The Ones Who Serve

by Jennifer Kenny

With no warning, Tempest pulled her head gently out of Evangeline’s hands, and her attention was brought once more to the stable doors. Evangeline followed her gaze and waved when she was Thomas walking towards her. She expected Tempest to ignore her again, but Tempest surprised her by staying near the gates as Thomas strode over to join them.

  “I knew she would forgive you.” Thomas interrupted, and Evangeline smiled to his voice but was sure to maintain contact with Tempest. Thomas had always been welcomed by her horse, but it seemed Tempest was wary of all people since her return. She stayed, but Evangeline saw how her hooves would hit the ground, stamping at the straw that littered her stable and never quite finding rest.

  “I believe that may be a quickly made judgement. Whatever Tempest holds against me, it is not solved.” Evangeline cautioned him. Thomas approached Evangeline to greet her, and Tempest did not pull away. Seeming to be accepted by her horse, Evangeline allowed Thomas to kiss her cheek in greeting. Still, Evangeline did take a second look around the stable. Although the stables were one of her free spaces, it did not offer her the same seclusion of the trees, and she feared being spied on by gossips. “Since when did we display ourselves so openly?” she asked him, her attention scattered.

  Thomas shrugged, only having his eyes on her. “I apologise, but you looked so beautiful standing there I simply couldn’t resist.” He grinned, and when Evangeline eventually smiled back, he knew there was no real trouble between them. “You said so yourself Eva that you have found a balance between love and duty. I am attempting such a balance in my own life.”

  “I did say that, but that does not mean we stop being discreet.” She warned him and turned her attention back to her horse. Evangeline had noticed that Tempest would act differently when she had company, but Thomas had always been someone that Tempest enjoyed having around. Thomas, however, was ignoring the horse completely as his eyes stayed on Evangeline’s face. Coming up behind her and sliding his hands over her hips, Thomas pulled Evangeline easily back against him. He rested his chin on her shoulder briefly. “You forget who you are, and where we are.” He whispered.

  His breath tickled her ear, but Evangeline rolled her eyes at his antics. “I am promised to the future King of Braykith, and we are in the royal family’s stables.” She told him. “I have forgotten nothing.”

  “No, you are a member of the royal household which means people might gossip, but no one will comment to you directly about your antics, and there is no secret to hide from those who could be hurt the most.” Evangeline frowned, and Thomas shook his head at her before elaborating. “Glais has given us his blessing, or have you forgotten that?” When she failed to respond to him, Thomas turned her gently in his hands so her back was placed against the gate and he could see her better. It took very little pressure to have Evangeline facing him, and he felt better about his actions being welcomed since she did not fight him. Thomas kissed her, and Evangeline melted in his arms.

  Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Evangeline took everything he could offer her and more in her desperation to be close to the man she loved when her life meant she should avoid him. Their time together was so often limited that Evangeline had been forced to make more of the simplest things.

  Tempest shook her head back and forth, hitting the ground with a massive stomp of her hoof, but Evangeline and Thomas ignored her as the kiss continued.

  Finally, they had to break apart, and Evangeline was about to speak when she saw movement from the corner of her eyes. Darius stood in the doorway of the stable, his features still unfamiliar to her in the Braykith uniform that looked similar to the one Thomas wore now. She attempted to push Thomas away, but he had already taken a step away from her.

  “I was running behind, and someone said they saw you at the stables,” Darius explained his sudden existence, but his voice trembled as he was struggling with what he had walked into. Evangeline nodded, not sure how best to handle the situation. “Should I go?” he asked. His eyes flickered from Evangeline to Thomas and then back again. Darius’ mouth was slack, and his hands trembled in the shock. He still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do and felt a deep sense of betrayal to the Gods on his sisters’ behalf. She apparently was not feeling it herself.

  “No, you should stay.” Thomas was the one who spoke, and after Evangeline caught his eyes and silently begged him to remain with her, he gave her a gentle smile. “You have things to discuss.” He told her and was sure to take his leave quickly. On his exit, Thomas was sure to give Darius a wide berth when he passed him. He was not too familiar with his personality, and while Darius seemed stunned and embarrassed, Thomas wasn’t confident he might not attack him. He had seen the look on other men’s faces, and all too often, it would come to blows.

  Evangeline and Darius stood facing each other in the silence of the stables. No one moved, the horses silent and still as they witnessed the siblings facing each other and struggling. Evangeline cleared her throat and ran her sweaty palms down the front of her skirts, pretending to smooth out her dress and finding imagined creases in the fabric to fuss with.

  “How long has this been going on?” Darius asked.

  “It is only recent.” Evangeline still struggled to make eye contact with her brother and was glad she had Tempest to use as a decoy. Her hands ran over her horse’s mane and neck, but it seemed the mare wanted no part in this conversation. Pulling herself out of Evangeline’s hands, Tempest returned to the corner of her stall and watched as the gap between Darius and Evangeline closed.

  “Is that what you wished to discuss?” he asked, and the first of his anger showed as his voice came with sharp edges in her direction.

  “No, no I would never be so…” Evangeline could not finish her sentence, and it trailed off uselessly between them. “We have many secrets between us Darius.” she reminded him.

  “I suppose I should just accept this as one more,” Darius grumbled, and Evangeline knew that if Darius could see Braykith as she did, perhaps he would not judge her so harshly. Evangeline could never tell him about the curse out of fear of whose death the curse would take as payment, and so instead she faced his disgust as best she could. “Does Glais know?” Darius asked her. “I will not keep this a secret from him should he ask about it.”

  “Glais knows. We have an arrangement.” It seemed the simplest way to explain to her brother the uniqueness of her relationship with Glais without exposing to him the full truth. She doubted Darius would ever understand how Glais would agree to this. “I didn’t plan for it to happen Darius.”

  Darius nodded. “I have a feeling that there is a lot that has happened recently that no one planned for.” He was solemn even in the attempt of humour, and Evangeline could not force herself to smile.

  “How much do you know about me Darius?” she asked. He shrugged, moving off but Evangeline would not allow him to escape. It had been quite a struggle within herself when Evangeline decided she needed to share some home truths with her brother. They could not repair a family bond that had never been, but perhaps they could make something new. That was her motivation as she forced Darius to stay and listen. “I have to admit I did not know much about myself before I came here. I had always wondered why such a powerful place as Braykith settled for me as their son’s match. There are greater alliances to be made. Crimah was nothing worthy in the grand scheme of things.” She paused, knowing she was close to mentioning the greatest secret Braykith held.

  “I am sure Quintus has his reasons,” Darius answered.

  “Yes. And it was power.” She shook her head at the naive belief she once had of fate and true love. All the small-minded ideas Evangeline had once projected onto Glais and Braykith were now only tattered lies that decorated the ground beneath her feet. “Crimah had something powerful enough for Braykith to be interested.”

  “You?” Darius asked, confused.

  “Me.” Evangeline paused but forced herself to speak. “I’m not normal Darius. I have never been, and I don’
t want us to have secrets any longer. Someday this information might be valuable.” And Evangeline was never sure if she could survive Glais and his curse long enough to tell it to anyone else. “I am part Dryad.”

  Darius stared at her for a moment, and she wondered if he had fallen mute because of her news, but it seemed that it was taking him time to process the revelation. “Part what?” Darius asked, sure he had heard her wrong even though there was no disruption near them.

  “Dryad. Tree spirit.” She couldn’t help but smile because those words made the history seem less complicated. “Before I was born, Mother was struggling to conceive, and so she took to the trees to pray. It was not Xado who answered her but the Dryads. One of them approached her with a seed and instructed Mother to brew a tea with it. That was how I came to be.” Evangeline looked down at her hands. “And now I live here, another trophy to show Quintus’ power.”

  Darius nodded, although he felt light-headed and even the simple act of moving his head made him less steady on his feet. “It makes a little sense,” Darius said.

  “How?” Evangeline could think of nothing that backed up her claims beyond Darius just taking her word. She had been expecting a fight, but instead, she had been greeted with a simple understanding. It surprised her, and she wondered what Darius had encountered in his life that made him believe in such fantastical stories with no hesitation.

  “Father had always been distant with you,” Darius said, clearly not thinking before he spoke if he realised he was speaking out loud at all. Each thought was translated straight to his mouth without censorship. “But as the years wore on, and after you had left he would increasing say you were not my sister and not his daughter.”

  Evangeline knew that was how Barret felt about her, but it hurt her still to think those words and condemnations he laid bare on her wedding day had been lingering for much longer in his core. She hugged herself, nodding at Darius to continue and not wanting to share with him her emotions at this moment. If Darius had known Barret’s hate for her, had it been a hidden truth to everyone in Crimah?

  “I thought Mother had an affair.” Darius shrugged, embarrassed by his admission. “I never could work out who it was, but I imagined Father had been quick to dismiss him after her pregnancy became more obvious.”

  “It wasn’t an affair. I am just as much Barret’s child as you are.” Evangeline said the words that any person should say in these conversations. Although she no longer felt that it was true. Barret had raised his children so separately that it felt foreign at times to think of Darius as her brother, but his actions against her in the woods made it impossible for Evangeline to forgive Barret and to think of him as a father. “The tea did not create me wholly in the dryad’s image. I am still blood and bone.”

  Darius nodded, pressing his lips together in a gesture so like her own it made Evangeline smile. “Whichever way you came into this world Eva, it doesn’t change who you are to me,” Darius said.

  “I am glad to hear it.” Evangeline smiled, but it fell when she noticed that Darius was not smiling at her.

  “Thomas does.” He answered her unasked question. “I never imagined I would need to be concerned with such matters Eva, and yet here it was right in front of me.”

  Evangeline wanted to explain it, but there were no safe words beyond the excuses she had already given. Evangeline knew now why Wick stayed silent, and so she did the same. She could not answer and keep Darius safe, and so she said nothing at all. He cleared his throat to try and tempt her to explain herself, but Evangeline would not give in to the pressure. Darius looked at her, and Evangeline looked back and hoped she gave away nothing from her expressions.

  “Glais perhaps has come to a settlement, but I will not Eva. Quintus may not have been thinking much about your engagement to his son beyond owning something different in this world, but you make the choices that shape how the world sees you,” Darius warned her.

  “And you see me differently now?” Evangeline asked the obvious. His embarrassment at her situation was impossible to miss, but Evangeline hoped he could calm her fears. Instead, Darius confirmed them.

  “I can never again see you as simply a girl in an unwanted situation.” He sighed. “You feared it was the thing you could not control that would hurt my opinions Eva, but it is your choices. Your choices are what define you. Father taught me that, and while he was quite mad near the end, those words remain true. Your choices give us a basis for understanding your character and your motives. Thomas is…” Darius sighed. “Thomas is a mistake, Evangeline.”

  Darius turned and walked away from her. Evangeline wanted to go after him, but she was rooted in the place, too embarrassed to beg him for the second chance she was not certain she deserved.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  T he scream was heard throughout the castle. The guards that stood at attention outside the bedroom of Evangeline and Glais came storming into the sitting room with no hesitation. At the lead was Thomas, and the others took a step back before Thomas opened the bedroom where the frantic cries of Evangeline were growing more persistent. It was a well-kept secret that someone who understood the curse was to be positioned close to Quintus and Glais at all times in an effort to keep others from finding out. Very few guards remained that could be trusted with such a task, and Thomas had been placed on Glais’ chambers just for this reason.

  Thomas opened the door, and quickly scanned the scene. Evangeline sat upright on the bed, her clothes and the blankets twisted around her as she cried into her hands. Glais, half dressed and looking just as confused as Thomas, motioned to him that all was clear. It was a small series of hand gestures, known by only those who needed to know them and were unmistakable as anything else. Thomas had relaxed for just a breath before he realised this meant the trouble came not from the bloodlust, but other ways.

  Wick pushed herself through the small crowd of officials. People would always avoid touching her if they could which made her persistence easier. Wick did not take offence and did not seem to notice as she sought to offer Evangeline comfort. She was allowed to come to the side of the bed where Evangeline continued to sob although her cries had lessened now. The shock was setting in deeply, disbelief on her face as Evangeline struggled to make sense of what she could see. Her body was shaking under its own command as Evangeline raked her hand back through her hair and more of the dark strands appeared loose in her palm.

  Evangeline turned her hand over, and the loose strands fell to join the others that littered the bed and her clothes. “My hair is falling out.” She said to Wick first, and then to Glais because she needed to hear someone speak in response to her words. “Look at it.” She reached for her hair again and then thrust her closed fist towards him, and Glais nodded in response. He wasn’t sure what else to say. The silence stretched out as everyone saw the scattering of dark hair all over her bedding.

  “Lady Evangeline, please evacuate the bed and allow us to investigate,” Thomas said, finally breaking the silence.

  With Wick’s assistance, covering herself in a robe, Evangeline cleared the room. Her hands stumbled over themselves as they struggled to make the cord into a knot around her waist to secure the clothing closed and ensure her modesty. Barely making it to the sitting room, Wick assisted her, and Sable made tea to help calm Evangeline since she felt there was nothing more she could do.

  Glais pulled his robe closed around his waist, watching Evangeline until she could no longer be seen. “Someone was posted on my door at all times?” he asked Thomas, although he knew the answer to it.

  “Of course. Your safety is our top assignment.” Thomas reminded Glais, but it did not make the Prince feel better. “Only men that we can trust have been stationed outside the royal chambers.”

  Glais nodded. “Yes, but trust is meaningless and less these days.” He stood back and allowed the men to gather around the bed. Frowning, he reached out for the strands that clung to the blankets stubbornly as if they wanted to remind him of thi
s vile act for as long as possible. Glais sniffed them, but there was no scent left behind. He dropped the locks he held and let them fall to the floor. “They seem without life. Brittle and fragile.” Someone had opened a window to clear the room of trapped air, and immediately a breeze entered the building and danced over the hair left behind, picking it up from where it lay and tossing individual strands aside as if to inspect it.

  Thomas nodded, not wanting to imagine how such a thing could have happened. “I want the names of everyone who guarded this room.” He said to the nearest soldier who promptly obeyed him. Thomas turned to leave, and Glais stopped him. “Yes, my grace?”

  “I personally want to see everyone who was stationed outside the door. To cut her hair is one thing. To destroy it in this manner, it sends an entirely different message.” One that neither man liked. Thomas nodded and moved off to collect the data while the remaining soldiers were left to clean up the evidence in the bedroom.

  In the sitting room, Evangeline appeared to have calmed a little, but still quite shaken. Her hair was still long, hanging well past her shoulders but when compared to the long tresses that she had arrived with, half of her hair was suddenly gone.

  “Someone cut my hair.” She said to Glais when he entered her field of vision, still in disbelief that she had woken up to this grim discovery.

  He looked at his wife, Wick inspecting the damage and Sable standing oddly to the side. Sable seemed as shaken as Evangeline at this new development, but Glais had more pressing matters that called to his attention. Evangeline pulled her hair forward and inspected it now that the initial fear was subsiding. That emotion was being replaced by sadness, confusion and anger all in the same heartbeat. It pained Glais to see her in such distress.

  Glais did not consider lying to her. He believed this was a message that Evangeline’s life was in danger and Glais needed her to be aware of it. Evangeline had shown in the past just how impulsive she can be and how risk tended to gravitate towards her. Glais took a seat on the table, leaning forward as he addressed her. “I believe it may be more personal than that.”