The Most Noble Gentleman

Chapter One : The Young Maiden

"Where is the young maiden?" Aamon asked as he walked along the hallways of the castle.

"I believe that she hasn't yet left your bedroom, your grace," the chamberlain answered.

"It's still locked?"

I heard no answer from the chamberlain who I remembered the duke called, Cassian, one time when I was eavesdropping on their conversation. Their footsteps continued to approach and I decided to peek through the slightly opened door. I made sure to hold the door knob tightly so that I can pull it and slide the lock in place fast enough. Seconds later, I saw a glimpse of the hem of Aamon's cloak by the edge of the protruding wall and I immediately retreated back into the room. I made sure that the lock clicked before I jumped in the bed.

It has been four days since the head of the castle was able to enter his bedroom. It was also the day that I first woke up in the same room without any clue how I ended up being there. The memory of our confrontation the day after that was still seared into my brain but it kept on awaking my conscience. I haven't had any good sleep since then even though I am technically in the master's bedroom of the castle and that's because I need to be alert just in case someone tries to break in the room while I'm asleep. So far, it hasn't happened yet but I couldn't be rest assured. The next two days after I successfully got him out of his room, he visited me by the door every morning and evening. He didn't say a lot - sometimes he doesn't even say anything, yet he made sure that his presence was noticed.

Then yesterday he wasn't here at all. Not in the morning, not before the castle fell silent. I didn't know what happened but it gave me the freedom to have a walk around in the town. I considered it my third miracle because the first one was when I potentially avoided death from the raid of my village and from Aamon's anger. While the second miracle was when I found the two keys of his bedroom, lying on top of the chess table inside his room, meaning that they didn't have any copy, thus I was able to secure myself inside of the room. And the third one was the church near the heart of Aberleen. It seemed as if they were housing outcasts of the town or taking in refugees from other places. I explained what happened to my village and they secretly introduced me to the head of their church and group as well. They gave me food, clothes, and a lady's knife for my own protection. They also offered me to stay and I was too close to taking it but I remembered the promise that I gave my people so I insisted on going back to the castle and wait out for the right chance to talk to the Duke about my situation.

That situation was the same thing that kept me awake last night and kept me thinking right now. I know that I have to discuss it with Aamon soon. However, just thinking about how he would react when he sees my face scares me. Which is why I believed that it's nowhere near the right time to face him.

I was taken out of my trance, when I heard him knock on the door.

"Are you awake?" he asked. It was low in volume but the eerie silence in the room help it pass through the thick door.

Should I answer? I opened my mouth but words won't come out. My sweat also started feeling cold, I didn't know what to do. So I stayed silent instead.

"You do know that this door will not keep you safely inside for so long," Aamon threatened. "You're going to have to come out one way or another."

I still stayed quiet. He was right, but I'm more scared to face him than to starve in this room.

He knocked on the door once again. Then I heard them mumbling before their footsteps retreated. From sitting down on the bed, I slowly approached the door and peeked through the keyhole to make sure that there's nobody outside the room. I also listened closely so that I'll know if someone is coming.