Heart of Darkness

Yet again Lord Rayven had brought William home. Angelica had thought he would say a few words of condolences but she clearly she had been expecting too much. Before she could even see him, he rode away, and she only saw the back of him on his horse, as he disappeared into the horizon.

A few kind words wouldn't hurt, Lord Rayven she thought to herself.

Could he be angry with her because of her father? He had known about her father's plan for sometime now. Maybe that was why he hated her all along.

"Why did Lord Rayven bring you home?" She asked her brother when they got into bed.

"I think he feels bad for me." He replied.

He does?

This was the second time she thought Lord Rayven favored her brother, and she didn't mind. In fact, she loved that the rude man was not rude to her brother.

"What was Sir Shaw doing here?"

Angelica decided to tell her brother straight what she was planning on doing. "I think Sir Shaw will take good care of us." She said.

William frowned and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Will you marry him?" He asked.

"That is the plan."

"No. I don't want you to do that." He said.

Angelica didn't want to either but she had already made the mistake of waiting. Now she had a chance, and she had to take it before it was too late.

"Why?"

"You won't be happy with him." He said.

Angelica smiled at him. "As long as I have you by my side, I will always be happy." She assured.

He didn't believe her. "If you are doing this for me, I can take care of myself." He said.

Angelica sighed. "I am doing this for us."

"No! I don't want to!" He got out of bed.

This was the first time her brother behaved like this. Angelica sat up to look at him.

"Is there something you are not telling me?" She asked.

"I just don't like him." He repeated.

"That is not enough reason. I need to get married."

"Find someone else." He told her.

"It is not easy to do that. Where will I find someone else and why would I go looking and risk ruining my reputation when there is a man ready to marry me? I don't want to ruin this chance."

He hugged the pillow in his arms while looking sad. "I will find someone for you." He promised.

She smiled at him. "Alright. Come back to bed now." She patted next to her and he came back to lie down.

She stroked his hair until he fell asleep.

Angelica felt a little calmer now that she had a plan. She would soon belong to another household and be taken care of. Yes, she didn't like Sir Shaw, but what man had she ever liked? All of them were like him. At least the ones available.

But things didn't go as planned and her world crumbled even more when she woke up the next morning. She went from being a woman alone in this world to possibly being a traitor's daughter. Could things get worse?

There were words about her father circulating around in town and Angelica should have known that there would be some kind of leak. There always was when many people were involved. The question was, would these "rumors" be forgotten soon or would they keep circulating?

The kitchen maids had already packed and left as they didn't want to be associated with this household. Only Eva and Thomas were left.

"Why are they spreading such lies about Lord Davis? It is unacceptable." Eva said angrily.

If she only knew that it was true. She would leave her as well.

"Don't worry about it My Lady. They will soon get bored of this and find something new to gossip about."

Angelica hoped so but she had her doubts. Her town was known to never stop gossiping about certain things. They still believed that the Wolf's den was cursed, still believed that Lord Rayven was a beast and they would keep believing that her father was a traitor.

The gossip wouldn't die. In fact, everyone would add their own theories before spreading them further. Her fate as a traitor's daughter was sealed. Would Sir Shaw now still want to take her as his wife?

She doubted that. He was someone who cared about his reputation.

"I should go before I get late." Willaim said after finishing what was on his plate.

Angelica was concerned for him to leave the house. "Maybe you should stay home today." She said.

"No. I really need to go to my training today," he insisted.

Lately her usually obedient brother had been saying a lot of no's. She became afraid. Would she be able to handle this?

With her permission, Thomas took William to the castle for his training. Angelica wondered if the rumors had reached the castle and what the King was thinking. Her brother still believed that the King was a good person and Angelica had seen nothing to build a different opinion than her brother.

Lately, he had been acting a bit differently and it was no surprise. Their world had changed completely but she didn't know how to help him. She was herself raised by her father only so how was she supposed to know how to raise someone? How would she know how to care for someone in those difficult times? How could she provide for him what he needed?

She had always felt afraid of not giving William enough but now she became terrified of failing to protect him.

******

Lucrezia was sipping her wine while resting on her black leather sofa. She was lost in thoughts, thinking of how to go ahead with her vision and the knowledge she had about the demon's fate. These demons were very difficult to handle so she had to become better with her plans.

She called her two wingmen, Val and Zor to make some vicious plans. They arrived within the blink of an eye.

"The human female, Angelica. Make the word about her father go around a little faster." She ordered. The word got out but it wasn't as effective as she wanted. "Maybe find some proof of her father's treason. Make it known to everyone."

They gave her a nod.

Would this be enough to push Rayven? She doubted that.

He was too stubborn and his heart was still cold. Someone like him would need a lot of pushing before he would allow let himself fall. But right now this would do. She would wait and see how it would affect him and then decide what to do later.

"We found out something about the female that you might want to know." Zor said. "She seems different. We couldn't hear her thoughts."

Oh, that was interesting.

"And her brother too." Val added.

Lucrezia became confused. Both?

She would have guessed that Angelica was a prophetess but then what would her brother be?

Maybe they were witches and used some kind of magic to conceal their thoughts. That was the only explanation she could find.

If the woman was a witch, it would change a few things. She would have to go see for herself what kind of creature she was dealing with.

Hopefully none of the two. And even though she would rather hope for a prophetess than a witch, being a prophetess would put her in danger. The shades were looking for one.

"Keep an eye on her. I want her alive." Lucrezia ordered.