Chapter 34

  Hektor played guide as he and Gwen ambled about the castle. Hektor did his best to avoid the busier areas, but it proved to be a fool’s errand for there were eyes everywhere on them both. Everyone stared at them with a shameless curiosity, the maids even peaked round corners while some were bold enough to follow them from a distance.

  It stressed Hektor and raised his anxiety, but he was well used to contending with his condition by now. Doing his best to avoid the attention, he took up the task of offering small snippets and anecdotes to Gwen about any features of the castle he could think of.

  Though it was clear that neither Hektor nor Gwen were in the mood for such. Their minds mulling over to the meeting between their parents.

  Hektor was pointing out a suit of armor worn by a famous general, when Gwen interjected, “So, what was it like living in a castle, Hektor?”

  Hektor was about to give a banal reply when he turned pensive. Giving the question some serious thought, he realized that he was in a unique position to actually give a meaningful answer.

  “I believe it wouldn’t be much different to what you are used to, Miss Croft,” Hektor replied earnestly. “But living in ‘this’ castle was very strange.”

  Gwen was a little surprised by Hektor’s sudden liveliness. Curious enough to follow up, “Whatever do you mean?”

  “There is no privacy in these walls, Miss Gwen,” Hektor eagerly shared his opinion. “Faymoren Castle is so many things altogether. It fulfills so many needs. It is the seat of power of the Duchy. Home of the Duchess and Duke. Concurrently, the castle functions as their agency with the offices of their subordinates. It is the center for any events of state while being the head authority for numerous departments of governance. Not just the Royal Court, ministers and officials conduct meetings regularly in the castle.

  “Before even counting the staff and guards, many of whom live on castle grounds, hundreds of people visit this place daily for any number of reasons. There is a constant stream of visitors, and guests that stay over.

  “It is both, a place of work and home to so many people at the same time, all the time.”

  Gwen had an idea of what Hektor was alluding to.

  “Living in Faymoren Castle is like living in an institute of sorts,” Hektor compared. “If we were to go to the kitchens for something to eat, we would pass by more than a dozen people and I wouldn’t be able to name all of them to you. The same if we visited the library and the gardens. Any place really.”

  Gwen imagined living in one of her father’s office buildings, or staying in the communal hostels of the Isca Academy. Neither option tempted her in the least. “That sounds hectic,” Gwen sympathized.

  “It is unusual,” Hektor agreed. “The castle is not a private place. But for the longest time, it was the only kind of home I knew.”

  Gwen had to bite her tongue not to blurt out anything about Hektor’s ordeal when he was ten.

  “Tell me about your friends,” she asked instead, fishing for anything interesting.

  A trickier question, one that left Hektor a little embarrassed.

  Whilst a kid, Hektor didn’t have many friends. Being the illegitimate son of the Duchess got in the way of growing friendships in more ways than one.

  Following his birth, Sabina had been over-protective and didn’t allow Hektor out of the castle at all in his earliest years. She did organize a small nursery where Hektor found playmates. Though once he reached the age of schooling, he had to bid them goodbye.

  Being home schooled took away another opportunity for finding friends. The only ones that Hektor could look to for companionship were offspring of fellow nobles, but little came out of it. Unfortunately, his sheltered upbringing left him with no practice and Hektor found it difficult to warm up to others. And children weren’t particularly known for their patience.

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  A few instances of unintentional bullying on the subject of his father made Sabina intervene, and by then the children were either afraid of Hektor or had made up their minds on the shy and reserved boy.

  There were a few that Hektor did befriend, but they never bonded into anything substantial.

  Instead, Hektor ended up growing closer to the adults in his life; his mother, aunt Delia and his tutors. It was only when he left the castle that he found his first true friend in Jamie.

  Thinking about Jamie made Hektor smile. He had just received Jamie’s second letter from Roheim and he only had good things to say.

  That still left him pondering what to tell Gwen.

  “I’m afraid I wasn’t the most popular growing up, Miss Croft,” Hektor worded his answer delicately.

  Gwen picked up on Hektor’s hesitance and guessed that Hektor was referring to his controversial birth. “And what about when you grew up?” she insisted.

  Hektor found the answer easier this time. “I made a few friends since then, Miss Gwen. But as we grew older, everyone started readying for their futures or started apprenticing. We grew distant and I got left behind. That is, until a month ago when I got my own job you could say,” he said with a sheepish look.

  It took a moment for Gwen to work out that the children Hektor had befriended came from humble beginnings. She recalled something similar from the reports she had received about Hektor from her father.

  Frankly, she was a little perplexed. Gwen had her fair share of sycophants wanting to befriend her for her wealth and influence. She had not given them the time of day and discarded them for the leeches that they were.

  Now in front of her was the son of Duchess Sabina who had gone to befriend commoners. Not only that, he seemed to believe that they were ahead of him in pursuit of their ordinary vocations.

  “And what of you, Miss?” Hektor turned the question on her. “What of your friends?”

  For a moment Gwen imagined that Hektor was taunting her.

  “Miss this, Miss that,” Gwen scolded playfully. “Please, just Gwen.”

  “Apologies. I will endeavor to so, Gwen,” he gave in easily and looked to her imploringly.

  Gwen suppressed a sigh. Hektor hadn’t been thrown off his inquiry.

  “Papa travels a lot,” she began. “Always has. That did not change when he married mama. Nor when I was born.

  “We were always together. Mama and I went where papa went. Travelling all over, never staying in a place for more than a year.”

  Hektor hung on her every word, such a life the exact opposite of his. His genuinely curiosity compelled Gwen to continue.

  “The constant moving made it difficult to make friends,” Gwen offered up the excuse, embarrassed and a little defensive at the sore subject.

  “I understand,” Hektor quickly spoke up in support.

  Bolder at Hektor’s assurance, Gwen stood straighter. “It was when I awakened as a wizard that mama and I settled down in Isca because of my education.

  “I found friends quickly, but,” Gwen trailed off and slowly turned to look at Hektor. “They got left behind.” She used Hektor’s phrasing from before.

  “What do you mean?”

  Gwen hid her grimace, but found herself explaining almost on a reflex, “I was talented. They were not.”

  “And?” Hektor probed, sensing another side to the story.

  Gwen’s shoulders slumped. “I may have made a mistake,” she said and went silent.

  Hektor was sensible enough not to intrude further. “Do you miss travelling?”

  Gwen flinched in surprise at the question. “I do,” she replied. “What I miss most is being the girl on an adventure with her family.”

  Hektor returned Gwen’ melancholic smile. “It sounds like a wonderful story.”

  “The best,” Gwen affirmed.

  In their own worlds, both of them did not pick up on their shared lonely childhoods. It made for a sad affair that neither of them was willing to conjure up the name of a single friend between them. Maybe they simply didn’t trust one another. Or perhaps they were so much more protective of the few friends that they did have that they couldn’t afford to share them.

  A cursed blessing then that their hearts were so much harder for it.

  Neither of them called the other on it.

  “There you are, Hex,” someone called over as Hektor spotted Shane marching over on quick feet. “They are expecting you back,” he announced.

  Hektor nodded just as Gwen rounded the corner and stepped into Shane’s view.

  Shane actually stumbled and nearly fell over his own two feet at spotting the Croft heiress. His eyes drinking her in as his mind immediately conjured up the most forbidden thoughts.

  Gwen herself looked over the handsome hunk of meat like a coiled snake preparing to strike.

  Oblivious to the sudden tension, Hektor introduced the two. “Shane, this is Miss Croft. Gwen, this is Mister Shane Dawson under the Duchess’ employ.”

  Gwen slinked past Hektor to offer her hand to the gawking Shane. “Pleasure,” she greeted in a husky voice.

  Shane managed to pick up his mouth off the floor to lift her hand and bow. “Charmed,” he replied, his breath brushing the skin of her hand. He looked up and was bewitched by the hunger in Gwen’s eyes.

  She sneakily raised her hand and rubbed the back of it against Shane’s lips before withdrawing. She walked past and poor Shane was entranced by the exaggerated sway of her hips and reminiscing the feel of her skin on his lips.

  It took a few seconds for Shane to return to his senses and rise from his half bow. He nearly screamed like a girl at spotting Hektor staring closely at him.

  Shane tried getting a word out, but his voice escaped him. All the while Hektor kept staring. He looked once to the departing figure of Gwen and then back to Shane.

  Shane sweated lead as he saw Hektor deduce what had transpired. Before he could say anything, Hektor walked away without a word.

  “Damn!” was all Shane could utter.