Chapter 28: Chapter 27

I stood silently in front of Lena’s door, as I had been for what was probably well over a minute now. My hand reached up to knock, but it hovered in hesitation. For the third time in a row, I lowered it back down to my side, unable to bring myself to do it. 

Why was this so hard? This was Lena! We were best friends, the bestest of friends. So what that we… My mind drifted once more to the day before, of Lena moving down between my legs, of the look she gave me when she dragged me into her bed, and of all that we did after. 

I wanted to groan in frustration, my cheeks steaming with warmth. I couldn’t face her looking like this, with a face that gave away quite explicitly that I couldn't stop thinking about it. Rubbing my cheeks and temples, I took a few breaths to try and calm myself and then reached up to attempt to knock once again. 

My hand hovered, and I bit down hard on my lip as I forced it to make the leaping journey to the door. The gentle rap of my knuckles finally hit the thick wood, and I let out a gust of air from my lungs. As no sounds from the other side came, I wondered if I had knocked loud enough as well as whether Lena was even here. She had become quite busy lately. And her wedding was approaching… 

Lifting my hand up to knock once more, I finally heard sounds of movement, not from the other side of the door, but instead down the hall. To my right, I turned to find Silas strolling in my direction, having just come around the corner. His eyes roved up my form, before meeting my own as a smirk spread across his lips. A sinking feeling fell into my stomach as I watched him saunter directly toward me, and I stood frozen as several fears began to flash through my mind.

Could he have realized or found out from someone that I was Felix beneath my cute maidly disguise? Then another worrying thought popped up — just how many people knew at this point? Had word been spreading? And if Silas knew, what could he be planning to do now that he had me in his sights? I dreaded putting any thought into the possibilities, as though it would make them real. 

Why was he even here in the first place? To see Lena? The nervous face I’d developed curved down into a frown as I remembered all the things that Lena had told me yesterday, all the things he’d been doing the past few months to her. What a bastard. My hands clenched into fists.

My frown unfortunately had the opposite effect from what I might have hoped for. The smirk on his face widened, and he tilted his head just slightly upward as though to express his bold confidence. 

“Silas,” I said flatly, holding back my building annoyance and anger. Whatever happened, I wouldn't go along easily. 

“Ahh, so you already know my name, then," came a charming tone that I wasn't really expecting. "Excellent. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to have the opportunity to learn yours.” Stopping a few feet away, he placed an arm behind his back, tilting slightly forward as though in a small bow and with a gentle smile on his face. 

He definitely didn’t know, then, or at least it seemed unlikely. He was never the sharpest sword in the armory when it came to smarts, and there was little chance that he’d be able to make such a kindly expression toward me if he had found out somehow. The boy could put on a show for girls, but I had big doubts that he'd be this good of an actor if he actually knew the truth about me. He’d be too busy grinning ear to ear and preparing to bully me, at best, or to truly torment me, at worst. Which meant… he just saw me as an unknown girl, a normal maid. My frown twisted further down, turning into what I imagined was a proper annoyed scowl. He was flirting with me!

“Pearl,” I said, giving him my name with as much of my annoyance laced in as I could manage. Though I wasn’t sure why I bothered. Some part of me felt almost compelled to give him the correct name to use, as though it were important. Probably some inner fear of him seeing straight through the ruse? “You can drop all the nonsense. I’m not interested.” There, a nice and firm rejection, I felt. No way for him to think otherwise. 

The confident, and what I assumed he believed to be charming, smile came back. “Pearl.” He said the word as though testing it on his tongue for the first time. “A rather cute name for a cute maid. And I can assure you that I’m not up to any ‘nonsense.’ I’m not sure what others may have told you of me, but I make a point of being polite to the women in my life. It’s a matter of principle.” He lifted his brows, as though inviting me to respond. 

My rejection hadn’t deterred him at all, I realized. With Lena seemingly not even in her room, it was time for me to make a hasty exit out of here. I stepped around him and marched my way down the hall. It was quite rude of me but should at least make the message clear: I really wasn’t interested in talking with him. He should just go on doing whatever he was doing before — which seemed to be also not finding Lena. Perhaps I could reach her first and warn her.

“You know,” he spoke from just behind me, making me jump unexpectedly. “I do quite like a girl who so plainly makes a show of playing hard to get.” 

I turned to glare, as he came up beside me, meeting my pace. I really couldn’t catch a break. As his words caught up with me, a spluttered, “P-Playing hard to get?!” Was he insane? How was any of that ‘playing hard to get?’ “I’m not —“ This was just plain annoying at this point. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? Things to do or something?” The question was very improper of me to ask, as a maid, though I supposed I was a maid specifically to Camilla, not the house. And the ass needed to learn when to take a hint.

He let out a small chuckle of amusement. “I’m sure you're not. And I’ve got a brief moment to spare. I was actually just looking for Lena, my fiance.”

“Oh, you’re engaged to be married? I wouldn’t have known.” Yes, see? I know nothing about you. Nor do I want to know anything. So just go away! I increased my pace slightly, turning the corner toward my and Camilla’s rooms. 

“She’s quite the girl, I must say. A true beauty in body and soul.” Was he really discussing how much he liked his fiance to a girl he was trying to flirt with? Just how much of an idiot was he? “Though a cute fire fox like you has her own appeal as well, I assure you. When I first saw you, I honestly thought you looked almost familiar." I held back a twitch of concern. "Do you have family from this area, perhaps? There's plenty of beautiful girls in this town, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Silas’s flirting was utter garbage. As close as I was to escaping, I chose to ignore him, speeding up just a little more. 

“This is the direction of the guest rooms, isn’t it? Where the sorceress is staying? If I’m not mistaken, I believe she’s your mistress? I suppose it makes sense that you’d be roomed near her as her handmaiden.” He paused, and I could see salvation ahead, just a few more feet away. “Though, I must say, taking me straight to your room. You really are a firey little fox.”

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I blinked and skidded to a halt. “You…” I turned towards him, my anger finally boiling over. 

He grinned back. “It’s not surprising, really. Any girl that would work for a sorceress has to be fearless.” I open my mouth to tell him off, but to my surprise, he stepped forward, moving in far too close to me for comfort. Reflexively, I took a step back, something that only seemed to embolden him. “And a fearless girl can get quite wild in bed, I’ve found.” He stepped forward once more, and I took another back, only to find the wall suddenly pressing against me. 

As I tried to slip to the side, he put a hand up against it as he leaned forward, his slightly higher height letting him hover just over me. “How about a little tour of your room, hm?”

My hands shook, and I could feel my heart beating heavily in my chest. I bet he was used to getting exactly what he wanted in these situations. How often had he done this to other maids, I wondered, or other girls in the town? Clenching my fists, I prepared myself to hit him, as hard and quickly as I could and then running like I’ve never run before. 

“Silas!” A harsh masculine voice shouted from the adjacent hall. “There you are. I didn’t tell you to come just so that you could flirt with the maids. Get over here. You’re waisting Praevus Emver’s valuable time.”

“Let’s continue this later,” the boy whispered in my ear before leaning back. I nearly gagged. 

Silas stepped away from me, and we both looked over to see his father staring down the hall with a hard scowl. The Praevus stood beside him, looking on curiously between the two of us. I took a step from the wall and dropped into a curtsy, Silas seeming to follow my cue with a bow. I’d just escaped the man merely half an hour ago and he was already popping up again? My luck truly had turned rotten today. 

“Sorry, father. I happened to run into her on the way here and got a bit distracted.” 

The man gave him a stern glare.

With a smile, the Praevus moved into the hall and began to walk casually toward us. Both Silas and I hesitated on what to do, neither willing to move.

“I must apologize, Praevus,” Marlon said as he caught up with him. “I know your time is very valuable. I’ve been trying to teach the boy a measure of responsibility and competence in his future duties, but he has an unfortunate tendency to stray.”

“It’s quite alright, Marlon. No trouble at all, really. I remember my own antics at his age. Once he settles down with a wife and children, I imagine he’ll mature and flourish thanks to your guidance.” The Praevus’s eyes flickered my way as the word 'wife' left his lips, almost like a reminder.

He stopped in front of us, looking back and forth between Silas and me with a thoughtful expression on his face. A look that gave me another sinking feeling. 

Emver wrapped his arm around Silas’s back and began guiding him back down the hall. I nearly missed the quick wink he shot my way as he passed. “Come dear boy, let’s find out what you’ve learned from your father. I’m sure you’ll manage to surprise him.” 

The three of them turned the corner, the echoes of their conversation still ringing around it as they moved further and further away. For a long moment, I stood there, as though to be certain that they were actually gone before I crumpled and slid down the wall.  

That… was an absurdly strange and scary situation. I knew that Silas was a pig, but I never expected him to be flirting and coming after me of all people. Blowing the hair up out of my face, I slid back up the wall, letting out an annoyed huff. Yet another thing I had to figure out how to deal with. 

I spent a long while hovering around the hall and then Camilla's room, giving the three men plenty of time to be elsewhere before I started searching for Lena. It didn't take long before my patience ran short, though, and I began making my way through the mansion once more. 

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