When she was about to go towards Howard, the Duke caught her arm in a vice grip.

  “I haven’t finished talking to you, have I? Why don’t we take a seat?” he asked tilting his head and pulled her forcibly to sit on one of the plush chairs and he took one right in front of her, “Raymond said that you were quite an obedient one when it came to following orders but what do we have here?”


  “This is the first time she has shown disobedience, she usually is very docile,” Raymond was quick to apologize. Duke Scathlok then said to Heidi,

  “I actually don’t care why you ran away. , I will let it slide this time but this here as you see is what will happen if you don’t follow my words from now. I don’t want an ignorant woman jeopardizing the plan I have thought but I believe you will do fine. For now, you will go and associate yourself with those bloodsuckers. I will need you to gain your fiancee’ trust, to infiltrate his family until I say otherwise. Right now the council wants to make sure that marriage will work in the future and they want to trust that this will be a successful truce for both the north and east empire.”


  “What if Lord Wastell finds out?” Daniel asked the Duke.

  “He won’t. Our Lord doesn’t know about this and I would like to keep it that way. We have Lord Norman’s full support so it shouldn’t be a difficult task. Failed to do anything I say, you won’t be seeing this man on the face of earth dear,” he then leaned towards her and said, “And it won’t be only him, you are a young woman,” his gaze followed the length of her body, “I am sure you are a smart woman to know what will happen if you go against what I have set. Understood?” he asked, his black eyes boring into hers waiting for her to reply.

  “Yes,” Heidi answered quietly.

  “Good girl. I am glad that you understand,” the Duke smiled pushing his glass closer to the top of his nose, “If you have goodbyes to say do it quick as you will leave in fifteen minutes to the north empire.”


  The Duke left the room along with her uncle Raymond, Heidi looked down when her father walked by her but he didn’t pause to talk to her and instead joined her brother who was at the door. Nora who had followed her father stopped in front of Heidi.

  “Oh dear sister, why did you do it? Father is angry with you for running away,” said Nora with pursed lips.

  Heidi for once thought her sister was being compassionate but her next words proved her wrong, “I saw you leave the house in the middle of the night,” she admitted, “I even kept quiet thinking it was for the best because I deserved the alliance which has been fixed because I deserve it. I didn’t even say it to father or Daniel but then I thought……this marriage is a suicidal truce. I mean you don’t follow the Duke’s orders you know what he’s capable of and if you get caught there in the Bonelake empire well…… Better you than I.”


  Nora gave her sister a sweet smile and then walked out of the room, fluffing her open hair with both her hands. After Heidi had left, she had put a lot of thought before waking up her father and she was glad she told him about it. Since she had arrived at the Scathlok’s residence she couldn’t take off her eyes from the Duke. He was a gorgeous man in her eyes, a man with money and power.

  Heidi went to where Howard was and bent down, tears pooling in her eyes due to the state she had put him in.

  “I am so sorry. I-I……I never thought they would do this to you. I am so sorry,” she apologized, a single tear falling on the cold floor.

  “Please don’t be Ms Heidi,” the man said in pain, “We didn’t know.”


  “.……” Heidi sniffed softly.

  “I am at loss of words myself. Don’t worry about me. You should worry about yourself. Two days and I have heard the worst things about the eastern empire. The land sounds notorious so don’t wander around. Please be careful,” he said as the servant came to take him.

  She nodded, whispering to herself, seeing Howard go away, “I will.”


  Heidi now sat in the carriage, empty-handed except for an envelope in her hand which she had to give to the Lord of Bonelake. The bag that she had been carrying for two days was snatched away from her telling she would not be wearing tattered clothes there to tarnish the Curtis’ name. Her uncle had then said that brand new clothes would be sent to her in a week’s time. At the time she was leaving her family didn’t give her a word of encouragement, she was hurried into the carriage with the coachman and one of Duke’s guard who now sat next to the coachman outside just so she didn’t pull a stunt of running away again.

  Her fate had been sealed and there was no way out. The journey to the main city of Bonelake was a three days journey from Woville, and she could do nothing but sit in the carriage. The guard of the Duke was a giant man, a beard which looked ragged and a long scar that ran over his right eye. He didn’t bother to talk to her except for the time when it came to stopping for food.

  She rested the side of her head on the window, looking at the trees pass them in an endless haze until she fell asleep.

  “Aaah!!”


  Screams were heard from the dungeons from where the little girl was, every scream instilled fear and pain. The little girl sat, her knees drawn to her chest. It was as though she could feel the person’s pain as the crucifying scream erupted, bouncing off the walls.

  When a hand was placed on her shoulder she jumped, her shoulder jerking away.

  “Are you alright?” the red-haired woman who had befriended her in this unknown place asked in concern, a worried look creasing the woman’s forehead, “Here, take this. You will feel much better,” she said pulling the ragged and worn out blanket under her and placing it around the girl.

  The girl had found comfort in the woman’s company but one day the guardsman came back with the red-haired woman, dragging her back to the cell with her hair and then slapped her right across her face.

  “Stupid cunt! Instead of being grateful you pull a stunt like that?”


  “I would rather die than stay in this hell hole you call a home for us,” the woman spat infuriating the guard. He pulled back her hair and ran her through the uneven walls, over and over as she whimpered in pain. The little girl who was here, curled in the corner.

  “What did you say?! Tell me! Tell me!” the guardsman asked as he rammed the woman’s head through the wall, blood marking the stones, “Tell me!” he said letting go of her finally.

  The woman fell on the ground lifeless, eyes still open with blood that marred her face.

  Heidi was suddenly woken by the Duke’s guard when he opened the carriage’s door, “We have arrived Ms Curtis.”