Midnight (DISCONTINUED, INCOMPLETE)

4 || Missing Lady

"You insolent child!"

Ash yelped as Edris shoved her forward into the reading room. There was a thud as she jerked the doors shut. Ash used a nearby chair to catch her balance and turned. A shiver traveled down her spine as she met Edris's icy glare.

"What in the world have you done?" Edris hissed.

"I haven't done anything wrong." Ash was amazed by how forceful her words were. They did not reflect the quivering mess she felt like becoming. Edris was cruel, but never before had she looked so ready to resort to violence.

Her stepmother's face darkened, the skin growing taut over her high cheek bones. "If the prince finds out you're his precious lost lady, you may have very well ruined any chance Hazel has with wedding him."

Edris stalked toward her. Ash held her ground. Whatever strength had kept her voice from shaking tilted her chin up and set her in a firm stance. She had always known there was defiance within her, but she had never expected it to show.

When Edris reached her, she glowered in silence for a moment. "You just couldn't listen, could you?"

Because your self-righteous daughter definitely deserves Callum, right?

Ash bit down on her lip. There was a line between standing up for herself and being snarky. If she had any hope of convincing Edris to let her go - and that chance was already extremely slim - she couldn't snap.

"I never intended for this. I only wanted to enjoy the nights," Ash defended. "I cannot control that Callum took an interest in me."

Edris sneered. "Don't try that with me, Ashlin. Even if you went with no intention, you are the one who chose to interact with the prince when you already knew your sister's wish." Ash opened her mouth to protest, but instead gasped as Edris jabbed her in the collar bone with a single finger. "You're just a dragon-eyed wench."

"I don't care about riches," Ash said, her mouth agape. Edris didn't have the clearest image of her, but Ash never would have thought Edris believed she was only interested in Callum for his gold.

"Enough," Edris spat.

She grabbed Ash by her shoulder and shoved her back. A scream rose to her lips, but it shifted into a gasp when something solid hit the back of her knees. Her legs gave out beneath her, leaving her to thump down onto a cushioned object.

A chair. She had fallen into a chair. Ash slowly released her breath before looking up to Edris.

"Foolish." Edris's nose was wrinkled and her brows furrowed. "To think you'd believe I would try to harm you."

"Funny, because I thought the same thing when you called me dragon-eyed." Before the entire sentence was out, Ash was already mentally wincing. She had been doing so well. It was as if the shock from the shove had lowered her guard just enough for her words to slip out.

It was Edris's turn to gape in shock, but she quickly covered it up with a huff. "Perhaps I have become too lax with you," she said. "Once this is sorted out, I'll have to see how the staff feel about another week of vacation." Believing the matter was settled, Edris spun on her heel and headed for the door.

A knot formed in Ash's gut. She wasn't quite sure the source. It could have been anything. Fear of the horrendous punishment. Anger at the continual maltreatment by her stepmother. Or dread as the realization she would never see Callum again set in. Whatever it was, it made something within her finally snap.

"What did I ever do to you?" Ash demanded, digging her nails into the leather seat. Edris paused with her hand resting on the door handle. "I have tried my best to respect you as if you were really my mother despite how you've treated me, yet when something good finally happens to me, you refuse to let me have it!"