Raised wild

Chapter 18

I remembered it as if it was yesterday, the pained cries of my brother, the whip repeatedly lashing at his skin, the dark crimson red running down Seth's back. We couldn't see the face of the man hurting my brother, but I could've sworn there was a spark of pleasure in his eyes. He had sworn he wouldn't hurt me if I confessed I had stolen his sandwich. I thought he would forgive everything I'd done if I promised to never do it again. I did promise to myself I wouldn't trust a man I couldn't even hold a grudge against. A man who hid his face away cowardly.

Every lady coming up on the stage was regal as they laughed through their teeth and smiled brightly for the cameras. Jezabel looked flirty but just enough so people would fall in love with her. Lacy was shy and sweet, she was exactly herself. Elizabeth surprised me by her carefree looks, doing great to pull up a show for the audience and everyone seemed to think she was funny and fabulous. Loïka, well I wasn't sure what was her strategy unless trying to sell herself to everyone.

The questions were always quite the same, I was getting the hang of what I would say. What was my project, what I felt during the attack, how it was going with the Prince. I was starting to think I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself if I said everything that was on my cards, those my maids made me practice so many times.

''Thank you Lady Dorothe, please give her one last round of applause.'' The public did so and then Bradley's eyes focused back on the cameras. There were so many.

''Now please let's greet Lady Kaelie as the last candidate.'' My feet moved before my brain could process and I felt nervous all over again. There were so many people, all staring straight at me. I saw in the corner of my eyes the King lean a little closer in his seat, probably ready for me to fail all over again.

''You look splendid Lady Kaelie,'' Bradley told me and I tried to smile, trying to forget all the stares but it was hard to do so. I hated to have all the attention. I wondered if my family was looking at me right now through our old television.

''Thank you.''

''Please take a seat. I've heard a lot about you and I have to tell you, you intrigue me. But before going into the depths of your being, tell me all about you and the Prince. You had a date together, didn't you?''

I let out a small laugh, ''Yes we did, and it might have gone awkwardly.''

Bradley seemed surprised at first then laughed out loud, ''Why is that?''

I looked away from him and searched for the Prince. Oliver was further on the stage and didn't give away anything, ''I think I'll let him speak if he ever wants to say more about it.''

''Alright then, let's talk about a more serious subject.'' He leaned towards me in a compassionate way, ''We've heard how things went wrong with you during the attack. Sources told me you got so scared you ran away and then got attacked. Did you have a scare for your life?''

My forced smile erased as I realized what picture the royal family wanted to paint of me. How could a scared girl be with a Prince? How could a brainless, pathetic girl who ran for her life be in front of a country?

I squeezed my lips before opening my mouth. Screw the cards. ''When I heard there was an attack, I didn't really realize what this could mean for my life, I was scared for my maids' lives. They were in my room and had nowhere else to go. I've been studying a lot since I've arrived here and I've learned a lot about how things work around here. I couldn't let them die.''

He looked hung on my lips, one hand reaching mine and squeezing it, ''Tell us what happened!''

''I ran directly to my room and got them to safety. I saw so many horrible things.'' I paused as I saw those images again in my brain. ''I ran into one of my usual guards as we searched for a safe place and he showed us the way to a safe room. There was still one of my maids missing though and I recklessly went looking for her on my own.''