Where is the proof

"Levina?" He looked at her with surprise. "Why were you running?" he asked, frowning.

"That was the only way to catch up with you. I need to talk to you," she said, placing her hand on her waist as she gasped for breath.

Lucien nodded and continued walking, with Levina following closely behind.

"Remember what I told you about last night?" she asked him, looking up at him. When he didn't respond, she continued, "About the wizard and someone trying to kill you." She lowered her voice and looked around to see if anyone was nearby.

"Not right now, Levina," Lucien replied coldly.

"This is important," Levina raised her voice in annoyance. "Someone is trying to hurt you and you are--"

"Levina!" he yelled, causing Levina to step back in surprise. He stopped and turned to face her. "There are no more witches in Arvenia. The king made sure of that."

"He made sure of it by killing them!" Levina raised her voice slightly. She didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation, but it was getting difficult to keep her voice down.

"It doesn't matter how the king did it. All that matters is that witches cannot hurt anyone here anymore. We are safe," he said as he spun around and continued walking. All he wanted was a moment to himself, and here Levina was trying to get under his skin.

Levina ran and blocked his way, putting herself in front of him. "Not all witches are bad. Imagine killing every dragon alive just because a few of them went rogue. How fair does that sound to you?"

Lucien stared at her quietly. "I did not kill any witches, Levina. You can take all your complaints to my father." He tried to walk away, but Levina blocked him again.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. She had half expected Lucien to be more sympathetic to innocent people who were murdered by his ancestors and father. Her father was right; Lucien would behead her if he ever found out who she truly was. So why was she bothering with saving him? He didn't even want to be saved.

She should just walk away and let him protect himself if he could. She had already done her part by warning him about the plot to kill him.

She sighed. The feeling to protect him was stronger than the urge to do the smart thing. "Remember the maid I bumped into last night, the one carrying the drink?" she asked, her voice calmer now.

Lucien looked at her but did not respond.

"When I got home, in the spot where the drink had stained my dress, there was black mold in its place. It smelled of decay," she looked at him, her eyes begging him to believe her.

"Listen, Levina," he tried to touch her shoulder, but she stepped back. Lucien sighed and dropped his arm at his side. "It could have been anything, something must have stained the dress on your way home."

Levina looked at him in shock, was he pretending to be dumb, or was he just dumb? She wondered. Why was he finding ways to rule out her claim? No matter how hard she tried, he always found a way to disqualify her argument. There had to be another way to prove that she was not wrong, but how?

"Move, Levina, I need to be alone," he tried to leave, but she blocked him again.

"The dovecote!" she thought, a small victorious smile tugging at her lips.

"Last night the drink stain caused black mold to form on my dress, so the black mold would also stain the grass where the rest of the drink spilled!" she stated, but she could see that Lucien was not interested in the least bit.

"My lord, I need you to come and see for yourself. It cannot be a coincidence for both my dress and the grass to have the same mold appearance."

Lucien still did not say anything, he just folded his hand over his chest.

"If we go there and take a look and there is no mold, then I will never bring this up again, I swear. But if I am right about this, you will have to take me seriously. Deal?" she stretched out her hand.

Lucien shrugged but took her hand. "Deal."

Levina walked quickly, with Lucien following grudgingly behind her. She slowed down when the dovecote came into sight and trained her eyes on the ground. She was very close to proving Lucien wrong; she couldn't be happier.

Her smile slowly began to turn into a frown when she could not find any sign of black mold or decay. When she got to the place she thought the drink had spilled, it was fresh and green like every other blade of grass around.

How was that even possible?

"Where is the proof?" Lucien snapped, annoyance laced into every word.

Levina gaped at the spot, disbelief and shock coursing through her. She couldn't possibly have been wrong about the poisoned drink or the stain on her dress. She was certain of what she had heard from the buttery, and the blemish on her garment was undeniable proof. So why wasn't the same mark evident on the grass? The area where the noxious liquid had spilled should have been withered or at the very least, covered with the same black moss as her dress.

"It should...I know what I saw..." she murmured, her voice faltering.

Lucien watched her, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, unsure of how to react. He wanted to lash out at her for wasting his precious time - time he desperately wanted to spend alone. She had dragged him out there to see a proof that didn't exist. He had tried countless times to explain to her that there were no witches in Arvenia, let alone the castle. If there were any, they would have been apprehended long before they could even contemplate his murder. But Levina, being stubborn, refused to listen. He could never fathom why women felt the constant need to be right, even when they were clearly wrong.

As they both stared at the spot where the drink had spilled, there was no moss to support Levina's claim of poison. Yet there she was, still insisting on her righteousness.