Chapter 170: Reflections...
[ Skarthheim territories - the dressing chamber]
Autumn sat before a mirror with its edges gilded in ivy shaped carvings, flecked with the wear of time... in absolute silence. Her reflection flickering gently with the dancing torchlight.
A soft wind whispered through the open windows of the stone tower chamber, carrying with it the scent of meat roasting below and kerosene... they were getting the field ready for the performance.
Autumn’s younger maid hummed a soft melody as her fingers worked through Autumn’s wild curls, weaving in delicate forest flowers, tiny skull beads, and glimmering green threads.
Autumn’s dress shimmered with forest motifs, twisting vines, dark roses, and faintly glinting bones. It clung to her like a second skin...feral, yet regal...should have been but not quite strange.
She looked like something born of a hunt in the moonlight. An ancient forest queen with a crown of rot and bloom... A perfect metaphor to her existence.
"You look so beautiful tonight, My Lady," the maid whispered, securing another pin.
Autumn smiled faintly. "Do I?"
"Yes, of course.You are always so beautiful.But tonight you look like something the woods dreamt up," the girl giggled.
But Autumn’s smile faded. Her eyes, half lidded with thoughts she couldn’t recognise, caught something in the mirror...just behind her, near the open window. A flicker. A shadow.
Her hand stilled.
The maid didn’t notice and continued braiding the last few strands, but Autumn’s eyes narrowed, staring beyond the glass.
There it was again.
A face.
Half hidden.
Masked.
And those eyes...watching her.
Strangely, she didn’t scream. Didn’t jump. Didn’t even move.
Her gaze simply locked with his through the mirror.
Then, with eerie calm, she rose and turned.
The movement of her green skirts barely made a whisper. She approached the window slowly, her bare feet making no sound against the stone.
She leaned slightly forward.
"Freak?" Her voice was soft. Curious. Neither afraid...nor accusing. "What are you doing here?"
Kieran clung to the outer edge of the window sill, half crouched,half hanging, his mask casting deep shadows across his face. His breath was steady, but his body tense. He didn’t answer.
When she questioned him, he didn’t look at her.
Instead, his eyes slid sideways...towards the maid who was also walking up to the window.
"Oh!" the girl gasped and immediately rushed forward. "Oh my...what a fool! By the Ancestors, Princess...I am so sorry!"
She extended her hands to Kieran for him to climb up. "He’s mine...I mean he is my man," she stammered, tugging him inside. "He probably just came to see me! I...I am so sorry...he doesn’t speak. Can’t hear properly either. A bit touched in the head... you know?"
Kieran stepped into the chamber, casting her a glare that could have split stone. The urge to rip her tongue out pulsed behind his eyes...but he couldn’t. Not now in front of Autumn. His cover depended on it.So he played along.
Autumn hadn’t moved from the window.
"Oh?" she murmured, tilting her head. "Your man? I see." There was this edge of discomfort in her voice.
Even so,she smiled...barely. Something unreadable flickered in her expression as she turned and walked back to the mirror, her eyes following Kieran through the reflection.
The maid giggled nervously and clutched Kieran’s arm.
"You couldn’t wait to see me, huh?" she cooed, pressing herself against him. "You are quite the romantic, climbing walls for me.Gosh! I didn’t know that! " She giggled, poking Kieran.
Kieran’s jaw clenched. His teeth ground together.
He yanked his hand from hers, gritting silently.
But his eyes never left Autumn.
And hers never left his reflection.
The girl, however, seemed clueless. She pressed her breasts against Kieran’s arms, literally trying to rub them, while she tip-toed wishing to steal a kiss... when...
"Ahem. Ahem!" Autumn’s voice rang through the room, a little clipped. "Can you please come finish doing my hair? I don’t want to miss the show downstairs."
The maid jumped. "Yes! Yes, My Lady! Of course. So sorry!"
She grabbed Kieran by the wrist and began pulling him out of the room. "I will see him out immediately, Your Grace!"
Once outside the door, she pressed herself against him again, rubbing his arm in slow strokes. "Good luck with your little act, lover boy," she whispered, her voice dripping. "Let’s give you that ’treat’ after, shall we?"
She leaned in, trying to seal that kiss for real this time. But Kieran turned away, barely stopping himself from slapping the shit out of that whore, settling only with a low grunt...and stalking off down the corridor.
The maid stayed behind, closing her eyes, breathing him in.
Once Kieran had disappeared down the corridor, the maid leaned back against the wall, her cheeks flushed, her breath shaky.
She touched the place where his hand had been.
"Fuck..." she whispered to herself, her fingers sliding down the front of her bodice. "This one really is so wild..."
She bit her lower lip, eyes glazing as she stared down the corridor where he vanished.
Then she giggled quite breathless...and whispered to the air, "Damn! I would let him pin me to the floor right here... wouldn’t even care who watched..."
Her hand drifted down further, smoothing over her thigh, bunching her skirt just a little. "He could ruin me... tie me up...make me beg for mercy... or not. Just take it."
She swallowed, still trembling. "Freak, huh?" She licked her lips. "I want every freaking inch of you..."
Then with a final dreamy sigh, she straightened her dress, pressed her hands to her flushed cheeks, and whispered one last time...
"Tonight. After the performance. You are mine.Mmm... you smell so delicious...I can’t wait to feel you inside...hhmm, that would be heaven,Freak! Shit! I didn’t even ask your name, did I?"
Back in the chamber, Autumn sat still in front of the mirror. Her lips pursed. Her fingers fidgeted with a folded piece of handkerchief.
She unfolded it.
Then folded it again.
Then unfolded it again.
And kept repeating.
Why couldn’t she focus?
Why did the room suddenly feel too small?
Why did she want to run after the freak? Was she so impatient for his performance?
She glanced up into the mirror one more time.
His reflection was long gone.
But her own...looked far too unsettled.