Chapter 43

"More than you can ever imagine, dear. I might teach you some of my tricks if you behave well today," said Margaret. 

"I have not heard you say that since I was ten years old. Oh, they have the ones with the cream on the inside," Amelia's eyes lit up at the sight of her favorite pastry. "Let's get some before they sell out grandmother."

"I am starting to regret bringing you to where there are countless sweet things. Keep your eyes peeled for danger. If anything seems out of place get us out of here immediately," Margaret advised her guards. She did not care much about herself being attacked but Amelia was a different story.

Amelia had a target on her from Fraser, the king's mistress, and the men in court. However, Margaret did not want Amelia to live in fear of what others were plotting. Amelia only needed to be cautious and have a good group of guards around her. There were too many royals who lost their sanity from continuously looking over their shoulder from the fear a relative wished to kill them. Amelia was going to be added to that list.

"Grandmother, are you okay?" Amelia's voice snapped Margaret out of her thoughts. "I have been calling you for a while now. Do you want to go somewhere else instead of getting pastries? We might break the baker's heart if we do."

"There is no need, Amelia. I was thinking about something else and became lost in thought. We should share a pastry to not overeat before we go to the next stall. One of your finest pastries," Margaret told the baker.

Amelia's mouth watered at the thought of tasting the sweet cream in the warm pastry. Gina would cry if she were to learn that Amelia was enjoying treats without her. 

"We meet again, Princess."

Amelia's body froze when she heard a familiar voice in her ears. She looked around to find the source of it but she could not pinpoint where it came from because of the crowd surrounding her. 

'Was that my imagination?' She wondered. 

The words sounded like a whisper but it was loud enough for her to hear. The hair on her skin stood tall making her think it was something she truly heard but she could not recognize who the voice belonged. She could only conclude that someone standing close by was playing a trick on her.

"Here you go, Princess," the barker's voice stopped her from looking around at the crowd which was excited to see Amelia.

"Thank you," Amelia took the pastry but the voice was still on her mind. The person to whom the voice belonged was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't guess what the name was. 'Am I becoming insane?' she wondered. 

Amelia bit into the pastry and just like that, the interest in the voice went away as the sweetness filled her tongue. She was mindful of the way she ate in front of the crowd and held back on not licking her fingers like she would in private.

"Let's go over to the next person, Amelia. They are anxiously waiting for us. It looks like you get a prize at this one. Do not eat all that sweet cream," Margaret lightly tapped Amelia's thigh.

"I won't," Amelia sighed, wrapping up the pastry in the paper it came in.  She passed it to a guard to hold so her hands would be free.

One of the guards stopped to pay for the pastry while Amelia and Margaret moved to the next stall.

'You should have more guards, princess.'

Amelia became alert when she heard the voice again. The first time she was able to think she was simply hearing things because of how many people around were talking but the second time was not a coincidence. She heard it loud and clear this time as if someone was right by her ear whispering to her.

Amelia looked around and found no one close to her because the guards created a barrier to protect her and Margaret from everyone else. There was suddenly an eerie feeling overcoming her body and her mind was telling her to leave right away.

"Grandmother," Amelia tugged on Margaret's dress to get her attention since Margaret had become occupied with talking to the townspeople. "Grandmother, we need to leave right now."

Amelia did not wish to avoid the gut feeling she had. As a royal, this feeling could save your life if you listened to it.

"Grandmother, we have to leave," Amelia said louder.

"Why child? What is wrong?" Margaret asked. She noticed the fear on Amelia's face. "Did someone hurt you?"

"I have a bad feeling about being here. We need to return to your home quickly." Margaret's home was surrounded by countless guards and it was much better than walking around with a handful of guards in a crowd.

Though the danger did not feel like it was in the crowd of people, Amelia knew it wouldn't take too long to reach her and Margaret. The fact Amelia could not put a name to the voice was scary. She had heard it before and was terrified of it.

"We will go since you are scared. You matter the most," Margaret patted Amelia's hand. They could have fun in the privacy of her home where Amelia would feel safe. She ignored the sad words from the townspeople who didn't want to see them go when they just arrived. "Perhaps you are still shaken up from meeting that man."

"Killian," Amelia muttered the name that had been on her tongue. She remembered his voice from when he killed everyone but her and Cyrus. "It is Killian," she whispered. "Come quickly, grandmother. We must go."

'You cannot run from me forever, princess.'

Amelia shook her head to get the voice out of her mind. Perhaps she had been hearing the voice in her head all along and there was no one nearby. ''How am I able to hear him in my head?" She wondered. Something like this was not normal unless she had begun to lose her sanity.