Chapter 16 – Raelyn
Chapter Sixteen
RAELYN
Did that really just happen? Did the prince . . . did Kian truly just ask me to marry him? I shiver as the sun dips beneath the horizon and night sweeps across the land. Damn. I’m so behind on my chores.
I desperately want to leave them be. Kian will make his intentions known soon enough, and gods willing, I won’t be trapped as our family’s primary maid any longer. At least, I hope not.
A part of me wants to squeal with joy at the thought of escaping the home that has become like a prison. I will have the status of a princess of the realm without actually needing to fulfill the role. Could it be any more perfect?
I try to ignore the voice in my head asking me if this is what I really want—asking if I no longer believe in marrying for love someday the way I used to. No. Hush. That’s ridiculous. Love is a fairytale not meant for me.
But, oh, to be able to laze about for an entire day with nothing to clean and endless books to read .
. . it’s the best dream. If Kian can give me that, I can willingly shut the door on the possibility of love.
While he said I could find lovers of my own, that sounds exhausting.
If I truly need a release, there are other ways to go about it.
Hurrying back into the manor, I try to sneak through a side door to grab the wash, but when I turn the corner, it’s gone.
“Forget something?” a snarky voice cuts from behind me.
I turn around, and there’s Chessa, swathed in a pink silk dress, tapping her foot next to the basket of rags. It’s almost comical seeing the juxtaposition of filth and riches, but I know this is merely a ploy meant to cause me misery.
“I could have sworn I saw laundry on your list of chores today, sister,” she sneers. “You’re always so forgetful.”
“Are you offering to take care of it for me?” I retort.
Chessa’s eyes almost bug out of her face in horror. “Me?” She lays a delicate hand on her small chest. “There is no possible way my nails could withstand that chore.”
“Or any chore,” I mutter under my breath. “What are you doing here then?”
“Looking for you, of course. You’re always with the help.” Her pretty face turns ugly with the vitriol she spews toward me.
“Well, you’ve found me.”
“Yes, I have . . . and I have much to report to Mama.”
I can’t stop the eye roll. The fact that she calls that witch of a stepmother “Mama” is a disgrace to our dead mother, may she rest in Celestia with the gods.
“Well, get on with it then.” I wave my hand at her. “I obviously have much work to do.”
“Unfortunately,” she grits out, “you’ve been requested at dinner this evening. I was told to make sure you show up presentably.”
“Dinner?” Has Kian spoken to my stepmother already? Am I finally going to be free? I’m almost afraid to get my hopes up.
“Yes, that’s what I said, wasn’t it?” She flips her hair as she turns around. “Dinner is in thirty minutes. Do not make me look bad.”
Of course it’s always about her in the end, but thirty minutes is not nearly enough time to make myself presentable, especially without Sera’s help. Oh, how I miss her biting tongue and stories of other realms.
The laundry will have to wait. I dash up the servants’ stairs toward my room and barrel through the door. While I don’t have time for a bath, I can at least change my clothes and fix my hair.
I fly into the bathing chamber to take care of my needs, but as I wash my hands, I gasp.
They are smooth and soft, the cracks from the harsh soaps nowhere to be seen.
What in the gods’ names happened? Before I can fixate on my hands too much and find myself late to dinner, I splash water on my face and startle again.
The late afternoon sun turned my skin a flushed and healthy-looking pink, so different from my normally pale hue.
A few freckles spatter my nose, just like the ones from the day of the ball that disappeared after my stint in bed.
Interesting. Today has been full of surprises, that’s for sure.
Closing my eyes, I take a moment to really consider how I feel.
I’m not sure if the weird flips in my stomach are from the anticipation of my impending betrothal or the beginnings of a reaction to my affliction.
I’ve been so careful for years and years, and now I’ve risked my health twice in the matter of a month.
I dry off and move to my closet, looking for something acceptable to wear.
Unfortunately, it looks as if my sisters have stolen all of the nice dresses I own.
An out-of-style day dress is all I have, so I quickly change into it.
Gods willing, it won’t be the cause of more ire between myself and Stepmother.
Perhaps I’ll steal my dresses back when my sisters are occupied.
It really is shocking how quickly they turned on me and decided treating me like the help was something I somehow deserved. All because I’m unmarried. I’ll show them. Their jealousy will eat them alive when they find out that Kian chose me as his bride.
The ringing of the dinner bell has me cursing as I twist my hair into a coil on the back of my head while I run out the door and down the stairs. Dinner will not wait.
“Ratlyn,” Charlie says, sounding surprised as I enter the dining room.
“Good to see you too, brother,” I bite out. Gods, I really hate that nickname.
Erika and Chessa are chattering with each other but grow quiet when I find my seat, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. “No need to stop talking on my account,” I grumble.
Giving each other knowing looks, Chess tosses her pin-straight hair over her shoulder and continues their conversation. “I thought you might have had a chance with the prince after he danced with you,” Chess says to Erika, putting on a fake pout.
“With a princess in the mix? Unlikely,” Erika replies morosely.
My ears perk up. A princess?
“What are you two going on about?” I ask as I fiddle with the silverware in front of me.
“Erika just got back from court today,” Chessa brags. “I was supposed to join her, but Mama had me in lessons all afternoon.”
The ache in my back reminds me of how much time I spent scrubbing on my knees today, and it takes everything in my power to bite my tongue to keep from sniping at her.
“What rumors are floating around court these days?” I direct my question to Erika.
She blushes, refusing to meet my eyes. Perhaps she, out of all my siblings, actually feels a touch of guilt about how I’ve been treated. “Well, Princess Helene is in town visiting her sister . . .”
I nod. With Princess Juliana so close to giving birth to the long-awaited heir to the Rakveren throne, it makes sense.
“All of court is abuzz with word that an arrangement between Princess Helene and Prince Kian is imminent.”
A pit forms in my stomach. Why didn’t Kian say something about this earlier? Perhaps Erika is mistaken.
“Interesting,” I choke out.
“Raelyn,” Stepmother sneers as she enters the dining room. “I see you got the message.”
A thank you almost rolls off my tongue, but I stop myself. This woman deserves no thanks for inviting me to dinner in my own damn home.
With Stepmother’s appearance, the kitchen staff start placing the first course in front of us, and I say a thank you to them instead. “It smells delicious.” I smile.
“Raelyn,” Stepmother reprimands, “you will not speak to them.”
The maid almost cowers as she hurries back to the kitchen, and I turn to glare at Stepmother.
“Why not? You treat me like one of them, so why wouldn’t I speak to them?”
The daggers coming out of her eyes make me want to hide, but I refuse. I can’t wait to wipe the smug look off her face when she hears my news, assuming the rumors about Kian’s betrothal are false . . .
“If you are not able to show a modicum of decorum at my table, you might as well leave now.” She seethes.
I’m ready to throw my napkin onto the table and rise to my feet, but no.
I deserve to be here just as much as my siblings.
I grit my teeth and plant a fake smile on my face.
My sister has to be wrong about the princess.
This had better be a swift betrothal, because I am more than ready to get out of the manor.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this invitation to dinner?” I ask, feigning pleasantness.
Erika chokes on her drink, and I turn my gaze to her. Will it ever stop hurting? That my siblings so callously aligned themselves with Stepmother?
“Ah yes.” Stepmother clears her throat. “I just wanted to inform you that you will need to move out of your room by the end of tomorrow.”
“Excuse me, but did I hear that correctly?” My eyes dart around the table, and neither one of my sisters nor my brother will meet my eyes.
“Don’t play dumb, Raelyn,” Stepmother chides. “It’s unbecoming.”
I flinch. “Surely, I misheard you. Why in the realms must I leave my room?”
“I have need of it,” she replies matter-of-factly.
“Where am I supposed to go?” I ask, fighting to stay calm.
“You can make up one of the rooms in the servants’ quarters.”
“That is utterly absurd,” I say, no longer caring about decorum. Rising to my feet, I point a finger at my horrible stepmother. “Father will not stand for this.”
“Oh, sweet child, he’s not here, is he?” She smirks.
“You have no right!”
“I have every right,” she says with a sneer. “I am the lady of this manor, and you will do as I say, or, quite simply, you will leave.”
Tears prick my eyes. I glance around the table once more at my traitorous siblings. Still, none of them will look at me. Rage builds inside me, and my hands burn with heat.
“You are dismissed. And Raelyn? I am aware of your laziness and refusal to complete your chores today. The staff have been informed not to feed you tonight as your punishment.”
So my invitation to dinner was a complete farce. Got it.
I rush from the room, and as much as I desperately want to fight the injustice, I cannot. How much more can she take from me? I withhold my sobs as I race up the stairs toward my room . . . well, my room for the night.
How did I get here?
Collapsing onto my bed, I let the sobs overtake me. I’m alone. So incredibly alone. My heart is shredded inside my chest.
I have no one. Father, the only one who might have stood up for me, is no longer here. My siblings have abandoned me. For all I know, the prince will abandon me too, his plan forgotten now that a better option has presented itself.
A gnawing sensation eats at me from the inside, and I double over in pain. My jaw aches, perhaps from clenching my teeth, but there is no relief.