Chapter 38: Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38 “What did your father say when he found out that I lied?” I asked.

“I never told him.” Stefan says.

“Why the hell not?” I asked shocked.

“Because he doesn’t need to know. After all, he doesn’t need to control every aspect of the fae Kingdom, doesn’t he?” Stefan asked. And I looked at him really sceptically. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was he really going to keep this from his father.

“How did you know to lie about that to our fathers?” He asked.

“Because I overheard you and him. The first night that I was here. Your father wants you to marry me so that he won’t be banished for something he had done in the past that he doesn’t want Vincent to know about.” I explained.

“Wow. You know a lot more than I thought.” He says sitting at the edge of my bed.

“I might be a lot of things, but I’m not an idiot.” I say leaning against the wall. Acting like him being here didn’t faze me at all. And I was really trying to make sure that he could see that. I was acting as cool and calm as I possibly could.

“I’m not going to tell my father or yours about this.” He says.

“Why not? Don’t you want to be furture King of this realm?” I asked.

“I told my father that I didn’t want to drag you into it at all. That’s all there was too it. I couldn’t do that to you.” He says looking a lot more sincere then I expected. But I didn’t know if I could trust that. His father was a really good liar. That might have been a trait that he passed on to his son.

“He’s telling the truth.” Someone else said from across the room. So, I quickly turned and Layla was standing in the shadows.

“How do you know that I can trust him?”

I asked.

“Because he’s one of us. He just can’t let his father know. And he will help you gain your powers.” She says. 1 “And what if Vincent or Eric finds out?” I asked looking between the two of them.

“I’ve been playing double agent for a while. Having you here is just going to make it a hell of a lot easier.” Stefan says.

“You can use me as an excuse as to why you go missing.” I say.

“Exactly. I’ll just say that I’m with you.” He says.

“I hope you don’t mind if I find it a little hard to trust what comes out of your mouth.” I say.

“We don’t expect you to trust us straight away. But we hope that you will soon. Because we don’t want anything to happen to you. You have nothing to do with this world. And you shouldn’t have been bought here.” Stefan says.

“You’re the one that bought me here.” I say looking at Layla.

“Vincent’s orders. But I held off as long as I could. He’d been watching you too. And that day in the cabin, he knew that you wouldn’t say no to coming with me. That’s why I showed up that day. I’m sorry. But I didn’t have a choice. But we aren’t going to let anything happen to you.” Layla insists. 1 “Alright. So, where do we go from here?” I asked.

“We start training you. First thing tomorrow. Stefan will bring you to me. He knows the way. I’ll see you then.” Layla says disappearing as fast as she appeared.

And I looked back at Stefan.

“I want to know how to do that.” I say and he chuckles at me.

“You will. Are you ready for a hard day of training tomorrow?” He asked standing up off my bed.

“I’m always ready.” I say.

“Good. I’ll see you in the morning then. Have a good night.” He says starting to leave my room. “By the way, I charged the phone in your bedside cupboard.” He says before reaching the door.

“How?” I asked.

“It’s a fae secret. Have a good night.” He says and he walked out the door and closed it behind him.

I couldn’t believe what just happened. Stefan is actually conspiring against his father. He must have followed me while I was in wolf form today, but I don’t understand how I didn’t know that I was being followed. I would have picked up his scent. Unless he used something to mask his scent. There’s always that possibilty, I guess. I don’t really know. I don’t know how any of this worked.

Right now, I just decided to let things unfold however they are going to unfold and be prepared for anything. Which means, to fight my way out of any situation that I am put into. That’s always a werewolf’s go to move. So, why should it be any different here?

I sat on the bed for a while reading and trying to take my mind off of the events of the night. Which wasn’t easy, but I finally managed to calm my mind long enough to go to sleep.

**

I was standing in a field wearing a white chiffon dress when I felt arms wrap around my waist from behind. It didn’t take a genius for me to know who it was.

“Jackson.” I whispered. And I turned around slowly in his arms. He was looking as handsome as ever wearing a white button up shirt but half of the buttons were undone and long tan trousers. His eyes staring straight into mine.

He placed both hands on the side of my face and he kissed me gently on the lips and I wrapped my arms around him. I could feel his warmth against my body. I could feel his breath on my face.

But then it wasn’t there anymore. I opened my eyes and he was disappearing right in front of me. There was nothing I could do.

He was being pulled from me and evaporating in front of me and there was nothing I could do but stand there and watch.

************

I woke up suddenly in my bed and the book that I had been reading was on the bed next to me. I looked over at the clock and it said 5am. So, I got up and I went to the wardrobe and I saw that Vincent had sent someone to get my work out clothes from the packhouse. a I wonder how they got in and out without being detected. And how long would it take before Jackson noticed that they were missing.

I got dressed into a black and pink sports bra, black and pink tights, socks and sand shoes. And then I walked out of my room and down the three flights of stairs and straight out the front of the castle. 1 I did four laps of the stairs again, the whole 2500 of them. And then I jogged around the castle grounds which were a lot bigger than what people realized unless they actually lived up here. From the village it just looked like a just building surrounded by trees coming down the mountain. But there was so much more up the top of the hill that those people had probably never even seen. I’ve never seen Vincent invite anyone to the castle before.

When I went back inside at 7am I went up to my room and I had a shower and I got dressed into a blue and white chiffon dress and shoes and Ruth had to do my hair and make up. The same as every other morning and then I headed to the dining room and Vincent was waiting for “Sorry I’m late. I went for a jog this morning and it took a little longer than I expected.” I say.

“That’s alright. I was told that you were running the stairs again.” He says.

“Yeah. They are a really good work out in the mornings.” I say sitting down and the servant bought me my breakfast.

“So, I understand that you are spending the day with Stefan.” Vincent says.

“Yeah. We made plans to hang out. Well, my options are a little limited around here. I don’t really know anyone else.” I say.

“I didn’t say that there was anything wrong with it. But just take it easy. I don’t know how honourable his intentions are with you.”

He says.

“What do you mean? That he’s only friends with me because I’m the Princess?

” I asked.

“I know that it might seem harsh. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why he’s wanting to get close to you.” He says.

“Don’t worry Vincent. I can usually smell BS from a mile away. I can handle it. It’s not like I’m marrying the guy or anything. We’re just hanging out.” I say.

“Alright. I just want you to be safe.” He says.

“And I promise you, I am completely safe. I can take care of myself.” I insisted.

“Alright then.” He says.

So after breakfast I met Stefan outside the castle and I saw that Vincent was watching us from the window of his office so I made it look like we were just walking around talking. But as soon as his first appointment arrived, Stefan and I took off.

We went around the village because we could risk any of them seeing us and we went straight into the woods. 1 We were walking for about an hour before we came to a completely different village. I didn’t know what to make of this place.

The homes were made of sticks and clay but somehow it was beautiful. The animals, the faeries flying around that didn’t look like us and were a lot smaller. They were all beautiful.

Layla came out from behind one of the huts and she welcomed me to the outcast village. This is where everyone lived that had been thrown out of the village at the castle.

“Why are they outcasts?” I asked.

“Because we didn’t agree with your father. And he doesn’t like that.” A man says.

“Alright. You seem like an honest guy. How much trouble am I in, being up at the castle?” I asked.

“As long as Stefan is there, then you should be alright. But don’t even turn your back on our father. He’s the one that did this to us.” The man answered me. The word ‘OUR’ didn’t go unnoticed. And I looked at Stefan. But he had his head down like he was ashamed of what his father had done.