[Ridge]
I woke up surrounded by the softest thing I've ever felt. My bed is literally stuffed with feathers, how is his better than mine? Rich people suck.
At least his room has a draft. It's dark out when I come to my senses, and I'm alone in Kadeeth's giant bedchamber. What does he even need all this space for? I get up quickly and snag some wrapped sweets from his desk drawer before slipping out of the giant wood carved doors.
"Ridge?" Oh, shit.
I look to my right and see Martina blocking my escap- I mean the exit. His pale face is scrunched up in pure confusion. I watch him look from me to the door behind me, and then back at me again. That's not good.
"Uh, hey." I say, stupidly.
"That's Lord Kadeeth's room." He confirms.
"Yep."
I am such an idiot, I should be defending myself, not giving him quipped answers like a moron! I don't need to be getting Kadeeth in trouble. What if Martina tells the Duke, and then the Duke finds out Kadeeth leaked confidential intel to me?
"Okay, so you're aware. Then, can I ask what you were doin-" My brain stops functioning all together. I'm a terrible liar.
"Lord Kadeeth wanted me to help quell some rumors going around the estate." I explain. There's enough sweat dripping down my back right now to water the entire estate grounds. Why is this so embarrassing? It feels like I've been caught doing something I shouldn't have done, when in reality I have no idea how Martina's taking this situation.
"Oh!" His face lights up and he inches closer, leaning in to whisper yell in my ear, "The rumors, so you know about those?" Maybe you don't need to be a good liar, if your target is a happy go lucky guy who's even more of an idiot than you, "It's pretty nerve-wracking isn't it?"
"Consider my nerves wracked." I give him a tight smile and move to go around him, but his hand is suddenly pushing against my chest. He's not holding me back, I could still get past him if I tried, but there's a firm pressure between his hand and my body.
My eyes dart down to his immediately. He's still smiling, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes anymore. Don't tell me this guy's some kind of psycho like Kadeeth?
"Ridge?" I've only seen one smile more threatening than this one, but second place isn't enough to scare me, sorry Martina.
"Let it go, Martin." I use his real name. Hopefully that conveys my own warning. I'm not one to smile in these kinds of situations. I prefer a more direct approach.
He looks me up and down, maybe assessing how serious I really am. Then he peeks over my shoulder at the hall behind us, as the tell tale squeak of a maid's cart enters the passageway. His hand slides back down to his side, clearly not wanting to pursue this with others around.
"Sorry about that, buddy. I knew that letter was getting to people, but I didn't think it would affect me this much." His apology sounds genuine, and his usual smile is back, reaching up to his friendly, puppy dog eyes.
Everyone has different sides to them. This is probably the closest I've come to finding someone as two-faced as Kadeeth. Maybe that's why I don't mind that his toxic side reared its head as much as I should. I've become numb to crazies.
"It's all good. Once this blows over everyone will feel better." His eyes wide at my little hint, but I make sure I'm halfway down the stairs before he can latch on again.
"RIDGE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WAIT!"
I resist the evil urge to laugh at his perplexed tone. Maybe I'm not numb, the crazies are just rubbing off on me. I should take a bath tomorrow, just to wash it off of me. Wait, it's the middle of the night. My racing heartbeat starts to slow as I come to a gradual halt at the bottom of the steps.
My mind attempts to catch up as I listen for footsteps. He didn't follow me.
What was Martina doing outside Kadeeth's room this late? He was quick to question me, but was that a cover up so I wouldn't feel alarmed at discovering him? I peer back up the stairs, feeling out of sorts.
I can ignore complicated actions or contrasting emotions, I've done that practically my entire life for Kade. What I can't ignore is being fooled. It's one thing to allow certain behavior, it's another to realize you've been played. I press my body against the wall, it's cold to the touch.
The night air is still and rigid. There's no sound except for the very faint squeak of the receding maid's cart. They sure finished the night cleaning for that hall quickly. Something is so undeniably off here, that I can't just turn around and go back to my room. I want to trust Martina, but what happened outside Kadeeth's room is making my stomach churn.
I begin ascending the stairs again. Please let me be wrong. Please. Martina is the one Knight here that I would call a friend. Don't let something unpleasant be going on.
I creep back up the winding staircase and check the hall. It's deserted. The maid that should be checking this area is gone, and so is the Knight that has no business being here at this time. I tread warily towards Kadeeth's chambers. He's the only one that resided in this hall.
As Heir to the Duchy, he basically has his own wing of the Manor. I press my ear against the wood, and listen for any movement coming from within the room. It's also possible that he left this hall, maybe he was just passing through. That doesn't change the fact that it's still dark out and he's slinking around the family's part of the Manor.
While my ears are straining to pick up any sounds from Kadeeth's bedroom, a light flickers across my eye. It's just for a short moment, but it guides my eyes down, so that I'm looking at the bottom of the door across from Kadeeth's.
I've only been in that room once. A faint glint of light passes through the crack under the door, dancing across the hall and hitting the tips of my boots, before disappearing again. It's movement, someone's moving a light around.
That means, there's someone in Kadeeth's study.