The Pain in My Heart [Completed]

Chapter 7

  Lucy happily got on the table and waited patiently while Mr. Griffin extracted a vile of blood without complaint. She had spent a bit of time catching up with him afterwards until he practically pushed her out saying he wanted to test the sample as soon as possible.

"You'll hear back from me soon!" he called while we walk towards where Stella is grazing.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Griffin," Lucy called back.

As we mount, I see him start to run out of the corner of my eye. "Wait... Zaria..."

I got back down from the saddle. "Yes?"

He hands over 'Everything You Need to Know About Brewing the Perfect Tattoo.' "I want you to have this. I have an extra copy in the shack. Two sets of eyes are better than one, right?"

"Of course," I say. "Thank you." I did not miss the part where his finger was sandwiched between the pages in the middle with a slightly folded page. "I'll take good care of it," I say while giving a strong nod. He nods back and steps away.

"You two keep yourselves out of trouble."

I don't have to look over my shoulder to know that Lucy is flashing her bright smile. "We'll sure try."

We rode for a while without speaking, just listening to the rhythm of Stella's hooves as she trots back towards the Town's Square.

A slave mark? All that time Lucy had pretended to be a servant, and the second she gets her crown back, this is her payment. I hate to agree with the queen here but maybe it would have been better if she had stayed hidden. I can't bear if anything were to happen to her. And Crista... locked away in her room for the better part of the day and she still bears the same mark. For what?

"How about a bite to eat?" Lucy asks over my shoulder. "There is an older lady that usually has her cart out selling sweets."

I chuckle. "Yeah, I know her. When Axil and I had handed out invitations for the ball, I met her. She's very sweet."

"She was the only one that caught on to my nightly sneak outs. She would never make a scene. She's too kind for that, but she always left me a little treat by the lakeside."

"There's a lake here?"

"If you travel into the forest on the far side of the park you will come to a creek. Keep following that and you will see a sight."

"Is that where you went? All those nights?"

"Most. Some I would walk around. Clear my head, you know. But I would spend most of my time just watching the tiny ripples, and then there were times I would swim in," she giggles. "It was a little bit harder to sneak back in when my steps squeaked on the polished floor.

I laugh with her. "How did she know you were there."

"She followed me."

"That sneak."

"It's okay, really. At first, I thought she would surely tell my mother but she never did. She didn't even speak to me much but she asked if I was the princess." She laughs even more sounding like a singing bird. "She asked if I was a ghost. She believed me to be dead... and her as well, apparently. I don't know why, but I didn't feel the need to hide from her, so I told her the truth. She never spoke to me again, but she always left me something wrapped in a paper bag. She would hide it next to bushes, inside tree hollows. It was a fun little game we played."

"I'm glad I failed my mission." I admit. I've never once said it out loud. "I'm glad I came here. Even with all of this... whatever this is that's going on. I'm glad I was lead here."