"Are we there yet?" I asked Edmund eagerly while peering out of the carriage window. Outside, I could see thick pine forests and grey skies, starkly different to the warm blue skies of the south. I could hear the crashing waves, and the air smelled strongly of the salty sea. It was oddly beautiful, but it was also very cold.

"It's not very far from here, Annie. We'll reach there soon," Edmund replied swiftly. "Button up your coat, as it will be very windy there."

I was excited to live at Blytherock Castle, but I also felt disappointed that we were not going to live in Sterling Castle instead. I was the Duchess of Cindertrappe now, but I did not even live there. Another thing has been bugging my conscience too recently, and even though I trusted Edmund, I had been feeling rather doubtful.

"Husband," I called out. "That Lacey Ross, does she still go to the castle?"

Edmund glanced at me warily, and slowly nodded. "She still does, Annie. I've been thinking of silencing her, as I'm afraid that the king might use her against us. You do know that the Arrinella Cordesane and the Aglarose Cordesane uphold different values, right?"

"In Rhyland, a marriage is legitimate as long as both spouses are single, widowed or divorced at the time of marriage. But in Fallere City, any previous partner of the husband must either be dead or already married for the marriage to be legitimized. Lacey Ross is neither of those, husband," I spoke, eyeing him sharply. "You were born royal, and it is known that the royal family upholds the Arrinella branch of faith."

Edmund smiled thinly and nodded. "When she comes to Sterling Castle again, I shall order for her to be silenced, and no one can question the legitimacy of our marriage."

I smiled in satisfaction as I nestled closer to him, but my smile did not reach my eyes, which were cold and narrowed. This man is my husband, and anyone who threatens my marriage must be rooted out and casted away.

Another concern had also arisen. I had yet to be with child. Of course, we were only married for three months, but my childlessness caused me sleepless nights. I refused to be like dead Queen Helene, who threw away her life out of distraught of losing her son, the heir. I also did not want to become like Queen Jane, who was forgotten as soon as she produced a son, as if there was no more use left in her. I knew that if I could not give birth to a son, according to the Arrinella branch of faith, Edmund could legally divorce me.

As I recalled all the innocent lives I have took, Prince George and Queen Jane's fetus, as well as Prince Gregory, who was deformed due to the after-effects of the poison I gave to his mother, I became more and more afraid. What if I were to be barren, unable to bear an heir for my husband? He would then have a reason to cast me away, leaving me to rot.

"Why are you so quiet Annie? Are you sleepy?" Edmund chuckled, having noticed my sudden silence. He then reached for the cotton fleece blanket on the carpeted floor of the carriage, careful not to spill over the brazier full of hot coals.

I shook my head, but I allowed him to drape the heavy blanket over my shoulders and pull me closer to him, as I indeed felt cold.

"You are lying," my husband laughed as he gently traced the skin right under my eyes. "You could barely keep your eyes open. Just sleep, Annie. I will wake you up when we have arrived."

I smiled weakly and nodded. Snuggling closer to him, I felt instant warmth and comfort, one that I was unwilling to share with anyone. His fingers were stroking my hair, and his hot breath was fanning my cheeks. I felt safe and loved there, next to him. Slowly, I fell asleep.

"Annie..."

"We've arrived, Annie..."

Edmund gently patted my cheeks, awaking me from my slumber. My back was hurting terribly from not lying down in ages, and my legs had gone completely numb. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant awakening.

My husband, however, was smiling from ear to ear, and was eagerly waiting for me to fully wake up. "We're here Annie, at our new home," he said while grinning.

"At Blytherock?" I murmured sleepily, and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Come Annie, I must show you around," he spoke and grasped my hand while leading me out of the carriage. Once outside, the strong smell of the sea hit me in the face, and in an instant, I was fully awake. The sound of the crashing waves was much louder here, and once we walked closer to the castle, I finally understood. Blytherock Castle was situated on an awfully steep cliff that overlooked the bitterly cold west sea, and the massive structure looked as if it could slip off the cliff and fall onto the ocean at any given time.

The castle itself was ancient, but the charms and glory of its olden days still remain, and Edmund had maintained it quite well as its owner. The building was made of solid, smooth grey stone, and four fortified towers framed the main building, which had smaller windows and a rather plain exterior, as opposed to the opulent stained-glass windows of Sterling Castle. I could tell that this castle was built before the founding of Phoenicia, as after peace had come to this land, the nobility preferred aesthetic rather than practicality, and castles with tall and narrows with needle-point tips became extremely popular, and fortified towers were out-of-fashion.

Even Winterbourne Castle was built according to the era's preference, but somehow, I found the old-fashioned Blytherock Castle somewhat charming. It was my new home, which I would share with my husband for the coming years.

For the next several weeks we resided in the castle alone without anyone interfering, enjoying the marital bliss. We went to the beach, and we spent our time in the castle gardens. It was nice and peaceful, but my husband still had his responsibilities to uphold. Edmund had been away from the barracks long enough, and he had to monitor his domain of Cindertrappe as well.

On that summer morning, he kissed me on the forehead and departed for the military barracks in Lockebel, leaving me alone in the empty, chilly castle. He promised me that he would be back in three days, but the thought of being alone felt somewhat unbearable.

He did allow me to travel to the near cities though, with the condition that I brought at least five guards with me. I knew that he meant to keep me safe, but I would rather stay home rather than going out while surrounded by five fully grown men. For the first two days, I quietly sat in the library and skimmed through the parchment pages of old books, but on the third day, I was so overwhelmed by boredom that I decided to have a little bit of fun.

I searched for the oldest and plainest dress I could find-one of my old day dresses, which I paired with a worn red cloak. I braided my hair simply and wore no jewelry except for my wedding ring.

My breakfast was delivered into my room by a maid, but I did not consume it yet. Instead, I put the tray's contents into a satchel, along with some coins and ingots. Once I was certain that there was no one in sight, I slipped outside to the stables and hopped onto the horse in the first stall.

It was a tall and strong stallion with a silky black coat, and he seemed friendly enough to let me ride him. The thought of fleeing away on a horse seemed fun and harmless enough to me, and I felt excitement fill my chest. The horse took off, and I felt the cold breeze hit me in the face, and I felt free and rejuvenated.

I did not know which path to take, so I let the horse take me wherever it wanted to. Above me, the sky had become rather grey, as if it would rain soon, but it was still early in the morning, so I felt quite optimistic. I held onto the reins tighter and urged the stallion to speed up, leaving nothing but dust in my tracks.

♤

It was almost dusk when Edmund finally arrived home from the barracks. He had been on horseback for hours on end, and he wanted nothing more than to have a warm meal and see his beloved wife that night.

He led his grey mare to the stables, and it neighed in excitement, knowing that it would be able to see its partner, the black stallion. However, the stall was empty, which Edmund found odd. No one was allowed to touch Ridley, his prized warhorse, nor Bonnie, the grey mare. He wondered who exactly had the nerve to take his horse, so after giving Bonnie a bucket full of oats and barley, along with some hay, he went into the castle with a chest full of distaste.

When he passed by the gardens, he saw servants rushing around while peeking into bushes and lifting over flowerpots. Their behaviour was strange indeed, but Edmund assumed that it was probably a wild hare that lost its way. He made his way into the castle, and found the maidservants doing the exact same thing-flipping over the curtains and moving over furniture.

'Perhaps Annie ordered them to reorganise the hall,' Edmund thought, but Anne was nowhere to be seen. He had come across a stall that sold some trinkets on his way home, and he bought a bracelet made from glass beads for her. Anne had crates full of gold and silver, and he wondered if she would appreciate the simple and ordinary things in life too. The beads were crystal clear but in the middle, there was a tint of bluish-purple that has been shaped to look like a periwinkle. Without delaying a second, he picked it up with the intention to gift it to his wife.

"Piers!" he called out when he saw his housekeeper, whose face was pale white, and he looked as if he was about to throw up. "What is all this commotion? Has the duchess ordered you to rearrange the furniture and all?"

The middle-aged man's face became even paler, and he quickly wiped away the sweat that dribbled down his forehead with an already soaking handkerchief.

"Y-your Grace, the duchess has gone missing this morning. The maid that served her breakfast had gone back in to fetch the tray, and she was nowhere to be seen," he said in an urgent tone, his fingers gripping the wet handkerchief tightly, causing droplets of water to fall down onto the marble floor.

Edmund stared at him in disbelief, and unease began to pool inside his stomach. "Have you searched the entire castle?" he questioned, and Mister Piers nodded swiftly.

"We prodded at every flowerpot in the garden and looked at every nook and cranny in the library, Your Grace! I even ordered men to search the beach in case there might be a body resurfacing-"

He did not dare to finish his sentence however, upon seeing Edmund's face becoming taut and rigid, and his eyes had turned a raging red.

Edmund had indeed become tense, and he shuddered at the thought of Anne going into the freezing seawater, but he knew that she had more sense than to go there, so his fears subsided a bit. He then recalled the missing stallion, and he became certain that Anne was the one who took Ridley and went to god knows where.

"Prepare a horse for me and order my men to assemble into two groups. You shall ride south, and I shall ride north," Edmund told Mister Piers in a low tone. The older man nodded, and he started to think that the Duke was becoming angry at his wife for wandering off recklessly or escaping with another man, but he did not see the Duke's tightly clenched fists and trembling lip, nor did he hear his erratic heartbeat, which ached more and more with each passing second that Anne was not there.

Hi! If you liked this story, try checking out my other story, which is set in the early 1700s, Catarina and The Prince ! And please vote and comment, it means a lot to me 🥰