Hidden in the Castle

Part 23

Chapter 22

The stall was cold, hidden in the shadows, but despite these facts, he felt welcome here.  For the past years, the shadows had been a comfort, had been the only thing that hid him when he hadn’t wanted to be found.  Now, as he waited, as patiently as he could, he couldn’t help but feel a small amount of unease crawl up his chest.  He pushed himself further back into the corner, hoping that no one would see him.  The shadows had helped him so far; they wouldn’t let him down now, not when he had so much to lose. 

The small footsteps that had sent him scurrying into the shadows shifted, and once more, he forced himself to stay where he was.  The silence was something he was used to, something that he had also come to feel comfort in, which was why he jumped when another set of footsteps sounded through the stables.

“Ramsey?” a female voice whispered, seeming almost unsure of herself.

He ground his teeth together, recognizing that voice.  It was her, Annabelle Nicholson.  The woman that the Prince was smitten with, the woman that Cassie seemed to instantly warm to. 

“Here.”

This time, he couldn’t help but let out a whoosh of air in surprise.  The voice was close, just on the other side of the stall door.  This was also a voice he recognized, but while anger flowed through him when Annabelle’s timid voice flew through the stables, panic hit him as Ramsey spoke.  This was the one that he had to worry over.  This boy, who had become a man in such a small time, could ruin his plans, could diminish his dreams for the future.

Annabelle gasped, and he tried not to take satisfaction in the fact that she had also been frightened by Ramsey’s sudden appearance.  “How long have you been there?”

“Since I followed the boy to the stable,” Ramsey answered in a voice that said he thought his answer was obvious.  “Only a few more moments, and we will hear what the boy has to say.”

“Why a few moments?” she asked, voicing the question that he himself could not ask.

As the last word left her mouth, loud, clumsy sounding footsteps rushed into the stables.  “Ramsey, I want to be part of this.”  The person paused as if thinking over their words.  “I can’t handle watching another person that I care for hurt.  If there is something that I can do, I want to help.  No, I demand to help.  You cannot keep me in the dark any longer.  I am a part of this just as much as you are.”

The speech was a good one, fit for a prince, and if he hadn’t felt a surge of hatred as soon as the voice flowed around him, he may have commended the man for his effort.  Instead, he had to bite the inside of his cheek.  He had to feel that small amount of pain in order to keep himself from shooting out of the stall, from destroying the plans he had fought so hard and so long to see through.

“I wouldn’t have waited for you if I didn’t want your help.”

The bored tone to Ramsey’s voice made his face split into a grin.  If there was anyone who could put someone in their place, whether prince, duke, or servant, it was Ramsey.  It was something he had taught the boy, and hearing it now, he couldn’t help but feel a small amount of pride surge through him.

“You were waiting on us?” Annabelle asked, once again stating what everyone else in the room already knew.  Truly, he couldn’t understand why the woman held so many people’s attention.  Her looks could explain the Prince’s attentions, but why Cassie?  Even when Cassie was the naïve chit of the past, she had enough sense to choose people worthy of her to spend time with.

“I would be waiting on Cassie too if the woman hadn’t been carted off by Colin.”

Again emotions beat within him, excitement from hearing Cassie’s name, rage from hearing Colin’s.  He leaned closer though, hoping that Ramsey would say more, that he would elaborate on exactly why Cassie was being carted off by the man who had stolen her once before.