XXXIII. The rain

Cara

The weight of all that had happened that day crushed my chest causing me a physical pain. Heaving, I collapsed onto the plush comforter. The beddings recieved me and comfort spread over me.

My eyes shut and I began to drift off into the land of slumber - one of the best places known to troubled people. The feeling of solace however proved to be ephemeral. I was quickly brought back. Remembering that I was not at home and definitely not on my bed, my eyes snapped open. I was far from home.

Sitting up on the luxurious queen sized, four-poster bed , I looked around the room again. I had hardly gotten a chance to look around before. Ivan had escorted me here and had quickly left. He clearly had other business to attend to. And it made me feel like... an inconvenience.

My room was more than sizeable. It was huge. It was different from the room I had slept in the last time I had been here. That room was on the floor below the one I was presently in.

Whoever had designed the place had managed to make the rarely used white and gold theme look splendid. It was astounding. The ivory walls were generously decorated with painting and breathtaking artwork.

The furniture was all wooden and so were the fours doors except for one that led to balcony. Everything was so extravagant. Though beautiful,  it was a little too fancy for my taste.

He didn't strike me as the ostentatious type...

Even surrounded surrounded by all this, all I wanted was to go home and see my father and my friend. Tears ran down my cheeks in hot rivulets but I wiped them away.

A soft knock sounded at the door. I rubbed my eyes, took a few deep breaths and went to see who it was.

My hand rested on the knob hesitantly till I turned it and the pulled.

Ivan stood there. He had changed out of his suit and now wore a grey t-shirt and black sweatpants. The outfit gave him an aura of calmness yet his nature was anything but. When he wanted to, he could be the rain and the thunder. The whole storm.

"You're crying..." he said. It did not take a genius to tell that I been crying. My eyes already felt puffy.

He moved in but I backed up, not letting him touch me. He looked away then refocused his gaze on me once again. "You haven't eaten. Come have dinner."

"I'm not hungry." At a time such as this, the last thing on my mind was food.

"Starving yourself will help nothing."

"I said I'm not hungry."

Suddenly an animalistic sound reverberated from deep within his chest. The growl made my breath hitch. I felt my heart rate go up and my chest tighten.

I took a step back. I was not foolish to forget that he was a beast.

"Fine. I will leave you for now," he told me. " We depart in the morning. Someone will come and help you prepare. Be ready at eight sharp." And then he walked away.

I watched silently as he walked away. I must admit,  he did look good, both coming and going. It was not until he was out of view that I re-entered my room.

Minutes later there was another knock at the door which I decided not to answer. The knocks persisted until I had no choice but to answer.

This time it wasn't Ivan. Far from it. It was a young woman. She was tall and blonde and appeared a few years older than myself. She wore a simple white dress with an apron over it and white flats.

"Evening, my lady, I've been told to bring you your supper." I knew her accent. It was familiar. Thinking back, I realized that it a lot like Aeren's. Perhaps they were from the same place.

Up north?

"No thank you," I replied, throwing my gaze at the food service trolley beside her.

She pursed her lips for a second, then spoke again," my master insists that you must have something to eat. I cannot leave until you eat something."

"Oh really..."

I nodded. I did not want this woman to suffer because of me. Ivan could be wrathful and I did not want him to punish this girl because of me.

She brought the trolley in and began to set up dinner on the medium sized dining table on the other side of  the room.

As she was setting up, I noticed the tattoo on her lower back. Her dress had an open back allowing me to see a large portion of her slim back.

"Nice tattoo," I complemented.

She giggled a little and tried to hide it. "Thank you, my lady. But it's not a tattoo. It's a clan symbol."

"Oh...well, it's very pretty."

"Thank you."

She lit the candles and told me to have a seat. I did so and she uncovered the silver food domes.

I was surprised to see spaghetti.

The girl tried to put a napkin on my lap but I stopped her. It would be a little foolish to let Vasiliev's many servants do every single thing for me. Next thing you know they would be bathing me and dressing me. Then I wondered if Ivan had them do everything for him too. He seemed very independent but there was still a possibility. You never know...

"If you do not need anything else, I will be leaving now," she gave me a little bow." My lady."

Looking at the large array of dishes on the table, I realized that as healthy of an eater as I was, I would never finish all of it and there the girl stood, probably having not eaten her dinner yet.

"Wait!" I called before she was gone." Join me." I gestured at the seat beside mine.

"I could never, my lady."

"Nonsense. Of course you could. Unless you don"t want to."

"With all due respect, I really don't want to. Goodnight, my lady."

She gave me a curt bow and she was out the door.

***

The halls were an endless labyrinth. So many twists and turns. The dress I wore swept the Persian carpets. It was the same dress I had planned to wear to my prom.

Tears ran down my rosy cheeks but my mascara didn't run and my blush remained intact. The tears landed on the dress darkening the champagne fabrics. Suddenly the gown was heavy to the point where I had trouble walking in it.

After walking for what felt like hours I found the staircase. The stairs were long and endless. I held onto the golden stair rails. It seemed that they took all my weight and I was floating.

The steps came to an end and right ahead of me were large doors. They opened and a forced willed my body across the threshold.

Suddenly I was in the woods. It was rainy heavily.

Lightning struck across the red sky. The red moon disappeared behind the thick nimbus clouds. A wind blew past and it felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane.

There was a loud tear. Looking down I saw the fabric of the dress ripping right from the center of the neckline to the bottom. It was as if an invisible knife ran down my body, leaving both my dress and my self in tatters.

My pulse began to race when I heard a familiar sound behind me. Turning, I saw that the house was gone and countless wolves stood there, aggressively baring their shape canines at me.

I took to my heels but no sooner had I began running than I was caught. Had I even stood a chance against the predators.

They pounced. I was on my back, hopelessly trying to get away. My skin burned as they scratched and tore.

Then my body was no longer mine. I watched from a short distance as they ripped apart the girl. In her last moments of life she turned to me and it was Liza.

Liza's wordless pleas made no difference for soon she was gone.

The rains continued and I found my strength.

I trecked through the seemingly endless trees. And I finally came to a stop. I entered the house. It was my house — mine and my father's — but it was not the same.

The backdoor shut loudly behind me. I walked ahead, leaving tiny drops of blood in my trail. The warm liquid flowed down from my neck. It dripped as if Hale had only just bitten me.

I went upstairs. Again the steps were endless. I found myself outside my father's room.

My hands stained the polished doorknob as I made my entry. And there he was. On the bed. Laying flat. Breathless. Lifeless.

And with a sword through his rib cage...