The lady

Two

maerwyn...

"Where is your sister?" Was his first question. I didn't answer him, instead, I walked past him into the house. Little did I know I had poked a finger into a beehive, i had never disrespected my dad in any way. But what I had just done, was sure enough to stir a volcano.

He breathed in heavily obviously irked by my behaviour. "I asked you a question Mae" he said and I stopped walking. I know that tone, his anger was brimming and I could sence he was trying to control it, for my sake.

"She left" I said in deadpan. I doubted if he would care, it was not as if he ever loved that girl, it was as if she was not his daughter.

"Left?" He asked his forward crinkling with confusion. "Left for where?"

"I don't know" I replied curtly

"Don't try to speak to me in that tone girl" he snapped, his face going red. "Now, tell me where your sister went"

"What for?" I yelled, totally loosing it. "So that you could go after her and ruin her life?" I had crossed the line, his face said everything. But i didn't stop. "You have always treated her like s**t, is she really your daughter? You have always blame mother for leaving you, calling her names while it's clear you are the problem. What's wrong with you"

Within a spur of my harangue, my dad had sent a resounding slap on my face, and a second one, and a third one. The first time he had laid a finger on me. I knew I had crossed my line.

"Don't you ever dare talk to me like that ever again, child" he glowered. "I'm your father."

By now, tears had clouded my eyes, and dispite the slaps, i was still not yet done with him. It was about time someone told him the truth right Infront of his face.

"Why are you always like this? Why do you hate us so much" I asked unable to control my tears.

"I don't hate you" he muttered solemnly.

"And Gwen?" I asked, he kept quiet.

"What about mum?"

"She betrayed me?" He snapped.

Sniffing, I rubbed my tears and bite my lower lip with determination. "I'm never going to tell you where Gwen went, even if you kill me" I stared straight at his face daring him. He knew i meant it as he he heaved a sigh. He then stormed into his room and took his sword.

"Well then" he said. "I'm going to find her myself and if I find her with that boy, I'll kill both of them." And with that, he left.

……………….

I knew he meant it. And I feared for Stefan more than Gwen, I knew he wasn't going to kill her, but the hate he had for Stefan's father would make him kill him. I cried the whole night praying that Stefan and Gwen should make it to Northania safely. The next day, my dad returned tired, and battered. He had travelled with his horse the whole night searching for them, and it was a relief to me that he didn't manage to get to them.

His resentment shifted towards me, he of course didn't treat me like Gwen, but he hated the fact that I helped her to escape with the son of his enemy. He wouldn't speak to me, and when I did, he would glare at me and leave without saying a word. My life became so lonely that I almost regretted helping Gwen to escape.

But I convinced myself it was for the better good. Yes. I would say it in my head like a mantra inoder to believe it.

……………………..

(One week later)

My dad had now become so distant to me that I almost felt like beging him. I've never been this lonely and in order to beat my loneliness, i would take his mare and ride around the small ranch. One day as I was going around, it was an afternoon. I saw a familiar wagon. And my heart almost stopped beating. No, maybe i was just comparing it to some wagon i knew. But the resemblance was uncanny.

I rode the mare towards it quickly and blocked it from moving. Once the wagon stopped, whoever was inside walked out. His eyes went wide as his lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but I beat him to it.

"Steffan?"

"Mae" he said, his face downcast. I felt a pit growing into my stomach. Why was he acting so strange, and why was he avoiding my eyes. I expected Gwen's face to also emerge. But it didn't. I unmounted from the mare and walked towards the wagon, my heart beating very fast.

"Where is Gwen, and why are you here. I thought you were supposed to go to Northania?"

"We were" he said. "But….but…" He stammered and this made me angry. Very angry. I quickly draw the wagon's curtains aside and peeped inside, what I saw almost killed me. There was blood everywhere, and it seemed as if there was some struggle going on in the wagon chamber.

My throat became dry, my head begun spinning and my vision blurred. "Steffan?" I breathed in "where is my sister?"

"She is dead" he said, flatly.

It was as if his words were conjured into daggers as they pierced my heart. I felt as if something had just sucked my life out.

"What do you mean she is dead?" I asked hoarsely.

"We were attacked, and she was killed" he said, sounding abit shaken. I observed him clearly, he didn't have a single scratch, not even one. But there was blood covered everywhere in the castle, the blood of my only sister. The fabric of reality became clear to me as I realized what had happened. I weaved the clues and knew what he had done.

"Steffan? Did you sell my sister as a slave?" I pointed the truth out. And he seemed surprised that i had figured it out. I realized that the blood that was splattered everywhere, wasn't Gwen's as I could trace some strands of wool.

"You devil" I jumped knocking him from the wagon. "I'm going to kill you"

TBC….