Deceitful Kingdom

Chapter 2

Tatiana

Chapter 2

It was late at night when we finally arrived at the compound where the Ellis lived and I thought that they had a normal house but no, they had a giant ass mansion.

A giant mansion with a fountain in the middle of the entrance, where the car I was in parked and I slid out while my eyes remained on the trees and pretty flowers all over the entrance.

They reminded me of our garden back in London, Dad and I used to water them every morning before he drove me to school.

Henry smiled at me as we started walking towards the huge door if it could be even described as that anyways and I realised that there were people waiting there for us.

A butler from the look of it and a maid but what caught my attention was the tall and elegant black haired woman, she looked so pretty.

The woman smiled at me and that smile was enough to put anyone at ease and it did put me at ease.

So I returned her smile but was surprised when she stepped forward and hugged me tightly against her body, taking me by surprise and I almost didn't know what to do.

“I'm sorry about your parents, sweetheart.” She said quietly in my ear and I figured that she didn't want my grandfather to hear her mention both my parents but I appreciated that she actually acknowledged my pain.

My arms wrapped around her, returning her hug and I felt so… free to actually pour some of my pain into something, even if it was a simple hug from someone.

“And that's Isabelle, my wife.” Henry told me while smiling at the woman and it already made sense why she hugged me like that, the woman just lost her daughter a month ago.

Isabelle pulled back and looked at me with a longing gaze and I could see the pain behind her beautiful blue ocean eyes, a pain I could maybe to a certain degree understand.

But I knew that a loss of a parent could never compare to the loss of a child.

“Come on inside, Tatiana. I'm sure you're tired.” Isabelle told me, walking me alongside her into the huge lobby of the mansion where I stood still, not knowing what I'm supposed to do in a place I didn't know.

My grandfather was looking at me with his usual harsh gaze but I've come to understand that's probably just his natural look to everyone but I knew he carried some sort of dislike for me.

What he didn't expect from me was to keep up with his glare, refusing to look away or cower in fear from it. Who did he think I was?

Noticing the tension hanging between me and his father, Henry cleared his throat and shared a look with Isabelle before he talked.

“Dad, let's get you some rest before dinner is ready.” He told my grandfather, who nodded in return and left to a room on the left, probably a study or something.

Isabelle rubbed my shoulder slightly and pulled me with her to go upstairs while one of the guards came inside carrying my suitcases and hurrying before us.

“So I've given a temporary room for now but it's closer to us, that's why I preferred it.” Isabelle explained when I saw that my room was the closest one to the stairs and a few steps away from it was another door.

Her and Henry probably wanted me to be close to them so that nothing would happen to me if someone tried something again and I couldn't blame her.

We entered my new room and I took a look around it. It was so much bigger than the room I had back in London. This one even had a bathroom connected to the room and a huge walk-in closet.

Holy s**t. How was that a temporary room?

“It's not much and it's plain but I'm sure you'll add your own touch to it when you feel like it.”

“No, don't say that. It's more than enough, thank you, Isabelle.” One would never know how much a thanks could affect someone but when I saw the little breath Isabelle let out, it was obvious that she wanted me to approve so badly.

She stepped closer, probably feeling more welcomed by me now. “Call me Isa, no need for full names here.”

I let out a small laugh and nodded. “Only if you'll call me Tate.”

“Tate it is then.” She said, taking a seat on the bed before tapping it lightly, gesturing for me to sit down beside her and I eyed the suitcases that the guard left in the room, deciding that unpacking would have to wait.

Sinking down on the mattress beside Isa, I placed my hands in my lap and looked to the ground, trying to comprehend the last twenty four hours of my life.

My parents were killed. My father's family came to take me so that I would be safe from whoever killed my parents and I found out that my cousin was also killed a month ago.

“Isa… I'm sorry about your daughter.” I said with a low tone in my voice, afraid that the words would hurt worse if I said them louder.

I heard her take a deep breath and what a shaky one it was, forcing my gaze to travel to her and the tears in her eyes were being held back by force.

I raised my hand with the intention of giving her some comfort like she had been giving me since I stepped foot into this damned mansion but maybe she wouldn't have liked it, maybe she would misunderstand my intentions.

“Um… I don't know what you read because I'm sure Henry didn't say anything, we're still sensitive about the topic but I just need to warn you, Tate.” Her voice was shaking as she spoke but was it from fear or from sadness, I couldn't tell.

She directed her eyes at me as her hand placed itself on my cheek endearingly. “You should be careful here, Tatiana. Things here aren't the way you're used too. Blake, your grandfather, he has the final say on everything so maybe just go through with whatever he says and then maybe you'll…”

Isabelle trailed off as a tear finally escaped her eye. “Maybe you will survive this place with the least amount of damage.”

I shook my head, confusion consuming me inside out. What did she mean by surviving with the least amount of damage? What kind of damage could happen to me?

Could she mean that I might die? Like Charlotte and my parents were killed?

Isabelle just looked at me helplessly, as if she didn't know how to guide me through this whole thing and thank god someone knocked at the door to pull us out of this killer silence.

The door opened to reveal the butler I saw when I first arrived entered the room, nodding at me in acknowledgement before he turned to Isabelle.

“Mrs Ellis, dinner is ready and Master Blake is waiting for you two downstairs.”

“Thanks Anders, we'll be there.” Isabelle told him and he just nodded again before leaving the room.

I ran my hand through my hair, my nerves getting the best and suddenly I felt scared to be down there with that man. What if going down there was going to be my death penalty?

My leg started bouncing up and down, nervously as I asked. “Can I not go? I'm really tired.”

“Just for a bit, okay? And you need food in your system.” it was formed as a question but in reality, it was an order wrapped up to look like there was a choice for me in it.

Not seeing the point of staying here, I got up from the bed and headed downstairs with Isabelle hot on my heels but I didn't need any guidance, it was easy to find a dining room by following the voices talking.

It all went quiet when I stepped inside the dining room and my nervousness went through the roof to be having dinner with some other people but my parents. Everything felt weird to do without them.

Dragging my black boots across the floor I almost sat down when I realised that I didn't know which seat I was allowed to take, what if I sat in Charlotte's place by accident?

Henry's kind eyes met mine as he pulled back the chair beside him and I was so grateful to him for that move and the way he was trying to have me fit in.

I slid down in the chair and Isabelle did the same with the seat by my side so that I was sitting between the two of them.

Of course at the head of the table was Blake Ellis. The man who might as well kill me with his glares.

Isabelle filled a plate and gave it to me, it had some Pesto pasta and chicken inside it and sure the plate looked so tempting but I genuinely didn't have that big of an appetite to eat.

Still I had to get this night over with and force some food down my throat to have the power to find out who killed my parents.

I started eating, little pieces and tiny bites while trying to force the food to not leave my throat the second it went down there when Blake decided to talk for the second time today.

“Isabelle, you'll need to go shopping with her tomorrow. She has to be ready in a week for her school and for other things.”

Hold up, that actually managed to catch me by surprise to the point where I let my surprise get shown by a little chuckle leaving my lips.

And it had everyone going silent and the air became thick around me with a tension that would have needed to be cut by a knife, if not a sword.

I put down my fork and used a napkin to wipe my mouth before my eyes finally raised to look at them. “Sorry, that wasn't very nice of me but I really find it amusing, you know.”

Blake only tilted his head to the side and asked. “What is it that you find amusing?”

Ignoring the hand that was tugging at my arm to not say anything, I answered. “The fact that you won't even say my name but let's put that aside, do I not have any say in my life?”

“You're an Ellis. You do as I sa–”

I cut him off and stood up suddenly, my chair screeching the floor from the impact of my movement.

I looked him dead in the eye, fear being the least of my problems. “That's where you're wrong. I'm not an Ellis…”

Leaning down I continued. “I am Tatiana Petrova and whether you like it or not, that's who I will always be because you refused to accept the woman that your son chose.”

Blake stayed silent and I took that as an opening to continue, to let what I had out of me. “It's not my fault that I look like my mother and that's why you keep looking at me as if you want to kill me. It's not my fault that you weren't a good father to the point where you drove your own son away.”

“And let's be honest, I know why I'm really here. You didn't get me here out of love, I'm here because you want an heir and you know what, fine. I'll be that if it'll help me find my parents’ murderer but you'll never wipe out who I am or take my name.”

I heaved as tears left my eyes when Blake's hands raised and slammed on the table harshly.

“Enough!” His voice rang through the entire room and it would have had me cowering away in fear but the adrenaline was still too high in my blood for me to be afraid.

Stepping back, I nodded. “Yeah, that's probably enough for today.”

My feet carried me up the stairs again and into what now was my room, I slammed the door shut.

I walked into the middle of the room before my legs gave out on me and I sank down on the floor, sobbing painfully at the memory of the night before.

It felt like it all was still there, on me, around me. The blood, my parents' dead bodies, the screams, the bullet sounds.

Fuck! Why couldn't the images leave my head? Why did they have to leave me in such a gruesome way? Why did I have to be in the hands of that man now?

It wasn't f*****g fair and I hated it!

… I hated living in a world without them.

I laid down on the cold floor as I kept on crying, hoping that my tears would soon dry or that maybe I would exhaust myself into sleeping without thinking about them.

Maybe all of this will be a dream and tomorrow I'll be back with them… was my last thought before I fell asleep, crying.