Diana stood in the ballroom, staring blankly. Everyone was paired and she was the only one standing awkwardly. She turned from time to time, trying to get familiar with her environment.
"The king isn't here." A woman whispered behind her. She didn't turn because she knew that whoever was speaking wasn't referring to her.
"Did you hear me?" The voice came again. "Hey! Sophie!"
Diana calmed down. She was almost going to turn to answer until she heard the name that was mentioned. She exhaled softly in relief.
"What has that got to do with me, Maddie? If he's not showing up then that's fine too! No one wants to see his cursed face anyway." The sophie said. Diana's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. What curse? She thought it was only a rumour.
"Don't be like that, Soph. Oh but if he does come around and chooses a bride!"
Sophie chuckled. "Sometimes I wonder how I ended up being friends with someone as stupid as you are."
"Aw, that's harsh Soph."
The two girls made up instantly and resumed their discussion about the king. Diana was still standing on the same spot. A young man approached her. From the way he looked and smelled, Diana could tell he was a weak werewolf.
"Hello." He said with a small smile. "My name is -"
"Hi, bye." She said and turned to the other direction. The guy felt very embarrassed and left quickly. Once she noticed he had left, she turned back to the direction she was facing all the while.
The King's right hand man came into the ballroom with a wine glass and a spoon. Ting! The place became quiet immediately. All attention was drawn to the lone man who stood at the entrance of the dining.
"Attention, the king has called for everyone to show up at the dining for a dinner with him. He will be joining us soon." Right after speaking, he ordered the guards to open the door. The people began to stream into the dining. As hasty as they wanted to be, they had their reputation to protect so they didn't run. They managed to contain the excitement of seeing the king and walked into the dining.
Diana stood, searching for her step father. If she couldn't find him, she would be happy that she could at least ditch the event. Looking left and right and not sighting him anywhere, she believed that he had somehow rushed into the dining to save a seat close to the king. Diana smirked to herself. Hurriedly, she turned to make an escape but her vision got blocked by a wall and she still bumped into it. She fell backwards to the floor. Looking up, she noticed it was a man.
Couldn't he stop her from falling? She scowled slightly at him. Nevertheless, she got up and dusted her dress. Diana was a beautiful lady. With skin that was white as milk and a reddish brown hair that cascaded down her wait, softly caressing her bums. Her hazel eyes that somehow had golden streaks seemed to always glow brightly, differentiating her from the crowd.
"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I wasn't watching my way."
The man didn't respond to her. He was putting on a mask so she couldn't tell if he was mad or not. But from the way hus presence intimidated her, she could tell that he was someone she could not bear to offend. She swallowed her baseless pride and apologized very humbly. Her step father would skin her alive if he heard she brought added problems to him.
Staring down at her, the man could see the varying emotions swirling through her eyes. He could tell that despite she apologized, she could very well be cursing at him in her heart.
"Who brought a little lamb like you to the lions' den?" He asked. His voice was so deep and full of authority. The strength and power it carried made Diana weak in the knees. She took her gaze away from his and put them to the floor.
"What flock do you belong to, huh? Answer me little lamb." He mocked. Diana felt a rage come over her. She raised her head in defiance but her fiery eyes met his fiery ones. His were glowing red and she could tell that he was really not someone she could offend. She cooled down instantly.
"I'm not a little lamb." She muttered, looking away from him.
"Not a little lamb? But you are a lamb? Just a slightly bigger than little one." The man said. His eyes roamed her body. He could tell what and what she had under the clothes which she wore and he wanted to touch them to know how they felt. Diana felt violated under his stare.
"I'm not a lamb at all!" She fired back.
"Diana!" A hard voice called. Diana shook slightly and the fear she tried to hide suddenly resurfaced in her eyes. She would have made her escape if this proud man hadn't just stopped her! Growling within herself, she turned to find the devil she had been trying to escape, behind her. He was making the slow walk to meet her.
"What are you doing here? Who are you talking to?!" He demanded. Diana turned to look at the man she had been arguing with just to confirm if he was a ghost. Truthfully, he was no longer there. Her face turned dark.
"No one." She murmured. "I want to return home." She said. Thomas frowned at her.
"Why will you return home? The king is about to make a public show!"
"I don't care! I want to go home. This isn't a place for..." She trailed off. Was she just about to call herself a little lamb? Before her step father could say anything more, she ran off. As she ran, the events of the day played in her head again. From the start of the day.
She remembered everything. Her only concern was, who was that stranger who made her feel so many emotions at once and still managed to make her look like a lunatic before her step father? Why did he seem so powerful?
The day had started with her being in the kitchen, doing the dishes. One would assume that living in such a large and beautiful house, she would be treated like a princess. Well, the case was different for her. Only she knew what she was truly facing at home. Her step father would not allow her have freedom. She never went out except he came along. She never had any friends, except the ones he approved.Anything in general that had the potency to cause her freedom was disapproved of by him. She was literally living as a maid in her own house. After losing her father, her mother had remarried. The man had treated her nice until her mother left. He was the legal custodian since his marriage to her mum was legal. The day her mother died was the day she lost her freedom. That was the reason they had maids in the house but she did everything.Gradually, the man had gambled the house and her father's wealth away, leaving her to suffer extreme poverty and still be in debt."Diana! How long w
By the next morning, Diana had still not come out. Thomas was getting angrier by the second. The king clearly requested for him to come with his family member, how come she didn't want to come along."Diana! Why, you make me so cross!" He fumed. Diana remained still in her room. She knew that she was only adding to her troubles."Why don't you go and answer the king, Tommy." She mocked. Thomas banged the door even harder at the sound of her mockery filled voice."You stinky brat!" "Go on. I have a lot to do today. Once I'm done, I will come and see the king with you." Diana bargained. Thomas agreed instantly. Anything to get her out of the room. Once they returned home, she was going to see hell!He hired a cab and left for the castle. Calhoun was at the tower of his castle, looking down at the vast kingdom. Being a feared king was one of his treasured traits. But now, if he wanted to break the curse, it really depended on how feared he was. He hoped that the man would really come w
George was the man who had seen them. He had watched them come in and ran to meet Calhoun in his chamber, dressing up. He was dressed in a white shirt and grey pants. Then he wore his purple robe over his attire. He stood before the mirror watching as the maids dressed him up. Very soon, it will be Diana, his personal maid, dressing him up so nicely."They are here, my Lord." George said, bowing slightly. Calhoun turned left and right before the mirror."What do you think, George? Do I look like a man who is ready to accept a woman?" Calhoun asked lightly. George frowned slightly."Pardon me, my Lord, but isn't the lady going to be employed as a maid in th castle?" Calhoun turned to stare at the man. "Maid? In the castle? No no no no no.""Diana is going to be bought, a slave for the king. She isn't a maid for the castle. Meaning, she serves only me."George scratched his head. "I might have misunderstood then.""I hope you haven't blabbed a thing to the poor lamb." Calhoun said dist
Diana found her way to the kitchen. It wasn't difficult to locate, considering she started the journey from the dining.She didn't know who Nichole was, and the other maids didn't know who she was, so they couldn't respond to her. They treated her like thin air."Nichole?" She called aloud. A few maids turned to see who dared to call the head maid so recklessly. "Who are you?" Nichole answered from behind."Hi, I'm Diana. The king asked me to get him wine mixed with blood from you." Diana said.Nichole sized her. "Are you the new maid?""New, yes. Maid, certainly not."Nichole eyed her again. "Where did you come out from?""That's a rude thing to say. Just give me the wine so I can return to the king before he leaves the dining."Nichole walked passed her. "Leave. I will have the wine delivered to his chamber myself."Diana frowned. "Listen, Nichole, he specifically requested I bring the wine to him.""And I said I will get it to him. Now go." Nichole ordered. Diana stood stubbornly.
Calhoun stood at his tower, staring far into the distance. His eyes twitched now and then.He had torn the maid who saw Diana leave into shreds and he did not feel any better. No. Instead, he felt worse. What if the girl knew the direction in which Diana had gone? How could he know now?He exhaled sharply. He heard footsteps approaching. From the sound they made on the marble floor, he could tell it was George."My king!" George bowed. "I have searched everywhere in the kingdom and the lady is nowhere to be found."Calhoun inhaled sharply at George's last five words. Nowhere to be found? How could she be nowhere to be found? Did she have another relative in another kingdom?"Call. Me. Thomas." He said emphatically, separating each word with a labored breath. George did not need to be told twice. He quickly left the king's presence. He felt sorry for Diana if she was ever found.Calhoun sighed softly. He turned away from the view of the sky which he had watched turn darker and darker.
"My King," George muttered. "You have been seated in the same position for hours. Your back must be aching." Calhoun did not respond. He was still reminiscing about his time with Diana. How well she took care of him and all."My king," George called a bit louder. Calhoun turned to glare at him. "She's gone. She left..""Don't you dare complete that statement," Calhoun warned. "Your job is to find her. Find her. Find her. Find her. Find her!!" "How many times do I have to say it before you do?!""But my king, we have searched the entire kingdom!" George reasoned. Why was Calhoun so hell-bent on finding her anyway? Did he not say she was only a slave?"Where is Thomas anyway?" Calhoun inquired."We couldn't find him at home. His neighbors said they also haven't seen him for three to four days now." George said with a light shrug."You cannot be serious. Did you search for him everywhere in the kingdom? Or were you waiting for my call too?""My king, I wanted to know what you would sug
Calhoun was refreshed by the following morning. He had concluded by night, and that was that he was in love with Diana. He couldn't stay without her. What annoyed him the most was that he began to feel all sorts of feelings after she had left!"I think she might have intentionally run away." "Perhaps she got fed up with the constant embarrassment?""You can't say for sure. Listen, she isn't the only one who gets embarrassed by the king.""My king." The beta called. "Listen, my king, we gave to figure out a way to stop the people from being alerted."Calhoun did not say anything."My king?" He called again. "My king, are you listening to us?""My king, I think the lady is not that important." His beta said. Calhoun was not paying attention to every other thing being said but that one sank in.He turned aggressively towards the man. His cruel expression turned even more deadly when he scowled. The other man shivered a little. Did he speak out of line? Did he offend the other man?"Come
Diana sat still in the train. She wasn't feeling alright. Her body was aching. Sitting in the same position for almost twenty-four hours wasn't all that much of a good thing. Seems like no other person was stopping by.Not until they reached the next stop. More than half of the remaining passengers came down at that point. Diana was torn in between alighting with them. She didn't know the place nor did she know how good or bad it would be. The driver allowed them to stay for about thirty minutes while the other passengers alighted carefully. Diana used the time to also stretch her sore limbs. She was hungry again."Hi, do you know where I could get something to eat?"The man looked at her strangely and walked away, murmuring some strange words."They don't speak English here." Someone said from behind her. It was another lady. From the way she was dressed, Diana could tell she belonged to the army. "What might you want to get? I could quickly grab it for you.""Oh, I just want to eat