The Two Moons

An Thoughtful Dinner

Isabella sat at the head of the long dark oak table. Rose had been sitting quietly on her right, she hadn't said a word since they arrived in the dining hall. Isabella thought back at the conversation several hours prior and sighed, this was going to be a situation that would take time and an amount of energy that she did not have. This was a drawn-out affair. Isabella hated anything that she could not solve quickly and with the upmost discretion and this ... this was definitely not that. She sighed once again, stealing a glance at Rose, who sat picking at her food for the last hour. There was no way that the food was even remotely warm, and she needed to eat. That was painfully obvious. Closing her eyes, Isabella recalled everything once more for a reasonable solution to the situation at hand.

Several hours earlier:

Isasbella had the deep sapphire dress draped over her shoulder as she made quick work of the satin corset that Rose wore. Unlatching hooks and un-tying a corset was one of the most annoyingly painful things about being part of a royal family, and the buttons... Isabella was lost in a chaotic thought process, her fingers on auto-pilot until she began to notice thin deep red marks peeking through the laces of the corset. As she finished pulling the laces off of the corset her eyes flashed onyx with the tell-tell sign that Amber had begun to pay attention to what was happening in front of them. Tracing her fingers across the scars that littered Rose's back. She felt as Rose stiffened to her touch with Amber instantly begining to come to the front in anger. Isabella took a deep breath, "Hey Rose, what are these marks on your back?" she asked, pulling the corset off and dropping it onto the floor. Taking a step back, she stared at Rose's back, the scars thin and barely noticeable at the top and fading down to deep red and clustered on her lower back. Letting out a low gutteral growl, Isabella's rage started to bleed into the air like a deep mist around her.

"I'm so sorry Ma'am! I didn't mean to upset you, I promise I can dress myself from here!" Says Rose frantically as she turns around. Facing Isabella, Rose held her arms across her chest to cover her modesty, the rage evident in Isabella's face. Isabella's eyes cloud over a deep onyx, her wolf clearly struggling for control in the situation at hand. Taking a step back, Rose pulls the throw blanket from the bed and uses it to cover herself while looking frantically for an exit that may not be guarded. Isabella's Wolf lets out a loud sorrowful howl in anger, yelling at Isabella, "Who the hell did that to our mate?!"

Rose watches as Isabella and her wolf Amber clearly have an internal struggle about something that she can't hear.

Isabella yells back at Amber, "Stop your crap Amber! You're scaring her. I told you to let me handle this!"

Amber pulled back, releasing control, back to Isabella, seeing that Rose had retreated several feet in fear. "s**t" Amber thought out loud with a soft whine.

With an agitated sigh, Isabella took full control of the situation, her eyes returning to a deep emerald green as she straightened herself with a deep breath. Looking at a clearly very scared and frantic Rose, she thinks quickly, addressing Rose, "I apologize Rose, my wolf Amber tends to get .... " She trails off in thought. "Tempermental." She giggles softly hearing the low growling reverberate through her head with a clear eye roll attatched to it. Isabella smiles warmly and begins to explain the plan to Rose,

"Look .... I know this isn't what either of us expected, but Olivia is leaving as we speak to the Moon Temple. On our behalf, she will speak with the MoonShield and submit a plea to annul the marriage. Either way, you are now part of the LunarSnow pack and i refuse to send you back to an Alpha that clearly does not treasure such an amazing she-wolf. In the mean-time though, we need to present a united front, which means putting trust in us that you will not be harmed by your new pack." She holds out her hand to Rose with a soft smile and waits for her decision. Rose takes a few steps forward and cautiously puts her hand on Isabella's.

Current Dinner:

Isabella opens her eyes, peeking at Rose as one of the servers comes up to the table cleaning off the empty dishes. Watching as Rose stacks the plates neatly on top of each other and hands them to the server, she decides that Rose will definitely need something to keep her busy and comfortable. Perhaps she can help out in the kitchen? Maybe the Garden? Something that won't call too much attention to her, but will keep her busy would be ideal.

"Oh just let her be a maid again, okay, that's fine with me." Echoed Ambers' voice full of sarcasm.

"Amber, dear, my love. Shush it, we both know that is not what I'm doing, I just want her to be comfortable." replied Isabella.

"Well, I think the garden might be a good idea once it's been tilled and the new plants come in." Said Amber with a deep irritation.

Isabella scoffed externally and replied, " Yea ... we have a new type of perineal coming in a few weeks."

Peeking another glance at Rose, she watched as she poked at a small plate of desserts that was sitting before her. Isabella was mentally drained and a migraine threatened to set in as she tried to calm her racing thoughts.

"Wonder what she's thinking about" Isabella thought to herself, leaving her wolf completely out of the loop. She looked around at the guests, all in attendance were merry and good-natured. Unsure if the food and good company had anything to do with the celebrations taking place, or if it was simply the 6 barrels of aged port wine that had been emptied. Either way, the musicians were in full swing, the sound of violins and harps filled the room, mingling with the laughter of the guests. The food had surprisingly not run out yet, for werewolves have always been known for their large and unwavering appetites. The kitchen staff will definitely need a day off tomorrow, they have more than earned it and the food has been superb down to the last bite. Isabella sat up, grabbing two small cream-puffs off the tray on the table and laid one on Rose's plate, the other one going straight into her mouth. Mmmm plums. Grabbing another creampuff and popping it straight into her mouth, she looked over at Rose, who was happily enjoying small bites of a puff. Isabella stares in wonder at this quiet, kind and clearly innocent woman, wondering what's going through her head.

Rose POV several hours earlier:

I stared at Isabella as she held her hand out to me with a kind smile. "Such gracefully long fingers", I thought to myself.

"Its okay Rose, she means no harm." Purred melody into my thoughts putting me slightly at ease. Thinking for a minute too long apparently, Melody interjected into my thought process with an always calm and soothing voice.

"Come on Rose, you've never been a big talker and I get that, but this is OUR mate. Please just try, for yourself, for me, for US" Melody pleaded. I sighed and without a word I stepped forward, placing my hand on Isabellas, trusting that my wolf knew what she was saying. I hadn't noticed it before.... but it's all I can think about now.... I shivered at the almost electric touch of Isabella's skin against mine. It felt like small cold tingling fires being lit just under my skin and spreading up my arm. I guess that she felt it as well, since I watched as she stopped in her tracks, just calmly staring at me for a few seconds before letting go and pulling the dress off her shoulder.

Isabella held the prettiest sapphire hued, satin dress and began to gather it up to help me put it on. Pulling the blanket in front of my chest, I let her put the dress over my head before dropping the blanket. I lifted my arms up through the arms of the dress as she pulled it down and began to straighten it up before fastening the small pearl buttons on my wrists. Walking behind me, I felt her fingers begin to quickly and skillfully lace up the back of the dress before tying a large bow at the waist and turning towards the dresser looking for something. Turning, I looked at myself in the mirror. Just a few days ago, I would never have dreamed of wearing such finery in my entire life. The satin dress fell off my shoulders into flowing sleeves that tapered at the wrists, the bodice was fitted beautifully and tapered out into a flowing train around my feet. Beautiful. Isabella interrupted my quiet admiration of the dress by rummaging around through the wooden jewelry box on the dresser.

I watched as Isabella pulled out a necklace, a perfect emerald sat in a circle of small pale pink pearls that dangled from a delicate rosegold chain. Walking over to me, she undid the clasp and laid the jewel just under my collarbone. Pushing my braid aside, she leaned forward, fastening the necklace behind my neck. Taking a step back, she starred at me in thought. It was a strange and uncomfortable feeling being stared at and scrutinized so often in the last 24 hours alone. Isabella smiled sweetly at me. The dimples at the sides of her mouth somehow excentuated her face even more, she was clearly created to smile often. Stepping forward, I took her hand as she helped me step into a flat pair of gold-beaded shoes next to the dresser. She looked at me and nodded softly, her eyes clouding over clearly in a mind-link. As the green of her eyes reappeared, the doors to the room swung open with two guards on either side and the guard, Erik, standing to the side.

As we walked down the hall towards the dining hall, Isabella whispered to me just out of earshot of the guards.

"We've got this, just remember to stand and sit tall. Dont eat too fast. And most importantly, please do not curtsey to the nobles or any of the pack leaders. I'll try to get us right over to the table to sit without too much fuss. When introduced to someone, just nod your head and try to smile. You'll do great, we just gotta get through this dinner and then you can sit and relax for days if you so please. Okay, here we go. Erik will stay in close proximity to us the entire time, so no need to worry, and I have a maid named Mary that will be helping keep you comfortable and will show you to wherever you should want to go. I can't miss her. She's a tall lanky she-wolf with dirty blonde curls and huge hazel eyes, super sweet. Make sure to ask for a cup of coffee, not sure what kind of love she uses, but it is the best coffee I have ever had!" Isabella smiled brightly as we came to a halt at the dining hall doors and squeezed my hand softly holding it up in hers and took a deep breath as the doors opened.

Current Dinner:

The moon was slowly starting to fade as the guests began to retire to their chambers for sleep. Erik had stood all night watching over the two Lunas as Mary kept them comfortable and warm. It was time to retire to the rooms to sleep, all the wolves needed their rest and Isabella had declared that all the staff had the day off to rest. All guests would be served a simple breakfast of cold foods when they woke up. It would be well needed after all the wine and scotch they had gone through in the past few hours. Mary walked up to the table as both Rose and Isabella went to follow the guests out and handed Rose a small satchel with a smile before bouncing happily out the doors with the last few guests trickling out. Rose opened the satchel and a small smile formed on her face at the thoughtful package from Mary, several of the Creampuffs and one of the juniper berry tarts that she had so enjoyed. Isabella smiled, watching Rose's happiness at the small gesture, and waited for Erik before they headed down the hall.