Dal trudged up the stairs towards the third floor. Her neck ached from being bent in the same position all day, and her hands throbbed from copying the pages of old instructional manuals over and over. It was not especially intricate work, but Dal found herself intrigued by the knowledge that the Magistrar so freely bestowed upon her. She soaked it up eagerly, trying to commit every piece to memory in the event she may need it later. She realized that the magical things that she marveled at by the hands of her mother were actually quite rudimentary.
So why didn't she ever teach her any of it?
When Dal climbed the last step, she avoided the curious eyes of the soldiers who stood in the hall.
She'd only made it a few steps into the hall, when a familiar tap tap on the wood floor behind her drew her attention.
"Hello again, Beasty," Dal said without looking back behind her. A moment later, the great wolf closed the distance between them, and she could see him out of her peripheral vision, his large, ebony head hovering near her shoulders.
She wanted to say more to the creature, but she found that she was much more drained than she had been yesterday. They walked along in momentary silence, before pausing at Dal's room.
Dal turned to the dark wolf, taking in his raised head, and cutting glare to the soldiers stationed at her door.
Poor Gerallto and Hennisan.
Like last night, Beasty stepped forward, eye level with the soldiers, and sniffed each of their necks. He took a shorter time this go-round, but his hackles still remained raised.
Beasty snorted and turned away and trotted down to the Hound Keeper's room. As before, he scratched at the bottom of the door. A moment later, the door opened to allow Beasty to pass, before slamming shut.
Dal swallowed the small disappointment that came unbidden. Against her better judgment, she had hoped to see Adonis once again. It was better that she didn't. She couldn't waste her time on a useless dalliance with a hound keeper.
Even if that hound keeper was excessively gorgeous and frustratingly annoying.
Catching herself staring, Dal hastily entered her room. She shuffled to the bed, quickly stripping off her outer garments and collapsing onto the bed.
She knew she should have gone to dinner tonight, but she was just so exhausted. Today was much more difficult and it left her with tiredness that she just couldn't shake.
Going to bed early tonight would allow her to get up early enough to be on time, tomorrow. She could worry about eating at breakfast then.
Sleep beckoned to Dal. It overtook her quickly, settling into the aching muscles, allowing her to forget her confusing reality amongst her dreams.
#
Dal awoke the next morning to a harsh banging at her door, and a steep headache pounding at her temple.
She stumbled from bed, dragging a bedsheet with her. She wrapped the sheet tightly around her body before opening her bedroom door.
A very furious Magistrar stared down at her. His frustration quickly shifted to something else as he surveyed her. Brows knit, lips pursed. Was that concern?
The Magistrar slipped through the doorway and shut the door behind him. He reached out a hand and clasped her chin, tilting her head this way and that while inspecting her inches from her face.
YOU ARE READING
Shadow of the Prince
Werewolf"A fantastical cross between the Beauty and the Beast and ACOTAR." A prince, a witch, and a wolf are tied together by the sins of their parents. Can they break free of the secrets that bind them, or will the Kingdom of Eidas forever be under a terri...
