Betrayal of the Heart

Chapter 27 He Knows

Arne walked over to the window of the room, not yet ready to leave. His eyes landed on a raven that sat on a tree branch just outside the window.
"Woah" he said leaning in closer to get a better look at it but it cawed and flew away. Arne smiled as he watched it fly away, hoping it was fate herself watching over him so she knew to bring that girl back to him. He returned to the party and drank happily, he looked to see if that girl was still there but she was not much to his disappointment. He scanned the room to see if he could spot Amelia but it seems she must have ducked out early. Arne shrugged his shoulders and continued to have a good night. The king had rooms for everyone so they could sleep after a long night of drinking.

Amelia pulled her furs closer to her body as she stepped out of the castle. She was tired and was ready to sleep in her own comfy bed. A raven fly by and landed in front if her. It's beady eyes stared at her with it's held tilted. A chill ran down Amelia's spine, 'this better not be a bad omen' she thought as she walked around it and started her journey home. The raven let out one final caw before it flew off into the night sky.

On that dark night, full moon in the sky the raven flew. Village after village it passed, going in a singular direction. Finally it reached it's home, the townsfolk below drunk and high in the dirty streets as the raven flew past. No one batted an eye at it as it passed. The raven flew through the town, up the hill to the dark foreboding manor in the distanced. Releasing a call to let his master know he was home as he flew to the throne and landed on the arm rest.
"Welcome home pet." The lord smiled happily, "and how is Amelia doing on her quest?".
The raven jumped off the arm rest and transformed into that of a woman in front of him.
"I feel like she has compromised the mission" The woman said kneeling in front of the lord.
"Oh?" He asked, not impressed.
"She has feelings for this mortal, I fear they have grown to close".
The lord sat there, tapping his long fingernail against the arm rest.
"My lord?" The woman asked getting a little restless.
"She always knew how to get through loop holes but it doesn't ruin the plan" The lord said, waving his hand to dismiss it.
"In fact I would think it adds an extra level of pain to them both. Him for murdering my wife and her for forgetting her place" the lord laughed.
"Keep an eye on them shapeshifter and cause trouble anywhere you see fit" The lord commanded. The woman bowed before him before leaving the lord sitting on the throne by himself.
"Hmmm... We may have to speed up the timeline a bit" he said, a little irritated.

The raven took off out of the mansion and into the night sky, back to the little homestead the two had built to keep an eye on them.

Amelia stood in their bedroom and untied her dress, folding it up gently and placing it back in the box she had been given. Before she put the lid on it she ran her fingers over the material, the silky emerald green dress she had worn earlier. With a sigh she placed the lid on the box and hid it deep in the closet before closing the door. She walked over to her mirror and watched as her hair slowly changed back to blonde, she would have to remember to go back to the fairies and thank them for giving her a potion to help let her get lost in the fantasy of the night. Laying on her bed she wondered if she would ever see the man she had met last night. The passion they shared between them was different then anything she had felt before. Her mind wandered to Arne for a split second before her face twisted into disgust, 'I can't wait to be rid of him' she thought as her hand went up to her collar. The potion had not only change how she looked but it hid the collar from view which was a nice reminder. 'That damn lord! I am so sick of this, I want to be done!' She thinks sitting up. But how? How could she get away from him with the damned collar that kept her at his beck and call. Once again Arne popped into her mind, but this time she wasn't angry about it.
"If he wants to be a hero.... I can make him that" she says, formulating a plan in her mind. All she would need to do was somehow get Arne on board which wouldn't be hard because his main focus was being a hero. Amelia smiled as she crawled into bed.
"Tomorrow... Tomorrow..." she mumbled as sleep slowly overcame her and she felt into a peaceful slumber.