Huntress in the Castle: Chapter Three (special preview)

Three:

It is so maddeningly quiet.

I am used to five older brothers, I am not used to this. I am not used to being so alone. I am so used to cleaning, or cooking, or playing with Finn and Craig, or talking to Niall. I am used to activity and voices and laughter. I have only been here for one day, what am I supposed to do?

I leave my room, looking back and forth to make sure Nadine isn’t anywhere. And when I see she isn’t around, I sprint like a mad man. I run as fast and as I hard as I can and jump on the banister, I scream all the way down, howling laughter. I have never gone so fast in my life! I am flying! Oh God I am actually flying! There isn’t anything to stop me! I can’t stop!

I am grabbed mid flight, spun around and pulled into a wall of plush. We fall, me sitting on his wide chest. I am gasping for air and then I burst out laughing. My face buried in the wall that is his chest.

“What were you doing?” Vered roars as he sits up, nostrils flared, ears upright.

I am crying I am laughing so hard. “I was just trying to have some fun!” I gasp, rolling off the top of him and sitting on the floor. “I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to stop!”

His arm reaches out, smashing the banister in half. I scream, jumping back.

“Never do that again!” He screams at me. “What if I hadn’t been there to catch you?”

“I would of fallen!” I snap back at him.

His lips curl up over his teeth. “And broken you neck!” He shouts. “Then your brothers would come and cut mine off!”

My mouth hangs open guiltily, my eyes falling onto the debris that was the banister. “Well, then yes.”

His ears flick.

I twist my fingers about one another. “I am sorry. But, please understand, I am not used to not having anyone around.” I can’t make myself look at him. At least, not his eyes. “I have had five brothers all around me all my life. I am not used to entertaining myself.”  I finally look up at him, my eyes resting on his ears, slowly falling back flat against the dome of his head.

He seems to calm then. His anger too turns into guilt. He had more right to be angry than I did though. His ears flick back and forth quickly, and his tail curls around his legs.

He clears his throat. “I…I see then.”

“Could I go outside and look around?” I ask. “Could you show me around?”

He shakes his head. “No. You can’t go outside.” He says and then storms away, up the stairs.

“You can go out into the garden.”

I jump. Why is Nadine always appearing out of thin air?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle.” Nadine says softly.

I shake my head. “I’ve never met someone so quiet as you, Nadine.” I laughed, trying to make light of it. “But the garden? I can really go there?”

Nadine nods, porcelain like hands folding across her skirt.. “I’ll show you the way.”

In all honesty, Nadine scares me more than Vered. At times, I often wonder if she is even human. Her pale skin, black eyes, and her silence. It all adds into a beautiful but eerie package. She’s like a doll almost, from what I remember of them. I was always afraid of dolls as a little girl, so Granny always made me stuffed toys in the shape of bears and cats.

“Vered isn’t used to people.” Nadine said, suddenly. “Let alone a pretty girl. So please, give him time. He must teach himself how to be around you.”

I momentarily stunned by her comment. Pretty? Me? “I understand.” I swallow, fumbling with what else to say. “And thank you.”

“I do appreciate you being kind towards him.” Nadine murmured, opening a glass door out into the garden.

I step out into the sunlight, blinking in awe. Despite the chill in the air the garden is full of flowers and life. This certainly wasn’t the overgrown jungle I had imagined before.

I turn to her. “Oh Nadine, it’s lovely.”

She smiles softly. The first time I have seen her smile at all. “Vered loves it. We try to keep it up.”

I touch a rose, feeling it’s satin soft petals. I then bend, smelling it. “These are the most beautiful roses I have ever seen!”

She smiles proudly. “Thank you, Fianna.”

I look around, up the walls that surrounded the garden and the statues boarding it. I then look back at Nadine, who is still standing in the doorway.

“Why don’t you join me.”

She shakes her head. “I have some chores to do. But please, enjoy yourself.” She says and then leaves.

I wouldn’t of minded her company, even if she does make my skin crawl sometimes. I stroll around the garden though, smell all the flowers and enjoying the sun on my skin. After a while, I find a gazebo and sit underneath it. I find myself wishing I had brought a book along with me to read. So with the boredom, combined with the warmth of the sun, I was soon asleep under the gazebo.