The Cursed Kingdom

EIGHTEEN

~ MELTING ~

Despite the chaotic demeanor of the week following the full moon, it was precious in the sense that it gave me the opportunity to begin cherishing the company of Ingrid and Callie.

They quickly became my anchors in a storming sea, their friendship gifting me with senses of normalcy. Without them, I truly didn't know how I would've stayed sane.

Ingrid taught me new sewing patterns, a better technique to secure buttons, and how to properly stitch and clean a wound with no alcohol around.

Callie was skilled in the art of making anyone laugh and it amazed me how she knew all the hundreds of servants' and guards' names. Every hour we spent together, she revealed how much she truly cared for her people, going as far as to make sure everyone was happy with their salaries and had plenty of time off to visit their families. Sometimes she'd even send small gifts to the servants' quarters. For that, I respected her greatly.

I respected them both.

However, at the end of the day, they had duties to fulfill and mates and families to take care of. So, when they or Jerium weren't around to keep me company, I'd come up with something to entertain myself with. Whether it was admiring my new bouquet, discovering new facts through books, or restlessly drumming my fingers along the edge of a table, I found myself always needing to be doing something.

During one of my most desperate moments, I dug up an old, dusty encyclopedia on clocks and flipped to the chapter about how to stop a pendulum from swinging. I did as it said only a few minutes later to the one in my room since it had begun to annoy me.

It was truly a week of insanity.

At night, when crickets and insects alike were playing their symphony under the stars, I read almost every book I could get ahold of while I listened to servants passing by my door. Their footsteps weren't loud in the slightest, sounding more like the pitter pattering of mice than grown people, but every single footfall made my eyes flash up to the door and hold my breath all the same.

Sometimes, I gained the courage to steal a peek towards my bay window, the hairs on my neck standing on edge as if I was expecting there to be the face of some monster on the other side of the glass. But there never was. Only darkness and stars. But I couldn't shake off the feeling that someone or something was watching me. Waiting.

"Dammit," I said as I shoved the book on ancient mythology aside, one I'd already read and had no desire to do so again.

I turned around to the shelf behind me, squinting in the dim light to try to read the titles on the spines. The necessity for new light bulbs in the library had yet to be acknowledged.

Pressing my fingers against my temples while closing my eyes, I tried to calm my clashing emotions and calm the ache brewing beneath my skull. I'd also been getting a lot of migraines recently. I blamed it on my anxiety and stress which kept me from getting proper rest. Although I felt absolutely exhausted, I knew that even if I tried to sleep, there was no way I could've. My mind wouldn't let me.

"Are you alright, Madam?"

I slowly opened my eyes to regard the servant boy. He was around my age and swayed anxiously from foot to foot as he stared at me, looking afraid that he had disturbed me into anger.

"Yes. Thank you..." I trailed off, cursing my headache and awful memory. Trying my hardest to remember, I stared at his distinct round, freckled face. "Destry?" I sounded out the word letter by letter, giving him enough time to stop me if I was wrong. When he didn't, I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.