Oona nodded slowly and turned to her meal. The dinning hall was still tensed up and silent.
"She's more of an ally but I preferably call her my mistress" Manasseh continued "after all she answers to my beck and call" he turned to Callie who had flames in her eyes.
"Hmm..." Oona hummed nervously. She could feel the Queen's intense gaze on her that only made Oona quiver. She couldn't understand the cold aura she was receiving from this family.
Everyone ate silently, as for Oona she had lost her appetite and was just spooning her meal round the plate. Sage glanced at her, he brushed a strand of her hair aside and stared at her.
Oona turned to him with a sad look and doey eyes. She thought Sage was trying to comfort her but to her surprise he wasn't. "That's why you should mind your business"
The words went down her head like water draining into a hole. Everyone turned to Sage with an irritated look plastered on their faces.
"Will you ever change?" Niel hissed
"Why should I?" Sage retorted all the while staring at Oona's brimming eyes. "Weak as always" he let go of her hair and turned to his meal. "Leave us, both of you"
Callie stood up and bowed to them, Oona did same and left the room sullen. Outside the door, Oona quickly apologized to Callie.
"I'm really sorry for bringing up the topic" Callie smiled and shook her hands.
"Don't worry, you weren't aware any way" Callie tried her best to hide her sadness but she couldn't. Tears brimmed her eyes so she immediately excused herself leaving Oona alone.
"I'm sorry" Oona whispered and sighed heavily. She walked towards the garden, though she had only visited once she could remember a few parts of the castle vividly.
She stepped into the garden feeling sober and a lot guilty. She wished she hadn't asked such a question. Oona walked towards the red hibiscus flowers that bloomed brightly in the garden. They reminded her so much about the lady she had seen.
"Larkin" Oona recited to herself. The name sounded different but sweet. She wondered what it meant. Oona sat on the ground weaving a few vines and the hibiscus flowers together, she felt entranced by the color and the way it represented some features of Larkin.
Larkin sat in the garden reading a book in the garden, she was uninterested in the contents of the book. If it weren't for Lord Manasseh's order, she would have never tagged along. She preferred being in her room all day than to be in the same carriage with Lady Callie.
Her blood boiled as she remembered the sickly gaze she got as she walked past some maids in the castle. Larkin sighed heavily and continued her book, it was nothing more that an all day romance that never had a theme for her happy ending. She hated the fact that books always edited the other woman as vile and vicious, not that she wasn't anyway.
Her eyes trailed the woman that had just step into the garden, she remembered her from the entrance of the castle. Larkin was intrigued by the skin color of the lady. When she got the description of the lady, she did get the pale skin part but looking at the girl right now she was shocked. She watched the girl closely as she sat on the ground and played with some flowers.
She watched Oona weave the flowers in her hands tenderly. Larkin's uninterested eyes soon had a glint in them.
Oona smiled at the flowery crown she had just made. She looked at it one last time before standing up. When she turned to leave she jolted back. Larkin stood in front of her with a domineering figure. She wasn't as tall as Sage or the other princes but she was by an inch or more taller than her.
"Good afternoon" Oona bowed politely. Larkin didn't reply to her greeting she only stared at the girl in front of her. Her eyes bored into oona's as she tried to invade the girl's thoughts. "Hello" Oona whispered.
"Can I have it?" She pointed at the flowery crown. A disappointing result once again...she thought if she stared at the girl in her eyes she'd be able to gather information from her.
Oona stretched out the flowery crown to her and placed it in her hand. Larkin didn't give out any facial expression for Oona to know if she liked it or not.
"Get away from her!!" An authoritative voice echoed in the garden. Callie walked into the garden angrily. Larkin also had distaste plastered on her face. "Oona come on let's go, Lord Sage is looking for you"
Callie pulled Oona with her while glaring at Larkin intensely. Oona waved a goodbye to Larkin and willingly followed Callie.
"I'm sorry for what happened during breakfast" Oona took the initiative to apologize.
"It's fine, just do me a favor and stay away from that girl" Callie replied "she's nothing but trouble and bad luck"
Oona frowned at the words Callie spilled. "Bad luck?" She didn't expect that to be the testimony of Larkin. A troublesome mistress.
THE EVENING
Oona got into the carriage alongside Sage, she glanced at Larkin once more. She really had a positive feeling towards the lady.
Larkin fiddled with the flowery crown with sharp eyes. She sensed great mana coming from the touch of the flowers. What marvelled her the most was the fact that the flower was yet to wither even though it was plucked several hours ago.
'who are you Oona?'
Their carriage soon rode out of the palace, but to wasn't heading towards their gate but into town. Sage closed the windows of the carriage and folded his arms. Oona couldn't understand his behavior at the moment.
"Stay away from her" he looked at her passively. "She's bad luck"
"Is it because she's a mistress or because she is an ally of your brother" Oona was quite aware of the sour relationship Sage and Manasseh had.
"Both" he replied and leaned his head on the seat.
"Where are we going?" Oona peeped through the little line of the window.
"You'll know when you get there" he answered in a passive tone. "Where we are heading to is going to prove your worth to me"
Oona felt a strong sense of responsibility on her shoulders but then again her thoughts ran wild. What if they were going to a place where they could...
"How I'm I going to prove myself worthy?" She asked with red cheeks.
"By your actions and however I feel" Sage's words added more adrenaline to her face. She felt more panic than before.
Having rode for what seemed like ages, the carriage finally came to a halt. Sage opened the door and got out, he didn't bother to help Oona get down.
Oona who was still tensed up by his words, got down from the carriage slowly. She turned to the path Sage was walking down in. Her eyes shrunk for a while, the sun had completely set by then and they were in an open field close to a forest.
She looked round and was more confused than before, there were no houses around. Why did he bring her here?
"Oona, move your feet" Sage who was many steps ahead of her called her attention. Oona raised her skirt and tailed behind him.
They had walked in for a while and had taken a path that led them away from the forest. Oona gulped in so many times that she lost count.
The more they walked in, the eerie the surrounding became. "Where are we?" She whispered to Sage's hearing. Almost as if she was being followed and didn't want her stalker to hear her.
"Annika's cemetery" Sage replied bluntly. Air was knocked out of her lungs, her body grew pale than it already was.
"Ce-me-tryyy" she stammered. Why did he bring her here, was he planning to kill her? Instinct kicked in an Oona held her neck and took a few steps back.
Sage didn't bother to turn around he kept walking. "Do I look like an amateur murderer?" He asked irritated "if I wanted you dead I would have done it a while ago and just dump your body where I deem fit"
Oona still wasn't sure if he was saying the truth. Sage stopped in his tracks and sighed "listen a lot of wild animals lurk around this place at night so stay close"
Oona jerked forward. "You're more scared of wild animals than me" he scoffed "foolish sprout" Oona snapped her head at him.
"You aren't going to kill me?" She asked ever so meekly. Sage turned to her and bent over to her face.
"I won't" he smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.
Oona tailed behind Sage nervous and scared, why were they at the cemetery?
"Why are we here?" She asked but he didn't say a word. Fog soon appeared around them.
A huge metal gate emerged from the fog, Sage opened the gates and ushered Oona in. Oona didn't understand what was going on, she stood at a spot terrified to her bones. She hated everything that concerned death. It always made her gift act weird and uncertain.
"Oona get in" Sage ordered with a firm voice, his eyes glared at her like some filthy thing to throw away.
Oona slowly moved her feet towards Sage, crying internally. She didn't want to put him in danger. Sweat rolled down her face with every step she took. Her feet stopped at the entrance of the gate.
Just when she was about to turn to Sage, he pushed her in gently and slammed the gate shut.
"What are you doing?" Oona held the bars and stared at Sage warily. She could literally hear her heart banging against her ribs, why did he lock her in here.
"Go find a spot to sit" he replied coldly.
"Huh? Why did you lock me in here" she demanded "you said I was here to prove my worth to you"
"Exactly, now go sit down and prove it" Sage retorted. "You'll be out by tomorrow morning and stop looking at me like that, I'm not leaving"
Oona turned to the cemetery though there was a thin fog hovering around she could clearly see the tombstones. Her breath hitched at the sight of the numerous tombs. Just how many soldiers did Annikans bury in here.
"What I'm I suppose to do?" She studdered.
"Ask each one of them how they died and who killed them if by any case they were killed"
"And if I can't do it" she retorted, tears were already brimming her eyes. From all the places to be brought to, Death's office.
"Do I need to answer the obvious?" Sage yawned. "Come on get to work"
She felt vines dragging her into the foggy cemetery "no wait" she fell to the ground as she was pulled deeper into the cemetery
"please don't do this, let me prove my self worth by any other means" all her pleas were for nothing. She had already vanished into the fog.