Morning light crept through the tall windows, casting golden stripes across the floor. I hadn't slept. I couldn't. The events of the dinner last night had haunted me. My thoughts had spun from the drowning incident, to the count breaking down and Lisbeth's uncaring attitude. Why was I brought here or more so how did I end up in this book?
I had wanted to escape so badly but my legs had dragged me to this room. Worried I wouldn't survive a day out there. Lisbeth had come knocking but I had shut myself in. After banging on the door and issuing threats she had left.
I sat on the edge of the bed, still in last night's dress, the corset now lying uselessly on the floor.
A soft knock came at the door, soft and hesitant. It couldn't be Lisbeth. I approached cautiously.
"My lady," a voice said from the other side. It was not one I recognized. "A letter for you,"
I opened the door just a crack and reached out.
A folded red parchment sealed with wax.
Once i shut the door again,I broke it open with shaking hands.
Iris,
You forgot our meeting yesterday or maybe you're on illusion that your secret is safe.
Meet me for breakfast just past the garden,in the small courtyard
Or else .....
I ran to open the door but the messenger was gone. Was this a threat? A secret? Iris was a villainess but the plot was not near. She had to go to the city first and that's where she would get triggered. But maybe something had changed, this was no longer my book.
I quickly changed into a plainer gown and braided my hair loosely. I needed answers.
The path through the garden was quiet, no dew but snow covered plants, no birds in sight. It felt peaceful and mournful at the same time.
I reached the courtyard just past the rose hedge. A table was already set. The man standing there had his back facing me, but I knew that figure.
"Cedric?" He turned a cup on his hand.
"Figured a threat would bring you here," he said pulling a seat for me.
"You are the sender?" I asked still standing.
"What do you mean? I've sent you numerous messages on red parchment," he said sitting on the same chair he pulled for me.
He gestured for me to take the chair opposite him.I hesitated, then lowered myself slowly into the chair. A maid poured tea into my cup and left just as silently. I took a sip and distorted my face in disgust.
Cedric studied me for a moment," isn't that your favorite tea?"
"No, I guess not. What is with all that ginger it's nasty," I said grabbing a bun from the basket. " Not even a drip of honey."
He chuckled and took a sip before leaning back.
"Who are you?"
I froze, the bun a meter away from my mouth.
" Whatever do you mean?"
"You hated sweet things, said they made you look bloated," He was quite observative. What if I got kicked out of the estate?
"What is with that simple green dress and those pigtails?" Well I guess Iris would not dress like a pauper less a commoner.
"I was in a hurry, your message was urgent and a lady lets loose sometimes," I defended.
"Let loose?" He asked slightly amused but shrugged it away. He then let out a long breath and looked down at his tea.
"Father left last night,"he said quietly. "Took our two best guards. He didn't say a word but I heard the horses."
Memories of last night resurfaced. The tension in the dining hall and his exit.
Cedric looked up, jaw tight.
"What happened during the hunting contest?" His question startled me. "You invited her there, didn't you?"
Did Iris really do that? Did she hurt her sister? I was confused. Rebekah never went missing in my book but maybe in Elena's she did. Now I was clueless as he was.
"I have no memory of that day, I just remember being pushed by the currents," I confessed. "Did something happen before the hunting contest?" Was Iris the reason Rebekah went missing?
"Your maid told me before you left for the contest, you had an altercation with her," he said searching my eyes. "Something about her finding a cure."
A cure for what? Was she sick? Was iris sick? Did I possess a sick ridden body? But I felt light, painless and good. Never been healthier.
"Am leaving to go search for her,"
"I'll join you," I offered. He blinked and ran a hand on his stubble. That's when I saw it, the bags under his eyes and tired expression.
"Never thought I would hear that from you. Miss her?" I nodded and he smiled. "The near death experience really changed you, would have thought you're someone else." He even jokes, never thought I would see that.
He pushed the chair back with a soft scrape.
"Call or text when you hear or find something," I said.
"Text?" He asked and I threw an arm to my mouth. No phones in this era, silly.
"Write me," I corrected with a grin.
"I'll leave at noon, I hope you had nothing to do with her disappearance nor are you hiding something," and there was the hostility.
And with that ,he turned and walked away his coat fluttering behind him in the breeze, leaving me hoping too. That she was alive somewhere and Iris had nothing to do with her disappearance.