Chapter seven
1651 Words
Elara’s POV
I woke to the sound of a soft knock on my bedroom door.
“Miss Elara?” Miriam’s voice came from the other side. “Lord Kaden is waiting for you in his study.”
I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The room still felt unfamiliar despite how comfortable the bed had been. For a second, I forgot where I was. Then everything came rushing back, Kaden, the estate, the deal I’d made.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I called.
After washing up and changing into a simple outfit Miriam had left for me, I followed her through the long hallways of the mansion.
The estate was just as impressive in daylight. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, lighting polished marble floors and paintings that looked older than anything I’d ever seen. We stopped outside a pair of dark wooden doors.
Miriam knocked once, just once while leaning her ear to the door “My lord, Miss Elara is here.”
“Come in.” His voice was calm as ever.
Miriam pushed the door open and stepped aside for me.
Kaden sat behind a large desk, reading through a stack of documents. He didn’t look up immediately.
“You may leave, Miriam.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The door clicked shut behind her, he kept flipping pages for a second more before slowly lifting his eyes to mine.
“Sit.”
Rude, not good morning, or did you sleep well?Just sit. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I pulled out the chair across from him and did as I was told.
Without a word, he reached into a drawer and placed a folded sheet of paper in front of me.
“What’s this?”
“The rules.”
I looked up. “The what?”
“The rules you’ll follow while you’re staying here.”
I unfolded the paper.
There were eight of them.
My eyes moved down the list.
1. Training begins at sunrise. Don’t be late.
2. You will not leave the estate without informing me.
3. Stay out of the west wing.
4. Do not enter my study unless invited.
5. Do not interfere in matters concerning my people unless instructed.
6. Be honest with me.
7. Respect everyone who works in this estate.
8. If you have a problem, bring it to me instead of handling it on your own.
I read the list twice before looking back at him.
“You’re serious?”
“I don’t make jokes.”
I looked back at the paper, then at him again.
“No,” I said, trying not to laugh. “You’re actually serious.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I expect every one of those rules to be followed.”
I folded the paper and set it on the desk, leaning back in my chair with a heavy sigh.
“That’s going to be a problem.”
His gaze remained steady. “We’ll see.” He said and silence stretched between us. He didn’t seem bothered but I did my best to maintain eye contact. He had beautiful eyes. I kept tapping the desk in thought also because I had a feeling it annoyed him.
“So these aren’t suggestions like you are actually serious .”
“They’re orders.”
“They’re rules.”
“Same difference.”
“It isn’t.”
I sighed. “I haven’t even been here twenty-four hours and you’re already telling me where I can and can’t go.”
“You knew there would be conditions.”
“I didn’t think you’d hand me a list.”
“You should have.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What if I don’t agree with one of them?”
“Then you’re free to leave.”
I stared at him. “You really like saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in his voice, I knew he was simply stating facts. I glanced down at the paper again.
“What’s wrong with the west wing?”
“It doesn’t concern you.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
I folded my arms “And what if I accidentally wander in there?”
“You won’t.”
Oh how his confidence irritated me, I felt my eyes twitch.
“You seem very sure of yourself.”
“I am.”
“You’re impossible.” I muttered rolling my eyes.
“So I’ve been told.”
I shook my head “I came here because I need your help, not because I wanted another person telling me what to do.”
For the first time since I’d walked into the study, Kaden set the file in his hands aside. When he spoke, his voice remained calm.
“Do you know why you will loose every fight you ever have with the Blackwoods?”
The question caught me off guard. “My problem is that I can’t fight hence why I am here.”
“No.” His eyes held mine, “Your problem is that you react instead of thinking.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but no words came.
“You let your emotions make every decision for you.”
“After everything they did to me, how am I supposed to react?”
“I’m not questioning your anger.” His expression remained unreadable “I’m questioning your control.”
The room fell silent.
“You want revenge,” he continued. “I understand that.”
“I do.”
“But revenge without discipline will destroy you long before you reach Blackwood.”
His words settled heavily between us.
“You are angry. Good. Anger can be useful… But if anger is all you have, you’ll become predictable.”
I looked away fists curling up in anger.
“You won’t defeat them by hating them more.”
His voice softened, just enough for me to notice.
“You’ll defeat them by becoming better than they expect.”
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Finally, I let out a quiet breath.
“So that’s what all this is about.”
“Yes.”
“The rules.”
“The discipline. You’ll be here for two weeks it’s enough for someone like you, and I need you to obey everything on that paper”
I looked back down at the paper in my hands.
It still annoyed me.
But for the first time…
I understood why he’d written it.
My head was still full of Kaden’s rules as I wandered through the estate, no destination in mind, I just needed air.
The gardens stretched farther than I expected, with stone paths winding between flower beds and tall trees. It was quiet. Peaceful.
Nothing like infernal pack. I followed the sound of birds until a small figure caught my attention.
A little girl sat beneath a large oak tree with several coloured pencils scattered around her, it seemed she was drawing, she looked no older than six.
Her blonde hair was tied into two neat puffs, and the tip of her tongue peeked out in concentration as she coloured.
She hadn’t noticed me, I smiled to myself.
“What are you drawing?”
The little girl gasped and quickly looked up, the pencil slipped from her fingers, her look suddenly guarded.
“Oh… I’m sorry.” I took a small step back. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She didn’t answer instead, she lowered her eyes to the ground.
I noticed the way her tiny fingers gripped the edge of her sketchbook, shy, very shy.
“It’s okay.” I smiled gently. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
After a few seconds, I slowly sat on the grass a short distance away.
“I like drawing too.”
That wasn’t entirely true. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held a pencil for anything other than writing, but it seemed to make her relax, just a little.
I pointed toward the sketchbook “Can I see?”
She hesitated before giving the smallest nod. I leaned over just enough to look, it was a picture of the mansion surrounded by flowers, in front of it stood two stick figures holding hands.
“It’s beautiful.”
A tiny smile appeared on her face.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Her voice was so soft I almost missed it.
“I’m Elara.”
She looked at me for a moment before answering.
“…Luna.”
“That’s a pretty name.”
She smiled again.
“You live here?”
She nodded.
“With your parents?”
This time she shook her head.
“My brother.”
“Oh.”
Before I could ask another question, a familiar voice spoke behind me.
“Luna.”
The little girl turned immediately. Her entire face lit up.
“Kaden!”
She scrambled to her feet and ran toward him, without hesitation, she wrapped her little arms around his leg.
Kaden rested a hand on her head, gently smoothing down a few loose strands of hair. His expression didn’t change much, but his movements did they were more careful, gentle, nothing like the cold, unreadable man who had handed me a list of rules that morning.
He looked down at the little girl.
“Have you been behaving?”
She nodded eagerly.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Only then did he lift his eyes to me.
“I see you’ve met my sister.”
I looked between the two of them.
His sister?
Luna peeked at me from behind Kaden’s leg before offering me a tiny, shy wave. I smiled and waved back and for the first time since arriving at the estate… The place felt just a little less unfamiliar
- Writer
