As Cynthia left the room, the lock clicked behind her. She heard whispers on the other side. She looked at the two guards at the door. Both of them stoically looked upwards and wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“Miss Charlotte’s dress is ruined. You didn’t happen to see anyone enter the room, did you?”

“No ma’am.”

“I see,” She frowned.

She walked down the hall and stopped at each set of doors to talk to the guards. As more and more refused to acknowledge her or deny they saw anything, she scowled harder. By the time she walked to the Yellow Wing, she was stomping. She stopped outside the Viscount’s room and glared at the two guards.

“I need to speak with Lord Wade. It’s urgent.”

One bowed and entered the room. After a few moments, Wade exited with a look of confusion. His tie rested over his shoulders and his vest was fully unbuttoned. His curly hair was slicked back with a few strands still misplaced.

“What’s wrong?”

“We will need a little privacy,” She waved for him to follow.

She guided him a few paces from the other guards to get out of earshot. When they stopped, he crossed his arms.

“I don’t have time for this. I’m in the middle of getting ready and I—”

“Someone ruined Lady Charlotte’s dress.”

“Wha—what?” His panicked, “What do you mean?”

“I left her dress in your chambers to get the dressing room ready, as you requested. Someone snuck into your room and…” She closed her eyes, “I will never be able to fix it in time. I do not know if I have the skills to fix it, in all honesty

“Just go grab a different one, then,” He rubbed a hand down his face, “She has to go!”

“That is the thing, my lord. When I went back to her room, all of her dresses were ripped to shreds.”

His face fell. Cynthia saw the spark of anger start in his eyes before his face contorted in rage.

“I’ve asked every guard in the hall, and they say they haven’t seen anyone enter either room,” She reassured him that she did everything she could, “Lady Charlotte refuses to leave your chambers. She says she’s not going.”

His fists clenched as he stomped down the hall. He stopped at every door and interrogated the guards. They still didn’t acknowledge that anyone entered the room besides those allowed in. Once they got to Charlie’s room, he swung the door open.

Shards of fabric littered the floor as if a cat shredded the dresses and threw them around. His heart sank and he looked through the dressers to see everything he bought for her destroyed. The heels of her shoes were ripped off, dresses in tatters, and stockings torn to shreds. Even the lingerie he dreamed she would wear for him was ruined.

“I—I don’t understand, Cynthia,” He grabbed a piece of fabric from the floor, “Who would do this?”

“Someone who doesn’t want Lady Charlotte at the ball, or perhaps in the house at all, my lord.”

He gripped the fabric in his hand as if it was his lifeline, “Show me the dress.”

“She has locked herself in your room with it.”

“Has a locked door stopped anyone in this house?” He scoffed, “I know this room is locked when she’s not in here, yet this happened!”

Wade stomped down the hall and got to his own door. The guards stood at attention as he approached.

“Who did you let in here? Tell me this instant!”

“No one, my lord.”

“I will have your heads if you continue to lie to me. Who the hells got in here and ruined that dress?”

“My lord, I assure you that nobody entered the room. Miss Cynthia must have—”

“How dare you accuse me!” She screeched, “I have been diligently tending to the lady. I would never do such a horrible thing!”

“Get out of the way,” He shoved one of them and pulled the key from his pocket.

As the door swung open, he saw the sophisticated dress covered in red wine, black ink, sticky honey, and other questionable sauces. He grabbed the top layer of delicate lace and held it between his fingers. Rage built inside of him as he caught snips of the dress torn to put stains deeper into the folded layers.

“Charlie!” He called and walked around the room, “Where are you?”

When she didn’t reply, he panicked. He opened his office door to see the gift open, but the necklace was still there. He ran to the bathroom and threw the door open to see if she was hiding there. Instead, he saw one of the panels from the stained glass slid upwards and a rope outside. He looked out the window to see it leading towards the ground.

“She’s… gone?”

“What?!” Cynthia entered the bathroom, “Her bag’s here.”

“Cynthia?” He grabbed her shoulders, “What is the last thing she said to you?”

“She told me not to worry about her, my lord,” She stuttered, “I didn’t think she meant she would climb out of a fourth story window!”

Wade sat on the floor and gripped his hair in his hands. Even after everything, she still left. He couldn’t blame her after seeing everything he gifted her in tatters. Someone all but screamed at her to leave. This would’ve broken anyone he knew.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I… I will go tell my sister.”

“You should continue to get ready for the ball, my lord. We may be able to find her.”

“What's the point in going if she won’t be there? The whole damn thing is about her!” He searched her bag, “At least she has her clothes. One of those fae stones is missing. The blue one. She’s wearing what she wore earlier today.”

“It would be very unfortunate if she was naked.”

“Have her room cleaned. I want it as near to perfection as possible for when I find her again. Get my sheets changed as well. I want this room spotless when I return.”

“Of course.”

“When I find out who did this, I’m going to punish them. Only confessing will save their lives. If I find out after the fact, I will kill them,” He seethed, “Make sure everyone in the staff knows this.”

He threw the doors to the room open and yelled.

“I’ve grown tired of the constant disrespect! I might be the youngest, but I’m still a man of this house! There is no excuse to treat me or my lady in this way. I will make examples out of whoever did this.”

“Yes, my lord,” Cynthia bowed her head.

Wade stalked down the hall and prayed daggers would fly into the necks of all the useless guards. As he descended to the blue wing on the third floor, he barked at them to send someone to look for Charlie. Once he reached his sisters room, he pounded a fist against the door. Bryza opened it with a scowl.

“Why are you trying to break the door down?”

“Lady Charlotte is missing.”

“What?” She blinked, “Come in.”

“Sister!” Wade called through the sectioned off hall inside of her chambers, “There’s been a crime. I want someone’s head for it.”

The countess stepped out in pale yellow robes from a room. The silver crown on her head was veiled by a sheer black fabric. Her worried face scanned him.

“What’s the matter, Wade?”

“Not only has someone broken into Lady Charlotte’s room to destroy all of her clothes.”

“Even the idiotically expensive dress you purchased? I thought you had that moved to your room.”

“They went into my room as well. My things are perfectly safe,” He paused, “Sister, if you did this—”

“I promise on our mother’s grave, I did not!” She blinked, “Baby brother, I know you care for her. Do I think you’re crazy? Yes. Would I do anything to ruin the ball that begins in less than an hour? Absolutely not.”

“She’s missing, Wanda,” He knelt in front of her and lowered his head, “She went out of the window. I am extremely worried.”

“Bryza,” The countess looked to the elf, “I’m putting you in charge of finding her, as quickly as you can. She couldn’t have gotten too far. She can have one of my dresses –any older one might not be as recognizable.”

“Yes, my lady,” The elf bowed before she sprinted from the room.

His older sister knelt on her knees beside him. He clinched the rug with his fingers as he tried to quell his rage. He needed to find her before he lost her again.

“Who do you think did this? What did the guards say?”

“They said they didn’t see anything. That’s why I thought it might have been you.”

“That would explain that,” She sighed and pulled both of them up from the floor, “Finish getting ready. You know Bryza will always find her target. Even if Lady Charlotte is late, she will be there. If not tonight, then she will be here when she is found.”

Wade nodded. Wanda tussled his curly brown hair just like their mother used to when he was stressed as a child. He hugged her quickly and squeezed her against him.

“I’m worried she’s been kidnapped, Wanda.”

“Why would you think something so awful?”

“Before I met her, she was. She got that infection from one of them.”

“Yet, you told me that she made three men pummel themselves broken,” She patted his back, “Wade, I may not have spoken to her as personally as you have, but I can tell she is a strong woman. She’ll be fine.”

“Sister, I genuinely cherish her. I want to marry her. I’m not saying that to get out of whatever marriage you are trying to throw me into now.”

“I know,” She pinched his cheek, “But we have to do what’s best for the family.”

“You don’t know her like I do,” He frowned, “She’s special, Wanda. You may not think of her as a future lady, baroness, marquise, or even countess of this family would be a good idea. I do.”

“Trying to replace me already?” She laughed.

“No,” He said softly, “But you know what I mean.”

“Go on, Wade. Finishing getting ready. We will find her,” She chuckled, “I will have you escort me into the ball if we don’t find her in time. If she’s late, we’ll introduce her when she arrives.”

He closed his eyes as he tried to calm down, “Thank you.”

“Did you write down that poem that the acolytes of Knowledge found for you?”

“Yes, mother,” He teased.

“You’re the one spending your entire inheritance on the woman,” She laughed, “Don’t complain to me when you’re broke.”

“I’ll be in my room when you’re finished getting ready,” He dusted himself off and walked back to the door, “I… hope this was her decision. She may come back in time.”

Wade stalked back towards his brother’s room. All of his brothers shushed as he entered. It looked like a room filled with his father. They inherited the sharp features of the man, unlike him. So, they constantly picked on him for being girly as a child and calling him a boy after he grew. It only seemed to stop when Charlie stood up for him.

“What was so urgent?”

“It’s Lady Charlotte. Someone destroyed her belongings and she’s gone missing. It’s unclear if she fled or has been kidnapped,” He said flatly, “But I doubt she climbed out of a fourth story window by herself.”

“By the gods. Who would do that?”

“Brothers,” His voice darkened, “I will tell you this now, if any of you had anything to do with her things being ruined, or her going missing, I will do everything in my power to ruin you.”

“That’s a bit dark, Wade,” Wayne laughed, “Why would we do that? I, for one, like the woman.”

“Yes! She’s quite hilarious and easy on the eyes. If you don’t marry her, I’m half tempted to,” Ward chuckled, “Wanda seems to be the only one against it.”

“You’re being awfully silent, Walton,” Wade narrowed his eyes.

“What am I supposed to do? Praise your woman and risk the glare you’re giving them?” He laughed, “I’m not the Viscount or Baron. I’m not going to risk you fighting me or telling my wife any compliment I say about another woman.”

The older brothers laughed at him. Wade shook his head.

“Just send some people to find her if you have any to spare. Bryza is on it, but, from what Charlie has told me, her kidnappers aren’t easily conquered.”

“Giving her cute nicknames now?” The baron clapped his back, “But Charlie? A man’s name?”

“She prefers to be called that,” His face reddened, “Now, I’ll finishing getting ready in my room in case she returns.”

Wade walked back to his chambers with his vest and tailcoat. He stepped into his office and sat at his desk. As he opened the lowest drawer to pull out a bottle of hard liquor, he noticed it missing. He cursed and slammed the drawer shut. He realized the sooner he readied himself, the sooner he could look for her. He threw on his coat and pulled his cufflinks from a desk drawer. After he clasped the emerald decorations at the end of his sleeves, he looked around for any clues for where she went. His mother’s emerald jewelry still sat in his office, but it looked as if the sheets used to make a rope came from his bed.

When Wade sat on his bed and shook in anger, he saw her bottomless mug.

“She would never leave this behind.”

He snatched it and looked over the glowing runes. A cerulean one seemed pressed in compared to the others.

Wade saw her use the enchanted mug before. When she pressed the rune, a liquid would fill the cup and stay full until she pressed the rune again. But with this one pressed, the mug was still empty. He turned it upside down and shook it to see if anything would come out. He frowned when it didn’t.

“Charlie, where are you?” He whispered.

Wade tossed the mug back on the bed and looked to the ruined garment. He had looked forward to seeing her in it. Even if she never married him, he could have pretended in the white dress. He imagined her wearing his mother’s necklace and ring as they danced during the night with childish giddiness. He wanted to walk her down the staircase as a bold couple to announce to his region that she was his –even if she denied it.

It enraged him that someone stole that from him.

The thought made him feel silly. He only ever heard of little girls pretending to get married. Denna had done as much with him.

With that thought, anger encapsulated his mind.

“If she had something to do with this,” He growled, “I will kill her.”