Roman stared at the empty chairs around the table. Only he, Seth and Hunter were sitting there. Clover was supposed to be there too. He had asked her to join them for breakfast and she had said she would be down as soon as she was done with the chapter she was reading. She had used the same tactic last night for dinner and hadn't come down until they were done eating. Clearly this was something she did a lot since Hunter and Seth didn't seem to notice her missing.

"What's up with Clover?" Roman asked.
"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.
"Well, she's not here," Roman said. "She didn't join us yesterday either. If I didn't know better, I would think she's avoiding us on purpose."
"Is she? I haven't noticed," Hunter said.
"She's always been a weird one," Seth said.
"She's different, not weird," Roman said.
"I find her weird," Seth shrugged. "What does it matter? She might have a higher status than the other servants but she's still a servant nonetheless."

Roman lowered his fork and stared at Seth for three long seconds. Seth didn't seem to notice the look of disbelieve on Roman's face.

"You grew up with her," Roman said.
"What's your point?" Seth asked.
"You played with her as a child. She's your friend," Roman said.
"Not really," Seth shrugged. "You're the one who always wanted her to hang out with us. I looked up to my older cousin and just went along with what you wanted."
"I don't believe you," Roman said.
"Seth is right. Clover is a servant. She serves another purpose. A higher purpose," Hunter said.

Roman moved his eyes from Seth to Hunter. His uncle was staring at him with that look Roman knew all too well. Not many people dared questioning Hunter but Roman wasn't afraid of his uncle.

"A higher purpose," Roman scoffed. "What about what she wants? Have you ever thought for one second about her? What if she wants to get married? What if she wants to live somewhere else?"
"She's here to serve me. Nothing else. And if you keep going against me, I will send you right back to England and make sure you'll never get back home again," Hunter said.
"Or he'll arrange an accident at sea so you'll never make it over there," Seth chuckled.
"Seth!" Hunter slammed his hand down in the table. "We are not joking about death around this table."
"Sorry, dad," Seth said. "But if something was to happen, we can always send Clover to fix it."
"I don't believe this," Roman mumbled.

Roman pushed his chair back and stood up. He had lost his appetite and couldn't spend another second in their presence.

"You're so afraid of your own mortality," Roman said. "No one gets to live forever, uncle. Not even you. At some point it will all go awry. Things will get messed up. You will anger the universe. It will all end very wrong."
"Too bad you won't be around to see it," Hunter twisted a cruel smirk. "I'll make sure that when you die, you stay dead."
"I have no interest in being immortal," Roman said.
"You say that now but that will change when you reach my age," Hunter said.
"You're delusional," Roman said.
"Listen, Roman, I know you care about her and that's okay. She might be your friend but she's here for her own protection. Her mother brought her here when she was 5. The village wanted to burn her at the stake because of her powers. They didn't care her powers are good. All they saw was a witch. She might be one. I don't know. That's not for me to decide, but it's for me to decide to keep her here where she is safe. You might not like it but it's not up to you. You can leave anytime you want," Hunter said.

Roman shook his head and walked out of the room. He hurried up the stairs and knocked on Clover's door.

"Enter!" She called.

He walked inside her room and found her on her bed with a book in her hands. He walked over to her and threw himself down on her bed with a groan. He curled up on his side with his head in her lap like he had done many times since he was a child. He felt the fabric from her glove as her fingers started gently stroking his hair.

"What's wrong?" She asked.
"We had a fight," he answered.
"About what?" She asked.
"About you," he sighed. "I don't like the way they treat you. I want you to have a life outside this castle. I want you to have the life you always dreamed of."

She stopped stroking his hair and let out a sigh.

"I want that too," she said.

He rolled over on his back and looked up at her. She looked so sad and it broke his heart.

"You've always been so good to me. Having you around have always been the best times of my life," she said.
"Are you sure about that?" He chuckled. "I remember that one time you wouldn't come down from the tower for my entire visit here. I was here for a whole week and you stayed up there refusing to see me. I don't even know what I did wrong."
"I tried running away and they locked me up there as punishment," she said. "I wanted to see you, Roman. I kept hoping you would somehow find your way up there to set me free."

His jaw dropped and he slowly sat up and just stared at her. Never once had he thought she had been locked away as punishment. He had been told not to go up there but Seth and Hunter had said it was because she refused to see him. He had thought they told the truth so he respected her wish and stayed away while he kept hoping she would come down at one point before he had to leave again.

"Each time the punishment got worse until I stopped trying to run," she said.
"I don't understand," he said.
"I don't want to be here, Roman. I never wanted to be here but they won't let me leave," she said.
"But the village..." He tried.
"I don't care about the village," she said. "No one remembers me anymore. I've been here for three decades. They remember a 5 year old girl. They don't know how I look today. And I wouldn't go back there. I would find somewhere else where I could live in harmony with nature. I don't need much. Just a small place in the forest with a fireplace to keep me warm and help me cook. I don't need anyone to be there with me."
"Not even me?" He asked.

She placed a hand on his cheek and smiled sadly.

"I'd love for you to visit me but it will never be anything but a dream," she said.

She let her hand drop and let out a deep sigh.

"I would like to be alone now," she said.
"Clover," he said.
"Roman, please," she said. "I swore to never let anyone see me cry and that includes you. I need you to leave my room so I can keep my dignity intact. It's the only way I know how to survive inside these walls."

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.

"I will respect your wish," he stood up. "You know where to find me if you need me. I am your friend, Clover. I will always be your friend."