out the information. If you were in her place you’d be bragging and telling us to get over it.” Rose nodded her agreement. Gavin didn’t reply immediately.
“Well this can be fixed easily,” he said. Rose and Rowan gave him equally confused glances. “Rose can tell us the names of the werewolves and we’ll all be informed.” Rose frowned.
“Gavin, you know Rose isn’t going to do that,” Rowan said quietly. Gavin’s expression hardened and he spun around with the plan to leave them. Rose was about to reach out and stop him when Rowan shook his head. She sighed and let Gavin go.
“Just leave him alone,” Rowan suggested. “He’s mad now but he will forget about it in a while.” Rose nodded listening to Rowan’s words of wisdom.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“I’ll see you later,” Rowan told her. “I have something I need to do.” Rose rolled her eyes but he could see the interest in her eyes. She wanted to now what Rowan was up to. “You have the day off too. I’m guessing you’re off to do that secret thing you won’t tell me about?” Rose’s eyes widened in shock and she gave him a suspicious look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said slowly. Rowan smirked.
“Oh really, cause one time we talked I got the sense you’re hiding something but I don’t know what.” Rose blushed causing him to laugh. “Aha, I knew it.”
“Don’t tell anyone,” Rose began to say.
“Don’t worry about it,” Rowan interrupted. “I wouldn’t tell anyone. What are you up to anyways?” he asked. Rose shook her head.
“I can’t tell you. Don’t you have elsewhere to be?” she retorted. Rowan sighed.
“Yeah, I do in fact. Bye,” he said before leaving. He headed to his room first to get something then he was going to find Arabella and find out more about these rumours floating around. As he walked through a big hallway with its windows facing the courtyard he paused. When he turned he saw that he wasn’t imagining Gavin standing near a window looking out. He stepped towards him and cleared his throat. Gavin turned but didn’t look ashamed to have been caught.
“Yes?” he asked. Rowan narrowed his eyes.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing, just admiring the outside,” Gavin replied innocently, a little too innocently.
“Then why don’t you go outside? It’s better than looking out a window I hear.” Gavin shrugged.
“It’s too cold?” he replied.
“Since when do you care? And, it’s not that cold outside,” Rowan inquired.
“I’m just bored, okay?” Gavin replied quickly.
“Okay,” Rowan said. He began to walk away but when Gavin wasn’t paying attention Rowan darted back and looked through the window trying to guess what Gavin was looking at. Gavin pushed him away quickly but not before Rowan caught sight of Eleanor all dressed in blue, her golden hair gleaming in the light.
“Go away, Rowan,” Gavin ordered. Rowan shook his head.
“Spying on Eleanor, really?” Rowan sighed. Gavin looked for a way to escape. “You should leave Eleanor alone,” Rowan told Gavin as he moved to stop his brother from getting away from him.
“I’m not going to listen to my younger brother,” Gavin said. “What I do is my business.”
“Not when it involves the Lady Eleanor,” Rowan hissed quietly as a servant walked by. They got a curious look from the servant and didn’t speak again until the servant is gone.
“Shut up,” Gavin growled before hitting Rowan upside the head. “I don’t want the whole castle to know, that is at the moment. It might scare away Eleanor.”
“I don’t think she needs to hear rumours to scare her away. You’ll do that just fine away on your own,” Rowan said sarcastically. He rubbed his head and glared at Gavin.
“Stay out of my way and let me deal with my problems,” Gavin commanded. “Oh and don’t worry about Eleanor not falling in love with me. I’m charming and I’ll manage to win her over just fine.” Rowan looked sceptical and crossed his eyes.
“Oh really,” Rowan said unconvinced.
“Yes. She won’t know what hit her. All my previous practice with girls all led up to this moment,” Gavin explained confidently.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Rowan said in a worried tone. If the King finds out he’ll-.”
“He’ll what, Rowan. What exactly do you think will happen if the King finds out,” Gavin asked.
“It’ll ruin everything. He won’t like you chasing after Lady Eleanor. He might even send our family away,” Rowan replied. “What if he decides to imprison you in the dungeons?”
“Relax, that’s not going to happen,” Gavin assured him. “By the time the King finds out Lady Eleanor will be in love with me. If he’s angry she will stand up for me. We don’t even know that he’ll be angry. He may be happy that Eleanor has found love.”
“Love isn’t what you have with girls. It’s all fun and games to you, but it’s never like that to the girls. They’re heartbroken when you drop them and move on to the next pretty girl,” Rowan said.
Gavin shrugged. “I can’t help what they feel for me. Plus, I’m never going to leave Lady Eleanor. She’s different; she is part of the royal family.”
Rowan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you won’t leave her publicly. You’ll just go behind her back and cheat on her with other girls once she loses your attention. I know you; you’re not the type that will be happy with one girl for the rest of your life.”
“You don’t know that. I do believe I have changed since the moment I first laid eyes on my Eleanor.”
“Yeah right, she’s not your Eleanor, I doubt she’ll ever be,” Rowan snapped in annoyance. “Also, I think I know what changed with you, you realized you can have a girl with money and the aspect of being rich lured you in.”
“Rowan, you’re just jealous,” Gavin replied. “Why can’t you be happy for me?” Rowan opened his mouth to reply but Gavin managed to get away leaving Rowan standing near the window. Rowan sighed. Gavin was officially going after Eleanor. He had hoped that he was wrong about Gavin wanting Eleanor but it was true.
Rowan spotted the blond servant girl Gavin was harassing earlier and he called out to get her attention. She paused and then came closer.
“I’m wondering if you could help me,” he said. She raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. “The servant assigned to me mentioned something this morning. She mentioned something about rumours going around. Do you know about them?” She nodded again. “Are any of them about me?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. She looked down avoiding his eyes. “A few of them are about you. “They say you’re a ladies man and that you have relationships with many girls.”
“What?” Rowan asked surprised. She looked uncomfortable but she glanced up when he chuckled and saw his amused expression. “That’s not me,” he laughed. “Gavin is like that. He breaks girls’ hearts left and right. Why do you think he was talking to you this morning?” She blushed as she recalled the incident.
“That makes sense; all the time you’ve been here you have hardly tried to make a lot of girls like you,” she whispered. “I was doubtful of the rumours, especially when you saved me from your brother this morning. Thank you.” Rowan nodded politely.