King Theo remained where he was, brooding long after his servants had left him.
Chapter 6 - Fleur
"Miss Fleur?" The authoritative yet questioning voice made dread grip the pit of her stomach. She had been walking quietly behind her lady, hoping to make it to the guest quarters without incident. The further away from the king she had walked, the better she had felt. At least, that was what she told herself.
She continued walking at Lady Delilah's side, hoping that she might have imagined her name being called. After all, who could possibly know her name already? She was the nameless lady companion to a noble lady, nobody ever really saw her as anything but that.
"Miss Fleur! I am afraid I must stop you!" The voice sounded again and she knew she hadn't been imagining things.
Reluctantly, she stopped and when Lady Delilah also stopped, the woman gave Fleur an irritated glance before turning to the liveried guards who were hurrying after them.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lady Delilah demanded. She stood regal, glaring at the guards as if she would rip their heads off for disturbing them on their way to rest.
"Forgive the interruption, My Lady." The man at the head of the patrol, obviously Captain of the Guard with his slightly different uniform, bowed his head. "I have been sent to escort Miss Fleur to the North Tower."
Fleur tried to gulp past the sudden lump in her throat but she found her mouth had gone entirely dry and there was nothing to swallow.
"Why ever would you do that? What has she done?" Delilah demanded and Fleur cringed at her tone. How could she possibly believe she had done anything?
I haven't been on the Isle five minutes! Fleur wanted to scream at the guards, How could I have committed a crime?
Of course, the guards hadn't stated that she had done anything wrong but it wasn't often that guards were sent to summon you away in such a manner. The unspoken words said everything Fleur needed to know. She had done something. She just didn't know what.
"I am afraid that I am not at liberty to say," the captain responded and his gaze told Fleur that he wasn't entirely sure himself.
Delilah turned a questioning expression upon Fleur.
"Fleur, have you done something?" Delilah demanded.
"No, My Lady, not that I am aware of." Fleur struggled to speak past the lump in her throat. She could see from her mistress's face that she was ready to blame her for being shown up in front of the entire court. Passersby were already whispering to each other and Fleur wished she could melt into the floor, feeling smaller than ever.
"I must demand to know why you are arresting my lady companion," Delilah demanded in a hushed tone as though she did not wish for anyone to overhear the word, 'arresting'.
"As I said, I am not at liberty to say," the captain responded, his expression remaining like stone, totally unreadable. He gestured to the guards behind him and they began to swarm around Fleur, forcing her away from the rest of the household, away from Delilah.
The lady reached out as if to grab Fleur's hand and for a moment she saw a brief flash of the old friendship they had once shared. Then the lady straightened up, realizing that she would not reach her.
"Fine. Take her but I shall be greatly displeased if any harm should come to her," Delilah said discreetly. She held her head high and placed a similarly unreadable expression on her face as she silently watched the guards drag Fleur away.
Fear clawed at her stomach, the likes of which she had never felt before. Her mind rushed through a thousand possibilities, being dragged down into the dungeons beneath the North Tower and left to rot for a crime she hadn't committed, being led to the gallows for an equally outrageous claim of a crime she hadn't committed, being sent back to the mainland with nothing to her name, or even worse, to be exiled or even sent to the Mystic Isle where only prisoners and their families lived.
Nausea clutched at her stomach and threatened to make her vomit worse than the Golden Dawn had.
Get a grip! She tried to take a deep breath, reminding herself that she had done nothing wrong. Whatever mix-up there had been, Delilah would fix it. She hoped.
What if it was Delilah who had me arrested? What if she was acting and this is all because she knows what happened that night?
She had all too much time to linger on that thought, her stomach clenching harder and harder as the guards began to lead her up the winding, marble steps of the tower.
Her only relief was that they were not heading down into the bowels of the earth and yet she couldn't bring herself to feel hopeful. No matter where she ended up, she knew very well that she was in big trouble.
"Sir, where are you taking me?" Fleur couldn't help but ask as they passed door after door to the floors of the tower.
The captain and his fellow guards remained utterly silent, the hidden chainmail under their livery clinking the only sound that broke the utter silence. It did little to ease Fleur's nerves.
The captain only spoke when they could go no further. He stopped at the very last door at the top of the tower and stood aside. "Please enter."
Fleur stood before the door, unable to move. She couldn't bring herself to walk inside, too scared of what might be on the other side. And yet she could not go back. The guards standing all around her had made sure of that. She had no choice.