Chapitre 13: chapter 13
"How many guests have arrived?" Isla asked her nurse.
"A few, but only the ones who live far away. The rest will arrive later this evening. Everyone is looking forward to celebrating with you, dear."
Isla made a noise of agreement but a knot of worry had settled in her stomach as her wolf reappeared in her mind.
It wanted nothing to do with this evening and she would most likely have a headache for most of the night, which she was not looking forward to.
They traveled throughout the castle, passing servants who were rushing to finish preparing for the party.
No one paid them any mind simply for that reason.
Greta ushered Isla into her chambers, shutting the door in the faces of the guards. Isla looked around her tidy room and saw that her dress had arrived.
"Oh, Greta," Isla breathed in admiration.
The gown was made of blue silk the color of the sapphire around her neck and the sleeves were a thin, nearly transparent fabric that flowed down nearly as long as her skirt.
A silver ribbon held the bodice together and criss-crossed down her front before it wrapped around her waist to tie in a bow at the small of her back. More silver ribbon lined the hem of the dress and it twinkled in the afternoon sunlight that shone through the open doors of her balcony.
The queen had asked Greta to make the dress for Skylar, but she never expected the work of art that was presented before her.
"You like it? I thought the color would like nice with your eyes," Greta grinned, obviously pleased with herself.
"It's perfect. And it matches the necklace that mikel's grandmother gave me," Isla touched the necklace at her throat and lifted her chin for Greta to examine it.
"My my, that is quite the gem. She had always had wonderful taste. But she sent Mikel to give it to you?"
"Yes, she did. Is that a problem?"
"No..." Greta drawled as she began to warm water for a bath.
As the water warmed she moved about the room, gathering the things she would need to primp Isla for the party.
"Greta."
"Oh, it's just that Sir Mikel is a very nice noble gentleman and his grandmother is aware of that fact.
"What are you insinuating?"
"He wouldn't be such a horrible match, that's all I'm saying."
"Greta!"
"What? Is it so horrible that I've noticed he's an attractive man with whom you get along?" she held up her hands in surrender.
"I know that your father wants you to marry for a strong alliance, but I could perhaps persuade him into-"
"Greta, please stop,"
Isla begged quietly.
She couldn't bear to talk about things that could never be.
Yes, she had a crush on the knight, but to marry him and never be able to reveal who she truly was for the fear that he would kill her was not something she couldn't bear.
"Is something the matter, love?"
"Mikel could never love me, Greta, not really, even if Father would allow us to marry. You know how he hates wolves," Isla whispered the last word, as though she would be struck down for even uttering it.
"I could never be myself; I would always have to be on guard."
The wolf within her growled so loudly that it echoed in her mind and pounded with her heartbeat.
Isla grimaced and rubbed her temples, wishing more than ever that she could just be normal.
Greta walked over and reached out her wrinkled hand to the princess.
"Darling, I wish you wouldn't be ashamed of what you are. You were born this way for a reason."
The words caused Isla's temper to flare.
For what reason could she have possibly been cursed in this way?
"Greta, please don't say such things. There is no feasible reason as to why I could have been born with this monster in my head. No matter whom I end up married to, I will always have to hide for the fear that I will hurt someone."
Greta said nothing.
She simply wrapped a familiar arm around Isla's shoulders and tucked her close to her side.
Isla rested her head on her nurses soft shoulder and sighed. The wolf within her continued to claw at its cage with a furious abandon, but Isla
ignored it as best she could, as she always did.
"Do you remember the first time you shifted?" Greta finally asked.
What a strange question.
They never spoke of that night, for fear that someone would overhear.
Why Greta would bring it up now was beyond Isla.
"I remember that I felt very sick and my whole body ached as though someone was trying to pull me apart. I don't remember the actual shifting, other than the fact that it hurt. And I don't remember being wolf."
"Well, I remember it as though it were yesterday. You had collapsed just as the first stars winked into appearance in the sky. You were so cold, like an icicle beneath my fingers. Your parents were so terrified that you were going to die. You remember that you had been having back pains and you were always so warm?"
Isla nodded, still unsure as to where Greta was heading with this story.
"Well, your mother, father, and I were all sitting in this very room, waiting for a doctor or for you to wake up, or something to happen, when the clock struck midnight. The second the first chime rang through the room, your eyes shot open and they were glowing in the strangest way, in a way that none of us had ever seen before. And then you began to scream--actually roar now that I think about it--and convulsing. You fell off the bed, at your father's feet, and you scratched him across the chest; you drew blood.
"When he picked you up, you were the tiniest wolf I had ever seen. You were no longer than my arm, child. When you opened your eyes, they were filled with as much fear and confusion as the rest of us were feeling. Your mother didn't react the best of ways and she left the room, but your father stayed with you. He stayed with your for two hours before he went to console Hilda. I stayed with him as well and he and I simply watched you. You were so small, but you got the hang of walking quickly enough and you were a playful thing. Adorable too, the cutest little thing I had ever seen. And you want to know what I thought? I thought to myself, 'This little wolf couldn't hurt a fly.' I wasn't scared of you at all, and I'm not scared of you now. I don't believe that you could ever hurt anyone, not even when you are a wolf."
Isla hid her face in Greta's shoulder, concealing the tears there.
Even her wolf had stopped fighting for freedom to listen to what Greta had so say.
It was content with the announcement that Greta did not fear it.
"You don't ever have to worry about me being scared of you, child. Not ever," Greta promised, kissing her hair.
"I don't believe you'll ever hurt anyone."
Isla had nothing to say in response, but was grateful that Greta had shared that with her.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound the ticking of the clock that sat on the mantel. Even the wolf within Isla sat quietly, for once not fighting her. Of course, the pessimistic side of Sky had to worm its way into her thoughts. The only reason Greta wasn't scared of her was because the nurse had known her her whole life, and she was present when Isla shifted for the first time. She remembered when Isla was a tiny wolf that was easily contained. She hadn't seen the wolf since then.
She didn't know what it looked like now, and she probably didn't want to.
Isla herself wasn't sure what she looked like as a wolf, but she knew that she was huge.
She was big enough to make even the bravest knight pause, she knew that.
Other than that, she only knew by instinct that her horns and spikes along her back were razor sharp and formed into deadly points. It was only too easy to imagine the wolf hurting someone, even if it was accidentally stepping on them.
She needed something to distract her so she stopped thinking about such things.
"Maybe we should start getting ready for tonight."
"Oh! Of course!" Greta leaped to her feet, rushing over the warming water and pouring it into the tub.
"Time's awasting. Luckily, we don't need to do very much to make you look your best." She grinned and pinched Isla's cheek affectionately as Isla walked past her to undress behind the screen for her bath.
"Your parents will be here to escort you into the ballroom in a few hours. By then, you will be the fairest princess in the land. That I will make sure of, I promise you that, darling."
"I have no doubt in you, Greta. Just make sure that I am recognizable," Isla teased as she lowered herself into the bathwater.
It relaxed her tense muscles as she settled in.
She leaned her head back against the side of the tub and closed her eyes while Greta continued bustling about the room. Eventually, she cleaned herself and she felt much better. Even her wolf was blissful.
Isla had long ago realized that they influenced each other greatly. When the wolf was angry, Isla herself became irritable. When Isla was truly happy, the wolf relaxed.
Hopefully, if Skylar stayed calm this evening, the wolf would remain passive.
Greta helped her dry off before wrapping her in a silk robe.
"Now sit here and let me work my magic." The nurse urged Isla to sit down and close her eyes. The nurse patted some powders along Isla's small round nose, and along her angular cheeks.
She had the princess purse her lips while she painted them a bright red.
"I told you I didn't need to do much to make you look your best." Greta smirked and pulled a hair brush off the vanity behind Isla. She went about brushing out the auburn waves so they fell about Isla's face.
"Up or down?" Greta asked, stepping back to study her subject.
"I trust your judgement, Greta," Isla smiled as she blew a stray hair off of her cheek.
Greta tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Both," she decided just as a commotion sounded from the open doors of the balcony.
Trumpets rang proudly and the symphony of horseshoes on cobblestone accompanied them.
Another guest was arriving then.
Isla rushed to the balcony before Greta could stop her. A black carriage rolled through the gates, pulled by two black horses and driven by a man dressed in all black.
"King Harry," Greta whispered from just behind Isla's shoulder, causing her to jump.
She swallowed nervously as she watched the dark carriage come to a stop in front of the castle doors.
"It appears so."
There was an alliance between her father's kingdom, and Harry's kingdom, but that could end at any moment.
Tensions were always high between King Gaius and King Harry. Because of the alliance, they were often visiting one another or communicating in some way, but those often ended in arguments.
How they weren't always at war had baffled Isla her whole life.
The carriage doors opened to allow two young men, Harry's sons, to exit, along with a beautiful but terrifying Queen Mirabella.
She wore a deep green gown and appeared to float on the ground.
Her long, pitch black hair was left unbound. A single silver ringlet encircled her head, serving as her crown.
Harry exited the carriage last, arrogant as always. His own silver crown rested atop his shoulder length black hair. He nodded at Gaius as they approached one another and shook hands.
Hilda and Mirabella were conversing amicably, but neither seemed to be heartfelt. The two sons, one fourteen and the other eleven, stood proudly next to their father. Gaius addressed them respectfully and Isla caught her name on the breeze.
Her wolf, who had been quiet, awoke with a vengeance.
Isla cringed and stumbled backward with the sudden pain.
Harry was a hunter of wolf. Isla herself had seen their heads and other body parts mounted in his hunting room. Those things made her wolf so angry that Isla had fainted once. That was the last time she had visited the castle of Harry. The wolf within her associated Harry with death and hated him in a way that only a monster could.
The only good thing was that it realized that if it showed itself, Harry would surely kill them both.
"Isla, darling, all you alright?" Greta asked, place her hands on her arms and feeling her forehead.
"Mmmhmm," isla insisted.
"It just doesn't like Harry."
"Ah. I would think not. You must be careful around him tonight, love. You know that if he ever found out about you, he would kill you without hesitation."
"I know. So does it. I'm not worried that it'll force me to shift. I'm just worried that I'll say the wrong thing or show how uncomfortable I am and he'll get suspicious."
"Well, fortunately, Harry has no idea that wolves are actually people."
Tbc
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone