It had been a day since I last saw Arthur, and the duchess insisted that I write Arthur a thank you letter for inviting me to the palace since I returned. I sat down, staring blankly at the sheet of paper before me.

“Having trouble, my lady?” Maddy asked, peeking over my shoulder and glancing at the empty paper.

“Yeah. Lots,” I sighed, tapping my finger absentmindedly against my desk.

“Just write about how you felt at the palace,” Maddy said with a shrug.

What did I feel? Honestly, really awkward. All Arthur made me do was stare at him while he fought and called me ugly.

I picked up the quill, scrawling the words in my best calligraphy.

Dear Arthur, thank you so much for inviting me to the palace. I enjoyed the talk we had and watching you spar. I am very grateful for the invitation. Signed, Alexandra Montfort.

There. That should be enough. If he was expecting a big, convoluted letter about how much I loved the visit, then he’d be kept waiting. I folded the letter, placing it in an envelope and preparing the wax for the seal. Once melted, I poured some over the envelope, stamping down the Montfort crest and handing it over to Maddy. She walked towards the door, her braids bouncing softly. She paused, turning back to look at me.

“Ah, my lady. About the letter you wrote yesterday,” Maddy said, glancing down at the envelope.

“I gave it to a trustworthy servant. It should have arrived to the lady sometime last night,” she assured.

Right! The letter I sent to Catalina. I had totally forgotten about it. How kind of her to confirm she sent it safely. I hope that Catalina reads it and can take a bit more pity on me later. I truly hope she doesn’t think it was forced out of me and compassionless.

“Thank you again, Maddy,” I said with a smile.

“Always at your service, my lady,” she grinned, leaving my room. Just as she left, the duchess barged into my room, her cold eyes staring at me.

“Tell me, how did it go?” she smiled, sitting herself down at my vanity. Who invited you in here?!

“Ah, it was nothing special. I wasn’t there for long,” I said, avoiding her gaze.

“What?!” She exclaimed, slamming her fists on my vanity, rattling the makeup bottles and perfume which had sat undisturbed until then.

“But I made sure he wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off you!” she huffed, crossing her arms.

I tensed a little, fidgeting with the rings on my finger.

“He said it was too much.”

If I told her word for word what Arthur said to me, I think she would strangle me.

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She sighed, uncurling her fist.

“I guess he likes his women more…simple. Fine, we’ll adjust for next time,” she replied. She stood up, leaving my room just as quickly as she came in.

What a relief. I never like being alone with the duchess for long.

Maddy and Anne came back, quickly helping me undress into my nightdress and off to bed I went.

I was allowed to sleep in the next morning, a first for the short amount of time I had been here. I woke myself up, sliding out of my sheets and walking towards the bathroom. The bathtub had been empty, so I was off to find Maddy or Anne to draw me a bath. I stepped out of my room, hearing an unusual quiet. Typically, there’d be some sort of chatter by the busy maids, always gossiping about something. It was quiet enough for me to hear my footsteps on the marble floor.

A rumble shook me at my feet, tumbling me down to the floor. The paintings began to shake unsteadily, falling down from their hooks. I stood up, avoiding the falling paintings as I quickly escaped the hallway. What was this shaking?

I peered over the railing, glancing at the front door slung wide open. A huge black shadow covered the doorway. I paused, staring at the shadow intently. The shadow extended itself, now forming into long, wispy tentacles. My breath hitched in my throat, as I slowly backed away. The tentacles barged in through the front door, shooting straight at me as I backed into the furniture.

Nicholas slammed his sword through the shadow, severing its tentacle before it could make it any closer. The tentacle fell, disintegrating into ash as the monster’s bulging head faced Nicholas head on. The monster shrieked, its sound shrill and deafening as it began slammings its tentacles at Nicholas. Nicholas dodged, slicing off any tentacles that dared to be thrown at him.

The monster backed Nicholas into the house, its head wide as it tried to consume him. He raised his blade, bringing it down and chopping off the head of the beast.

I ran down the steps, meeting Nicholas as he kneeled before the beast.

“What was that?” I gasped, eyes wide as I stared into the shadow. It was slowly coming apart, its body disintegrating into ash like a dying campfire.

“A Tarik monster,” Nicholas huffed, picking up his sword as he stood up.

“How did it make it here?” I asked, eyes narrowed at the dying beast.

“I don’t know. But I’ll look into it,” he replied, returning his sword to a sheath in his pants. He dusted himself off, walking out of the house. The monster had turned to ash, which was picked up by the bitter wind, spreading it about.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the house to return to normal, the servants returning to their usual post.

“My lady!” Maddy called, running up to me and hugging me. I returned the embrace, arms around her as I held her. Anne trailed behind her, nudging her shoulder. At that motion, Maddy untangled herself from me.

“We’re just glad you’re okay, my lady,” Anne explained, eyeing me to make sure I had no injuries.

“What happened?” I asked, looking at the place where the monster once was.

“It all happened so fast, my lady!” Maddy blurted.

“I was cleaning your room when suddenly the house started shaking, and so I ran outside to see what was going on and that thing snuck into the house!” Maddy explained, eyes wide as she relieved the memory.

“Yes, but the brave young lord sprung at the monster and drove it out quick enough for us to escape,” Anne added, clenching her fist.

“We tried to go back for you, my lady, but the guards wouldn’t let anyone back in the house no matter how much we nagged!” Maddy sighed, clenching my hand.

The novel didn’t mention anything about a monster attack with the Montforts, but then again I’m not the protagonist. I’m just the villainess. There’s no reason for discussing my life if it doesn’t affect Catalina’s. If I’m so unimportant without her, then I’m sure it won’t hurt anybody if I start some research of my own. I will learn just what exactly caused the attack today, and hopefully, how to to stop it from happening again.