3

~Brielle 

By the time we made it to the island, my stomach was so queasy, I started to doubt if I could stand or not. 

I stayed hidden, hearing keen, as I patiently wait for the captain to leave the boat, and anyone else on the docks had dispersed. When everything sounded still, I made my move, forcing my stiff limbs into submission. I almost fall on my face, as I crawl across the boards, removing myself from when I had been hunched the entire journey. 

The breeze off the lake hits me the moment I hobble to my feet. It chills me right through my clothes, but it snaps my mind back into reality. I need to get off this boat, and find a way onto the island.

And most importantly, not get caught. 

The boat and the docks are empty, as far as I can see. Darkness stretches over everything, however, the moon lights up enough to compromise my position. It doesn’t seem as though anyone is watching, so tentatively, I place my first foot onto the wooden dock. 

I don’t waste any time. I’m up and out of the boat as quickly as I can, tucking my jacket over my torso as I jog up toward the main building. 

I avoid going near the main building, where the staff will surely be closing up for the night, letting the captain and other crew out to go home. So instead, I wander around the side, trying to find an exit. I can already imagine how bustling this place would be during the day. That is, if many people actually live on this island…

I’ve never met someone who has been on the island. The only people who leave seem to  be crew getting supplies for the Alpha. 

I’m holding onto hope Raven wasn’t lying about a job here.

Creeping around the building, I spot low lamp lights that flank a path that leads up the side of a mountain. The mountain I have looked at and wondered about for many years. The light allows me to catch sight of what the building looks like. And I’m surprised to see it’s an entire spectacle. 

I hadn’t realised, but there didn’t seem to be a roof, just a drape coloured a deep purple and a glistening gold, that almost seems silver under the moonlight. It’s stunning, and foreign compared to the bland port we had back on the mainland. 

I don’t pay too much attention to it, sure I’ll see it when I’m escorted back to the mainland once I’ve been caught. 

The moment I start the trek up the mountain, I instantly realise how I underestimated how long it would take to make it up. The path has turned into a swirling set of stairs, concrete slabs etched into the ground and covered in a layer of thick grass. 

At least, as I take each step at a time, I can admire the view.

The moon reflects it’s beam across the surface of the lake, alighting it in a mix of silver and blue. In contrast, the horizon is glowing in a brilliant golden mass, each village becoming its own by the lights of every citizen. 

By the time I reach the top of the hill, I could swear the sun was about to rise. My legs ached, my head throbbed and I became in desperate need of a drink of water. But once my feet touched the front lawn of the estate, right at the top of the hill, I realised that this might not be so bad. Especially not if this is where I’ll be working. 

The formal lawn is lit by multiple lights, showing off the manicured green, which leads to a fountain close to the manor. The clear water glistens under the light, sparkling as it gently hits the surface of the water. 

I was just about to make my first step toward, when someone grabbed my arm. “Who are you?”

Flinching, a curse comes out of my mouth that is enough to startle them, and me. Placing my hand on my chest, I turn around, seeing where the voice came from. 

It’s a girl who stands there, a confused expression on her face, holding a lantern up. The mellow burning light flutters across her face, stormy blue eyes skeptical. Whoever she is, she looks as though she works here, wearing nothing but loose brown pants and a shirt. It is beyond me how she isn’t cold right now.

“You came from the docks, didn’t you?” she questions flatly, raising an eyebrow as a warning. Don’t lie to me she seems to say. She’s just under my height, and doesn’t look much younger than me, but I’m not about to cross her now. 

“I did.”

“Of course you did,” she says with a sigh, brushing past me. 

I watch her away, across the green lawn, toward the building, holding her lantern in front of her. Standing there dumbfounded, I have to wonder who she is. Her strawberry blonde hair has been twisted up into a knot on her head. She definitely works here, no doubt about that. 

When she notices I’m not following her, she pauses, glancing over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”

“Where are you going?” I question, quickening my pace to walk beside her. “I mean, I assume you’re going to the estate. What I should have said, is where did you come from?”

“I saw you walking up the hill after I was sent down to do a round of the docks,” she replies. 

I’m fascinated, but I don’t want to ask too many questions to bother her. She looks like she has a lot on her plate as it is. At least she is giving me some answers right now. This stranger might just be my entry ticket into Ren’s estate. Hopefully, without being caught by him. 

“I’m Rose by the way,” she says, leading me toward the side of Ren’s manor, rather than the front. It must be a servants entrance. If that’s what they are called here. I feel as though it would be rude to ask Rose. 

“Brielle.”

My eyes wander to the state of Ren’s manor as we walk. It truly is beautiful, like nothing I’ve seen before. Artists on the street used to attempt to paint the estate upon rumours they had heard from fired crew. However, I can now see none of them came close to encapsulating how stunning it is. Like a true, magnificent lake side villa standing above anything else on this island. 

“Do you work here?” I ask her, as she leads me around the other side of the building, shadowed by a cool darkness. 

She nods. “Have done for three years now.”

“How come you’re being so kind?” I ask, watching her stop to unlock a set of double wooden doors, while she mutters something about a useless cook closing up too early. “I’m just a stranger who showed up on this island. You don’t even really know who I am, Rose.”

“I know your name is Brielle. Plus, if you wanted on this island, you needed a job. That’s how it’s been for awhile,” she tells me, motioning for me to step inside. “We all had the same beginning. Would have been nice if someone gave me a helping hand in the beginning.”

Smiling slightly, I do as she offers, stepping inside the room. I’m immediately enveloped by warmth, which I attribute to the ovens on the other side burning through ash wood. 

“Everyone is asleep. It never looks this clean, nor quiet during the day.”

It’s a kitchen, on the lowest floor. Everything wiped clean, benches bare and sinks empty. It’s pristine, but I’m more concerned about what might be on the other side of that door over there. 

“There’s a sleeping quarters down another flight of stairs. Luckily for you, there is more than one spare bed. It seems we are having quite a shortage of helping hands around here. Doesn’t matter how much salary Ren gives them, for whatever reason, they don’t stick around,” Rose tells me with dismay, leading me out the room.

We are in a hallway, the flight of stairs she mentioned to our left. 

“Does anyone ever get to see the Alpha?” I ask curiously. It’s not something I want, in particular, I just want to make sure he doesn’t run into me when I’m looking at my worse. Especially when I want a paycheck worth enough for me to get out of here.

Rose looks at me as if I just placed a curse upon her family. “I truly hope you’re not one of those foolish girls who come here thinking they might have the Alpha fall in love with them. You’re most likely to never see him. I can tell you that much.”

“Why not?”

“He keeps to himself. Unless you’ve worked here for over ten years, you won’t step foot inside his quarters. Those who do go in, never speak a word about him,” Rose explains.

I let that sink in, as we trot down the stairs, into a communal sleeping area. There are a few figures tucked into beds, none stirring, ever as Rose continues to speak. It will become something I will have to get used to, surely. 

Rose grabs my arm, getting me to face her. “Seriously, don’t go anywhere near him. If the rumours serve to be true, you’d be foolish to do so.”

Before I can ask what those rumours entail, she points to a bed, and leaves me be.