Secrets in the Shadows

Chapter Nine

Kramer parked the car in front of a beautiful stone cottage. He turned and looked at Maev and noticed that she was sleeping. He hesitated before he reached out and touched her lightly on her arm but she didn't wake up. He opened the door and the instance he stood up outside in the cold night, he could sense that he was being watched. The darkness and mist which surrounded the area didn't allow him to see much, but his senses had never let him down. He quickly grabbed his thick coat on the back seat of the car and a blanket. He walked around to Maev's side of the car and opened the door. He placed the blanket on her before he bent and picked her up in his arms.

As he lifted her up, Maev slowly opened her eyes and when she noticed that Kramer was carrying her she softly asked him to put her down.

" We are being watched, so for your good pretend that we are just a normal married couple!", Kramer whispered with a serious tone close to her ear.

Maev's body froze not only from the cold weather but also from what Kramer’s tone. His voice sounded serious which meant that he didn’t like the fact that they were being observed.

" Who could be watching us? And why?!", she whispered back.

Kramer looked at her but he didn't reply as he walked up the stairs towards the cottage. Maev realized that Kramer had covered her with a blanket and she glanced up at his face, maybe he does a have ... she silently said to her herself.

Kramer placed her down when they reached the door of the cottage, as he stood by her side he grabbed one of her hands. Maev looked down at his hand over hers and then looked at him. The door to the cottage opened and a short woman greeted them, speaking to Kramer in a language that Maev couldn't understand. Kramer walked into the house still holding her hand and as soon as the door closed behind them he quickly let go of her hand and walked up the stairs. He stopped when he reached the top of the stairs and to instruct the maid to take Maev to her bedroom.

The maid shyly smiled at her as she asked her to follow her. They walked down a large corridor and as they reached the end of the corridor the maid opened a door revealing a small bedroom. Maev walked into the bedroom and looked around, the place though was small it was comfortable and even had its own bathroom. Probably one of the maid's rooms, Maev thought as she was left alone.

She sat down on the bed pulling the blanket tightly around her. She glanced towards the small fireplace, stood up, and walked towards it. Maev knelt, grabbed a piece of paper that was close to the fireplace, crushed it, and place it underneath the logs. She grabbed the matchbox and lit one of the matches and placed it close to the piece of paper, as soon as the matches touched the paper it flamed up.Soon the woods were burning and heat filled up the small room. Maev sat on the floor in front of the fireplace staring at the flame.

She could have easily lit the fire with her magic, but as soon as she entered the place she could feel that it was exactly like back in the Kingdom. She wouldn't be allowed to use her spells or magic except her healing gifts if needed. A soft knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she turned to see the maid walking in with her bag which she placed by the bed and without a word or a glance at her , the maid walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Maev walked out of the bedroom and down the corridor. She could hear Kramer speaking, she increased her pace and walked into the sitting room to find him putting on his long coat and headed towards the front door.

" You are leaving me here?", she asked with a serious tone. She quickly regretted asking him that as he turned and looked at her with a serious face.

" Ulia is here, so you are not alone", Kramer answered as he buttoned his coat not paying much attention to her. Maev turned and glanced at the maid who shyly smiled at her. Maev turned her attention towards the sound of the door opening. He is leaving me here alone with this person that I don't even know and according to him we are being watched ...Maev silently said to herself as anger swirled inside her and she clenched her hands.

"You haven't answered my question yet, who could be out there Kramer?", Maev asked taking a few steps towards him.

Kramer stood in the doorway looking in her direction, the chilled wind coming from outside made Maev shiver. Kramer stepped out into the darkness, he turned and briefly glanced at Maev, but he didn't answer her question. Instead, he closed the door and he was gone.

" Great! What did I expect from him ... nothing.. absolutely nothing ", Maev angrily said as she stared at the front door. No matter how upset she was, staring at the door wouldn't do her any good. It wasn't like that door will open and that arrogant King would walk in and apologize for leaving her standing there as if she was invisible and start having a proper conversation with her.

" Ma'am diner is ready, I'll put it on the dining table", the maid said breaking the awkward silence.

Her stomach reminded her that she should be happy to hear the word food. That was probably the reason why she passed out this morning, since she got to the Bloodworth castle she haven’t had a proper meal.Maev quietly followed the maid into the dining area." Do you know where Kramer is going?", Maev asked the maid as she placed the food on the table.The maid glanced at her, she hesitated before she softly answered," Ma’am, the master has to feed".Maev knew what she was referring to and she didn't ask any more questions.

As she ate her dinner, Maev wondered if he will seduce a woman to feed on her blood and if he will make love to her as well. The thought almost made her choke on her food. She grabbed the glass of water and took a few sips from it to clear her airway. Why m am I thinking about him? Why should I care what he does or does not do, Maev asked herself.She glanced at her plate and for some reason, she had lost her appetite. She got up from the table and walked towards the windows. The maid walked in and asked her if she was done and she started to clear the table. No words were exchanged between the two women, the maid silently washed the dishes classifying them in their appropriate places and left after she was done. Maev stood there by the windows in silence, staring blankly outside into the darkness.

The more she stared into the cold night, the thought of escaping crossed her mind. Kramer was gone and she was all alone, the maid was nowhere to be found so the coast was clear. She remembered Kramer telling her that they were being watched and she wondered if he had told her that so that she wouldn't escape from this place. even if the thought frightened her but she had to take a chance and leave this place.

She hurried to her bedroom and grabbed her unpacked bag. She glanced around the room to find something which she could take outside to keep her warm. The thick blanket on the bed will have to do, Maev said as she wrapped it around her shoulders and it was big enough to cover her small body. She slowly walked down the corridor and stopped to listen if she could hear any movement. There was not a sound coming from anywhere inside the cottage. She walked to the front door and slowly opened it and quickly walked outside closing the door slowly behind her.

" Grrr..", she said when the cold wind touched against her skin and her feet. She didn't have time to grab one of those boots which were by the door, the only thing to do was to pray that she doesn't freeze to her death out here.

" Now, where do I go?", Maev said walking down the stairs.

She noticed that there was a big gate in front of the cottage. Maev hurried towards the gate, she smiled as she reached the gate and tried to push it open. Her smile faded when she noticed the chain and padlock around the gate. " Great just my luck!", she annoyingly said. She glanced back towards the cottage thinking that there's no way that she will be going back there. She walked towards the back of the cottage hoping that there will be some sort of way out from there. The surrounding of the cottage was big, it took her a while to reach what appeared to be a boundary wall. She walked towards the wall and noticed something shiny, she bent and to her surprise, she noticed that the whole place was fenced with a silver barrier. " Gosh, the whole place is fenced! There's no way out, I wouldn't even fit through the small gaps in between those silver wires!", Maev said and she turned around to walk back to the cottage when she noticed something close to the wall a few steps away from her. She slowly approached it and noticed that it was a small deer and it looked like it was in pain. She plopped her bag on the ground and approached the little animal. Meav bent down and gently touched it on its head.

At first, the deer was scared and tried to move away but then it calmed down when Maev gently caressed his neck. Maev noticed that he had badly hurt his leg, there were burn marks over his body. The silver barrier must have burned its leg, Maev thought. Did Kramer put this up to protect himself from the werewolves? Thought the Bloodworth wasn't scared of anything? Maev asked herself as she gently patted the poor animal.

Even if she was not supposed to use her gifts in the human world, but she wasn't going to listen to any rules. She wasn't going to let this poor animal suffer to his death out here in the cold. She closed her eyes and lifted her hands over the animal's leg and chanted softly the magic words. Slowly the burns on the deer's leg disappeared and it looked like it had never been hurt. The deer slowly pushed himself up onto its legs looking relieved that it could finally walk. It went straight towards the wires and Maev had to grab him to stop him from getting hurt again.

" You are coming with me until I could put you out into the woods safely", Maev said picking up the small animal and cradled him in her arms. She grabbed her bag and made her way back towards the front door. She gently stroked the deer's head as she softly spoke to it, part of her was glad that she now had a friend to share her room, it wouldn't be cold and lonely anymore. She couldn't be bothered that it could upset the King to have an animal in his house, she was not leaving this animal to die out there in the cold.

" What are you doing outside? ", she heard Kramer's angry voice from behind her and she froze.

She didn't turn around as she held the deer tightly in her arms.

" I asked you a question, what are you doing outside with your bag? Trying to escape again?", Kramer asked and she could feel the sarcasm in his voice.

She didn't answer as she hurried up the stairs as fast as she could. Within seconds Kramer was in front of her and she didn't even have time to grab the door handle." I asked you a question. Were you trying to escape Maev? And where do you think you are going with that animal?", Kramer asked pointing towards the deer.

Then his annoyed face suddenly turned into a serious one as he glanced towards the gate.

" Don't know who or why, but we are still being watched. I don't think it's a good idea to stay here. Let's hurry inside", Kramer said with a softer tone as he opened the door and Maev hurried inside the house.

Maev felt chills down her spine as she stood there in the sitting room holding the deer tightly in her arms. Kramer walked towards the windows and slightly pulled back the curtain. He scanned the area towards the gate and spotted some shadows standing on the opposite side of the road. He narrowed his eyebrows and Maev got more anxious when she saw the serious expression on his face.

" Did you see anything?", Maev asked anxiously.

Kramer looked at her and noticed that she looked scared. " I thought you were not afraid of anyone or anything! That's why you tried to escape again isn't that so?", Kramer asked with a sarcastic tone.

Maev shook her head she couldn't believe that at least for once they could have a decent conversation without Kramer being a cold-hearted brute! There was someone or something out there who was observing them for whatever reason and he is here showing his arrogance. How will I make this man treat me with respect when all he could see in front of him is an enemy…Maev said to herself as she glanced at Kramer who stood there looking at her with a serious face as he waited for her reply.