He wanted to become a part of their family. That sounded very strange to her ears.

"What makes you say such a thing, Rory?"

Her sister blinked several times, colouring the way she always did when she was guilty.

"He invited me for a reward if you remember... and I went to collect my due. We talked at length about you... please do not be upset with me."

Claire was more concerned with what they had discussed than being upset with her sister.

"Tell me how the whole confession came about first."

Aurora grinned sheepishly and fisted her hands in her garment.

"He bribed me with a very pretty bracelet."

It was so like Aurora to shift the blame to avoid her anger. "And what did you tell him?"

"Not much." She said quickly. Too quickly for Claire’s liking.

Claire narrowed her eyes at her.

Just then, the carriage bumped over something large, nearly lifting the both of them off their seats. Then, like a performance, lightning struck and thunder rumbled.

Rory jumped from her seat into Claire’s arms, burying her head in her sister’s bosom.

The impact sent pain curling in her abdomen but she swallowed it down.

"I thought you promised me you would stop being afraid of thunder." Claire chided.

Rory shivered in response. "Whenever the thunder growls, I see his eyes, Claire."

Claire blinked in confusion. She couldn’t possibly be talking about the King, could she? From what she knew, his eyes could never strike fear in anyone... they were cold most of the time, but not in the frightful way that would make Aurora shiver so much.

"Who?"

Her sister snuggled closer. "The beast from the dungeon."

She knew Aurora was trying to put the memory behind her and barely ever mentioned it to avoid agitating her, but since she had been the one to bring it up herself, she couldn’t help asking, "What does he look like?"

"He has eyes so bright a yellow that they glow in the dark."

Even Claire shuddered at the description.

It made her remember the time she had stumbled upon Yeren during his days of solitary confinement... the look of his eyes still chilled her to the marrow of her bones.

Rory didn’t say anything more and she didn’t push her.

If anything, the rain seemed to grow much heavier.

The force of the drops pounding into the roof of the carriage made Claire fear that it may burst through the wood panels.

"Maybe we should stop and take shelter, Claire. We’ve gone far away enough from the castle..."

Before Rory could finish speaking, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

Claire pulled the curtains aside and glanced outside. All she could see was the violent downpour.

Not wanting to get wet again, she pushed away the urge to go out and inquire about the stop.

Then there was a knock on the door.

She and Aurora exchanged glances before she opened it. After all, a Rogue or a band of thieves wouldn’t have bothered to knock.

The carriage driver stood there, completely drenched in rain.

"My Lady, the hill herewith is too steep. I fear we might slide down if we try to ascend it in this weather. Perhaps we can wait till it subsides?"

She glanced out through the open door and saw that what he said was true. If they happened to fall, their fall would be terrible.

But she could also see that they were close to the top and it was a long way to the bottom.

Manoeuvring to the bottom might be more dangerous than climbing up, she thought. But what did she know?

"Shall we return to the bottom and try again when the weather is fairer?"

She nodded, trusting him more than she trusted her own judgement.

The only bad thing would be that if they fell from the top of the hill, the impact would be harder since it was from a much higher distance.

The moment he began manoeuvring the horses, she knew she had been right.

The carriage began to tilt precariously, such that she and Aurora had to clutch the walls of the carriage to avoid crashing into the four walls.

For a moment, she heaved a sigh of relief when the carriage stopped tilting. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

But then it seems that one of the tires hit a rock and came loose because one side of the carriage sank to the ground.

Both of them were flung towards the wall of the sinking side and groaned in agony.

Claire was much worse off because of her... condition.

"Are we going to die?" Rory asked, her voice portraying how scared she was.

And then, the carriage fell on its side, causing them to pound into the walls of that side. Then it rolled again.

The two of them began to roll along with the carriage, bumping into the walls and themselves. The carriage cushions flew out of the seats, so did the curtain holders.

It felt as if a thousand elephants were stumping on her. Her sides, her head, her stomach... everywhere.

And then... it stopped.

Everything went still.

She tries to move but the only thing she could do was moan and groan.

And beside her in the cramped space, Aurora lay unmoving.

Claire struggled to move towards her at the realization, but her movements only seemed to rattle the carriage.

Then, through the open window, she saw a few men dragging the horses of their carriage away.

Claire couldn’t move her head so she couldn’t see much, but she saw the horses gallop away.

And the rain was unrelenting.

Rain pounded dirt through the window, spraying them mercilessly.

Sharp pain shot through her.

"Stop right there! Come back with those horses!" Came the shrill cry of the carriage rider.

Then the door was yanked open and he stared into the distorted cabin.

His mouth was moving but she could barely hear a word that was said.

Even death was worse than this, she thought before her consciousness deserted her.