Shadow of the Prince

Dinner with a King

Dal woke up the next morning to the eerie feeling that she was being watched. Her bones ached in an odd way, and the bed beneath her felt different than other mornings. She nestled further into the soft pillow below her.

Someone cleared their throat nearby. Dal's eyes flung open wide, and her body shot straight up, startling the grey pillow she was snuggling against. 

Err - grey wolf. 

Daisy peered up at her through slitted eyes. Dal looked from Daisy to the source of the noise. Adonis leaned against the cage, with his arms crossed and a half-smirk on his face.

"Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Oh, uh. Yes."

"Any particular reason you locked yourself in here with Daisy?"

Dal bit her lip and shook her head vigorously. 

"Right, then. I'm actually here to inform you that you've been invited to dine with King Belatron and Prince Tullvomm."

Dal tried to look nonchalant, and picked a few pieces of dog hair from the bedding she sat on, and flicked it onto the ground. 

"I'll need to sweep in here later," she murmured to herself.

"You're not curious as to the nature of the invitation?"

Dal fought her eyes from darting back to the Hound Keeper. She was really trying to work on seeming innocent. He seemed to always have her figured out.

"Is it about my work here?" She feigned innocence.

"Whatever it is about, you do need to sweep the cages and prepare their meals, not to mention start proofing the kennel for winter. It should take most of your time until dinner tonight. Come to my room at 5:00 p.m., no sooner and no later. Understand?"

Dal narrowed her eyes. "You never were going to tell me what the dinner is about, were you?"

Adonis' smile grew. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the kennel without a backward glance.

"Asshole," she muttered under her breath.

She swore she heard him laugh before he left the kennels.

Dal reached out and scratched Daisy between the ears. Her old gray tail wagged once, then twice, before stalling as she sank back into the bed and was swept off to sleep.

#

Come 4:30 p.m., Dal was worn, tired, and starving. She rushed back to her room and sponged off, and changed into her only dress that wasn't riddled with soot or dog hair. It was a clean, crisp baby blue dress. It was simple, but lovely in her opinion. 

The billowy blue dress was always her favorite, but she'd never worn it. It simply didn't make sense to, as she was scrubbing soot and smearing writing ink one moment, and mucking dog stalls the next. It seemed the oddest gift of the Prince's because all of the other clothes were fairly plain and easy for work. 

Without a mirror, she couldn't bother with her hair, and ran a quick comb through her auburn tresses a few times, before rushing out the door again towards the Hound Keeper's room.

When she raised her hand to knock, she realized that she'd never approached Adonis' chambers before now. She had a feeling that if she were to get a peak, she would see neatly lined up parchment sitting atop an organized desk, paired against a perfectly made bed. 

She knocked a few times at the door. A few moments later, Adonis appeared in the doorway, also wearing a new change of clothes.

Her eyes fluttered over a silver embroidered vest and a partially unbuttoned fine white shirt. Before she could explore further, she forced her gaze to meet his eyes, and found that he was looking at her, eyebrow arched.