THE LORD AND HIS RAVEN

Lady Meredith

“Lady Meredith?”

“What are they talking about? Who is Lady Meredith? And why are they staring at me that way?”

“Get the prince.” The wolf repeated and the other turned to him. His eyes were wide and confused.

“Phineas….”

“Go, Ren.” The wolf man called Phineas snapped. And the pressure eased. Almost immediately, Ren, the hill jumper turned to his heel and I was left there with the wolf and the feel of death hovering right above me. This wasn’t a dream. I realised. And it left me petrified.

For what seemed like hours, I just laid there, unable to get up and the wolf stood with me. His eyes remained on me and his desire to kill me seemed to have only intensified. And I still had no answers to where I was, how I got there, and who they were.

After about what looked like an hour, Ren came walking in soon after. He looked paler and beside him was a man. He was draped in a blue robe, the kind befitting for kings and princes in movies. And he had a crown of gold on his head. From where I laid, I could see his eyes. They were glowing amber. And his face was the most handsome I had ever seen. With chiselled jawline, pointed nose and pink lips.

“What was so important, Phineas?” His voice came, cold, deep, it was like a drum of perfect music that hit right at the pit of my stomach.

“Open the gate.” The wolf yelled at no one in particular. A grating sound followed and the bars moved in two opposite directions. Then he started towards me. I shook my head and tried to get away from him, fear overpowering me. But my legs were bound and I could not move.

He stopped in front of me and went down on one knee. Then he grabbed my hair and pulled me up. I whimpered, my scalp burning. He held my chin and pushed the hairs that covered my face aside. His eyes flashed red, like that wolf from earlier and a low growl escaped his throat. I paled, my heart hammering inside my chest. I could not be seeing right.

He moved aside, pushing my face till I locked eyes with the man who just came in. His eyes widened. His reaction, no different from the man called Ren.

“Meredith…” He called out, his voice nothing like earlier. Almost ghostly. The wolf let go of my chin roughly.

“She was found this morning. And she is human. Not to add, Lady Meredith died two years ago.” Phineas entered harshly.

I pushed myself back up, to a sitting position. And stared at them, confused.

“You are right…” The man from earlier entered, regaining himself. He took his crown off his head and ran his hand through it.

“She was murdered.” He smirked and turned back to me.

“But that face…” he started towards me. I shuffled backwards, finding his presence even more intimidating. He didn’t stop till he was right in front of me. For a while, he stared at me, almost like he was searching for something.

“Who do you think is responsible for this?” He asked.

“A sick bastard.” The wolf man let out a low growl.

“They know how we will react to this face.” The wolf added.

“You think they knew her face?”

“I think our enemy isn’t as far as we might think.” The wolf responded and the man nodded his head. He smiled. And for a moment, I thought his eyes were sad.

“Bring her. I want the king to see her.” He said and turned away.

“Wait…” I tried speaking again, but no one was listening to me.

And once again, I was being pulled, hands bond, legs bond, like I was some sort of criminal. My feet were on fire and blood coated every place I matched. But no one cared as they led me through countless steps, to arrive at a hallway that had my heart aching at the sophistication of it. High walls, chandeliers made of gold, pillars of fine lines and paints, walls of perfect designs and screeding.

Men stood at various positions, each dressed strangely and in the same uniform and women with uniforms and aprons. They stared at me as I was pulled along like a thief.

We arrived at a huge door that had a giant wolf head in the middle. With guards in breast plate and armour placed at both sides of it. They bowed their heads when we arrived then opened the door. A grand hall was revealed and at the end of it, was a large sit, a throne.

Someone sat there. “A king?”

I gaped in awe and confusion. The man sitting on the throne was probably in his late fifties with white beard and hair. A crown of gold rested on his head and he was draped in red and black embroidery. He, however, looked handsome.

Suddenly, someone pushed my head, bringing me forcefully to my knees. Only then did I realise that Ren and the wolf were on their knees.

“Logan…” The king called out.

“Bring her closer.” The man from earlier ordered. And someone grabbed my hair again. He pushed me forward, ignoring my struggles of pain and whimpers.

“Meredith…” The king’s eyes widened at me and he had that same reaction. Then he frowned.

“Who are you?” The air stilled and something dark grabbed hold of my heart, like the very hands of death.

He got up from where he sat almost instantly. Cold ran down my spine. I tried to move, to speak, to finally tell them that I didn’t understand what was going on. And that I think I was going crazy because I thought I saw a wolf, then I saw a man and I was somehow in a world that had never before existed or maybe it had, but only in movies. And there was a king, but the only king I knew was King Salem of Saudi Arabia and King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, King Phillipe of Belgium and some others and there was the queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II. And even England didn’t look like it just fell from a fairytale.

But for some reason, I could barely move my mouth. And my hands were trembling. And a pressure was pushing me down on my knees. And it didn’t stop till my knees struck the floor hard and a whimper escaped my mouth.

“Who are you?” The king roared. I stiffened at the sound of it. There it was again. The terrifying sound of man yet, beast.

“The king is asking you a question.” Phineas grabbed my hair again. This time, harder and harsher. I screamed out in pain, tears running down my cheeks.

“Speak….” He barked.

“I’m Raven…” I cried.

“Raven Price.”

Satisfied, Phineas let go of my hair and I fell to the ground.

“Who are you girl?” He growled.

“I am Raven Price,” I repeated. And earned a growl from the men beside me.

“I come from Los Angeles. And last night, I was chased by armed men who kidnapped me. I fell into a ditch and when I woke up, I was here.” I continued, not sure of what to say.

“Who sent you?”

I froze.

“No one.” I stuttered.

“Who do you work for?” The king asked again.

“No one….” Tears immediately started running down my eyes again. Something told me that I might die if I got the answers wrong.

“What is your mission here?”

“I swear, I don’t know anything.”

“I spent two days running from men who wanted to kill me. I don’t know you…” I said to the king.

“Or you…” I turned to the prince.

“I don’t even know where I am or how I got here. I just want to go home. Please.”

“Take her away and make sure you get the truth out of her…” He ordered.