Marleigh carefully climbed up the marble staircase, carrying a pile of cardboards which served as a camouflage from the prying eyes of the staff. After five minutes of undeterred determination, she reached the top of the stairs undetected. She gently placed the boxes on the floor and reached for the doorknob.
She twisted it once and then twice, "Duddy drittens! The door is locked. What do I do now?"
Marleigh looked both ways for any movement and stood up, dusting her apron. She looked at the map again and sighed. There weren't any other places marked. Marleigh lost all hope. Her heart felt heavy at the thought of not seeing the Vohra siblings again.
"Did someone follow you?" whispered a feminine voice from a room next door. Marleigh quickly moved behind the pillar, holding the map close to her chest.
"The servants are busy. They wouldn't dare come up here," said another, her voice full of authority and confidence.
Marleigh sneaked a peek at the two women who were clad in expensive robes and beautiful jewelry. She noticed a shining collar hanging from one of the lady's hands. Marleigh, though skeptical, decided to follow the duo and take her chance hoping if one of them could point her to the Marchioness' chamber.
"Did Audria mention anything about the Augur?" asked the one holding the collar.
Marleigh stopped herself from asking them for directions. Her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to eavesdrop on the conversation. She decided to follow them quietly to learn more about their discussion.
The pillars surrounding the hallway began to decrease as they further went down the hall and the duo came to a halt in front of a wall covered with pebbles. There were only two marble pillars and each had a hollow space, where a statue of a peacock was placed neatly in each of the pillars. The ladies looked at each other and then at their surroundings.
"Audria? Oh, you mean the green-eyed one! Yes, she said that she'll take care of the red-haired witch." said the other one, pushing her hand inside the space.
Marleigh panicked. Her heart thumped against her chest and her hands shivered from the revelation she had just witnessed. Her head felt heavy, a ton of questions weighed down on her mind and twisted her brain.
'Surely, they don't mean me? There must be another Audria in the Kingdom.' Marleigh thought, a glimmer of hope blooming in her chest. But a sudden thought came crashing down, making the flower of hope wither.
'Who else would they mean? The only red-hair witch related to a green eyed Audria is you! Get that around your head.' Marleigh's brain whispered in response. She shook her head and focused her attention back to the conversation the two strange ladies were having.
"She has been saying that ever since we joined the associates. It's already been twelve years!" whisper-yelled the lady with the collar.
Her companion smirked, slowly drifting towards the wall. She pressed her hands on an odd, cream-coloured pebble and pushed it with all her might, "That's where you are wrong, Fione."
The huge wall split into two with a creak, dust and sand flying from the old wall which seemed to have seen years of toil and spider-webs. The dust blew as far as the front of the courtyard where Marleigh stood, her vision blurred because of the mites and a fog of dust. She tried to cough as quietly as possible to keep her cover under check.
"Whatever you say," nodded the other lady who was known by the name Fione. She tied a cloth to her nose and mouth and whispered, "After the translation, what do you suppose will happen?"
A huge noise blared from the trumpets in the ballroom indicating the beginning of the ball and the quite murmur of chatter rose to a higher volume as the guests and the servants filled the courtyard. Cursing her rotten luck, Marleigh weaved through the bushes and the trees, stopping dangerously close to the duo of devious damsels.
"-kill her," the other lady whispered, disappearing into the dark dungeon with her companion in suit. The wall slowly closed, not even a sign of a crack visible in it. Marleigh stood aghast, her mouth hanging low and her mind trying it's best to connect the dots.
'Kill who now?' Marleigh thought, thoroughly shocked. She was sure that they meant her. Why? It was obvious. Audria always found a reason to nitpick on every little thing, especially Marleigh. No matter what, the elder always came up with a reason to reprimand her. Marleigh knew that she wasn't the most favoured among the Vohra elders, but to kill her? That seemed ridiculous but not entirely impossible.
"You there, what are you doing here?" called out a voice to Marleigh to which she responded with a quizzical expression, "Hurry! Go help with the dishes. We're short on the kitchen staff."
With one final look at the wall, Marleigh proceeded towards the kitchen, clutching the embroidered red piece of cloth she had hidden on her sleeve, determined to seek the answers she's been longing for.
______
Author's note:
Thank you for the wait, readers! I present to you... chapter 8! I hope you had fun reading this and got some answers from the last couple of chapters.
For those who did not read my post, TMT will be on a temporary hiatus. This does not mean the lack of updates, but just the lack of "regular" ones. I will just be concentrating more on refining the older chapters.
(Haha, joke's on me because when have I ever updated regularly? *cries*)
Anyway, what do you think of this chapter? Will Marleigh light the fireworks? Will she encounter Kai in the next chapter? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Reading! <3 <3
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The Marchioness Treasure | HIATUS
FantasyShe thought there was nothing left in this world for her. Her life was to be doomed the moment she was abandoned. But fortunately for Marleigh, she was a survivor and so she lived. Living as an outsider was never a simple task, but luckily for her...
