How in a moment her world had changed. . .
Samara couldn't believe her ears when early morning, the loud galloping of horses echoed around their colony. It was so loud in that empty silence, enough to wake up at least a member from each houses they crossed.
The Royal Warriors halted right in front of her gates. It was her tired brother who got up from the chair and ran towards the door. Samara followed behind, gasping when she saw her father on his horse.
His eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep. But just as they fell on his son standing there at the door, for whom he had suffered the travel to the castle all night-he shook his head in defeat, showing utter disappointment on his face.
"Father," Samara didn't wait to rush towards him and hugged her to feel safe and protected. The most, comforted.
Last night had been such a traumatic experience, she hadn't feel alone so much in her life before. Her mother was still sleeping because of the mild fever she had caught, in stress for Samuel. What happened with Lord Lester and her at the forest had ruined the sanity in her.
She couldn't think properly. She didn't know if it was right to doubt her own brother when all the proofs were actually going against him. Feeling overwhelmed, she even let out a sob as he hugged her back.
"Samara. I am fine, dear. Everything is going to be fine." Her father spoke, glancing back at the fellow warriors. "I am fine. Will you explain me how your dear brother returned home when he was actually supposed to go the castle?"
Samara gulped and pulled back from the hug. She stared in her father's eyes observing them getting narrowed at her.
"The King had summoned your brother, one of the suspect of being the Werewolf. The King, Samara." Her father's nostrils flared in anger but he kept his face straight. "Save your father from the humiliation. I have already suffered a night, giving explanations to the Lord Commandant. Putting my sword on his feet, I begged him a day of finding the truth for myself."
She covered her mouth in shock, feeling utterly sad as she knew how much insulted her father would be feeling. Her gaze moved around and her heart shrank seeing many of her neighbors coming out of their homes to watch the early morning drama.
"What did you say? You put your sword at his feet? Your pride?" Samuel asked in shock, walking through their little verandah that had clayed floor.
"Samara," her father yelled, glaring at her. "I want to hear the truth."
She was startled with his sudden anger. Nodding slowly, she glanced at the two Warriors standing behind her father.
"Samuel returned late at night, two-three hours later from your departure. He was sweating and hurt at places. He told me that the soldiers who were taking him to the castle had gotten injured on their way. The Werewolf had attacked them. The beast. When he came after Samuel, he ran away and with his clever ways, he somehow saved his life-"
The loud clapping echoing on the street, followed by faint galloping which stopped her from explaining further. She blinked in surprise and felt ashamed when her eyes fell on the Nathaniel sitting on his horse. His chin high with pride as he chuckled humorlessly.
"What a wonderful lie!"
She could feel her jaws clenching at the sight of him. She could even hear her brother's fists cracking who was standing beside her.
"Now, tell the truth." Nathaniel smirked, looking around at the crowd that had started to form. He nodded at the Warriors who had recognized him as the Commandant's son.
His eyes met Samara's father and he smiled confidently. "Your daughter is feeding you lies, Lord Hampton. If she can't tell you the truth, then let me narrate the whole story that happened last night."
Samara exchanged a little glance with her brother who was as nervous as her. When they both looked in the front, both theirs breaths hitched as their father was only glaring at them.
"When you, Lord Hampton left the house to search for your son. Behind your back arrived Lord Lester," spoke Nathaniel, catching Samara's stoned eyes at him. He ignored her, enjoying the attention as it was the right time. "Another father worried for his son. Searching here and there. But wait!"
He pretended to frown.
"There's a difference. Lord Lester already knew where his son had gone." Nathaniel gave them his charming smile.
"The woods."
The warriors behind Lord Hampton exchanged a glance and turned fully towards Nathaniel, listening to his words carefully.
"He is making it up to insult us-"
"Samara," her father yelled angrily at her. "Let him speak."
She shuddered as she watched Nathaniel smirking at her. He continued while pushing his hat up a little.
"Samara agreed to help him in finding our notorious brat, Rodwin Lester." Nathaniel enjoyed the heated glare of Samara as he spoke further, "In the woods, where I am assigned by the King to secretly put a bait in the woods, so I could call for the wolf and attack him."
Samuel scoffed angrily. "As if you have the balls to kill him." He spat humorlessly.
Nathaniel's gaze turned stunned at Samuel as he straightened his back but leaned further a bit. "Your father knows it already, Prince Hampton." He mocked.
Samuel could feel the ground slipping beneath his feet as he stared at his father in disbelief who had nothing to say in defence.
Nathaniel laughed. "What happened further was quite a suspenseful journey. Both the old man and the naive girl," he smirked, enjoying the twitch in Samara's jaw. "Reached me in the woods. They first thought that I was the wolf."
He pointed at himself. "Me who was one of the three suspects. Well. Well. Well. Just when I had started defending myself, we three heard a loud howl. Then, other and another. Howls of pain echoed all around."
Samara felt a tear slipping her eye as she shook her head in utter regret for ever falling for such a man. She hated Nathaniel so much and he deserved it.
"We ran towards the end of the woods, behind us arrived Logan, who didn't even give us the chance to suffer the shock as to what he was doing there and pointed back at the woods. We followed his worried self and reached a tree under which Rodwin was lying all unconscious, attacked by your son-"
"I will attack you, Bastard." Samuel shouted loudly while getting out the verandah and reaching for his horse. His father held him from behind. "You dare blame me for the murders I have no hand in. It's you who is the wolf. You just got the right chance to hide yourselves. I will disclose you, Nathaniel."
Samara watched in horror as her brother roared in anger.
"I will show the whole village, the real wolf which is none other than you."
Nathaniel felt the pressure of sudden doubt and didn't wait to take advantage of the scene right there. He pointed at Samuel, now narrating while holding serious expressions.
"If I am the wolf then what were you doing alone with Rodwin. Why did you run away harming the soldiers? Why didn't you reach the castle when you are so innocent?" He spoke bitterly.
"It was clear that you couldn't face the King. Besides, the evening was darkening and it was time for you to kill. You rushed into the woods and caught the first victim you saw," he explained. "Rodwin, who was way too angry at the King for taking you away since he couldn't digest that the same wasn't happening with me-he angrily went to the woods to find and kill that beast."
Nathaniel laughed, ending up scoffing loudly.
"Why do you say it's Samuel who hurt Rodwin? What about Logan and Erasmus?" asked one of the Warriors.
Nathaniel nodded quietly. "They were out to hunt the beast just like me. Erasmus is a vengeful kid. We all knows how his brother died. He spends each night wandering in the woods to kill the beast. Last night, Logan accompanied and they found Samuel yelling for help."
He looked at Samara's father, explaining him, "According to Logan, it's your son who was all well. But Rodwin, he has been clawed brutally. He was writhing in pain and had passed out. It is so doubtful how Samuel has find Rodwin and right before Logan would have find his friend."
He watched Samara's eyes roaming on the crowd nervously. He smirked, "Samuel wanted to kill Rodwin as he is the beast. But hearing Logan and Erasmus footsteps, he shifted hurriedly and displayed himself at Rodwin's saver."
"You can ask anything to your daughter," he offered. "She cannot dare object me. Because she knows I am telling the truth. Erasmus had narrated it to me, her, the seer and Lord Lester."
The Warriors exchanged a glance and nodded. "Thank you, Nathaniel. We will verify it from the lady and Rodwin's father too. But before that we want to know why you are here, early morning."
Nathaniel chuckled observing Lord Hampton's eyes on him. "I am here to give a little message to Rodwin from my father. He has allowed him two days' holidays since I told him what happened last night."
He moved his horse as to face the crowd that had formed. "Till then, ladies and gentlemen, you all decide what to do with the beast that we have caught here."
Gasps heard all around and Samara could feel herself shuddering in horror. She looked back at her brother who was glaring at Nathaniel's retreating back.
"Is it true, Lord Hampton?" asked one of the men from the crowd, stepping ahead while moving his eyes over Samuel.
Samara gulped, watching her father who seemed blank from everything that was happening. She looked at the Warriors with pleading eyes one of whom gave her an assuring nod.
"No." The Warrior yelled, "Not yet. Do not come to conclusions when the King has not, yet. We will investigate further. Until then, we are taking Samuel Hampton with us."
Samara gasped, widening her eyes. "What? No. Not again. Please, I beg you. He is not the beast. He is innocent. . ."
Her father walked towards her with his face not looking so proud as always. He caught her arms, wrapping his own around her as the Warrior had started tying Samuel's hands with the shackles.
Samara screamed, "No." Her eyes turning a pool of emotions. "Let him go. Samuel, do not give in. . ."
"Samara, let them be." Her father roared as she started moving wildly to get towards the Warriors who were taking her brother away. It didn't go unnoticed how Samuel was highly cooperating with them and his face all blank.
They sat him on her father's horse and and one of them held the chains to the shackle, as they too settled on their own horses.
"No," sobbed Samara. "Father, he is innocent. He won't kill people like this. Please, have faith in him. He is our Samuel."
Her father ignored her words and looked alarmingly at his son. Giving him a straight look, he gritted his teeth. "If you care about my head for even a bit, do not dare run away like a coward this time," he said loudly, feeling his face warming up from both humiliation and anger.
Samara gasped in disbelief.
"If you are not the beast," her father continued, "then, show it to us. Show the people. Prove yourself innocent to the King."
Samara shook her head in extreme pain as she watched her brother's eyes tearing up. Yet he didn't say anything and quietly listened along with all the neighbors.
Her father's eyes moved towards the Warriors while he kept holding Samara to himself, blocking her from running towards her brother.
"If by any chance, he is proven guilty," her father's eyes blazed on her brother again as he completed in calm tone, "Tell the King that we have no objection with any punishment they want him to suffer. Even if its death."
With no words, her brother turned around with the Warriors and was gone in the next moment.
She knew her brother couldn't even care what Nathaniel had told the crowd. But what her father said to him, had broken him. Even if he was the beast, she knew that he didn't deserve it. It wasn't his fault.
Because no soldier wished to be the beast.
It was a bite, a curse.
And fate, a little worse.
_______
Never had been taking water from the well seemed such a difficult task. But today, it was all different.
The neighbors who would smile at her, greet her, bless her-were staring at her as if she had done a crime by shedding tears for her brother. As if they really knew that her brother was the beast.
She couldn't even see Violet today and she knew, her parents might have stopped her from coming at the same time. So, she could not be seen with her.
With the sister of the man, everyone was calling the beast.
Her eyes lowered as she hurriedly filled the pot with the water. She could feel the eyes on her.
Some full of sympathy, hatred and curiosity. She didn't want to suffer this torture. In one night, everything had changed. The person she had fell for, had humiliated her, accused her brother.
She never knew that Nathaniel could be this heartless. This much vengeful.
She hated him with all her might. He had not just proved his true self to her but even showed how he could cross limits for his mean motive. He was jealous of Rodwin and to have the chance to take advantage of Samuel's arrest, he was even ready to put his head down and be a messenger to Rodwin.
She was sure, he woul have never gotten ready to do that if it wouldn't give him the return in form of Samuel's insult. So satisfying for him, she thought.
The pot had filled and so her eyes. Anytime her heart would bleed out and she won't be able to hold back the sob. Her mother didn't even know that Samuel had returned safe with her and again was arrested. Her fever was increasing and so was the blankness on her father's face.
Her own home seemed like a jail. But was at least keeping her safe from the piercing eyes of men and women who had started to believe her brother being the beast.
Wiping her eyes, she bent down to pick up the pot but before she could even pick it up, a big hand covered the mouth of the pot. Clutching it tight, the nerves were poking it out from beneath the skin. Her eyes widened slightly as her heart beats fastened feeling the familiar warmth.
Moving her head slowly up to recognize the intruder, she gasped when her eyes met a pair of grey orbs narrowing down at her.
_______
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