The Crimson Contract

Chapter 3

The deluging storm had resumed its relentless assault on the window panes, the deafening pitter-patter echoing through the room by the time Eleanor was in her room. With Leona's help, she slipped out of her tight dress, now sitting in a loose nightgown instead. The silk fabric kissed the curves of her body gently, with shadows dancing underneath each and every fold. Her legs, left uncovered, were as cold as a dead body's, almost as if the blood had started to freeze.

Leonna brushed the Princess' hair, letting it fall free in soft waves. Eleanor's hair was a light brown, like the dripping milk chocolate at feasts, or the wood on a sunny spring morning.

Leonna's hair, the colour of bleached bones, hung limply just above her shoulder blades, a stark contrast to the princess's cascading tresses. Her hair was soft too, but incomparable to the princess.

"Princess," Leonna spoke softly, almost left unheard against the showers outside. A question had been lingering in her mind, waiting to escape from her lips. "Have you heard what's going on in the kingdom?" She had stopped brushing Eleanor's hair now, dividing it into two parts. She had heard rumours around the castle, from the other ladies. Comments here and there about what was going on outside the brick walls of this confinement.

"No, I haven't," The royal replied. She spoke in a similarly hushed voice, almost desperate for the information. "Tell me."

"Oh," She stumbled with her words. Leonna had barely spoken to the princess. How could she even think of talking to the princess about this matter? Unlike her words, her nimble hands worked smoothly to braid the soft locks of hair."No, don't mind me, I probably shouldn't tell you."

"Oh come one," The brunette watched Leona's reflection from her mirror. "You can tell me." Their faces were lit with candlelight, giving both the princess and her lady-in-waiting a ghostly appearance as the light flickered on them. The rest of the room was covered with a blanket of shadows, ready to consume the two ladies, only stopped by the candles. Eleanor placed her hand on Leona's arm, stopping her from braiding Eleanor's hair. "Please?"

"Well," Leona gulped. "If you really must know." She had been warned from the others, especially Andrea, to not tell the young princess. Everyone in the castle knew how Eleanor was.

"There's been murders. The royal tailor was the latest victim" A hushed silence fell over the room as Leona explained. "They say it's people from Elcore."

"How interesting," Eleanor muttered to herself. Thoughts raced in her mind, each battling for dominance. Perhaps she could ask one of the guards to look into it. After all, it was her duty as a princess. Or maybe, she could ask Alexander to investigate instead. Then she could get rid of him, and learn all the details guards need to withhold.

"Leona, you're dismissed," Eleanor stood up, her voice almost drowned out by the slowed chasm of rain. Usually, the princess spoke with an air of elegance, but now her voice was hard, commanding. Almost like the king.

Between the rain's change of moods, Leona nodded and slipped out, leaving the royal in alone with her thoughts.

"What if," Eleanor hesitated. Even speaking the thought out loud seemed like a crime in itself. There was no way she could actually do it.

"Maybe, I could," Eleanor paced on the woollen rug that furnished the floor around her bed. It was soft on her bare feet, the dyed brown wool slipping between her toes as she walked.

"Investigate the murders myself?" She finished her thought.

"Absolutely not," Alexander scolded her as a parent might to a child. The two walked beneath small streams of the sun as it peaked to glance at Eleanor's recount of the night before. The grass beneath was soaked from hours of rain and wind. The morning mist had dissolved, but Alexander could feel its wet carcass on the sole of his shoes. Only a few metres away from them stood majestic trees, not a streak of sunlight touching the leaf-littered floor. It almost beckoned him.

"But it would be fun," Eleanor argued. She knew better than to sound childish in front of Alexander, but it slipped out of her before the princess could catch herself. "Besides, imagine the glory that would come with finding the murderer."

She whispered to him, offering the sweet-looking fruit of temptation. All Alexander had to do was bite.

"They might even call off the wedding," Eleanor continued. "If the prince of Elcore is kind enough to help the people. So trustworthy."

The thought tickled the back of his mind. If he helped Pylone with something like this, surely people would start believing in the alliance. Alexander would no longer have to settle down with Eleanor. He could have his soldiers back. He could have his freedom back.

"Even if I agreed with you," he started cautiously. "How do you propose we investigate these murders? The king and queen would never let you do something like that."

"I know a secret passage out of the castle, we'll just have to sneak out."

"We are not sneaking out," Alexander scolded her once again. How much she reminded him of the young soldiers he trained and their terrible ideas.

"What if something happens to you, have you thought about that?"

"Aren't you supposed to protect me?" She countered. "I'll be fine."

Alexander sighed, stopping to bask in the disappearing sun. It had been playing hide and seek with the clouds all morning.

"You are not doing anything of the sort," He spoke after a few minutes of thought. "And that's final."

Eleanor debated whether it was worth trying to convince him any further. She watched as the light brown locks became mere blobs of colour as Alexander left her standing alone.

"Fine, I'll just go by myself."