Masquerade {Edited}

Masquerade -7-

Chapter Seven

Aim, fire, and miss

The moon was bright in the sky as the rest of the castle was fast asleep. I slowly got out of the bed and walked over to the window, looking out of it. I noticed the stables lights were on, temptation overwhelmed me to just walk over to them and talk to them like nothing was wrong.

Sighing, I decided to go on a midnight walk around the castle. Servants wouldn't be up this late, I only saw a couple of guards who were fast asleep on their patrol. Passing my parents bedroom, I could faintly hear my dad talking to someone. Tiptoeing to the back door that led towards the pastures, I snuck out and started to walk.

Before I could comprehend as to what was going on, I found myself facing two options. Go inside the stables that were just ahead of me or walk towards the hidden river. Deciding on the better half of keeping Neville and his family safe, I walked towards the river. Before making the tree line I could hear the faint sound of someone crying in the stables, it sounded like Susan. Temptation was overwhelming, but I let the rational half stay in place.

Walking through the forest at night was a scary task. Everywhere you looked there was shadows cast upon the darkness. I instantly got chills as I heard the nearby sound of animals howling into the air. Feeling slightly relieved, I heard the faint sound of the river nearby. Picking up my pace I ran towards the bushes, pushing them apart, and walking into the clearing.

Sighing at the beautiful sight in front of me, I walked over to the water and stood just before it and looked up. The fireflies were flying around everywhere making my hands glow if I held them out in front of me. I heard the sound of a twig snapping behind me, causing me to jump up, turning around and scream.

"No wait!" I heard as I closed my eyes dragging in a deep breath getting ready to scream it out. I felt hands cover my mouth and someone saying 'Shh'. My eyes started to cloud with fear as my body started shaking. Was someone going to kidnap me for money?

"Calm down Jane, it's just me." I heard Neville say soothingly. I struggled out of his grasp and turned around to face him. I hit his arm angrily. He flinched every time I did so, making me feel slightly better.

"What was that for?" He hissed, grabbing his arm as it painfully throbbed.

"You nearly scared me to death!" I whisper yelled. He smiled down at me before taking my hands in his.

"Is the big bad princess afraid of a servant boy?" He asked, teasingly. I smiled up at him before realizing why I had been avoiding him. I let go of his hands and took a few steps back from him. He looked up at me, confusion on his face.

"What's the matter Jane?" He asked, worriedly taking a step closer to me again. I took another step back, ignoring the hurt in his eyes as it slowly broke my heart further.

"I can't be here..." I said, feeling tears well up inside my eyes.

"Jane, what happened between you and your father?" He asked, eyes starting to water as he looked at me pleadingly.

"He knows, about us." I whispered, letting a stray tear escape my eyes. He rushed over to me before bringing me into a hug, wiping the tear off with his thumb as he kissed my forehead.

"It's my entire fault; I should have never kissed you the other night." He said, resting his chin on the top of my head as he hugged me tightly. I heard a soft sob escape my enclosed lips as I nuzzled into his chest more, letting his smell calm me down.

"I can't stay away from you Neville, I just can't. He threatened to hurt you or your family... I can't let that happen!" I shouted. I felt his body tense at my words.