Her clothes were immaculate, a pale pink dress that cinched around her waist, and appeared to have a cap sleeve jacket attached to the dress itself. The skirt was made of silk and hit the floor at such a length that the peep of her shoes could be seen as she casually strode into the room with her girls hanging onto her every word. Seeing them together, Darius instantly knew that this was not the same relationship Evangeline had formed in her youth, but instead, Adeline was surrounded by other young girls who were attracted to her station. Darius wondered if Adeline was aware of the contrast or if she remained oblivious? He hoped for the latter.
As if attracted by his thoughts, their eyes met, but he was quick to drop his eyes in response, so he resumed a respectful stare to the distance. Darius forced himself to look instead at the windows. It seemed like a far safer option than to somehow deliver his thoughts to Adeline. Doing his best not to attract their attention further, he tightened his shoulders when Darius heard the girls go quiet. He hated the awkward silence as the laughing joke turned into whispered mutterings in his direction. Darius looked studiously in front of him and only seemed to blink when he heard his name.
“Yes, your majesty?” Darius smiled politely, unsure what the protocols were when a soldier was addressing a member of the royal family. He had been able to witness his sister with the other royals briefly. However, Evangeline called them by first names. It seemed rude if he followed the same rituals. He was no longer Earl and held no real rank here in Braykith. Forced to make the decision quickly, Darius went with the ultra-formal introduction he had been taught as a child and hoped his lower station now did not affect his intentions.
“I wasn’t sure if it was you,” Adeline said, frowning as she studied his face. Behind her were three girls who had fanned out at an equal distance. It looked odd to Darius, like a dance or learned ritual rather than a casual standing position. Each girl stood quite separate of the other, at an equal distance from Adeline. None of them moved or seemed to hold much of a personality of their own either. They were sure to display their dresses, although none of them could hope to compare to the grace and design of the princess herself.
He knew that he was being judged, but Darius felt satisfied that his clothes now were less offensive than the ones he had arrived in. He had bathed and done the best he could with his hair. The uniform which had been left for him seemed to fit him like a perfect match and held no signs that it had belonged to anyone before him. Darius met her gaze once more and offered her a small smile. If he had met Evangeline, Viviana and Tegan, in the same manner, he would have addressed them all. Clearly Adeline did not have the same relationship, and her friends were not significant. Like living accessories, they fanned out behind her and made sure they were doing their best to look like they belonged there. Adeline seemed quite alone, even with so many people with her.
“I had imagined it would be obvious when you have new staff, Princess Adeline” Darius stumbled over her name, doing his best not to engage but again struck with the notion that etiquette meant he needed to be attentive to the princess’ needs. Perhaps there was more attention deserved to the station of guard duty then he had ever imagined there could be.
Adeline laughed first, a polite chuckle that her girls chimed in with but stopped when Adeline did. It was eerie, and Darius looked at each girl in turn. None of them would look at him or meet his eyes. They seemed almost bored and ready to move on to whatever plans they had concocted for the day among the chaos. Darius wished they would move on as well, but Adeline was not so eager.
“I do not interact with the help often. Father does not approve of it, and most of them are boring.” Adeline shrugged. “However, most of the things I hear about you I am not sure if I should believe them.”
Darius was surprised that people spoke of him at all, and yet he should not have been, considering the dramatic nature of his entrance to the Braykith Kingdom. “Do they say anything nice about me?” he asked hopefully, and Adeline laughed again.
“Frequently.” She pressed her lips together, judging him and Darius could do nothing but allow Adeline to make her assessment as her eyes looked him over from head to toe and back again. She reached out and pulled a section of his curls forward before she released it. The shortness of his hair intrigued her. The style was banned in her kingdom, and to see it on Darius made him seem more intreguing in her eyes. “My mother told me that you are not a prince.” She finally said.
Darius shook his head. “My father was an Earl.” He tried to talk up the legacy he had been born into, although with the current state of things it did not seem quite as impressive as it once was. Since his father had turned against his allies and his family, the title and name of Crimah seemed mostly laughable. “He might not have been a King,” Darius cleared his throat softly. “But he ruled his lands as one would expect from their King.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Adeline said, her voice stern for one so young and Darius was forced to fight himself and hold back the laugh that threatened at her determined posture. She seemed utterly convinced of this fact. “Do you find me comical Darius?”
It appeared his hardest efforts were not strong enough and she could see right through his thoughts and correctly guessed that Darius did not take her seriously. “I assure you, my father was quite influential once upon a time, and the acts he performed during the war, the actions that also benefitted your father, will be remembered far longer than I shall live.” Darius felt at odds about defending his father with his current actions still weighing on him so heavily. There was no escape from the conversation, and Darius could not just ignore Adeline as she spoke. He saw very little alternative.
However, Darius was concerned about what was being overheard by others. The girls behind her had not changed from their position, but that did not mean they did not understand what was happening just in front of them. Darius had only been granted sanctuary in Braykith as Glais’ squire. Any fight to defend his heritage against innocent conversation could be seen as treason by some. Darius needed to be more careful and not increase the target that was already being used against him.
“I know your father was an Earl and he left behind some fascinating history,” Adeline admitted, “although the details of war did not appeal to me. The songs and stories of the Crimah army demolishing Zorelian with their guerrilla tactics are a little intense.” She might not have enjoyed them, but like everyone else, she knew of them. “Your sister, Eva, should have made me think of it before, but what I meant was you don’t look like you are not a prince.”
The sentence was unsettling to the ears, but Darius did not correct her. That would undoubtedly have been rude. “And what should a prince look like?” he asked.
Adeline shrugged, and one of the girls giggled, but no one paid her any attention. “A lot like you. Which is why I think you look odd.”
Darius was stunned for a moment, not sure if that was meant as compliment or insult. He tried not to take her seriously, but it was growing increasingly harder to remain stoic with the emotions attached to the subject of this conversation. Needing to change the subject, and hopefully cause Adeline to put her attention elsewhere, Darius let loose one of his own secrets. “Did you know there was talk once of us getting married?” he asked Adeline softly, using the quiet of the room to make his question seem like so much more than what it was.
Suddenly the girls all seemed frozen, almost like they were holding their breaths and immediately Darius knew it was the wrong thing to say. He did not smile at his small victory.
The girls stopped being statues, and instead each set of eyes were all staring at Adeline’s back. Feeling that she was the focus of their attention, she turned on the spot to confirm that they were indeed waiting for her reaction. “Surely not.” She finally answered, coming back to face Darius
“Surely so.” Darius retorted. “My father wanted an even trade. Eva for Glais, and you were supposed to come to Crimah.”
Adaline looked behind her f
or support, but her friends had lost all abilities to communicate. “My father wouldn’t allow it.” She stammered. The idea of marrying a man, even one who appeared reckless like Darius with his short curly mess of pale red hair was not something she would ever imagine for herself.
“He did not,” Darius heard Adeline give a heavy sigh of relief, but he did not bother to feel offended as he went on. The feeling was mutual. He knew his marriage would not be for love, but it would not to be someone as superficial as Adeline seemed. “But the idea was discussed at length and appropriately planned before your father ultimately decided not to.” Darius shrugged, looking to the left and away from the girls.
“Well, there you have it.” Adeline backed up, still looking at Darius with a mix of interest and something else which was harder to place. Adeline continued to watch him for a moment longer before turning and walking away. Her friends followed her, but they were still silent. No laughter or talking echoed from the walls.
Darius grinned to himself. He was certain this news would haunt her for some time, and he did feel better in pushing her buttons. She had come upon him with insults, and he had reminded her of a simple truth. All children were pawns for their family, and Adeline was no different. Her destiny was not in her control.
The thoughts flashed through his mind, and Darius felt a pang of guilt over it. He watched Adeline leave the hallway and knew he had been unjustly cruel, projecting his own troubled emotions into the girl. He tried not to think on it as he resumed his stance, looking over the hallway and watched the dust filter through the sunlight.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
E vangeline stopped outside of the house that sat on the very outskirts of the city. She did not think anyone could dare live in such a place, but it was the only building they could see after following the advice of the townspeople. The garden was overgrown with weeds and vines had been free to grow over the brickworks to such a degree it was hard to see the original design of the building. Looking over her shoulder, Evangeline noticed once more how isolated the building was from the rest of Braykith. Because of the haunting nature of the curse, it was not unusual for citizens to travel far each day to find fertile land to call their own but choosing this land to settle on seemed excessive even for the general character of the people.
Thomas paused beside her as she came to a standstill. They did not need to share words because the building tension was answer enough and close to breaking point. Evangeline and Thomas had been chasing rumours all day, and now it seemed that the name had delivered them to an abandoned home. Thomas frowned, but he would not turn back just yet. They needed to know for sure that no one resided within the house before they admitted the defeat they were both feeling.
Looking at the home from a distance, he did not like the odds. However, he kept these thoughts to himself as Thomas turned a hopeful face to Evangeline. “Remain here,” Thomas told her. “Perhaps there is a clue as to where this woman has gone.” It was an empty promise but one that Evangeline did not argue with. Nodding, she stayed where she was as Thomas started to circle the home. Evangeline watched him until he was out of sight, disappearing behind the house with his hand poised on the hilt of his weapon. Evangeline, realising her arms were crossed over her chest, forced them down. There was no relaxation to be found, and she shook her hands, but still, there was tension within them.
Looking at the house, she half expected to see the grotesque face of a crone from her childhood stories looking back at her, but the windows were well grown over so if someone were inside, they would see her long before she spotted them. Even her reflection was distorted and swallowed by the shadows and greenery. She swallowed hard, trying to rid her mind of imagined attacks but nothing could disperse her mood.
Evangeline turned away, but the itching feeling of being watched forced her to turn back towards the door. If death was to find her here, she wanted to see it coming rather than being taken by surprise. Movement from the corner of her eye had her reacting quickly, but it was only Thomas finishing his circuit of the grounds. It did not relax her, but Evangeline was glad to be no longer alone.
“The house is much the same the whole way around,” Thomas reported with a frustrated sigh. “If Gretchen did live here, she is long gone.”
She nodded. It had been her guess since first laying eyes on the building, but the confirmation still broke her heart. Who could guess what kind of scene she would be returning to, and coming empty handed with no cure would mean lives would be lost. Wick would be lost, and that idea set her stomach into a tight knot. She motioned for Thomas to lead the way back to the castle when she thought she saw a section of a face peering out from between the falling vines and climbing foliage.
She stopped, frozen as she looked at the window and tried to judge if this was true or a hopeful plea from a desperate mind. Just as she was satisfied that it was trickery, the face moved and vanished. “There is someone within the house,” Evangeline did not know why she had lowered her voice, casting the building a rapid side on look as she said it.
“You saw them?” Thomas looked at the house again, but it remained utterly devoid of life.
Evangeline shrugged, not confident on what she saw, and shook her head, but her eyes were drawn once more to the old and seemingly abandoned house. “I can feel it.” She told him. “Like someone is watching me.” She took off towards the house and Thomas dutifully following behind her.
“Please, for your safety, allow me to speak to her,” Thomas asked. Evangeline paused, opened her mouth to object but quickly realised that there was no use arguing with Thomas on this matter. She nodded once and took a small step backwards.
Thomas knew that Evangeline believed the name Wick presented was one that offered hope and a cure, but Thomas could not be so confident. A mysterious name and the tag for a flower that had almost mythical capabilities seemed like the work of a demented mind. In truth, although he did not share it with Evangeline, Thomas had been surprised to find that the name Gretchen did indeed belong to a woman and that she was a healer of some kind. She had been labelled a witch by her peers, but Thomas did not believe in such nonsense. There were no witches within Braykith. The dark heart of the Braykith curse made it impossible to summon anything as they were designed to. The air was tainted with it even after all this time. Witches knew better than to attempt magic here. At best, she was a misunderstood healer. At worst, she was deranged and probably dangerous.
He knocked on the door with three sharp taps of his knuckles. “Madam, I am from the royal guard and wish to speak with you.” He announced. He stood back from the door, his hand lingering by the hilt of his sword. He looked at Evangeline. One eyebrow raised when there was no answer. She gave him no response. She was looking at the house again, squinting at the windows and the plants that seemed to shiver under her scrutiny. Thomas was about to announce this was one more dead end when he heard a shuffling of footsteps and stepped back just enough to seem polite when the door was finally opened.
A timeworn woman stood there, but she would not be called not weak or frail. She stood tall, holding her weight on a cane and yet still looking dignified as she observed both Thomas and then Evangeline with sky coloured eyes. “If you have come to cure the woman of an unwanted pregnancy, then I hope you have the money.” Her voice was low and lacked humanity in a way that was more unnerving than the words she had just greeted them with.
Thomas blinked, shocked as she continued to stare at him. “Um, no, I assure you that is not what we seek.”
She rose a sceptical eyebrow, looking at Evangeline again but seemed confused by what she saw there. “Are you certain?”
“Quite certain,” Evangeline said, moving only slightly behind Thomas for protection. The colours in her eyes seemed to be swirling, a slow and lazy movement that would be hard to miss unless you were studying her so carefully. Evangeline was sure that the rumours put against Gretchen were true, and this witch could see more than just what was in front of her. Evangelin
e wondered if Gretchen could see her unique heritage, and if she could, what would Gretchen do about it, if anything.
Gretchen nodded sharply, leaning more heavily on the cane at her side although she did not seem to need to. “I apologise. More Braykith soldiers then I like to count come looking for that.”
“We have a far more interesting quest,” Evangeline spoke up, clearing her throat gently as she stopped hiding behind Thomas so much. “I am looking for Belltower vines.” She said, and instantly the woman changed. Looking past them, Gretchen searched the direction they came before shuffling them into her house and slamming the door shut behind them.
“Belltower is extremely rare and dangerous,” Gretchen told them. “I am not one to talk someone out of their desires, but I have to do what I can to keep those in this district safe.” The colour in her eyes was moving faster now, and Thomas felt his stomach clench with the visual. It made him feel ill just looking upon her face. Evangeline seemed less scared of the experience. “A less threatening plant known as the Bell Climber existed that works well for nausea and headaches.” Gretchen offered a solution to their odd request.
Evangeline shook her head, knowing that it had been the word Belltower that had come out of Wick’s lips, and not anything else that may sound similar. Evangeline had no idea just how dangerous this vine could be, but she could not admit that to this woman. Watching her eyes swirl and swim before her, she firmly believed that if Evangeline or Thomas gave any indication of not being worthy of this plant that Gretchen would ensure that they would never get their hands on it.
While it was true that Wick was very ill when she had said it, Evangeline would not dismiss the advice, and now facing the possibility of claiming it, she would not ruin their chances by acting foolish. Wick had told her the name, and Evangeline would never believe Wick would say anything unless it were worth the effort. “My friend has been poisoned. It is the same poison that killed my mother. She barely managed to say your name and the plant before she lost consciousness. That was hours ago.”
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