Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 8: Father and Daughter

~Katelyn~

I sat out in the garden, brushing my doll's long  brown hair. Her cheeks were a rosy pink and her mouth was sewed on. The birds stopped their song and I looked up. Daddy was walking towards me with a wide grin on his face. An even bigger smile was my reaction.

"Daddy!" He kneeled down and opened his arms, just in time to catch me. My doll was left on the bench, forgotten. Daddy groaned as he stood, me in his arms.

"How are you doin' angel?" He kissed my forehead and chuckled when I giggled. I opened my mouth to answer when a blonde woman turned the corner of the house. I cocked my head to the side and looked back at daddy.

"Who's that?" Daddy looked behind him and sat me back on the ground, patting my head.

"This is Alice. She's a friend of mine." The woman shyly smiled at me and approached. Daddy took my hand and lead me over to Alice who met us halfway. "Alice, this is my daughter Katelyn."

"Hi Katelyn. It's nice to meet you." Alice took my hand and gave it a soft shake. She turned to Father with a confused look. "I didn't know you had a daughter." Daddy chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. I studied Alice very carefully.

She had long blond hair that was pulled back in a braid. Her eyes were a light blue and her cheeks were the same pink as my dolls were. The dress she wore matched daddy's dark blue shirt that he wore when he changed out of his regular cloak. Which he happened to not be wearing at the moment.

"Kate, I thought I told the maid to pin back your hair." Father changed the subject and raised a brow at me. I giggled and twirled a piece of my long black hair around my finger. "Did you hide again?" I pursed my lips in thought and daddy sighed.

"It hurts when she ties it up." I whine. Alice steps forward with her hands folded in front of her.

"Mind if I try?" I smiled up at her and turned to daddy. He gave a nod and Alice took my hand. We walked back towards the benches and Alice took a seat. I sat on the ground before her and played with my doll. Daddy's at in the bench opposite of us and just watched. "I like your doll. What's her name?"

"Violet. Like my sister." Alice's hands went still as she was combing through my hair. I adjusted the dress on my doll and smiled to daddy who had a sad look behind his eyes. "She ran away-"

"Katelyn." Father warned with a stern tone. I closed my lips together and stayed silent. Alice cleared her throat and started my braid. Not even the birds were chirping anymore and the air felt thick.

"It must be fun living in such a big house." Alice tried to make conversation. I shrugged my shoulders and felt Alice tie off my hair with a band. "All done!" I ran my hand down the braid and smiled over my shoulder.

"What do you say Kate?" Father asked with a knowing glance.

"Thank you!" I grabbed my doll off the ground and ran to pet the horses in the stable's.

~Alice POV~

"She's precious." I smiled and watched the young girl strike down Lucius' mane. All my time being here, I had yet to see Katelyn. Shay just told me that I was meeting someone very important to him. I expected a fellow Templar or even a lover, but never his daughter. Although when Kate mentioned her missing sister, Violet, my heart wretched.

It couldn't possibly be the same girl, could it?

"Katelyn misses her older sister, Violet." He looked up from his hands and sat straight. "After their mother passed, Violet was out of control. I had enough of it one night and told her to leave." Shay held his head in both hands and inhaled deeply. "She never came home."

"Pardon my asking, but what did she look like?" I was going to get to the bottom of the mystery one way or another. Shay looked up and gave a tiny smile of comfort.

"She looked just like me, actually. Long, dark hair and hazel eyes. Very fragile. Lord knows where she is now." I could see the pain written all over Shay's face. This strong and tense man was finally cracking at the seams.

Violet.

All the things she had told me was a lie. She was no ordinary slave, but a spoiled girl in grief that ran away from a loving home. Captured by Redcoats and put to work without her father's knowledge.

How could I break the news to Shay that his eldest daughter was dead?

"Shay, can we talk inside for a moment?" Shay looked confused by stood once again. I took his offered arm and held it just a bit tighter, for I didn't know how he would react to what I was about to say. He opened the door for me and the smell of fresh wood filled my nose. The mansion was different than the one I was staying in across the old military camp.

Thick blue Templar banners hind from the ceiling and a large desk was placed in the middle. Shay lead me around the corner where a single bedroom sat. He released my arm and walked over to pour a glass of wine. "Want one?"

"No thank you." I sat on the edge of the bed and folded my hands across my lap. Shay remained respectful and sat in the chair across from me. I leaned forward and took a deep breath. "I met your daughter, Shay. When I was a prisoner at the Redcoats base." Shay's eyes went wide and his mouth was agape. He reached forward and snagged my hands.

"Violet? What was she doing there?!" Shay nearly yelled.

"She was a slave. Not anything bad, just to give food and water to the soldiers." Shay shook his head in disbelief. Now came the hard part.

Telling him his daughter was no longer on this earth.

"What camp? I will personally kill all those who harmed her." Shay squeezed my palm and his eyes narrowed. I swallowed the huge lump in my throat and prepared myself.

"She's not there anymore Shay. She's.....dead." The small light in his eyes was extinguished. "She was messing around with one of the soldiers. The others found out she was pregnant and ratted her out. Her lover shot her, Shay." I could see Shay dry heave is disgust. I stood quickly and wrapped my arms around him so he wouldn't collapse so hard onto the floor.

"No....no not my baby...." Shay did something I never thought he would do. He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face into my abdomen. "Not my daughter."

~Chapter End~

Plot twist! I love this chapter, it was so fun writing! Thanks for the views and votes!