——The Night——
I'm woken by the sound of something falling, I sit up in my bed. I look around in the dark room for the source of the sound. I walk over to the window and pull the curtains back to look at the moon. It had maybe only been and hour and a half since I went to bed. I look around the room with the light from the window. I would have lit the candle at my bedside, but it would have been a waist, since it was pretty much burnt out. I spot a book on the ground, it had fallen off the bookshelf next to my desk. I open the curtain all the way so I could see enough to pick it up, and put it back. I must have left it unbalanced when I put it back on the shelf. I look at the book to see it was one I hadn't read for a long time. As I put it back in the shelf, I notice that it looks like a space for two books, usually there was not a gap on the shelf, but I could only find the one book. It must have fallen under some of the furniture or something, but now isn't the time to look.
I turn to walk back to my bed when I feel two hands grab me. One over my mouth, and the other pins my hands to my back. I thrash trying to break them off of me, but they don't budge.
"You weren't supposed to see," he says.
I freeze confused when I hear James' voice. Instinctively my next thought is that there's something wrong in the castle and that he came to get me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to do this but you leave me with no choice," his words make my blood run cold.
His hand pulls away from my mouth, but before I can make a sound a cloth is tied in my mouth. Then he binds my wrists together. He throws me onto my bed before picking up a book from under the bed and putting it in his bag. I look closer to see it is the Seven Book. The Book I use sign in members of the seven, one my family had used for generations. Along with that book was a bunch of other documents, each of them contained personal info and reports about every member of the seven. Every member up to the first seven to serve the crown, the founders.
He pulls out the bound records of the seven flipping through them. When he reached the end of the booklet, he looks at me.
"Where is it!"
I shake my head no, I don't know what he was talking about.
"You're mothers seven! Where are they."
I shake my head, I knew where they were, but no way I was going to tell him.
"You don't want to cooperate? Fine, I'll just have to figure it out then."
He scrambles threw the bookshelf, and he looks at me periodically to see if I have a reaction. I give him none and he gets more frustrated. He walks over to me grabbing my head to look at him. His grip is tight and I cry in pain, as the tears slide down the side of my face.
"Where. Is. It."
I don't budge at the question, as it was their duty to protect me, it was mine to keep information on them private.
"No answer huh, that's fine I'll kill you no matter if you keep the secret. I'll find it eventually even if I have to rip open every floorboard."
I pull my head from his grip, but not without his finger nails scratching the side of my face. The scratches thumped with pain, all at the same time. I breathed heavily as my heart beaded faster than it ever had.
He looks down at my body before crawling up onto the bed.
"They say you're the most beautiful woman to walk the earth, and who would I be to waist such a beauty, when she is to die like a delicate flower in the brutal cold."
His hand runs up the side of my leg slowly, my eyes open in shock and I thrash, shake my head, cry but I can't stop him, and no one can hear me.
"No one will save you from this fate," he whispers.
He lifts the hem of my skirt up to my stomach and then his fingers wiggle under the band of my underwear. He rips them in one motion, leaving my only defense. I pin my legs together tightly, however I am not strong enough to fight him. He fit his torso between my knees and I'm no longer able to close my legs. His hand slips down as he touches me. I don't know what to do, I can't do anything, tears fall from my eyes and I scream, and scream. Nothing will stop me, I pray, I pray for something, someone to make the nightmare stop. The only person who woke me from my own nightmares was gone, and soon I'd see her again.
His eyes are surprised when he pulls his hand out and his finger is covered in blood," how unfortunate," he comments, "I'll save you the pain, I don't like a woman who fights back."
He wipes his finger off on my sheets before gripping my neck. I suddenly am cut off, I can't inhale and every exhale forces it's way out but no more air comes in. I hear a knock, I look towards the door to see that there is a shadow standing outside of it. I thrashed and try to yell but no sound escapes and I feel myself choke on my own breath.
"Princess?" I hear Clouds voice and I try with all my might to fight but I can't win.
"Ivory?" He asks knocking again this time a little louder," are you there?"
He squeezes my neck harder and I feel my head become light, as black splotches cover my vision. My brain felt like a hundred hands were knocking on my skull.
"I'm coming in," the door opens and all I can do is look at him as surprise fills his face.
He didn't hesitate another moment when he grabs James, sword against his neck. I gasp in air, breathing in and out as fast as I could threw the cloth in my mouth.
"It's alright Ivory," Cloud says I can see clearly now, the black splotches no longer in my eyes. He stands in his suit, sword pressed against James' neck as he looks at me in concern," close your eyes," he would always whisper that to me before he would kill.
This time I was glad to, my world goes black, a muffled scream and a sound I didn't want to think about, then I feel a warm liquid spray on me. I don't open my eyes, not wanting to see the scores, not needing to know. I feel a set of warm arms wrap around me and pull me back up to sit. I shake violently in Cloud's arms. I feel the cold blade by my face as he cuts the cloth, then my wrists. I wrap my arms around him once I was free, I hug him tightly. I had never, never, done this, but right now I needed someone to comfort me after my nightmare.
"Cloud," I cry into his chest, tears falling from my eyes.
He hesitates surprised by my action, before hugging me back his fingers brush my hair," it's ok, you're ok."
"Cloud," is all I can manage to choke out.
"Shh, I've got you. I'll never let you die, not on my watch."
I grab him tighter trying to slow my breathing and calm down.
"Let's get you out of here," he says stepping back, he wraps me in a sheet before lifting me up in his arms.
I hold on his neck not wanting to let go as he walks down the hall way. I open my eyes and look at his face, it was so serious. He wore a professional face as he carried me down the hall past gards, and maids who looked and whispered as we passed. He was unfazed, didn't care that we were so close with an audience. He looks down at me looking into my eyes, and I back into his. I reach for his face touching it delicately with the tips of my fingers. The moment he looks to me his face drops into one of sadness.
"If you're tired, sleep, I will protect you," he says eyes full of care.
I close my eyes again leaning against his chest, the sound of his heart in my ear, the smell of his clothes, and the warmth of his body is what slowly makes me drift off.
———
I'm woken by the sting on the side of my face. My eyes shoot open and I sit up.
"Are you alright Princess?" The maid asks when I sit up.
"Where is Cloudio?" I asked panicked.
"He only just left to go tell Liam of the news, he sat at the bedside all night watching you sleep. It was very kind of him to let you sleep in his bed."
"His bed?" I say and my face turns bright red, I look around the room and finally realize for myself that I was in his room.
"Yes, but if you don't mind Princess I need to finish treating the scratch on you're face. Otherwise it will scar."
"Oh, yes alright," I lean against the head board as the maid presses the cloth against my face.
It stings and tingles as she applies the substance to the scratch. I lift my hand to my neck and flinch when the pain hits me.
"Oh yes, be careful, the injury on you're neck is very bad," the maid tells me," you're lucky your esophagus didn't collapse. I've rubbed some cream on it and wrapped it witch should help with the swelling, as for the bruise. It will probably take two weeks for it to heal."
"Ok," I say and it comes out in barely a whisper.
The door opens and Liam walks in with Cloud. Liam is dressed in his armed uniform, while Cloud wears casual attire, something I rarely see him wear.
"Princess," Liam sits down at the bed side and touches my hand.
I flinch pulling it away instinctively, to his surprise, and to Clouds. Cloud's eyes were purple with tiredness, and his body slouched only slightly for the same reason.
He spoke in a exhausted voice too Liam," maybe lay off the touching, and the flirting, Liam."
Liam looks back at Cloud," I don't think that's you're business," he says matter of factly.
"Well this time it isn't a request, it's an order," Cloud says firmly.
Usually Cloud didn't interfere or care about Liams behavior towards me, but this time he made it clear to Liam that it wasn't a choice. Even on top of that Cloud never commanded anything from Liam, so this was also a surprise to Liam.
"I brought you here to guard her while I go sleep, not to flirt with her."
He opens the door to exit the room then I call to him," Cloud, please sleep in your bed, I'll leave," I say feeling bad, especially because I was the reason he didn't sleep.
"No that's alright Ivory, I'll just go else where, save your energy, stay here."
He gives me a small smile before gently closing the door.
——Present——
"You said that three people knew?" He asks as he sits in my desk chair," then who is the other?"
"Liam," I tell him.
"So did Cloudio tell him or something?"
"No, we kept it from him, telling him the same story we told the king. He kept interrogating me, and grilling me until I spilled the truth."
——Liam's interrogation——
I walk outside the castle with Liam in the garden, it had only been a week since my birthday. Still only Cloud and I know the truth about the incident, but Liam knew something was wrong. He would grill me at every opportunity he got, and today was no exception.
"Tell me again," he says during our walk.
"I tell you the same story every time, yet you need me to tell you it twice a day!"
"That's because it doesn't make sense, why would a thief come in your room for jewels, and leave empty handed after killing James."
"Probably because he didn't want to be caught by Cloud."
"It doesn't make sense, they scratch you on the face, then you stumble and hit your neck on the side table, and Cloud gets there just in time to see James die and the thief jump out the window."
"That's what happened."
"You're lying to me," Liam says," you don't get bruises around your wrists from falling and hitting a counter. And when you told me that you were distant because you saw someone be killed, it's not true, Cloud would never let you see someone die."
"I don't know what to tell you," I say trying to keep my voice monotone as to not give it away.
"The truth! Seeing someone die, doesn't make you not want to be touched!" He says referring to the way I reacted when someone touches me," something happened to you, it had to have been something that someone did. Something to you that made you not want to be touched, something that would make Cloudio order me not to flirt with you!"
"He almost raped me Liam!" I bleat out in frustration. A tension that had been building since the first day he started this interrogative habit. The instant it left my mouth I regretted the words.
Liam is flabbergasted,"What! Who, are you ok? They didn't take you did they?"
"Note the almost part," I say with a sigh," and if they did, I would have already been long dead."
Liams face fills with anger," I'm going to kill the son of a bitch that tried to take you!"
"No need," I say in a dark voice," Cloud already took care of him."
It seems like the pieces seen to click in Liam/s mind," James, he didn't, he wouldn't have."
"The answer was yes, and he sure did, and it was all over some old paper."
"I could care less about the dammed paper, how close did he get?" Liam asks enraged.
"Well let's say, if you had cracked one more joke at Cloud before he left to check on me. You'd see me buried in this garden next to my mother instead of walking next to you."
"That close, and he didn't, umm."
"No, like I said, I'd be dead before that happened. Even in his own words,' I don't like a woman that struggles,' so he was going to do that to my dead body."
Liam flinches with a expression of disgust," and to think you had him buried a hero makes me sick."
"I don't what people to know Liam, about him. You weren't even supposed to know, only Cloud and I. Not even my father."
"The king didn't know!"
"No, he would have neglected the tradition and probably feed him to the loins instead."
"I would have done the same."
"That's exactly why I wasn't going to tell you, because you don't listen to what I tell you as much as Cloud does."
"I get the info I need and take the most right action."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore with you, I came out to relax, not to talk about the thing I'm trying to forget," I say storming away from him and back into the castle.
——Current Time——
"There it is," I say," the story, now if you don't mind crawling back out the castle the way you came in that would be appreciated."
"Princess Ivory, I want to be a member of the seven."
I start laughing," you must be jesting surely."
"I am not, I want to serve you, make up for my brothers mistakes."
"Are you strong enough to be one of the seven?"
"I can't say that I will be able to put up much of a fight to Sir Cloudio or Sir Liam, but like my brother I know my way around medication, and I have a talent for knife throwing."
I sigh," look I'd love to talk to you about it, in a place that isn't my bedroom, and certainly not in the middle of the night after you snuck in."
"Right, I'll see you again my Princess," he says and in the blink of an eye he's gone, disappeared into the shadow.
I get in bed and role over, this next week was going to be long. On top of it father wanted an audience with me tomorrow.