Dragon’s Breath -
Chapter eighteen
I feel a hand clasp my shoulder and I jump turning to face person. I turn around and I'm faced with Geoffreys bright green eyes boring into my own.
He looks down at me and laughs, "What's got you freak out. Oh let me guess you final punch the wrong person and now fathers mad at you," Geoffrey guesses in a teasing manor.
I roll my eyes, "Did you interrupt my day simply to say that."
"No what I really wanted to ask you is where you went this morning. You were gone for so long it was strange," he says.
"I've already been here for days but I still had yet to visit the city. Not to mention I wanted a sword made it can be hard to fight in a confined space such as the castle and I hate being disarmed," I tell him.
"So you only left to explore the city, if you had told me that's where you were going I would have offered to be your guide," he says smugly.
"And why would I want you as my guid?" I question.
"You might find that if you get to know me I'm not as bad as you think I am," he says winking, causing me to shutter.
"Yeah I highly doubt that. Now if you'll excuse me I have somewhere to be," I say turning away from him.
I continue on down the hall approaching Gregory's office I pause hesitatingly before knocking loudly on the door.
"Come in," I hear his muffled voice say from the other side. Pushing the door open, I go in. My heart is pounding like a hammer on a drum. I break into a cold sweat as my blood turns to frost. Walking in, I see him sitting at his desk, gazing intently at a book.
He glances up at me, and I shiver, my heart stopping dead in its tracks. Should I really be the one to tell him this?
"What's wrong my dear, you look awfully pale." His fatherly tone filled with concern helps to calm my nerves.
Clearing my throat I pull a chair up to his desk.
"I saw the blacksmith, and went to the commander's home," I tell him.
Gregory closes the book in front of him sliding it to the side. His brown orbs meet mine and my heart begins to pound even faster.
"And how was it...going to the commander's home?" He asks expectantly.
Taking a deep breath I will myself to continue.
"When Daniel and I arrived at his home we found him dead," I explain slowly.
Gregory's once calm face is now swallowed by deep sorrow.
"How did he pass?" He asks.
"He was tortured to death, likely for information." I pause and he nods his head urging me to keep talking.
"Do you remember when I said that someone might be following me?" I remind him.
"Yes," he says.
"Well, I believe they somehow found out about me going into the city to find the commander," I swallow uncomfortably.
The room goes silent for a few minutes, the longest few minutes of my life. This silence is like a gaping void that needs to be filled, and I pray that it may be filled soon.
"Do you have any idea who it could have been that attacked the commander?" Gregory asks.
I suddenly feel like throwing up, as my stomach worms. How the hell am I supposed to tell him that it's his granddaughter, that I smelt her scent all over the commander's house? And if he doesn't believe me I could be locked up in the dungeon for such an accusation. Cold sweat begins to glisten on my brow. My eyes are cast down with my hands clasped tightly in front of my stomach. I fiddle with my knuckles, weaving my fingers in and out of each other.
"Nora?" He begins to question, "What's the matter?" He questions.
A lump forms in my throat, I don't want to see the old man get hurt. But I have to tell him.
"I-I know who killed the commander..." I croak.
Gregory looks at me intently with a raised brow.
"Well, are you going to tell me?" He implores.
"Um...yes. Well here's the thing, the killer...the killer is..it's Gwen," I sputter cringing with every word.
I watch as his eyes widen and his face pales. His mouth parts open and he releases a shaky breath. With trembling hands, he grabs my shoulders.
"Are you sure it's Gwen?" He queries, his voice desperate and full of denial. I understand. It must be hard for Gregory to accept that his granddaughter is not the person he thought her to be.
"I am positive it's her. Gwen's scent was found all over the house," I assure him.
Gregory pulls his hands off my shoulders burying his face in them. He looks shaken and full of sadness at this revelation.
"Have you found anything else?" He asks in a quiet muffled voice.
"The only item of importance in the house was the commander's journal, but the pages that would be dated around the time of my brother's death have been removed. You should also know that I've asked Flavius to ask around the city and see if he can get any information as to what happened before we got to the commander's home," I say.
Gregory sits in silence as he listens to me tell him everything that's gone on. Looking up at me with hopeful eyes Gregory asks, "I want you to search Gwen's room, see if you can find the missing journal pages."
I sigh, "Even if I look for the journal pages the chances that she didn't get rid of them are low, if I didn't want anyone to know that I had stolen them in the first place I would throw them out."
"You're not just going to be looking for the missing pages, I also want you to find anything you can use as evidence against her," he tells me.
I can hardly believe what he's saying. I thought for sure that he would be angry or at the very least he wouldn't believe a word I'm saying. The old man never ceases to surprise me. I can't help but wonder why he is so quick to believe me? Is he not afraid I will lie to him? He's taking the word of someone he's only just met, how can he be so trusting?
"Aren't you afraid I could be lying to you?" I ask with a pointed look.
"I trust you. Besides what reason would you have to lie to me? Wasn't it I who said we should check my family in the first place. Also you should know that I've cleared Geoffrey as a suspect," he tells me.
"Really, how..." I ask trailing off.
"I told you how it had to be a member of the royal family that killed your brother. As you know we all carry the dragon slayer trait but only a few of us actually have any powers. Only my daughter Margret, Gwens mother, myself and Gwen have developed abilities," he explains to me.
"I see so you've already narrowed down the suspects to your daughter and granddaughter," I say.
"Yes, which goes to show you that I have no reason not to believe you. There is nothing you could gain from framing Gwen, but Gwen has a lot to gain by causing all this trouble. Please just do as I've asked and check her room," he pleads with me.
"Alright, I will. Thank you for believing me, you have no idea how afraid I was to tell you that it was your granddaughter," I admit to him.
He smiles warmly at me and places a hand on my shoulder.
"Never be afraid to tell me anything. As long as your words have merit I will surely believe themselves," he reassures me.
His words help to calm me, I feel my muscles relax as I stare into his comforting eyes.
"You are right, as always. I will take my leave now, if I find anything I will report to you directly," I confirm, standing up heading towards the door.
"Do come back soon, my dear," Gregory yells.
I leave, walking down the hall to my chambers. I look cautiously every which way to make sure that I'm not being followed, I relax my body when I come to the conclusion no one is tailing me.
Now the only thing left to do is to figure out How to draw Gwen away from her room long enough for me to search?
An idea comes to mind just as I reach the hall where mine and Gwen's chambers are located. Walking to her door, I knock loudly. I hear her sigh, feet scuffling and then the door is thrown open.
"What is it?" She yells.
I can't help but laugh because here right now I am seeing the real Gwen. At this moment she is no longer pretending to be some shy, timid little thing. Before now she wouldn't have thrown open a door or yelled at anyone.
Upon seeing me she suddenly straightens her back and calms her face.
"Oh, your highness, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. What can I help you with?" Her voice is sickly sweet and full of falseness.
"I have just returned from the city. I need you to help the maids prepare me some clean clothes and a bath. I would also like you to get me something to eat, I'm famished," I tell her with a broad smile.
I see her smile drop ever so slightly. She gives a curtsy and says, "I will do it right away your highness."
I step aside allowing her to come out of the room and wait until she's out of sight.
I quietly open her bedroom door and slip inside. Looking around, I try and think fast about where she could have hidden the journal pages if she even still has them.
I go to her desk at the back of the room and begin opening drawers and sifting through papers. Since I can't find anything on the desk, the next best place would be the dresser or the bed. I go to bed and quickly check the blankets and mattresses. Where could she have puts those pages, she probably doesn't even have them anymore. Upon touching the pillows I hear a soft crinkling of paper. Exhilarated, I reach into the pillowcase and pull out a few folded up pieces of paper. Unfolding one of the papers, I know instantly that these are the journal pages by the commander's handwriting.
Sticking the papers in my pants, I leave Gwen's room and head into my own. In my own room, I pull the papers out of my pants and move them to my bra. As long as the pages are on me there's no chance of someone finding them.
Shortly after I've returned to my room, Gwen comes back with many maids in tow, who begin to make me a bath. When they're done, I settle into the water and relax. Now I just need to show these papers to Gregory and put them back before Gwen even realizes they're gone.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter don’t forget to like and comment.- Ray
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