266 Rogue Meets Seeker
Seated in the living room of a lovely cottage watching television was a rather peculiar young lass graced with beautiful amber eyes that ever so often blinked grey. With the weekend only starting, she had quite the number of shows to catch up on, with a few recommendations from friends at the restaurant she worked in. There was no better time to be lazy than now after she had saved up so many episodes of her favourite shows over the week.
âHey, Madeline, would you turn it down a little?â her grandmother called from inside her bedroom. The girl complied with her grandmotherâs wishes and reduced the volume of the television. Popping another chip into her mouth, she smiled at the scene unfolding before her.
Romantic comedies werenât many to choose from, but with each one she watched, she found herself swooning over the characters and dreaming of herself as one with the shows. Lucky for her, she wasnât picky about whichever of them she picked out and her friends gave her so many recommendations that she could never go wrong in finding the right series to follow.
âItâs nice to know how to relax you know. Itâs good for you,â a deep male voice suddenly pierced the peace of the lovely cottage. Sensing the cold heartless nature contained within the voice that had just spoken, the girl turned in her seat as fast as she could losing her blanket just as quickly. The man before her was muscular but not as much as the other standing beside him. The red-eyed large man seemed to suck the life out of her by simply gazing at her.
âWhat are you people doing in my house?â the girl asked in a tone that started off strong but ended up shaky while she took a step back. The one who scared her most, however, was the less muscular man who only now decided to show her his eyes.
The bright blue hue that emanated from them and the fact that she had no idea who he was in the royal family could only mean one thing. She was standing in the same room as the man who wanted to bring humanity to the ground and all the wolves that complied with peace along with it.
When the man was about to speak, his voice got caught in his throat while his face lit up in excitement at something heâd just seen, âThey really do flash silver every once in a while.â The rogue king mused.
âItâs like I was telling you. This home of freaks is just the tip of the iceberg. The royal family has a number of things they are hiding and these happen to be some of them,â a new voice, although much more familiar to the girl rang out from behind the rogue king. A hooded figure stepped out from behind her and took off his hood to reveal his face.
Madeline went weak in the knees and fell to the ground. The man beneath her hood had been someone sheâd come to know and respect, âVictor, why?â
.....
âOh, why not? I get to have my revenge on the pesky royal. Itâs a win-win situation,â the man smirked, showing no compassion in his yellow eyes.
âThe lot of you have some nerve entering the Seekerâs home unannounced,â a feminine voice came from across the room. On the other side of the room was an older woman with grey eyes. Hers didnât shift back and forth. They were permanently set in grey.
âYou could have made an appointment, you know,â the woman greeted, walking up to her granddaughter and helping the girl up. Her grandmotherâs touch was calm and seemed to chase some of the fear from her.
âYouâre one confident granny, Beatrice,â Victor spoke up.
âAnd youâre one spineless traitor. Utterly shameless too. What do you hope to gain from helping him?â the woman asked, getting her granddaughter up, âMadeline, dear, would you go and make these intruding ruffians some tea?â
Madeline, against her immense anxiety, rushed to the kitchen to carry out her tasks. The rogue king watched the woman with curiosity in his eyes. Her composure was like steel under his gaze and she carried herself as though sheâd been visited by ordinary people whoâd come to see her for her gift.
This angered Victor even though he felt he should hold his tongue and avoid lashing out at the woman. Beatrice took a seat and gestured for them to take seats as well, turning off the television in the process and stealing away the blanket that had been dropped by her daughter, âDonât just stand there gawking. Take a seat and let me know what brought you here.â
âNo, weâre better off standing,â the king replied, âBesides, you donât want us getting your carpet wet and dirty. Itâs been pouring for a few days now. Iâve never seen anything like it.â
âYes, the rain does feel strange these past few days. Itâs almost as though it pours with the intent of never stopping and we all feel that itâs still going. Now, I asked you to take a seat knowing what state you come in. Donât make me repeat myself,â the friendly tone sheâd been using vanished at the end.
Like clockwork, the rogues were seated as if they didnât want to be sent to their rooms as punishment, or worse, âThatâs much better now, isnât it? Iâm happy you were considerate enough to take off your shoes as well.â
âYou know, Thane. I like this woman. She reminds me a lot about Amanda,â the king chuckled, thinking of his female general.
âOh? And what is this, Amanda like?â Beatrice asked the rogue king, sitting back in her chair as well, regarding him with the same air as one would a new friendly acquaintance.
âWell, sheâs stubborn like you and one hell of a spitfire. Although, I wouldnât put much confidence into your words if I were you. I tend to break away from that spell once things go too far,â the king rumbled.
âWell, the only reason the âspellâ is working is that itâs the only way youâll be able to get what you want. And I hope you understand what I mean by that in its entirety,â the woman replied, raising her fingers to put quotes around the word âspellâ.
Just then, Madeline came in, tremors racking her body as they always had when holding a tray of delicate ceramic cups. Realising her mistake, the older woman got up and helped the girl set down the cups before letting her serve their guests. Victor groaned, âI was sure I would get to see her spill that tea. Why did you intervene?â
âWhile her training might have helped her improve over time, she has always been far too shy when serving you, Victor. You wouldnât want her to spill hot boiling tea on you, would you?â Beatrice replied in a sweet tone. Madeline looked sad when they spoke of Victor.
âIs this why you left her?â the woman asked him. This time the rogue king was interested.
âIt was never my intention to be her bodyguard in the first place. Lionel must have had a good laugh when he sent me to take care of her,â the man spat. His words were like daggers to the girl and she fled the room before she could hear more rushing up the stairs to her room.
âThere goes our room service,â Thane sighed, helping himself to the flask so he could serve himself the tea that had been brought to them.