Chapter 4
1975 Words
(Alexia POV)
"GET UP! YOU WILL BE LATE! OPEN THE DOOR!"
I groaned and sat up from my bed tired. The maids were banging on the door, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Coming." I ran to the door and opened it. 4 maids stood in front of me with annoyed faces.
"Do you know how many times I called you? Why can't you open quicker?" the main maid said as they entered the room. My eyes went to the 4 suitcases in their hand.
"Is there anything special today?" I looked at them with confusion.
They didn't bother answering me as they opened them one by one.
I knew what they were. They were filled with beautiful and expensive clothes I could ever wear and they were only given to me when they had to attend to something and they were forced to take me alongside them.
"What are you waiting for? You are already late! They will arrive any minute."
One of them pulled me to the shower and rinsed me roughly. They made me wear a dull yellow dress with white ruffles. The dress wasn't granted or anything but simple and plain. My red curly hair was made into a French braid and I was given very subtle, minimal makeup.
Although they told me we were in a hurry; they took their sweet time doing their job. They squealed and talked excitedly about the arriving guest.
It turned out that we were expecting a very special guest. The prince of our Kingdom is coming to solve the problems that were related to the pack borders that lead to the dark forest.
When they finished dressing me up, they looked at the time before giving me a dramatic grasp.
"Oh my! Looks like you are late! The prince must have already arrived. You had better hurry or Alpha Resnold will punish you badly."
I glared at the mischievous maid before putting on my shoes. I quickly ran past the hallway, feeling the usually disappointing stares at me.
When I reached outside, I froze as I saw a carriage with the royal symbol marked on it.
"They went to the dining room." one of the warriors told me as I nodded and thanked him before running to the dining room.
A soldier wearing a royal uniform stopped me from entering the room. He raised his eyebrows at me.
"My prince, these are my daughters, Clarisse and Clare." I heard my father's voice.
I turned white, I was done for. I knew I was screwed.
"Please let me in. I am Alpha Resnold's eldest daughter." I said hurriedly.
The man looked at me for a few more seconds before taking a step to the side. At that very moment, I opened the door and barged in.
Biggest mistake... What the hell was I thinking?!
The room turned quiet as every eye turned to me. My instinct was to look at my father and he looked furious.
"Why are you late!?" Lord Resnold's voice turned dark.
"I am sorry, father. I um.... lost my way." I lied. If I told him I was late because I was dressing up, he would give me a worse punishment.
"OK." his OK didn't sound pleasing. "Greet the prince."
I nodded before immediately giving my attention to the prince sitting at the head of the table.
"Greeting to the Crown prince and his Vizier." I bowed my head in respect. I looked up at the man in front of me and I felt as if time froze. His eyes were wide and his eyes never left mine.
A feeling of familiarity washed over me, but I couldn’t tell why. The prince, like the rumor, was handsome. He had beautiful blond hair and golden eyes. He oozed power worthy of being the next king.
"Come sit fast! The prince was going to start!" my stepmother whispered shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. I nodded and hurried to the seat next to my youngest sister.
I tried my best to avoid his gaze, but I could feel his gaze on me.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your daughter, Alpha Resnold?" the prince spoke as my father's attention went to him.
"Oh yes!" he immediately nodded his head before sitting up straight.
"Your highness, this is my eldest daughter Alexia." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Alexia Kyree."
The statement made my eyes widen. I froze in my seat, not believing what he said. Did he..... Did he just call me a Kyree? Never in my entire life had I heard him call me a Kyree. He usually introduces me as Alexia. No family name.
But now...
"Alexia. The name suits you. A beautiful name for a beautiful lady." My head snapped to the prince, who complimented me. I blushed hard being not used to the compliments from other people.
"T-thank you."
I looked down at my empty plate, trying to hide my embarrassed look.
As we ate lunch, Father gave the prince a brief on the problem we were facing.
I was unaware of what was happening around in the pack, so everything came as a shock to me. Apparently, there is a dark creature that comes to the crops situated near the forest. At first, the attack was during the night and there were no causalities, but now they started coming in broad daylight and attacking people.
"I will check on it today. Darren, after lunch I want you to scout the area and look for anything abnormal." the prince said to his vizier, who nodded his head.
"Yes, Prince."
"Thank you, your highness." father said with a broad smile. "If you will allow me, my eldest daughter Clarisse will show you the way."
Hearing that, Prince Zeus raised one eyebrow at him. "I thought you told me Lady Alexia is the eldest."
Father's body stiffened as he looked at the prince with wide eyes. "Ah... um yes, she is. I didn't mean it like that. You see, Alexia hasn’t been around for long so it takes time for me to adjust to saying that."
"Oh?" Prince Zeus glanced my way. I don't know if it's because he saw my expressions, but he didn't enquire more. "I understand. So you mean Lady Alexia will take me to the place?"
"No no. Clarisse will be taking you. It's not safe for Alexia to take you there."
"And is it safe for your younger daughter?" The prince raised one eyebrow, looking at my father with suspicion.
"I didn't mean it like that, sir. As I said, she hasn’t been around here long, so she might not know the land properly. Besides, Clarisse is good at managing matters around her properly. She is a true lady."
I didn't dare look up. I felt tears filling my eyes. This wasn't something new. Father had always taken every opportunity to praise my sisters. Not once in his entire life did he say anything sweet about me.
"I understand Lord Resnold, but I prefer a male accomplice. So please arrange as such."
It was very clear that my father was trying to set the prince up with one of his daughters. One of his legitimate daughters. I was out of options, but it wasn't like I cared. Right now, my mind was filled with a particular stranger who I was excited about having my date with. But something in me didn't like the fact that my father was trying to set the prince up with someone else.
My father had no other way but to obey the prince's demand. In the end, he had to appoint the warrior general as their guide to the forest.
"Then we will start after lunch. Darren, fly around and try to spot the beast."
We all followed the prince to the forest border. Throughout, the prince kept glancing at me. My sisters seemed to notice this and they purposefully walked in front of me, blocking my view. At one point, I even stumbled on earning a scolding from my stepmother.
I couldn’t help feeling like I had met him before. He looked so familiar. But I didn't dare question him.
The prince stopped on his track, making everyone stop behind him. He nodded at Lord Darren, his Vizier, who bowed and took a step forward.
He quickly closed his eyes, channeling his powers. In one quick second, a blue light swirled around him. His hidden wings came into view, a beautiful transparent pair that fluttered happily after being exposed.
"Then I will take a brief leave." he said, bowing before letting his wings take him to the sky.
Half an hour passed and as we waited for Lord Darren to arrive. For some reason, the prince tried to chat with me, but I made excuses and moved away from him. I knew I would be in trouble if I talked to him.
My sisters, on the other hand, were all over. They didn't spare a single opportunity they got to be around him. They talked about how they would go and visit the palace. They even made him promise to say Hai to them the next time they went to visit the palace.
Father talked highly about his two daughters. He didn't even make an effort to show care for me. After Darren came back, he informed him proudly that he had found the monster's lair.
Father backed me up with 10 of his warriors and we went to fight the monster. The fight was an easy one. The monster was taken by surprise and it didn't take long to kill it. But what we didn't expect was to encounter other dark creatures. It turns out there was more than one dark creature lurking around on the border of the dark forest.
In the end, the prince had to use his temporary barrier to build a magic wall between the forest and the pack.
They reached the mansion late in the evening.
"Thank you for taking care of the matter, Prince Zeus. Since it is late, I have arranged a room for both of you. I hope you will stay." My father said as the two nodded their heads.
The prince acted tough but I noticed how weak and tired he looked. For some reason, it hurt my heart.
"Thank you."
"Then my daughter will take you to your room."
"I would like to ask your eldest to help me settle in."
His statement shocked every one of us. I could feel my sister's glare at me. Father looked frustrated by his request, but he had no choice but to obey the crown prince.
"Yes, my prince." he turned to me and I froze in my spot. "Child, Guide him to his room."
"Ye-yes." I stuttered, nodding while lowering my head.
As I guided them back to the room, the prince once again tried to have a little conversation with me.
"You don't talk much, huh?" he asked as I looked at him with a troubled expression.
"I am sorry if I offended you."
What was I thinking? I only answered him using one or two words. It was like I was mocking him.
"No, no, it's OK. I understand. Don't worry."
After that, none of us talked. After I bid him goodnight, I went back to my room. As I took each step, excitement filled me.
I locked the door and took a quick bath. I changed into something that was the most decent and elegant in my closet. I let my curls go loose, just combing them lightly.
There were still a few more hours left, but my excitement got the best of me. I jumped out of the window and made my way to the packed streets excited about my first ever date.
- Writer
