ANDREW BLACK

Chapter 4

Merlissa Highmore

By now, Merlissa had lost count of how many bottles she had downed and how long she had been seating here. Days had probably passed without her realizing, not that she cared. In fact, she found that she did not care for much anymore, not even for her own life. How low she had fallen. She was a disgrace to her family but soon she would no longer soil the family name. She heard the door to her chambers open and someone walked in taking a seat in front of her. Even though fully intoxicated she could tell those honey-brown eyes anywhere.

"I-I s-see you went to the tavern," She slurred at her younger cousin Audria, who was dressed as a tavern girl with a miserably plaited dark brown wig on top of her head. Maybe she could become a tavern girl, then she'd not feel so bad if the men did not love her. She'd take their money and go, not that she needed the money. Her cousin was saying something she should pay attention, but she couldn't seem to focus. Her mind kept thinking of things that would keep her from thinking about him. She slumped forward in her seat burying her head in the papers on her table.

"I had an interesting day at the tavern," Audria started trying to draw her cousin's attention from the title-less man. It annoyed her how much time Merlissa wasted crying over him and even worse the conspicuous amount of alcohol she drank. If her cousin weren't careful a scandal was sure to spread and Wruning news would take joy in covering the front pages of the paper with the Lady Merlissa's addiction to alcohol. She couldn't allow that for her cousin, but she also knew to give her a moment to grief. However, this moment was stretching too long and becoming both dangerous for her image and health.

"Uncle would have a fit knowing you left the palace unescorted and worse where you went," Audria heard as she watched her cousin trying to hide in the scattered papers on her desk.

"Father worries too much," she commented with a wave of her hand, trying to lighten the mood, unfortunately, it backfired.

"At least your parents are alive!" Merlissa snapped catching her by surprise given Merlissa did not shed a tear at her uncle and aunt's passing and there was the speech as well. The speech Merlissa gave at their funeral that left everyone both stunned in its wordings and length. The priest had asked Merlissa to share a few words. Climbing the podium with a dry napkin in hand she began, "I would like to thank my parents for bringing me into this world," to which the crowd agreed in sympathy. "as well as the for the fortune they left me," she went on paving the way and causing a few confused murmurs to erupt from the crowd. Then she gave the landing blow "but those two things were the only things they did right. Life tired on their behalf put them to rest, that or they are busily amounting wealth for me one the other side though the latter is more plausible." The crowd stared at her in stunned silence. "Amen," she concluded and the priest echoed a confused 'Amen,' with her.

The rest of the service went by with an awkward silence and people staring at her cousin saying with their eyes the things they were too fearful to say. She never shed a tear once that day or when she had heard about the accident. Though Merlissa always had a tough shell, the little girl in her still loved her parents and missed them terribly. Merlissa had grown up with her and her father and her siblings and did not see much of her parents. Still, it was only natural for her to miss them.

Audria was not used to seeing Merlissa like this. She was always refined and in control and sometimes, Audria envied that about her. She could not recognize this person slouched and mumbling out of tune songs to herself. She did not even scold her for visiting the tavern. The old Merlissa would have, she would have threatened to tell her father which would have led to an intense argument and ended in a cold war between the two of them for some days but now because of someone nameless man her cousin had being reduced to this. He should have been punished but her cousin had made sure no harm was to come to him from their side given all the damage he had caused her. Now she was upset at Merlissa for allowing that nameless man into her life.

She knew she was by no means a stranger to having scandals with the opposite gender, the few she had fallen into had been with men of class. Lords-to-be, rich merchants or soldiers, not a farm boy who worked on a farm that wasn't his. However, Audria knew that his class was not what made her angry- working with her tavern family had opened her mind- it was the fact that he had broken her cousin's heart merciless and turned the person she looked up to into a murmuring drunk and still Merlissa refused for harm to come to him. Audria exhaled as her anger made her suddenly feel hot.

"Do you think he regrets it?" Merlissa asked, "Do you think he misses me?" She continued. "Do you think he'd come back...ohh, wait he couldn't come back if he wanted too..." Audria had stopped listening.

"Look at me!" She exclaimed at her cousin pausing her pointless rambling, but she got no response. "Now Merlissa!" she stated her tone hard and Merlissa's eyes found hers. "Do you know what could happen if a servant told one wrong ear, about your state right now? It is front-page Wruning paper, 'The adored niece bordering alcoholic.' They won't care that your heart is broken, they wouldn't want to know. You'd not only hurt yourself, but your dead parents' name, mine, my brothers' and father and mother," Audria continued as she began to see her cousin really pay attention. She wanted to understand her cousin but her anger just kept bubbling and now it had exploded. "Would you be that selfish to tarnish all our images and for a nameless man?! He left you Merlissa, he found somebody else's money to spend and guess what he is not coming back. You don't have to get it together but the public and your responsibilities demand you are put together. So if you cannot, act like your act is together!" She finished and left her cousin. She couldn't bear to be in the same room with her right now.

Merlissa watched as Audria's form faded away and heard the loud bang of the door as it slammed shut. The sound seemed to wake her from her daze. Audria was right. She may not have liked her choice of words, but her cousin was right. She was astounded by how much Audria had grown that she could now give a well thought out advice. She did not have to 'get it together' she simply had to act 'put together'. This shouldn't have been a task for her given she had been acting her whole life. She just had to pretend not to think of Nat- look she had done it again. Shaking her head vigorously, she stood up. Her chamber spun a bit but she kept walking.

Outside Merlissa met a guard, a place guard as her own employees were dressed less formally. Audria must have sent him from the main castle.

"My lady," he said on noticing her and bowed his head.

"Have my maids prepare me a bath and dress to dine with my uncle and his wife," she said to him and he nodded but he made no motion to leave, "You are still here because..." she said letting the sentence hang.

"The princess asked that I collect that from you."

"This?" she asked holding the bottle to him.

"Yes, my lady."

"Here," She said shoving it in his palm. It had done most of its work anyway. Though in the long run, she was sure its damage was a lot more than its curing.

"Yes, my lady," he said bowing and went off his way. Dinner with her uncle. Was it too late to turn back from having to face the whole family with the shame she carried? They were polite enough not to bring it up well most of them except her eldest cousin Daemon, who was born 4 years earlier than she was.

'Face it squarely, and deal with him,' he had said to her the day Na- no she wasn't even going to think. Not to worry though soon it would all be over, soon she would not have to care anymore. With a long sigh, she pulled open the door and mentally prepared herself for the long grueling preparation for her dinner with the family.