Lady Of Charms

Chapter 6

The first thing Aden did when he woke up was going to Kalena's room. She did not come back from the tavern last night. As much as he hated to admit, Aden was worried. He knew Kalena was perfectly capable of capturing Charles, but the fact she did not come back while he waited, made him wonder if this was too big a task for one person. He believed in Salem's judgement and he believed in Kalena, yet he had trouble falling asleep last night.

Kalena told him not to come to the tavern and he listened to her, but she didn't say anything about waiting for her at the mansion. As the hours passed by, Aden became more worried. He ended up falling asleep on the couch in the sitting room. By the time he woke up, it was already dawn. Thinking he overslept her arrival, he went back to his room promising himself he would check on Kalena in the morning.

Aden knocked on Kalena's door once, twice.

Nothing.

Just when he was about to leave, the door across the hall opened and a woman with a light brown hair stepped out, giggling.  Regan walked into the hallway after her, offering the woman his arm to escort her. At first, they didn't notice Aden, but then the woman took her eyes from Regan and spotted Aden awkwardly standing in front of the closed door.

Aden thought the woman looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he saw her. He looked at her glamorous green dress adorned with golden lace and jewels that marked her as nobility or, at least, a part of the wealthy society. Unlike her exquisite dress, her hair was a mess. The two braids that went around her head were loosened and there were strands of hair everywhere. She looked like she had a wild night. Based on her clothes, Aden could have seen her at one of Salem's parties. He supposed the woman was a friend of Salem's. And Regan's apparently.

"She's not here, lover boy," Regan shouted across the hall.

Surprise and confusion shone across Aden's face. Did Kalena tell him about their sleeping arrangement? 

"How-" Aden started, but the woman interrupted him.

"Oh dear boy, you should have learned by now. In this mansion even the walls have ears," she cackled.

Aden wondered if the woman knew him, or she just heard some rumors he desperately tried to avoid. He decided to ignore the woman and looked at Regan: "Do you know where is she?"

"Lady Kalena left yesterday evening, and she has not come back since," Regan replied, emphasizing the word Lady.

Aden understood the implication that the woman in front of him, although very familiar with the gossip around the mansion, did not know Lady Kalena's true occupation. He supposed the woman did not know about Regan's occupation as well, otherwise she wouldn't be so familiar with him.

As for the rest of the information he got from Regan, Aden realized he did not oversleep Kalena's arrival. She never came back last night. Concern filled Aden's mind as he tried to stay as calm as possible.

"Well, if Lady Kalena happens to come back, please let her know I was looking for her," Aden said and hurried down the hall, not bothering to hear a response.

~

Whenever Aden felt like he had too much on his mind, he went to the orphanage. Visiting and playing with children would take his mind off anything. As hard as his life had been at the orphanage, he felt like his life after was even harder. He was tired of all the secrets and scheming.

Miss Melina liked when Aden visited. All the children adored him and, while Aden was playing with them, miss Melina could take some time to relax. Age took its toll and the old lady couldn't run after the children anymore. Not many young women chose to work in an orphanage, so most of the time, it was just Melina and three others taking care of everyone.