Biting Sacrifice

Chapter VII - The Flask

Tabitha had found herself in a bit of a predicament. She was currently forced to sit between Tweedledee and Tweedledum, two royal guards who not only refused to engage in any sort of chit-chat with her, but also made everyone else too scared to sit in her train compartment. Besides, her bladder had started to protest, but everytime she gave the indication she was going to get up to go to the lady's room, their glare immediately diminuished her need to go. 

Getting closer to the event had kick-started her restlessness in a way that not only increased her shaky breaths, but made her shake to the point where she didn't know whether she was anxious or just cold. 

The forest that now surrounded them looked gloomy, filling her with an everlasting dread. It even looked like it was going to rain soon, adding to the somber athmosphere. 

Then, the twins that guarded her got up, with an eery sintony.

"We're almost there." One started. "You should change now." The other finished. 

Knowing what to expect from her sister's retellings of the Run, Tabitha grabbed her almost-falling-apart backpack and gave the indication that she was leaving to the bathroom.

"No, you'll change here." Tweedledum - or was it the other one? - said with a serious expression.

Tabitha knew that even if she sprinted to the bathroom they would easily catch her, so the logical decision was to try to reach a consensus. 

"You can go with me to the bathroom? That way you know where I am and I can have my privacy." She tried reasoning with the twins. 

The taller of the two crossed his arms and shook his head, while the other one dignified her with a spoken answer.

"Sorry, lady. We have orders to make sure you don't leave our sight."

"It's not like I'll be able to leave this train." She defended, waving her arms wildly.

"You can't leave this compartment. That's final." Said the grumpiest of the two.

That lead to her sitting down in protest, holding her black backpack to her chest. Stupid, stubborn wolves were so hard to reason with. They always thought their opinions should be more valued, always disregarding humans. What was even the point of arguing  when it would lead to her having to strip down to her undergarments in front of them? It made her feel like she needed to scratch her skin off. 

As she dawdled in her own misery, the doors sprung open. She raised her head, thinking that she'd have to unddress in front of even more wolves, when she saw her sister.

She was mad at her sister - after Maeve made her look like a child in need of scolding, how could she not be? With how nervous she was feeling Tabitha couldn't really muster the energy to have another argument. So she lowered her head and hid behind her backpack. 

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Why are you here?" The older sister waited for an answer but only received mumblings from her. "Very adult of you, Tabitha. I'm sorry sir, is there a reason as to why my sister looks like she's being held prisoner?".

Tweedledum stepped forward in Maeve's direction. "We have the indication to ensure that certain individuals aren't out of our sight, and Tabitha Drake is one of them."

"I understand-" Started Maeve.

"Traitor" Chimed in Tabitha.

"But we're almost at our destination and my sister still needs to change her clothes. It wouldn't be very proper for a female unmated human to change in front of you, would it?" The sister argued, mantaining her poise.

"Well, she can't leave this compartment - she might throw herself out of a window for all we know." the other twin argued.

"For the love of- that happened once and it was a total accident!" Tabitha defended herself, finally peeking out of the backpack.

"Tabitha shush. Look, how about you just turn around? Isn't your hearing really good? If she were to try to sneak out you would be able to tell." Maeve explained, softening her expression.

Tabitha was stunted. She saw the look the wolves shared between each other, after hearing her sister. How could they cave in to Maeve's requests, but not hers? Was it because her sister was just that much better than her, or was it due to the "unmated" comment she threw? Was it the soft doe-like brow eyes? Either way, the wolves relented, and turned around, standing guard at the door. That allowed Tabitha to whisper a quick "thank you" to her sister and to start stripping. 

She didn't think much of herself, not spending enough time properly taking her care of her appearance, and not taking much pride in it either. She didn't really compare to her older sister, who just seemed to exhale grace and elegance. In contrast, she just felt anxious, always wired to move, to speak, to snark. Definitely not elegant, and unlike what seemed to happen with Maeve, wolves just seemed put-off by her, probably smelling her disdain for them. 

She proceeded to look down at herself. Her short legs had a couple of scars, that maybe in a different setting would have her reminisce over her childhood. Her now bare feet had very chipped nail-polish from a sleepover at her sister's that seemed to have been ages ago.

Maeve quietly held her backpack to her, letting Tabitha remove the white flowy dress she was to wear to the Run. Before even having the time to admire it, she quickly put it on, partially because it was cold and partially because she didn't want to spend too much time thinking about it. The only thing that somewhat gave her comfort was her sister's similar dress.

Before Maeve had the time to place her backpack down, Tabitha's hands quickly grabbed it, searching for a little flask that hid beneath the place where the dress was stored. Avoiding her sister's glance, she put it inside her undergarments, ensuring that it would stay properly in place.

With Maeve's disapproval set on her, Tabitha finally looked at the taller of the two, shrugging her shoulders at her. 

Maeve turned her back to her. 

They had arrived.