The Song Of The Wolf (Unedited)

Chapter Thirteen

It was an exceptionally frigid day. Maebh gazed out of the window as a winter wonderland stretched out before her. A thick layer of fresh snow covered the mountainous landscape, making the limbs of the few trees scattered around the valley heavy with weight. Icicles hung from the window frames, dripping as the sun shone down on them. She rubbed the ice off the inside of the glass and sighed.

Central heating was something she had definitely taken for granted. And boy, was she missing it. There was only so much firewood a hearth could take before a room simply stopped getting warmer.

She had been resisting the urge to break through the window for three days now. She had read enough books to know fighting was useless, she had to remain calm and collected and wait for the right moment. Make them like her, and think she wasn't a threat before going in for the kill.

The muffled sound of raised voices coming from the other side of the door disturbed Maebh from her ill-tempered daze. With piqued curiosity, she pressed her ear against the keyhole.

"-lost his damned mind! Locking her up like some sort of prisoner." A female voice shouted.

"Your majesty, he doesn't want her in the West wing." a male voice said, sounding tense.

Who were these people? Apparently royalty in a country that according to history, had never been a monarchy in its own right. It was yet another factor that added to her whirlwind of confusion.

"He doesn't want her there?! Unbelievable. The poor girl must be terrified out of her wits!"

At that point, Maebh felt positive that they were talking about her.

Another voice piped in. Benjamin? "Your majesty, I tried to reason with him but he-"

"Forget it. Open the door."

Then, a metal clanking sound bounced against her eardrum and she realised someone was trying to unlock the door. Panicked, she staggered back and fell on the bed just as it swung open.

A woman waltzed into the room, followed by Benjamin and the brown-haired man, who resembled a pair of scaredy dogs with their tails tucked between their legs. The woman might have been older than her mother, but the years looked good on her. Maebh could tell that she was someone of importance, her presence was too heavy, too loaded.

What struck her most however, and stilled her to the bone, was that they had something in common. Her irises, they were a soft shade of lavender.

That was the last realisation that came through before the woman approached her with outstretched arms and she was wrapped up in a tight embrace.

"Oh sweet, sweet girl. I am so sorry for all the mistreat that has fallen upon you." She murmured, softly stroking Maebh's hair. "Let me look at you."

The woman held her at arm's length, studying every little detail of her face and shooting her a smile when she appeared to approve of what she was looking at. In return, Maebh could only stare. Still dumbfounded by the eyes that were almost identical to her own.

"They look like mine." She stammered the obvious, unable to keep the perplexity from seeping into her voice. "Your uh- eyes."

The woman laughed. "They do indeed." Before turning to the two men and making a shoo gesture with her hand. "You're dismissed."

"But your majest-"

"Don't test me, Zeff. Both of you, go." She said with a grave undertone, already displeased that she had to repeat herself.

Benjamin and Zeff hastened from the room without another word.

The woman clapped her hands together. "Go grab your belongings, we'll get you settled somewhere more suitable."