Aella woke up feeling refreshed, Jarek had not tried to bother her the rest of the night. She was the first one up for once. She tip-toed to her wardrobe and put on what was supposed to be her best dress in Greta's opinion, but they were all just assortments of ugly green garments, Aella forced herself into day after day. She swore that when she took her vows and had complete control over her own money, she would burn every one of them. Once dressed she sat before her vanity and picked up the bracelet Greta had gifted her the night before. After giving it some thought, she wondered if she should wear it. Her mood swings had become more frequent since losing her necklace, and it would give her some privacy.
'Ariel,' the wolf spoke her old name so sweetly it almost made her stomach flip. But she had to be firm when it came to the Alpha.
"Aella. My name is Aella. Not Ariel," she whispered evenly. She did not want to wake up her friends but she had to get her point across. She heard him exhale an exasperated sigh.
'Fine. Aella,' he said giving up. 'I would like to form a truce. No fighting, no cryptic warnings just talk to me like we used to. After today if you wish to block me out of her mind, I won't argue.'
Aella bit her bottom lip as she contemplated the offer. She fumbled the emerald crested bracelet between her fingers slowly. Yes, her emotions have become more unpredictable lately but perhaps it was just an adjustment period. She had been so careful not to have another episode like she did when she found out her necklace had broken. And Jarek's bark no longer had the same effect it did when she first started hearing him again, after all, it was hard to stay afraid of someone who was just a voice in her head. Perhaps going just another day could not hurt. Wouldn't Greta be excited to learn that she had come so far, that she didn't need the magical jewel's help anymore?
"You aren't allowed to listen in on anything personal. If I want you to go away, you go away."
Jarek did not like this idea but he agreed anyway, 'You have my word.'
"Fine. You have a deal just for today," she agreed as she placed the bracelet back on the vanity. The garnet bracelet caught her eye once again. She really should stop wearing it, it did not match anything she owned but the one birthday dress Celest and Calixta gave her. But it was one of the few pieces she owned that she did not find utterly repulsive. She clasped the bracelet around her wrist and hid it beneath her sleeve.
Once Calixta and Celest were awake, they finished getting ready and headed down to the dance room. They were to have a lesson in ballroom dancing to prepare for the wolves' dance. Celest yawned as she tried to keep her heavy eyelids open. "Why are we doing this so early?" She whined.
"Because Aella has her date right after," Calixta said winking at Aella.
The stomping of Greta's heels echoed off the walls as she followed behind the girls into the large dance room. "I am afraid I cannot give you girls your dance instruction today. I have a lot to do and I am just one person."
"Oh no! Whatever will we do?" Celest said with hidden sarcasm.
Greta fixed her with a warning look but then continued, "While I am out checking on the progress of your dresses, and tending to the younger girls, your instruction will be held by someone else." All the girls turned as a new figure emerged from the door.
She was the tallest woman any of them had ever seen, and she had a beautiful dark complexion. Her hair was black as a raven, with a curly texture. She also had a beauty mark under her left eye which added to her charm. She was also the first woman they had ever seen that could rival Calixta in appearance. Yet Aella could tell, her power was not Enchanting, it was just something that came naturally to her.
"Ladies, I would like to introduce to you Sister Rhian."
All three girls' mouths fell open, it was The Rhian. Celest could hardly contain herself, Rhian was a scribe like her and Celest would sell her soul to just learn half of what Rhian had to teach. "It is an honor to meet you," Celest said, giving a perfect curtsy. Calixta and Aella followed suit but gave each other sly looks, Rhian had to have some enchanting magic if she could get Celest to behave.
Rhian's laugh was more girlish than Aella expected, "It's an honor to meet you three as well! I have heard so much about you from Sister Greta. "I can't wait to get to know each of you personally before you take your vows. But first, we have a lot of work to do!" She said with a clap of her hands.
"OH, before I leave Aella I have some rather unfortunate news," said Greta. "It appears there was some trouble in Whitelock territory and Lucus was called home for a few days. He won't return till the night of the Dance." Disappointment washed over Aella, and small raindrops hit the window. Aella's ears turned red as she noticed her mistake and quickly willed the rain away. "Forgive me," She said quickly as Greta gave her a
stern look. She had done a lot of bragging about how well Aella had been doing, and Aella did not want to disappoint her in front of her sister.
After accepting Aella's apology Greta took her leave. "Don't worry about her, Vetra had caused one or two storms in her day as well," Rhian said with a wink. "Now let's get started, Wolves don't do too many group dances, they prefer one on one ensembles. So two of you will pair up and one will be with me."
Celest quickly sidestepped to Rhian's side, "I don't mind letting Aella and Calixta dance together."
Aella rolled her eyes, "Oh your too kind."
Calixta laughed and got in position, "Let her have her moment. You can be the girl first if you want."
The lesson went on with almost no hitch. The only issue was, that Aella was a terrible dancer. She had stepped on Calixta's feet so much, that Rhian had to take over. "One two three four, no..." Rhian stopped the dance once again. "I hate to say it my dear, but I think this is not for you. Which is a shame, Vetra was a wonderful dancer."
Aella looked to the ground in shame, she tried so hard to keep her magic in check, but she could still hear some raindrops outside. She loved music but she had no talent for it, she was always off time. She usually avoided dancing in the past. She wished she had remembered this fact when Lucus had asked her to save a dance for him.
"Oh don't worry honey, I'm sure if you keep practicing you will get it in time. Now, how about we go get something to eat?" Rhian suggested hoping this would cheer Aella up. Food usually did do the trick, but she was too stubborn to give up on learning the dance just yet. "You guys go ahead, I am going to keep practicing."
"Good luck, you are going to need it," Celest said uncharitably. Calixta nocked Aella's arm gently, "Once I can feel my feet again I'll come up and help you if you want."
Aella smiled but shook her head, "Go eat I'll join you guys soon enough."
Once they were gone she tried to keep time in her head as she practiced the steps, but there was an annoying wolf in her head that kept stopping her.
'Your off time,' he said for the fifth time. 'Stop, close your eyes, and clear your mind.'
Aella let out a short breath, she was losing her patience. 'Trust me ok?' Jarek asked. Aella nodded, what else did she have to lose, after all?
After a moment of calming down and clearing her mind, Jarek spoke softly, 'Now, get in position, pretend we are dancing.' Aella felt silly as she put her arms up as if she were dancing with someone, but she did as she was instructed. Jarek began to count slowly, and then he started to hum a slow song she had never heard before. His voice was so deep, and beautiful that she nearly stopped in awe. Slowly his humming became words.
'She was a vision in the moon's soft glow
With adumbral hair Cascading down her dress
The poor fellow's heart began to slow
With a growing need, he could not repress
Please just once he begged
If she would only grace him a word
But she would only stare in defiance
He swore he would hold up the world
but could not bear the weight of her silence
This would be the end
She pushed and he pulled as he swore and proclaimed
If it is my end, my love, let me burden the blame
She wept as he pleaded, 'If I am to die tonight
Then let it be in your moon glade at midnight.'
Aella was so captivated by the sad song she had forgotten she was supposed to be dancing. She was no longer paying attention to her feet as she moved. "That was..." her voice was a hushed whisper as she struggled to find the words, "I didn't know you could sing..." She ended up saying when she could not finish her first thought. He chuckled playfully, 'I have only ever sung for my mother. That was one of her favorites.'
"But it's so sad. What is it about?"
'Not everything has to be happy. The song is based on an old folk tale about how the tides became to be. A man saw the moon's reflection in the water, it was the first sighting a wolf had of the Goddess. He fell in love with her and swam to her but she tried to keep him away because she knew when he reached her, he would die.'
She wanted to ask why he would die but she heard a clearing of someone's throat and she quickly turned around to see Lucus standing in the middle of the ballroom. "Lucus!" she gasped in surprise as she tried to fix herself. How long had he been standing there?! She prayed he did not hear her talking to herself.
"I hate to interrupt," He said with a mischievous smile. "I mean you two are such a lovely pair, I hate to tear you apart." He motioned to the imaginary dance partner.
"Oh, as you should. He has waited all day to dance with me," she returned playfully.
"If I may sir?" Lucus asked with a bow. "Goodman," he responded to nothing. He turned his attention to Aella and became serious. "I came to say goodbye and apologize. There is an urgent matter on my grandfather's land, that demands my attention. But I shall be back in time for our dance."
"I understand," she said looking at her feet. "Thank you for coming to say goodbye, but I don't wish to keep you." She moved her hair to cover her reddening ears. Lucus smiled and produced a white box, "A little token of apology." Aella shook her head, "You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to. I had to admit it's nothing too grand, and I had to do some digging to make sure I got just the right flower."
Aella pulled out a single purple tulip, "You spoke with Celest didn't you?" Only Calixta, Celest, and Jarek knew her favorite flowers were tulips. No way Jarek would have told Lucus, and Celest would have been the easiest to get ahold of. Aella could tell Jarek was doing his best to keep his promise and contain his temper, but he was not happy with this exchange.
"Guilty," he admitted. "I hope you don't mind its simplicity."
"No, I love it! Thank you," She gently placed the flower back in its box, she would have to find some water for it soon before it wilted.
He stared at her for a moment longer than necessary before remembering himself and he cleared his throat. "Sadly I must go. Till we meet again," he said kissing the back of her hand. He then made his leave.
Aella could not sense Jarek anymore. He must be furious. She sighed, this was all so confusing, she was starting to miss the days when people ignored her because of her tainted blood. But the closer she got to take her vows the more confusing everyone got.
Aella made her way outside where her friends and Rhian were holding court. They were laughing about something.
"Oh, Aella!" Rhian shouted as she waved her hand for Aella to join them. Rhian was so different from Greta. She was louder and more expressive, it was such a strange change. Aella thought all sisters of the order would be more like Greta. Aella took a seat next to Calixta and Celest at the small garden table, that had all kinds of snacks and sandwiches set up.
Aella tried to pick only a small handful but Rhian placed more on her plate, "It's girls' day, take as much as you like." Aella smiled and took another sandwich and began eating.
"Ok where was I, Oh yes! So there we were in the grand Whitelock garden, with poor Vetra wearing the most ridiculous yellow frilly dress. And Barny still asked her for a dance. This boy was smitten! When they danced she made sure to step on his foot every time he tried to sneak a feel. But he was so stubborn he would not stop and he quickly made Vetra furious, but he made one fatal mistake."
All three girls leaned in closer as if that would get the words out faster. "What?" They asked in unison. A mischievous smile lit Rhian's face, making her eyes beam like a young girl again. "They were outside! She meant to summon just a little rain cloud, but the poor thing was so annoyed, that all the guests were drenched! Everyone ran under the canopy to try and stay dry except for Vetra and one more guest."
"Who?!" Aella asked. Who would dare walk up to an angry tempest in the middle of a storm? Rhian stopped as if she realized she had gone too far into the story. She waved it away. "Oh, it's not important. Vetra never saw him again."
"Please? I want to hear the rest," Aella begged. She could feel Calixta pull on just a little bit of her magic to try and convince Rhian. It seemed to do the trick and she leaned closer.
"It was a visitor from Daimos, we had ignored him all day. Vetra was so confused she stood there in the rain trying to figure the fool out. 'Are you crazy?!' She shouted at him. The whole thing only made her more infuriated, she was so tired of all these men trying to take advantage of her Fiancé being absent, this boy was playing with fire. 'Why the hell would you just come up to me in the middle of a rainstorm! Do you want me to flood this place?!'" Rhian's eyes became glazed as she looked out into the faraway past. "You know what he did next? He just looked at her with the dumbest look I have ever seen and said, 'What storm?' I expected Vetra to lose what was left of her temper but instead, she laughed. Right in his face, she just bent over laughing, not caring how unladylike she appeared. And he gave a deep bow and held out his hand and to this day I still can't believe what they did next."
"What?" Calixta asked, mesmerized.
"They danced." Rhian laughed to herself, "They were quite a sight too. Vetra wearing that terrible dress she picked just to try and keep men away from her. And he was soaked to the bone, dancing with a girl he had never even spoken to, I don't even think he knew how important Vetra was."
"What happened to him? To the man, she danced with?" Celest asked.
Something sad came over Rhian, but she shook it away and took a more neutral tone. "Oh, we never saw him again. King Bastion announced we were going to war with Daimos just a few days later. So he probably died in battle."
"That is so tragic," Calixta sighed. Aella studied Rhian and felt she was not getting the whole story. Rhian knew something she was not sharing but there was no point in trying to pull it out of her. Something about this story made Aella feel sad, she could feel rainclouds forming and she quickly pushed them away before she could ruin the nice evening.
The rest of the day the girls spent with Rhian, helping her take care of the younger girls and pestering for stories of her and Greta when they were younger. But the story of her mother and the mysterious boy from Daimo's plagued Aella all day. She wondered who he could be, thankfully Jarek did not intrude on her private thoughts. It was actually nice to have him with her all day, it almost felt like they were kids again. She decided she would not need the Emerald bracelet anymore so she shoved it inside a drawer of her vanity and fiddled with the bracelet Jarek had gifted her as she got ready for bed.
She smiled silently at it and left it on. Something about it comforted her. She knew it was silly but she wanted to wear it just a little longer. She curled into bed and said goodnight to Calixta and Celest and fell asleep.
Her dreams were a wild mess. She knew this was not Jarek's doing, but it still felt so real.
She was in a beautiful garden surrounded by tulips and she was wearing a dark red dress. In the distance, she could hear a wolf howl. It was for her, a warning that he was coming for her. Her heart paced rapidly in her chest as turned and ran away.
Slow. She was too slow. She tore her shoes off her feet and tried to run faster, but she could hear the wolf gaining on her. She was not completely sure if it was fear or excitement that was pushing her to run faster. She didn't want him to reach her, but something about the chase thrilled her.
She weaved in and out of trees in the woods, trying to lose him but he stayed on her heels. She turned around to see how close the wolf was, but he disappeared. When she turned to face ahead of her, she ran into something hard and she fell on her back. She grabbed her head as she lost the air in her lungs. She looked up to see who was her captor but when she opened her eyes, she was awake in her little room once again. She was home, where she was safe, but she felt restless.
She panted as sweat beat down her forehead, it was so hot and stuffy. She felt her body pulse, and heat up in a way she had never felt before. She peeked at her friends to make sure they were asleep, once her eyes adjusted to the dark. They did not stir.
She bit her lower lip as her hand began to travel to her lower regions.
'I can help with that,' his voice was so velvety and smooth she forgot she should be mortified he was eavesdropping on such an intimate moment. His voice alone made her insides light on fire.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered, hardly loud enough for her to even hear. She could feel the smug smile tug at his lips at her discomfort and her hunger.
'Would you like me to leave?'
"No..." She confessed.
'What would you like?'
"I want … I want to know what you wish to do," she asked after a moment.
'I don't wish to scare you.'
"Try me."
A soft laugh escaped him, 'That is exactly what I would like to do. I want to pin you beneath me, while you squirm knowing there will be no mercy. I want to punish you for every night you hid away from me. I want to be the one that makes you finally accept the animal side of you. I want to feel your nails dig into my back as I make you scream my name.'
Her face heated up, and she felt the room become humid and moist. She wanted to run away from him where she would be safe, yet she also wanted him to continue. Before she could explore the part of her she never dared touch, she stopped herself.
"No." She whispered harshly. This was wrong. This was something Wild things do. Not good girls like her. She placed a pillow between her legs and tried to block out Jarek's words without blocking him completely. She needed to take a cold bath.
No.
She sat up as she realized what she truly needed. It was something she had not felt the urge to do in years. But her legs ached as she looked out the window. Her red eyes staring back at her.
She needed to go for a run.