Nodith
Eric
"You told her everything?" Anthony quizzed.
"Yes. Not everything but most of it." I replied, pacing around the room.
All my hardworking couldn't go down the drain.
"Where is she now?"
"I tied her up in the room."
"Are you crazy!" Anthony yelled at me, "What has gotten over you?"
"I think it's my wolf. It's been getting control lately."
"Are you using your medication?"
"Yes," I replied.
But it was beginning to have a weaker effect on my wolf. It badly wanted Maisy. I didn't tell Anthony about this. He was more of the 'safe playing' guy and telling him could force him to abort the mission.
"So what do you plan on doing now? Now that she knows, Will she still play along?"
Anthony was right. It was unlikely she would see me the same way. She would see me as nothing but a beast.
But... she's trapped here with me. I can use that to my advantage.
"I'll go see her." I disclosed to Anthony but stopped at an afterthought.
"Where is your wife?" I asked.
"As usual. She's with her manwhore. It must have been an intense night."
I couldn't believe Anthony was okay with this. I knew he had no feelings for her at all but he was still her husband.
"And you're ok with that?"
"Of course Brother. I act like I'm blind to her escapades and I'm free to go on conquests of my one." Anthony replied, taking a sip of crushed berry juice.
"This tastes so good. Perhaps it will ease your wife's perception of you tonight." He commented.
I ignored his pleas for a fight and walked out.
On the way back to my room, I tried several mannerisms just to find the perfect way to get Maisy to see me as the one in control.
I unlocked the door and went in.
"About time." Maisy spat. She looked unconcerned and I doubted she had been trying to find a way out of her constraints. Her hair wasn't ruffled and she was calm, almost like she had a hidden agenda.
I peered into her beautiful brown eyes and said,
"Well now that you know why I married you, I'm thinking we strike a deal."
"I'm up for anything you say, Eric, it's not like I have a choice." She lifted her arms and made a face to me, "Set me free."
This was kind of too easy and I knew women. They were natural fighters.
"You're just going to let me go scot-free?"
"Of course Eric. All I would want is a divorce. I was stupid for believing in love at first sight. I'm definitely paying for my stupidity."
I loosened the ropes and shockingly, she didn't go right for my neck. She was just too hurt to fight back. A part of me hated me for doing this to her. She was Tatia's sister and this was what I was doing to her sister. I wanted to apologize but I couldn't find the right words.
"I'm really sorry if I took this too far but you have to understand..."
"What should I understand Eric?" She retorted, with tears in her eyes, "That you betrayed me for gold. That you trapped me for your own selfish ambitions and do you know what hurts more? The fact that I actually loved you."
"Once my debt is paid, I promise you a divorce and the rest of your inheritance."
Maisy shook her head. She wiped the tears on her Rosy cheeks and continued blackmailing me emotionally.
"I never knew Tatia but I'm glad she never knew you all her life. She might have taken her life herself."
My wolf snapped hearing such blasphemy.
"I loved Tatia!" I yelled back.
"Really?" Maisy sent back, not caring for the thunderstorm she was causing, "Because the way I see it, Your family are nothing but manipulative jerks."
She was right. I was acting so much like my father, It was beginning to scare me.
"I loved Tatia but I'll do anything to protect my family legacy, It was the reason I searched for you."
"So it was me you were looking for back at Linsea. Did you stage your accident too?" She mocked.
I could tell I was nothing but the devil in her sight, She despised me.
"Let's get this over with. I'll play this game of yours Eric, You'll get the money to pay up your stupid family debt and you'll give me back my freedom."
"That sounds good Maisy. I'm glad you're beginning to understand."
She scoffed,
"You'll get what you deserve Eric. You'll pay in your own blood." She swore.
I could see the glow in her eyes.
Women and grudges.
***
Maisy
Evening set in quickly. Considering I had done nothing for hours but wonder how my dumb made-up fairy tale had gone all wrong.
It would soon be night time and I would have to dress up in a pretty pink dress, wave my hands and give a smile to strangers - All for my freedom.
I wrote a letter to father but the servant told me the messenger hadn't been in the kingdom for days. I suspected they were just following orders from Eric.
Hot tears poured and I wept.
"How could I have been so stupid father? You warned me but I didn't listen."
I pondered on how I became so attracted to Eric in days. It was a magnetic pull I couldn't explain, I didn't believe in voodoo but just a few days inside these walls had made me a believer.
The door opened and I turned away, wiping my tears off. I couldn't let Eric see me in tears, It would tag me as weak.
"Your majesty, I'm here to dress you up." The servant curtseyed.
I fixed my gaze on her. A thin girl with porcelain skin, her hair was rough but despite her haggardly appearance, She was beautiful. I noticed a scarring on her neck, the initials of her owner. Sadly, she was indentured. Probably sold by her family to a loan shark.
"Okay."
I got up and stripped down to my undergarments. The maid got to work. Dressing me in one of "Madame Rosette" best. She tried initiating me in a small conversation but I was too driven away from my harsh reality to reply her. She took it as formality and stopped talking but then I asked her.
"How did Tatia die?"
She stopped what she was doing and I felt a sharp pain on my back.
"Ouch!"
The maid hurriedly pulled away from the needle she had unintentionally stabbed me with.
"I'm so sorry your majesty. Please, don't send me to the mines."
She was so afraid for her life.
"It's okay." I assured, "Just tell me what happened to Tatia?"
"We're not supposed to talk about it. His lord warned us." She disclosed.
Eric? Why would he do that? Tatia died in these walls and I needed to know why. The maid wasn't keen on answering my question did to the fear Eric had instilled on her. I needed to manipulate that.
"I think you better tell me, girl. The mines sound like a bad place for a pretty girl like you."
The girl squeezed her lips but finally gave in,
"She didn't die in the Castle. She..."
"I see you want to lose your life." A voice divulged from behind us.
I craned my neck to see the speaker.
The lady at the dining. What was she doing here?
The maid got more apprehensive.
"I'm sorry Miss Sara." The girl humbly apologized, even if she did nothing wrong.
"Leave here. My sister is in need of your services."
"But..." The maid resisted.
"Let us be." Sara sternly voiced.
The maid got the message and left.
"What do you want?" I demanded when we were alone.
I kept my eyes on the reflection the mirror portrayed even if I was only using it to monitor her.
I didn't know this Sara girl and I had a gut feeling that I shouldn't trust her.
"The truth is, I heard what happened." She revealed.
It's either news spread fast or she has been a bitchy stalker.
I couldn't shake away the bad vibes she gave.
"Why do you care?" I inquired, still keeping my eyes on the form-fitting, strapless, gold sequin dress, Perfect for the norms.
"Well, I'm worried about you. It might be the guilt but I can't keep this to myself."
"What do you mean?" I turned around, my gown twirling along and sending glittering broken lights around thanks to the lights shimmering on the shiny material.
Sara looked uneasy. It worried me deadly
"It's because you're not the first to take this route and you'll definitely not be the last. The Clarke's... they're nothing but monsters. They'll take everything you have. You're going to rich aren't you?"
She was babbling so fast and I could see tears in her eyes.
"You have to tell me, Sara." I nudged her to continue.
"You'll die just like Tatia, Maisy."
Time stopped and the chills overwhelmed me. I faced the mirror and somehow, I was drawn to a different figure that stood in place of my reflection.
A blue-skinned girl in a bloodied dress.
She smiled wickedly at me.
"Tatia?" I breathed.