ANGUIS

Chapter 5

Quinque – Chapter V

Something is wrong.

Karlie knows this as soon as she steps in the kitchen for her fourth day. She doesn't know what exactly is wrong, and at first she tries to ignore the feeling at the pit of her stomach, pushing her intoxicating thoughts to the back of her mind, but it just won't go away. 

"Karlie, focus, please," Menis, the chef, says with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Could you pass me the salt?" he repeats. She meets his eyes, nodding her head vigorously as she hands him the seasoning he needed. "We have to hurry, the Queen is hungry," Menis chuckles, shaking his head lightly. Karlie just hums, too lost in her own thoughts to give him a proper reply.  

"What has gotten into you?" he asks, eyeing her skeptically as he finishes the dish he was preparing. 

"Nothing, sir," she replies, forcing a smile on her face. He doesn't dig further, having little time to talk to the tall girl, and exits the kitchen with the girl by her side. As soon as they enter the dining hall, the Queen is sitting comfortably at the head of the table, looking quiet perfect to the tall girl. Since she's discovered her not so little crush, she has been watching Taylor from a distance, admiring her gorgeousness and all of her curves. She realizes she has been missing her voice as soon as she starts talking to them. 

"Thank you Menis," she smiles politely in his direction, before looking over at Karlie with a smaller smile. "Thank you, Karlie," she adds quietly. Their eyes stay locked for longer than necessary, and the blonde is the first to look away. Since they don't have any reasons to stay there any longer, both of them go back to the kitchen, with the intent to clean the room.

Menis goes back to his room after confessing that he's too tired to clean an entire room, so he lets Karlie and the other assistant, Annis, alone. The tall girl starts to wash the dishes as the shorter man dryes them. He's painfully quiet, and a small frown is making its way on his face. Karlie doesn't think too much of it, since they aren't really great friends. However, she's surprised when his masculine voice fills the silence.

"I can't believe you're here," he mumbles, placing a glass on a shelf a little too harshly. Karlie furrows her brow in mild confusion while staring at his profile. "You shouldn't be here,"

"What are you talking about?" the tall girl questions, her voice calm and steady.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Karlie," he replies, locking eyes with her. They're hard, strong, and the tall girl doesn't actually know what he is saying.

"No, I don't," she replies, gaining confidence.  

He scoffs. "Stop acting like you're all nice. You are so fake! And I'm surprised nobody can see it," he exclaims, turning around and focusing completely on the stunned girl.

"Excuse me?" she whispers while pausing her work on the dishes. "What are you talking about?"

"You think I don't know what you did? I'm surprised that you talk freely to the Queen, since you basically ruined her life!" he says angrily, raising his voice slightly. She knows that if they'll end up arguing and yelling at each other, they will probably draw attention.

"Listen," she starts calmly. "I really don't understand. I really don't. So, please calm down and let's talk about this," she was about to place her hands on top of his shoulders, but he backs off quickly.

"Don't touch me, liar," he hisses, glaring at her with burning eyes. And then she understands; he recognized her. He knows what she did to Taylor. Oh, shit. She was about to tell him to not tell anyone, but then Taylor's angelic voice fills the thick silence of the kitchen.

"What is going on?" she asks, oblivious to the tension between the two. Karlie was about to tell her not to worry, but Annis anticipates her.

"What is she doing here?" he asks, pointing a finger in Karlie's direction.

"Um," Taylor starts, unsure. "She's doing what I told her to do. She's my servant," she replies quickly. Her hands are linked behind her small back, and her shoulder look tense, her jaw clenched.

"I know that," he groans frustrated. "Why is she here?"

"What do you mean?" Taylor asks, furrowing her brows.

"You don't recognize her?" Annis asks, incredulous. The Queen shakes her head, looking at Karlie up and down, trying to remember if she has seen her before, but nothing comes to her mind.

"It doesn't matter," Karlie mumbles, and suddenly her heart starts beating too fast, too loudly. She feels like she's trapped, like something bad is about to happen to her. "Annis..."

"No! Stop! You fucking killed her father and she needs to know!" he exclaims angrily, and Karlie can see Taylor's face fall and her hands going limp beside her hips. "She needs to know that you're the one that killed our King, and she needs to know that you're one of them!"

The tall girl ducks her head, and she doesn't even realize that two guardians entered the room. She doesn't want to look at Taylor's face. She doesn't want to see her hurt, to see her shocked feautures.

"Is it true?" Taylor's voice is trembling but full of confidence. Do I lie? Or do I tell her the truth? "Karlie, is that true?!" the Queen raises her voice. The tall girl stares at the blonde's feet as she nods her head slowly, tears forming in her closed eyes.

"Yes, it's true," she whispers, ready for the worst to happen.

"It was you?!" Taylor yells, pushing Karlie's shoulders, making the tall girl stumble. "You killed my father?! You're one of them?!" the blonde continues, hitting harshly the girl's chest.

"I'm sorry," Karlie mumbles, finally looking up at the broken girl in front of her. The Queen's eyes were watery, filled with grieved tears, but she didn't let them fall down yet.

Unexpectedly, Taylor's right hand flies across the room, landing perfectly on Karlie's left cheek. "How could you?!" the Queen exclaims angrily. "How could you not tell me? How?! I trusted you!"

"I know, I'm so sorry, Taylor," Karlie tries again, two tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, but the Queen didn't want to hear her apologies.

"Your sorry means nothing to me," Taylor whispers lowly, her words cutting Karlie like knives. The blonde sniffles, and as she turns her head to the side, looking at the two guards behind her, she orders, "Ger her out of here,"

And just like that, Karlie is being dragged away from Taylor in an istant.

A/N: drama 💀