Legends From The Highlands: Love-Locked

Part 18

"Oh yes please!" Sue said as she wrapped herself around me in a warm embrace.

"Learn to read? That would orove quite useful..." Mrs. Walter remarked as she made her way out of the room.

"When do we start?" Sue asked full of enthusiasm.

***

"Col- col-onel" Amber pronounced from the paper in front of her.

"Whatever is a col-onel?" Sue whined.

"It is pronounced kernel... and it is a title used to address a rank in the army."I explained.  "Now try the sentence from the beginning."

"The... lady, the lady greeted the... the lonely colonel." Amber read.

"Good. You're picking it up very quickly." I smiled at her. Within just two weeks of constant training, both girls were learning quickly.

"Can I try the next one Cheryl?" Sue begged.

"Of course--"

I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Start trying the next sentence." I told them before getting up ro answer the door.

"The mail miss." said a blonde-haired boy before handing me several brown envelopes. I walked back inside as I looked at each letter. The first three were all adressed to Mr. Walter but the last one seemed to be addressed to no-one in particular. I was about to open it when I heard footsteps approaching. I quickly tucked the last letter in the folds of my skirt. Amber and Sue suddenly appeared.

"Who was it?" Amber asked.

"Only the mailman." I said as I presented the three letters.

"Oh more for us to read!"

"Wait for me in the kitchen, I will be there in a second." I added before exiting the house.  Once I had walked a considerzble distance from the house anx made sure I was alone I tore open the letter I'd hidden.

"Announcement from the Earl of Brighton.
The Countess Clairvolt has gone missing almost a fortnight ago. A great reward is to be awarded to whoever provides the Countess' whereabouts or better even brings her back to the Earl."

By the end of the letter, I was trembling. I had to leave this place and never return. It broke my heart that I would simply disappear from the Walters' life without even bidding them a farewell but I had no choice. Staying here would put them in great political danger.

I glanced at the stone house one last time before running away as fast as I could towards the hills.

***

I awoke to find myself in a poorly kept room with grey brick walls and humid air.  Memories instantly flowed into my mind.  I'd walked for many days and slept out in the open for several nights jntil my bidy could not bear the echaustion any longer and I was left for dead in the middle of nowhere.
That was all I remembered. Hiw I'd ended up here,  I had no idea.

Slowly, I tried my best to sit upright but before I could succeed, the door opened.

I was shocked. Part of me felt happy that two of my lovely sisters were standing in front of me. The other part was terrified. If my sisters had found me, father would have been informed and would certainly make me pay. My thoughts were soon silenced.

"Oh dear Charlotte." Gwendolyn said as she rushed to my side, with Catherine following closely behind her. "Are you well?"

"How... did you-- how did you find me?" I stuttered.

"One of the maids found you while running an errand. You were unconscious and she called some footmen to carry you here to the maids' quarters being it was very late in the evening."

"We came to see you as soon as we heard you were back."

"But father--"

"He is not at home right now." Catherine said which made me relax. 

"He shall however return very soon." Gwendolyn added with a sad look on her face.

"How soon?" I asked curiously.

The loud sound of hooves was heard coming from outside. Catherine rushed to the window and sge instantly went pale.

"Father has returned."

***

"Your father has summoned you to the banquet hall. " one of the maids told me as I put on a pair of old gloves I found lying about in my old chamber.

I knew father was not angry.

He was in fact enraged.

The very least I could do was look presentable.

I walked out of my chamber when I was ready to find that father had insisted on two recruits to escort me to the hall. It made me feel more than a stranger in my own home.

Walking inside the banquet hall, I instantly noticed that the entire furniture had been cleared out except for my father's wooden throne, as me and my sisters called it. Various armed men were watching me from the sides and behind.

"Welcome dearest daughter." father mocked as soon as he laid eyes on me.
I did not speak.

"Come closer. I want to see you clearly after all this time." he added in a sarcastic tone.  His eyes watched my every twitch and movement with great focus as though he was a bwast and I was his prey.

"Bring the bitch forward!" father yelled after I failed to obey his orders.  Two of the men grabbed me and started dragging me towards my father. I started to fight against their grasp with little success.

"You came here... unaccompanied by your beloved husband... unannounced..." he said as he slowly stood up from his chair and started walking circles around me and the men holding me in place.
"What do you take me for?! An idiot?!"he snapped as soon as he found himself in front of me again.

"I am your father and my power over you will not be usurped! Guards! Leave us! And lock the bloody door!"he demanded as he grabbed hold of my dress collar to ensure I coukd not escape. The room cleared within seconds and I stood there, shivering,  inches away from my father.

"Do you remember what I'd told you would happen if you came here uninvited and alone?"

I simply nodded. He slapped me then. The force he hit me with sent me towards the ground.  I lay in a crimpled pile on the ground,  unable to control the sobs leaving my throat. The sound of steel captured my attention and as I turned my head towrads my father,  I saw he had drawn his sword.

"I said I would kill you. I WILL kill you."