Forbidden Love - Merlyn [2]

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Beast Beneath The Beauty

The next morning came about and Merlyn knew that she had to discover the truth about the Lady Catrina and quickly. However, she had to do this alongside completing her duties to Arthur which was just a pain. After serving Arthur his breakfast, Merlyn had gathered his dirty laundry in a wooden basket and had begun to make her way towards the wash rooms. When she was passing through the corridors beside the square, to her dismay, she noticed the Lady Catrina upon a brown horse and the king beside her on a white horse. They were clearly leaving the castle for some private time together, a ride in the early morning. The sight worried Merlyn. As much as she disliked the king, she didn't trust the Lady Catrina and it seemed that the Lady had her eyes set upon the king but why?

Merlyn sighed as she watched the king and Catrina leave the square with bright smiles on their faces - the king smiling was still a strange sight to see. However, an important thought suddenly occurred to Merlyn. Catrina had left the castle ... her room was empty. If there was any a time to do some sleuthing, now would be it. Quickly, Merlyn turned back around and walked towards the chambers of the castle, heading to only one.

It took no time for Merlyn to reach Catrina's guest chambers and she easily slipped into the room. As expected, it was completely empty. Merlyn silently moved into the room and placed her basket on the floor but something in the room was bothering her. There was a smell, a disturbing, lingering stench that was attacking her nose.

Ignoring the smell as best she could, Merlyn began to methodologically check out the room; she opened drawers and wardrobes, scanned cupboards and Catrina's belongings but she found nothing out of the ordinary. However, as Merlyn turned to face the bed, she realised that the bed was the same as it had been the day before. Moving over to the furniture Merlyn ran her hand along the bedding. There wasn't a crease in sight. This bed hadn't been slept in! So where had Catrina slept last night?

"Can I help you?" a loud and growled voice asked. Merlyn's eyes shot up from the bedding to find Jonas stood on the other side of the bed, his beady eyes fixated on Merlyn. She had no idea how long he had been there.

"No. Err, I-I-I was ..." Merlyn had no idea what to say. She was in the Lady's chambers without permission. If she didn't come up with something quick, she was dead. Merlyn gave the man a smile before her gaze dropped to the bedding beneath her hand. "I was just checking the sheets ... we do every day." That was a little white lie.

"Please, go ahead. Don't let me get in your way" Jonas replied but he did not move from his place. Merlyn just wanted to leave the room, she really didn't like him and hated being in his grimy presence.

"I'm, err, all done. Thank you" Merlyn said as she got to her feet, her hand leaving the expensive bedding. With a small smile gracing her features, Merlyn tried to race out of the room but just as her hand looped through the metal handle of the door Jonas' voice caught her.

"Merlyn? Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked. Merlyn turned around and locked eyes with the creep before he himself span around. The swift turn led to Merlyn's horror. From beneath the bottom of Jonas' robes, Merlyn spotted a bright green ... forked tail!

Merlyn felt sick at the sight of it. What the hell was Jonas?! She had never seen anything like it. Struggling to keep her face neutral, Merlyn watched as Jonas bent over and picked up the wooden basket, she had completely forgotten about it. Jonas held the basket out towards her.

"Right, that would be helpful" Merlyn said awkwardly as she stepped forward and took the basket out of his hands. She left with a nervous smile meanwhile Jonas just watched from his stoic position. He had not been pleased she had been in the Lady's chambers, he was very protective which meant that there was a secret he was hiding. Merlyn had to get back to Gaius.