Bedeviled

Chapter 6

Blinking my eyes open, I felt the searing agony of my hangover course through my head. I shoved my face into my pillow and groaned.

"Duchess? Can I help you with anything?" A soft feminine voice said. I let out a muffled groan again in response. All I wanted was to go back to sleep but my body wasn't seeming to let that happen.

I heard two feminine voices whispering to each other, their word inaudible. The bed sunk in next to me and a hand rested on my shoulder.

"Vienna, sit up darling." Aunt Mallory's voice rang out next to me. I sat up reluctantly and rubbed my eyes. "Drink this" She handed me a glass of something. I gulped down the funny-tasting liquid and closed my eyes again.

"It's not that bad, I just need to get up and moving," I said. My hangover truly wasn't that bad, I think I was just exhausted from what happened last night. My eyes shot open, "Do you know where grandma is?" I asked aunt Mallory suddenly.

"She's finishing breakfast I believe," She responded. I hopped up quickly and ran to the bathroom to bathe myself. "Your breakfast is sitting here" She called to me, referring to the tray of food on the nightstand.

The bath felt amazing on my body, waking me up just as I thought it would. I clothed myself and scarfed down the half the breakfast waiting for me and ran out of the room.

I passed several workers, asking them where Queen Helena was. I got the same response from all of them, she was in the sun room doing work.

I knocked on the door before peeking my head in. Grandma was sitting in one of the chairs reading through letters of reports from other provinces.

"Grandma, is now a good time to chat?" I asked respectively.

She looked up to me, "Of course Vienna, come in."

The sunlight shined brightly from the large windows, lighting up the room in a golden hue. This was the Queen's favorite room to read and do work in.

She set her papers on the table next to her and looked up at me tentatively, ready to listen.

"Something happened again," I said lowly, avoiding her eye.

"When, last night?" She questioned.

"Yes," I said, my voice becoming stiff as I remembered the way it looked at me.

"What did it look like?"

"Well, I only saw its eyes. It chased me up the stairs and down the hall of the east wing of the apartments. Once I got to Christian's-" I paused for a moment thinking if I should tell her this part or not. "Once I got to Christian's room it was gone." I finished.

"What color were they? The eyes, I mean." Her eyes squinted at me.

"Red." She smiled at this, leaning back in her chair. I looked at her in confusion. This was a terrifying event and I couldn't see how she would think it was amusing.

"Remember when I told you about the demons?" She looked lost in thought, looking off in the distance.

"Yes, I do. Grandmother, how do you know it's a... how do you know that's what it is?" I didn't want to say the word demon. If that's truly what it was, I didn't want to provoke it any more than I already had.

"I was in love with one once." Her face turned stoic, still staring off somewhere.

"The Prince Conso-"

"No, no, not your grandfather. I said I was in love with one once." She corrected me. This seemed to break her from her trance. My mouth was agape as I looked at her. "Well, he was something else before he became what he is now. I was a little younger than your age when I first met him. I was at the summer home, visiting with my mother. I found him wandering in the gardens one late afternoon. He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen, and the most naked." She chucked to herself.