Chapter 161: Reminiscences
When she opened her eyes, a pair of green eyes a similar shade as hers hovered above her.
She blinked before opening her eyes fully.
"Rory?"
Her sister ca into full view. She was wearing a white silk dress with frills at the shoulders and cuffs and a very big bow at the back.
Before she could say anything more, her sister rushed on her, wrapping her small arms so tightly around her neck that she had to gasp for breath.
"I missed you so very much, Claire!" Aurora blurted out.
Claire slowly peeled her hands away and showered her plump face with kisses.
"I missed you too."
For a mont, both sisters just stared into each other’s eyes.
"You look like you want to cry, Claire. Did sothing bad happen?"
Claire imdiately shook her head, the swift movent causing the tears to spill out from the corner of her eyes.
Everything ca back to her.
The gift of Penbrook, the return back to the castle, the court session...
And Uncle Jarren’s words about their mother.
Was it really true?
But part of her Suspected that it was. It all made sense.
"Is it because of Uncle Jarren? He deserved what happened to him, even Arlan said so himself."
Claire had to blink. "What happened to Uncle Jarren?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer to her question.
Aurora averted her gaze.
"I know I wasn’t supposed to see such, but Arlan ca looking for
- he wanted
to watch."
"Watch what?"
"How they cut his father’s head off. The King did it himself."
Claire drew in a deep breath.
He did it himself?
But Aurora quickly changed the subject.
"I heard you fainted, Arlan told ." Then her sister narrowed her eyes. "You never faint."
Claire was the one to avert her gaze. The last thing she wanted to do was to tell her sister that the mother she never t or grew up to know had been raped by their very own uncle. It was much too twisted for Aurora’s small mind to carry.
So instead, she said, "I feel a little ill. It must be the stress of travelling in such a haste."
But instead of being appeased, her sister’s eyes bulged.
"What kind of illness, if I may ask?" There was a hidden undertone in her sister’s question that made her spine straighten.
"Just a light illness, nothing to worry yourself little self about." She pinched Aurora’s nose.
But Rory just scrunched up her nose.
"You could be with child, my chambermaids told -"
Claire sat up. "What did they tell you?" Her voice was sharp.
"Fainting and being ill ans a woman could be with child."
Claire’s shoulders softened. "Oh, Aurora. You should not listen to such things. They were talking utter nonsense."
Rory nodded, even though she didn’t seem completely convinced.
After talking for a bit, Claire announced that she was tired and wanted to sleep for a bit.
Aurora quietly left the room after making her promise to describe the Town square in intricate detail.
The mont her sister’s redhead disappeared behind the door, she slumped against the bed.
With child?
Why in the world would she think that?
But Claire realized that she could be with a child at that very mont.
The thought of having his child made her breathing ragged.
After all, he had touched her more than once. How many tis, actually?
She shook her head to clear the thoughts away.
Even if she was with child, she would never use it to force him to marry her. But she hoped to the heavens that she wasn’t.
Funny enough, the thought had never crossed her mind until Aurora had ntioned it.
Claire laid there for hours, trying to conjure up an image of her mother’s face.
The last ti she had seen her mother had been when Aurora was just a few months old. She had been nine at the ti, almost ten years old. Her mother had been crying and crying and crying in her room one night and the next morning, there was no trace of her.
She was gone.
All their father had said was that she had run away.
And everything she owned was either cleared away to the attic or given to the servants the very sa day.
How heartbroken she has been.
And now that she knew this, it explained why her father was always tense around Uncle Jarren.
He had told her it was a matter of inheritance after she had asked when she was much older.
Tears started streaming down her face.
When she glanced out the window, she realized that it had gotten dark.
She hadn’t eaten for the whole day.
But her appetite had since fled her - the last thing she wanted was food.
Uncle Jarren was a monster.
Now she wished she had killed him herself. Maybe all the rage living inside her would have been abated.
But it was too late now.
Part of her had expected Yeren to co and see her, but he didn’t and the sensible part of her didn’t really expect him to.
But then, she found tears streaming down her face for another reason.
Penbrook would now be her ho. The place where her mother had suffered, she had suffered, Aurora had suffered.
How unfair could life be to her?
Sotis during the dark, she heard her door open and close. Since she hadn’t requested for a candle to be lit for her and she hadn’t bothered to light any candles herself, the room was dark, save a sliver of moonlight slipping in from the open windows.
Claire was wide awake, but her senses were sowhat muffled and unclear.
"Who is there?"
"I thought you should know who it is by now."
The familiar voice soothed her.
"What are you doing in my... chamber in the middle of the night?" Her voice broke, betraying her.
She felt the bed dip under his weight as he sat down at the edge.
He was keeping his distance, she noticed.
"You sound like you have been crying." He said instead.
"How exactly should I sound? You must have heard what I heard."
"I beg your pardon then."
She heard him take in a sharp breath. Where he sat, she could barely even make out his silhouette.
"I ca to let you know that Jarren is dead. He won’t harm you anymore." His voice was tight, as if he felt that death was showing kindness.
"I know."
Tense silence followed.
"I am sorry about your mother."
She stifled a sob.
"Thank you."
"Do you want to talk about..." He trailed off. "I’m sure you would not want to, forget that I asked."
She drew in a deep breath.
"He... he killed her." Her voice broke. "He raped her and killed her with his baby... and all this while, I thought she ran away because she no longer loved us." A fresh sob racked through her.
He was silent, so silent that she may have imagined his presence.
Was she losing her mind?
Then, the bed creaked softly as he rose from the bed and his footsteps drew near to where she was folded up.
She felt the bed dip once more but this ti, strong hands wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her down to lean on him.
"He won’t ever hurt you again. No one would ever hurt you again." He whispered into her hair.
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