ANGUIS

Chapter 18

Duodeviginti – Chapter XVIII

"Ma'am,"

"Leave me alone,"

"Ma'am, it's-"

"Just leave me the fuck alone!"

The wooden door of her bedroom closes behind her with a slam, and weakly she slides down to the floor, hugging her knees close to her chest. She feels like she's dying; a huge weight has been dropped on her chest and because of it she can't breathe properly.

Where was Karlie? If she wasn't in her city, then where was she? Was she lost? Hurt? Or was she in danger?

These were the questions that Taylor posed to her malfunctioning brain. She went to Lyrygul with the intent on finding Karlie, but that mission failed as soon as she and her army didn't find the brunette in her castle. Was she hiding? If so, where? The blonde needed to find her because she couldn't wait any longer. She needed to see her, to talk to her and find out the truth because she couldn't bear the thought that Karlie was a liar. She trusted her with her whole heart even though she was technically her enemy.

"Ma'am, please, it's really important," her servant's plead gets through the door faintly. Taylor sighs, closing her eyes when a tear threatened to escape.

"I want to be alone," she replies weakly. She knows that Deris, Timothy and all the others who saw her a few minutes ago are suspicious. Why would the Queen react this way? It was strange, and Taylor had to admit that to herself.

"There's this...letter you need to read. It's really, really important," Timothy says, his voice strong and authoritative. Taylor places her forehead against the palm of her hand, not wanting to open the door because of her stubbornness.

"Who is the sender?"

"The letter is anonymous, m'lady," Timothy replies uneasily. This catches her attention; her eyes widen and her lips part slightly. An anonymous? She doesn't know what makes her get up from the ground. She doesn't know what makes her open the door and face the uncomfortable looking man. He hands her the piece of paper stained with ink shakily, not meeting her glassy blue eyes. He doesn't dare to open his mouth and he isn't offended when the Queen shuts the door two seconds later.

Taylor pads towards her bed, sitting on it because she feels like her legs are like jello in this moment. She opens the folded letter and reads it slowly.

[ "Clear out your city and run away with your people. You're in grave danger." ]

She can't believe what she's reading. Who wrote this? How can someone know this? Anger quickly floods through her veins; maybe this was a joke. Maybe somebody was making fun of her. This day couldn't get any worse, she thinks as soon as someone knocks the door. "Who is it?" she asks with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. She gets up and when the door opens she's not surprised to find an exhausted version of Deris in front of her.

"Karlie's parents are asking for you," he affirms with a nod. He casts a quick glance at the piece of paper in Taylor's hands, but doesn't say anything about it. The Queen nods and before exiting her bedroom, she throws the letter in the trash withouth thinking twice: however, she will soon find out that this was a mistake that will cost her life. 

//////////////////////////////

"So, Karlie was not there? She wasn't in Lyrygul?"

"No, we didn't find her. We searched for her everywhere. I'm sorry,"

A pained look makes its way onto both of the couple's faces and Taylor clenches her jaw at the sight. It was her fault if she didn't find the taller brunette. After all, she had promised them that she would have found Karlie. 

"Where can we find her?" the man speaks after a thick silence. 

"We can't possibly know where she is," Taylor replies. "We don't know where to look for her," she adds, tilting her head to the side while staring at them with sympathetic smile. Her mind suddenly goes back to what happened in the Forbidden Forest; to the person that saved her life in the blink of an eye. The face of her saviour had been covered, but Taylor had seen those green eyes already. As if they belonged to Karlie. As if that person was actually Karlie. But if that person was really the tall brunette, then that would mean that Karlie had saved her life. That person couldn't have been Karlie. Taylor was just imagining things, again.

"What can we do, then?" the wife asks desperately. "I want to see my baby," she finishes. The nickname stings the Queen's heart, because Karlie was everything but a baby.

"I don't know," Taylor replies, sighing. "We will just have to wait. Maybe..." she trails off, because she knows that what she was about to say was not true.

However, Karlie's mother finishes the sentence for her. "Maybe she will come back," she says with a hopeful smile, grasping her husband's forearm tightly, looking at him with misty eyes. Taylor's throat burns too much for her liking, and she would like to excuse herself to the bathroom, but fortunately Deris interrupts their conversation.

"We hope she will come back," he begins. "We will be happy for you if she will come back,". These are the words that Taylor can't hear; tears threaten to spill from her eyes and she quickly exits the room before it's too late. She walks for nearly two minutes before her back collides with the cold wall of a long and empty corridor, sobs slipping past her lips as if they were autumn leaves falling on the ground. She grips her shoulders tightly, hoping to ground herself but in vain.

Right in this moment, she wishes Karlie could be here with her, holding her as she falls apart. "I miss you," she finds herself whispering after a while, her voice hoarse. This was the problem; she misses Karlie. She knows she shouldn't, because it was wrong, but it felt so right at the same time. She's in love with the taller brunette, and she whishes she could just hate her now. Hate her for leaving too soon. Hate her for letting her fall for her. Hate her for everything, for being so perfect without even trying, but she just couldn't. She loves Karlie too much.

"M'lady?"

Taylor quickly wipes her tears away from her puffy cheeks, embarassed that she has been caught crying. She isn't surprised to see Timothy staring at her with a sorrowful look on his face. "Tim, what are you doing here?" she asks between soft hiccups, the nickname falling past her lips before she could stop it. This was the second time that her servant had caught her crying.

"I was just worried about you and went looking for you, so here I am," he replies sweetly. Taylor lets out a soft giggle, happy to have someone like Timothy by her side. 

"Thank you for worring about me, Timothy," she says quietly. "But I'm okay. Don't worry about me,"

The servant nods, but a curious pout is still on his face, and the Queen just hopes that he isn't about to ask what she's thinking. "I just...why are you crying?" he questions carefully. 

"It doesn't matter," she replies, her eyes now dry and red. "You don't have to know,"

"Is this about Karlie? Do you...miss her?" he asks timidly.

"I..."  she laughs lightly, not knowing what to say. "It's just - sometimes it hurts to love someone you shouldn't love, Tim," 

He smiles sadly and Taylor walks up the stairs that lead to her bedroom with the man by her side. She whishes him goodnight, and she didn't know she needed a hug until they shared one before parting ways. She falls asleep as soon as her head is placed against the pillow, green eyes and a bright smile at the forefront of her mind. However, that same night, she wakes up to the sounds of people screaming and windows cracking. Her heart stops beating as soon as she looks out the window:

Anadea was under attack.