Chapter O3 – Everything Under the Moon

"And what does this say?"

All of the words were beginning to blur before her as she squinted to try and concentrate on what it said in the book. Exhaustion had long ago settled in, and yet because Claude had managed to be triumphant in their bet, Adelaide had reluctantly agreed to hold up her end of the bargain. She was, however, not the most cooperative of students. "I don't know," she told him outright, crossing her arms over her chest.

He seemed to have endless patience for her antics as he leaned over her back, pointing his outstretched fingers to the word on the page. "It reads..." and although his voice, smooth as silk, recited the words, she drowned them out with her preoccupied thoughts. "Now try again."

Frustrated with her own inability to concentrate, she leaned back in her chair. "This is pointless, Sir." She had told him that so many numerous times that she was beginning to feel a little redundant saying it again. Yet somehow, Claude never seemed to be exasperated in hearing it. Like a saint he bent down again and started to read the words. "No, no, no," she huffed, swatting at him until he backed away. "I need a break."

"You have already taken several in the past half hour." It sounded as though he was finally beginning to protest against her whims.

But the boredom was overwhelming. Adelaide bristled at his assertion and hurriedly stood from her chair. As she brushed past him, the two gently bumped shoulders and she gave him a brief glare that seemed to go unnoticed. The monotony is going to kill me, she thought to herself bitterly, head throbbing with the influx of information. All the words and phrases she had been forced to memorize seemed to flutter around in her head, hindering her thoughts from forming properly.

Adelaide marched to the doors of the balcony and thrust them open. When she stepped out, she was relieved to inhale the evening air. Since the sun was (slowly, ever so slowly) descending in the distant horizon, it would be night soon. But she frowned to herself upon noticing the ominous clouds that loitered in the sky above.

"Is it going to rain again?" she asked more to herself than the person waltzing up from behind her.

As though she had made the inquisition toward him directly, Claude answered, "It will." There was a rather grim look on his face as he stopped beside her, gently resting his hands upon the ledge. Those gold eyes of his gazed out.

Although she was happily surprised that he had relented in nagging her about her studies, Adelaide was chagrined by his answer. "You could lie," she told him. "Or you could simply say that you don't know."

"There is no reason to lie."

She sighed. There was nothing she hated more than the rain – and she recalled the last time it had rained, not that long ago. The last thing Adelaide wanted was to be left alone to the ear-splitting sound of the thunder while the lightning danced in the sky. Especially after seeing those eyes that had been following her movement when she was all alone.

So she clapped her hands together decisively. "Sir Claude, your aim is to teach me as quickly as possible, isn't it?" Although she posed the question, she did not bother waiting to hear an answer from him. "Therefore, it seems only proper that you tutor me until I have learned everything you have set out to drill into my head. Am I correct?"

"Yes." He folded his hands across his stomach as he studied her with some manner of suspicion, as though he could already tell where the conversation was headed.

That did not dissuade Adelaide, however, who continued on obliviously. "Well, it seems I am having difficulty." Though she was loathe to admit to what extent she was struggling in her studies. "So it is only fitting that you stay by me as long as I am willing to learn."

"You're afraid of the rain," he surmised without missing a beat.

Perturbed that he would dare mention a lady's greatest fear, she glared at him. "You, Sir Claude, have no tact. I doubt your words about being properly ready to marry. Are you sure a father would accept a son-in-law such as yourself with such ill manners? As a princess, I am chagrined to see such behavior."

"I will keep that in mind." Though he said it with little feeling, more monotonously than respectful.

Adelaide waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Well, never mind that, Sir. While I would kindly ask you not to speak so brutishly," and she took the opportunity just to insult him because of how embittered she was to have lost their bet, "Please honor my request."

Though he hardly seemed inclined to agree, he breathed a quiet sigh as he inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Very well. Let's get started then." Obviously his aim was to educate her, not to console her, even if he understood the reason why she had asked him for something that she so detested. It was, at least, an opportunity for him to try and solidify some of the Latin and history into her head.

And while Adelaide was not averse to his tutelage personally, she still struggled through his teachings. Willingly, she settled back in front of the table. Once the sky had darkened adequately, they spent their time by candlelight working well after the rain started beating against the windows. Despite her protests, Claude did not allow Adelaide another break until just before her bedtime, which she was hoping to avoid.

"You need sleep to learn," he recited, as though he had read it in a book. Most likely, he had.

Adelaide huffed in her skepticism as she trailed over to the closed windows and pressed her hand against the cold glass pane. "And how do you suppose, Sir – since you have so wittily discovered my aversion to the rain – that I should sleep through this?"

"Overcome it." Claude sounded just like her brother as he said it, like it was the most obvious and easiest thing in the world. Yet even he had to understand that, to some degree, it was not so easy to overcome one's worst fear.

"That is also not something you should say to a lady," she protested lividly.

For whatever reason, of which Adelaide could not fathom, Claude did not see deem that worth responding to. Instead, he briefly peered out of the window before remarking about how late Marie was in retrieving Adelaide. It was routine that Marie act as an escort to Adelaide as she moved through her daily appointments. And she had never been late before. It was odd – suspicious, to Adelaide. Claude did not seem to share in her idea of conspiracy.

"Marie is never late," Adelaide told him nervously as she glanced at the door. Not that she was in any hurry to return to her room, but her own paranoia plagued her. What about those gold eyes she had seen in the maze? And her window before? No one seemed to believe her, yet Adelaide was convinced that it signified some impending danger.

While her fears, at least for the moment, remained unfounded, it was certainly true that Marie was well past the time she should have arrived. So Claude uncharacteristically took the role of a gentleman and told Adelaide, "I will be the one to escort you to your room, then."

"A-ah," she stammered with a sudden blush, "That won't work, Sir Claude! Marie always dresses me."

"We can look for her on the way." It seemed that he would not take no for an answer. And so the two of them ended up walking side-by-side, despite Adelaide's various protests. The candles in the library were blown out before they left, leaving darkness to crowd around them like moths to a flame. Coincidentally, it was Claude holding the candlelight, guiding their way down the empty corridor.

Due to the sound of ricocheting thunder outside, Adelaide kept the distance between her and Claude to a minimum. Several times she bumped against him, only to mutter an apology when his glaring golden eyes peered at her from behind those glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He did not pardon her, he only kept his silence.

The entire way they did not see any sign of Marie, nor did they speak to each other. Adelaide thought to speak a few words but ultimately remained silent. It was not in her nature to be so demure and quiet, but there was something itching at the back of her mind. An inner sense of dread, a feeling that something was inevitably wrong. She did not speak of these feelings to Claude, of course, as she imagined he would shrug them off as mere paranoia. Just as he had when she had first spoke to him of those eyes that followed her.

When they finally spotted her room at the end of the hallway, the door was slightly ajar. Surprising, since Adelaide knew that Marie always made sure to keep it firmly closed. That was what first put her guard up, and while Claude boldly strode ahead, she folded her body behind him.

"I... I'm just going to stay behind you," she told him. In part because Adelaide feared that in the darkness of her room, she would see those eyes. Eyes that no one else seemed to get a glimpse of. And for once, Claude made no tactless response.

He did grant her one brief glance, peering over his shoulder. But then he continued on to her half-open door. The tall, scholarly man gently nudged it open with his foot and lifted the candlelight inside, illuminating everything therein. Including a sight that was gruesome enough that, once Adelaide got a brief glimpse of it, she hid back behind Claude.

"W-What is it?" she demanded in a trembling voice.

"Ah, I believe we found Marie." Despite the grimness of the situation, his voice remained solemn and unaffected. If she could have seen his face, his expression probably had not changed from a moment before when they had been walking in silence.

At the mention of the servant, Adelaide chanced another glance against her better judgment. Sure enough, blood was pooled around a mangled body that was twisted and disfigured, splayed out across Adelaide's bedroom floor. And it was only fortunate that Marie's head was turned away so that Adelaide could not see it. It was only thanks to the clothing and the shade of the person's hair that Adelaide was sure that Claude was right – no doubt that it was Marie... murdered.

In a wave of memories that plagued her from the past – the very reason that she hated the rain – Adelaide ended up collapsing on her knees. The tears came despite her trying to will them back. And she sobbed into her hands as Claude stood silently beside her. At first, the thought of Marie being gone did not hit her. Once it did, her throat erupted into a violent scream as she stood and started trying to run through the doorway.

Claude caught her with one hand on her head, redirecting her panicky motion. She ended up colliding with his chest. "Wait just a moment," he commanded her – as though he had the authority to do so. Regardless, Adelaide had not the mind to tell him off for it. "The patrol has apparently not come through here yet."

She clutched at the fabric of his jacket. Human warmth was enough to give her some solace. There was something soothing about Claude's presence, about the comfort that he did not entirely give nor refuse to her. Adelaide pressed her face into his chest as she sobbed, inhaling his scent. It seemed to have an almost mesmerizing effect on her. While clinging to him, she did not notice as he flagged down some guards to take care of the situation.

It was not until they set off down the hallway again and she was pulled away from his body that Adelaide had any cognition of what was happening. He was holding her forearm, guiding her along. Not quite forcefully but enough that she could not call him gentle, either. There was a focused look in his eyes.

"W-where are we going?" Adelaide ventured the question tentatively.

"Somewhere safe," was all he told her. Through the darkness, he guided their way with a candlelight. Guards brushed by them as news spread of the murder and the king was roused to deal with the situation – a serious breach in the security of the castle. It was assumed, given the location of the murder, that the culprit was after Adelaide's life.

Waiting for instructions from the king, Claude relocated Adelaide to the library. She immediately took seat in one of the chairs, although her whole body was trembling as perspiration trickled down the length of her pale face. Adelaide tried desperately to shunt out the image already burned into her mind of Marie's mangled body.

After she had been seated, Claude moved to leave, but Adelaide caught his sleeve. "It's... not nice to leave a lady... in distress." She tried her best to be convincing, and whether she succeeded or not – Adelaide was not sure. The fact that, despite seeming to debate it in his head, Claude decided to stay, seemed to signify that she was triumphant.

They spent what seemed like forever in that library. Adelaide held tightly onto Claude's sleeve, even after he acquiesced and stayed by her side willingly. The dark-haired tutor spoke not a word to her, nor did she venture a pointless conversation with him. They stayed in the presence of each other without speech.

At least until Adelaide had enough composure – regained herself enough – to be able to speak without sounding like a petrified fool. "The culprit," she remarked in a quiet voice that cracked despite her calm facade, "I hope they find him."

Those gold eyes of his peered down at her for a moment. His lips twitched, almost as though he was about to say something, but the moment was interrupted as the doors creaked open. The person who entered was, much to Adelaide's surprise, her brother and not a messenger.

"Excuse me." Claude gently reached down and pulled her fingers away from his sleeve, then he trailed across the floor. He and the prince spoke in whispers. They cast only the occasional glance at Adelaide during the length of their conversation. Whatever it was they were talking about seemed to be in regards to her. Of paramount concern to them, more than to Adelaide herself, was probably who would take over Marie's position. Had she been in the mind to contest whomever was appointed, Adelaide would have surely asked for one of the elderly women that had worked around the castle for as long as Marie.

The choice, however, was not her own. Although her father – the king – had always been the one to make direct decisions about Marie, it strangely seemed as though that responsibility had been passed over to her brother as of late.

"Adelaide," George called to her from the doorway to get her attention.

Her head jerked as she answered him, lifting herself up from the chair. Adelaide still had enough sense to bow in his presence. "Yes, your highness?" Again her voice carried that unfamiliar tremor that signified how unnerved she was from the whole ordeal. And the last person she wanted to reveal any measure of emotion to was her brother.

"For the moment, I shall appoint Sir Claude the duty of guarding you. He will also temporarily take over Marie's position." The way he said it was as though he did not even bother to consider all of the odd jobs that Marie held – including assisting Adelaide in dressing and undressing. For something so vital to go under his radar... Although, in the back of her mind, Adelaide understood that this was somehow a calculated move.

It stunk of political motives somehow. Her brother never took any action that did not directly benefit him. Yet in her disadvantaged state, she could not give thought to how her brother was manipulating a tragedy to use her as a pawn in his game. And while she looked uneasily at Claude, uncomfortable with the decision handed down by her brother, she could not contest it. She wanted to argue. She wanted to tell her brother what a conniving bastard he was to use her own misfortune to try to gain further control over her. But their social position did not allow her to do so.

He was the son of the king and the queen, royalty running through his blood thicker than tar. She was an illegitimate child fostered out of marriage in an illicit relationship, brought to the castle only to serve the whims of the people therein.

"Thank you." Gratitude that was not earned was what she was forced to give to him, bowing her head submissively although she wanted nothing more than to spit at his feet.

"Your quarters have been relocated to the other side of the castle for your own protection. You will be staying closer to me and I will ensure my own personal guards double patrols to keep you safe." He said it with a grim sense of satisfaction, head held high as though he felt triumphant. "I will allow Claude to escort you there momentarily, as soon as the servants are done preparing. I will take my leave, then."

Although young, although naïve, Adelaide had her immediate suspicions that the person behind Marie's death was George himself. Part of her wanted to believe that, as her brother, he would never make such a move. Yet it was clear that he benefited the most from it. With Marie out of the way, he appointed one of his own personally hired men to oversee her care. It started with Claude being a tutor, and now he was everything. Then George had robbed her of her freedom in the castle, placing her room next to his to keep an extra eye out for her.

What Adelaide feared most was not her lack of freedom but how this would play into the larger scheme of things. Royalty and nobles were always cutthroat. She had been taught that at any early age. Only now was she beginning to understand just to what extent they would go to.

It was possible – certainly possible – for her to run to the king, her father, and relay her suspicions about George's actions. But being the crown prince and the heir to the kingdom, he had far more pull than she did. Even if her father suspected he had a hand in Marie's death, it would be overlooked because of his position. Doubt would not be cast on him.

"You are pale."

She blinked away her thoughts and jerkily glanced up at Claude. He had come to stand just in front of her, regarding her condescendingly with those golden eyes of his. "Ah, yes... I just need some rest."

"Your room will be ready shortly."

Adelaide swallowed back her ill-thoughts. Looking at the positive, she supposed that at least her brother had deemed her a worthy enough piece to keep by his side instead of discarding. If he was indeed the person behind Marie's death, then by placing Adelaide so close, he put the responsibility of her well-being on his own shoulders. If she died in his care, it would only shame him. So at least he was not out to do away with her. Although Adelaide was not sure that being used by him was that much better.

A messenger came to announce when the preparations of her room had been completed. At that time, Claude acted as her guide to take her to her newly relocated quarters. It was, indeed, right beside her brother's. It put her ill at ease, though she took some comfort in knowing she would be safe.

While she might have expected the walls and floors to be barren, they had been prepared well in advance. It was obvious that George had some expectation of this happening. In a matter of a few hours, all the upholstery and the grandiosely decorated carpets and wall-hangings could not have been so delicately prepared. This was not thrown together – it was planned.

"Do you require assistance with your gown?"

Her face flushed deep red as she whipped around to respond to Claude's words. "I-I'm a lady, you know!"

Knowledge of that did not seem to register in his head. He showed no signs, given his facial expression, that he was at all abashed to have made such a comment. Perhaps it was because, although Adelaide clung to the title of lady, he did not see her as one.

"Never mind it," she muttered beneath her breath as she gave him a dismissive motion. "Although it is improper, because my brother has left you in my care, I ask that you loosen my corset for me and then take your leave." Adelaide turned her back to him and pulled the locks of her long, golden hair over her shoulder as she waited.

His gloved hands quickly, albeit gently, went to the task she had assigned. And it proved to be most embarrassing and highly inappropriate, at least to Adelaide's standards. But once he was finished, Claude quietly took his leave. He exchanged no further words with her before he nudged the doors shut. There was a faint murmur of footsteps that quickly faded in the distance but that was the last she heard of him.

Left by herself, it took Adelaide a much longer time than she supposed it would have if Marie had been there to help her. And after she had her evening gown on, she tiredly collapsed onto her bed and crawled under the silk duvet, snuggling against her well-fluffed pillows. Just as sleep came, so did the tears. Adelaide cried herself to sleep without even noticing the rain beating down upon the windows.

For several hours she slept soundly, until a commotion just outside her door woke her up. At first, Adelaide tried to fall back asleep, but the whole castle had become noisy. Restless because of the earlier events, she finally gave up and threw her comforter aside. Maneuvering through the dark, she managed to slide off her bed and with her bare feet, traveled across the carpets strewn across the floor. As she approached the door, she thought she heard a sound from near her window.

Hesitantly, she turned to look. What immediately greeted her – what she had seen several times before – were those golden eyes. Through the darkness they gleamed like two orbs. All of the oxygen in her lungs escaped out of her mouth as she gasped and turned her back toward the exit. Several stumbling steps backward and she bumped against the oak doors, which hardly gave way under her meager weight.

For an entire minute she just stared down those eyes. Whatever that thing was that was watching her, it did not move even as its pupils followed her as she started back toward her bed. It had to be well aware that she was conscious of its presence. Yet it made no move to hide itself nor to run away as she tentatively approached the window.

Once she was close enough to the glass, those gleaming eyes were only a few feet away. And yet, even as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could not make out the silhouette of whatever it was that those golden orbs belonged to. Was it a figment of her imagination or...?

She opened the windows without regard for the fear bubbling up from the pit of her stomach. Curiosity had taken over. And although the force of the wind, blowing the windows open as she unlatched them, nearly knocked her down, Adelaide fought against it to stretch her hand out and reach toward those eyes.

Her fingertips briefly brushed against something... Furry and yet prickly? It was a strange sensation that was foreign to her. There was nothing Adelaide could liken it to. And whatever that thing was, as soon as it felt her touch, it darted off in a blur. While it was difficult for her to follow with her eyes, she caught a brief glimpse of its retreating figure as it passed a distant, lit-up window. Eight legs and a robust body... A spider?

Author's Note: Obviously I was not any faster than updating despite being out of school and now I'm about to go right back in. But inspiration came from somewhere so I am glad I was finally able to update. Thanks for all the kind reviews and I hope you enjoyed. :)