"I do not know about family, Pet. But relatives do exist. We are just not that close. I am the tyrant, after all. Everyone avoids me. Is terrified of me. The accursed. A demon in human skin. I can hardly call anyone like that family."
Davions' words remained in Edith's mind even after several hours had passed since they parted and each went into the bedroom for the night.
She had always thought everyone had a reason for doing the things that they did, and so did Davion. But what could be his reason? Why was a man so strong be so fragile? Maybe he didn't realize it, but when he was talking, she could tell he was being real.
"Could that be the real him? The real Davion Ashbourne," she asked, her voice a simple whisper and her eyes looking up at the moon fighting to show itself, yet keeps waning.
"A broken soul that has built enough walls around itself not to keep others out but to keep himself protected…. Mother once said something in that context," she uttered again.
She pulled her knees together and hugged herself as she felt a cold run through her body, but she knew it was not the physical cold.
"But…You don't seem to care, and neither are you afraid of me. I'm glad."
His last words surfaced, and she stilled. Remembering that and the smile he gave her…
But what he said, it's true. Why am I not afraid of him? I should be. Mother warned me of him several times even though the likeliness of us ever meeting was near zero. Edith thought long and hard about it. But no matter what he did, he only came out as an annoying and sometimes insufferable, but never had he struck her as a person she should fear.
Edith closed her eyes, her arm hugging her tighter.
"What exactly have you experienced, Davion? And.. Why am I… What am I even thinking now?" She sighed before lying on her back. Her arms spread, and her eyes were on the ceiling.
"I should be thinking about my own important affairs. Not another's past," she chided herself before closing her eyes, offering a little prayer for her family and people's safety.
The next morning, the news of the coming banquet spread like wildfire. Everyone within the castle had already learned of it except for Edith, who was reluctant to leave he bedroom. But the preparation for the banquet had already begun.
Being the first in a long time, they wanted everything ready and perfect.
Hildegard and the other three maids were heading for Ediths quarters when the head maid stopped them.
"Good morning, Miss Anne," all four of them greeted.
The woman, Miss Anne, appeared to be on her middle ages. Her sharp, pear-shaped eyes narrowed at the four girls. She opened her mouth to speak but then went silent.
"You may go and attend to the guest," she said but she didn't look particularly pleased that four pairs of hands that could be doing much more were stuck attending to just one person and she couldn't do anything about it.
"Yes, Miss Anne," they said and scurried away.
"What kind of woman is she really? Her first appearance in the castle and a lot seem to have already changed. How much more will change if she stays for longer?" Miss Anna uttered, her eyes strained in the direction the four maids have run off to.
"Miss Anne," a girl's voice snapped her back to the reality she turned.
"Yes? Is there a problem?" Miss Anne asked, but the girl looked hesitant. "Speak, I do not have all the time in the world."
"Right, yes… um… Miss Odette is here, and she… wanted to meet the lady she would be making dresses for. Sir Evans is absent so…i thought I should let you know…?" The maid said, her fingers fidgeting with her dress.
"Miss Odette?" Miss asked. She didn't know about any dresses or hiring the royal dress maker to do anything. Then it struck her. "The lady…?" The maid nodded, and she sighed. "Lead the way, Samantha."
They arrived in the waiting room, where Miss Odette was asked to wait.
"Greeting, Odette," Miss Anne greeted, and the lady spun around.
She eyed Miss Anne in silence, confusion marred her face as she turned to look at the maid who had gone to bring the said lady. "I am sure she isn't the one, right?" Miss Odette asked the maid.
Miss Anne became flustered and angry that Odette would say that. "Are you saying I can noy order for a dress or two to be made, Miss Odette?"
Odette frowned. She was certain the head maid wasn't the one, so what was wrong about what she said.
Her demeanor looked apprehensive, but there was also curiosity in her eyes. It was after all the first time Evans had come to her asking for female dresses to be made, and the fact that he even came with designs ready was even more shocking.
"So, Sir Evans came to request dresses for you on his majesty's command?" her frowned deepened, but she didn't dwell on it. "Anyway, if you are the one, then they make my job much easier. "I need your measurements and…"
"I am not the one the dresses are meant for," Miss Anne quickly said before people got the wrong idea, and the king gets to hear that she coveted what he had given to his guest.
"I thought as much. Yu could never be his majesty companion to a banquet," Odette said without thinking much about the poor head maid's feelings. "Please take me to her."
Miss Anne froze. The maid behind her wasn't any different as she also stared in shock at the news.
"His Majesty's companion?" she asked, her mind running blank as she was unable to believe what she had just heard.
Odette, who had already started walking ahead, stopped and furrowed her brows. "Yes," she nodded her head. "Now, please lead the way. We don't have much time. Besides the special day's attire, I have a late more to make for her.
Then, as if something switched inside, Miss Anne suddenly became alive.
"Yes, this way. I'll take you to the lady," she said equally, looking forward to meeting the woman who was responsible for it all.