Regia looked around the large room. It was a huge paradox of what she was used to. It had a large vanity embroidered with silver and marble and a grand styled decor suitable for royalty. It was all too much for a duke's mistress, they really did value their concubines surprisingly enough.
She moved closer to the large bed in the centre of the room. Its sheets had been rolled back invitingly and it was an invite that she couldn't resist.
She crawled on the bed and laid on its soft sheets, adoring its feeling against her skin. She didn't know when or how she fell asleep afterwards.
A hand slowly tapped her and she fluttered her eyes open. The duke of Albania stood observing her,his hands pulled to his back.
She sat up with a start and quickly got of the bed. She didn't need a soothsayer to tell her he was the man she had been waiting for.
She curtsied with as much grace as she owned and greeted him.
"Good afternoon sire".
He frowned at her which made her breath hitch.
" Good afternoon?, girl it is evening already",he remarked quite harshly.
Her eyes widened and she turned to look out the window. She didn't know she had slept that long. The room was lit by an array of gorgeous lantern in the wall.
She bowed slightly,tendering her apology. He let out a low scoff before asking,
"Is this what you want to wear to sleep?", he asked causing her to look at her gown.
She was still wearing the gown she wore after the change. She had been waiting for him so that they could go and eat together but it seemed like he wasn't interested in food at the moment.
She watched him head to her bed to sit. He sat and frowned again seeing her stand in the same position.
" Well,won't you change to your night gown",he said breaking into her thought,a hiss priding in his tone.
She quickly regained her composure, bowed gently tendering her apology, and dashed to her observatory that was veiled with long decorated satin curtains.
She saw her night shift already folded and carefully placed on a table beside her bathtub. She quickly slipped out of the heavy clothe she was laden with and wore the white,transparent gown reserved for her.
She swallowed as she observed herself in the standing mirror placed in the observatory. The clothe clung to her in all the right places and it perfectly matched her skin.
She knew that whoever placed it there had an eye for beauty. She held her breath as she tried to get her thoughts composed.
She muttered encouraging words to herself as she sought to return to the Duke. She had already kept him waiting for far too long and didn't want to get scolded on her first day.
She walked in careful strides as she pulled back the curtain and walked towards the bed.
She then took a while to look at the duke. He was a man who looked middle aged,and if he had children early enough,he was probably old enough to be her father. He was definitely old enough to be her father,she was positive.
She smiled bitterly at her ill fated luck. Bedding an old man was all her use now,she couldn't even be spared the disgust and be offered a much younger and good looking man.
The Duke was lying down on the bed now, facing the ceiling. She stopped a few inches afar and called out.
"Sire, I am now changed",she said and pressed her lips into a thin line.
She waited for a response for a few seconds and on not getting any repeated her statement.
He still didn't respond causing her to furrow her brows. She wondered if he fell asleep in his wait,oh the poor thing must have waited too long.
She walked over to him and tapped him gently. He still didn't make a move and his eyes were closed. She trailed his hands to under the sheets.
He was unusually quiet and she wasn't even sure she could hear him breathe. She put her hand under the sheets and drew out his hands to gently place in hers.
What she saw next caused her to shriek in fear. She saw that his hands was covered in his own blood.
She pulled the sheets down completely and saw that he had been stabbed by a knife or a dagger,she wasn't sure,but he was laying in a pool of his own blood,the bed having soaked most of it.
She fell back in fear,feeling a sinking feeling rise in her chest as her breathing became uneven in panic.
She wanted to ran out to call for help but her body refused to move,reminding her of the implication of her action if she did so.
She didn't know who did this or the reason why but the person should have chosen another day to assassinate him,why did the person chose today of all days.
Then another thought burst into the already disheveled ones,what if the person was still in the room.
She looked around the room,her eyes darting towards every corner. It was a large room but there wasn't really anywhere to hide. She shook her head to discard the thought.
The person wasn't in the room,he or she couldn't be. She then wondered what heavenly stealth the person must have for her not to have heard a thing or how the person even got in or out. She also couldn't believe that the duke was too weak to fight for his life.
She thought again of running out but had nowhere to run or who to talk to that would believe her. She shook her head vehemently,running her hands roughly through her hair and dragging at it.
She wanted to cry and run into the warm embrace of her mother and then she realised that she was far away from home,with no loved ones anywhere close, she was all by herself.
That thought made her steel herself with a new resolution, reminding herself that crying or panic would solve nothing.
She stood up and quickly calculated her next line of action. She decided to leave the building and the town as a whole,knowing that her very life was on the line.
She needed to escape and fast but she decided to be more calculated about it. She couldn't leave in her nightshift so she quickly changed back into the clothe she had worn earlier.
She didn't know where she was heading off to so she thought it best if she took a shawl to cover herself.
She then opened the door of the room and looked around the hall. When she saw no one coming,she slipped into the hall and began walking in the direction from which she came.
She had only spent one day but she had made a mental map of the house,in case she ever got lost.
She walked as fast as her feet could carry her towards the stairs and she didn't realise the old castle maid approaching with a food tray. She collided with the woman and gasped, thinking the food would be spilled but the woman held the tray tight,it didn't spill,surprisingly.
The woman who was shorter than she was looked up to her and frowned.
"What are you doing out of your room by this time Malady and where are you going in such a haste", she said and Regia looked at her with her eyes wide and not knowing what exactly to do next,apologized quickly and sought to move away hastily.
The woman looked back and stared at her as she descended the stairs and shook her head,mumbling something inconceivable before turning to take the meal in her hands to the person that required it.
Regia dashed down the stairs with more calculated speed than earlier. She paused when she heard a few voices approaching her again,it was the duke's first wife and his daughter.
Her head was in a frenzy as she tried to conjure up a believable excuse for not being in her room with her new master at this hour. She then straightened herself, regained her composure and began descending again with more calculated speed.
As she had anticipated, the woman paused when she greeted her good evening. She kept her gaze low as the woman's gaze ran through her haughtily from head to toe,assessing her.
Her daughter stood by her side,doing the same thing her mother was doing even more haughtily.
" What are you doing out by this time girl,isn't my husband supposed to be with you tonight?",she asked,pride and arrogance dancing on her tongue.
Regia's heart skipped a beat when the woman talked about her husband but she kept her gaze low and tried to keep her tone neutral and void of anything to be suspicious about.
"He asked me to call a maid milady,the ones around left upon his request", she replied,awaiting the woman's response to her lie.
The woman raised a brow at her,as though not believing her statement.
" What for? ",she asked,suspicion etched in her tone.
" I don't know Milady ",she said,her gaze still downwards. The woman continued to look at her but her daughter spoke up.
" It is most logical mother, seeing as she is the only one close to their status to send on an errand",she said in a mocking tone and her mother suppressed a smile.
Regia took her words in good grace,still keeping her head low,they were going to be in for the shock of their lives soon after all and she almost regretted not being able to watch. The woman who seemed to be sated with her daughters statement,went on her way.
Immediately they turned,Regia continued walking with increased pace. She paused at the path leading to the maid's quarters and the path to the front door, she didn't know which path would be alright to take. Both paths were lit with gorgeous lanterns.
She clasped her hands together and uttered a quick and silent prayer to Providence. She then turned in the direction of the maid's quarters.
The kitchen was just opposite,in front of it. She stood at the door and peered into the kitchen. Dinner was over so most of the maids would be outside washing the dishes,only two were in the kitchen cleaning up. All others were probably doing one job or another.
She then thought of another lie,even though she didn't like to. She walked into the kitchen with her shoulders high and with appropriate poise.
They turned to face her on noticing her entrance wondering what she was doing here at this moment.
"The duke has requested your immediate presence in his room", she said and the maid's wasted no time in running off.
She watched them as they scurried away before hurrying to the door that led outside. She walked out of the kitchen and after that it seemed like open road for her. She thanked God that the well was on the other side of the building.
She ran into the surrounding trees as fast as her legs could carry her. She had already directed the maids to the room and they may not waste time in raising an alarm.
She saw guards coming ahead and ran further into the trees. They were with dogs and the dogs sniffed the ground and barked in her direction.
The guards became alerted,turned to face where they were barking and began walking towards the trees.
Regia had no clue they were on to her,she just continued running along the path that the moonlight guided her.