Bastian
Chapter 151 - First-time Deviations

✧First-time Deviations✧

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Are you satisfied now?” A voice interrupted Odette’s sleep. It had been a jarring experience, waking up and finding herself in a strange place. She stared up at the ceiling as the afternoon sunlight played on her face.

   She slowly sat up and examined her surroundings, she was in a hospital, that much was clear. There was an IV drip shoved into her arm and the place stank of sterilisation fluid and antiseptic. She tried to remember how she got there, but the last thing she could remember was drinking tea and browsing a catalogue.

   “Am I satisfied? You’re the one that’s ruined her life.”

   As Odette was trying to piece together her mind, another voice shrilled out from the corridor. There was the sound of people having an argument.

   “This is a hospital, will you please keep your voice down,” the first voice said, it was a lot calmer than the first and male.

   Two people were having a full blown argument outside her bedroom door. She knew their voices, but in her dreamy haze, she had trouble placing them.

   She got out of bed and as soon as she put weight on her legs, they buckled. Odette was quick enough to steady herself on the bed side. Instinctively she wrapped a hand around her belly and quickly noticed something was wrong. The prominent bump was missing.

   “If you had let Odette leave with me, as per the Emperor’s orders, this would never have happened,” said the first voice, a little calmer than before. It was a high pitched female voice and Odete knew who it was, but her mind was now distracted by the absence of her child.

   “If you’re going to be like this, then I suggest you head back, I don’t want you disturbing Odette,” said the second voice, Bastian.

   “You’re the one that needs to step back and accept the divorce,” the female voice said, Countess Trier.

   “I believe I already gave you my answer.”

   “How much are you willing to lose? You already lost your child due to your arrogant stubbornness.”

   Incomprehensible words poured out from both sets of voices one after the other. Odette slipped into a strange, cloudy daze as she tried to make her way across the hospital room to the door. There must have been some kind of mistake, otherwise, this was a very strange dream.

   “If this keeps going, I will have to mobilise the Imperial Guard and forcibly remove Odette from your evil clutches.”

   “Do what ever you want,” Bastian said dryly.

   “Listen carefully, Major Klauswitz, the Emperor might not be interested in being Odette’s uncle, but he will still do what ever he can to protect the honour of the royal family. Stripped of her title or not, Odette is still of royal blood and he will not suffer her miserable situation any longer, especially not if it means bringing criticism onto the family.”

   “Dear Countess, I think you might have forgotten what it was like for Odette while with her father, the Duke Dyssen.”

   “Oh, yes, sure, her life is so much better now. Constantly involved in one scandal after another. Her reputation has been tarnished, she has suffered so much hardship that she even ran away from you and now she has been poisoned and lost her child because of you. You really think all of this can be swept away with a little bit of money?”

   Bastian did not reply, the argument ended with Countess Trier’s harsh words.

   Odette stepped back from the door, the haze of clouds in her mind grew dark as a hand left the door knob she was about to turn and went to her belly. She waited for Bastian’s voice to come and correct Countess Trier, but he never spoke.

   “Baby…” Her soft, watery voice whispered, seeping into the sunlight’s golden dust. Her frail hands, desperately groping the stomach, looking for traces of the child, soon lost its strength.

   Odette fell back into the room as she tried to make sense of everything. She had lost her child because she couldn’t escape him and now she may never be a mother. A crack formed in Odette’s delicate heart.

   Swallowing her tears, she ran for the window and threw it open, desperate for some fresh air to clear the mugginess from her mind. The air was cold and sharp, with the freshness of snow. 

It was bitterly cold.

An unmistakable feeling too real to be a mere dream.

****

Maximin had been starring into the microscope for a long time, long enough that when he finally surfaced, his eyes were sore and puffy. A knock came at the door.

   “Come in,” he said, tiredly.

   It was the curator of the Royal Botanical Garden. He had promised Maximin he would join him for tea that afternoon.

   The pair went to his office where an assistant served their tea.

   “It is an honour to have the Count Xanders for tea.”

   “Well, now that we are colleges, you can just call me Maximin,” he said with a friendly smile.

   Maximin had been cautious about accepting a role at the Royal Botanical Garden as he was worried about Alma settling in. It was fear for nothing as Alma was thriving in the rural town of Rothewein. It allowed Alma the opportunity to properly enjoy mother nature. The irritation caused by the noisy scene of Ratz was no longer interrupting their lives.

   “Very well,” said the curator. He leant over and took out a folder from his bag. “I have chosen a few places, mainly quiet villages and made up a good listings of places currently on the market, if you would care to take a look.”

   “Thank you for taking the time,” Maximin said, his eyes widening as he flicked through the folder.

   It was the only favour Maximin had asked for, when he accepted the position as head researcher at the Royal Botanical Garden. He wanted to know the quietest little village where he could relax and live. It was part of the promise he had made Countess Trier.

   “I would have thought you would already have a place, to be honest,” the curator said.

   “Yes, I already have a family villa quite near the gardens.”

   “Then this house?”

   “Some where for my relatives sister to stay,” Maximin said calmly. “She is not feeling well and needs a nice, quiet little place to stay for awhile.”

   “Ah, well then, you’ve made the best choice.” The curator then went into a tirade of all the excellent facilities available, including the hot springs that many patients had visited. Maximin listened carefully and attentively.

   Countess Trier’s plan was to first being Odette in and then finish off with the help of the Emperor. The first thing they needed was a hiding place, some where Bastian would not be able to find her. He was a man without common sense and he would not relent.

   Odette needed to get out of Ratz and someone to look out for her while the Bastian problem was taken care off, hopefully with the help of the Emperor. If Bastian was to learn of Odette’s whereabouts, he would not give up and until the divorce was finalised, Odette needed to hide.

Until the divorce proceedings concluded, Odette needed a custodian in a secure place, and Maximin happened to have the ability to fulfill that role.

“Then I’ll see you again in Rothewein.” With ardor for his hometown in his heart, the curator took his leave as the west sky began to blush with evening’s touch.

   After seeing off the curator from the lab, Maximin went back to his desk and looked over the documents. A corner of one of the pages had been folded over to mark a simple stone cottage. At this point, it would do Maximin some good to be alone for awhile and it wouldn’t be so bad with Odette about.

After making a decision, Maximin strode to the desk and grasped the receiver. Countess Trier made up her mind to bring Odette home within the month after she visited the hospital. It was time for him to hurry to keep up with her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Odette had fallen back asleep by the time the police officer came to the hospital. She had taken sleeping pills to help her fall back into a deep sleep. A maid had come to tell Bastian that the officer was waiting for him. Bastian gave up his seat to the maid and went to greet the officer.

   “I apologise for coming at this late hour, Major Klauswitz,” the officer said. “I wanted to let you know that we have found the culprit, Molly Ross.”

   “Where is she now?”

   “She is at the morgue. She was found, dead, at the sewer outlet near the Gulf of Ardenne.”

   “Was it murder?”

   “We wont know for sure until the autopsy, but its highly likely.”

   “Okay,” Bastian said flatly.

   “Do you know anyone that would want to see Mrs Klauswitz harmed? Other than Molly Ross, whom I believe Odette fired some time ago?”

   “Well,” Bastian said, thinking. “I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head, I will have to think on it some more.”

   At this point, his revenge seemed no longer valid with so much interest in them from the police. It would be difficult to hide and prison was no place he wanted to be. He had only killed a hunting dog before, so didn’t want to take the risk.

   “I don’t suppose a dog was found near the corpse?” Bastian said, probing a question.

   Margrethe had gone missing. The head maid, Dora, said she had seen Margrethe chase after Molly. Could the dog of killed Molly?

   “A dog?” the police officer said.

   “Yes, a small one, with white fur. A lace ribbon tied around its neck. My head maid informed me she saw it chase after Molly Ross.”

   “No, Major, there was no dog.”

   “Okay, well, if you find it, could you let me know.” Bastian left a polite request. “ Her name is Margrethe. You must find it. Please.”