"Are you ill, Claire?"

She shook her head as she continued to cover her eyes.

"I forbid you to talk to him again. If you do so behind my back, Rory, I will be very upset with you."

"But why?" Tears pooled in Rory’s big eyes.

She had to look away. "Because his love for you isn’t healthy."

But what did she know about love anyway. She was as good as a fool in that regard.

And she left it at that.

All through their lunch, Aurora was silent. Arlan didn’t join them for the meal. In fact, he was absent the entire day. She never even caught a glance at him from any of the windows of the house.

And Aurora was sprawled on her bed, reading a book she found in the library downstairs.

Claire had a bath called up for her. After the bath, she changed into one of the silk night dresses Yeren had given her.

What had been going through his mind when he picked it out for her? Did he envision her wearing it?

Her whole body heated up at the thought but she dismissed it.

The bleeding had ceased entirely for which she was glad.

After brushing out her hair, she took her pillow and went across the hall to Aurora’s room.

As she opened the door, she saw the two candles lit there as was their tradition.

"Did you light the candles yourself?"

Rory shook her head. Her hair was still wet, appearing much darker than it actually was.

"Fern came in to light the candles for me. I didn’t even have to ask."

Claire climbed in beside her and took the book out of her small hands. She glanced at the cover briefly before folding the page her sister had been reading and dropped It on the bedside table.

"Since when did you like reading history books?"

Aurora just shrugged.

Then she scuttled closer and rested her head on Claire’s arm.

"Will Arlan come to live with us in Loodswood?"

At first she wasn’t going to answer, but she knew Rory would only press and press until she got a response.

"No. I want him far away from you for now... at least until he can grow out of... his waywardness."

"What does that mean, Claire?"

"It means strange behaviour."

They fell silent again.

"Do you remember when we came home from the rain after the King brought us back and we fell asleep with Zach?"

Claire nodded. She still remembered such days.

"Would we ever be that happy again?"

She pulled Aurora closer. "We will."

Sometime in the middle of the night, the wind from the open windows blew out the candles.

She slid out of the bed to use the chamberpot.

When she was done, she took the candle out to light it in any of the hearths burning downstairs.

The house was eeriely silent. Every creak of a door or gust of wind startled her.

As she entered the drawing room, she found her guard and his squire both hunched over a piece of parchment. The squire seemed to be writing something.

They both turned as she entered.

Claire coloured.

She was only wearing her sheer night dress without a robe. Her hair was down, her feet were bare...

Her guard was the first to look away. Then he slapped the back of his squire’s head and he looked away as well.

"Sorry... I just wanted to light a candle." She said sheepishly.

She proceeded to light the candle and returned back to her room.

Holding the lit candle, she was finally able to chase she shadows that loomed in the hallway away.

Aurora’s guard was slumped on the wall by the door.

He wasn’t asleep, she realized when he turned towards her and shielded his eyes from the light she held up.

"You should get some sleep." She said.

As she turned the knob, she heard muffled voices coming from within the room.

She listened.

"...I’m forbidden to talk to you. You have to leave. My sister is already cross with me as it is."

Claire was surprised she could hear them so clearly.

She pushed the door open and rushed inside, nearly extinguishing the candle she had laboured to light in the process.

Arlan was standing beside the bed, trying to pull Aurora out of it.

"What do you think you’re doing, young man? It’s the middle of the night."

He froze.

The door was thrown open and her guard poked his head inside, his eyes darting around the room until they fell on Arlan.

"Come with me." He was telling Aurora.

Claire had had enough.

She went towards him and pulled him by the ear.

"How did you get in here?"

He struggled against her iron grip as she threw him into the hallway.

"This is your last warning, Arlan. I don’t know what has gotten into you. Stay away from Aurora. If I see you near her again, I will pluck out both your eyes."

He shivered at her threat and ran towards the stairway.

Even she was surprised at her own words.

"Never let him come upstairs." She told Aurora’s guard.

Just the second she went out to light a candle, this happened?

Was he lying in wait?

Where did he even want to take Aurora?

She climbed back into bed.

Aurora had faced the other side.

When she reached out to touch her, she shrugged her hand off.

"I’m sorry, Rory. I was just doing what..."

"I know." Aurora cut her off.

"Then what is the problem."

"You don’t want me to have any friends neither do you want to spend time with me."

Was that what was bothering her?

"I want to spend time with you."

Aurora scoffed.

"Only because you’re not longer talking to the King."

Claire blinked.

Was that what she thought? Had their relationship deteriorated so?

The answer that stared back at her wasn’t one that she was pleased with.