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“Thank you both for your time.” I say, walking out of the chambers and down the steps. I hear them talking behind me but pay it no mind. Battle strategies are one of my specialties. Everyone in the kingdom knows that.
The nervous feeling in my chest climbs as I think of the words in the book, the success stories of other cities, and my knowledge of what is happening. Diane is my mate. She is human. She has awakened something inside me and can weaken me with one glance. She is the one I have waited for my entire life, and no one must know.
13
DIANE
Isigh as I look out the window at the sky. Another day with no answers. If my mental calendar was correct, Carmichael has been gone for two weeks now without warning. The same thoughts swirl in my head day after day, an anxiety wormhole I am unable to stop.
“Did I do something wrong? Was I too loud when I screamed his name? Did he think I was ugly?”
I shake my head, hoping the thoughts will dissipate. He is my captor. He took me hostage. I grimace as I think of myself falling for such a despicable creature, a madman, a cunning manipulator.
I can’t help but wonder, if he is all those things, why don’t the thoughts stop? Memories of his impeccable body, tracing his tattoos with her tongue, down and over his hips. The way he asserted himself on top of me, grasping my hands above my head as he thrust his cock into me with a surge of power I had never known before.
“There I go again,”I think, sighing. Turning from the window, I face the library. These ancient tomes contain wisdom I have craved to learn for so long, yet in captivity, they seem rather dull. The butler had been kind enough to teach me how to read, but like all things, the nuance has worn off.
“My lady?” I hear the butler call me from the entrance to the library.
“Yes?” I say, turning towards him in my new satin gown.
“Lunch is served.”
I smile widely. “Thank you, butler,” I say happily. Sometimes he is the only thing that can brighten these days.
I walk along the halls of the castle to the dining room, a table stretching as far as my imagination. Heaps of food lay in front of me as they do every day more than I could have dreamt of back home. I sit beside the head of the table as I gorge on delicacies I had been told of when I was a child.
“My lady,” I hear a servant woman say as she pours water into my glass.
“Thank you,” I say through a mouthful of fruit.
She says nothing and walks away. I eye the other servants coming and going through the room. None of them have slighted me in any way, nor have they looked at me sideways. I often find myself suspicious of their mannerisms. They know I am beneath them, unworthy, undesirable. Conspiracy theories have amounted in my head throughout these long days, and I have a couple of ideas as to what they’re up to.
One could be that they are planning some sort of attack. They’re keeping cool and calm until the day the strike finally takes place. This narrative seems to be the most likely, knowing the elves' cunning nature.
After lunch, my day truly begins. Another day of…nothing. No work, no friends, no family. On the plus side, I have freedom to roam the castle and do as I please. Unfortunately, there’s not much to keep me entertained here. Probably why my thoughts of Carmichael can’t stop spinning.
Along with the reminiscence of his seductive touch, intense whispers of commands, and assertive stance in every position, I can’t control the thought that it might not be good if he’s not here. What does that mean for my family?
As I get up from my chair, I hear a kind voice calling out to me from the hallway.
“My lady?”
I smile. The butler probably wants to assist me more in my reading.
“Yes, butler?” I say, walking out of the dining room. He stands with a slight smile on his face and leads me to the library. I sit down in my favorite chair and look up at him, wondering what today's lesson will be.
The butler pulls a tome from the bookshelf, old and bound in leather. It looks worn and tattered. I realize a feeling creeping in my chest. This must be something important.
“The Oshta Cities and Warfare.” The butler says, smiling. I grimace. History of the continent was not on my reading list for today.
Stifling my displeasure, I smile at him. “Great!” I say with false enthusiasm. He opens the book and sits across from me reciting words of the ancestors that fought for this continent and the nobles who took their rightful thrones in the cities.
My mind wanders to my family. My mother would have loved to know I am learning to read. She would be overjoyed if I could read a book to her while she rested in bed. I can’t shake the thought of the money.
Did he ever send it? Was it all a lie? If it hadn’t been sent, if they hadn’t been cared for, then Carmichael would truly be the monster I know him to be in my mind; and I would be a fool for thinking of him so often.
James crosses my mind as the butler drones on about ancient warfare. He is such a kind soul, so caring and loving. He would be taken advantage of if I couldn’t teach him how to stand up for himself. He has so many life lessons to learn, and with my mother on her deathbed, without the potion, he may not be able to learn from anyone but his peers.
