Luna's Pov
My ears must have grown beet red with the amount of blood that rushed to my face from the embarrassment of being caught spying. I had turned my back on them to take in more of the environment and now, I couldn't bring myself to come face to face with him again. What would I tell him? I had sneaked after them to avoid dying from staring at my room walls all day and night? They were going to have me hanged without a doubt. "Luna, it is you!" He repeated like I hadn't beaten myself up enough and I desperately wished the ground would open up to swallow me whole. I imagined the two men glaring at me with hatred and felt the blood pounding in my ears. I jerked when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around slowly wishing that I could just turn invisible. "What are you doing out here this late at night?" He questioned and I noticed with relief that he did not have a resentful look in his eyes. "I don't know. I just stumbled here, I guess." I tried to sound uninvolved but the loud pitch of my voice totally showed that off as a lie. "Of course." He muttered, his eyes lighting up. "You must have been bored to death in that room. I am sorry that we are such bad hosts." He flashed his toothy grin. "How about you come join us? Sleep is not showing any interest in us either." He started to pull me toward the open space in the center of the field where Ulo still had his back turned. "But," I muttered, refusing to go along with him as I cast desperate looks at the spot where Ulo sat. He frowned then relaxed when he noticed what was wrong. "You don't need to be so uncomfortable around them. They don't bite." Of course, I knew they did not bite but I hated feeling like a third wheel which would definitely be what I would be, showing up in the middle of the night. Jamil did not leave me a choice though as he led me to their resting spot and made me sit in between himself and Ulo. "Hey, Ulo, meet Luna!" I glanced at Jamil and he winked. We had met before of course but we might have as well been meeting for the first time because we had never had a conversation of any sort before. Ulo looked me over coldly. "I've met her before." He muttered disinterestedly as he returned to lying on the grass. "Come on, Ulo, don't be such a sourpuss. It wouldn't hurt to say hi." Jamil pushed. "Hi!" He barked without sparing me as much as a glance. I turned a miserable eye toward Jamil silently telling him to let me go. It was obvious that I was not welcome here so I had better leave before I made myself more hateful. Jamil though was not having any of that as he reached over and thumped him on the shoulder. "Didn't you take any lessons in hospitality? Get up and be nice." Ulo sat up so fast I was startled into pulling back. He fixed his eyes on me and snarled, baring his teeth. "Be nice to who? Her? You really want me to be nice to this girl who has brought nothing but misfortune ever since her arrival in this pack?" His voice was heavy with hatred. "Ulo!" Jamil called in disbelief. "Not you too. Come on!" He sighed in exasperation. "I am not like you, Jamil. You may able to see the good in everyone but I cannot. Ever since she arrived here, she has brought nothing but misfortune. First, Indrik and now, B..." He caught himself mid-sentence, his face flushed like he had been about to give much more information than he was supposed to. He pursed his lips,. looking at me with disdain before rising to his feet and walking away from us. "Come on, Ulo!" Jamil groaned as he went after him. He paused then continued when he got no reply. "You weren't like this before. This is about tonight, isn't it?" Ulo still did not reply as he walked even farther away. My nose burned even more as I rose to my feet, the ground suddenly seeming to grow so hot that I could not afford to remain on it. I turned and started to make for the palace. Me coming here was proving to be more and more of a bad decision. "Hey, I'm sorry about that. Tonight has just been.... overwhelming, for all of us. I hope you don't hold that against him." Jamil said as he caught up to me. I sniffled. "He is right, you know? I only bring bad luck wherever I go to. You should probably stay away from me before I bring you trouble as well." I blurted, my voice sounding alien to my ears. "Now, now, Luna. Don't be ridiculous. None of the things that are happening here is your fault. They just need someone to take out their anger on Don't worry. I'm sure they will all come around once Indrik is freed." He reassured. "Of course they will." I muttered, the words coming out as empty as they felt. "I am sorry for snooping on you guys. It won't be happening again. You can go back now before you lose another friend thanks to me." "Luna!" "Just go!" "Fine! I will see you to the quarters so the guards don't give you any trouble." We walked for a long while in silence. The guards raised an eyebrow but did not raise an alarm thankfully. "You hate me too, don't you? Everybody does." I asked mournfully at my door. Ulo's words had hit too close to home making me feel rather sore. "What?" He spat. "I don't hate you and believe me, no one in their right mind would. You are a sweet lady I am glad to have known. Besides, Indrik wouldn't have brought you home if you weren't, don't you think?" I wouldn't be so sure but his words soothed me enough to make me smile as I bid him a goodnight. This time, sleep did not elude me.Blaire's PovI woke up feeling rather disoriented, a feeling that was becoming more and more of a norm with me. I blinked as I sat up on the bed, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes. It took about fifteen seconds for the memories to come rushing in. I looked at my hand where that man had grabbed me last night and shivered involuntarily. The grime was all gone as were the bruises but I could still feel the clammy hand on my arm, pulling me against my will. Sunlight streaked in through the open window and I moaned in pleasure, glad to be reminded of my freedom. I got out of bed and saw my image out of the corner of my eyes. The sight was enough to make me draw closer to take another look. My hair looked like a snake had made a nest on one end and an eagle on the other. Sometime in the night, they had discovered each other and had an epic battle which left me looking like, well, take a guess. I brushed my hand through it absentmindedly until I heard a faint knock on the door. I ignor
Blaire's PovI paced around my room worriedly as I tried to remember if I had cleaned up after myself yesterday. I remembered opening the doors to the dungeon and Indrik's cell but I could not remember if I had shut them before leaving. I ran to the small bedside shelf and opened its lowest drawer. In there, lying peacefully was the bunch of keys that opened the dungeon. I almost exhaled in relief when I realized that the keys could be removed without locking the doors. If I by any chance had not locked the door after me then, Indrik would be in trouble without doubt when the guards came for patrol. The fear of Indrik getting into more trouble courtesy of me was a horrible weight that was pressing heavily on my shoulders. What made it even worse was the knowledge that I could not go to confirm it, not now at least, without making everything worse. Much worse. I was still pacing anxiously when a knock came on my door. I panicked, wondering if Indrik had already been caught and they we
Luna's Pov"Do you always eat together?" I asked Jamil as we made our way toward the palace gates. Seeing three members of the council sitting together had made me slightly uncomfortable but luckily, they had not seemed to even notice my presence. Despite my discomfort, there was someone who their presence seem to unsettle even more. Blaire. Throughout the meal, she had spent all her energy focusing on avoiding her mother's gaze. I had looked around, wondering if anybody else noticed the awkwardness but either they all pretended not to notice or they considered it perfectly normal as everyone focused on their meals. If there had been any doubt, the way Blaire had ran off once she was done proved it. Shortly after her, Ulo had left as well, then Leon. I suddenly hated that I had asked for so much food. I had been feeling extremely hungry when I had arrived but now, knowing that three very suspicious eyes were fixed on me, the food suddenly lost its taste and became drier than a desert
Luna's PovThe only thing I knew about this territory was the outline which I had seen from atop a hill. This was probably enough reason for me to let Jamil ride ahead so he could guide me but that was so not happening. Not if Lea was to be the judge at least. Her feet were moving in perfect sync as she leaped large areas in bounds. Soon, we were in the heart of the pack and given that we were already closing in on noon, most of them were outside, going about their daily businesses. Before they could wave and say hi though, Lea had taken another huge leap turning them into tiny blurs in the distance. Jamil was trying to catch up on his stallion but Lea wasn't giving them any chance. My hair had been scattered in the billowing breeze, spreading into my eyes, nose and mouth so that I constantly had to brush them away. Rather than feel terrified though, I was elated. With the world zipping past, I felt like I was at the top of the world. Like...I was free again. Riding always did that to
Blaire's PovIt was with great relief that I welcomed the arrival of dusk. I had taken great care to avoid running into Ulo and Jamil which was rather easy considering that none of them had returned to our quarters after breakfast. Watching the huge ball sink in a golden blaze of colours, I was filled with an equal measure of dread and anticipation. Using the cover of darkness, I found my way to the kitchen where I slipped some food that I was pretty sure wasn't going to be missed. With the ease that is gotten from having done the same thing for the past three days, I meandered my way to the dungeon. I had hardly gotten in when the prisoners started their protest which was even more intense now given that I had more or less dashed their hopes the other day. Well, we would have to live with that because there was no way I was stepping an inch away from the center of the path. They raised their voices but I was not going to give them the satisfaction of looking at them. I could see t
Blaire's PovFinally, it was the day that Indrik would be freed. It seemed like ages since he had been whipped and thrown into a dungeon like he had killed someone but finally, everything was going to be alright now. I woke up long before daybreak, eager to see Indrik out in the open again. Soon, I was ready to go but the sun seemed to be taking pleasure in torturing me as it refused to rise despite the fact that it had been a thousand and one hours since I had awakened. After the encounter with my mother, I had been unable to return to the dungeon because my mother had collected her keys and tightened the security out the area. I had spent the past few days worrying my hair off which was what made this day even more exciting. I paced back and forth in my room until I couldn't take it anymore and exited through the doors. I hurried to the other end of the rows of room and knocked on the last one on my row. It took three consecutive knocks to bring the sleepy eyed Jamil to the door.
Luna's PovIt has been two days since I have been tending to my master, Indrik. After he was brought back, I had officially resumed my duties as his maid, cleaning him up, tending to his wounds, watching over him and most of all, making sure that he doesn't join his ancestors in his sleep. Not my dream job, but well... I dropped the bowl of water that I was bearing in my arms on the shelf by his head and took a look at him. Since his arrival, he had developed a huge fever coupled with the huge pink boils that have popped up on his arms and legs. Walking closer, I placed an arm on his forehead and removed it almost immediately. His body temperature was so hot, it was a wonder my palm was not singed. I sighed as I adjusted his blanket and started to give him a wipe over. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past two days, always muttering gibberish in his sleep which was why I was so surprised to see his eyes snap open. It took a while for him to focus his vision b
Indrik's PovListening to my latest master turn me down sent me down a spiral of emotions ranging from hurt, to disappointment, to anger. I almost nearly snapped but something held me aloft. Something that differentiated her from all of my other masters. Unlike the others, she was mine. So, what if she had made up her mind to not teach me? We still had a whole lot of time ahead of us to get used to each other and a lot of time for her to change her mind. So, she wanted to play the maid? Two could play that game. I was starting to enjoy our little game when someone came barging in. Someone that I had hoped would stay away from me, forever. Veronica!I would have covered my nose with both of my hands if she wasn't squeezing them so tightly right now. As usual, she was overdoing everything that had to do with her. I cursed under my breath wishing that I wasn't feeling so weak right now. Maybe then, I would have been able to slip out of her grip and get as far away from here as I could.