Chapter 66: Claud

Claud stared down at the stupid girl on the floor. He would have felt sorry for her if she had been just a little more cautious. A person who could be so easily swayed into betraying their master was not worthy of pity.

He glanced down at her red dress and knew that it was nothing a servant girl much less a commoner could hope to afford. Perhaps it was a gift from the Holy Lady. Although, judging from what he had learned about Mellie's character, she might have stolen it from her mistress.

Claud rolled his neck, easing his tense muscles and cracking his stiff joints.

He lifted his hand to his face and gently searched for the minuscule bump at the top of his temple from which he could peel off his mask.

Finally, his fingernail caught on the ridge of his false face. He expertly peeled off the layer of thin magically crafted skin, the best kept secret of the Kingdom of Erithien, and revealed his true face from underneath the magical mask.

His green eyes were much more brilliant without the veil of the mask hiding his true appearance. They were a vibrant aquamarine that glowed in the dimly lit room. His face was more angular now too with high cheekbones and a sharp jawlline.

Clara and Luella who had been following Mellie since she walked past the kitchen while they were there in search of more iced cream stared wide eyed at the scene unfolding in front of them.

The maid had been sneaking across the house when they were in the kitchen searching for more iced cream, so they thought it might be a good idea to follow her and report what they saw to Agnes the next morning. Luella thought it would be a good idea to get into Agnes's good books after they had tricked her into letting them enter the Holy Lady's mansion. However, something totally unexpected happened.

The two girls found that the maid was sneaking off to meet her lover in the middle of the night. Then the maid's lover had done something to her that made her faint.  Even more bizzarely the two girls had seen the man pull of his face as if it was a tissue.

They had so many questions but they were more afraid than they were curious. They instinctively knew the man was dangerous.

They didn't dare move or make a sound. They would stay hidden behind the door until they could get away.

Clara who was crouching low on the floor glared up at Luella for dragging her out of their room to go and get iced cream. Luella glared down at Clara for making her follow the maid. This was turning out to be an aweful night for the two of them.

Clara bit down on her lip as she felt a sudden urgency in her bladder. She looked up at Leulle needingly, telling her friend with her eyes that she needed to go to the bathroom.

Luelle mouthed a very threatenting, "Dont. You. Dare."

They angrily made faces at each other but both girls stilled when they heard footsteps from across the room. They turned and watched as Claud walked towards the window.

"Come in." He called out through the open window.

In a flash, a woman in black slipped through the window and kneeled before Claud.

"Don't be so formal." Claud murmured as he stood by the window, tracing his long fingers over the ledge. "This barrier is remarkable."

Claud loved the study of unusual and rare magic. Of course the barrier the holy Lady constructed around her house was incredible.

"It's impenetrable unless specific people invite you inside." He marvelled at the excellent magic. "It would have been perfect if the people Her holiness chose to trust with such an honour were worthy of it."

The woman rose from the floor beside him. "The chosen woman is obviously very skilled but still lacking in wisdom." She said.

"Noted." Riley said as she walked through the door, her arms crossed over her chest.

Claud and the woman stiffened. They stared aghast at Riley standing in the doorway. Both of them were highly trained in stealth and excelled above all others who were raised by Erithien, and yet they had not even heard Lady Riley walking towards the room...

She glanced down at Mellie on the floor, the familiar red dress she was wearing and the picnic basket Cora had told her about. She scanned the room and the entire mansion with her mapping skill.

Riley was perplexed to see two young girls hiding behind the door show up on her radar. She would ignore that for now, but she would definitely get back to that.

Besides the two intruders who were standing across the room from her, another man hiding outside was showing up on her radar. She snapped her fingers and a small bolt of lighting shot out of her hands, zapped out the window, and electrocuted the man hiding in the garden until he collapsed.

Beads of sweat formed on Claud's brow at the display of such powerful magic which Riley had pulled off with such little effort.  The woman beside Claud paled as she realised the stark difference between her and the holy Lady's power levels. If Riley were to attack, she doubted that there was anything she could do to protect Claud against her.

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"Forgive my lack of wisdom." I said as I stared down the woman. "But I'm going to need an explanation for what's going on here." I motioned towards Mellie lying on the floor.

The man's shocked face calmed a little. After a moment his lips curved up into a bright smile and a he laughed heartily.

"Our deepest apologies for this awkward introduction, holy Lady." He bent low and bowed to me in a way befitting of royalty.

"My name is Claudius Erith, the prince of Erithien and first commander of the Royal Assasins." He said proudly.

A prince...?

Judging by those gorgeous eyes and auburn hair he did look like royalty. But what exactly was the prince of Erithien doing in my house with my maid unconscious at his feet.

My eyes caught on Mellie's red velvet dress. It looked exactly like the one I had tried on a few weeks ago but was too small for me, I'm sure Agnes had it sent back to get the correct size for me. I didn't want to believe she had taken it for herself.

"This is my second in command and my most trusted attendant, Lieutenant Valda."

I scanned over the woman who was covered in black garb from head to toe. Only a narrow opening revealed her blue eyes that stared at me with equal parts fear and aggression.

Claudius dragged his hand through his hair still smiling. Although I had no idea why he was so pleased.

"I apologise again for this unfortunate introduction, but I had no other way to approach you. Your holiness." He said.

I squinted at him, trying to make out whether he was being sincere or not because I was sure there were a few other ways to get an audience with me, such as knocking on the front door...

"If all you wanted to do was approach me, why exactly did my lady's maid end up unconscious at your feet. And what type of meeting were you imagining when you invaded my home with your comrades." I lifted up my fingers ready to zap them like flies.

"Please calm your anger, Holy Lady!" Lieutenant Valda prostrated herself on the floor in front of me. "Prince Claudius only had the best of intentions when carrying out his plan to meet you."

I glared down at her, unmoved by her display. "The best of intentions?"

This week had not been a great one for me. I was losing my patience.

"By approaching your lady's maid and having her sneak his highness into your castle, prince Claudius managed to expose one of your maids as disloyal." She said desperately.

"Prince Claudius only wanted to make your Ladyship aware of the snakes slithering underneath your roof."

I glanced between Mellie, the open window, the picnic basket, the prince of Erithien and his lieutenant. There was no way they could have gotten inside if Mellie had not invited them in. Mellie was among my original staff so I chose to trust her with access to my mansion and the power to bring those into the castle if she saw fit.

Even if she didn't not understand the full extent of the problems going on in the kingdom, everyone knows that it is dangerous. And as my staff she should have known that sneaking people into my mansion was directly putting me and everyone else here in danger.

I knew Mellie wasn't the brightest or the most hardworking but I thought she was earnest. I thought she had my best interests at heart. I never imagined she could do anything like this...