Ileus: The Dark Prince

Robert continued, "I highly doubt that she was allowed to come back or whether she even survived." He took a deep breath in, rounded the table and went to sit in his chair. "Our father took us to a nearby village out of fear. We came back many years later only to know that our sister never came back." 

Feeling very sorry for him and his sister, Anastasia said, "Didn't you inquire about her from the other faes who come here?" 

He scoffed. "Do you think faes reveal themselves? The faes never expose themselves. They are all shadows and smoke when they come to collect the tithe. It's like they feel us with those shadows around them." He said as if he felt the dirty feeling of being crawled by spiders beneath the skin. 

Anastasia's heart stopped as she gasped and her body stiffened. But she was corporeal. How was this possible? How come she didn't turn to shadow and smoke? But the fact that she was not shadows and smokes, meant that they didn't suspect her to be a Fae. 

"Basically, it's impossible to ask them anything," he said with gloom in his eyes. "People here hate the faes. Long back they used to pick up the young ones of those who couldn't pay their tithe. And that was the reason why they also picked up my sister. However, this practice was stopped soon after her disappearance and we had a breather." He leaned forward and lowered his elbow on the table and intertwined his fingers. He steepled them and put his chin over them. "This practice restarted roughly eight years back." 

Anastasia gritted her teeth feeling sickened hearing about the corruption and torment the humans were bearing because of them. She was surprised that the time matched when her parents were taken captive. Feeling helpless as hell, fury rose in her chest, but she masked it with a calm façade. "Why are you telling me all this?" she asked. It was weird that a man would say such private things about his family to a complete stranger. 

Robert didn't answer for a long time, instead his eyes roamed around her face making her feel even more uncomfortable. Few torturous moments later he said, "You bear a very strong resemblance to my sister." He waited for some time and studied her again for any kind of reaction. "My sister had hair as golden as sunshine. Her eyes were the most striking—one blue and one green. She was— she was the most beautiful thing the world had even seen!" 

Anastasia was stunned. She stopped her mouth from falling open. Her heartbeat raced and she clenched her jaw to stop that knot from forming in her stomach. 

Robert lowered his elbows and leaned over. "Her name was Áine." He stopped before saying, "And you look quite like her except that you have blue eyes…" 

The words that left his mouth and crashed like ocean waves in her mind. Goose pimples prickled everywhere and she thought her heart would explode. Her mother's name was Áine. She stared at him with unblinking eyes, full of emotions that she was trying hard to conceal, trying hard to maintain a stoic expression. On the inside, her mind was caught in a whirlwind of emotions and she held her breath. Was she Robert's niece? The thought made her gasp. Her mother had mentioned about her family but Anastasia never remembered that. She was too young—she recalled only flashes of it. She was speechless. 

How ironic it was. At the moment, she couldn't even reveal her identity. If she did, she risked being exposed to Aed Ruad and his men. She quivered on the inside but sat still in her chair. Seeing her own family and not being able to greet them, was so hard. She wanted to jump across the desk, and hug her Uncle. Emotions swirled in her eyes, but she blinked away the tears. She always thought that she was alone, but now she had a full-fledged family and unfortunately she couldn't disclose herself. 

Seeing that she wasn't answering, Robert said, "Áine was our stepsister… but later we came to know that—" he stopped and shook his head. "I am sorry to go into so many details." His breath hitched. "But I was hoping that you knew Áine. She never returned to us and we just keep hoping that we will see her one day… You look so much like her…" he stopped and bit his lip. 

Anastasia stayed quiet for a very long time, trying to push the lump down her throat. Finally when she caught her breath, she said, "I am sorry for your loss Robert, but I don't know your sister." On the inside she was crying. 

Robert jerked his head back. "Oh!" he said with disappointment and pursed his lips. He chuckled. "I am so stupid." He gave her a sad smile. "I am sorry to have troubled you in that case Anastasia. It was for the first time that I had talked about it to someone. When I saw you, I restricted myself, but when I could no longer, I waited for you to get up." He laughed and rubbed his mouth. "I was hoping for a miracle, but I think I am a fool. Once again I am very sorry to have troubled you with my foolish talk." 

"Not at all, Robert," she said in a quiet voice. "If I were you I would have done the same." 

"Then we are good!" he replied with a cackle. He changed the topic immediately, "Have you— have you had your meals?" he asked. "It is dinner time and our cook had made some great chicken legs spiced with rosemary. You must taste that." 

She managed to give him a kind smile. "I will." However, now she was worried that Robert didn't go around telling everyone that she looked like Áine, but there was no way she could voice her concern. A bout of fear burst in her heart but she quickly suppressed it. She had to go her way. It was just a matter of time and she was going to get away from them all. Perhaps tonight…