Chapter Five-The King's Order

There was silence for a few seconds after the man yelled that he had an order from the King.

"Well? Have you gone dumb? What are Damien's orders?" princess Montanne snapped impatiently. 

I stole a glance at her and regretted it quickly as she caught my eyes again with a disgusted look on her face.

The man cleared his throat, not even looking in Montanne's direction.

"King Damien" he continued, with emphasis on 'King' to hint to Montanne that the fact that she was his betrothed mate didn't give her the right to address him by his first name "has requested to see Merchant Rhea immediately"

Montanne's eyes widened in shock as Rhea made her way to the door.

"Don't you dare enter that room!" Montanne yelled, stopping Rhea in her tracks. Her chest was rising and falling as she fumed. "The King is in meditation and must not see anyone. I am the one attending to all the Royal matters and I command Merchant Rhea to leave now!"

"Princess Montanne, I have great respect for you as the mate to my Lord, King Damien, and my close friend, do not push your limits" 

Montanne stood speechless, shifting her glare from the man to me.

Rhea went in and the door was shut behind her and secured by the soldier's spears.

"You!" Montanne growled moving swiftly toward me and grabbing me by the neck of the light dress I wore. 

I squeezed my locket tightly in my hands, it was all I thought to protect.

"If that witches request is granted" she said referring to Rhea "and you are allowed to stay in this palace, I will make life a living hell for you. Do you understand me filthy thief?" 

I stood defiantly and stared into her eyes. 

"I decide who lives and who doesn't in this palace"

Her eyes were golden and glowed with fury as they fell on my locket. I could tell she was barely suppressing her wolf from rousing and clawing me to pieces.

In just a short while in this place, I had managed to anger the future Queen. This was not a good start. But I wondered why she despised me so much, it wasn't as though I was a threat to her throne in any way. 

I watched her as she walked away with her maids following her behind like puppets.

Soon, Rhea stepped out of the chamber with a warm smile on her face. 

As the guards closed the heavy doors, I caught sight of the King's side view. 

His dark hair fell over his shoulders and the crown he wore seemed to be weighing him down.

At that moment, I could have sworn I felt my locket shifting softly beneath my dress.

He was just about turning towards me  and I was about to see his face when the guards closed the doors shut and blocked them again with their spears.

"You will be fine here" Rhea said hugging me "I must go"

I held her hand as she turned to leave. I had only known her for a few days, but she was the only one I'd bonded to since I woke up. 

"I don't belong in this place, I want to go" I said, trying hard to suppress the tears that were threatening to set loose on every word. "I want to stay with you"

"The outside world is dangerous Elda, you barely even survived" She leaned towards me and gave me a kiss on my forehead "may the moon goddess watch over you"

With those words, she turned back and left, shattering my heart with every step.

A young lady walked up to me wearing plain clothes that were very loose.

She was young and pretty, but her hair was combed straight with no adornment and the bogus dress she wore did a very good job of hiding any curves she might have had.

"Are you Elda?" She asked, her brown eyes fixed on mine.

"Yes, I am" I answered.

"Come with me" she said and started walking down the hall. I looked back one more time at the King's door, still wondering about the man that was on the other side of the door.

The girl kept leading me further away. We passed hallways, dark corners and even a tunnel. The BloodHowl Palace was magnificent, but I was getting tired of walking. Each time we entered a part of the palace that was darker, colder and farther away from sunlight.

I was about to complain when we finally stopped in front of a small door. The girl opened it and had to stoop down a bit to enter. 

The room was very large, like a long hall with two rows of beds on the left and right. There were many girls dressed just like the girl that brought me there. Their hair were straightened with no adornment and they were wearing the same bogus clothes she did.

"What is this place?" I asked after deciding that I didn't like this place very much.

"This is where the maids of the palace court stay" someone else replied with a sassy tone and with such pride. 

"Here, we prepare to serve the Royal court everyday and rest our heads for the night. It is a privilege to be chosen as a court servant" another girl said confidently.

"This is where you live?" I asked not trying to hide the disgust in my voice. "This place looks like a rat hole!" I didn't mean to be rude, but the place was just stuffy and there were so many of them.

Even though I didn't remember who I was, I was sure that wherever I came from was better than this place.

"Would you look at that?" One of the girls said "her Royal highness said this place is a rat hole" she didn't bother to hide her mocking tone. All the other girls laughed when she spoke.

"You know what?" She spoke up again "I have a special request from the King to take you to a more comfortable room"

"Really?" I smiled, grateful that I was going to sleep anywhere but here. 

"Yes" she said with a wide smirk on her face. The others giggled and were whispering to themselves, but I didn't care, as long as I would soon be out of here. "Follow me"

I followed her through a brighter hallway and we stopped at a door.

"Your room" she said with the smirk still on her face as she turned and walked away.

I half expected to open the door and see snakes, scorpions or anything that would harm me on the other side, but all I saw was a comfortable bed with a drawer of clothes.

I took my bath with the water in the tub and was applying the milk pomade I saw on my skin, already picturing my body colliding with the soft mattress, when I heard a man's voice growing louder.

I quickly grabbed a cloth and put it on. It was short and barely covered my breasts and thighs.

The door clicked open and my heart skipped when a young man entered.

He froze, staring at me in disbelief with his golden eyes, just like Montanne's.

"Don't they knock in BloodHowl before entering a ladies room?" I asked irritated by his surprised expression.

"Why would I knock on my own door?" He asked stepping closer to me.

I could feel his eyes running through me from top to bottom.

I suddenly became eerily conscious that I was half naked and tried to wrap the robe tighter.

"What are you doing in my room, and why are you wearing my shirt?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he bent towards me.

It was my turn to open my mouth in disbelief.

"What?!"