Chapter eight

Maisy

  Tears flowed freely as I remembered what Eric spat right into my face.

It just didn't add up. He loved me in Linsea and now, He hated me.

I had made a grave mistake. I remembered father's warning and how I had ignored the warning signs.

"I'm so sorry father." I wept and tried the door multiple times.

Eric had kept me under lock and key and if I concentrated well enough, I could hear his guards say something about Tatia.

Everyone had been saying that since I arrived.

What was going on?

I sank to the ground, the marble was food and unforgiving, Freezing my essence.

I wished I could turn back the hands of time and amend my mistake.

My worries began when we got here...

***

Flashback

Nodith

  Guards watched me walk in, arms locked in Eric's.

The stares made me self conscious. I could sense fear and disbelief in their eyes.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" I quizzed Eric, expressing my discomfort.

"Get back to work." Eric sneered authoritatively at them.

They immediately got back to what they were doing but I didn't miss the air of tension.

"It's all right. They are just surprised to see you." Eric said, trying to ease my distress.

"Okay." I held him tightly while led me around the castle.

I made up my mind to focus more on the magnificent scenery.

The Castle walls rose out of the darkness, out of the silent charcoal curtain. They are pitted and forlorn, no longer the bastions of protection and glory that I was sure they used to be.

  Under my fingers, the stone was rougher than the callused skin of a mare and it left my skin cold, drawing dampness into my bones.

"Maisy..." I heard someone whispered and instinctively turned around.

"Did you hear that?" I shrunk.

"Hear what?" Eric questioned, walking double the speed to where his family were dining, as a maid had told him.

"I heard someone call my name," I answered, a bit petrified.

"You're just nervous." He determined and pushed open an oak door.

Golden lights streaks killed the blinding darkness and I caught a whizz of roast beef.

Eric and I had been traveling days without the basics and had to survive on what nature gave us. It was good, all that was beyond us.

The passage led us to an array of rooms.

Appearances could really be deceiving indeed. From the look of things outside the castle, I thought this place would be in the dumps.

"Before you think of picking a room, I want you to meet my family," Eric stated with a charming smile for me.

I took in deep breaths and remembered my father.

I tried convincing him to follow us but he refused every time I tried. He had a lot of memories with mother at Linsea, that I knew but I always thought old memories could be let go off to remember good ones. I badly wanted him by my side but he had already revealed to me that he couldn't support my marriage to Eric.

It was like he ripped himself from my life and took Ria along.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked in concern.

I returned to reality and felt my cheeks were moist. I had been crying and I didn't even notice it.

"It's nothing." I hastily wiped the teardrops off.

"It's okay." Eric assured, "I'm here for you."

We got to clear space and despite being so far away, I could hear small chatters and clanking of forks meeting the glassware.

The dining table was so huge, It looked like a bench for Giants.

Eric stopped and coughed gaining his small family consisting of two women and a man.

"Eric!" The man delightfully exclaimed.

The ladies didn't seem too anxious about the arrival of the lost Prince but they did notice my presence.

I observed the women stopped eating when they saw me.

It made me more uncomfortable.

What was going on?, I queried myself.

"This is Maisy." Eric disclosed to his jaw-dropped family, "She us my wife."

The younger one amongst the two ladies choked on her food.

"She's your new wife?" The woman repeated in disbelief.

She had the look of sheer horror hearing my title.

"This... Is..." She did not complete her sentence before she fled off.

What just happened?, I asked myself.

Apart from the awkward stares his family threw at me and the worrisome outburst of the lady that just left.

Eric led me to the table and I got a good view of the lady. She was older than me and had grey streaks of hair with the rich nutty black. Her lips were red and judging from her expensive clothes. Long story short, She looked extravagant.

"Who is this?" The woman questioned, shooting suspicious glares at the man next to her and Eric.

"Maisy, This is my brother Anthony's wife, Emilia and Emilia, This is Maisy, My new wife."

I extended a hand of friendship by curtseying but Emilia took her leave just like the other woman had done.

Cold.

I exchanged looks with Eric but he assured me nothing was wrong.

It made me want to tell on top of my voice. Did he believe I was blind? Since I stepped foot on the castle grounds, I didn't feel safe. Everyone kept their eyes on me and acted like they had seen a phantom surface.

I kept quiet though.

Anthony was the only one that did not seem to mind my presence.

"It's nice to meet you Maisy." He said pleasantly and planted a chaste kiss on my hands.

Eric sat in, ready to dine.  A maid came by to serve him. While she was doing this, Eric discovered I wasn't seated.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm good. Just tired." I lied.

The maid was sending those creepy gaze at me.  God knows why. I couldn't risk staying here or even eating.

"Ok then, you" He referred to the maid serving him, "Take Maisy to her room."

The maid bowed humbly and escorted me.

My throat tightened as she led the way in eerie silence. She didn't even turn back for a second.

"This is your room, Princess." She opened a magnificent white oak door.

My eyes widened, taking in the splendor of its beauty. Golden walls that appeared to made from pure gold itself. a king-sized bed with pillows bigger than my pelt, sliding closets opposite the bed made from ivory and a fluffy velvet carpet.

The maid left me by myself.

Alone, I decided to do the most awkward thing I could think of.

I jumped into the bed. Bliss couldn't compare what I felt when I collapsed until the soft sweet smelling mattress.

"If only father was here." I thought.

Nothing would ruin this.

I was so wrong.  I heard that creepy whisper once again.

"Maisy..."

I spun around intuitively.

Who is doing this?

"Stop it!" I yelled into the shadows.

The room I once thought was cool was beginning to feel like a hell hole.

A scratching sound followed, it sounded like a knife being scratched on... I faced the mirror and God! How I wished I was wrong but I wasn't. Almost transparent symbols were engraved in the antique mirror on the desk.

Dread filled my spine as I read what was written aloud.

"Run!"

To be continued