Chapter 32

Laurel turned to look at the voice to see a handsome young man standing in the hallway, gazing at them in surprise. He had blond hair and light gray eyes. He was about as tall as Basil and handsome, but she felt he fell short of Adolph's attractiveness. He didn't look aristocratic, but he exuded a very charming aura. Laurel thought he might be vaguely familiar, but she couldn't be sure about that.

The maids who were holding Laurel stammered and seemed overcome with embarrassment. Laurel pulled free of them and went to Sarah, kneeling beside her as she sniffled pitifully.

"Are you okay?"

Sarah trembled, holding her face with glossy eyes.

"I'm fine."

Tina stood up, regaining her haughty expression, "And who are you to interfere?"

The man flushed, "How rude-"

Delia suddenly jumped between them and hurried to say, "Forgive her rudeness. It has been a stressful day"

He didn't seem convinced, narrowing her eyes at Delia and Tina. Delia looked at Tina and spoke in a low tone.

"He is Eden Bloomfield, a human merchant, I have seen him discussing important matters with Basil and Minister Mirabelle! He must be the guest of the castle. Don't be rude to him, Tina."

Tina looked at the man with contempt but held her tongue because he was the prince's guest. She cleared her throat, "Yes, my apologies, Mr. Bloomfield. Please, this is no matter to concern yourself with. If one of you would escort Mr. Bloomfield to where he was headed. I will finish with dealing with this disobedient maid."

Laurel scoffed, standing and glaring at Tina, "First, I'm not a maid. Second, you are not qualified to accuse me of disobedience. It is your fault for touching my things without my permission and attempting to throw them out!"

"You wretched-"

"Anyone who strikes first deserves the same treatment."

Tina screeched and rushed at Laurel with her hand raised, but Alice pushed her way to the forefront of Laurel's mind and roared at Tina, shaking the air. Tina flinched and grew pale, jumping back in fright. The other maids seemed terrified and unsure of what to do. The room fell into silence again in shock.

Eden stepped forward and gave Laurel a small smile before looking at Tina.

"This girl is much too young to be treated this way. No matter what you're accusing her of." He glanced over Laurel. "Are you okay?"

Laurel nodded stiffly as he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Sarah, who had begun to weep softly. She flushed. The bruise was blooming on her face.

"Thank you," Laurel said with a little nod.

Delia looked at Eden a bit nervous and racking her brain about what to do. She couldn't afford to offend this man under any circumstances.

Tina scoffed, "Another man succumbs to her charms, it seems."

"Stop it, Tina!" Delia hissed at her, glaring at her.

Tina's eyes widened in surprise while Delia smiled curtly at Eden, "This is a castle matter. I, as luna, will take care of it, so there is no need for you to worry about it."

Eden gave Delia a gentle smile, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get involved in this matter. I just happened to pass by and saw a group of you around these two girls, so I intervened."

Delia's face turned red, "We didn't-"

"Thank you for your help," Laurel said with a curtsey to Eden. "If only everyone in this castle was as friendly as you are."

She thought of Sam, Lynn, Chasel, and Adolph. While they had been very welcoming, the rest of the castle was just as she remembered: unwelcoming and harsh. She had only accepted Adolph's invitation to live here because she didn't have another choice. She wanted to continue her investigation, but it seemed that she would have to find another way to do so. Since Delia was so keen on kicking her out, she didn't want to stay and have to put up with any more of their hostility.

Alice growled and howled with displeasure.

*Why do we have to leave because of them? Our mate is here!*

Laurel ignored her whining. If she stayed, it would only feed the rumors that she was Adolph's mistress. She didn't need that hanging over her head, and she never wanted to be luna anyway. She supposed now that Delia was married to Basil, Delia would be picking up all the work that Adolph had given her at some point.

Delia was right. Adolph didn't need a stand-in luna now that Basil was married. Would Delia take care of things properly or would she behave just like Basil and enjoy the station without doing any of the work? Would she suffer nights of uncertainty about her decisions the way Laura had?

Either way, Laurel supposed it wasn't really her business.

She sighed and looked at Sarah, "I'm sorry I got you into trouble. Let's live together outside the castle."

Sarah's eyes gleamed and she nodded with a small smile, "I would like that very much, Miss Laurel."

"Just Laurel," she chuckled. "Let's get our things and head out, okay?"

Sarah got to her feet and walked with Laurel to the pile of things. Tears of resignation fell as she went through her things. She thought to collect the gown Adolph had given her along with all her jewelry, but she decided against it. It was better to make a completely clean break. In the end, she gathered the letters she'd brought with her and the clothes she'd brought from the Sapphire Lake pack. She hesitated regarding the papers regarding the reestablishment of the school, orphanage, and the hospital but took them just in case. Delia wouldn't need them, but maybe someone would ask for them one day. She'd probably have to give them back to Adolph directly one day.

Sarah packed up her clothes in a meager bag. When she was done, Laurel linked arms with her and turned to leave without looking back at Tina or Delia.

"We'll look for a place close to the orphanage," Laurel said. "They'll need staff."

Sarah nodded, "It's a bit scary."

Laurel pulled her close as they walked, "I'm sorry for getting you into such a mess."

Sarah shook her head, "It is probably for the best before something more outrageous happens What do you think the king will say?"

She wasn't sure, and she didn't want to think of it. Though, thinking of it, he probably wouldn't say anything about it. He had to have known about this and given Delia sanction to do whatever she wanted as luna.

Alice growled, *That is not something our mate would do!*

Laurel ignored her, "I-"

"Ladies!" Eden called out to them, hurrying to catch up with them. "Please wait."

Laurel looked at him, curiously, "Yes?"

"Sorry, again!" his cheeks turned red as he shuffled his feet. "I know I was rude, but I want to make up for what I did."

Laurel smiled, surprised at the sentiment, "You did nothing wrong, Mr. Bloomfield. Thanks to you, we were able to at least get our things and leave on our own instead of being dragged out. thank you, if you hadn't shown up, we might have been thrown out of the castle."

"Please call me Eden."

He turned to Laurel and rubbed the back of his neck, "After witnessing this happen to two ladies, I was too embarrassed to just leave. I'm staying at an inn just outside the castle. As you are suddenly without a place to stay, I'd like to invite you to stay there first. I know the owner of the inn very well, and I can get him to give you a cheaper price."

Laurel was surprised. She glanced at Sarah who seemed to agree that it was better than they could have expected to do on their own.

"Thank you, Mr. Bloomfield, for your kindness."

He beamed at them and led them out of the castle. The sky was dark above them, and it struck how different it felt to walk out of the castle this way. Her heart ached and she was still upset, but there was no fear. Her emotions were calming.

She turned back to look up at the ornate edifice, the polished gates, and stone and sighed. It was the second time she was being kicked out of the palace because of Delia. The irony wasn't lost on her, but she was glad that she wasn't just rushing into the forest alone and to her death this time.

She wasn't alone now. She had Sarah and that was enough for now.

*What about our mate?* Alice whined. *We should find him and tell him what happened!*

Laurel turned from the castle's gates, eyes burning. She didn't want to go back and find out that he had known. She didn't want to go back and hear him say to get out. It was best to leave now on her feet rather than be dragged out.

She'd find some way to look into Laura's killer outside the palace, or she would just have to let it go.

Either way, she was leaving.

She walked down the steps with Sarah and Eden. She lifted her chin, straightened her back, and walked out of the castle the way she had walked out of Delia and Basil's wedding ceremony. She wouldn't leave the palace without her dignity again.

*Goodbye, Adolph.*