After Glow

The beautiful blonde woman with bright red lips like cherries, paced back and forth as her high heels clacked on the marble floor. She held one hand to her mouth while her other was crossed along her torso in thought. Her face, while at first glance, was devastatingly beautiful, closer inspection showed dark circles that were expertly hidden under her make-up. Age lines from worry and grief were showing at the corners of her eyes and lips. It was clear that she was still young, but she had lived through her share of sorrow and heartache. Sveta Greynost was the self-appointed Queen of the werewolf population of the world. She had taken over for her father after he was murdered in cold blood by his rival for the throne. His murderer was still at large. That one person was responsible for not only her father's death, but was also the cause of her mate's death too. Amaris Shadow was just some girl who had grown up in a human village. She did not even know that she was a werewolf never mind royalty. She had been a contender for the throne, and she had been given powers by the gods, that by right should have belonged to her family. The true ruling family. Upon her father’s death, Sveta had sworn vengeance on Amaris. She would wipe the face of the earth of her and anyone who had helped her. Sveta had been hunting her for months. All she had found were traps and dead ends. She had made those who had lured her on a false trail pay with their lives. Sveta was now using the full might of the werewolf army to track them down. She would not get help from the vampire king this time, he was only too happy to learn that she had killed Chtistos, the last in the line of that wretched woman who jilted him so long ago. She was not into games and showmanship like her father. Sveta felt that he had failed to hold Amaris and her friends because he liked to show off and make a spectacle. No, this would be quick and clean and final. Sveta had been pacing the throne room of the palace waiting for word from her spy at the Oracle’s temple. Sveta was sure that Amaris would retreat there to the seat of her power. So far they had seen and heard nothing of the woman and her worm of a mate. Her own mate, Adam had been Lyle’s brother. I guess that would make Amaris her sister-in-law. Sveta scowled at that thought. If she had to live without her mate neither of them would live either. They both had to die, but how to find them? Everything she had tried so far yielded nothing. Not even torturing those worthless guards of the order of the Oracle. They refused to reveal her whereabouts. Sveta gritted her teeth and resumed her pacing. A door creaked slowly open behind her and Sveta spun on her heel to see who dared bother her. A young girl dressed in kitchen rags curtsied. “Your highness” she said bowing her head low. “You wished to be informed when the captain returned. He has just arrived. “. She said with some trepidation in her voice. She chanced a quick peak at the Queen, and then kept her low bow. Sveta’s face broke into a wide smile. “We’ll get up girl. Don’t grovel, it’s not becoming. Show him to the library. I will meet him there shortly.” She said as she brushed past the still bowing girl and breezed out of the room. The young girl waited until she could no longer hear the Queen's shoes on the floors in the hall. She quietly made her way back to the door and peaked around the doorway. There was no one in sight. She backed into the room and shut the door. She turned and looked around the room. Her gaze was evaluating as if to take stock of everything in it. She turned back looking over everything a second time when her gaze fell on the throne on the top of the dais. Where there once had stood two thrones, now there was only one, and it was twice as large as the one that the King had in its place only months before. The young woman hurried to it and stepped up on the platform where only the royalty were allowed to stand. She ignored the massive gold seat and ran behind it. There was nothing there, so she went further back to the curtained area behind the throne. She walked from side to side, sweeping each curtain back in turn, but she still did not seem satisfied. The girl walked back to the throne itself and pondered it for a moment. Looking over each side of the chair and all the ornate carvings on each surface of it. Squatting down she moved closer to the side of the chair and ran her hands over the raised carving. She stopped and looked at it from a few different angles and then pushed on it and shook her head. She moved on all fours around to the other side of the chair and gave that side the same treatment. She stopped and threw her hands up in the air in silence, and then placed them on her hips. She stopped suddenly as if listening, and then hurriedly moved around to the back and looked at the scene carved there. She seemed to find the item in the picture that she was looking for. "Here goes nothing." and she blew out a breath. She pressed with both her hands on the item in the picture that had caught her eye. With a tiny click the back of the chair popped open revealing a hidden cupboard. The girl inhaled sharply and pulled the door open the rest of the way. She reached under her dress and pulled a flashlight out of the pocket of the pants that she wore underneath. The space was crammed with treasure. There were crowns and jewels, there were also scrolls all pressed into one corner. Toward the back of the space, stand upright, was a staff. It was made of gold and it was only about three feet tall with wings at the top. The girl reached in and grabbed the staff and yanked it out. She closed the cupboard without so much as a glance at all the other wonderful things that were in there. The girl stood up and awkwardly fit the staff up the side of her dress skirt and waistband. This hid the artifact, but did not allow her to walk very smoothly. She looked down at the poorly disguised object and sighed, and then started walking toward the door. Peaking out the door once more, she checked if the coast was clear, and then hurried down the hallway without closing the door to the throne room. The young woman slipped out through the kitchen door and down the side of the palace to the gate. She had grabbed an empty basket on her way through the kitchen, and simply walked past the guards and out onto the road. The girl was gone, and so was the staff.