Page 8 of Deadwood
He was silent a moment, and I almost thought he might not reply, but then he said, “Yes.”
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
His fingers twitched, signaling he was slightly uncomfortable.
Good. He knew what my next question would be.
“Yes.”
“Did my father tell you what would be announced?”
It wouldn’t shock me if he had told everyone but me, but I wanted to know.
The guard cleared his throat as we rounded a corner. Our footsteps echoed on the stone floor, the red and brown rugs doing little to muffle the sounds of our shoes. My father made almost everything in this kingdom red, but I never shared the same adoration for the color. It only reminded me of blood.
“Yes,” he finally replied.
I nodded once, slowly, as we descended the stairs down to the main floor. How could my father inform some random guard and not me, when I was the one being directly affected by this? But it wasn’t a question for the man beside me, given I had already made him disconcerted. It was one only my father could answer, though I was sure he’d make up some excuse to try to justify all of it, and I’d have no choice but to accept his explanation and never bring it up again.
A moment later, we approached my father’s throne room.
The guard opened the giant door for me, gesturing a hand forward for me to pass.
“Thank you,” I said before stepping past him.
He closed the door behind me, most likely standing guard outside in the hall.
With one look around the room as I came to a stop in the center before the deep red and dark oak thrones, I was certain my father was not in here.
Instead, I found my stepmother sitting on her throne before me, one arm draped over the side casually, though the rest of her posture was rigid. Her dress was only the slightest bit more casual today, dark red lace draped over cherry fabric.
I didn’t bow just to spite her.
“Did you know?” I asked, skipping right to the point.
To hell with pleasantries.
Regardless of the way I behaved in front of her, she’d still bring a flame to my skin. She’d punish me, day after day, and anyone who knew about it would turn a blind eye.
My father loved her, and he needed me.
There were no solutions in his eyes.
“Lovely night last night, don’t you agree?” Heidi said, her voice grating on every nerve in my body.
“Did you know?” I repeated, my voice harder this time, each word enunciated carefully.
She snapped her finger, and in an instant, a guard was behind me, pulling my arms behind my back and hitting the soft spot at the back of my knees so I’d fall to the ground. My knees stung as they made impact with the hard floor.
I didn’t bother straining against him, despite the discomfort that bloomed in my wrists at his grasp.
“That’s no way to greet your queen,” she said, as if she wasn’t also my stepmother.
I’d really prefer she was neither.
I bowed my head slightly, enraged at the position I was in. How fucking helpless I was in every meaning of the word.
“Your father does everything for a reason. For the best interest of all of us. Are you insinuating you do not trust him?”
