Buried Truths

Chapter 3

I breathe deeply, as I stop in front of the double doors of the Manor. This part of the plan wholly relied on the information we had received about the Princess never having met Aldhaven due to being overly cautious of spies. Although I couldn't imagine the quick-tempered Princess being smart and meticulous enough to think of a plan to overthrow the Queen without detection.

"What is this ridiculous service!" I screech with the most privileged voice I can muster, making sure I scowl and furrow my brows; the huge doors open before me and the same dumpy coachman as before comes waddling out and stops in front of me,

"We are ever so sorry, Ma'am but we were told to not disturb you by that young security chap who was with you,"

"What security chap, I was knocked out and left in the coach, had I not woken up and gotten out of that useless piece of wood, I would probably be in some abandoned house surrounded by some dirty commoners! What is this atrocious safety! You don't even know the people of your security posse, how embarrassing!" By the time I'm finished with my rant, the coachman's, small chubby face was red and he blubbered uselessly,

"No...not...from...the security team?! Bu....but....he said..." He realised how childish he sounded and wiped a portly hand down his face and bowed so low, I wondered if he could touch his toes with his nose.

"We are so sincerely apologetic, Your Highness I will notify th-"

"I don't want a notification going out! What will a notification do?! I want a team of your best trackers chasing down the delinquent right away." When I didn't see an immediate reaction I snapped my fingers and retorted loudly, 

"Come on! Chop chop, I want it done right away!" The coachman's - I really need to find a better name to call him - face was beetroot and he once again did his impossibly low bow and after he promised me that he will follow through my orders, he waddled back into the great hall into one of the many rooms spotted on the bottom floor. Good luck Cae with dealing with those trackers, I hope you're miserable, I snicker to myself and walk into the mansion giving each of the doors and the whole layout of the place a thorough scrutinising. 

The ceiling was so high up I dismissed it from any plan of escaping, I was craning my neck so far back that when I went to look back down, I had a sudden rush of blood and for two seconds I almost tripped over myself in my dizziness. I put my hand to my forehead and groaned while leaning against one of the pillars; I groggily opened one eye and found a black eye staring right at me. It snapped me right out of my episode and I stared in horror at the thing in front of me. 

It was a bloodshot eye with pupils so dark and soulless that all the light from the room just seemed to be absorbed into it. It was radiating dark energy and was floating directly in front of me. The world around me got so small and tight, my chest constricted and my breaths stuttered out of me in torn puffs and pants. What was happening?  I put a shaking hand to my chest and my knees wobbled, so dangerously close to slipping and hitting the ground I had to grip the pillar until I felt my nails cracking and could see the small drips of blood stark against the whiteness of my gloves. I suddenly noticed the pillars were blocks of the darkest black I had ever seen. Then I realised everything was black and rimmed with lifeless red. The colours seemed to pulse to a silent heartbeat, as though they were greedy for the horrific energy that seeped out from the eye. 

This is not real. I tried to convince myself. Closing my eyes I furiously rubbed them before praying that I had just hallucinated everything. Magic was a thing found in books and heard from those useless Spaniard fanatics, who preached about the blessings rained upon them by their Lord Immortal. They can keep their blessings to themselves, we had no use of them here in England. Strengthening my resolve, I lowered my hands and heard the steps of someone behind me.

"Oh my! Princess! Are you okay?" A male sickly voice pierced my hazy mind and made me whirl towards it, hiding my hand behind me. It takes me a few seconds to collect my thoughts and stand up straighter, glad my cracked nails were hidden under the evening gloves.

"Just a small dizziness episode, sir. I am sure you'll be pleased to hear that your ceiling is a fascinating structure." The old man, surprisingly tall for his wrinkly complexion, stared at me with barely disguised lust and desire. His eyes roam over my bodice and linger on my chest then he faces my eyes again. 

So this was Aldhaven. He grinned and bowed low before stepping towards me and taking my hand to his lips. I made sure to curl my fingers so the spots of blood didn't show.

"I'm honoured that Your Highness finds my place worthy of her fascination. Welcome to my humble home." He kisses my hands and I refrain from snatching my hand back and wiping his disgusting imprint off of it. Before I could reply, a man walks out of a room guarded by two black-robed people, both of them following after him when he opened another set of huge double doors. My god was he soft on the eyes. 

The man was devilishly handsome with dark, long hair tied at the back in a small bun. His body was huge and he walked as if the world was his oyster and he was gracing it with his presence. When he caught me staring, he sent me a grin that looked more like a bearing of teeth, and his navy- almost black eyes stared at me all the way from across the room as though he was saying I remember you. Do you remember me? A shiver ran along my spine and I clenched my hands to stop them from shaking. He strolled up to Aldhaven and keeping his eyes on me, he leans down and whispers in Aldhaven's ears before winking at me and walking off, leaving me trembling and slightly delusional. 

What on earth was all of that?