Whisper (Book II)

Chapter Ten

Emily had been right to dress Red warmly. Gavin and Owen had both greeted her in the throne room, but had wasted no time in escorting her outdoors. She was swept around the extensive grounds on the grant tour. She may have enjoyed the experience were it not for how delicately she was being treated. The prince offered his arm every time they encountered a patch of ice, or even snow that had drifted into the path. He half-lifted her as if afraid that she would slip and fall. It was as if she was a child, not someone who had survived the forbidden forest twice. It was insufferable.

If she were not so busy brooding over her newest discovery she may have snapped at the prince, but as it was she silently endured being treated like a china doll. The King did a lot of talking about the festival, occasionally pausing to ask Red's opinion. She tried very hard to answer to his liking, but it was apparent that she was distracted and around midday the king dismissed her with instructions to dine with the prince.

"Can't believe our luck, huh? All of this planning is so dull." Owen laughed as he escorted Red toward the castle.

She nodded absent-mindedly, flicking an escaped strand of hair behind her ear.

"May I be bold?"

This caught her attention and she turned to him with dread coursing through her. When she didn't answer he laughed uncomfortably and pulled her to a stop between two looming rose bushes.

"You do not seem happy here, Red."

She dropped her gaze and chuckled. "Is it so obvious?"

"A little bit." He admitted sheepishly. "Is it so miserable around here?"

"It's not here. It's me." She stated dully to the full skirt of her gown. "Please understand, I don't mean to offend."

He considered her, chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully. "I'm not offended, but I am curious."

"Isn't everybody." She muttered, drawing her hood up around her face. The gesture was meant to shut down the conversation and convey her lack of willingness to talk, but the prince didn't take the hint.

"You saved the day and your love's life. What is there to be unhappy about?"

"I saved a child's life." she snapped, "He was not my love."

He looked taken aback, then narrowed his eyes. "But the stories said--"

"You really shouldn't believe everything you hear, Highness. Do you not think that I would be married if I saved the man I loved?"

"That was something I'd wondered about, I guess. I just thought--"

"That could well be everyone's issue around here." She spat venomously. "They hear my name and they think they know me. I can assure you, sir, nobody knows me." She paused, then dropped her voice to a vulnerable whisper. "I don't even know me." Then, realizing what she had just admitted, she turned and started away hastily.

"Wait! We were supposed to dine together." He called after her.

"I'm not hungry." She answered shortly and rounded a corner.

Her only goal was to escape his gaze, to escape everybody's gaze. She needed loneliness and isolation. She needed out. Back home she would have fled straight to the Forest, but now she could not. The Forest was a three day ride away and she could hardly abandon the castle now, not while Eira and her strange magic were roaming the castle.

"You don't know anything."

Red skidded to a halt, whipping around to face the dreadfully familiar voice. As she turned, she shoved her hood away from her face and reached toward her hip before realizing that her knife did not hang there. Luckily, nobody stood there. She turned in a slow circle, studying her surroundings carefully. Still, nobody presented themselves and Red stopped before she could make herself dizzy.