"Aella I would like to have a word with you," Greta stopped Aella just as she was about to head out to work on a painting. Calixta and Celest were just leaving, with their best hats tied securely around their necks, to protect their delicate skin. They had no desire to paint but it was a great excuse to get out of the tower. Aella turned to Celest and flashed a white smile, "I'll meet up with you guys soon, go on without me." Once gone Aella allowed Greta to lead her to the sitting room. "I would like to speak to you about something important, it retains to your birthday party." Aella instinctively secured her sleeve to hide the bracelet Jarek had gifted her. She had not planned to wear it again, but she found it caught her eye every morning it sat on her vanity, taunting her. She had never told Greta about Rowan's surprise visit or gift. She feared her little secret might have reached Greta after all.
"My...party? Is something wrong?"
"No, in fact, It would appear," Greta stopped for a moment to clear her throat. "It would appear you have caught the attention of the young Master Whitelock. He has sent a calling card for you."
"Whitelock..as in Lucus Whitelock?" She asked in disbelief. She remembered their last conversation was rocky at best, even though it ended on good terms. It was nothing worth reaching out to her about.
"Yes, the very one. Did you know your mother was particularly close to the Whitelocks?"
Aella nodded, "Lucus mentioned that she was engaged to his father for a little while."
"It was more than a little while. It was a two-year affair. The Whitelocks were excited to potentially have magic in their bloodline, but in the end, Vetra felt her true calling was to the Sisterhood. It was the scandal of the season," Greta took a deep breath before grasping Aella's hands. "I always thought Vetra and Lucus Senior would have made a wonderful match, but her heart was as unpredictable as April showers."
Aella smiled warmly at this, somehow hearing her mother has an unpredictable side, made Aella feel more connected to her. She felt anger build up in the back of her mind, this was Jarek eavesdropping. She closed her eyes for a moment and blocked him out, she felt his anger grow but she would not yield. Soon she felt him disappear.
"Aella," Greta continued. "I know we have never talked about it much, but have you not considered the possibility of marriage?"
Aella fell silent for a moment as she processed what Greta was asking of her. Never had anyone ever entertained the thought of Aella, the wild hybrid, ever marrying anyone, let alone a Whitelock. "I...I guess I never took it as a possibility for me. I mean everyone is aware of my... bloodline..."
"But everyone knows you are nothing like the savages of Daimos," Greta said encouragingly. "You have triumphantly rid yourself of anything wolflike, and now Autheria is starting to see we can train our girls to rid their wolf sides and empower their magic. The pack will lose whatever hold they have on our lost daughters. Aella," pride welled up in the older woman's eyes, "you are making history. You will be a patron saint for all our future hybrid sisters."
"You really think so?" Aella sat up straiter at the thought of being able to help other budding sorceresses who struggle with a tainted bloodline as she did. "But, what if...I have another episode like when I was a kid?" The fear still nagged in the back of her mind, now that she was in contact with Jarek once again. What if she had to suffer her body trying to force another shift?
"You have been without your necklace for days now, and you have handled yourself very well. However, I have reached out to the Sisterhood and I had another commissioned for you." Greta pulled out a small bracelet that had an emerald jewel nested inside of it. "It's not a necklace of course, but I thought this would be easier for you to hide should you want to wear other garments that may not match. So you will never have an excuse to take it off again."
Aella held the bracelet in the palm of her hand, it felt heavier than she remembered the jewel being. She knew this was the best for her, but she was not ready to give up on her blocking exercise. She smiled sweetly at Greta and closed her fingers around the bracelet. "When would Lucus like to meet?" She asked as she pocketed the bracelet. Greta did not seem to notice as she pulled out the calling card. Aella studied it, it had a beautiful script printed across it, with the Whitelock seal crested on the corner.
"He would like to see you tomorrow for one hour at his estate. I would like to go ahead and send a reply."
Aella hesitated for a moment but then realized she was being silly. It was just one visit, not a marriage proposal. "OK. I guess a short visit can't hurt."
Greta patted Aella's knee and stood to her feet. "Wonderful. I'll be sure to have your best dress prepared. Now go and have some fun, but remember yourself," she warned.
"I will, I promise," Aella said before embracing Greta one last time. She then made her leave and headed for the park.
"I can't believe you have a date with Lucus Whitelock!" Calixta gushed as she sketched in her blank notebook, halfheartedly.
"Honestly, me either," Aella agreed as she tied her smock around her dress. The lighting was just perfect for the picture she had in mind and she did not want to miss a second of it. Celest was unusually quiet as she practiced her scribing. She would open and close her blank book. Each time she opened it a new text was summoned to its pages. This time she summoned an entry from Mixie's diary. Mixie was the name Darla had finally picked to be called by.
"Are you thinking of marriage after all?" Calixta tried to sound nonchalant about it, but Aella knew her friend far too well. She felt a little guilty bringing up the date now, she remembered how she felt when she thought Calixta would not take her vows with her. Now here she was possibly doing the same thing.
"It's just a date, let's not get ahead of ourselves. For all, we know it could be just another chance to talk about wolves."
"Oh please," Celest finally chimed in, rolling her eyes. "The boy was all over you at your party. He practically shoved Rowan out of his way to escort you to your seat." Celest closed the book again and opened it, this time it was the Calling Card Lucus had sent to Aella. "He does have nice handwriting, I'll give him that."
"I don't think you should be rash and decide anything before the ball. I mean you never know, there could be a nice boy there that you like more..." Calixta said biting her lip. Both Celest and Aella gave her a look, wondering if she had lost her mind. "What?!" She asked playing dumb. Neither girl decided to entertain the thought with a response. Then a sly grin crept on Celest's face, she could smell blood in the water.
"Are you sure you aren't thinking of yourself Calli? I saw how that red wolf was staring at you the whole party," she teased. Calixta's pale skin turned bright red as she tried to avoid Celest's judgmental gaze.
"I...don't know what you're talking about!"
Celest's eyes widened, Calixta was fooling no one. "You like him too! I can't believe it!" Celest almost sounded hurt by the thought. "Calli, you can't be serious do you know how they claim their mates?!"
"How?" both Calixta and Aella asked. Celest slowly walked on all fours as she crept up to Calixta. "They extract their fangs, almost like a vampire, and they pin you to the ground, ignoring any pleads for mercy." Celest demonstrated this by pinning Calixta beneath her. "Then they bite down on your tender flesh, and I hear it is the worst kind of pain a girl can suffer! Weaker girls have died from it in the past!"
Both Calixta and Aella turned pale as they grabbed their necks. Aella didn't know the mating process could be fatal. "Is that really how they do it?" Calixta asked, her eyes wide in fear. Celest nodded and moved off of her. "Besides, they have taken enough of us. Don't forget what they did to Aella's mother."
Aella looked to the ground, the conversation was making her feel guilty for wearing Jarek's bracelet now. What would her mother think of her if she saw her now? Greta was expecting her to be an example for future hybrids, yet here she was secretly holding on to gifts from them. Just how shallow could she be?
"Celest is right," Aella finally agreed as she made rapid brushstrokes, her frustration was now guiding her hand. "They have taken too many of us! And, their Alpha thinks we hybrids need him to rescue us!" The wind began to pick up as her temper rose. "Lucus and I will most likely not go far, but I won't abandon my sisters for any of them!" She vowed.
Celest held Aella close, "I know you won't. I didn't mean to upset you, please don't be mad." Aella smiled and calmed the winds. Once satisfied Celest took her seat again and tried to think of something else to scribe.
Calixta began picking the petals off a flower as the girls fell silent. Calixta turned her glance towards Celest and began watching her scribe random things into her book. This seemed to inspire an idea and Calixta smiled, "You know no matter what happens you two will always be my sisters, so I think we should make something to memorialize our time here."
Celest beamed with interest, "I like that idea. But what should we do?"
Calixta thought for a moment and then smiled wide as she wrapt her arms around Celest's neck. "Well, it involves a very talented scribe..."
"I'm listening," Celest said with a raised eyebrow.
"How about you scribe the records from Grethis?! You can get the lists of name changes and dates when we came to the tower and everything! I will go through the list and get what we need and scrapbook it!"
Aella scrunched up her face as she thought of the idea, it seemed a little unnecessary. "Why not just get copies from the library here?"
"You know the library here has only copies that get edited. I want copies from the original source! Aella can paint something for all three of us, and we can put our information on it. Like a collage! This way we all have a hand in making it, and Celest gets to scribe something further away. It's good practice don't you think?" Aella felt a change in the air as Calixta called upon her magic to help convenience them.
"Ok. Ok! No need to try and enchant us! I'm game," Aella said.
"Me too! Scribing a copy from the Order's official record books sounds like fun! I'll try and fill my whole book with it!" Celest agreed.
"We won't get in trouble for this will we?" Aella was a little afraid this could hurt everything she had worked so hard for. She was not sure how strict the Order was with their official records.
"We shouldn't, I mean we aren't taking anything that isn't already available to the public," Calixta stated.
"Well, I'm game!" Celest closed her book and concentrated very hard. This was the farthest she had ever tried scribing, and it would be a lot of documents. Sweat began to beat down her forehead, and her hair seemed to move as magic surrounded her. Aella hoped she was not pushing herself too far, but once Celest was determined to do something, she was going to do it or die trying. After what felt like hours, Celest finally opened her book, and its pages were filled with copies of the Order's documents. "Oh, I think I got more than just name changes in here," she warned.
"Celest you are brilliant!" Calixta cheered as she hugged Celest close. She then took the book and began thumbing through it. "I'm going to go through these carefully, Aella you get started on that painting!"
"Don't worry, but I think I am done tonight," Aella said, disappointment in her voice. "I've already lost the light."
"We can come back another day and get it again," Celest said as she gathered her things. "For now you need to get your beauty sleep before your date tomorrow."
Aella rolled her eyes, "you guys are thinking far too much into this." Even so, she decided it would be a good night for a nice long bath.
With Celest showing off to the younger girls, her book trick, and Calixta taking advantage of the empty study room to work on going through the documents, Aella prepared the tub for a relaxing hot bath. She submerged herself in the water's embrace and closed her eyes.
'Are you trying to test my patience?' Jarek asked when her defenses were finally down. How long had he waited to intrude on her thoughts once again? Were all wolves so stubborn or was this just a special trait of the Alpha? Aella covered herself and sunk deeper into the water, she knew he could not see her but this still made her uneasy.
"Go away! I'm taking a bath!" she ordered. She tried to summon a wall, but the Alpha was building a resistance to this trick.
'That won't work this time. You forget I am a full-blooded Lycan and your mate, you cannot hide from me forever.'
"I just want to take a bath in peace! And you are not my mate! If you think I am letting you near my-"
His dark chuckle cut her off, he was so angry he could not keep from laughing. 'You have been away from your kind for far too long. You do not understand the situation you are in.'
Even though the water was still hot, his words chilled her bones. Goosebumps rose in the back of her neck as her heart began to pace. Never had she heard Jarek take such a tone with her, even in their past arguments. He sounded almost menacing, she feared she may have pushed the wolf too far.
"You aren't going to scare me," her lie was weak in her ears, it only made the wolf laugh more.
'I am not trying to scare you, Ariel, only warn you. With each day that ticks by my bestial side become more...aggressive,' he said trying to find a way to put it delicately. 'I have waited years for us to meet, and I will not wait much longer. If you continue to be rebellious -'
"I am not being rebellious just for accepting a calling card! And who I choose to visit is none of your business!"
His growl sounded as if it belonged to a feral animal, 'Everything you do is my business!'
Aella fell silent as Jarek seethed in the back of her mind, he was trying to calm himself down. This sparked a dangerous flame within her. Her fear from before was turning into something else. Aella knew she should be scared, she should tread lightly, but something about testing the beast's limits sent a thrilling chill down her spine. A silent part of her wanted to keep poking him, wondering what he would do. It was a danger she could see herself becoming addicted to.
"You can yell all you want, but your taunts won't work anymore," she sat straiter as she spoke.
'Careful tempest. You are about to summon a storm you cannot control,' was Jarek's final warning before leaving her alone in the empty room.
Aella dried off and dressed for bed. She played with Greta's bracelet in the palm of her hand. Any sane person would have rushed to put on the bracelet that would protect her from Jarek's prying ears. But Aella felt a new side of her come to life in these last few days that she had been free of the block. She felt bold and a little ... powerful. Perhaps Celest was right, it was nothing more than a crutch she needed when she was young. She could handle Jarek, she could handle that wild side of her. She placed the bracelet on her vanity and curled up into bed. If Jarek thought he could scare her into submission, he was wrong. She was going to prove to the world that Greta was right, the Order can help hybrids like her. She would help show them the way.