The King's Eye

Chapter 26

 Elodie

When my father died, my mother became a living wraith. In and out of rooms she would go without noise, her feet carrying her out of duty rather than the will to survive her loss. She didn't speak for nearly a year as she lost herself in her grief, the clothes on her body falling off her frail frame by the time she too left this earth. I had wanted to believe that it was the lord calling her to my father, but there were demons at work.

Her body hanging from a rafter frequented my dreams more than I let on, my worry for her soul still consuming.

For two weeks I had watched Sophie begin the spiral my mother stumbled into, her silence a haunting echo of my youth. Ocean blue eyes were constantly fixed on the remains of the wisteria house outside her bedroom window, and day after day she sat in a chair with knees hugged to her chest as she longingly looked at what was left of it.

When Simone's body was not found, Sophie sunk further in the depths of her dispair. I had thrown the rope to her in offerings of brushing her hair and preparing baths she refused to take, but with each rejection I found myself losing hope. The matted hair that ran down her back proved I had pushed her too far.

"Anything?" Jacques appeared beside me, a stack of letters in hand.

I shook my head. "Nothing." My eyes couldn't stop looking at her ruined hair. I would have to shear it off if she kept this up. "I did manage to get her to eat a piece of bread, but...she didn't finish it."

Sighing how Tomas used to sigh, he leaned against the door frame. Everyday he reminded me of his brother, making my stomach sink. I wasn't sure how much more my heart could take, the dagger twisting further every time his eyes smiled with his face.

He glanced down at the letters shuffling through them in search. "A letter came for you," he said, pulling it out of the stack and placing it in my apron pocket. He stared at Sophie the way his brother used to stare at me, his heart clearly painted across his face. "We also have been summoned by his majesty."

My jaw tightened. "Sophie is in no condition—"

"I told him that. I told him she needs time, but we have run out of time." Jacques's arms folded over his chest. "Us finding the printing press only showed just how vast the rebel network is. We have to act fast."

"She did what was asked of her." I said plainly. "She has no debts with him."

"We both know that doesn't matter, Elodie." He swallowed, his throat bobbing. "I would double my debt if it meant she could be done with this, but that's just not going to happen."

Rolling my eyes, I let out a deep breath. "Will you take watch?"

"I already planned on it," he said through a half smile. As I began to walk away, he grabbed my arm. "Where is her brush?"

"Her brush?" My eyes looked back to Sophie's hair. "Jacques she won't even let me near her hair."

"I'll hold her down if I have to." He took a step through the threshold, slowly closing the door. "Get some rest."

"It's on the vanity." The door latched shut before the words had left my mouth, though. "Salaud." It came out as a sigh as I turned and made my way down the hall.

My mind drifted, leading me down the stairs and towards the quarters I had to call home. It was moments like these I missed the apartments of the palace with their proper beds.

The door creaked open to the cot like bed and empty nightstand. How pathetic you have become, I thought to myself as I sunk down. Not a piece of my life littered the room, it's bareness a reminder I was alone in the world. Only a couple years ago Tomas and I had plans of marriage and family. We had a future.