When the three girls entered Queen Edda’s dining hall, Scarlett understood why the Queen had gone through so much trouble to get them to dress accordingly. A long mahogany table stood in the middle of the room, with eight seats on each side of it.  And almost every seat was filled, except for the one in the head of the table, evidently reserved for the queen. At the opposite end of the table, there were four places missing too. Those had probably been meant for them. The unfamiliar faces in the room belonged mostly to men, except for one woman who was the oldest person Scarlett had ever seen. All of them except her stood up once the large door opened, and Scarlett, Pakuri, and Voty walked in. Of the three, Voty seemed the one more comfortable in her green flowery dress. It complimented her reddish hair and dark eyes, making her look a lot older than she was. Pakuri, on the other hand, had said none of the dresses fit her, so she wore a suit similar to Gr

  More than the fact that she was being used for food, what bothered Mimbi the most was doing nothing all day long. She was happy she was mostly ignored. Ever since she had been claimed as Lord Galax’s ‘vessel’, no one really paid attention to her. But there wasn’t really much to do in the Hova camp besides walking around like a lost dog. The soldiers did all the cooking, cleaning, and washing, and even stopped Mimbi from washing her own clothes when she had tried to do so. It was all quite strange.  They didn’t allow her too close to the girls, but if they didn’t see her approaching the area directly, they didn’t notice her once she was among them. She’d sneak in and then sneak out.  The Hova had moved the other captives from the cages into a well-guarded area, where they had also been given tents and an area to wash. By now, most of them had the wounds of where they had been fed off. Luckily, the little ones had been spared. A

“What are you doing here?” Luca growled. Scarlet froze in her place. She realized how bad this looked. Her dress was loose as if she had just put it back on or been in the process of removing it. And Prince Marcellus didn’t look too good himself, with his hair all messed up. But it had been that way before he arrived… not because they had interacted physically in any way. “I just came to give Miss Scarlett some information. I’ll be going back to my room. Don’t bother with the chains,” Prince Marcellus said, holding his hand up as if it were beneath him to listen to Luca. Then he walked away, leaving Scarlett to face Luca, who looked at her as if he wanted to kill her. “Information?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “It’s a long story,” said Scarlett, sighing. “I am all ears.” “It’s... something I can’t share with anyone, just yet.” “And you expect me to believe that all you were doing with that monster was talking? Look a

“What are you doing here?” Luca growled. Scarlet froze in her place. She realized how bad this looked. Her dress was loose as if she had just put it back on or been in the process of removing it. And Prince Marcellus didn’t look too good himself, with his hair all messed up. But it had been that way before he arrived… not because they had interacted physically in any way. “I just came to give Miss Scarlett some information. I’ll be going back to my room. Don’t bother with the chains,” Prince Marcellus said, holding his hand up as if it were beneath him to listen to Luca. Then he walked away, leaving Scarlett to face Luca, who looked at her as if he wanted to kill her. “Information?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “It’s a long story,” said Scarlett, sighing. “I am all ears.” “It’s... something I can’t share with anyone, just yet.” “And you expect me to believe that all you were doing with that monster was talking? Look a

Scarlett took a detour before heading back to her room, hoping to find Pakuri and Voty, but they were nowhere to be seen. The few servants she saw practically skittered around her as they struggled to not stare whenever they crossed paths in the winding castle corridors.  From the outside, it didn't look as big as it was on the inside. She hadn't even been to the highest floor yet.  Not wanting to get lost, she followed the same path she had taken and arrived at her roo to find Gerta standing next to the door.  “Miss, what happened to you?” she said, looking at Scarlett up and down. She hadn't even noticed that her arms and legs were full of scratches. Her clothes, which hadn’t looked too good in the first place, were torn in several places where Humbert’s sword had nicked her. “I was practicing,” she said, patting the swords on her hip. “Ah, well… Queen Edda asked to see you. I’d ask you to go change, but I fear that wi