The Courtesan

Chapter 49

Third Person's POV

“You may have avoided that one but you cannot avoid the next one. Just come out quietly.”

There was silence for quite a while. Geraldine wasn’t exactly a patient person so she drew out another knife. She tilted her head, smirked and threw it with little force. When the knife almost hit the wall, it was deflected by another. The knife flew towards Miriam who flawlessly caught it with two fingers. 

“I see your aim is as good as ever, my lady” 

Out of the shadows, a man emerged, kneeling in front of the two of them. 

“Oh. If it isn’t number five... It’s been a while.”

“Yes my lady.”

“You now find it fit to throw weapons at me just because your master has changed, correct?”

The man dodged the kick coming for his head which ended up smashing what it touched into fine pieces. If he had taken it head on, he would’ve died immediately. 

“Forgive me my lady!”

“You committed a grave crime. What if my dearest lady was harmed? How would you have paid for that?”

“I…”

“Did you throw it because you thought she could avoid it? What if she couldn’t? What if you had killed my lady?”

The gentle, playful Geraldine quickly turned into a demon with the most terrifying smile on her face. She looked unhinged and bloodthirsty. 

“That’s enough, Geraldine.” 

“Hmm... who has come to play?” 

Miriam’s eyes widened when she heard that voice. She quickly rushed to Geraldine who had zero control when she was unhinged. Picking up a broken piece of furniture, she hit it against the back of her head, knocking her out. She caught her before she hit the ground. 

“Isn’t that quite cruel?”

Miriam quietly placed Geraldine in a relatively clear place, placing her head on her lap as she sat there. 

{It had to be done. She almost lost it.}

“So you do not know how to control your dog yet?”

{She’s not a dog. She’s my friend-}

“No, no, it’s more fitting to call her a dog…" 

{-Why are you even here, cousin?}

“I came to say hi of course, my dearest cousin.”

Miriam had the misfortune of running into her cousin who she could never get a read on. She looked too much like her mother but there was always a shadow of her father in her. Since Miriam saw her father-in-law around, she knew she wouldn’t be too far away but she really never wanted to see this particular cousin again. 

{What have you come for?}

“My mother told me something interesting. She said in this room, I would find something interesting. However, I have found nothing. Isn’t that disappointing?”

{Why don’t you return since you haven’t found anything?}

“What’s the fun in that? I was waiting for something to turn up but I got to see you instead. Isn’t that fortunate?”

Miriam sighed, massaging Geraldine’s head. She felt bad for the brain damage she would receive to her already fractured thinking. 

{What do you want?}

On the other side of the city, towards the outskirts, a carriage stopped at a somewhat abandoned estate. There were no signs of life until one walked deeper into the estate. Elayne soon reached the house and walked in through the front doors. 

As expected, everyone was surprised to see her. However, her stride compared to when last they saw her was different. Those who had the thought of mocking her for returning couldn’t approach her. This continued until she reached Andrella’s office and opened the door. 

“Hello master.” 

“Elayne. I thought I asked you never to return.”

“I have not returned as one of your own. I have come with a proposition.”

“I have nothing to…”

A large bag of coins dropped on the table, rattling it. It was very dense and it caught her attention immediately. Only, instead of being greedy, she was horrified. 

“Elayne, where did you get this?!” She yelled in a whisper, pulling the girl with her deeper into the office. She swiped the bag of coins and they entered into somewhere Elayne didn’t even know existed in the office. She was pushed onto a cushion and Andrella stood over her, arms folded with the fan occasionally tapping her elbow. 

“Well?”

“I gained support. I wanted to buy information from you.”

“This child… Do my warnings mean nothing to you?”

“Perhaps if I wasn’t born royalty, it might’ve -”

“Oh dear god, please, I have no patience for this… Elayne, this is a fight you cannot win. Give it up”

“You’ve known the truth all along. You’ve been in a position to kill him all along? Why haven’t you?”

“Ha! Hahaha! Hahahaha! You’re an amusing child. What about you? Do you think I didn’t notice your intent to kill him when you were dancing? I know your routine by heart so do you really think I wouldn’t know when you falter? When you were close to him, why didn’t you kill him? You saw it didn’t you? Deep in those eyes, the intent to dominate everything and everyone around him. If you had continued like that, you would’ve died first. Thankfully you stopped but now…”

Elayne couldn’t deny it. Andrella was right. The depth of the thirst in that man’s eyes, it was enough to shake someone like her without guts. There was no way she could easily kill him. 

“I need your help Andrella. I’m a coward. I’ve been running and taking the easy way out for a long time. I don’t have any more time to waste. Please, help me. Even if I die, I want to avenge the deaths of my family. My siblings… my mother… they didn’t deserve to die like that.” 

Something terrified Andrella. Elayne wasn’t crying. No, she had no remorse, no sorrow. She was angry, insanely mad that she was losing everything. The girl in front of her was slowly gaining the energy to match the madness of the one who took everything from her. 

“At the very least, I wish you turned out like Diane. I was willing to give you to Prince Kron to be his wife but that bastard is too much like his father.”

“So, you’ll help me?”

“I’m only doing this so you’ll leave me out of everything. I do not want to risk my life or the lives of the girls here. What did you want to know?”

“How?”

“Hmm?”

“How did King Mival conquer the palace and how do you know my mother?”

“... You’re asking for too much.”

“At least tell me something.”

“Fine. This is a long story so buckle up”