Knight of the Wolf

2: Eve of the Full Moon

If the circumstances aligned perfectly, being a personal guard was a lot like courting. 

Princess Morrow could expect every appointment she had to end with Devesh Odrasi waiting outside of the room for her like a beau with flowers in hand waiting for their partner to leave work.

The two of them would spend countless hours walking across the palace together and when the princess left the grounds, Dev was there to open the carriage door for her and offer a hand to steady her. Princess Morrow was, of course, used to this behavior from Tove, but every one of Dev's gestures was branded in a distinctly... romantic way.

Dev flustered the princess to no end, but as any distinguished royal would attest, the princess had no intention of showing it. She would continue to writhe with glee in the silent gaps of her lessons while her professors thought she was working.

The princess' lessons were lax that first day back in the city due to the impending full moon. Most people spent the eve of the full moon with family, abstaining from meat and dairy, and cleaning. As with most households, golden bells were strung above the doors so newcomers were heard, and werewolves were fended off.

Both Dev and Princess Morrow had this knowledge engrained in them from an early age. Princess Morrow grew up under rituals disguised as games, as most children were. Dev, being without family to properly teach her, learned through observation.

As lunar metals like silver enhanced the effects of lycanthrope, solar metals like gold hindered them. The Emperor embarked on his travels all those years ago not only the hunt for wolves, but also gold. It was also for this reason that Dev's armor was embellished with gold, her shield lined with gold, and her sword was dipped in gold.

Dev walked a step behind Princess Morrow on the way across the modest campus where the princess' studies took place. The House of Scholars wasn't far from the palace, and was attended by the children of other courtiers and politicians. Even with this rich history and famous clientele, the princess still stood out.

Dev attributed it partially to her princess' appearance. She often wore a studded, gold-threaded net over her hair that glittered against the black, and in the sun of the central courtyard, she glowed amidst its halo.

Clusters of the princess' peers chatted in the shadows of the pergolas. Everyone passed in groups, coupled up, or at the very least, in pairs of three. It was the day of the full moon, and only the second day Dev had witnessed Princess Morrow's academic life in person.

Dev came to walk beside her despite the onlookers. The princess spared her a brief glance before Dev asked, "I've noticed you don't talk to many of the other students."

Princess Morrow took a deep breath, her gaze anywhere but Dev's. Tove was always subtly and silently aware of how othered the princess felt. Her distant, secondary guards weren't seen or heard close enough to the princess to voice their opinions.

"I learned early on that my peers only care about me in relation to my parents," she explained. "So I shut them out when I was younger. We all grew up together, and they remember every socially embarrassing thing a princess does as a child. It's better this way."

Perhaps it was better, and the reassurance in Princess Morrow's voice was sincere enough to convince Dev.

Dev imagined what it would feel like if her brothers and sisters in the knighthood remembered her as a child eating insects and discovering what foods in the wild she was allergic to by trial and error.

"I see. I recognize some of them from your father's birthday party."

The princess shut her eyes and resisted the urge to laugh. "It wasn't a birthday party. Birthday parties are for children."