Distinctly Different

Chapter 6 ~ Problems

Chapter 6

When Rowan and Arabella entered the throne room they saw that the food had already been placed on the table. No one was eating yet; they were all waiting for Rowan. Arabella bowed her head respectfully and out of the corner of her eye she saw Rowan mimicking her. She hurried over to her spot near other servant just as Rowan sat down in his seat.

“Now that everyone is present let us feast,” the King announced. Right away everyone at the table grabbed food and set in on their plates. The hunters had a hungry look in their eyes as they dug into their food with relish. They ate as if this was the best food they’ve had in a long time, Arabella thought critically. Then again they were on the rood most of the time so it wasn’t a stretch of imagination to think that what food they ate on the road wasn’t exactly very delicious.

“So I trust your rooms are to your satisfaction?” the King asked after he had cleared his throat by taking a gulp of his red wine. Joseph swallowed the food he had in his mouth and nodded quickly.

“Oh yes, they are great. Thank you, my King,” Joseph replied. “We will be starting our job tomorrow. As soon as this feast is done I think my family and I will all retire to our rooms. We plan to go out to the forest in the morning and see what we can discover.” The King nodded.

“You’ll keep me informed?” the King asked. It almost wasn’t a question. Joseph wouldn’t dream of denying the King of anything.

“Of course, my King,” he assured quietly.

“Excellent. What do you expect to find in the forest?” the King asked curiously. He was so interested he forgot about the goblet in his hand. He was just holding it in the air moving it neither closer nor farther away from his lips.

“Well for starters we might be able to find some kills made by werewolves. The kills have a special signature that makes it easy to determine whether it was made by a werewolf. We might also find some tracks or some clue left behind that might lead us to a werewolf. And if we’re lucky we might even be able to see a werewolf running about. When they’re in wolf form they sometimes let their guard down and that makes it easier for us to either trap them or kill them.

“Ah so you may make some progress tomorrow,” the King said.

“Indeed, we just might.”

“That is good, the sooner the werewolves are killed the better. Then my kingdom will be safe from such nuisances,” the King said.

“Your people will appreciate that, my King. Now if you’ll excuse us we need to be well rested for tomorrow,” Rowan’s uncle interjected. Arabella held her breath, would anything happen to him because of his undiplomatic interruption?

“Of course,” the King said. “I look forward to news from you after your trip to the forest.” The adult hunters nodded and smiled. Then all the hunters rose in unison and bowed their head to the King before leaving the room. The royal family remained seated, it was clear they weren’t leaving anytime soon. Arabella worked to maintain a neutral expression as the evening wore on. She wished she could just leave but as Lady Eleanor’s maid she couldn’t.

Finally the King and Queen stood up in unison declaring the feast finished. Arabella rushed to Eleanor’s side as Eleanor got up and smoothed her skirts with her hands. In no time at all they both had left the throne room and were back in Eleanor’s room. Eleanor yawned loudly as she changed into her nightgown; she was more than ready for this day to end. Too bad she didn’t realize this.

“I hope the hunters manage to find something. It would really please the King,” Eleanor said. Arabella nodded. She didn’t want the hunters to find any evidence but that Arabella’s wish was far from ever coming true. At the very least Arabella hoped she had left no evidence behind in the forest that would direct them to her. “I do hope that it isn’t too dangerous tomorrow. I wouldn’t want any of the hunters getting harmed,” Eleanor whispered with concern.