Love of the Lost Ones

Part 7

She walked through the front gates, and the servant boy led her through the great halls, to the ballroom. As the doors opened, Verena was met with much louder and more overwhelming music. There was calm, classical music playing in the background. She always thought that was dancing music, but I guess not.

Some people turned to look at her, but most people were focused on their conversations. She looked around the room, noticing how everyone looked so posh and wealthy. It disgusted her. She knew that if they ever realized that she was not one of them they would have her killed. She saw a bar in the corner and rushed over. She could not survive the night without ale.

"Ma'am," the bartender said, nodding his head. "What can I-"

"Alcohol," Verena said, interrupting him. "Strong alcohol."

"Of course, Ma'am"

"What do say we start dancing!" She heard a loud voice say. She turned around to see what was going on. The king was telling the band what to play and started to gather people to dance. Verena groaned and turned back to the bar.

"Here you are, Ma'am." The boy handed her a drink. She picked it up and admired how the glass looked. It was crystal clear, with fine carvings engraved in it. She took a gulp of the red liquid, expecting something strong. It was wine. Wine!

She asked for strong alcohol and he gave her wine. If this is what rich people drank she was glad she was not one. She chugged the rest of the cup. It might not have been good alcohol, but it was alcohol nonetheless.

"I'm glad you came." A smooth voice said from behind her. She knew who it was before she even turned around. Lucian. "That's a beautiful dress. Where ever did you get it?" He said, taking a seat next to her.

"A man gave it to me," Verena said, playing along with it.

"Ah. A handsome man?" He said, grinning.

"Some might think so."

"And do you think so?" She smirked. She was going to reply but remembered why she was there. Why was she flirting with him? Verena stood up, and turned away, looking at the doors leading to the garden. Maybe if she went out he would follow so she could get him alone.

"No. No, I do not." She started to walk to the doors, weaving through the people gathering at the center of the room, getting into positions for dancing. Lucian grabbed her arm.

"Oh come on, don't go." He looked at the people crowded in the middle of the room. He nodded his head towards them. "May I have this dance?" Verena scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"No, you may not." She pulled her arm away from him, and walked away from him, only to be pulled back.

"Come on, it'll be fun." He led her to the floor, still holding her wrist.

"Let me go!" She said, squirming. The music started and Lucian was holding Verena's wrists, spinning her and moving her along with the dance. As she tried to walk away, he only pulled her closer to him. He was so close that his breath tickled her neck. She was looking anywhere but his eyes, for she could already feel his stare.

"You're not from here, are you?" He asked, Verena laughed.

"What do you think?"

"Well, where are you from?"

"Tillwood. Where are you from?"

"I'm not sure, when I was younger I used to move around a lot. My father cared more about his job than his family. He was a banker and kept getting relocated to different offices."

"Oh." Lucian spun Verena, and you could tell the song was ending. As the last chord played, he put one arm behind her back, and one stayed on her hip. He was dipping down, with Verena's arms around his neck. Lucian's face was only inches away from hers.

They looked at each other, not noticing how others around them had stopped dancing and started talking with one another. It felt like ages that they were like that, just holding onto one another, in their own moment, but it was only a couple of seconds. They came back to reality as people started clapping. Lucian brought Verena up to her feet. They both fixed their clothes, bowing silently to each other.

"My, my, that sure was impressive. May I talk to you, m'lady? Alone?" Said a deep, rich, voice. She turned around. Rich indeed. It was the king. He was a bit taller than her and had blonde hair and blue eyes. Typical royalty look. Verena could feel Lucian step closer to her as he saw the king.

"Why?" Verena asked.

"It's private, please come with me." The king said, holding out his arm, and guiding Verena to a dark corner.

"What! What is it!" Verena said, as soon as they were out of sight. The king looked at her angrily.

"I asked you to kill him, not to dance with him. Do your job or I will have you killed."

"I am! This is part of the plan. Now, will you let me get back to doing my job? You are distracting me." Verena walked away towards where Lucian was, with the king behind her. She looked around but Lucian wasn't in the room. Why did he always disappear?

"See! He is gone! Was this part of your plan, Miss Cliffwood?" She didn't answer. It was not part of her plan, however. She went towards the front doors, leaving. If Lucian was not here, there was no reason for her to stay.

"Where are you going? You are going to kill him still, correct?" Verena rolled her eyes, keeping her composure. Which was very hard for her to do.

"Yes, I am. Now, please excuse me, I have a man to kill." She walked to the docks and lifted up her skirt to step onto the boat. She wobbled a bit but didn't care. If she fell in and drowned, at least she would be out of this stupid situation. It was already late, so she would find him in the morning.

When she got to the inn, she changed out of her dress into her normal clothes and slammed the dress against the wall. Damn that man, damn that king, and damn this stupid, idiotic, bloody job. She's had people that were hard to kill, but never someone that she didn't want to kill. No. She did want to kill him. She had to kill him. She crawled into bed, repeating those words in her head until she fell asleep.

I have to kill him.

I want to kill him.

I want to kill.

I want to.

I want.