47 Questions
Annalise did nothing more but blink in trepidation as she hadn’t expected his strange question at all, with the rate at which her heart was drumming right now, she could only pray it doesn’t get heard by sir Steve and a miracle happens on her path.
Was she figured out already? He had been staring at her all through the entire conversation. Does he know her father? Why does he ask for her mother and if they’re related?? Was he suspicious? Does he know of her birthmark??
If she responds will he kill her??
Several negative questions spiraled inside her head, the room temperature was cool, but Anna could nervously feel a cold sweat trying to break out on her forehead. She couldn’t dare to utter her inner thoughts and bit her lower lip to stay calm, most especially to this dangerous man.
Why did Roshan leave her in this tight situation??
“Pardon my manners, you were saying?” She snapped herself out of her shocked reverie, returning her gaze back to sir Steve who only let his eyes rake over the beautiful lady in front of him before composing himself.
“I was just wondering if you were related to her, she lived in Daekrahm village and was among the troupes who helped in shipping valuable boxes to other neighboring towns.”
He spoke like a complete gentleman which Anna had fully come to know he wasn’t. Regardless, she was forced to smile all through his words due to Roshan’s warning. Hence, she could barely stand the sight of this man who kept ogling at her.
He looked old enough to be her uncle, or even her father.
.....
“She sounds like a wonderful woman to me.” Was the best response Anna could come up with, she didn’t want to reveal her identity to anyone and found it safer if she kept it hidden.
“Yes, unfortunately she died under the terrible storm along with her daughter I assume....” He shrugged, “....the rest of the bodies were recovered except hers, seeing as you shared some sort of resemblance I assumed you were related, but it was a misgiving....”
“Wait.... Her body wasn’t found?” That piece of information didn’t slip from her ears and Anna couldn’t refrain herself from interjecting the man’s word who met her gaze. Realizing what she just did, she maintained herself while curling her fingers against her palms.
“Why was her body never found? The family should be worried, shouldn’t they?” Her expression became neutral. If she were to jeopardize this for Roshan, he’d kill her himself.
Sir Steve nodded to her inquiries, “I agree, but how about we talk a lot more on this during the mask celebration, I have somewhere important to be at and can’t risk arriving late.”
They both got to their feet while Anna bowed politely, “thank you for the warm conversation sir Steve, reminded me of a father and daughter chat which I appreciate dearly.”
Her words seemed to affect sir Steve a little bit and she had intentionally said it to remind him of his limits in case he forgot about it.
“See you at the celebration lady Odette.”
She hastily turned around and walked off at the path she knew the butler had guided them through before.
Making it half-way through the hallway, her brows naturally knitted into a worried frown at the thought of sir Steve’s words. Her mother’s body wasn’t found??
How’s that even possible?
But if her mother’s body wasn’t found, who did the villagers bury?? She was still a child when she saw her mother’s corpse but it was wrapped with a white sheet, so she couldn’t see the face of her mother before she got buried.
It took days before her mother’s body was literally found but the people claimed her body had deformed because it stayed out for too long. It was the dress she wore that made her recognizable to them and being a child, she wasn’t allowed to see it.
Sir Steve on the other hand, interestingly watched her graceful figure fade into the exit but his suspicion hadn’t cleared just yet.
Anna finally made it out of his mansion while catching a deep breath as though she had been holding it all the while she walked. She thanked the heavens in her heart that she had escaped from that suffocating chamber, but a sudden whistle caught her attention, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Turning to the direction of the whistle, she saw the strikingly handsome glacier leaning his back against the wall while whistling something to himself or to the wind she couldn’t really tell.
His hands were in his pockets as usual and he barely spared her a glance. There was something a bit eerie about him and his aura had changed drastically in a way that silently screamed terror.
“Did you smile?” He asked, leaving a look of displeasure to display itself on Anna’s face. She wanted to ask why he had left her alone there but held her tongue the moment he turned to look at her.
His expression looked serious and strangely quizzical at the same time, it made her wonder if she did anything that was out of place or if he heard the conversation between her and sir Steve.
The rude guard who was at his post was no longer there either.
Strange.
Where did the guard go? And leaving his post unattended.
“You, me, we have a lot to talk about.” Said Roshan and he headed for the gate without waiting for her.
Anna didn’t quite fancy the seriousness in his subtle tone as a sense of dread followed it, but she couldn’t wait here either.
She was about to leave when she caught sight of a figure at the corner that led to the side of the mansion.
Slowly and steadily, she tiptoed to see who was lying on the ground and to her shock, it was the post guard, lying dead and in the pool of his own blood.
Her hands flew to her mouth as she saw his lifeless body and she stopped herself from screaming.
Did Roshan do this???
Afraid someone might spot her and misinterpret the situation, she ran out of the mansion, exiting through the gate and she didn’t stop running until a figure suddenly blocked her path.
“And where are you going?” He questioned straightaway, causing a little scream to escape from Anna’s lips as Roshan immediately stood in front of her, out of nowhere.
“You and I have something important to talk about.” He reminded her but Anna shook her head in disbelief.
“You killed the guard!’
“So?”
His eyes had turned red when she looked into them, they looked glacier and she felt she was staring straight at the eyes of a complete demon now, making her take a step back.
“Don’t come near me, or else I’ll scream.” She warned while pointing a threatening finger at him, but her act of defense only made him take a step closer to her.
“You....Ahh!!”
She lost her footing and fell on her butt while trying to retreat and Roshan couldn’t hold back a light chuckle at her helpless and ghostly situation.
“Don’t fret baby girl, I’m still in need of you, so don’t worry about becoming dinner for the time being okay?” He assured her in a way that told her not to believe his words hundred percent.
Scrutinizing the area and confirming the coast was clear, he crouched to her level and as he held her hand, they both vanished out of sight.
~
“Let me go.....your hold is too tight!!..let go off me!!”
Making it back to the kingdom, Roshan dragged Annalise across the corridor and into a room, shutting the door right after which silenced her complaints.
She turned around to look at him with widened eyes and the being just stood at the door.
“I have a question and you must answer me correctly and sincerely.” He demanded before meeting her gaze.
“How did you open that door?” His tone came soft this time around, but the warnings of not daring to lie to him lingered in his tone.
“Wha_what are you talking about?”
“You know very well what I’m talking about, how did you open the door??” Roshan hadn’t let that particular question skip from his mind which was why he brought up the topic to that douchebag of a count.
The sealing room was held by a strong, invisible magical vortex, a door he himself couldn’t open despite his countless tries but this annoying human was able to do just that.
“What door?” Anna still wasn’t getting it.
“The sealing chamber at the temple, how did you open the door?” He demanded again, giving Anna a fright as he took a step towards her. She instantly retreated back only to end up sitting on the bed.
Trapped!
“Answer me.” He came closer while Anna felt her lungs overworking themselves again, her breathing came short and her hands tightened against the foot of the bed.
“I... I didn’t do anything, I just opened the door.”
“How did you open it?”
“The door....it was....I....it was jammed..... really hard....and I took....took an iron rod to help me open the door....I swear I did nothing else.” She truthfully told him, his crimson colored eyes were frightening the very soul inside of her and she didn’t want to die in the hands of him.
“Just that?”
She nodded immediately while sniffling quietly, holding back the tears which were threatening to spill from her eyes at his harsh tone.
Noticing the tears which welled up in her eyes, Roshan finally shifted away, turning his back on her before closing his eyes for a brief moment to gather himself.
“You’ll remain here until I ask for you.” With that being said, he headed for the door before stopping once again.
“Do you need anything?”
She instantly shook her head in fear, however, in truth, she needed two things.
Her golden badge and food.
But seeing his temper at the moment, she was unwilling to demand anything from him. He walked out, slamming the door behind him and causing a gasp to escape from her lips.
Anna sank to the cold ground once his presence had left the room, drawing her knees up to her chest as she hugged herself and for some reason, she couldn’t stop herself from crying at the way he treated her.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢