The Song Of The Wolf (Unedited)

Chapter Twenty

The following days principally consisted of doing research; scouring through an unimaginable quantity of books for something, anything that would offer Maebh a plausible explanation as to why her hair was turning white.

She had almost instantly ruled out the likelihood of it being the consequence of ageing. If that had been the predicament, it would have started at her roots and not blanched a single lock of hair overnight. Maebh was certain it stood in relation with the now healing bite at the slope of her neck.

She hoped that approaching Hèmène with the issue would be the answer. However, even after the queen had assigned a team of trainees to assist her search in the castle's enormous library, their efforts had yet to bear any fruits.

On the fifth day, Maebh tackled a new section of the library. By then, the bright hue had spread to other parts of her hair, leaving it littered with white highlights. She let the tips of her fingers skim over the spines of numerous volumes, mindlessly biting down on the chain of her Talisman. It had been returned to her by Hèmène –on behalf of the prince.

At the far left side of the bookcase was an imposing feature, a fireplace intricately sculpted with the figures of a bearded man holding a thunderbolt. Maebh walked over to have a look and on closer inspection, she could see it was depicting familiar scenes. This was the story of how Zeus overthrew his father, the titan Kronos and how him and his conquering brothers had divided the world among themselves. Hades, the underworld. Poseidon, the seas. Zeus, the skies –high above any other gods and thus making him the supreme deity.

Maebh reached out to touch the small temple engraved in the last carving and leapt back with a yelp as she was hit by what felt like an electric shock. Her eyes watered and she rubbed her hand furiously to try and get rid of the stinging sensation –noticing how her skin was already red and angry looking.

Ordinary fireplaces did not tend to electrocute people, of that much she was certain. The stone structure was protecting something and the person in charge of building it evidently did not want anyone poking about. Had Maebh been born a sensible girl, she would have taken heed to the painful warning and left. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case and thus she put out her uninjured hand and touched the temple again, this time pushing it.

Low and behold, an audible clunk reverberated and the sculptured portion of the fireplace slid open to reveal a small room that was seemingly being used as a place of worship. There was an altar set up with small bronze figures arranged at the back. In front of them were terracotta bowls filled with what looked like wine, bread and some dishes containing herbed meats and fish. Several candles were burning, offering evidence of someone having recently visited.

According to the lycanthrope myth that Maebh had practically memorised by now, the wolfish fate of the royal family and their ancestors had been sealed by none other than Zeus himself, so it came as a surprise that someone, or even several someones should still pray to the Olympian gods after all this time. Feeling like she was intruding on something private, she pushed the fireplace back in position and continued her search.

With the milestone of Fillin's claim on her, came certain responsibilities.

After years of being left in suspense, the news had officially been confirmed: Fillin Fyédhror Faoladh, the 37th prince of Arcadia and first in line for the throne, had found his childbearer. The next course of action would be to introduce his intended to court, which traditionally played out in the form of a ball.

The logistics of the event were unfathomable as more than a hundred high-ranking lycanthropes were set to arrive on the date of the ball, precisely 3 weeks after Maebh had been marked. All of these lycans would be staying at the castle for a long weekend. Rooms needed to be readied, multiple-course meal plans required to be written and many other tasks needed to be performed.