Why did she have to come here at this time? Her eyes burned like blue flames into his. "Release him at once." She said.
And so he did. The man almost fell down but stayed hidden behind the counter.Rayven was in shock.Did he just obey her orders?Pretending like he did no such thing, he adjusted himself while Angelica went to help the seller get up on his feet."Are you alright, Sir?""Yes. Thank you, My Lady."Turning to him, she gave him a stern look. Rayven ignored her and picked up his books before walking past her maid, who looked like she had seen a ghost. When he was outside the shop, he went to his horse that was tied to a tree nearby."Lord Rayven."He almost groaned. Why was she following him? He kept pretending as if she didn't exist and began to pack his books into the bag that hung from the saddle.She was quiet for a moment that he had to glance her way to see what she was doing. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and he could hear her heart beat a little faster."Did you get your book back?" She asked."Yes.""Did you get a chance to read it?"He stopped packing and gazed at her. "Yes. I read your silly poems. And I thought mine were terrible."She smiled. "I know. I am not as skilled as you. I tried."Why was she smiling?Annoyed, he kept packing, but all the books refused to fit into the back. He bought too much."Maybe you can give me some advice on how to better myself." She said.And she kept talking. Why pester him?Unable to pack the rest, he decided to give her some advice so she could leave him alone, once and for all.Holding the rest of the books in his arm, he took a step closer and looked down at her. "There is one thing you can do." He said, and she looked up at him curiously. "Don't write poems."****Angelica knew he was trying to be mean. Her poems couldn't have been that terrible, but the fact that he remained just as mean as before she knew they couldn't have been good either.Holding the rest of his books, he climbed onto his horse. Angelica stepped back, and he rode away without saying goodbye.Eva, who had been watching in horror, rushed to her side. "My Lady, you worry me. Why do you keep talking to him?"Yes. Why?She wasn't sure. Something about him irked her both in a good and a bad way. People feared what they didn't understand, but she became curious if she couldn't understand something. She liked to solve mysteries and Lord Rayven was one.After going back into the bookshop and buying a few books, she went back home. Back to her nonexciting daily life. She spent most of her day knitting or reading a book. Then she gave up and decided to find a way to bribe her father to allow her to follow her dreams. She wanted to open a small school for girls where she could teach them how to read and write.Money wasn't the problem. She could sell her jewelry and expensive dresses, but as a woman, she could not use the money to buy land and build a school. She needed a trustee to legally buy the land.Going downstairs, she made her way to her father's study. When she neared the door, she heard a few voices before she could knock. It seemed like her father had guests, so Angelica decided to come back some other time when she heard the voices speak about the king.She halted and strained her ears. When she became sure that they were speaking about the king, she tiptoed closer to the door and put her ear next to it.Angelica couldn't hear what they were saying clearly but the few words and sentences she picked up alarmed her. They were talking about attacking. The castle? The King?She panicked. Her father was still conspiring against the king. Despite her warnings, he was still doing what he wanted, not thinking of the consequences William and she would face. Feeling her heart sink and losing all hope of bringing her family together, she took a step back.What would she do now? She could talk to him again, but why would he listen this time? He had made his choice already. She didn't want to think about what she would have to do if her father insisted on proceeding with his plan.Angelica looked around desperately. Who could she talk to about this? Who could she confide in, who would help her?Hearing the voices get closer to the door, she hurried and hid behind the corner of the hall. She peeked from behind the wall.Three men came out of her father's study. They spoke about meeting the day after before the final execution.Final? Would they take action tomorrow?Angelica waited for her father's guests to leave before she came out of her hiding. She went to confront her father, and he was a bit shocked when he realized she had eavesdropped on his conversation."What are you doing tomorrow?" she asked."It is inappropriate to…""Don't change the subject! What are you going to do?" she demanded.He took a deep breath. "I am going to do what is necessary.""Despite knowing the consequences it might have?" She asked."Angelica, I know you are worried, but I have strong and clever people by my side. I will free our kingdom and come back home safe. It is my duty to protect the people of this kingdom." He spoke calmly, changing from this person who only cared about himself and his wealth to someone who cared about the entire kingdom.Or maybe he was only trying to make himself a hero who saved the kingdom from the "evil King"."What about your duty as a father?""I am doing my duty as a father. I am restoring our kingdom so that you and your brother live in a better world."What scared Angelica the most was that he seemed to believe his own words. He was so convinced that he was going to save the world."What if you fail? What if something goes wrong? Did you think of what might happen to you and to me and William?" She was gradually raising her voice."Nothing will go wrong. I have planned this for two months now. I made sure everything goes perfectly as planned. I am the chief commander of the Royal army. I know everything about the castle's defences and the ways through the castle." He lowered his voice.Oh, Lord. She was not going to be able to convince him. She would have to use threats."Father, you leave me no choice but to do what I need to do to protect myself and William.""What will you do?" He asked. "Will you tell the King that your own father is trying to kill him?" His lips curved into a smirk."Yes. If I expose you, the king will at least know that I wasn't part of your plan.""You wouldn't do that." He said, shaking his head."Yes, I would. Have you seen me hesitate to protect William?" Angelica asked.Her father nodded with the corners of his mouth tilted down. "Then you leave me no choice." He said. "Thomas!"Angelica became confused. Why was he calling their butler? She was about to look around when two strong arms grabbed hers from behind. Looking behind her Angelica realized it was their butler, Thomas.She was shocked. "Did you know this?""I am sorry, My Lady." He said, pinning her arms behind her back and dragging her away.Angelica struggled to free herself. "Let go of me."Unable to hold her still, he chose to put his arm around her waist and carry her instead. "Where are you taking me?"He was going toward the basement. Oh, no."You do not mean to lock me in there?" She was shocked.She tried to free herself again, clawing at his hands and trying to kick, but that didn't faze him. When they were in the basement, he threw her on an old mattress lying on the ground, then hurried to close the door behind him before she could chase after him.Angelica was in shock. What just happened? Did her father just lock her in the basement?"You can kill him." Skender finally gave his approval to kill Lord Davis. He called Lazarus and Acheron to his room and appointed them to do it discreetly. Perhaps the problem could still be solved if more words didn't reach the public yet. Lazarus could see that Skender was torn about his decision but there was no other way than killing Lord Davis at this moment, since he was planning to attack the castle tonight. "We will take care of it," Acheron said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Lazarus gave him a nod, and they both left Skender behind. They walked into the darkness of the night, moving toward the camp where Lord Davis and his men were preparing for their mission. "It has been some time since we were sent on a mission." Acheron said. "I miss it," Lazarus replied, feeling excitement pump in his veins.But these were humans, and they would probably be done in no time. Lazarus wished they were facing other creatures. "I wished Skender would cause more mishaps so we would
Angelica had no chance of escaping. In the basement, there was only one small window, through which sunlight came in. But even if she could escape, what would she actually do?Her father was right when he laughed at her threat. It would be dangerous and foolish to go to the King to expose her own father, that is, if she even could bring herself to do that. How could she be the cause of her father's death and for what purpose? To be a woman alone in this world? Without a man, there was almost nothing she could do. Especially if she exposed her father as a traitor. Her world would crumble. There was also no guarantee that the King would believe her and suspicion alone could lead to her execution. It was also not rare for a King to execute the traitor with his family members, especially the males to eliminate any threat of them wanting revenge in the future. She could put her brother in danger even if she didn't think that Skender was that kind of King. She wouldn't gamble with her br
Angelica wished the night was longer so she could sleep the pain away, but the morning had already arrived with the promise of the dreadful day ahead of her. The first thing she noticed when she awoke was that her brother was no longer in her bed. Sitting up, she rubbed her swollen eyes that she could barely open. Her eyelids felt heavy and her throat was dry. A light knock made her turn to the door. Eva walked inside with a tray in her hand. "Good morning, My Lady." She greeted and then came to place the tray on the bedstand next to her. Then she remained standing there. "My Lady," she looked down at her hands which she rubbed together. "I am truly sorry. I wish I had the courage to defy your father and come to release you.""It's alright Eva. What happened has already happened and I don't blame you." Angelica said. "I wish to take care of you. Please allow me." Angelica nodded. "Thank you, My Lady. Shall I help you get dressed?" "Yes, please." Eva picked a dress for her and
Rayven was surprised to see William coming to the training. He had thought he would take the day off after the tragic event with his father. He wondered how much he knew about his father's death. They had to compel a few soldiers to believe they had found him dead and deliver the corpse to their home. Skender wanted them to give them the chance to bury their father. Humans grieve when they lose someone. Rayven didn't know what it felt like to lose someone. Only something. He never had close people in his life that he cared enough about or that cared enough about him. He has only ever loved himself. Only cared about himself. He was the definition of selfish. He couldn't remember ever complimenting someone, consoling someone or just simply helping someone. That was the kind of person he was. Now he just looked at William, not knowing what to say. But why did he feel like saying something? William was training as usual. Rayven couldn't detect any emotion he knew as grief or sadness.
Skender was on his way to his room when he came across Rayven. The demon pushed past him causing their shoulders to collide without looking at him."Rayven." Skender stopped him. Rayven turned around looking annoyed. He gave him a 'what now?' look. "Do you have a problem?" Skender asked. "Use your tongue." "I am more of an action person." Rayven retorted. The demon definitely had a problem with him. He couldn't blame him. Things always turned left when he was finally going right. That was with everything in his life. "You know I didn't want you to get punished instead of me." Skender said. "What you want, need or think are of no importance to me. Only what you do." Skender nodded. "I am trying. We are all being punished and if you didn't know I am being punished for being negligent when I am suddenly given all these responsibilities."Rayven placed his hands in his pocket and tilted his head. "Should I feel bad for you?" Skender smiled. The demon never changed. Always rude and
Yet again Lord Rayven had brought William home. Angelica had thought he would say a few words of condolences but she clearly she had been expecting too much. Before she could even see him, he rode away, and she only saw the back of him on his horse, as he disappeared into the horizon. A few kind words wouldn't hurt, Lord Rayven she thought to herself. Could he be angry with her because of her father? He had known about her father's plan for sometime now. Maybe that was why he hated her all along. "Why did Lord Rayven bring you home?" She asked her brother when they got into bed. "I think he feels bad for me." He replied. He does? This was the second time she thought Lord Rayven favored her brother, and she didn't mind. In fact, she loved that the rude man was not rude to her brother. "What was Sir Shaw doing here?" Angelica decided to tell her brother straight what she was planning on doing. "I think Sir Shaw will take good care of us." She said. William frowned and his lips
Rayven was once again surprised to see William coming to the training after the rumors that circulated about his father. This boy and his sister never failed to amaze him.As soon as he arrived the other boys began to whisper and then one called him a traitor's son. William ignored them and went to pick up his wooden sword to start his training but no one wanted to fight him. "You." Rayven pointed at the boy who called him a traitor. "Fight him." He ordered. "Yes, my Lord!" He said but cursed inwardly. William took a steady grip around his sword ready to fight the boy and Rayven leaned back against the tree to watch the beating. It was more satisfying than he expected. William seemed much stronger than usual and Rayven knew all too well that the strength came from the anger inside. He knew that look in Williams' eyes. One could say he taught the boy a lesson and he would never be called a traitor's son by the boys again. But someone's parents would come here tomorrow and this time
In black I dressed With sorrow deep in my chestIt held onto my soul Slowly building a nestLike a bird it sings Every morning when I wakeBringing back the pain that stingsAnd makes my heart breakAngelica put the pen down after writing the poem. She placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was still bleeding but writing down a few words helped a little. Now she understood why Lord Rayven wrote so many poems. She blew the candle and went back to bed. Hopefully now with her heart a little less heavy she could sleep. She would force herself to enjoy this moment before she woke up to another nightmare. She knew things would only get worse from here on. When the morning came sooner than she hoped she went down to have breakfast. William was seated at the table and was only eating fruits. "You don't want breakfast?" she asked as she sat down. "I guess there won't be any breakfast for us for a while." He said. She frowned.Eva came to the table and served her tea. "My Lady. No one