Do not forgive but forget

Eva's POV

The queen narrowed her eyes skeptically and nodded.

"Let us give them privacy," She said to Martha.

She turned on her heel, opened the door and walked out. Martha followed suit and closed the door behind her. Once they had both left. Cecilia got up behind me and I slowly turned to her.

"What else don't I know?" I asked, trying my hardest to keep my voice down.

Cecilia said nothing and simply walked back into her room.

I dropped down on a couch dejected and confused. What had I expected from her exactly? The truth? I was still so naive despite all I had already gone through.

I heard footsteps again and raised my head to see Cecilia. She walked up to me, her expression unreadable and her jaw slacked. In her hand was a little antique box. It was one of the ones she used to store her jewelry.

"This has everything you want." She put the box gently on my lap. "Guard it with your life."

Confused, I held the box and got up from my seat. "What?"

She did not let me ask anything else, instead she held me close. I blinked in confusion before giving in and embracing her back. This was her goodbye, I thought solemnly. I looked up the stairs in disappointment. Lisa did not even care.

"I understand that what I have done to you is unforgivable," Cecilia whispered. She paused as if collecting herself. "But one day I promise everything will be clear but as for now... I do not need you to forgive me..." her voice broke.

I felt salty tears sting my eyes as I listened.

"I need you to...to.." She coughed as though the words were choking her. "I need you to forget me." She pulled away and held my face in the palms of her hand. Her familiar moist blue eyes searched mine. "To forget us, to forget him."

She did not need to clarify who "him" was. I knew but I was sure what she was asking of me would not be possible.

"Once you walk out that door," She paused, her tears falling faster with each second that went by. "Don't look back."

"Mum..." I managed to say. If she told me at this moment that I should stay, I would not care what the repercussions were and I would do as she says.

"I am no longer that to you," She told me. "Your mother is waiting out there for you. Please do as I say, it will make it easier for you."

No apologies, just realities. Realities that seem to be always catching up to me whenever I try to run away from them. She was right we were no longer family and it was time I accepted that before I destroyed myself. I nodded weakly.

"Good, good," she praised. "This," Referring to the box. "As all the answers you seek and all the answers that you will ever seek."

I clasped it tighter and bit my lips.

"You will be fine," She gave me a final kiss on my forehead.

I turned away from her and headed reluctantly to the door. As I reached out and held the knob. She mouthed the words, "Goodbye."

I mouthed it back to her and without a moment's hesitation, I opened the door and ran out. The men all stared at me with looks of surprise that soon turned to pleasant smiles.

There was a caravan that had not been there before.

"She is here," A man said, talking to someone through the window of the caravan.

The door opened and the queen stepped out and walked towards me. She extended a hand to me. "Are you ready?"

I looked back at the house I had known all my life and turned back to answer the queen. "Yes, I am." I took her hand and she led me to the caravan. I entered with her and we sat opposite one another. In the awkward silence, we started our journey to the palace and my new life.

****

Meanwhile, miles away in Havenclaw located in Cerdon, Igdaliah Donovan sipped a peculiar red drink as he read the paper. The mansion was particularly rowdy today as the hurried footsteps could be heard on the floors above. The incessant banging under him had reduced but it was not like anyone else could have heard it. They would have not been able to hear it even if they put their ears to the floor. He heard footsteps coming down the main stairs.

"There is a message for you sir," One of the maids said as she handed him a sealed envelope. She hurried back up the stairs afterwards and he watched her leave. Once he was out of sight he grazed the envelope but he did not open it. He got up and dropped the letter on the table along with everything else and walked through the empty hallway to attend to the cause of the incessant banging that only he could hear. There was no one else on the floor this afternoon because he had ordered it. He could hear the footsteps of the worker and others above him. His destination was at the extreme end of the hallway, in the store.

He walked up to the door and paused as it seemed that disturbance had stopped but a moment later irritating noise reached his ears once again. He clenched his jaw in annoyance and took the key from its hold nailed to the wall. He opened it and entered the room and closed the door behind him.

The room was filled with old furniture, a chest of clothes, jewelry and so on. The duke was such a hoarder, these things could as well have been three decades old. They were junk to the wealthy and affluent but would be gold to the commoners. They were as heavy as a barrel of lead but with one hearty push, Igdaliah moved it out of its place.

This exposed the source of the noise, a hidden hatch. Someone was knocking on it from the other side. The moment he opened it, the knocking stopped. He opened it revealing a dark underground room. It would be a couple of feet deep but he jumped it and landed on his feet, crushing the scattered bones that lay beneath.

From a corner, he heard her whimper and distance herself.

Locating her in the darkness would not be a problem, he found her immediately. He moved toward her slowly, each footstep resonating throughout the room.

"Do not come any closer," She let out, panicked.

He ignored her and continued to stalk towards her. He was so close to her that he could smell her. The distinct smell of roses emanated from her.

"Please," she whispered this time as he now stood in front of her. She was shackled and vulnerable. She had been able to use small spells to toss bones at the hatch but now that decision would be her undoing.

He crouched down and held her harshly by her chin. "Tell me why you disturb my peace." His eyes were glowing, a bright amber light.

She gulped in fear. "Please let me live,"

"Rose," His voice was sweet, almost seductive. He did not know her name but he called her that because she smelled like a flower. "It would be a shame if a fine specimen like yourself ended up being wasted."

"No, no please, I will not disturb you." She promised. She could not see his face, only his eyes. What was he? she wondered. He had a distinct smell, a strange one she could not place. Almost sanguineous but not quite there. His aura was invincible to her but he could not be a wicca.

"Good girl," He stroked her hair without hurry as if relishing its uniqueness. He came closer, eyes still glowing that she squeezed hers shut. When he spoke again, he was whispering into her ear. The same sensations washed over her and she fell unconscious.