Silver and Evergreen

Chapter 6

A short moment later we are in the main market area and we stop at a building on the corner of a street. Sebastian gets out first and stands at the door looking at me. Does he just expect me to follow him to this strange new building?

"What is this place?" I ask before getting out. He told the driver to go to the best hotel in the market district but I am not leaving this carriage until he tells me.

"Cam, it is okay. This is the Rosemary Inn. It's just a place where people that can't afford a home to live in temporarily." Sebastian says then rolls his eyes turning away from me. "Not like some brothel you've been staying at."

This is infuriating, why did he drag me away to take me to a place like this without asking first? I was perfectly fine with Cherry and Aubrey even if I had a day left. "What was wrong with where I was staying?" I hiss at him.

Sebastian's mouth forms a hard line. "A brothel is no place for a woman like you. Being here you'll be taken care of and have your own room."

I'm not going anywhere with this man so I step out of the carriage but not too close to him. I'm ready to run in case he becomes crude towards me then cross my arms. "I'm not going in there. Take me to the Lucky Star where I am comfortable and taken care of."

The king stands there with his mouth open as he blinks at me. A snicker leaves his drivers lips and once the King glares at him, he stops immediately then Sebastian turns his gaze back to me with his nostrils flaring.

My knees slightly bend ready to bolt but he asks. "Do you work there?"

Why does that matter? "I... No, I don't work there."

He lets out a breath and his face softens. "Okay. So if you aren't one of them then they won't let you stay for long so there's no point in arguing."

What's wrong with the Lucky Star being a brothel? What is a brothel? And what is the Rosemary Inn? Is it like a shelter or an orphanage? I don't understand the concept that he explained to me but I begrudgingly take his outstretched hand because I only have one day left to stay at the Star. I let him lead us into the building because I have no other choice. Why is he doing this for me. This man seems to be the headstrong type, as stubborn as Elyse, I would say. He's right though.. So I can't argue with him, which is becoming irritating.

The door creaks as it swings open and an older woman lifts her head up. She stands behind a counter and there are many iron keys hanging on the wall behind her. Immediately her mouth drops open, probably at the sight of the King but she formally greets him anyway.

"Afternoon," he nods to her as he leans on the counter. "I would like a single bed room with all amenities included please."

Her thick black brows knit together as she blinks at us. "For how long Your Majesty?"

"For as long as this lovely lady needs." He glances back at me with a small smile and my face starts to heat up.

The woman hands Sebastian an iron key and tells him the room number. After he thanks her he walks up the carpeted stairs on our right. We go up two floors and stop at a white wooden door with a number 4 on it. The king unlocks it and waits for me to step in first. Is he going to lock me in here and use me whenever he pleases? Just like Drakon and Lord Hearthgrim or all those other men did?

I poke only my head in, it's pretty spacious for a single room. It has a small kitchen area, a fireplace with two armchairs in the middle with large windows on either side of the hearth. It looks like there are no bars over any of the windows. A bed, larger than mine ever was, sits against the right wall. It doesn't look like the kind of room to be a prisoner in but how would I know, these people could be different. I won't be captured to be used. Not again...