XLII. The city

Cara

Hoping to blend in as only a servant in the castle, I wore a stark white dress that revealed much of my back but was designed in a way that my neck was concealed. The dress was supposed to hide the nape of my neck where a dark insignia signifying my clan should have been. The sleeves were long and covered up my wrists where I should have born a mark showing that I was a serving maid.

I carried along with me, a dark hood that I would wear once we left the castle.

I strutted down the wide hall and stopped at the edge of a staircase where I would meet Merideth. After a short wait, I saw her approaching. She carried with her, a wicker basket in which she would keep the things she was going to buy.

"You look nice," she said.

"Thanks. And I'll be sure to return you dress," I replied, running my palms over the cloth's soft surface.

"It is not mine...I'm not a serving maid so I don't have to wear it." Merideth's work in the castle was basically acting as an assistant to the Court Physician, a male portionist.

" Where did you get it then?"

"I know someone," she flashed me a brilliant grin to reassure me.

I'd explained to her that I wanted to blend in as a simple servant. What I hadn't told her was that I had been forbidden from leaving the castle and that I was doing this secretly.

We descended the many floors of the building, heading to the North wing until we neared the area where many warriors resided. They could be heard easily at this pointing, roaring and growling. My heart rate went up as the fact that I was in dangerously close proximity to them. It also came clear to me that where we were going, they would be many.

"Don't worry, they are not authorized to attack us in the castle and neither are they in the city. We'll be staying in the ARA's, the attack-restricted areas."

Our steps halted at a gargantuan black gate which was flanked by two armed guards. The helmet-wearing men held swords at their sides and spears in their hands. As if they were not armed enough, their claws were fully out and their fangs hanging out of their mouths. Their stances warded off anyone who paused a threat.

Merideth stepped ahead of me, standing in between the two.

"We wish to leave." She took a piece of black paper out of her pocket. " The Court Physician's."

One of the men took the note and keenly inspected it. He looked down at Merideth who did not flinch or falter," what about her?"

Both men had their eyes fixed on me. I gulped audibly. My attempts to slow down my heart rate proved futile.

"Lies. I can hear her beats."

"Let her through, she's with me," a slightly masculine voice came from behind me. Turning, I found Aeren approaching at a quick rate.

"Are you sure?" A guard asked, staring right at the boy.

"Cork-sure. Any further issues you may take up with my brother."

In apparent surrender, the guarded opened the gate. The metal moved away, opening up to a long road with trees at its sides.

Walking further and further, we found the tower-long main gate. The gate was heavily guarded. Leaving the gate, I found that the walls had wolves standing at four-meter intervals.

***

Aeren accompanied us the whole way. He said that he had a day off since Jasper was dealing with private and confidential issues. I guessed that that was the same reason Ivan had been disappearing so much lately.

For a brief moment, my mind thought back at the previous night, ignoring the awe around me.

So I slapped him...in the face, I thought, regret and anguish washing over me. I had been so furious when he called me a weak human. It pissed me off when he of all people saw me as small child, unable to protect myself.

Hurting him was not something I wanted to do. I doubt I even had. And it's not like it made me feel any better. I was still angry.

The town lay a short walk past the wall. It began subtly with grey brick, progressing into short building and quaint shops. At the centre of it all stood a tall ivory obelisk. It towered over all the other buildings with large circular symbols carved into it. The symbol that was drawn on all four sides of the structure was of wolf howling with the moon in the background.

"It's a territory mark," began Aeren," it shows that this particular area is dominated by the lycanthropes. All cities and town have one. They are necessary in preventing conflict between the three races."

All I could do was nod. So far, I understood that the country consisted of three dominating races; witches, vampires and lycanthropes (werewolves). All three commonly stuck to their designated areas of settlement, around which they kept their administrative posts. This was all in a effort to maintain peace.

We carried on. Merideth led us to a particular boutique with a glass door. Much like many shops back home, a bell rang upon our entry. Merideth approached the front desk and called out, waiting for attendance.

The shelves on the wall held many plants and bottles with liquids and different colours.

"Mr. Kratz?" Asked Merideth. Aeren waited by the door, apprehensive while I wandered around. This new city made it hard to control my curiosities.

A figure appeared from the back door. The woman had long jet-black hair that cascaded down her body, ending at her waist. She was beautiful with the most mesmerizing silver orbs.

Her gaze switched quickly from Merideth to me. Her eyes fixed on me, gleaming with an emotion that I could not identify. Looking at her, I felt a weight settling inside me. The air was cold all of a sudden. And everything felt wrong for a moment.

Wind blew in, harshly shutting the door in the process.

Where is Mr. Kratz? Asked Merideth, suspicion growing on her face. She let down the hood of her coat and held her bag closer.

Out. Im stepping in for him today, the silver-eyed woman said. You needed some thyme? She faced Merideth who nodded, her eyebrows furrowing in the process.

Yes. How did you know? The red-haired doctor was becoming more and more suspicious and frankly so was I. This was like that part in a crime drama when both the audience and the characters knew something was up.

Something fishy was going on here and it all sourced from the woman who was allegedly standing in the shop owner.

I switched around to Aeren and gave him a questioning look. Inwardly, I hoped that he would calm my nerves and say that he trusted the woman. He didnt. He was not even looking at me. His attention was glued on the silver-eyed woman who was currently searching the shelves for the requested herbs.

I neared the boys and tugged lightly on his shirt. His eyes suddenly locked with my own and he said, thats her.

His words were a whisper but, in my ears, they felt like the boom of an atomic bomb. I was dumbstruck. It did not take much explanations. Two words from Aeren and I knew what we had been faced with. Before us stood Zoladie.