Meet Me in the Hallway

seven

seven

"It's the unknown that draws people."
- E.A. Bucchianeri

Ivette would not stop staring at me once I returned to the kitchen, her worried eyes never leaving my flustered appearance. I had trouble following instructions on what to chop, boil, and clean. Cassius' eyes haunted my mind, the searing jade burned into the back of my brain. He stared with such an intensity it made me want to cower away in the corner like a child being disciplined.

I had not expected him to be so intense and overbearing from such a quick interaction. He had been sleeping with a woman seconds before I came into his room, and yet he was quick to push the thoughts of her from his mind and focus on me. It terrified me.

"Ma chérie, take a break. Go take a walk outside and clear your head. I can sense you need a minute to yourself." Ivette's voice rang in my eyes and in my daze I nodded before setting my knife down and walking towards the back door.

The fresh snow from the morning still littered the ground, blocking out the sounds from the earth. I found myself following a well-used trail of boot prints through the snow, curious as to where it led. As I rounded the building and saw the trail led to the stables, that were seemingly empty minus the horses of course. When I was younger I absolutely adored horses, I always felt drawn to them. My parents let me ride a few times, but once I started to get older they chastised me, saying it wasn't ladylike.

I forced open the gate to the stables and walked through, taking quick glances at the dozens of horses that were locked away. A restless midnight black horse caught my attention at the other end of the stables and I made my way towards it. The horse stared at me, flaring its nostrils at my presence. I raised a hand to it, trying to prove I wasn't a danger to the poor animal. The large creature lowered its head to my hand and allowed me to stroke the long flowing mane that rested atop their head.

"Hey! What're you doing?" a voice called from the other end of the building, pulling me out of my trance.

"I, uh, nothing," I sputtered idiotically, my extensive vocabulary leaving my brain the moment I was caught doing something I wasn't supposed to, in a building I wasn't supposed to be in.

The person came closer, and once they were within my view I relaxed. "Olivier, you scared me!" I blurted, crossing my arms over my chest angrily.

"Oh, Zosia. I didn't even realize it was you," he admitted. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," I sighed, waving him off. I shouldn't have been in here anyway.

"What're you doing here?"

"I needed a breath of fresh air, and I found myself in here," I shrugged, hoping he didn't press me for more information.

"S'everything alright?" his sapphire eyes held concern, a feeling I wasn't used to in my lifetime. It felt so foreign to me: people genuinely caring about my well-being.

"Yeah," I sighed deeply. "Just trying to get used to this life y'know."

He nodded along, understanding the stress of a new environment and a new job. I was glad when he didn't question me about my day any further. I wasn't sure I would even be able to explain it given the chance anyway. Cassius confused me more than most, and although I was afraid of his reputation, I still felt drawn to him.

"You like horses?" he asked, sensing that we needed a change of conversation. I pushed away my thoughts of Cassius, smiling up at the magnificent stallion that stood in front of me. I reached my hand upwards to stroke its mane once again and nodded in response to Olivier.

"When I was a little girl I would beg my father to let me ride, and a few times he actually agreed to it." I smile at the memory, one of the few happy ones I have of my father. "But once I got old enough to be considered for marriage, he refused to let me out to the stables. He would complain that I wouldn't be able to attract a proper suitor with such boyish hobbies."

"That sounds awful. I couldn't imagine not being able to ride a horse. M'lucky enough I get paid to do it daily. I gotta exercise the horses, when the nobles aren't using them." Olivier sympathized with me for a moment, and I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging. I had been understood for one of the first times in my life, and I never wanted this feeling to perish.

"This horse is absolutely gorgeous," I muttered, stroking him once more, loving the way his silky strands felt between my fingers.

"You know whose horse this is?" he asked and I shook my head. "He belongs to Cassius." My hand seized halfway through the animal's mane, and my entire body froze for a moment.

"How can such a beautiful creature belong to such an ugly man?" I questioned aloud, and Olivier let out a harsh laugh beside me.

"Because he has the money, my dear. When you have wealth like the duke does, you can even get away with murder," He said, his tone turning serious as he uttered the last word. A shiver racked through my body, the double meaning of his statement slicing apart my sense of security. "Enough about him though. Your lips are turning blue, I think it's time we get you back inside," Olivier suggests sincerely, sensing my discomfort at the mention of the duke. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and walked by my side out of the stables and down the trail.

Although I should have felt safe in that moment, I had the strange inkling that I was being watched. I glanced upwards towards the château, Olivier's arm still around me, and I saw the unmistakable figure of the man I feared the most standing in his window, gazing down at me with a hard expression plastered on his unforgettable face.