The Queen Of Darkness

13.Oh shit indeed

I stared up at the painting, at the brush strokes, the lines, the colors and hues. I didn't know who the girl was, but she was beautiful all the same. She couldn't have been any older than fourteen, with long, wavy dark hair, parts of it braided and pulled to the back. She had blue eyes and soft, slight features. She was thin, a light pink dress hanging off her shoulders. She had been painted sitting diagonal, her head faced forward. Her smile revealed dimpled cheeks.

It looked almost out of place, like she had been painted from memory, not reality.

"Her name was Aurora. She was Celeste's sister." I turned to acknowledge Alexeron. He was dressed more casual then usual; a white button up shirt and dark pants. He was an attractive man, usually subdued and quiet.

"Was? What happened to her?" I asked, staring back at the painting, framed in a beautiful golden wood.

"Celeste was turned in the early fifteen hundreds. Her father was a farmer in Germany, so they lived awhile away from any kind of civilization. He was abusive, to her and her mother, but he didn't dare touch Aurora. He had tried once, Celeste had beat him with a riding crop." We walked as he told the story, down the main stairs into the rotunda.

"One night, her father drank himself into a fury and alcohol fueled episode. His wife and Celeste were asleep, but Aurora had stayed awake, and snuck in a book from her father's desk. Women weren't allowed an education, didn't have the right. So when her father found her reading, he snapped. Celeste heard the struggle, and found her father over her little sisters bloodied body. She was only fourteen. Celeste had returned the favor. A rouge vampire had smelt the blood, and had turned Celeste and her mother, but the woman had been sick and hadn't made it through the transition. Celeste lost her entire family in a span of a few hours. She's never forgiven herself for what happened." I stared at my feet, swallowing. I had never considered the possibility that everyone had a gruesome story, some better or worse than mine. I chided myself at my selfishness.

"She's such a strong person." I said, if only to fill the void. We were outside now, strolling around the grounds.

"She's a pain in my ass." I laughed, a boisterous burst from my mouth in unexpectedness. I looked at the King, his mouth wide in a smile, his eyes crinkled. He turned and looked down at me, moving his arm out.

"I assume nobody's has given you a proper tour?" I shook my head, smiling lightly.

"Well then, let's get going."

¤¤¤

Alexeron showed me the entire estate (which was more like a castle), inside and out. It took nearly two hours, and by the time I retired to my room, it was four in the afternoon. My feet ached and as soon as I sat on my bed, I was asleep.

I was woken an hour later by Madeline entering my room. She winced as she noticed my barely awake silhouette on the bed. Her hands ran over her uniform, something I had noticed she did regularly.

"Sorry to wake you, but the Iron Moon Pack has arrived and I have orders to prepare you for dinner." I groaned, sitting up from the soft bed.

"What is up with the Celeste throwing dinners?" I muttered, going to sit at the vanity.

"She has a flare for the dramatic." Madeline shrugged, heading to the armoir. She flicked through the dresses, causing me to grimace.

"Why do I even have to come? It's not like I'm a Lady of the monarchy." The red head paused and looked over her shoulder at me, holding a black dress in her hands.

"The Queen requested your presence. Said that because the attack was from Orion that you would want to hear about it first hand. Or something like that." She turned to me, holding the dress out. It was quite simple, just a straight black dress, off the shoulder, with a small slit up the right side. It was not as grand as the others, and because of that, I nodded.

She placed the dress on the bed and stood behind me, pulling the band from my hair. She twisted and pulled and primped for nearly an hour, singing softly, her light Irish accent curling around specific words.

"You have an amazing voice." I said quietly, watching her reflection. She smiled slightly, a blush on her cheeks.

"Thank you, but I don't think it's that good." I glared, twisting slightly to smack her leg.

"Stop with the self depreciation. You put yourself down too much. You have an amazing voice, and an amazing personality, and you're gorgeous." My voice was firm, no space for arguing. She nodded and ducked her head, continuing with my hair. She finished at few minutes later.

"Do you know the time?"She asked, looking around the room.

"Ah, hang on." I stood and strode to where my phone was plugging into the charger. I had completely forgotten about it with everything that had happened. I pressed the home button, the notification bar showing missed calls and texts. My eyes widened and my heart skipped. Tears flooded my eyes as a happy sob escaped my mouth. I clutched the phone to my chest.

Madeline stood in front of me, a panicked expression on her face. She repeated asked what was wrong, her hands rubbing my arms.

"My...my mom, she's, she's okay. She's alive." Madeline smiled, reaching forward to embrace me. I laughed into her shoulder, relieved and ecstatic. I calmed down after a few minutes, rubbing my cheeks as I sniffled. I smiled at Madeline and stood.

"So what time is the dinner?" I asked, my voice still shaky as I sat back in front of the mirror.

"At six thirty." I nodded, pressing the home button again. My eyes widened, and I quickly showed Maddy. 6:16.

"Oh shit!" I laughed, too happy to even care. It was the first time I'd heard her even remotely swear. She frantically ran to the bath room, returning with a giant box of make up. I groaned, ignoring her glare as she began to work on my face.

¤¤¤

We ran down the corridor, me more hobbling then anything. I wore white strappy heels, contraptions that succeeded in tripping me up. I had moaned and groaned at having to wear them, but Maddy had growled, saying there wasn't enough time to argue. She was right, of course. I was twenty three minutes late. It wouldn't surprise me if Celeste ordered to have me decapitated.

Thanks to Alexeron giving me a much needed tour, I actually knew where we were. I grinned as I spotted the grand door to the dinning room. I could feel my hair coming undone as we ran, the pinned up sections coming loose.

The dress, although quite simple, was actually pretty tight. The material was stretchy, but it clung to my body, the only bit of freedom being the knee high split.

The servant opened the door as we approached, me trying to hold onto my spiralling hair. I stepped into the room, feeling something unclip on my shoe. I groaned, putting my hand on Madeline's shoulder to stable myself as I reached down to fix the strap.

I felt her curtsy, apologizing for the interruption. I muttered to myself, twisting my foot.

"Stupid heels, stupid dress. Why did I have..." I trailed off, staring at the raised hair on my arms. I had goose bumps, my blood tingling, sending a shiver up my spine. I raised my head, the room silent. The Queen glared at us, her usual group of Lord's and Ladies on her right. Anna and Valerie were there too. But it was the other end of the table that caught my attention. Werewolves, from I assumed the Iron Moon Pack. The feared son of the Heartless King sitting at the head of that end. My eyes widened, my eyes changing to the plethora of colors, my gaze on the glowing orange gold eyes of the Alpha. The familiar man from the Shifting ceremony. My mate.

"Oh shit."