Chapter 2 Mel

A dark figure flashed past the long unwinding hall of the castle, followed by two others in swift pursuit. Mel laughed, her dark hair flowing as she ran around a corner, dodging past stunned servants and eyeing several doors alongside each wall to find an escape route that would lead to an eventual hiding place.

"Young Mistress!" came the exhausted cries behind her but she ignored them.

The stairs came into view and Mel rushed downstairs, leaving a huge gap between herself and her chamber maidens. More servants darted out of the way, not at all surprised by Mel's carefree attitude. Her chamber maidens chasing after her had become a routine the young lady of the castle was fond of, and what good would it do to help them when the young woman was an exceedingly fast runner.

Mel found a door and pushed at it, slipping into a bright room and closing the door shut behind her. She turned around and listened closely with her ear pressed against it, her heart hammering in her chest. Soon enough, the servants came running past, their sandaled footsteps pounding against the carpeted floor of the hallway.

Mel chuckled and turned around to face the wide expanse of the room. Bright morning light flooded in through the large open windows, touching the rows of shelves that stood with arranged books on them. Books belonging to her younger brother, Adam. She had never bothered to learn how to read. Most of the women in their domain were not expected to, and she found it very dull for her brother to sit for hours going through several pages of numerous texts and wordings.

'What was exciting about that anyway?' she thought.

"Oh no, not again," came Adam's exhausted groan, and Mel skipped down to the end of the room, sneaking past the last shelf to find Adam sitting by the last window, well hidden by the shelf she had just passed.

"A fine morning to you too, brother," she greeted him, walking barefoot to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a tight hug from the back.

Adam patted her arm and she released him, clasping her hands down on the headrest of his seat. "You and your books," she teased.

"You're causing an unnecessary burden to your chambermaids. If you wanted to exercise that much, why not ask father to give you a personal trainer and you can run all you want."

Mel huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "I simply didn't want to get dressed for the day yet. I wanted to see the garden. They would not let me, and you of all people know that father would tell me that would be 'unladylike'." She stepped away from Adam and leaned her back against the shelf.

Adam shrugged in his chair, not taking his eyes off his book. "So is your running across the halls of the castle and engaging in a mad chase. I don't know how we've even put up with you for so long."

She chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous, brother. I know you all love me."

He tsked and shook his head. "Still wonder when that husband of yours would arrive."

Mel smiled coyly. "That can't happen."

Their father, the lord of the Urn tribe within the Sprite kingdom had owed a high-ranking lord from the Orian kingdom and it was mentioned to have been a debt so heavy, that nothing could cover it. When all hope had seemed to be lost, the Orions had then requested for it to be paid in terms of a favour, and her father, feeling very guilty, decided to put forward his little daughter as a future bride for one of their sons to show just how appreciative he was.

But after the agreement, the Orions never returned or asked for their bride, even after Mel passed the mature age of eighteen. They still had good relations with the neighbouring nation, but in regards to Mel, they hadn't requested of her, and she was nearing the age of twenty-two.

Mel had at first, looked forward to her engagement. But with no news from the Orions, she had been uncertain about the alliance. With time, she decided to embrace the freedom her peers didn't have since most of her friends were already married and looking after their children. Nothing was seeming to tie her down.

"I'm free to do whatever I want." Her smile widened. She had initially been lonely, but after seeing the stress and effort it took to raise their children and manage their own households, Mel was grateful she wouldn't have to face all of that for now.

Adam looked up at her, his dark brows quizzing. "In other words, you won't wed?"

"What?" She slapped her hands on her hips and glared at him. "What sort of question is that? Of course, I will. Father will find me a husband very soon."

"What about your 'husband'?" he asked, still looking at her.

Mel combed her hand through her hair, her other hand still on her hip. "As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't exist. Or maybe he has passed away. If not he would have come to claim my hand a long while ago."

Adam sagged against the chair and placed the book he was reading on the table beside him. "Mel..."

"No, no, Adam." She shook her head at him, a bemused smile on her lips as she wagged a finger in his face. "This conversation is closed. I'm off to sneak away to the gardens before they find me. Have fun with your boring books," she chirped, laying emphasis on the word 'boring'.

Adam shook his head with a light frown and opened his mouth to speak before Mel dashed out of the room. It was obvious she would go to the gardens, almost every servant knew that. It pained him to an extent that his sister was more of an airhead and didn't even try to think things over. Even if she had no interest in politics or even learning to manage a household, it was worrying how she saw things. There was nothing funny about her situation and it was high time she knew that.

Mel peeked into the hallway through the door and noticing no one around, she exited the library and shuffled upstairs. She hid behind columns, statues, and within corners of the passage to avoid the attention of passing servants before making her way into the secluded wing of her father's castle.

She gingerly walked to the door of his study and placed a palm on the golden knob, about to push the door open when she heard voices from within. She then smiled, amused, and took back her hand, deciding to eavesdrop. Who was with her father and what were they discussing in there? She leaned forward and rested her ear against the hardwood of the door.

"... this... not bode well..."

"We can't stall any longer, Father. We have to send her there."

Mel paused, her cheek glued to the door. That was her older brother's voice. His tone was higher than her father's hushed words. An unsettling feeling rose within her. Whenever her brother's voice was slightly raised, it meant there was something wrong.

"She may not agree. I can't-"

Her brother, Anton, cut in, "You never put her consideration into this matter when you offered her to the Orions. Now that they need their dept repaid, why are you hesitating?"

"We just need time... persuade her."

Anton scoffed. Mel could imagine him flinging a hand at the air, one of his annoying gestures. "Persuade? I know what you're thinking, old mad! She's passing twenty-two soon. Which man here in the kingdom would be interested in wedding a woman past her prime? Drag this out any further and not only might we incur their wrath, but your daughter would also be unable to find a suitable spouse for the rest of her life!"

Mel stepped away from the doors silently, dumbfounded as she tried to process the ongoing conversation. What did all of this mean? She had lived most of her life in the castle and its surroundings. It hadn't dawned on her that there was a certain age girls were supposed to be wed. Was that why all of her friends were with husbands? From the way her brother spoke, was she even a girl anymore?

'No. No. This cannot be true,' she thought.

She shook her head and ran away from the hallway, certain her brother and father could hear her departing footprints. She had to find her mother. She always knew what to say and how to comfort her. Surely, she had to know that her father was planning to send her to the Orions? This was news she would have fully accepted in the past but it felt sudden, too sudden.

"Mother!" Mel burst through the glass double doors and into the manor's greenhouse. Her mother stood wearing transparent gloves as she watched the gardeners tend to her plants.

"Mel!" the woman exclaimed, surprised as her daughter ran to her and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hold. This wasn't unusual on Mel's part, but the frantic tone of her voice and her tight hold on her mother disturbed the woman.

"I want to talk to you," Mel spoke, stepping back, but holding her mother by the hand. "Alone," she added.

Her mother, Harriett, looked at her daughter, her forehead wrinkled with a puzzling gaze. The lady of the castle then waved away the servants, and they left the mother and daughter alone in the quiet greenhouse.

"Father and brother speak of sending me to the Orions! Have you heard any of this?!"She grabbed her mother's arms and the woman stiffened in her grasp, her confused look shifting to that of shock.

"Where did you hear this?" she softly asked, her dark eyes widening as a slow fear crept up to them, dispensing the shock.

Mel paused, sensing something strange with her mother's tone. It then dawned on her and her eyes widened. "You knew?!"

Harriett straightened. "No-Mel-I didn't know it would be this sudden-Mel!"

Mel tore away from her mother and rushed out of the greenhouse, making her way past curious servants and castle staff as she made her way back to her room, where her two chambermaids were waiting, tired from the chase and half expecting her return.

They stood at alert at Mel's presence and let out relieved breaths.

"My lady," one of them spoke up, rushing towards Mel just in case the young woman would run from them again. "You ought to have been dressed for the day!"

"Mel." Anton burst into the chamber, pausing to see Mel in front of her poster bed and take in the startled state of the chambermaids. He sighed and adjusted the folds of his golden tunic, darting an apologetic glance his sister's way. "Pardon my intrusion."

"What do you want?" Mel snapped at him, her hands fisting at her sides. She stood still, waiting for her brother to speak. A slight fear grew within her as she knew just what her brother was here for. Rarely did he just come into her room as he pleased.

He frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes. "It was you," he whispered.

Mel returned the frown with a suspicious glare of her own. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Anton's features eased and he shook his head, running a hand through his fair hair. "I happened to hear someone running in the passages of our father's hall, but never mind that." He ignored Mel and faced her chambermaids. "Get rid of whatever dressing arrangements you've made for your mistress this morning. She will be wearing something else. Something fit for travel."

Mel's heart skipped a beat and her brows knitted into a hardened frown. She marched up to Anton, pointing a finger at his chest. "These are my maids, you cannot tell them what to do!"

"Mel." Anton looked down at her. "At the end of the day, they all belong to Father. You will have your own when you become the lady of your own house."

Mel was about to spit out a retort when three maids rushed into her chambers, casting apologetic gazes at Mel and going deeper into the chamber to run her bath and prepare her clothes from her dressing room. Mel's chamber maidens stood still, mirroring the shock their lady had on her face.

"I must go," Anton said and turned away.

"Wait!" Mel lashed out and grabbed his sleeve. He stopped and looked back at her, a pained expression on his face. "You can't do this to me," she continued, a hand on her chest. "It's too sudden."

"I'm sorry you had to overhear us and learn of it this way, Mel." He squeezed his eyes shut. "We have no choice."

"Choice? No choice?" Mel froze. There was something about her brother's demeanour that rooted her to the spot. "Please, at least tell me so I can understand," she whispered.

Anton's jaw shifted as he ground his teeth. He cast a quick glance around the chamber.

Mel swallowed the lump in her throat and let go of Anton. Taking a step back, she turned around to face the busy servants and she clapped her hands twice, catching their attention. "Excuse us."

At her words, the maid stopped what they were doing and scrambled out of the chamber, shutting the heavy doors behind them and leaving the two siblings alone.

Mel crossed her arms across her chest and shifted on her feet, eyeing Anton in expectation. "Go on." She nudged her shoulder in his direction. "Speak!"

"We received a missive from the North, the Orions." He watched her, monitoring her pensive mood closely.

"When, Anton, when?" Mel pressed, digging her nails through the sleeves of her light dress into the flesh of her arms.

Anton's lips thinned to a straight line before he answered. "Three days ago," he finished in a low whisper, as though afraid to answer her.

"Three-three days," Mel chuckled and then pressed her knuckles to her lips. She began to pace around the room. She burst into laughter. "Three days, Anton. Three days. Am I hearing right?!" She stopped and faced him, raising her voice to a shrill scream, "Why am I just hearing of something so important?!"

Anton flinched and then stepped forward, reaching a hand out to her. "Mel, please-"

"Stay right where you are, brother! Not a word!" she yelled, stopping him from moving or saying anything further. She resumed her pacing. "Why? Why now? I could have prepared myself a little, would have been ready. I would have..."

"It was my idea," Anton said and Mel stood still, tilting her head to face him.

"What?" she whispered.

Anton took a deep breath and spoke up, "I know you, more than what mother and father think. Adam knows you too. Despite the nonsense you're spitting about preparation, it wouldn't be farfetched for you to run away the moment you heard about this! What difference would the time frame make if you were truly ready to fulfil your side of the bargain?"

Mel stood in stunned silence, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"It's true, and you know I'm right, Mel," Anton continued, "You were nodding and nodding to the agreement for years when deep down, you didn't want it. Do you think no one saw the joy on your face when there was no news from Orion? You have always been so-"

Anton's ear rang as a seasoned slap met his cheek, his skin prickled from the lingering effect of Mel's palm and he looked down at her, confusion and surprise fighting for a spot on his face.

Her eyes watered and she lowered her hand, disgusted. "You're revolting!" She clutched the folds of her dress and yelled at him, "To hear all this rubbish from a family who 'supposedly knows me'! You do not know how long I supported all of you. This had nothing to do with me but I was willing! Willing to do your bidding and be carted off to a foreign nation I knew so little about!

"I did not complain and yet here you are taking my silence for something else. There was a time I was eager to marry. How did you think I felt when I heard nothing? Joy? What joy? For once, I had made new friends and I wasn't rushing to leave them at that moment so, of course, I would have been happy to have been afforded more time!"

Mel breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling with each pant. She let go of her dress and turned away from Anton, a torn expression donning her face. "Get out," she whispered. "I can't wait to be rid of you... and I never want to see you again," she bit out.

Without a word, Anton hung his head and walked out of her chambers, his footfalls awfully loud against the backdrop of the silent chamber. The door clicked shut behind him and Mel collapsed on her bed, raising her hands to cover her eyes in an effort to fight back the tears that threatened to come out.

A hesitant series of knocks permeated the still silence of Mel's tranquillity, followed by a weak "My Lady?" from one of her chamber maidens.

Mel drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes, staring at the silk coverings of her large bed. Was this the last time she would lay on it? Because it seemed she was going to be leaving this very day.

Silence. Then another knock.

Mel let out a weary sigh. "Come in."

"Mel." One of the double doors opened to reveal Harriett strolling in, leaving the door slightly open.

Mel stiffened and then sprang upright to a seated position. She directed a tired gaze to her mother. As much as she tried to be annoyed, she couldn't muster the strength to waste any emotion. Come to think of it, she hadn't yet eaten that morning.

"I was referring to the servants, not you," Mel simply said, staring fixedly at her mother.

Harriett nervously fiddled with her hands, as though finding some sort of purpose for them to accomplish before she settled for clasping them at her stomach. "Y-yes." She nodded at the door in a silent beckoning and Mel's chamber maidens stalked in, their heads low as they went into the bathing room, preparing Mel's bathing water.

"Where are the rest?" Mel murmured.

"They will be back shortly." Harriett looked around the bed chamber, as though seeing it for the first time before her eyes returned to Mel.

"I am leaving today, aren't I?" Mel quietly asked, drawing a tired gaze to her mother, a gaze that tore Harriett's heart.

Harriett's lips quivered and the lady pressed her lips into a thin line to steady her emotions, a trait Anton inherited. A torn smile pulled at the woman's lips, pulling slight wrinkles near her cheeks. They didn't do much to reduce the beauty of the ageing lady.

"The ships are set to depart for Orion this afternoon... in a few... hours..." she finally said, her voice a half whisper so faint, Mel herself could barely hear it.