The only people waiting for us at the airport was a Castle Representative.
Well, in hindsight, the only people waiting for Maddox was a castle representative.
Something had happened, the man had pulled Maddox to the side and whispered something in his ear, causing a harsh frown to take over his face. I watched the veins in his hand pop angrily as he ran them together.
He whispered something back, causing a relieved glance from the rep. Maddox pulled back and said something else, his hand waving in my direction. The rep said something else that I didn't recognise, this time loud enough for me to here.
Maddox groaned and ran a hand over his forehead, pushing back his sweat-dripped hair.
Another few words were exchanged before Maddox turned back to me.
"Somethings happened, nothing I can tell you now. They're not letting you in the meeting."
My brows furrowed in confusion, "Why?"
"Apparently since you are not crowned, there are a lot of trust disbeliefs, you not being marked doesn't help my cause either. There isn't anything I can do. They haven't even organised anyway for you to get home!" He waved his hand ferociously, a sheet of paper clenched in his fist, "And when I told that rep, he just gave me this! A map back to their castle!" Maddox's face was going red, the vein in his forehead sticking out angrily.
A ran my hand up his chest and snaked it around his neck, the effect almost immediate. "Maybe I could get a ride back with you and stay outside or in a different room."
"I wish it was that easy," He groaned, "We're not going to the castle, we're going to someplace out of town, for security reasons. We're travelling in wolf form, we can't even drop you off on the way."
I paused, slowly sliding the piece of paper out of his hand. I took a look, it seemed simple enough. A clear pathway from the airport straight to the castle. It couldn't be that hard, could it?
I placed a smile on my face, "It will be fine, I'll just follow the line."
Maddox's face hardened, "No way, I'll just organise a guard. I'll be late for the meeting, but it will be fine,"
I sighed, "Look, we both know that it's not worth it. I will be fine, I'll get someone to mind link you as soon as I arrive."
"What if you- you-"
"Someone will shift and I will be fine" I reassured him, "I look queenly enough I s'pose. So I doubt anything will happen. I understand why I can't come to this meeting, but you can't be late."
Maddox looked away, straining his neck, "Look, you don't know this area-"
"That's why I have the map!" I interrupted earnestly, "Trust me. I'll be okay,"
His jaw clenched, "Fine. I trust you. Not that I didn't, I just don't trust the area and the people in it. Look, the meeting will be two hours at the most, but get someone to mind link me or Taj, I'll make sure to sit near him. Sound good?"
I laid a quick kiss to his lips, "Sounds perfect. I'll see you after,"
I pulled away, quickly readjusting my sloping skirt before turning away and beginning the slow walk back to the castle. With every step I took, I could feel Maddox's burning gaze in my back.
The automatic door swept open, sending a rush of warm air my way. I was much more adjusted to the heat now, and while it was intolerable, I didn't feel as if my burning skin was melting off my bones.
It was a lot busier then it had been last time we left the airport. Last time, the entrance had been almost empty, now it seemed to be the exact opposite. More cars, filled with screaming mothers and the sound of roller wheels against the rocky road. There were people calling for tabs, aggressively shoving their luggage into the boot before another desperate family got the chance.
I took a breath and looked down at the map. This would be fine.
I began to follow the pathway, trapped in between what felt like a hundred other pedestrians. They all seemed to be going the same way that the map was telling me to go, so I followed suit.
Everything was so close, I had only been walking for a minute or so before the outline of the city came up over the horizon. Then it felt like everything I had seen at the airport had been multiplied.
I had seen this area before, back when we had driven to the castle, but walking through it felt completely different. I knew that there were no humans in the area, I could feel it. The smell of wolf hung thick in the air, their dominance and desperation for power clawed at my nostrils. I felt like an ant among the stampedes, every person that I saw would have to bend down just to be eye level.
I heard someone call out to me, no name was said, just a merchant hoping to catch my attention. The streets were clean with colourful murals decorating the walls. Out of nowhere, the colour stopped, leading down a dark, crusty alleyway. However, the next building matched the colourful, exotic decor as the rest of the street.
I pulled out from the line I was walking in, taking another step forward and peering my head down. It seemed fairly empty, a few bins and litter lines the dirt-covered concrete. The only thing that struck me as odd was the fact that the alley didn't seem to end, it stretched on for miles, the bright light of the sun still being completely visible. I looked down to my map, where I was didn't match up with the alley, in fact, according to the sheet of paper in my hand, I was on the very edge of town.
So I turned.
Something in the back of my head was nagging at me, a piece of knowledge that I simply hadn't pieced together yet. The alley was long, each step seeming to dread my porcelain coloured shoes through the blackest mud I had ever seen. I walked so far that the only proof of where I had come in was a speck of light in the distance. That was when I hit the fence,
That was when I saw it.
Home.
At least, what looked like it.
You never forgot where you came from, your roots being forever embedded in your mind, and no royal palace or lifestyle could ever take that away. as I looked through the silver barbed wire of this fence, I was reminded of home.
The conditions seemed the same as the human side of Gyabo, buildings that seemed to be crumbling apart, homes made of mouldy scraps of material, the smell of rotting fruit and fear hanging evidently in the air.
I pushed on the fence, a large area of the metal moving out of the way immediately, clearly, it wasn't bolted on properly. I slid myself through it, wincing at the sensation of the sharp metal running over my bare skin. I slid into the pathway, beginning a slow descent down the path.
I stood out like a sore thumb, my pale gold skin standing out harshly against their tones of brown and black, my inky hair looking devoid next to their hair of snow.
My clothes too, the skirt and top I was in was a sheer white colour in respect of the Southern Imperial family, accents of purple to represent my own home country. The street was fairly empty, a few people leaning up against the building. As I walked, I felt their gaze watch me. It was different from the scrutinizing gaze that I had been adjusting too. I wasn't entirely sure how to explain it.
I walked into a slightly busier area, a place that reminded me of the small junkyard that the younger ones would go to after school in an afternoon to spend their precious free time.
It was full of young children, all being around seven to maybe ten, and not an adult in sight. My heart ached as I watched them, some wore shirts that hung off them like a bedsheet, others wore no shirt at all. I had looked like that, Elijah and Isaiah too, the look of childish joy and hunger beyond comparison. Little white scars littered their small, bony arms and legs. They reminded me of the mining scars that I saw my brothers wear with every return from the mines.
It hurt to think that such young children experienced the same thing, most likely even worse. They stopped their glee-filled playing to watch me. I realised I had been standing in complete silence, I turned away, walking away as quickly as I could. I heard one say something, a sentence of words in a language I didn't understand. I started running, darting through the slum houses and desperate sellers.
The shouting became louder, people yelling words at me, someone sounded like questions, some angered exclaims, some I couldn't even spare the time to think about. As I ran, it felt more like home, the grey sky, the crowded homes, the feeling that every part of your city was compressed to fit no one when in reality it needed to fit millions.
It wasn't open like the wolf's side, I was struggling to breathe. I felt the temptation to look at the map, but I knew it wouldn't be any help.
I needed to stop running, my lungs were burning, my skin slick with sweat as I desperately tried to inhale as much air as possible.
Out of nowhere, I felt a cold blade press against my throat,
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
I slowly dropped my head, leaning it against the wall, my palms experiencing the same treatment. My breathing began to increase as I felt the blade press down even harder on my skin,
"You smell like a wolf girl, and I see no claim on your neck, so you better give me an answer, I have no problem in taking the life of a stray pup."
English. That's what I realised next, he wasn't speaking nitoag, he was speaking English.
I moved my head ever so slightly, allowing me to see just who was threatening my life.
Ash-blonde hair that would touch his shoulders at least was pulled back into a tight, messy bun, wisps of hair flying out everywhere. His eyes were green, not green like Maddox's or any other northerner I had seen, an ice green, a colour that looked as if a forest had been drenched in snow and the ice had crystalized everything the snow had touched. He wore no shirt, his chest covered in deep, hastily sewed scars. His pants were brown, covered in a range of other colours from resewing holes.
"Don't make me ask again," He snarled, seeming to be doing to me exactly what I was doing to him.
"Elora Reed," I coughed out, " My name is Elora Reed. I'm human, like you."
He scoffed, yet the blade fell slightly, "Now that's a familiar name, willing to tell me why? Besides, humans don't look like you do. White is for the royals only, I'm not an idiot." He looked over me again, "But you don't look like any human or wolf I've ever seen. Black hair isn't that common, but brown eyes like that? And I suppose some of the far islanders are golden, but you look like someone sucked the colour out of your skin but felt bad so they left some behind. So who are you? Daughter of a noble who wanted to see the humans fight over scraps? You look about the age of our youngest princess... are you a step in who wanted to take a break from living the life of an AWAL princess?"
I wearily eye the dagger, "No actually, but I may be more willing to share details if you lower that dagger."
He looked as if he was having an internal war, but surely, the weapon slowly lowered from my throat, yet he kept a steady grasp on it, ready for anything in case I decide to dash.
I didn't move, "I'm human. My name is Elora Reed," I repeated, "I'm from the north."
"Please, no human could afford to travel from the North to the South. But since you certainly look like a northerner, I guess you are lying, again, about your wolfish background." He guessed, a malicious look on his face.
"I'm mated," I blurted out, hoping it would keep his dagger at bay, "Well, not yet anyway, but my mate is a wolf, we came here for official business, I was heading back to where we are staying when I walked by an alley, I was going to leave after I saw what was down it but I couldn't, I just-"
The dagger went back to my neck, pressing harder then it had before, I was half expecting to feel a slow trickle of blood down my chest. "Official business?" He paused, most likely thinking of who he had heard that was coming from the north. His eyes then flashed back to me, a raw type of desperation in his eyes, "What's your mate's name?"
"Maddox, look, just let me go and I'll leave! I'll leave straight away I swear!"
"His last name," He demanded, "What's his last name?"
"Lan-"
"BENNET, BEN, COME ON, HURRY UP WITH THE WOLF WE NEED TO GO!" A girl came running out from the same direction that the boy, Bennet, had.
She had the exact same looks, so I would assume they were siblings. The only difference was the slope of her nose,
"Logan, I can't, can we put it off for just a few minutes? I think I've made a very big mistake."
"You can't make mistakes with wolf girls like that," She gestured to me, "Kill her then dump her body in the alleyway to be found. We have fifteen more minutes before this thing starts, and we certainly aren't starting without you."
"Hireeao tunh kiotev te'n isrnemta ghtsh nek ihknsmna' n," Bennet whispered, going back to nitoag.
Logan paled, "Ypita lm eeilu d rsenegoldk!"
He shook his head. "En t mtaeardki c avneitafuc hsm seslesfnyb naic.iuenduhste qef ndio eoeyt oiilh 'rieasrn has sa ddal lnlr e eriolrt a soeoe clsauh yttow ifcn fs hreetorseeoou gthlarthsrdmktlseenaaie hldo kahmse eo dt'tsucre e."
Translation: 'I think I've taken the Northern King's mate,'
'You can't be serious,'
'She looks like a northerner, shes dressed like a royal, she's mated to a wolf. I didn't realise at first but her name matches the Human Queen. I got confused since they've introduced her officially to us as Elora Lancaster.'
Logan looked at me, a look of disbelief on her face, "Bring her with us, we could get a hefty ransom."
"No thank you, we'll be killed, you know that. Since they won't have time to publicise it, we can bring her with us then return her to wherever he was walking. It will keep us out of trouble, something we can't afford to keep getting into." Bennet reasoned, now just arguing with his sister.
"Mum would appreciate the extra money,' Logan fired back,
"Not as much as she'd appreciate us alive," Bennet fired back. He turned back to me and dropped the dagger, shoving it back into the sheath that was attached to a piece of rope around his waist.
"Come on, you're coming with us."