A Maiden.

Of course, where else could she be but the Palace, away from everyone's eyes, serving the High Priestess?

Sasha was surprised that she managed to maintain her composure, but then why not? The woman looked like her mother.

But the smile on her lips was different. It was one that did not know how to truly laugh.

"Gabrielle has told me that West Blackwood is tracking down Reginald."

Sasha blinked, clearing her mind to proceed with what was at hand. She had too many questions and they would be answered by this woman.

"Would you like to sit down?" Arielle offered.

Sasha looked behind her at the settee and sat down. Arielle took the winged chair opposite hers. So graceful, so elegant. Sasha had never seen anyone like this woman. Aliya may compare, but it was easier to read Aliya than the mysterious lady sitting across from her now. Mayhap it was the fact that she had been one of the Elected children and that Sasha had been looking for her.

"Your first question must be why Gabrielle is involved in this," Arielle started, the small smile on her lips never wavering. "I ordered for her to find out what West Blackwood is doing. The crown prince, with the help of Belcourt, managed to intercept a suspicious letter from London."

"You and the prince work together?"

Arielle's smile widened. "Of course. Why would we not be?" When Sasha did not respond, Arielle sighed with understanding. "The prince and I have reached a certain kind of truce, Sasha. Belcourt helped our father ascend to the throne. I have no desire to change anything, considering Belcourt and the kingdom have one common enemy." Even her blink was delicate. "I do not consider myself a princess for I am one of the seven Maidens of Belcourt and I shall forever remain as one."

A young girl cloaked in purple, with her face hidden in the shadow of her hood, quietly entered the room to serve tea. An Elected, Sasha surmised. Without a word, the young girl left, allowing Sasha a moment to think and organize her thoughts while Arielle picked up her cup and sipped. "Do you believe West Blackwood, Sasha? Everything he told you about finding me and saving me from Reginald?"

Sasha did not answer.

Placing her tea back on the table, Arielle's light blue eyes never left Sasha. "Perhaps I should start with Willoghby."

"Gabrielle has been following him."

Arielle nodded. "Upon my orders, yes. He is the source of the intercepted letter we received from the prince. As the owner of the Sutherland Post and that horrible magazine, The Grimes, Willoghby has reach all over Sutherland and beyond. It is only expected that he is a good source of information, useful or otherwise. Albert brought the attention directly to me and we organized a plan. We needed to know more and at that time, we thought we can push Willoghby a little more, without his knowledge of course, so he would pursue the matter."

"You planned for me to be recourted."

Arielle nodded. "It was easy to find Willoghby's interests, shall we say. He loves women with brown, wavy hair. And whenever he is obsessed, Willoghby goes to great lengths to get what he wants. And as if by luck, West Blackwood handed his application to Belcourt. We could not just take any Belle with brown hair, can we? We needed someone fresh and innocent for both men."

Sasha's jaw tightened and her hands closed into fists.

"Willoghby took interest in you just as we expected. You were in Coulway—easily accessible to him, fueling his madness even further."

"And he started to look into your brother."

A look of revulsion crossed Arielle's eyes for one second before she blinked it away and said, "Please, he is not my brother, Sasha. I could never associate myself with him."

"But he is trying to find you and save you."

Arielle sighed and closed her eyes. "I see that he has quite manipulated you into thinking that he cared enough to save a woman he has never even met, the same woman who is a product of his mother's infidelity."

Sasha swallowed. This was not how she expected things to be.

"Going back to Willoghby, you are correct. He indeed dug into West Blackwood's life."

"But why would you manipulate him to do the same thing I was told to do?"

Arielle smiled. "You were the distraction we needed, Sasha. You distracted Blackwood and you motivated Willoghby. We could not wait for you to master the craft of deception. We needed Willoghby's expertise. And if you only gave him more time, he would have succeeded."

"Succeeded in what? Gathering evidence of West's crimes?"

Arielle shook her head. "We are already certain of Blackwood's crimes, Sasha. What we needed Willoghby for is his ability to look for something we have been trying so hard to find for years."

Her heart began to hammer against her chest. Something in her told her to go away and return to West, but another part of her said she had to stay and listen. "And what is that?" she heard herself asking.

Arielle's satisfied smile told Sasha that she had been waiting to answer that question. "We needed the names of the members of the Royal Circus."

The frown on Sasha's face forced the woman to sigh, her eyes filled with patience.

"The Royal Circus is a group of men, privileged or otherwise, who supports the previous monarchy. Blackwood's father, Addison Blackwood, was a known leader of the Circus."

Her heart stopped. No, no... This could not be. Not him. This was preposterous.

"The Royal Circus has been around for years, Sasha, perhaps even longer than Belcourt. They were the loyal servants of Reginald and the other kings before him. It was only after Reginald was dethroned that their presence was identified as a threat. For quite some time, we believed that the club disintegrated with Blackwood's death years later, but recent events have led us to believe that the group is still very much active and West Blackwood is the new Royal Master as they would call their leader."

Sasha felt her chest heaving as she struggled to maintain a semblance of normal breathing. She fought the ringing in her ears, willing herself to listen further.

"Belcourt and the kingdom have been trying to locate them, but to no avail. When Reginald's letter was unknowingly intercepted by Willoghby, we found something concrete—proof that the Royal Circus is planning something. But we cannot simply accuse Blackwood of a crime with naught but one letter, and we could not simply name any random man associated with him to be members of the Circus." Arielle paused to let Sasha absorb everything. "My father, the king, is not like Reginald. He would not punish a man without a fair trial. Bur for a trial to ensue, we need to find the Circus and its existing members."

Sasha looked around the room, wishing someone else was there to tell her that she was dreaming, that she was having an awfully bad nightmare.

"Willoghby is not aware that we know about his discovery. He is a great tool that we intended to use, but now cannot, much applause to your very unpredictable move," Arielle continued, her voice etched with sarcasm.

Sasha shook her head. "But what if the Circus, if it truly exists, wants what West has been telling me? What if they are not loyal to Reginald, but the current king of Sutherland?"

Arielle chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh, Sasha, you make me want to cry. But I do understand. You have been manipulated by a man." Her face turning serious, Arielle said, "The Royal Circus has but one master and that is the Stanhope bloodline. Reginald and his son are the two remaining Stanhopes, Sasha. So long as they are alive, the Royal Circus will be their soldier. Their main goal is to destroy the new line of monarchy and its allies. Belcourt is amongst them." Slanting her head to the right, she gave Sasha an assessing look. "We cannot let that happen, Sasha, because Belcourt is our home."

She shook her head. "But there was no indication that West was—is—doing something—"

"As there is no indication that Belcourt is capable of something quite incredible, Sasha," Arielle interjected. "Do you truly think that Belcourt is the sole institution with secrets? That is how good they are. The Royal Circus is currently Belcourt's greatest enemy, and for a reason. And we need to know our enemies, do we not? West Blackwood and his father suffered greatly after Reginald was dethroned. He shares his father's hatred for King Louis. Contrary to what he may have told you, Sasha, West Blackwood grew up adored by his father. He was trained from the moment he was borne. I know that a part of you is thinking this, but Sasha, you cannot change a man like West Blackwood in just a few months of being his Belle"

Willoghby's words echoed in her head.

I am the lesser evil, Sasha... because Blackwood is the devil himself...

A shiver ran through her just as a tear escaped her eyes. She hastily wiped it away with the back of her hand. She sniffled and stuck out her chin. "Willoghby never found the Circus?" Sasha asked despite herself.

"We found no proof that he did, but we believe he was very close." Arielle stood and looked down at Sasha. "But you will find it for us. Surely, you have gained Blackwood's confidence. Gabrielle has been exposed. She can no longer do anything, and I cannot trust anyone else in Belcourt. The fewer people know, the more we are at an advantage."

Sasha locked her gaze with Arielle.

"Do you believe me, Sasha?" the woman asked, her voice calm, but her eyes looked desperate, almost pleading. "You may not believe me now, but if you can be wise enough, you will find that everything I have said is true. You were not given this task because the Circus may have knowledge of what Belles do for Belcourt. You could have been slaughtered alive before you stepped foot into Blackwood's estate. But now, we are at an advantage."

Sasha shook her head. "They know I came here. If what you say is true, then they would have a reason to suspect me more than ever."

"No, they will be curious. They will want to know who you met here. They will demand answers, which you will give."

"And what do you expect me to tell West? That I met his sister and she does not wish to be found, that she believes him to be her enemy?"

Arielle's gentle smile returned. She lifted her hand and pulled out a ring and handed it to Sasha. "That ring belongs to our mother. He would know." Sasha gazed at the ring, the same one worn by Elizabeth Blackwood on the painting. "Tell him you met me and that I do not wish to leave Belcourt."

"But it would merely make him even more resolved to get you—"

Arielle shook her head. "No, it would make him think of another way to get to me and while he does, we will use the time to find the Circus—you will use the distraction to find his secrets."

Sasha closed her hand over the ring. "He is not aware that you are working with the prince."

"Of course, he is not. He barely knows I am alive." Arielle went down on her knees and covered Sasha's hand with hers. She peered at Sasha. "Sasha, I know that this is hard for you, but if you give us the same chance you gave West Blackwood, you will find the truth. And once you do, you will realize that everything he has been telling you was a lie. My life depends on you, Sasha. The future of Sutherland and Belcourt depends on you."

Sasha looked at the woman. Good God, it was like looking at West's eyes. But there was a big difference. West's were often guarded. Arielle's however, was openly bare.

"Find the Royal Circus, Sasha. And perhaps then you will understand."

Taking a lungful of air, Sasha slowly let out a shaky breath. "If I find out that you are manipulating me, my lady, know that I will never return to Belcourt," she said, her voice shaking.

Arielle nodded. Then she smiled, her eyes glimmering with tears of relief. "Belcourt will welcome you back home, Sasha."

Something clenched in her chest and she was finding it hard to breathe.

"You love him," Arielle said, voice matter-of-fact. "I do not know much about love, Sasha, but I do believe that you should have not fallen for Blackwood." The woman squeezed her hand. "But I do not judge you for it. We may be the Ladies of Belcourt, but we have the same things any woman has. We have hearts that can be swayed."

A whimper escaped her lips. She blinked away the tears and tightened her jaw. "If he proves to be who you say he is, I will come home to Belcourt. Loyalty is much stronger than love, my lady, and I have much of both."

Arielle nodded and smiled at her proudly. "If you find yourself in danger, Sasha, you run home. Do you understand?"

Sasha nodded and stood to her feet.

Moments later, as she was escorted out of the Palace by Gabrielle, Sasha remembered the words she once told West.

Do not start fully trusting me now...

They exited the Palace through the known route in Belcourt. A carriage was already waiting for them by the entrance.

"Hurry, Sasha, we do not have much time," Gabrielle said, her eyes in panic.

"Do you truly think they will harm your brother, Gabrielle?" she could not help but ask.

Gabrielle stiffened. "They are the Royal Circus, Sasha, and their history speaks for itself. They can do the evilest of things," the woman gritted out.

She had much to ask the woman. Why was she in Belcourt while her twin was living a privileged life outside? Why was she here when she had a family?

Her questions would remain unanswered for now for Gabrielle disappeared almost immediately as the carriage rolled away.

And as Sasha exited Belcourt through the gates, Willoghby's voice kept chanting in her head.

Because Blackwood is the devil himself...