A MAZE OF GREED

Ruth was about to open her mouth after Rees denied hearing any wolf in the woods. She was sure that it was not her mind playing tricks with her. She heard it multiple times, it couldn't be her imagination. But she held her tongue back after realising that Rees was not interested in the topic.

She didn't want to stress it further as all that mattered, in the end, that she was safe with Rees. So not pestering him further she tried to change the topic, for walking in the haunting silence of the night gave her chills.

"Rees"

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind sharing your experience of working with the O'Dells?"

He gave her a sideways glance, his brows perked up in surprise.

"Why the sudden interest in the O'Dells?"

She cast her eyes down. "I am just curious like every other resident of the Vincardine."

"Fine. I believe it must be it." He smirked at her. "So, what do you want to know?"

"umm... anything that you want to share." She shrugged her shoulders.

She was not much aware of the O'Dell family except their faces and names of those she got to know from Thea on the night of the celebrations and some hard to believe tales about them. So anything that Rees would share was authentic information for her.

"Do you know anything about the family members?"

Ruth was about to slip the fact that she and Thea trespassed into 'the great manor'. But before that could happen she stopped herself.

"Yeah, I mean I know some of their faces and names."

"How?"

If only Ruth could tell him the truth.

She decided to trade safely. "I saw some of them at public places and some are described by the people."

"Okay. So Augustus O'Dell is a seventh generation of the originator, George O'Dell Sr. His wife is Lady Theodora O'Dell. Lord Augustus has two daughters, Eloise is the eldest and Elsie is the youngest. And the Young Master, Edwin O'Dell is his elder brother's son." That much Ruth was aware but she wanted to know more.

When Rees didn't go into the details, she decided to ask him some questions. "Are you happy working for Edwin?"

By the crease of his brows, Ruth realised that she had messed up with something.

"It would be better if you show some respect while addressing his name. Either call him the Young Master or Lord Edwin." Rees replied in a serious tone.

Ruth bit the insides of her cheek with a thought that Rees was right. They were the Originators, the most respectable family not only in the town of Vincardine but also in the whole country.

"I apologise. Are you happy by working with the... Young Master?" Edwin's name felt foreign to her tongue but she knew that she had to get used to this as Rees was now her friend.

And there would be several occasions when Edwin would be the topic of their conversation. It was better to start speaking his name with respect.

Rees's face held proud while he talked about his master. "Young Master is the perfect Master one could ask for. I am not only happy but feel privileged to work with him."

Ruth's hazel eyes held amusement at Rees's words. 'He must think very highly of his master', she thought.

"How is he... as a person?"

Her next question made Rees give her a puzzled look. "Pardon?"

"I mean... there are many rumours about him. People feared him. Is he like that or are they just baseless gossips?"

Rees took a moment before answering. "To be honest, it depends."

"huh?"

"It depends on the person's perspective. The normal people have many wrong assumptions about him and they think of him as a mystery. He is not very good at maintaining social relationships unlike other family members, who make public appearances now and then. The elites think of him as a spoiled heir who will create troubles and nothing else. But..."

"But?"

"Those who are close to him, and let me tell you that there are not many people who fit into that category, admire him."

Ruth's curiosity was now on the peak. She also thought of him as a mysterious and arrogant man. And her first impression of his in 'the great manor', when he was with his maid, contributed much to believe in those rumours about him.

This was the first time that she was hearing something good about him, other than his charming looks and wealth.

"What is your opinion about him?"

Rees gave her a sceptical look. "Aren't you a curious little one?"

Ruth rolled her eyes at him. "Rees... you are just three years older than me."

"And what does it imply?"

"It implies that I am not little." She huffed in annoyance. Her pace slowed down a little that made them stop walking further.

"What happened? Are your legs hurting?" The sceptical look on his face turned into worry. Rees adjusted the parcel in his hands and looked at Ruth.

"No, that's not it. Isn't this a longer route? I know the shorter one. We should take that to get out of the woods soon." Ruth suggested, looking warily at her surroundings.

"No!" His words came rushed and panicked to her ears.

She gave him a confused look not knowing why he didn't want them to take a shorter route.

"I mean. That one is not safe. We will go on with this one."

Ruth tried to read his face but to no avail. She couldn't understand why he was not listening to her.

"Rees"

The word held some sort of doubt and fear that made Rees clench his jaw. Ruth was not understanding his reasoning, she could never. But this was the only way that he had to deal with the situation. He didn't want her to feel unsafe around him but clearly, he was failing.

His brown orbs bored into her hazel ones, trying to covey his sincerity. "Do you trust me, Ruth?"

"I..." Ruth matched his stare not because she wanted to be confident but because she couldn't move her eyes away from his.

"Yes," The word left in a whisper from her lips. It was not that she had another answer for his question but the word came so easily as if she was compelled to say so.

A satisfactory smile stretched on his face. "Good! Now let's get going."

Ruth nodded her head and began walking, keeping up with Rees's long steps. Her head suddenly became heavy, her face contorted in utter confusion. Her mind had only foggy snippets of memories of the last couple of minutes.

'what's wrong with me?' She couldn't understand what just happened after Rees asked if she trusted him. She felt like in those two minutes, she lost control of her mind. As if some another power snatched it from her will. She shook her head to clear it with those thoughts.

Even though Rees pretended that nothing happened, he was well aware of Ruth's confused state. To take away her mind from those thoughts, before she pondered over it, again and again, he decided to answer her previous question.

"In my opinion, The Young Master is the well capable heir of his family's legacy. He is more intelligent than people give him credit for. He is a master in the art of fighting and defence. Watching him with his sword is a sight to see."

His lips stretched in a smirk as he thought of the times he had watched Edwin practising with his sword. He even had faced duals with Edwin during the practice sessions. And even if Edwin had taught Rees about various tactics to use sword, his surprise moves always amazed Rees.

When the person thinked that they had figured out Edwin and his traits, he surprised them with a new one. He always had something different in his trunk.

Ruth's focus shifted from her thoughts to Rees's words. She listened to every word with attention, her eyes held reverence.

"But... people say nasty things about him. They say he is cruel and dangerous." She said in a low voice.

Rees sighed. "Have you ever seen a ruler who is not dangerous?"

When Ruth failed to answer his question, Rees continued. "He is going to be a leader, a ruler... greatest of the all-time. He ought to be dangerous or people will try to exploit his kindness.

I don't know what exactly you have heard about him but don't believe everything they say. Sometimes we fail to understand a person because of our pre hypotheses about him. But everyone has their reasons to act the way they act."

"You mean, he has his reasons for sleeping around with various women?" The words betrayed her resolve to not let Rees know about her and Thea's scandal. Her eyes widened at the realisation but it was too late to take those words back.

"How do you know?" Rees narrowed his eyes at her.

Ruth immediately covered up her mistake by saying, "People talks, women spills."

"Hmm..."

"Hmm? Is that you are going to say?"

Rees was confused by her words, they felt agitated to his ears and ornery for hers.

"We are here!"

Ruth was shocked, her mouth agape to see that they were already in front of her apartment building.