╚╩╩╩╝ Hamil ╚╩╩╩╝

On the outside, Charlotte was only slightly irritated by her supposed fiance. On the inside, however, there was a storm of fury that I had not seen from her before.

Sucking in through her nose, Charlotte tensed and turned away from the man. “Being engaged does not excuse your actions.” She spoke in a dull, monotone voice. “You are here at a gathering that you were not invited to. I’m sorry, but I must ask you to leave.”

The man stepped forward and stood beside Charlotte’s chair and grabbed a handful of her golden hair, lifting it to his face where he inhaled deeply. Every muscle in her face tensed as Charlotte froze in her chair. She was not just furious, she was afraid.

Digging my fingers into the table, I was about to confront him when Charlotte placed her hand atop mine. Still and straight-faced, she turned to me and slowly shook her head.

Letting out a shallow, shaky breath as the man let go of her hair, Charlotte spoke again. “Gareth, if you are done touching me, then please leave. I do not wish to have the guards force you out, but I will if I need to.”

Looking up, I saw that Gareth was visibly surprised. No, not surprised, he was shocked. It was like this was the last thing he thought could have happened.

Gritting his teeth, Gareth responded in a low, cold voice. “Don’t be like this. I just got here. I-” He stopped speaking when Charlotte whipped her head to face him.

Sneering, he scoffed and stormed away.

Watching him march out of view, Charlotte’s shoulders relaxed and she let out a heavy sigh and started to hyperventilate.

Her hand still on mine, I felt her trembling.

“Are you okay?” I asked worried and curious about what had just happened.

“Y-yes.” She responded, her trembling hand relaxing before she pulled it back. “I’m… I’m fine.”

“Who was that?” Veria asked. “Are you really engaged to him? He’s kinda creepy.”

“He’s the older of Lord Gelling’s sons.” She explained. “I was engaged to him. My father annulled it not too long ago.”

“So why is he still calling himself your fiance?” Jaime asked with a surprising amount of anger.

“That’s the problem.” She sighed. “Lord Gelling hasn’t responded to any of my father’s letters.” She leaned in towards the table and whispered. “You can’t tell anyone, but every messenger we’ve sent has disappeared. If this keeps happening, my father may wage war on the Gelling’s Estate.”

“So why don’t you just tell everyone that you’re not engaged anymore?” Veria asked.

“It’s the Watchmen. It’s only proper for the announcement to be given from both parties. If my father says it alone, then we’ll be in trouble.” She slumped, though only for a moment before re-straightening her posture.

At this point, the guards had finished searching the people who were near the girl who had been attacked and begun allowing people to leave.

Astrid, who had been standing beside Veria and Jaime, watching the crowd, spoke. “It looks like we can leave now, though Damian took the carriage.”

“Not to worry, I will have one of ours out to bring you home.” Charlotte spoke, standing from her chair. She snapped her fingers twice and a servant rushed over.

Within moments, an unassuming carriage rolled from around the estate.

“I’ll stay here.” I spoke up as Astrid led the others to the carriage.

Turning, Astrid looked from me to Charlotte and nodded her head and spoke. “Be back before sundown.” And then climbed atop the carriage before it rolled away.

Looking at Charlotte, I didn’t have to use my ability to know that she was nervous. She had her eyes trained on the ground, mostly concealing her blushing face, and had both hands clasped together, rubbing one thumb across the back of the other. I stopped for a moment to think just how cute she was, but brushed the thought away and stepped up next to her.

“Are you gonna show me around?” I asked, tipping my head to look at her hidden face.

She paused for a moment before raising her head, the nervousness inside of her quickly turning to excitement.

After seeing the last of the guests off, Charlotte grabbed my hand and pulled me into the estate.

“Before we go anywhere, could you bring me to your father?” I asked.

Puzzled, she tipped her head. “Why do you need to see my father?”

“I just need to ask him a question.” I replied.

“Okay.” She pouted. “But make it quick.”

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She guided me up a set of stairs and around to a pair of double doors.

Knocking on the door, Lord Renae responded. “Who is it?”

“It’s Charlotte, father. I’m with Hamil. He wants to speak with you.” She spoke, her nervousness returning twofold.

“Alright, send him in.” He replied.

Sighing in relief, Charlotte opened the door and the two of us stepped in.

“You step outside for a moment, Charlotte. I need to speak to Hamil alone.” Lord Renae spoke.

The marquis was sitting in a large chair on the end of the room. All the room was dark aside from his desk which sat in front of a large bay window.

Lowering her head, I could feel fear well up inside of her as she stepped back and closed the door, leaving her father and I alone in the room.

“So, you wished to speak with me?” He asked, his voice quiet, yet carrying. “I assume this is about my offer?”

“Yes, I wanted to accept.” I spoke. I stepped forward, my feet heavy beneath the marquis’s heavy presence. “I was not aware that it was this bad.”

“So you met Gareth.” The marquis laughed. “That boy has always been forceful. I’m glad you were there with her.”

If he was always forceful, then why did you set them up? I wanted to ask, but kept my mouth shut tight.

“I have grown worried for Charlotte’s safety. Moreso now than when I first gave my offer.” He explained. “The stubborn girl refuses to bring any guards with her besides that woman. She is not enough to protect my daughter alone.”

“So I will be with her to protect her if anything happens.” I continued the marquis ’s thought.

“I am still not sure why she trusts you so much, but why not make use of it.” He spoke, seemingly amused with himself.

“I would like to add one more condition.” I spoke up.

“Go on.” He leaned back in his chair and raised his brow. “I’ve already promised you your father’s head and enough money to build yourself a large home.”

“I want protection. For me and for my new family. If the Watchmen or Lord Revan try to cause trouble for any of us, I want your help.” I explained.

“There’s very little I can do about the Watchmen, but I can keep that ambitious gremlin and his goons under my thumb.” He answered.

“Then it’s a deal. I’ll make sure that nothing bad happens to Charlotte.”

“And I will keep up my end of the agreement.” He then waved his hand. “Don’t keep her waiting, or she might faint of worry.”

Turning, I walked towards the door. I tried to get a read of the marquis ’s emotions, but felt only annoyance.

Opening the door, I saw Charlotte standing very close. She seemed surprised that the door had opened and stumbled backwards, catching herself on the wall opposite the door. Quickly, I closed the door and rushed to her side.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“I’m fine. Are you alright?” She asked, worried for me. “Did he do anything to you? Did he threaten you? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, he didn’t do any of that.” I was more than a little worried, myself. Had her father done something like this in the past?

Sighing, she grabbed my hand and started dragging me away. “I can’t believe that he would have only let you in and then done nothing.” She was clearly frustrated.

She brought me back down to the ground floor and into a large room with smooth, stone walls that tapered in slightly towards one side with a raised platform on the skinnier side and dozens of chairs facing the platform. Pushing me down into one of the chairs, she bent down to face me.

“This room is soundproof, so you can tell me anything.” She explained.

“Really, he didn’t do anything.” I insisted.

Pouting, she stood straight and tipped her head, mumbling. “Then why wouldn’t he let me in?” She then seemed to have an idea. “Was it about your dad?” She asked, eyes wide as if she suddenly understood. “That must be why. He didn’t want me to know about the bandit things.”

Not wanting to be dragged around and questioned, I let her go on with this idea.

“That must be why you asked to talk to him. Oh, why didn’t I think of that to begin with?” She continued.

Her rants went on for a little longer before she realized just what she was doing. This was something that I had witnessed her do on more than one occasion. Not having anyone to talk with for so long meant that she had the habit of having long conversations with herself. Her face turned bright red, and she immediately turned to hide it.

“I can’t believe you let me go on like that again.” She mumbled.

I laughed slightly, causing her to turn around, her face still slightly red. She pouted, but seemed to have mostly recovered from the embarrassment.

“So what is this room?” I asked, standing from the chair to look around.

“My dad calls it a studio.” She explained. “We use it when we have guests over. My mom and I sing together. The builder said that the room’s shape helps make the song sound better.”

Charlotte turned to look at me and seemed to know exactly what I was about to ask.

“Sorry, but I’m forbidden to sing in here without permission.” She apologized.

“Then I’ll have to come next time you do sing.” I replied, stepping toward the door. “Now come on, I’m sure there’s more house to explore.”

Smiling wide, she grabbed my hand and led me out of the studio and showed me around her home.

I had been astonished with the Wark’s estate, but the Renae’s estate put my new home to shame. The home was older, but they still had indoor plumbing installed. When I asked one of the kitchen staff about it, they said that it had only been installed a year ago, but it made their work immensely easier, though it had taken a long time for the people to install the tools that made it all work.

Having finished the ground floor, Charlotte led me outside to where the family’s guards were practicing. Among the guards was the woman who had accompanied Charlotte and I when we first became friends. She immediately saw us and jogged over.

“My lady, and the young lord. Have you come to watch us?” She was drenched in sweat, but spoke with a smile. “Perhaps the young lord would like to join in?”

“Oh no, I’m not any good at fighting.” I rejected.

“You don’t have to pretend. I’m the one who had to clean up after your mess, remember.” She teased.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t join in today. Maybe another time.” I was beyond nervous. She believed that I did all that, but didn’t know how.

Nodding her head, she bent down and whispered in my ear. “We could do it somewhere more private.”

I could feel the blood rush to my face as she stood straight and laughed.

“Dame Austen!” Charlotte got mad.

“Don’t worry, young lady.” She laughed, then turned to me. “Her father isn’t the only one she told about you.” She teased.

It was Charlotte’s turn to blush hard as she attacked the woman, though her attacks weren’t strong enough to get past the armor that she was wearing.

Laughing even harder, Dame Austen wiped away a tear and sighed. “That’s enough, I guess.” Stretching, she spoke. “I really would like to test your skills one day, young lord, but for now it’s back to training.”

Charlotte watched the lady guard walk back to her group where she fiercely and skillfully beat a stone doll with a blunted sword.

Pouting, Charlotte spoke. “At least she’s good with a weapon.”

“Aren’t swords impractical?” I asked, watching her blade dance and strike.

“Yeah, but she makes them work.” Charlotte explained. “She was the first in her family to awaken an aura, but she hardly uses it. I’ve only seen her use it once and it was still purple.”

This much skill is uncanny.

Just then, a knock came from behind us. One of the servants was standing in the open doorway and announced that supper had been prepared and that we were both expected in the dining hall.