A Heart Full of Stars {A Medieval Story} Chapter 70 *Finale* now! 5/28/21

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“We’ve been walking for days now, and I don’t see no manor in sight! When are we due to get there!?” complained Sir Rhayde. “If it were up to me, we would have been there already. We wouldn’t have stopped so often.”

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“If it weren’t for you, we would have been there already. You keep having to stop and rest.” Sir Romeo teased. “If you’re so tired, why don’t you ask for one of the horses? Or are you too weak to walk like the rest of us? It’s a three day journey if we keep a good pace, we’re already on our third day and we have another to go. Stay on your guard.” he said, scanning the trees.

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Liam kept his head down. He didn’t want to get in the middle of this. Rhayde was a spoiled brat and everyone knew it. Liam didn’t want him to think that they were friends, but he also didn’t want him to know just how much he despised his company.

“That’s what you say. When can I sleep?” he whined. “At least in my dreams I’m with beautiful women, not among your ugly faces all day.”

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Liam looked up from where he sat and glanced at Sir Romeo. They were attractive by conventional standards, Sir Rhayde must be blind.

Liam was annoyed that the church had felt it pertinent to send along a knight of the templar to a simple hunting trip at a manor that is less than a week away by foot. The church had been stretching it’s fingers into things that it previously hadn’t had power over, and the king said nothing about it. He didn’t seem to care. The church now had their own set of taxes on the population, had to approve marriages before they were allowed to happen, and many other things that seemed unethical. There were rumors that they tore through any town that was rumored to not believe, assaulting and murdering people as they went. The idea of having one of their knights here to keep an eye on things made him uneasy to say the least.

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Not to mention the man was a total wuss.

~*~

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The morning after Anwyn and Lara arrived at the manor, they were woken bight and early by the maid of the household, telling them what to expect.

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“Good morning, ladies. My name is Melinda and we have a very busy day ahead of us, and indeed a busy two weeks. As I’m sure the three of you saw, I have been unable to keep the lace in good repair on my own, and I am very grateful for your help. First, here are the clothes that I was able to set aside for you. Each set comes with an apron, and a hair wrap if you think you need it. As you can see with my voluminous hair, I need it badly, so don’t feel bad it you do. Helps to keep it clean and keep falling spiders or dust out of it.”

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The women changed into the worn but comfortable clothes and listened to the young woman again. “Alright. Stay out of the kitchen, the cook is very particular about that. She runs a tight ship from what I’ve seen from her opening and closing the door, so we don’t need to go in there. She doesn’t come out besides serving a meal. We need to clean the rooms that the king and queen will be staying in. They are going to have seperate rooms, and the ladies in waiting will be staying in with us on the third floor. The armed guard that is coming with the king is also going to be across the courtyard from us, so keep an eye out for them. They should be honorable men, but who’s to say?” she informed.

“So,” she continued. “We should focus on the bottom floor and work your way up. Keep out of the front east room. It is the lord’s private area, and you may only go in if order or invited. It has a curtain, so you shouldn’t wander in by accident. Now then, Let’s get cleaning!”

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After waiting for so long to just be told to clean, Anwyn and Lara walked down the stairs to the first floor at the front entrance. “These cobwebs have cobwebs on them. That’s how old they are. Are you sure your friend does hard work here?”

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“She says that she works quite hard. And when I visited I helped too, it’s just so hard to make a dent in a mess the size of this one.” Lara said, admiring one of the cobwebs in the corner.

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“I don’t know what you’re all standing around for, I’m going to get a stool to stand on to help us reach that.” mentioned the woman who they hadn’t been introduced to.

Everyone cleaned far past the time when they were dirty and their fingers were pruny.

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Time flew past, and it felt good to work and set goals. Life in the bakery could sometimes feel the same day after day, but with in the manor there was always something new to clean, some little piece of the grounds she hadn’t seen before. She noticed that Melinda was often the last one getting to the room at night, some time after everyone had already bathed, changed, and gone to bed. It was curious to say the least, but Anwyn had no reason to doubt her, so she kept her nose out of it. It was a bit outside of her character to not be nosey, but she was too busy and tired to care much of the time. She cleaned, ate, and slept.

One of Anwyn’s favorite things to do was take care of the garden on the property. It was a beautiful place, and she liked to feel the sun on her back. The air was fresh out here, and the birds chirped. The manor was like a void where no sound or light from outside made it inside.

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Lara was helping her today, harvesting while Anwyn watered.

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“It will be so nice to see mother and father again. And little Joseph and Sophia. I’m sure they’re drowning in work. And I haven't seen William in so long, It almost feels like I’ll never be married.” Lara gushed.

“Yeah, only a few more days, and we’re out of here. It will be good to be home. I think I’ll sleep for two days straight…” Anwyn joked.

Lara looked around the small area and up to the manor. “Let’s sit for a bit and just chat. Come on.” she urged, moving to one of the shaded sets of table and chairs. As they got comfortable, Lara looked at Anwyn with a weary look.

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“You look worried. Tell me what’s on your mind.” Anwyn observed.

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“It’s just- I know you don’t particularly like to help around the bakery, and with me leaving to be with Wiliam, I just want to know that I’m not leaving you to be miserable. You’ll help Mother and Father, won’t you? I need to know that you will.” she looked hopeful.

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“Lara, I will help them as long as I can. You know that I would never hurt them or disappoint them. I love them too much for that.”

Lara looked relieved and the afternoon carried on as normal.

~*~

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It was late at night when Anwyn was getting back from looking up at the stars and taking a bit of time for herself. She went to the back door but once she was inside she heard crying. A child crying. From the basement. What was a child doing in the basement?

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Following the sound, she went down the stairs and to a closed door. It was dark in the basement, but there was enough light to see by. She knocked softly on the door, and heard no answer but the crying. She tried the door and found that it was locked. Who would lock a child in the basement? Anwyn looked for a key near the door and sure enough it glinted in the dim light. Sticking it into the lock, she twisted and opened the door as quietly and slowly as she could. The child’s cried sputtered to a stop, and Anwyn was surprised to see what she saw.

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A comfortable but poorly decorated room with all the things a child could need lay before her, and a crying girl stood in front of a broken dollhouse. She obviously looked like she was highborn, but there had been no mention of the child by anyone.

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“Hello there, My name’s Anwyn. What’s the matter, my dear?” she asked the child.

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“You- you aren’t supposed to be in here! I’m not supposed to talk to you!” she looked at Anwyn with fear.

“I heard that you may need help. What happened to your house?” She asked again.

The child paused, then started to sniffle again, a fresh batch of tears on their way. “The- the man came in here and broke it. He always breaks it!” she started bawling again.

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“Well, I think I know just how to fix it, so I’ll do that for you, ok?” Anwyn approached the castle doll house. “Let’s see what we can do, ok?” Anwyn started to work and within half an hour she was done and the house was back to normal.

“You must be magic. Are- are you my mother?” she asked Anwyn.

“No, darling, I’m not. Why would you think I’m your mother?” Anwyn asked, confused.

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“My mother was a mermaid, and my father thinks that I’m going to be one too, but I haven’t shown any signs. His last lady made this room so that she didn’t have to look at me. Says that I’m a dark spot on the family.” the child honestly admitted. Anwyn’s head was spinning. Who keeps a child locked in the basement? And the lord’s wife had been dead for four years, This girl looked to be barley over the age of six.

Sounds of footsteps were heard outside the room. “You must hide! If they find you they’ll punish you!” the child urged.

“There’s nowhere to hide-” Anwyn started. The door flew open, and the page stepped into the room, visibly upset.

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“The crying was bad, I won’t fault you there, but normal. Imagine my surprise when I hear voices coming from the door I know is locked, and now none other than a Cupshire girl is in my view. Do you want to tell me why you are in a room that was locked?” the page inquired, though Anwyn could see that her answer would make little difference.

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“I heard her crying when I came in for the night. I didn’t know-”

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“Didn’t know that we had a child in the basement? Didn’t know that curfew was an hour ago? Which rule breaking would you like to be punished for, girl? What should your punishment be? Don’t answer that. Come with me.” he said.

He grabbed Anwyn’s arm and pulled her out of the room, locking it behind them. “Up the stairs. Go.” the page ordered. Anwyn had begun to shake, not knowing what was going to happen, not wanting a consequence to a thing that she didn’t know was wrong.

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They went up the stairs and the page opened the door to the kitchen. “Here, dinner’s served” he said into the room, assumably to the cook. She came out from behind the stove, looking… different. “We need her to work tomorrow, don’t kill her.”

With that, he quickly closed and locked the door behind him as he exited the room.

“What- what are you doing? What do you mean- what is this?” Awynn asked as the cook drew nearer, a terrible look in her eyes. She looked like a feral animal.

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“What the- Help! Get me out of here!” Anwyn turned to pound on the door, but she immediately felt hands on her shoulders, pulling her back.

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“No one will hear your cries, little one. Try not to fight, I don’t want you to get damaged.” she urged.

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"I'm sorry, child. I wish I didn't have to." she said resigned.

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"There's only so much you can do when you're starving

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"Let's get you to bed."