Lost Royalty

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In small villages, such as Grea, news spreads like wildfire. Any small event that is even in the slightest bit interesting will be getting retold at every store, in every home and around every table, within an hour of it happening. It was actually quite impressive how quickly the tiniest piece of gossip could reach even the most secluded houses.

It didn't take long for the news of the king's representative's visit to be heard by almost every single person living in Grea. It was a very uncommon event to have a visit from someone working for the royal family, so rumours as to what he was doing travelled around.

The news of Oscar Paveys visit reached the ears of Elle Winters only a few hours after he had left.

It was, perhaps, her lack of social interactions that prevented her from hearing the news earlier. It wasn't until her Pa arrived home with a deep warning for her.

Elle was standing by the kitchen table chopping some carrots when her Pa stormed in, slamming the already fragile door in the process. This action meant that the whole building shook, and floor echoed from wall to wall.

Elle dropped her knife in shock and was very lucky when it landed inches away from her foot , when it so nearly hit her. She picked it up in embarrassment before placing it carefully back in the centre of the counter.

Mr Winters marched up to Elle and shoved her roughly against the door and held her in place. His eyes were filled with anger and an unreadable expression that she couldn't quite comprehend. It looked almost like fear, but Elle shook off the thought and dismissed it to the back of her mind. His breath smelt like alcohol and it was all that Elle could do not to gag.

Elle's breathing began to grow heavier, and only at that point did Mr Winters realise that his grip was too tight, and released his hold a fraction.

"You've heard the news, I suppose?" he asked in a stern voice, shaking her slightly in the process.

"What news?" she asked him with wide eyes and a quiet voice. She truly had no idea of any news.

"Don't lie to me, girl. The news about the royal's representative visiting Grea." He was beginning to get angrier with her.

"What? What's he doing here?"

"I don't know, but I absolutely forbid you to go anywhere near him. Those men are bad news!" he yelled, rage replacing any other emotions, as he gripped her slightly tighter.

Elle wasn't sure why he was being so forceful or rough. Never before had the presence of someone caused him to go so crazy.

"Why?" she asked, her voice coming out like a quiet whisper.

"I don't need a reason. If I even see you anywhere near him you will get a punishment worse than ever. Now don't disobey me," he yelled, his breath hot in Elle's face.

With one last shove she fell into the wall as he retreated to his office.

Elle didn't realise how much she was shaking or quite how heavily she was breathing until she was outside in the cold air.

She needed to escape, and taking a walk seemed like the best idea.

It was early evening and the sun was about to set so Elle decided to walk up a small hill close to the bookshop to watch the sun go down.

It was a very beautiful place, looking over woodland in one direction and their beautiful village in the other.

No one else was ever on the hill as everyone thought that the best place to watch the sunset was from a different hill closer to the centre of the village.

The hill was one place that she could hide from her Pa, so whenever she was there she felt a sense of freedom.

It was her thinking place.

It was only a short walk, but the steep hill caused her to quickly become breathless. Her lungs were weak from lack of exercise and the constant inhalation of dust in the bookstore.

The colours of the sky were beginning to change, so Elle walked over to a big oak tree and sat down on the ground, leaning against the trunk. She wrapped her arms around herself, only now realising that in her rush she had forgotten her jacket.

Elle had no idea why her Pa was so angry at hearing about the visit from the King's representative. But she knew that it must be serious as he usually wouldn't become violent unless it was something really significant.

She knew that she would have to stay far away from the man. She couldn't risk it to find out what was happening.

It was times like this that Elle wished that she had a mother to share her problems with. Or even a sibling who she could talk to. But she was all alone, and feeling it.

There had been several times when Elle had thought about running away, but it seemed too impossible to actually do. She would just be found by a guard somewhere and dragged back to her Pa. And he would be even harsher towards her. She would have even more rules and be trapped even more than she already was.

Elle could see the lights from the village. The lanterns were being lit and the village was beginning to become lighter than it's surroundings.

The sun was almost fully set, and a heavy chill had reached her, so she got up from her place of freedom and wandered down the hill and back to the small house. Back to the prison that she had to live in. And back to the unexplained rules that she had to obey.

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