486 The lost coins

Music Recommendation: Uno by Ludovico Einaudi

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The young girl who fell on the stairs looked up from the ground, her eyes searching for the man whom she loved and had given her heart to him, trusting it would never break, but life was not made of roses. What Constance didn't know was that since she had stepped out of the Belmount mountain, away from the shadow of her father, she had exposed herself to evil people. 

Now with eyes that were filled with tears, Constance blinked her eyes as they had turned blurry. She saw Laurence spare her an emotionless look from the top of the stairs, where he stood. 

"There's nothing left for her in here. Let's get inside as there are other things that we need to do than waste our time on this poor girl," said the older vampiress, placing her hand on her son's shoulder. 

"Please Laurence," Constance sobbed, knowing he could hear her, but he turned deaf to her plea and blind to the tears that she shed from her eyes. Laurence turned his body to have his back facing her and he then walked back inside the castle, while the guards who were ordered came and stood next to the girl. They caught hold of her hands, dragging her out of there while Constance was unable to do anything. She begged, but none heard her. 

Constance was dragged until the end of the Hawthrone's castle gates and then pushed out of it before the large gates were pulled to close on her face. 

"Please, let me talk to him for a minute. That is all I ask for," begged Constance. The things that belonged to her and also the things that were showered upon her as gifts were all taken away from her, leaving her standing alone and with empty hands. 

The guards glared at the human girl. It was one thing when she stayed next to the King and the King was interested in her, keeping her close to his side, but then there was the side where King wanted to do nothing with this girl anymore. One of the guards who was standing inside used his metal rod to hit it against the gates, and Constance took three steps away from the gate, startled. 

"Leave now. The gates are closed to you from now on, and none of the royal family members wants to do anything with you," the guard spoke in a gruff voice. "Move away from here."

Another guard who stood there watching the lady, who once used to smile, was now crying. The guard had seen many people pass in and out of the castle gates, but this lady was one of the few people who spared a glance at him and offered him a kind smile when she was in the carriage. 

When Constance started to walk after a couple of seconds more, the second guard called her, "Wait!" 

The other guard stepped out of the gates, and he went near the young girl. 

Constance, who was ready to leave with a heavy heart, stopped her feet and saw one of the guards step out and walk towards her. He fished something in his pocket and stretched his hand. When she looked down, it was two coins: one silver and one nickel. 

She shook her head. 

"Take it. If you keep walking from here, you will find the village on your left. You will need this once you reach the village," the guard had only so much on him, and there was nothing more he could give to repay her kindness. 

Constance's eyes filled up with tears again. She didn't know what to do, and with shaky hands, she took the coins from the guard, "Thank you," she whispered, and the guard nodded his head. When he went back on the other side of the gates, the other guard warned,

"If the King or the mother Queen hears about this, they won't be happy. We are not supposed to help or do anything to this girl. You're going to end up in trouble, of course, I will be the one to tell on you," the guard smirked. 

The one who had offered Constance his two saved coins stared at the girl who had started to walk, and she disappeared from their sight. The girl walked from the castle to the next village for two hours and then reached the village. The Hawthrone's family had decided to throw her out of the castle before she could even eat anything, and it had left her with an empty stomach.

Constance didn't understand what happened and on her way, she tried to recollect if she had done anything wrong, but she couldn't identify any mistake from her side. She had believed Laurence loved her and they would live together forever. Did he not love her anymore? It was only a week ago he was speaking about marrying her, how did things turn sour so quickly?

When she reached the village, she looked for a place to eat, but to her bad luck, she only met one of the relatives of the King who was in the village. Before she could even step into the inn, the King's cousin saw her and said, 

"I heard what happened, Lady Constance," the cousin looked up and down at the girl, "You poor thing, how about I take you to my home, and we can see if we can speak to the King to persuade him?"

Constance, who was naive and hopeful again, she nodded her head. "Let me go and have some food before it quickly." 

"Sure," the man internally smiled looking down at her and the condition she was in. When Constance stepped inside, she went back out again as she had dropped the silver coin from her hand somewhere. The carriage of the King's cousin stood outside, and she heard someone ask, "Will the King take her back?"

The King's cousin chuckled, "Do you think I am crazy to get on his bad side? Laurence and my aunt have already decided the girl who he would be marrying, and it is not this girl."

Constance's eyebrows furrowed, and she didn't let the two men know that she was standing behind the carriage, "What do you plan then?" asked the other man.

"To take her to my private mansion, of course. I would love to experience what Laurence saw in her that made him not to look at the other women for this whole year. Men like us can only crave the fruit that the King eats, but now that the fruit is reachable, I would like to have a taste of it myself," laughed the King's cousin.

Constance's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth so that no sound of her voice or sob could come out from her mouth. Terrified at the vile thoughts, she didn't wait to search for the silver coin and started to walk without waiting for the food either. And as expected, after a while, when the King's cousin went inside the inn looking for her, the girl was long gone, and he cursed his luck.