Page 29 of The Time Of Queens

My hand found its way to my stomach as shock rolled through me.

“Nooo,” the other maid whispered, and I wasn’t the only one surprised by this gossip.

“Yes, she did, I tell you. For Miss Williams was having none of it!” the maid replied, making her friend blow out a breath before saying,

“Then she be far braver than I to go up against the cook, that’s to be sure.”

“Aye, me too. But nonetheless, she showed her what for. She snatched that damn rolling pin from her hand before it could land on Fanny and then she plum done threatened her with it. I don’t care what anyone says about her being granted special favours by the ladies of the house, I for one won’t hear anything bad said about her.”

My mouth dropped, as I had no idea that she had bravely prevented an attack on another. Why hadn’t she said anything? She could have come to me, and I would have… I paused my thoughts quickly, as why would she come to me?We didn’t have that type of relationship,I thought with gritted teeth.

“No, nor I,” the other maid agreed.

“What are you two doing lollygagging? Get down to the kitchens at once and fetch the water jugs. Master will be back any moment, ready to dine.”

The moment I heard my housekeeper’s voice, I knew I would get no more. But the story had me perplexed. I didn’t like the idea the cook was getting physical with the staff. Nor did I like the idea that Keira had almost borne the brunt of it by putting herself in harm’s way.

But then it did prove two things.

The first was the strength of her character.

And the second… perhaps it was time for Mrs Weathers to go.

That night,I had the most peculiar dream, one that started off well enough, for I was back in the stables after stalking a blonde beauty there. The conversation we had however was different. She was a lot more fearful of me, and that freeing conversation she had spoken of in my office was nowhere to be seen.

She had acted as if she were no more than a simple scullery maid of mine and when I asked her for her name, it was as if I had never heard it before. She had also concealed the sugar cubes, doing so as if she were to be punished for stealing them. As if I would have cast her from my house for such a thing.

But just like the real events that had taken place only hours before, I had also asked her to ride with me the next day. Something I had pressured her into agreeing to, just like I had earlier. Only our disturbance in my dream had been by John, the stable hand, and not by Vincent. A disturbance that I dismissed far easier than that of my brother.

However, this was where the dream started to take on a far darker tone, for the next day she had not met me in the stables and upon inquiring why, I discovered Mrs Weathers had gotten her revenge in the most brutal of ways. She had accused Keira of stealing my sister’s riding habit and had taken it upon herself to punish her.

I would never forget the sight that had met me when appearing in the wine cellar, seeing her chained to the wall and being whipped like a dog. Her back stripped of half her clothing as the cook mercilessly lashed at her pale skin. The anger that seethed inside of me had been like no other, for I had come very close to killing the cook outright.

However, the most I had done was to cast her out of my house without so much as a single item of her belongings. Then I had taken Keira into my arms and carried her to my room so as I could tend to her injuries. Touching her had been the only thing that seemed to anchor my turmoil for I feared I would have spiralled out of control had she not needed me in that moment.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t where the dream concluded, for it would have been a sweet conclusion indeed for her to end these horrific events in my bed where she would remain. But alas not, for I thwarted yet another attack on her by the same loathsome creature that had been cast out. One this time that did end by my killing her. Only in doing so, my Demon side emerged in his rage, and thus ended up being witnessed by the one girl I would have hidden it from. Naturally, she ran from me, making it to the tower just like my Electus had in real life. Reality mirrored my nightmares, for this time when she ran from me, she did so in fear of the beast I had become. Not the man she had once trusted enough to kiss.

But the worst was yet to come, as in the end, she stood near the edge and chose death over me. My greatest fear when finally finding my Chosen One. For knowing that she would be born amortal had always clawed at my Demon…for what if she ran from that side of me?

What if she was repulsed and did not accept me?

What if she could never love a Demon?

And as I watched her fall purposely to her death, I roared out my agony as my greatest fears were given centre stage in my mind. A plague in which to eat away at my confidence of her ever accepting me for who and what I truly was.

Fear was an unforgiving beast after all.

Unsurprisingly, this dream haunted me from the moment it woke me, till the moment it was time to meet my reluctant riding partner. Too many times had the memory of the dream made me about to call off the ride. For I knew it was a fool’s errand to pursue this when I was not free to do so. But then her words from yesterday also kept coming back to me.

We are all slaves to our Fate, are we not?

What an odd thing to ask, for she had no idea just how right she had been. Even when I thought back to it, she looked as if it had accidently slipped from her lips. But what could it mean? Did she know something of the girl that had evaded me? I swear, every fibre in my entire being would have declared her as being my Chosen One in that moment. Of course, that was had I not already have met her and knew with a certainty that Keira wasn’t my Electus. Not now I had felt the connection between the one who had kissed me.

So why had I sent my sister’s riding habit to her, along with a time to be ready by? Why had I found myself dressed and waiting for her in the stables like my note had indicated? Why had dread filled my veins the moment she wasn’t on time? My dream instantly took hold enough to have me running into the kitchen and demanding to know where the cook was.

Worried faces met my furious one, one maid pointing a shaky hand towards the cellar and pure dread filled my veins. I hadlost sight of all else as my anger hit new heights, for fear had me gripped once more in its icy grasp. Like the Devil himself had taken hold of my heart and was squeezing all mortal feelings from it. Because I knew that if I found out that I had been too late, and after the premonition I’d had, then I would have never forgiven myself. The guilt of it would forever change me.

It would change everything.

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