~MELAINA~
"You have child-bearing hips," Lord Burton said as he poked me with the end of his cane.
"You will produce many heirs," he smirked, his wrinkled face twitching slightly.
I gagged, an immense sense of irritation washing over me.
My brother, Marcel, shot me a warning glare and I immediately wiped off the irritated look plastered on my face.
"Supple breasts, just like your mother's," Lord Burton teased as he grabbed a handful of my breasts.
I was tempted to smack his hand away but I knew better than to do anything that would embarrass my family.
So instead of breaking off his scrawny fingers, I simply shifted away and laughed nervously at his not-so-funny joke.
"My father shall pay her dowry in person and we want the wedding to hold in a fortnight," Marcel said as he adjusted his coat.
"I believe we have more important things to discuss," Lord Burton replied.
"Melaina, please leave us," My brother requested as he adjusted his chair closer to Lord Burton's.
I nodded and headed for the garden doors. As I walked out, I could feel Lord Burton's eyes following me with every step I took.
"What a sick old fool," I whispered under my breath.
I can't believe my family could accept such a horrid proposal. He was almost walking into his grave and I was barely over 20. It made me sick to think that I might be widowed at a young age.
But what were the odds? I might end up dying before him. He might talk me to death or I might poison myself just to escape him.
It was quite disturbing that such an old man still had eyes full of so much lust. I could be wrong but what other reason did he have for wanting to marry someone his grand daughter's age.
I huffed angrily and kicked a broken flower vase. This was depressing more depressing than the garden that stretched before me. I had never seen something more uninteresting in my entire life. The Creepy statues and randomly organised flowers, this home really needed a woman's touch.
From the garden, I could hear Marcel's voice rising as he spoke. He sounded furious.
I couldn't go back inside, it was considered uncultured for a woman to interrupt men's conversation.
My only hope to finding out what was going on was the large window that lay above Lord Burton's living room.
I tiptoed to the side of the building where the window was located. Luckily, there were other broken vases lying around and with them, I managed to climb till I got a clear view of the living room.
It didn't provide much support and soon, i was dangling off the window. I didn't care because at least I could see what was happening.
Marcel stood up angrily and from the way he waved his hands as he spoke, I knew he was angry.
I couldn't hear anything but I could lip read the several times Marcel yelled no.
Lord Burton sat still and watched Marcel with a smug look on his face.
"Eww" I muttered. Everything about him was bloody ugly.
Marcel soon stormed out the living room. I pushed myself forward and continued to observe the living room. Lord Burton began scribbling on a piece of paper and I strained my eyes to see if I could make out the words he was writing.
"What in the world are you doing up there?" Marcel's disappointed voice sounded from below me.
"Erhhh...nothing," I lied confidently and flashed him a very fake smile.
"Get down, we're going home," he said, his face red with anger.
"Is everything alright?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"Get down already, we need to go," he barked angrily.
I gave him a nervous smile and pointed to the broken vase.
He rubbed his forehead in frustration and looked up at me with the most disappointed eyes.
After judging me for several minutes, he gathered another pile of broken vases and helped me get to the ground.
"I'll kill you," he muttered under his breath as he stormed off.
I ran after him, the frock of my gown sweeping the moist ground as I ran through the garden.
We hopped into our carriage and set course for Sylvaris.
"Why are we going home so soon?" I asked as I popped my head out of the window.
"Nothing," Marcel murmured.
Sometimes he seemed to forget that we were twins and if he was feeling something, I was feeling it too.
"If he said something to hurt you, I'm smothering him on our wedding night," I said firmly.
"There's not going to be a wedding night," Marcel stated as he stared at the tall trees and moving bushes.
"Huh?"
"Coming to Torrenti was a mistake," he hissed as he rubbed his temples.
I was extremely curious.
I was beyond happy. I wasn't going to marry that disgusting man. But I was still concerned. I wanted to know what had happened in the living room but no matter how I poked and prodded, Marcel remained silent.
The ride to Sylvaris was over eight hours and with Marcel's bad mood, I became extremely bored and began to doze off.
My body jerked awake when the piercing sound of an arrow passed my ears.
Marcel drew his sword and pulled me to his side.
Our horses continued moving despite the arrows that were rained on us. After several minutes, our horses were both hit and our carriage toppled over.
The sound of sharp blades cutting through skin filled the air. Armour clanked and the shouts of our soldiers echoed through the forest.
Marcel turned to me with a concerned look in his eyes. It scared me to my bones.
"Do you trust me?" He said as tears rolled down his cheek.
"You're my twin, I trust you with my life," I replied as I wiped his face with my palm.
"I love you, Melaina," he whispered before driving his sword through the side of my stomach.
I stared down at the blade pointing out of my belly. Crimson red had began to stane my light blue dress and my hands shook as I tried to pull out the sword...
The attackers had began to bang on the doors of our carriage and Marcel looked around nervously.
The doors were ripped apart and the attackers pulled us out.
"This one's already dead," one of the men yelled as he threw me to the ground.
I watched as Marcel summoned his wolf but just as his bright grey fur began to appear, a dark red dagger was driven into his chest.
I tried to scream but my words failed me. Marcel was stabbed several more times and he fell to the ground beside me.
Blood spewed out of the gashes on his chest and abdomen and for some reason, he wasn't healing.
He turned to me, his face stained with tears and blood.
He smiled weakly and wrapped his arms around me as he slowly morphed back to his human form.
Bright green veins had spread around his face and neck down to all the places he was stabbed.
"Melaina," he whispered, his voice barely audible as he tried to breathe.
"Don't let me die for nothing."