ANGUIS

Chapter 2

Duo - Chapter II

"Why did you kill that man's chickens?"

Silence falls upon them as the thief stares at her own interlocked hands resting on top of the marble table. Her expression is neautral and she hasn't said anything since they sat down in this room. The Queen chose Deris, the best councilor in town, to interrogate Karlie. She stands behind him, her icy blue eyes directed at the woman in front of them.

"I don't know," Karlie replies, pursing her lips as soon as she finished talking. Taylor swallows an annoyed sigh as she clenches her jaw tightly; she knows the girl is lying and it's driving her insane.

"You're not helping us," Deris says calmly. "If you tell us the truth, the consequences will be less harsh," he adds, raising one of his brows.

Karlie looks up at him blankly and then her eyes lock with the Queen's, but her expression doesn't change. "I don't want to tell the truth," she says with almost too much confidence.

"Ma'am-"

"Fine," Taylor interrupts him. She can't waste time. "Put her behind the bars. She will stay there until further notice," she finishes. With that, she swiftly exits the interrogatory and leaves the two alone. Her heart is hammering against her chest as if it wants to break free, and her surroundings are beginning to blur rapidly. She quickly ascends the stairs leading up to her bedroom, and as soon as she's alone, she leans back against the locked door of the chamber. She shuts her ocean blue eyes and takes a deep breath. Why am I feeling this way?, she asks herself, while a drop of sweat trickles down her temple. Karlie looks so damn familiar; the way she carries herself, her jade green eyes, the way she apologetically looks at Taylor as if she's done something to her in the past. But what did she do? If she's done something to her, then why can't Taylor remember her despite knowing her name?

Then, someone knocks on her door.

She flinches slightly, stepping away, saying with a trembling voice, "Who is it?"

"Ma'am, it's Timothy," her personal servant's voice is muffled. He doesn't open the door until Taylor sighs and does it herself. The guy is shyly looking up at her, his hands linked behind his back. "Deris was worried about you. He asked me to go look for you and check if you were okay,"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asks, furrowing her brow. Timothy shrugs, not meeting her curious gaze. "Never mind," she exhales deeply, glancing quickly at the hallway behind her servant. "I'll talk to him. You can go," she finishes, closing the door before he could even answer her. She leans her forehead against the wooden door and takes a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. Today isn't a good day, apparently. She doesn't know for how long she stands there, doing nothing. The only thing she knows is that, as soon as she opens the door to go look for Deris, she finds him in front of her, but he's not alone.

"M'lady," he starts before she could ask something. "Since the defendant doesn't want to admit anything--"

"I said that I don't want to talk with you," Karlie interrupts him, and Taylor looks at the two with suspicious eyes. The tall girl eyes the back of his head coldly, and she seems a different person; her jade green eyes unfriendly, sharp cheekbones and pursed lips.

"Well, she--"

"I want to speak with the Queen," she adds swiftly, her eyes meeting Taylor's. As soon as the tall girl lays her eyes on the blonde, however, her feautures soften, and the ghost of a smile makes its way on her face. "alone." she finishes, clearing her throat uncomfortably. Deris stares up at her quizzically.

"Deris," The Queen says calmly. "Could you leave us alone, please?"

The councilor nods quickly, moving away from the two girls. The blonde tries not to play with her fingers as nervousness sets in. "Follow me," she states, walking away from her bedroom. Her shoulder brushes with Karlie's, and a strange tingle spreads throughout her bones. Nevertheless, she ignores it with elegance and leads the way to the nearest empty room of her castle. When Karlie closes the door safely behind her, she clenches her jaw tightly, staring blankly at the tall girl, waiting for her to begin. "What did you want to say to me?" she asks with a neutral tone.

Karlie looks down at her feet, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. "I'm sorry," she says.

"For what?" Taylor asks puzzled. She expected explenations, not apologies.

The girl stares at her with slightly parted lips, before shutting it completely. "I killed that man's chicken because I was obliged," she confesses, seeming distant. "I've done a lot of unfair things in the past because someone told me to," she adds darkly. A shiver runs down Taylor's spine at that, however, she doesn't know why. Maybe it was the tone Karlie used, or maybe it was just the word past that brought lots of painful memories back.

"Who?" Taylor asks quietly.

"I'm not one of you. Technically, you're not even my Queen, but I wish you were, actually," Karlie replies. "You will probably kill me after I tell you who I am, so I will just keep my mouth shut for now. I will confess who I am when the right time comes," she explains softly. Taylor's eyes are full of confusion, and the tall girl knows that the Queen probably has a lot of questions right now.

"What do you mean you're not one of us? You're not an Anguis?" Taylor questions, tilting her head to the side.

"No, I'm not," she replies. "I'm..." she trails off, her eyes darting between the blonde's face and the tiled floor. "I can't tell you, I'm really sorry,"

"Please," The Queen interrupts her, raising one of her hands and averting her gaze. "Stop apologizing. It won't change anything," she finishes. She has a lot of questions, but she knows Karlie won't be able to give her answers. Not yet. "So, what did you want to tell me? Apart from this, obviously,"

"I..." Karlie narrows her eyes, opening her mouth various times only to close it afterwards. She stares at the blonde's feautures for a long time, before whispering slowly, "You really don't recognize me?"

Taylor widens her eyes, not expecting this inquiry. She's caught off guard, as she looks at the girl's familiar green eyes, but nothing comes to her mind. "Should I?" she asks timidly. Karlie purses her lips, thinking about it, before shaking her head slowly. The Queen nods, before breaking the silence once again, saying, "Did you want to tell me anything else?" the tall girl shakes her head once more. "Then, you have a dungeoun waiting just for you," Taylor adds coldly. She opens the door of the room and quickly calls the nearest jailer. "Take her to her cell,"

The man nods, and grabbing the girl's elbow, he drags her down the stairs as the blonde watches them intently and thinks about Karlie's words over and over again.