Three days had already passed and Rue was excited to get rid of her walking cane. Her guards stood outside her room doors as her maids assisted her in getting ready for the ceremony to commemorate the fallen Meras.
Meras all over the Kingdom were encouraged to take the day off to keep in memory those who died during the last Werewolf attack. The official ceremony was only a few hours away. Afterward, they would remain at home and only urgent matters relating to their orders were permitted.
This meant Rue and the members of her order would not gather at the temples to train but would instead stay with their families after the ceremony. Certain roles such as guards and maids were an exception and one Rue was not pleased about. She would do anything to get rid of her guards.
Maids did her hair before they could put her dress on. She wore a light gown with a crew neck to hide the scar on her back.
She glimpsed from staring at herself in the mirror to the dress the other maid laid out on the bed, to make sure the back was just right. It was black with layers of translucent frills down to the legs. White and grey gems lined the top of the bust. As usual, she gave them her nod of approval.
Rue's long hair was about the same length as her father's but unlike his, it was silky and soft to the touch. For someone with high status, it was odd that she could not remember the last time he had his braids undone and combed.
Her maids had braided her hair while damp the evening before. Now they unbraided it and combed it out gently to reveal long locks of shiny black curls. She stood in front of the mirror as her hair began to take form and her mind went to Callum.
He would not have been able to visit her while she was on that side of the Royal walls. But surely he would be at the ceremony later and she would be able to see him.
By then, the word that she was hurt in the attack along with her spark of telekinesis had spread through the Kingdom like wildfire, especially with so many witnesses who testified it to be so.
"He must have been worried sick. I could have died," she thought. "Maybe he'll realize he still cares for me and proposes we get back together?"
The unwanted disturbance at the door got her to snap from her fantasy.
"Milady it is Sir Lucius," said one maid at the ajarred door before she stepped aside and opened it to allow the tall Mera to pass through.
Due to the Meras' low birth rate, Lucius was the only son and heir of the previous Chief. However, since the Meras valued physical power over royal inheritance her father was given the royal title to rule over the land instead of him.
Through her mirror, she saw the second his tall figure appeared from behind the door, and her arms stiffened and the skin all over her body began to harden.
The maid bowed and mumbled, "Sir milady is still--" before the slight raise of his hand silenced her.
"Permission is for peasants, I go wherever I so please," said the calm deep voice.
Her other two maids moved from her hair to bow their heads making her feel even more exposed. She was in only a silk gown that revealed all her features from underneath.
Her hands on instinct pulled locks of hair from her back over her shoulder to cover her chest. She turned around fast to stare back into his deep red eyes as he stood in front of her. They were half-opened as always as if all was beneath him.
Rue remembered the last scolding from her father about her bad behavior. The last time she saw Sir Lucius he marched off steaming with rage after she pushed him into a water fountain from trying to kiss her. Her excuse was that she was already seeing someone, but what excuse did she have now?
"Dammit!" she thought before fixing a smile on her face.
Like Callum, he was much taller than her so she had to look up at him. His white combed back hair revealed every feature on his sculpted face and almost blended in with his fair pink skin. His eyebrows were slender and curved in all the right places. His lips were slightly red to complement his burning red eyes.
Unlike Callum however, everything about him gleaned royalty, from his slow and precise strut to the way he always had a straight back with his chin held high. As usual, he was dressed in light cream from head to toe.
Many would say he was quite charming except for his attitude and sickening outlook on life. She avoided the blunt question at the front of her mind and instead went for a more polite version.
"Sir Lucius, I wasn't expecting you," she greeted him while intentionally withholding her hand.
He smiled down at her before she felt him reach for her hand to kiss it. "May I say you look even more stunning with fewer clothes on."
The maids that stood to one side of the room only saw when he dropped her hand. But Rue had projected a claw from her thumb to pierce through his glove and to his hand.
His sudden gesture of pain caused Rue to smile, " Why thank you," she said to cover up her vile amusement.
He turned away from her and moved both his hands at his back. "Forgive my short notice but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you. Especially not after I heard you were hurt."
Rue rolled her eyes with his back turned to her. He began to walk away from her when his feet stopped to look at the dress laid out on her bed.
"I heard you're finally rid of that underground peasant. I swear he was brainwashing you."
Those words caused the left side of her lips to twitch, but she pressed them together to fix them back into a pleasant smile.
"Is it true?" he asked before turning back to face her. "You can do telekinesis?" His eyes looked hard into hers as he waited for an answer.
Rue looked away to focus on the open balcony. "I-I'm pretty sure it was only a one-time thing," she said to dampen his hopes and interest in her. She knew that was the real reason he came by.
His eyes relaxed and he smiled. "I always knew you were special from the day I laid my eyes on you," he said as he approached her slowly. "With you, we have hopes of returning this ability into the Royal bloodline. I still can never understand why your father, the Chief, refuses to find another wife..."
His feet stopped before her and his expressions remained unfazed as he moved one hand to her chin to turn her face away from the balcony to face him.
His voice however gave hints of anger as he said low and harshly, "What could possibly be more entertaining out there hmm? I swear you have the attention span of a fruit fly."
"I'm sorry, what were you saying I wasn't listening?" asked Rue as they both looked dead into each other's eyes. They kept it up for a good minute until his hand dropped from her chin in disgust and he walked briskly towards the door.
"You silly peasant girl--soon you will learn to follow your role in this world!" he yelled before he marched through the door.
"Shut that door," demanded Rue and her three maids scurried at once to do it.
Telekinesis used to be popular within the Royal bloodline but became lost over centuries. It made sense as it was usually sparked through life-threatening circumstances and the royals were accustomed to easy living. The ability tended to have high spark rates in the kin of whoever awakened it. Those proved to be the case with Rue possessing the ability during the deadly Werewolf attack and her father already being a telekine.
There had been great attempts to get that ability back within the Royal bloodline.
Rue was not born into royalty like Lucius. It was only when her father displayed Telekinesis did he upon becoming Chief afford her a life of luxury.
She was well aware of what Sir Lucius and other Royals were demanding of her. Currently, there were only three living Meras that possessed the ability of telekinesis, her father Cronan, Dayrue, and now her. Her father being a widower was allowed not to remarry.
Rue being nineteen and Lucius twenty-five, was given until her twentieth birthday to choose a betrothal. If not, one would be decided for her and that person would be Sir Lucius. She always tried to forget about it, but now it was fresh in her mind.
She liked the idea of doing telekinesis and becoming special. However, she did not like this part of it and was beginning to regret gaining the ability.
Her eyes locked onto the wooden cane leaned up beside her mirror. She opened her palm for it to pull towards her. Nothing happened and she sighed.