Dinner consisted of roasted duck, warm loaves of bread, and soup. We all ate our food. Well, I gobbled mine though while the rest of my family ate in a more ladylike manner. I enjoyed my food and I ate as much as I could, slurping my soup happily which earned me a glare from my sisters.
"So_" Mirabel trailed off and I braced myself for the question I knew was coming, "It's been a while since we've had a meal like this and while we thank you, we want to know where you got the money from?"
"Of course," I said gulping down my cup of water.
"Well, don't keep us waiting." Giselle said and I let out a small sigh.
I knew I couldn't tell them the truth but that didn't mean they were going to leave me alone. "Would you believe me if I told you I ran into a bit of luck?"
"Luck? Really? That's what you are going with, luck?" Grace asked me in a dry tone.
Mirabel cleared her throat adjusting herself on her wooden chair. "Listen Aneesa if you are doing something wrong or anyone is forcing you to…"
"Forcing me?" I interrupted arching a brow up at her.
"Yes well, you are beautiful Aneesa and you are coming off that age where boys start to see you as a woman and…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, boys?" I interrupted my stepmother once more. I mean when did this conversation lead to boys? So far, the only boys I have ever gotten close to in my entire life are Mr Finn and Garrett and I doubt either of them sees me as a woman.
"Yes, Aneesa boys." Mirabel affirmed giving me a look, "So if anyone is forcing you to do…"
"Okay stop no one is forcing me to do anything!" I immediately cut my mother off before she could finish her sentence, because I swear if I heard the word 'Forcing' one more time, I was going to vomit all over the dining table, "I got a job, okay?"
"Oh yeah, what sort of job?" Gizelle asked and I hated the look in her eyes.
I filled my cup with more water. "I can't say."
"Why?" Mirabel asked a calm look on her face.
Because you all would be in danger if I did! "I'm not a liability to." I answered averting my gaze away from hers. I hated lying to her!
"Oh, I see." Was all she said before she grabbed of water while looking at me from the rim of the cup and it was all I could do not to squirm under her scrutinizing gaze.
"You not a lady of the night, are you?"
"Oh for fuck's sake Gizelle!" I gaped at my sister in horror who just shrugged at me.
"What? We all think it, I'm just the only one brave enough to ask." Gizelle stated a sweet smile on her face.
I let out an exasperated sigh as I stared in horror. "I can't believe you lot right now!"
"Sorry, Neesa." Grace apologized with a sheepish look on her face, "It's just lately you've been very secretive. We worry about you Neesa."
"Well you don't need to, I can make my own decision just fine and I assure you being a lady of the night isn't a decision I would make no matter how worse things are for us. I thought you all knew me better than that." I say giving my family a leveled glare and they had the decency to look ashamed. Shaking my head at them I stood up from the chair, pushing it backwards. "I need some air."
I walked out of the house and went straight to the small barn beside it. I met Spirit inside happily munching on some haystacks. I headed towards him and grabbed him by his muzzle, stroking him affectionately.
"Hey, Spirit." I say softly, "Good job today." I praised him while he nickered at me
nudging my hands in anticipation of whatever treat I must have brought for him. I chuckled slightly as I reached into my pocket for two cubes of sugar and fed it to him.
Spirit munched on his treat and I decided to brush his mane. I grabbed the brush and began brushing his mane gently while murmuring sweet words to him. Spirit was more than a horse to me, he was also a friend go ahead and call me crazy but I feel like he understands me more than most people.
I finished brushing Spirit's mane and I was about to fetch him a bucket of water when suddenly I heard a huge commotion outside. I decided to go see what the noise was about. I walked outside only to meet several horses outside my house.
I counted seven of them. From the looks of it and their bridle, they appear to be from the royal household. I was about to get closer to it to get a closer look but the door to our house suddenly burst open. I saw my stepmother and sisters being pushed outside by the royal guards. I let out a soft gasp as I hid away from their view.
Oh gods they found me! I muse as I hide behind the barn. I decided to peek again when I saw the guards roughly shove my family to their knees in front of three people. One of them wore a cloak over their head so it was impossible to see their face. The remaining two standing appeared to be men. One of them was clad in a black leather jacket and trousers with dark boots. The other was dressed in a dark long coat and trousers. He had his back turned to me and from where I stood, I could see how broad his shoulders were. He stood with his hands folded behind his back. The way he stood had an air of arrogance about him.
"Now I'm only going to ask this once." The one in a coat asked his voice rich and velvety. "Where is the ruby?"
I let out a gasp which I quickly covered up by pressing a hand to my mouth. The ruby, they were here for the ruby! Oh Gods, they found me! I thought to myself as I chanced a glance to look at my family who were huddled together, their knees sinking into the snow. I gritted my teeth at that as I glared at the bastards who were harassing my family.
Keeping my eyes on the guards, I reached for the dagger that was strapped to my thigh. I had dipped it in wolf bane oil, so that means I could use it to kill at least one werewolf. Hopefully, that will scare them and get them to back off too.
With my mind made up, I crept out of my hiding place and stealthily made my way towards the man who had his hands behind his back, who I'm guessing must be the leader. Keeping a firm grip on the dagger I made my way towards him. I saw him cock his head to the side for a brief moment but it was already too late. I wrapped my hand around his neck pressing the dagger to the column of his throat.
"Let. Them. Go." Each word came out in a cloud of smoke as I glared at the back of the man's head.
"Ah, so you must be the thief." The man drawled out in a bored tone and I was momentarily surprised.
He didn't sound afraid. Even though I was pressing the dagger to his throat, his voice was void of any anxiety one might have as a knife is pressing into their neck. I, on the other hand, could hear the beating of my heart thump in fear against my chest and I'm sure the man could hear it too.
"Listen to me you cocky…"
Before I could say anything else, with inhuman speed, the man grabbed me by the arm and hurled me to the ground in the snow. I wheezed a little as I felt the wind get knocked out of me.
"ANEESA!" My family yelled as they shuffled towards me to help me up. I opened my eyes to look up at the man and my eyes widened in surprise when I finally saw who it was! It was him! The king! Shit!
"Now that we finally have the culprit, I'm going to ask my question again." The king said leaning down so he could look at me with those grey eyes of his, "Where is the ruby?"
"Fuck off!" I hissed at him my voice dripping venom. Okay, so that was probably not the best thing to say when in the presence of the crown, but any ounce of respect had flown out the window the moment he and his guards shoved my family into the freezing snow.
The king smirked at me causing his scar to stretch wider, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to do this."
He says and I glared at him, I also noticed his guards were coming closer and I saw that the one in a cloak was a woman. She had a smile on her face as if she was getting some sick satisfaction from watching this. "For your sake and that of your family, you will give me the ruby or be ready to accept the consequences!"
Now that sent fear coursing through my system and as if he could sense it, the king smirked at me. But I knew I couldn't tell him the truth either. Besides, I'm sure Garrett has long left town by now with the ruby. Shit, maybe I should have taken his advice and fled this wretched town too!
"From the look on your face, I'm guessing you don't know where it is."
Steeling my spine, I raised my head to glare at the king. "I have no idea of what you are talking about your majesty. The ruby, what ruby?" I feigned ignorance plastering a sweet smile on my face which caused his nostrils to flare in anger. I knew right then that I had pissed him off.
"Wrong answer, Aneesa." The king says and I ignored the shiver that went down my spine at the way my name rolled off his tongue. The king straightened before he turned to his guards, giving them one order that filled my body with cold dread. "Kill them all!"