The Song Of The Wolf (Unedited)

Chapter Nineteen

As it had for roughly two months already, snow lied thick and frozen, coating the valley in a sheet of white. It was no miracle that due to the seasonal lack of daylight, depression was very common in this part of the continent. The clock had struck 11am but the sun had yet to rise.

The morning was crisp and biting, the fire in the hearth had burned out sometime during the night and the radiator had ceased functioning. Maebh conjectured there was a link between that, the rotting wood of the window panes and the everlasting cold and made a mental note to mention the two problems to Olive –who had been overjoyed to hear of her intention to stay. In fact so much, that the sweet woman had added extra maple syrup to the girl's breakfast pancakes. The rush of energy that followed the meal was more than welcome. She hadn't slept a wink, too anxious for what was to come later that day.

First things first, she had other matters to tend to, such as the countless missed calls on her phone. Although her old mobile had been retrieved from the sunken car, it had tragically not survived the plunge. As luck would have it, her sim had and was now placed in a brand new phone –that she'd gotten as compensation.

Holding the device to her ear, she didn't have to wait long. The second he picked up, a stream of shouts poured through the speakers, making her wince. Maebh went to lie down on her bed and remained mute as he scolded her.

"-lost your damned mind! We were worried sick!"

"Coinín."

"You could have been lying dead in a ditch for all we knew!"

"Coinín."

"What?! What could you possibly have to say for yourself, young lady!?"

"Christ, you're worse than my father."

"Yeah, I bet you ignored his calls too."

Maebh grumbled an indistinct reply, glad he wasn't able to see the blush searing through her cheeks –proving his assumption to be correct.

"That's what I thought. Now you wouldn't have anything to do with a letter from a certain prince that got delivered last night. Would you? Not to forget my notorious delinquent of a brother who had suddenly shown up on our doorstep after weeks of absence."

"..Oh? What did the letter say?"

"Cut the crap, Irish girl." 

Accepting the inevitable, Maebh heaved a deep sigh, sat up straight and began retelling all that had transpired. It left the other end of the line suspiciously speechless.

"..Coinín?"

She took a swift peek at her phone's screen, beginning to fear he had hung up on her –which wasn't the case.

Finally, he spoke. "What did his Royal Highness want in return?"

Her stifling silence was ample to fill the gaps with.

"You didn't– Gods, Maebh. I deeply appreciate everything you have done for us but it shouldn't have been at the cost of your own- your own freedom."

Her fingers were mindlessly playing with some loose threads on a decorative pillow. "It would have happened sooner or later. Better sooner now that I could mold the circumstances to my own advantage."