All Chapters of Flight of the cardinal: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

49 Chapters

Chapter 1

I heard the jingle of the keys before my bedroom door unlocked. This only meant that my workday was starting. The hauntingly black figure of the head maid appeared in the still black shadows of early morning and threw a burnt piece of bread at my feet, which would serve as breakfast. The maids’ and servants’ corners were in the north wing of High Hill Estate. The estate currently housed Duke Kestrel and his family. After the uprising, ten years prior, they were moved here to oversee governing the capital of Airedah—Seagull’s Bay. I grabbed the bread quickly before rats could spot it and immediately ate it to satisfy the rumbling in my belly. I would later have any leftover scraps from the duke’s breakfast. My day started around four in the morning, so this little piece of bread would have to carry me until then. I tried to savour it, but my hunger compelled me to shove it in my mouth and eat it promptly. I snatched my black maid’s garment from the small wooden peg near my bed and

Last Updated : 2021-08-14

Chapter 2

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

I took a step back, biting my lips to quell the still-growing unease I felt when I looked inside the room, and a sound caught my attention. It was the creaking of a door at the far end of the hallway. I took that as my cue to leave and resume my work.Following the sound, I peered under my bonnet, and I noticed Maud coming out of one of the guest rooms. She seemed surprised to see me and quickly dashed around the corner with a squeak, disappearing from sight. Her reaction puzzled me, but I was also on edge from being on this floor, especially after smelling whatever was behind the wooden door.Suddenly, I felt a heat emanating from behind my back and heard a hot whisper close to my right ear, which took me by surprise. It was so sudden and unexpected that I jumped.“You…” The voice was husky and also made me shiver in all the right places.I spun around hastily, my heart racing as I came face to face with a half-naked man. At that moment, Maud’s sudden departure made sense to me. She h

Last Updated : 2021-08-14

Chapter 3

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

With Lord Alexander’s sudden kiss lingering over my still-tingling lips, I bolted toward the servant’s stairs hidden behind the painting and almost hit Maud. She had a fear-stricken face, but her gaze softened a bit upon seeing me.Was she waiting for me to return?“Are you okay?” she asked, skittish.Her eyes looked up and down to see if I was well. I also saw her glance at my back to see if someone was following me.Was I okay? I wasn’t sure.I grabbed her black sleeve, dragged her with me within the confines of the secret stairs, and let out a deep breath I was keeping inside until I was sure to be safe behind the closed door.I held myself up with the unfinished wall and searched her face, hoping to decipher what she was thinking. Frankly, I only saw fear, so I sighed softly. She must have had a good reason to be acting this way. Had Lord Alexander kissed many maids this way? I couldn’t be the only one.“Spill the beans, Maud. What’s gotten you so riled up suddenly?”“I saw you go

Last Updated : 2021-08-14

Chapter 4

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

The head maid had been giving me queer looks ever since the incident with the lord two weeks prior. They had not punished me for anything because neither Maud nor Lord Alexander said anything about it to her. Still, she kept giving me weird side glances every time she saw me, and it made me wonder if something had happened.Luckily, they asked me to report on Lady Lucia’s floor these last few weeks, and I wasn’t going to complain. What had happened on the young lord’s floor plagued my nights. I had often found myself thinking about it, thinking about how his lips were soft and how he tasted of tea and mint and something else. I didn’t understand why my body heated at the thought and yearned for more. It was frightening.Yes. Working for Lady Lucia was the distraction I needed.She was Duke Kestrel’s wife. She was a sweet and kind-hearted lady with a playful side that made me feel at ease when I was around her. Despite being born into nobility, she had a very relaxed attitude toward man

Last Updated : 2021-08-14

Chapter 5

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

I could still feel Lord Alexander’s burning gaze on me while his mother made small talk before sitting in her chair.I tiptoed toward the end of the room and pressed against the wall until they excused me. I had to wait if the lady had any other demands before I could leave in the adjourning room and work while keeping an ear out if she needed me.I stayed even though I felt a bit out of place when they didn’t dismiss me right away. The conversation they were having made me feel uneasy.“Could you please reason with that man, Mother?” The young lord was resting on the edge of his seat. He hunched over with both his elbows lying on his muscular thighs. His demeanour was severe but almost desperate, and I noticed Alexander still kept eyeing my direction. Maybe he didn’t like that I was forced to stay and listen to their conversation.I made an “ahum” sound in my throat and hoped that his mother heard me, but she continued her conversation regardless that I was in the room.“You know I c

Last Updated : 2021-08-14

Chapter 6

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

Alexander’s still dark grey eyes stared at me, analyzing my expression.Was he waiting for an answer?He inched closer. He smelled like the forest—a mix of pine, spruce, and earth that made me long for my missing freedom. I was convinced that smelling like this wasn’t natural. However, his scent was intoxicating, and I knew I needed to tread carefully about the reaction my body was giving him.I kept eyeing his lips, remembering what they felt like. They looked as soft as I recalled. I could see myself wrapping my hands behind his head, curling my fingers in his dark unruly hair while tasting his mouth, teasing him with my tongue, and nipping his full lower lip.My legs clenched at the sudden heat I felt down in my belly, and I became hyperaware that I wasn’t acting like myself.I saw Alexander stiffen. I hoped he didn’t notice what he was doing to me. I was so ashamed by the wetness that overcame me that I could hardly look at him when I replied, “I’m sorry, Milord, but I’m afraid you

Last Updated : 2021-08-17

Chapter 7

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

I followed the footboy to the fourth floor. He hadn’t used the servant’s stairs; instead, the boy had beckoned me to follow him through a new section of the estate I had never seen before and ushered me into a small-looking broom closet.An oil lamp was lit, and I noticed a bare tiled floor and wooden walls instead of brooms and cleaning supplies.He effortlessly slid close the door and pulled down a lever.I had a weird sensation that gravity was pulling me toward the ground. However, I soon realized that it was because we were going up. I didn’t know this estate had elevators—they were relatively new and worked with a pulley system.I waited patiently behind my guide. The boy had soft brown baby hair curling around his ears. He must not have been over ten years old. He was wearing a black vest with a white dress shirt tucked into navy blue pants with one white line following the outside seam of the leg.I had so many questions I wanted answers to, but when I opened my mouth to ask th

Last Updated : 2021-08-18

Chapter 8

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

My eyes flew open, and my arms grabbed each side of the tub to sit upright. I brought my thighs toward my stomach, hoping to hide my nakedness.Water splashed everywhere, and nothing in my movements was graceful.I glared up at my uninvited guest. How dare he come in without announcing himself?Alexander had his left shoulder pressed on the bathroom door frame, a sly smirk on his godlike face that I momentarily hated. Both his hands were in his front pockets. He looked amused as my cheeks flushed with shame… and maybe want.Faiths, I really wanted him, but I also wanted to punch him!“Oh, don’t stop on my account; I was really enjoying this! Do make it a habit.” He winked.His eyes were black. I began to think I had imagined them being grey. Whenever I saw Alexander, I thought I saw their pale grey colour, but they seemed to darken unexplainably when he suddenly noticed me.I hugged my knees to my chest, looking at him, trying to pull the most infuriating, scolding, death stare I could

Last Updated : 2021-08-19

Chapter 9

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

I woke up early in the morning to a gentle knock on my door. The sun had not yet risen, but I could see the faint sign that it would soon through the window.I got out of bed, still groggy from sleep, and walked toward the door. As I opened it, I was surprised to see Leo, Alexander’s young footboy, standing there with a tray of breakfast food and hot drinks in his hands.Leo wore a shy smile and held out the tray toward me. “May I come in?” he asked politely.I nodded, and he walked into the room, wobbling slightly under the weight of the tray. I could see that it was clearly too heavy and oversized for his small arms, but he somehow managed.As he placed the tray on the small table in the room, he said, “I thought you might be hungry, so I went to the kitchen and prepared this for you.” His face scrunched up a bit as he continued, “I didn’t know if you preferred tea or coffee, so I brought both.”His thoughtfulness touched me. As I took a closer look at him, I realized that I knew ver

Last Updated : 2021-08-19

Chapter 10

Flight of the cardinal/Sway

It had been days since I last saw Xander. To be honest, I had desperately been avoiding him.Sometimes at night, I would wake up completely drenched in sweat, and I would have this inexplicable desire to open the adjourning door to Xander’s chamber and ravage him. These sudden urges were frightening enough to force me into staying inside my room with both doors bolted and a chair permanently wedged under the handle.I didn’t feel like myself at all.I almost didn’t dare open the door to get the food Leo brought me every morning. I only did it when I was highly famished.“Xander should be the one locking himself up when I go crazy. This is stupid; I could just unlock everything and hunt him down…” I told myself frustratingly.I did feel slightly better whenever Xander left for work in the morning, and I found myself alone on the floor. I felt like I could breathe again and found some remnants of my previous self, but as soon as he was near again, that strange feeling returned and made m

Last Updated : 2021-08-21

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