1Angelica and her father were amongst the first to arrive at the King's ball. Her father, who had quickly turned into the new King's loyal servant, wanted to take every chance to impress him. Getting a higher military rank didn't seem to appease his greed, so he saw to it that they arrived notably early.Walking with her arm through his, her father led her inside the party hall. Angelica was used to attending these parties because her father would force her to go with him as soon as she came of age to get married. He would introduce her to wealthy, powerful men and let them court her. All of his efforts were in vain because she would deny all of them.Tonight would probably be the same. The nagging only got worse the older she got. She was approaching her twenties, and she was neither married nor engaged."Do you want to die alone?" her father would yell. "You are lucky. If you weren't as beautiful as your mother, no one would notice you at your age."He was right. Her appearance was
A few gasps came from the guests when the man's disfigured face came on display. Thick, jagged scars covered half of his face. It looked like someone had taken a knife and deliberately cut him. It was difficult to look at him, and Angelica averted her gaze quickly.Other people stared, and some began to speak in hushed tones.The King gave permission for the party to continue and the whispers were muted by the music."Who is that?" Veronica asked.Hilde had already done her research through her father. "All six men who came in with the King are the most powerful men in the Kingdom, right after the King. They are the King's arms, eyes, and ears. I would advise you to seduce one of them," she whispered the last sentence.Vesna's eyes lit up. "They are gorgeous," she noted, looking at them with fascination until she caught sight of the scarred one. "What happened to his face?"Hilde shrugged. "No one knows, but he is known to be the fiercest fighter and strongest warrior. The many wars,
Angelica could see her friends' envious faces as she was escorted out of the party with the King. Hilde looked like she wanted to fight her. Her eyes blazed with anger and hatred. Angelica became sure that her friends would now exclude her even more from their friendship circle. They had already been jealous of her ability to attract men, but since she wasn't interested in marriage; they hadn't been worried. Now they would certainly worry.But Angelica had other things to be concerned about other than her envious friends. Things like, why the king wanted to be with her in private? What would he do? How could she escape? Or what should she say or do to make him lose interest in her?Her mind flooded with many ideas as they walked through the large halls of the castle. She was walking beside the King and two of the six men that were close to him walked behind them. One being the scarred man.Angelica could feel their dark auras surrounding her. Her brain was sending her warning signals,
Angelica felt a strange pull, a compulsion to speak the truth. "I am a woman, Your Majesty." She replied.Then she felt as if she was released by some invisible chains. The king leaned back again with a smirk. "I see that," he said. This was the first time he looked at her the way a man looked at a woman."You are wasting time." The scarred man spoke for the first time, and before she could turn to him, he was already next to her. A strong hand gripped her arm and pulled her out of the sofa with such force that she almost collided with him before she could stop herself.Her heart skipped a beat as she found her face an inch away from his chest. Before she could think of anything, he grabbed her jaw and turned her head up so she was looking at him. Those eyes sent shivers down her spine. She had never seen eyes so black that she could see her own reflection in them.His strong grip eased around her jaw, but she was too shocked to pull away from him. Was it the magnetic pull in his eyes
It was late at night when Angelica went home with her father. On her way back, she kept thinking of the strange night she had with the King. There was something different about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on, yet strangely, she did like him despite the warning signs that frightened her.Speaking of frightening, she remembered Lord Rayven's dark eyes. She could never forget the way he looked at her with such… hatred? Or was it anger? She couldn't tell, but it was very clear that he didn't like her. Angelica couldn't blame him because of how she'd reacted after seeing his face."Angelica. I don't want to see you with any other man. You have to think about your reputation now that you have the king's attention. Don't ruin your chance," her father told her when they arrived home.Angelica wanted to protest and tell him he shouldn't have left her alone with the King if he had thought of her reputation. What if the King didn't like her? Then no other man would be willing to w
The Lords were kind enough to help her find her brother. Lord Quintus was the one to talk to her, the other two were silent and just followed them."Where are we going, My Lord?" Angelica asked."I think your brother might be with His Majesty," Lord Quintus replied.Why would her brother be with the King?They took her to the parlour where the King had taken her the previous night. Just as Lord Quintus predicted, her brother was sitting with the King and they were chatting animatedly.Angelica was both surprised and confused.The King turned to them, and his eyes narrowed upon seeing her."Lady Davis came here looking for her brother," Lord Quintus explained.Her brother turned around and was surprised to see her.The King leaned back on his couch and tilted his head to one side as he looked at her.Angelica curtsied. "Your Majesty, I am sorry to disturb you this late.""Not at all. Please come and sit." He motioned toward the sofa next to him.Angelica didn't know why she looked over
Angelica walked behind Lord Rayven as he led them outside the castle. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he didn't want to escort them anywhere. She hated to bother someone who didn't want to help her at all.Her brother left her side before she could stop him and went to walk beside Lord Rayven. He looked tiny next to him. Lord Rayven was a bit taller than what she considered tall, with wide shoulders and muscular arms. She could imagine his strength just from the way he strolled, like he could walk over and destroy anything that blocked his way. His tall legs made one step as long as two of hers.Despite his big frame, he moved with the same elegance as the other Lords. It was as if he glided across the floor."My Lord. I want to become a fierce warrior like you." Her brother told him, almost jogging next to him to keep up.Angelica held her breath in fear, waiting to see what Lord Rayven would say. When he ignored her brother and kept walking, she felt even more nervou
Angelica sat in her bed and watched the fire on the hearth while her thoughts drifted away. She kept repeating Lord Rayven's voice in her head, wondering why it sounded familiar.Why did it feel like she had heard his voice before when she was sure she had never seen him speak?She wouldn't forget such a voice so easily. It was deep and husky and pleasant to the ears. But the underlying threat and danger in his tone made her shiver.She had watched him ride away on his horse into the darkness of the night. Something about him evoked many questions in her head. Who was he really? But most importantly, why did she care?Putting aside the book that she hadn't been reading, she lay down to sleep. She had already waited long enough for her father to come home, and now her eyes refused to stay open. Soon after, she fell into slumber.A loud voice woke her up early in the morning. Angelica felt relieved when she heard that it was her father who came home. He was loud, yelling and cursing, ma
Undress?Angelica's mind wandered away, going anywhere but this place she was in. She thought of her mother and the life she had wished for her. She thought of her greedy father. Even he wouldn't want her to be in this situation and lastly, she thought of her brother. What would he think of this? What would he think of what she had become? She had fought hard for him and herself. But this wasn't the kind of fighting she wanted to do. She didn't want to endure this every day, selfish as it might sound. She knew leaving this place could be more dangerous and possibly lead to her death, leaving her brother completely alone. But she couldn't stop herself from being selfish. She couldn't stop herself from wanting something more and not surrendering to this. Turning her gaze she looked at the man in front of her who seemed to be losing his patience when she did nothing. "It will be easier for you if we get along, Angel." He said. Angel? She became nauseous at the way it sounded coming
After breathing in some fresh air, Angelica went back inside. She followed the sound of the women chattering and came to a room where a few women sat at a table, eating food. Her eyes searched for Valeria but she wasn't there. The only other person she recognized was Mina. "Angelica," she smiled and waved when she saw her. "Come in." All the other women looked her way as she hesitantly stepped into the room. The smell of food made her stomach growl. "This is Angelica ladies," Mina told the other women and then patted on the seat next to her. Angelica went to sit down while feeling everyone's eyes on her. It was very quiet as she sat down but soon the chattering started again. Some of the women sitting closer to the table introduced themselves and then they were curious about her and began to ask a lot of questions. Questions like how she got here, how she kept her hair and skin looking beautiful, how life was as a noble lady, and much more. Angelica patiently answered all of thei
After crying the rest of the evening and then pitying herself the first half of the night, Angelica began to do some thinking on the second half. At first, she kept thinking and imagining what would happen from here on. She became more and more scared the more she thought about it. Then she began to think about what she could do to get through this. But how would she know if she didn't exactly know what she would have to get through? And lastly, she thought of good reasons to accept her fate, when she was tired of looking for other solutions that didn't exist, worrying, and being scared.Here she would have shelter and food, be able to pay her father's debt off quicker, and maybe even save some money for William. But how would her reputation now affect him? It was enough that he was a traitor's son, now he was a ….She couldn't bring herself to say the word. She ruined things for him. All this time she tried to protect him but she ended up here instead. Removing the sheets away from
"Where are you taking me?" Angelica asked. "I am sure you know since you tried to run away." Said the man sitting to her left and holding the dagger. "I don't want to." She said. The man nodded. "I can see that. It is hard to accept but you will get used to it." Used to it? The man sitting across from her studied her face and let his gaze rake her body. "You would make a lot of money." He said as if that should be some kind of consolation. "A lot." The other one emphasized. The one with the dagger nodded again. "You will do well, Angelica. You won't even have to try. In no time you will be able to pay back Lord Green." He told her. These men...she couldn't believe it. They were talking so casually about it as if she was just going to do any other kind of work. Perhaps it was any other kind of work for them. Angelica shook her head, feeling the tears burn her eyes. She was not going to cry in front of these men. No! But the tears fought against her and one fell slowly down he
A week passed since Angelica came to Lord Greens' house. The chores became easier the more she learned, and she became close with the other maids. She was surprised by how much she could learn in such a short amount of time and she somehow enjoyed doing work. It didn't feel like she was wasting her day trying to figure out what to do or how to spend the rest of her day. The only thing she missed was her books and the thing she would probably never miss was her fancy dresses that crushed her ribs. And of course, she missed her brother the most. She wondered how he was doing? Angelica thought of trying to find a way to send him a letter and let him know she was alright. She wanted to know how he was doing. Was he eating well? Sleeping well? Were people being very harsh to him? The coffee almost boiled over while she was lost in thought. She quickly removed it from the fire and poured it in a cup to take it to Lord Green. He always liked to have a cup of coffee every afternoon. Lord G
Angelica sat near the window and stared at the horizon watching the sunset. The women dying in her town seemed to stop for some time and then start again. She didn't only have the townspeople to worry about now, but also a killer roaming free and killing women of her age. She wasn't safe anywhere. Hopefully, soon she would be married and move to the other side of the town, where Lord Scott lived. Natasha would let him know she agreed to the marriage. The door to the room was opened after a knock and Natasha stepped inside. She had a frown on her face. "Sir Shaw is here looking for you," she said. Sir Shaw? Why could he be looking for her? Did he perhaps change his mind? Angelica left her window to go see why he was here. When she arrived at the parlor she saw that he wasn't alone. He came with another man. Angelica had seen the man somewhere but she couldn't recall exactly where. Perhaps she had seen him with her father? The man introduced himself as Lord Green. He was a busin
Natasha showed Angelica to a nicely decorated room where she could stay until she met her suitor, which she had arranged. Only now did she realize how terrified she was of meeting the man that could be her future husband if things went as planned. "Don't worry about your brother. Both our fathers have been to military camps. It has its benefits," Natasha told her. Angelica knew that already. She knew the other boys would give her brother a hard time but at least there he would have food and shelter and he would be alive. Her heart broke thinking she had to choose between those things for her brother. "I know. Thank you." Angelica smiled. "Alright. I will let you rest so you can impress Lord Scott tomorrow." She gave her a smile before closing the door to the room behind her. Once Natasha was out of sight, Angelica could finally breathe. She went to sit on the well-made bed and tried to calm down. Suddenly, her stomach was filled with dozens of butterflies that stabbed her like be
"What are you doing?!" Rayven asked Skender. Why did he take the boy away from his sister? "I couldn't just do nothing," Skender said. "And you thought of going there personally to bring him? Don't you know that the shades are out there? You could have put them in danger." Skender's eyes widened at his sudden anger and Rayven realized he was worked up again because of the boy and his sister. He took a deep breath. He wouldn't have been so agitated had he not known William's secret. The shades were looking for him. Any wrong move and the boy would be in danger. But why was he caring again? He swore not to. "What is your problem, Rayven? When I don't act you get angry and now when I am doing something you get angry too." Rayven could see Lazarus standing at the entrance with a knowing smirk on his face. "William will be safe in the military camp and I made it seem like a punishment and not that I was doing them any favor," Skender explained then picked up his glass to drink his
As promised, Natasha kept sending her butler or her maid to deliver food to her home. Angelica was grateful as things got even more difficult in the past week. Letters written by her father were found that proved his treason. He was trying to reach the king of their neighboring kingdom, exposing their own kingdoms strategies and weaknesses. Her father wanted the king of Crezia to take over their kingdom, Kraghorn. Now people despised him not understanding how he could betray not only his King, but his own people and Kingdom as well. Angelica wasn't surprised anymore. Her father probably made a deal with the king of Crezia to get something in return for giving him the secrets to their kingdom. He had a plan for everything except he failed at the end. Thomas and Eva got attacked several times when they went outside, all because they worked for her. Angelica cried when Eva came covered in dirt one day because a few stupid people had pushed her into mud and threw things at her. And the