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CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT
A GUESSING GAME
"i can't ignore you"
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     Aurora was not the type to be easily fooled. More than half of the time she was on her guard, making sure to weigh her words carefully before speaking. As well as that, she was not the kind to believe in any hocus pocus sort of stuff either.

     So when Mary had finally let Aurora leave so that she could be alone with Francis, Aurora had been more than happy to make an escape to her very own chambers. She was already planning it all out in her head. Maybe she'd go hunting, or maybe she would just be spending time practicing her aim. Or maybe she would even just lay on her back on the moss covered ground, peering up into the deep blue cloud free sky between some evergreen trees.

     What ever she would end up doing, it would be relaxing. And relax was just what she needed after the first few days at french court.

     But much to her dismay, the first thing to happen when she left Mary's side was just the opposite of relaxing. She had bumped into none other than Sebastian. Christ, will I ever catch a break from this bastard?

     His usual cheeky and slightly flirty grin was on display, pearly whites shining down at the Scottish princess. His cheeks were still covered in slight stubbles, indicating that there had been some time since he had shaved his face and that a dark beard that with no doubt matched his shaggy brown hair was growing. His blue eyes seemed to glint in the sunlight as he smiled, his cheeks making them slightly smaller when he grinned. Aurora huffed on the inside. She was no where near blind, and found the bastard son tremendously attractive, but several things made it impossible for them to ever be together, even if that was what she wanted. Which, for the record, she absolutely did not. His annoying personality trumfed his good looks.

     ¨In a rush, are we?¨ Not only couldn't Aurora escape the looks of his stupid smug face, but she could practically hear it in his voice. She poked out her hip, sassily placing  a hand on it, head slightly tilted as she stared up at him.

     ¨I am in a slight rush, yes, not we.¨ Aurora corrected confidently, earning a chuckle from Sebastian. He greatly enjoyed watching her grow more and more irritated by him. He was used to having some women throw themselves at him, despite the fact that he was the bastard son of the king. Maybe he just had that kind of charm. Nevertheless, women never acted the way Aurora did, at least not around him. Maybe she just had a problem with her attitude, or maybe the scot in her was strongly peeping through.

     ¨May I ask why you are in such a rush, princess?¨ Aurora really hated the title, but somehow his voice made it sound like such a nice thing. She shook her head, quickly rejecting the thoughts rushing into her brain.

     ¨No you may not. Nice chatting with you, though, Sebastian. Have a wonderful day.¨ With that, the red head manouvered her way past the tall brown haired boy, picking up the skirt of her dress so that she could easily rush down the hallway and into her room.

     As a sort of. . . rebel, Aurora was not quite accustomed to the attention from the opposite sex. Or even the same sex for that matter ( let us just say Aurora was quite the fruity young 'lady' ). Most everyone had heard whispers about the wild Scottish princess. It was not good for either the french nor scots. If someone reflected poorly on the court, it would continue to reflect badly upon the country and its people.

     If Aurora had been just any girl, behavior like this would not be tolerated at all. But Aurora was not just any girl. She was the younger sibling, and Mary was the Queen which meant that making Mary the suitable woman to rule a country was priority number one, and always had been. Aurora was simply the second choice, the back up plan if you may. Scarcely did anyone really pay attention to her. Not that she minded. Personally it was a preference of hers. Running around on her own was better than being taught how to walk, talk and even breathe properly.

     Perhaps that was the reason Sebastian was so intrigued by her. Though he had seen many beautiful women who had thrown themselves at him, Aurora was something unique. The way she let her wild curls hang loose, and the way she did not take any negativity from anyone. And the way she would mysteriously disappeared for hours upon hours only to reappear, not leaving a single trace to tell the story of where she had been. Aurora Stuart was certainly different, and a struggle at that, but Sebastian was determined.

     He was going to uncover her mysterious antics and get to know her, even if it was the very last thing he would do.

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     "This is insane." Aurora scoffed, leaning up against the stone wall in the passageways Mary had been going on about. Apparently they were tunnels that connected the old and new parts of the castle together. According to Francis, most were now sealed up and dead ends. Mary was confident 'Clarissa' was hiding in there.

     "Shh." Mary hushed. "Charles said she likes guessing games. So, I'll be playing one with her." Aurora chuckled.

     "You are going to be playing a guessing game with a ghost? You are wasting my time." Mary shot her sister a look, silently telling her to shut up. The girl put her hands up in defense, deciding to let Mary have a try at embarrassing herself.

     "Clarissa. If you can hear me, I want to play a guessing game with you." Mary started, kneeling on the ground. "I will throw a marble. If I guess right, you will roll it back to me. If I'm wrong, you can keep it. It's yours." Aurora watched with an arched brow. "Okay. I think you know who's trying to hurt me."

     Mary let a white marble fly down the tunnel and into the dark. Silent surrounded them, the only sound hitting their ears being drops of water colliding with the ground. Aurora opened her mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but much to her suprise the marble came rolling back. Her eyes went wide.

     The girl kneeled down next to her sister, watching as she hurried to throw the marble again. "Who is it? Is it the English? Is it Queen Cathrine? No, sorry. I'll ask one question at a time." But it was too late. The marble she had thrown was now rolling to a stop infront of the two royal sisters. They shared a look.

     "Is it the English?" Aurora repeated, throwing a marble. This time, it didn't come rolling back. Instead they heard shuffles and soon enough footsteps escaping down the dark tunnel.

     The two quickly got to their feet, Aurora leading as they headed down the tunnels, Mary calling Clarissa's name. Aurora halted, her sister almost crashing into her. "Look." The princess reached down to the ground. A key rested next to the a broken marble. Aurora picked it up.

     The two examined it, chills running down Aurora's back. "I guess you told me so."

word count; 1360
a/n

hi, don't hate me! i know that it's been forever since i've updated this book, and i'm sorry! it kind of just fell out off of my list of priorities. but i have noticed that this book has been getting some attention! in fact, the book is about to hit twenty thousand reads, which is mind blowing especially since the last time i updated, it was about to hit 1k. so i figured it was time for me to sit my ass down and write. so here u go, it's been a long wait but chapter eight is out, and future chapters are in the process of being written.

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