Bellona (Part 1.5 of The Saskia Trilogy) by Aoife Marie Sheridan Read Free Book Online

covers her mouth, her eyes wide. She looks gray, a color I have never seen on anyone before, and I wonder if she dying. I hope not.
    “Guards, guards,” I call out, letting my voice screech through the barn, and it doesn’t take long for them to enter.
    “Arrest her.” I point at the girl and they don’t hesitate. I watch her mouth open and close like a fish, but I never look away from her, I want to soak up the horror that fills her eyes. I want to savour this satisfaction of finally being rid of this maid. She doesn’t attempt to speak, she knows there is no point and they take her from the barn.
    “My Lady, will I get the Queen?”
    I look at the guard sharply. “The Queen?” I question, trying to keep as much irritation as possible from my voice.
    “Yes, my lady, you have been attacked,” he states, at his words the stinging grows worse, or maybe I just have blocked the pain until now. He waits for my response as I assess him, wondering is he one of my mother’s personal guards? They don’t wear different uniforms from the others, so I am not sure. It is something I must observe in the future.
    “No, I will inform the queen myself,” I say, not meaning a word of it.
    “May I escort you to your chambers, my lady?”
    I don’t want him near me, but if I have just been attacked I would most certainly not walk around by myself. I smile; actually if I had really been attacked, the servant would be dead right now. I would never have let her walk away alive. It doesn’t take long to reach my chambers, where two maids stand waiting. I glance at the guard who has escorted me here; he must have sent word ahead that I needed tending to. But that also tells me he has sent word to my mother.

Chapter Seven
                                                            Mother
     
    I wake to find my mother in my room. She watches me carefully and I find my body frozen under her ice cold gaze. Her being here isn’t good. I don’t dare move or even speak but hold still trying to calm my erratic heartbeat.
    Annoyance flickers across her hard face. “Get up, don’t lie there looking so pathetic.” Her words cause my face to flame and I jump from the bed. Her lips are almost invisible with how rigid she holds them. Her eyes hold a warning. “Get dressed, sweet daughter.” There is no sweetness in her words, only hate.
    I get dressed quickly, dread pools in my stomach and my hands shake as I close all the buttons on my dress. I have just finished placing a shawl over my shoulders from the chill of the early morning when we leave my chambers. My mother takes me to an abandoned part of the castle and trepidation unfurls deep inside me. This isn’t good, it never is when I am alone with her.  She has never physically hurt me, but her punishment always seems worse than my fathers. We stop at a single door and she glances at me before pushing it open, nothing in her hard eyes gives anything anyway. I step through, hearing the click of the door closing behind me. My confusion spreads as the maid who had flirted with Nierra stands in the middle of the room, wearing the beautiful red dress that I had worn for my birthday. She looks striking in it, her face is powered, her hair in an elaborate up-style, but her eyes tell me so much more; she is terrified, a slight tremble seems to rock through her body. What has my mother done to her? And why is she in my dress?
    My mother moves beside me. “Isn’t she something, Bellona? Her beauty takes my breath away.” Her words are intended to hurt me, but I try to see past them. So I don’t answer, but my silence doesn’t stop my mother from continuing her verbal assault on me.
    “The guard that spent the night with her says her flesh is tender and to the touch is like that of a new born baby. She has no blemishes, just perfection.” Now my mother moves to the maid who stands frozen. She doesn’t even blink, I wonder if she is