Chapter 7 Azalea
Azalea
I was right. I absolutely hate Rhoden’s idea. To put it in simple terms, the plan is, more or less, to befriend Braxton, something I made very clear I was vehemently against.
Rhoden’s theory is that if I start playing nice with Braxton, he will let his guard down, and once that happens, he will stop watching my every move like he currently does.
Once I’m no longer being monitored, I will ideally be able to start working through the documents in his study to try and find our curse contract.
I asked Rhoden how she knew he would still have the contract, and she assured me that any contract forged through magic cannot be destroyed. Destroying the contract in and of itself would break the deal.
I perked up at the thought that I wouldn’t have to demand retribution from the curse if I could simply destroy the contract.
However, Rhoden informed me that apparently destroying magical contracts, especially those dealing in complex curses like mine, is nearly impossible even if I have magic on my side, which I don’t.
After getting a splitting headache from the thought of how I was going to fake being friendly with Braxton, Rhoden told me to sleep on it.
So here I am now, staring up at the ceiling in my room, with nary a thought bouncing in my head as the sun washes over my olive skin.
When Rhoden left last night, she took the vase of forget-me-nots with her, but I know when I finally choose to get up, I will have a new vase filled with a fresh crop of flowers staring back at me.
I’m not sure when I fell asleep or how long I slept, but it must have been long enough for someone to slip inside and drop off the dreaded bouquet.
I contemplate throwing my feather down comforter over my head and closing the world out for the day, but I know in a matter of minutes, I will have Rhoden banging her tiny yet mighty fist against my door.
Groaning, I aggressively rub the exhaustion from my eyes. I have to admit, there is one tempting part of Rhoden’s plan, and that’s the part where I don’t fight with Braxton every single day. As much as I love getting under his skin, being a bitch is exhausting work.
Knowing that Rhoden will be here soon, hopefully with an array of breakfast pastries, I decide to get a proactive start on our discussion.
Detangling myself from the covers, I tumble out of my bed and groggily sit down at my desk.
Grabbing my well-used ink and quill, I begin writing down everything I can remember about the curse, which is, unfortunately, a fairly short list.
Curse Details
Curse was crafted because my father owed Braxton a debt.
If I try to leave the castle grounds all my loved ones will die.
I’ve been here for
My hand stills, and a large splotch of ink stains the milky paper as I think. I realize I have no idea how long I’ve actually been in the castle.
Closing my eyes, I try to relax my mind and focus.
I can see the crystalline water of the shore where I once lived.
I can see my father’s smiling face. I can practically feel my fiancé’s calloused hands as they roam my body.
Sweet celestials, I miss those hands. I miss the rough feeling of them gliding over my smooth skin.
I can only imagine how painfully soft Braxton’s hands must be, having never done a hard day’s work in his life.
My mind seems to latch onto the thought of Braxton, and suddenly his deep chocolate gaze fills the backs of my eyelids.
His hair is tousled, messier than I’ve ever seen it, and he has a beaming smile on his face.
Something else I’ve never seen. The sun is splattering across his pale skin, and he’s laughing.
Truly full-on belly laughing. The sound is musical, borderline whimsical, and I feel my lips involuntarily tilt upward.
Is he laughing at me? Is he laughing with me?
Regardless of the answer, I continue to watch him, feeling almost mesmerized by his bliss. That’s when I notice that he’s missing one of his tattoos. His right arm is bare, even though there should be an inked bouquet of forget-me-nots on the back of his bicep.
A knock at my door pulls me from my thoughts.
My eyes shoot open, and I clear my throat as if I had been caught red-handed doing something I shouldn’t be.
Before I have time to process anything that happened within the inner workings of my mind, another knock echoes through my room, this time more impatient.
“Oh, just come in then!” I yell, hoping my words sound more playful than tense.
As expected, Rhoden comes into my room, tray in hand.
“Writing your daily letter?” she inquires, finding an open surface to place the tray on.
“Umm… yes.” I lie, not wanting to explain that I think I might have actually been daydreaming about Braxton. This whole ‘be nice to him’ plan is already messing with my head, clearly.
“So, what’s the plan for getting close to Braxton?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” One of Rhoden’s perfectly plucked eyebrows rises.
“I mean don’t you think he’ll find it suspicious if I’m suddenly nice to him after how I’ve been treating him for…” My voice trails off as I once again come face to face with the fact that I have no idea how long I’ve been here. “Actually, Rho, I have a strange question.”
“I love when you get strange with me,” she coos.
I begin wringing my hands together, and I see her playfulness wane.
“What is it, Zel?”
I give her a reassuring smile at the affectionate nickname. “This is going to sound crazy, but I can’t remember how long I’ve been here. Do you know?”
Rhoden releases a sigh of relief. “I thought something was really wrong.” She smiles broadly before answering, “It has to have been a few weeks possibly even a month by now.”
“A month?” I exclaim, my spine straightening. “How could I not be able to remember that I’ve been here for a entire month?”
Rhoden shrugs, still not seeming the slightest bit concerned. “I’m sure it’s part of the curse, Azalea. It’s not uncommon for time to become jumbled in one’s memory when they’re cursed, especially with one like this that has you eternally bound to this castle. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“Right…” My thoughts and words float away from me as I turn my attention back to the list I was making, my bottom lip becoming snagged between my teeth.
“So anyway, back to you being nice to Braxton,” Rhoden continues. “I kind of have an idea.”
“I hate it already.”
Rhoden gives me a gentle shove. “I was thinking maybe you don’t try to befriend him…but instead you try to do more.”
“More as in…?”
“What if you were to court him?”
I blanch. “Have you actually lost your mind? I barely believe in myself enough to be civil with him. Now, you expect me to fake as if I’m falling in love with him?” I hiss out the words in a whisper, fearful that someone might walk by and hear our plan.
“Just think about how much more you would be able to get out of him? And what if the curse contract isn’t in his study but in his bedchambers?”
“Now I’m seducing him?”
“Sky’s Divine, no!” Rhoden recoils from my suggestion, and I feel better knowing she hasn’t gone completely mad.
“I’m only suggesting that the closer you get to him, the more you can find out. Everyone knows a man in love can be easily tricked.”
“How romantic,” I mutter under my breath.
“Or you can stay cursed here forever and keep getting yourself locked out of the library?” Rhoden hops off my bed, and I can tell by the squaring of her shoulders that she’s frustrated with me.
Letting out a deep sigh, I quickly weigh my options in my head. In truth, there can’t be too much harm in at least trying.
“Wait!” I call as her fingers encase my bedroom doorknob. “Who’s to say he would want to court me?”
Rhoden looks at me unamused. “Are you trying to be funny?”
“I’m being serious,” I grit out, my frustration rising.
Rhoden’s mossy eyes roam my face before looking me up and down. “Trust me, he wants to.”
I feel an unexpected warmth fill my belly. As much as I hate him, it is nice to feel wanted. Great celestials, what is wrong with me?
“Fine.” I concede. “While I believe this plan may be asinine, I can accept that it’s currently the only plan we have.
Rhoden claps her hands gleefully before plopping herself down on my bed. I’m still perched in the chair next to my desk, running my pointer finger across my bottom lip.
As Rhoden begins to rattle off a myriad of ways we can get Braxton to fall in love with me, my mind drifts back to the list on my desk. After Rhoden has dolled me up for the day, but before I leave my room, I add two more things to it that seem of vital importance.
Curse Details
Curse was crafted because my father owed Braxton a debt.
If I try to leave the castle grounds all my loved ones will die.
I’ve been here for
A part of the curse is making it hard for me to remember timeframes.
Braxton is an asshole. DO NOT under any circumstances actually fall in love with him.