8

"It was him." She grabbed on to Kai's arm, gripping it tightly as he looked down at her, following her gaze to the man at the table.

"What?" He continued to lead her outside, seeing the fear within her. Once they had gotten out the door, he turned to face her, his hands on her shoulders, "tell me everything." His eyes were locked on hers, his face filled with concern.

"After you left, I thought you came back, he pushed me into the pond, held my head under the water. I scratched his hand to try and get back up, but I ended up nearly drowning. I know I shouldn't have let my guard down, I thought it was you and i-" He cut her off, seeing tears well in her eyes; he pulled her into a hug.

"It wasn't your fault." Was all he whispered to her, his chin on the top of her head, glaring at the man laughing with his friends. "I think it's time to get you home, its been a long night and you could use the rest."

After walking Marietta home, he returned to the bar with one goal in mind. He grabbed the man by his shirt, pushing him against the wall, a knife in Kai's hand, pressed firmly against his gut.

"Never and I mean NEVER go near her again!" The man began to laugh, "what are you gonna do about it?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Kai kneed him between the legs, causing him to drop to his knees. As he fell, he received a swift kick to his temple, knocking him out cold. The remaining people in the bar watched as Kai walked away, off upstairs to his room.

It wasn't more than five minutes before the man had regained his consciousness, Kai lay on his bed, arms spread to the side of him as he listened to the growing commotion. The man shouted and demanded to know where he had gone, Kai chuckled as he heard Blake raise his voice, demanding he leave. Blake rarely shouts, when he does, people know they need to listen to him.

The sun shone in through the curtains, the bustle of servants could be heard downstairs. Marietta rolled over, still dressed in the clothes she wore the night before. The moment her head hit her pillow, she was out. Kai was right, she needed the rest. She got up and began to change her clothes when she heard the door open. Her mother walked in, shutting the door as she saw her daughter changing.

"Mother! please, a bit of privacy." Marietta huffed and moved behind the small folding screen in the corner.

"Oh nonsense, I birthed you. After your recent shenanigans, I'm setting some rules for tonight. You can't go running off at a party we are hosting." Marietta came out from behind the screen, fully dressed, and made her way over to the dressing table.

"I hate the parties mother. Can you just say I am not feeling well?" She pleaded with her mother in the mirror, placing her jewelry on.

"No, I cannot. This is your chance to find a husband, the attention will be on you tonight so nothing can go wrong." She huffed, leaving the room. Marietta tucked her head into her hands, sighing. She had mere hours before she was trapped for the night, she planned to spend them wisely.

She ended up back at Blake's tavern, banging on the door till a very sleepy, grumpy Blake swung the door open, "What in gods name- oh Marietta, are you looking for Kai? You just missed him, he had to go see his father." She handed him a sealed letter,

"please give him this then." She smiled sweetly as he yawned, obvious having had a later night than her. And with that she was in to phase 2 of her missions for the day. She went to the village bakery, buying cakes and all sorts of sweet treats. Thanking the young lady behind the counter, leaving a large tip for her kindness. She walked with a basket full of baked-goods, round to the little book shop, purchasing a good amount of books, she knew a variety of people would read.

When she got home, she snuck in through the kitchen, to where the servants stood, being instructed on the details of the evening,she placed a finger to her lips before ducking behind a counter top. As soon as the bustle began, she placed the two baskets on the table in the corner.

"There's lots of pastries and lovely books for you all, feel free to help yourself as a thankyou for all of your hard work," she smiled, practically skipping out of the room like a giddy child. Home with almost an hour to spare, Marietta felt accomplished, pulling out a book she had bought herself and heading to the conservatory to read for a while.

It wasn't long before her mother rushed in, fussing over her hair and dress and getting Marietta ready in her finest clothes. Pulling the corset strings tighter and tighter till Marietta could hardly breathe. After what felt like hours, she was finally ready, her deep red dress falling to the floor, her hair draped over her shoulder in curls. She could already hear the commotion of guests downstairs, she took a deep breath (well at least she tried too) before making her way down to join the party.

She spent hours dancing with man after man, until her feet turned numb, wishing she could be anywhere else but there. At points, she had to double-take when glancing around the room, her mind placing Kai's face among the crowd. How she wished he was truly there. But it never was, instead it was one of the many men who were lined up waiting to dance with her. The evening was long and tiresome and as it drew to a close, Marietta felt a bubbling excitement as she realised it wouldn't be long till she could finally escape to somewhere more entertaining.