It had already been over a year since Autumn had been named the Prince's future wife. In a couple of days we would be heading out to the Capitol so that they could conduct their official courtship under the judging eyes of the nobility. I laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking through all the possibilities.
Ugh, it's all too tiring.
The only benefit I had was knowing the future thanks to my all powerful author knowledge. Of course, I had already changed part of the story by changing Katrina's character, but judging by what happened at Autumn's birthday party, there was a concern that no matter what I did, the main plot would continue along the predicted pathway. If this were the book, Katrina would be planning to contact the Duchess Savalle, who was the second cousin of the current king. She hated Autumn almost as much as book Katrina did, and when the foolish servant girl offered to team up, the Duchess had no qualms about using her to attack the protagonist relentlessly.
My eyes closed slowly as weariness overtook me. Now of course I had no plans to contact the Duchess; that woman was scary (I should know, I designed her that way)! However, I was sure even without me getting involved she would find another scapegoat and the plot would continue as planned.
Yep, everything would proceed just as expected.
That was when a large hand clapped down on my mouth.
ARGH!
I instinctively struck out and heard a muffled cry as what felt like a nose crumpled under my fist. Desperately I grabbed an attacker's hand and twisted it, feeling and hearing the bone crack with a sense of savage satisfaction. Another attacker grabbed my arm and pulled it behind my back. I responded by kicking him in the crotch. I freed myself, cursing my lack of weapons. I promised myself from that night forward, I would sleep with at least a knife at all times.
Just as I was jumping up and looking for my knives however, I felt the prick of a needle at my neck. My consciousness faded, but before darkness overcame me, I obsessed over a single unwavering thought:
This hadn't happened in the book!
I woke up in a cold room, shivering. I didn't recognize my surroundings, but quickly clued into a few important details:
First, I was tied up. My hands and feet were bound with black cords that seemed unnatural. On closer inspection it was clear they were physical type magic restraints. Being specialized in internal magic, there was little I could do against a spell like this.
Second, I was not alone. About fifteen men stood against the walls, dressed up as bandits. I recognized a few that had attacked me in my room before I was knocked out. I thought back to how I had broken the first assailant's nose and wrist and smiled happily to myself.
Well, even if they kill me, at least I made it painful for them.
It was a grim thought, but considering how far the plot had gone off course, I had no advantages anymore. I wished I had kept to the main plot better. At least then I would know where I was.
"Miss Katrina, I'm so happy you could join us." A cool feminine voice called out, startling me. I looked up to see an older woman in a noble dress, wearing a black silk mask over the top half of her face. Despite her attempt at disguise, with her dark red hair and grey eyes, plus given the threatening situation I found myself in, it was easy to guess whose clutches I had fallen into:
Duchess Savalle.
In the book she was a scheming noblewoman, who plotted against the Prince and Autumn to secure the throne for her son, William Savalle. Katrina teams up with her, foolishly thinking that her only goal is to get rid of Autumn, but instead is used and cast aside by the Duchess. But why had she kidnapped me? Obviously I needed to play it cool.
"Who are you?" I tried to sound frightened. It was less fake than I wanted it to be.
"My name is not your concern. For now, you may consider me an ally." She paused dramatically, as if expecting a reaction. Not wanting to piss her off, I nodded.
"I will help you dispose of that awful girl who sank her claws into the beloved Prince." She smiled at me, but it seemed more like she was baring her teeth. "Then when he is free of her influence, I will help you win his heart over like you've always dreamt of."
"..."
Pardon? Since when have I dreamt of winning the prince's heart? I mean he's good looking of course, but he doesn't hold a candle to James... oh yeah, she's thinking of old Katrina.
I had forgotten that since I refused to correct my image to the outside world, those outside of our household all still viewed me as a brash, foolish girl who coveted the prince. Ugh. Even though it was embarrassing, I decided to go along with it. I widened my eyes, fluttered my eyelashes, and pitched my voice a little higher into my best "stupid noble girl" impression.
"Really? You'll help me get rid of that witch?" I pouted, cringing internally. "That horrible woman must have put a spell on him! Otherwise how else would the handsome and wonderful Prince Coron choose a woman like her?! Especially when a beauty like me is walking about! He didn't even look at me last time! It's all her fault!" With that last screech I ended, pretending to look put out. I was worried my performance might have been a touch overdone, but when I glanced at the Duchess she seemed fairly convinced. Thank goodness for my bad reputation.
The woman in front of me smiled. "Good, then we have a deal. I want you to spy on the girl, report her every movement. When the time is right to act, I will send you further instructions."
I nodded in agreement. "As long as it helps me destroy that fake woman, then I'll do it."
"Excellent." She chuckled, an ominous sound.
"Umm... so can I go back now? I don't want them to miss me and suspect something."
At my words she seemed to glance off to the side as if looking for permission. Who would she be looking at though? Her husband was dead, her only family was her son William, the benefactor of all her schemes.
William was actually the final boss type villain in my series, but I kept him in the shadows until the very last book. I had received some criticism for not introducing him sooner, but I didn't want to risk his mysterious atmosphere. But since he didn't appear until late, I shouldn't have to worry about seeing him...
"One moment."
Well crap.
A young man stepped out, a villain from head to toe in his dark clothes, black mask and sinister aura. His long dark hair was pulled back, and his dark eyes were not as distinctive in the dim light of the torches in the room as they would be in the sunlight. Still, his gaze seemed to pierce through me, as if he already knew everything I was hiding, and found it amusing. I felt myself break out in a cold sweat and my heartbeat rose with each step closer he took.
Finally he stopped just inches away, bound at my hands and feet, all I could do was kneel, despite my embarrassment and rage I found myself trapped in that position before him. I stared resolutely at the ground, refusing to meet his gaze. There was breath after breath of overwhelming silence.
"You hurt some of my men." It was not a question. His voice was so cold it was painful to hear. Focusing on my words so as not to freeze with fear, I answered calmly.
"That much injury is to be expected when you break into a girl's room without an invitation."
I worried I had made a mistake in answering too forcefully. That wasn't quite the line that they would expect from my character. Hopefully they wouldn't notice! After a few more moments of silence, I felt an ice cold hand grip my chin, forcing me to look up. His eyes behind his mask captured mine and held my gaze, unconsciously I shivered with fear. He looked at me the way a scientist looks at a rat in a maze.
"Interesting."
Without another word he turned and walked away. Freed, I collapsed to the ground and hugged my chest tightly. This was not in the book. Things had changed.
I was scared.
They returned me home, promising to contact me soon with a plan. I waited a few minutes, making sure they had left the building before getting up and heading towards the rooms where James and his group were staying. Not wanting to get mistaken for an intruder, I cast a quick internal message spell. A small,white light passed from my hand, flying towards his room. I had imbued it with a simple message which he would hear once the light came in contact with him:
"We need to talk. I'm on my way."
By the time I arrived he was awake, albeit a bit ruffled and bleary eyed. His expression was concerned and I noticed he had strapped his sword on.
"Katrina! Are you okay? What's wrong?"
He walked around me quickly, as if assessing for injuries, and let out a loud sigh of relief as he found me relatively intact.
"I've just been hired by the Duchess of Savalle to be a spy."
"..." James stared at me in shock, before slowly responding "Perhaps... you should start at the beginning."
I told him what happened from the kidnapping to meeting the duchess.
When I mentioned being drugged, he stepped forward, reached out and gently turned my head to the side. I felt the light touch of his finger over the bruise on my neck where the needle had been inserted. My brain quickly overloaded from the contact and how near he was. I shivered and pulled back a little. He continued to stare at the spot, his face dark. His normal calm atmosphere had disappeared, in its place was an aura of rage and barely restrained violence. I looked in his eyes and felt my gaze shy away. For a moment I didn't recognize him and it scared me.
I put my hand on James' arm, forcing him to look me back in the eyes.
"Hey, I'm fine. I made it out in one piece, so don't look like that."
His eyes held mine, his expression unreadable.
"Look like what?" He asked softly.
"Like you're going to kill someone."
"Tell me the rest."
I uneasily noticed that he didn't deny anything, but continued with my story anyways. James raised an eyebrow at the name of Duchess Savalle.
"She showed her face?"
"No, but it was fairly obvious given her overall appearance, demeanor and motivation." He nodded at that, convinced.
I hesitated once I reached the portion about William. Again I felt the light touch of his hand on my face.
"He frightened you?"
I nodded slowly. "There's something very wrong about him. I can't describe it well."
Shuddering, I hugged myself tightly and looked away. "I would really like to avoid seeing him again."
"I would be happy if that were the case."
"Well on the bright side, we now have an inside source on the main competition. If they try to do anything to His Highness or Autumn, I should be in a position to interfere." I smiled, trying to dispel the gloomy atmosphere.
He didn't smile back. "Maybe this is too dangerous."
"It's fine, they think I'm an idiot anyways. I'll be careful."
He didn't look convinced but I wished him goodnight and headed back before he had a chance to argue. Hopefully he would take the time alone to cool off.
It wasn't until a couple weeks later when I heard rumors of a group of men dressed as bandits being massacred by an unknown magician that I regretted leaving him alone.