Allerleirauh by Chantal Gadoury

Author:Chantal Gadoury
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781546452164
Publisher: The Parliament House
Published: 2017-08-21T22:00:00+00:00

28

I followed Lord Crestwood through a side door of the castle, which led into the separate square of the garden. A line of torches burned brightly, illuminating the gravel walkway and the green shrubbery. The sounds of our shoes against the gravel echoed all around us. I tried to keep an arm’s length of distance from him as we walked along together; I tightened my grasp on the cloak, being sure it concealed my face from his sight.

“I wished to walk with you tonight, to speak with you,” Lord Crestwood explained, breaking the tense silence between us. I peeked past the edge of the wolf’s hood, daring only to gaze at him for a moment.

“You’re quite a strange creature,” he continued.

“Adelais says so too,” I replied curtly as I let out a small sigh. As we walked, I noticed just how large the gardens were; the path ahead of us seemed to continue on and on, disappearing into the darkness. Lord Crestwood chuckled beside me.

“Yes, I suppose she would say that,” he laughed. “The old bird always speaks her mind.”

“She cares about the prince,” I added.

“We all care about the prince. Just as we call care about what happens to the Königreich. This is our home.”

“It’s a marvelous home,” I said, doing my best to keep my answers short. I didn’t understand what Lord Crestwood wanted from me; why he wished to speak with me alone.

My stomach twisted into knots as I heard him murmur, “I’m trying to figure out who you are, and what you’re hoping to gain by staying in the castle.”

I bit my bottom lip and tried to calm my racing heartbeat.

“Nothing,” I managed shakily.

He continued, “Then what are your reasons are for staying? If you’re running from someone, why haven’t you run off to your next destination?” Lord Crestwood paused in his step as he tried to look at me.

“I want nothing,” I replied again, jerking my chin away.

“Who are you. . . truly?” He tried; I could hear his voice rising in tone.

“I am Allerleirauh,” I said as my hands clenched into fists by my side. “I am who I say I am.”

“My intuition says otherwise. You refuse to look at me or anyone when we speak to you. You hide away underneath your hood and your cloak despite being given new gowns. You claim to be a poor man’s daughter, yet the way you speak. . . the way you act. . . I apologize milady, but there is something quite false about you.”

“Those are all wise observations, sir,” I replied, doing my best to keep my voice from shaking. “But I can assure you there is nothing false about me.” Liar. Liar.

“You won’t be able to fool the prince for very long-”

“I don’t wish to fool the prince, no matter what you choose to believe.” At least that was true. I didn’t want to lie, but my circumstances left me no choice.

“Tell me who you really are,” Lord Crestwood said between gritted teeth.

I felt cornered by his insistence; there was no where I could go to get away from him.

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