Under the moonlight

At breakfast

“Alexa! Wait for me!” Riven shouts, getting his things from the carriage to catch up with Alexa who was storming inside the gates of the fallen castle. After the king and Alexa came back from their private talk, both looked less pleased and Riven, along with Maeve, was suddenly ordered to stay in Helike with Alexandria. The king talked about how representatives are needed to stay in the castle, so here they are, gathering their things back from the carriage and into the castle.

“What” Alexandria replied, and judging by her voice, she’s beyond agitated.

“Woah calm down. Who’s s**t you stepped on to?”

“Selene’s.” She stated with a venom in her voice, “I can’t believe, out of all the people here, she’d be cunning enough to choose me as a representative. Might as well add fuel to fire.”

“Well you’ve been training as a politician since you were a child, it would make sense– “

“Until I was 15,” she corrected Riven who shrugged, before adding, “and they don’t need me here to make decisions for our people. I am here to reassure Selene that the king would never back out on this alliance. Good luck to her if that works, Azar and I aren’t even in speaking terms.”

“Oh. Is that why that stern werewolf man, I recall whose name is Clyde, is travelling in your place to Avalair?”

“Yes. Selene and him were raised by that tyrant,” She mentions the previous Alpha with a voice full of loathing, “the king said he’s like a brother to her.”

“Makes sense.” Even without identical features, Riven thought Clyde’s stern, emotionless face, comically matches Selene’s.

“Well this is a whole new world, might as well, right?”

“You know I don’t want to stay here Riv…” Alexa stopped marching harshly into the castle and looked at Riven as she spoke.

“I know, I’m sorry. But we don’t have a choice,” Riven have been trying to lift Alexa’s mood up. She can’t stay temperamental like this as they have to stay here for God knows how long. He might be all jokes and merry, but Riven knows they have a major part to play in this alliance. He understands how they need it, and he knows Alexa does too, but unlike her, he’s got less raging anger to the werewolves.

That anger might be a problem, so he’s got a role to play, to tame the beast that is Alexa for her sake and their people too. He’s promised he would never let anyone harm Alexa, not even herself. “It’s going to be all right, okay?”

“Okay,” Selene replied.

They entered the castle’s courtyard and bumped into Maeve, who went first inside the castle to place her belongings in her designated bedroom chamber. All of them had their own room, as directed by one of Selene’s servant. Riven’s room is next to Maeve’s, while Alexandria’s bedroom chamber is across both. The fallen castle of Helike was certainly substantial in size.

“What are we going to do here in the moment?” Maeve asks after Riven and Alexa tossed their travel bags in their respective rooms. Out of all the huntsmen, Maeve is the most organized, and productive, the complete opposite of Riven, while Alexandria is a mix of both, courtesy of hanging out with Riven too much. Maeve had a keen eye for details, and is their finest marksman, as she’s exceptional with bows and arrows as well.

Kaira was a place with the widest forests out of all the 5 poleis, and Maeve of Kaira grew up in that environment, hunting and living with nature, so naturally she had developed animalistic senses. Maeve have a sharp sense of hearing, and smelling. Distinguished features that made her a great huntsman.

“Beats me” Riven shrugged. The sun has just risen, and they’ve got all the day to do whatever. There wasn’t exactly an instruction of what a representative should in a place they’re hated at.

As they walk through the corridors, their way was intercepted by a man calling out their attention, “Respected guests, Selene have invited you all for breakfast. Follow me” They walk through a couple of corridors before they arrived to a room where the man opened a door to what Riven thinks is the dining-room, before leaving.

Riven can’t help commenting to Alexandria and Maeve when the man was out of sight, “he said, respected guests.”

Alexandria could only roll her eyes.

///

As they went inside the room, dishes were already laid out on the table. They were nothing too fancy nor too many like the Lords have at Avalair, just simple breakfast, approximately enough for the four of them, including Selene. The humbleness of it all was another thing Alexandria have not expected as well, given the previous Alpha’s lavish lifestyle, who had many women by his side and organizing feasts all night.

Though speaking of Selene, she had not yet arrived at the table. They have been here for several minutes now, having casual conversations, as they waited for Selene to arrive. It was common courtesy to wait for the household’s master before diving in the food. She’s the one who invited us here, yet she’s late, Alexandria thought, stomach already grumbling.

The doors opened up suddenly to reveal a slightly disheveled Selene, though she still quite the sight, it was out of character. Alexandria watched Selene composed herself, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said as she took the far end seat of the table, “I had an uh- important matter.”

Alexandria eyes zoomed in at the purplish mark slightly above Selene’s collarbones that certainly wasn’t there yesterday, before letting out a snarky reply, “I see.”

Selene noticed the aggressiveness in her voice as she raised her eyebrows, “do you have something you want to say, Alexandria of Caelum?”

“Nothing. It’s just, I’m quite culture-shocked with your people’s definition of an ‘important matter’.”

“And why is that? It really was an important matter…”

“What is? Having an eel suck your neck?”

“Oh.” Selene was looking quite amused, and it annoys the hell out of her, “It is certainly not an eel, nor any of your business. But I do consider pleasing my women an important matter.” Selene casually said, holding Alexa’s gaze. There have been circulating rumors about Selene’s preference for women back at Avalair, and it baffled Alexandria how the people there concern themselves with such natural things, even she wasn’t homophobic to her sworn enemy.

“Can we eat now?” Maeve said dryly, and Alexa’s reminded that there were other people in the room.

“Yes, help yourself” Selene replied, redirecting her attention to Maeve.

When they finished eating awkwardly in silence, Selene spoke yet again, “I want you all to feel welcomed here as I’ve promised your king. As you know some of the people from your kingdom would come here to help, and as some of my people would come to yours, you would be in charge of them, speak for them, and make decisions…”

“Your people won’t respect me.”

“Yes I believe that they won’t, but they would obey me.” Selene said with steel in her eyes, “The faster my people will be able to accept you, the faster they’ll adjust to the others. After all, we would be helping each other, even in practicing combat.”

“We would be conducting meetings as well, and it would require your presence, Alexandria”

“I’m well aware” Alexandria will be seeing a lot of Selene in the coming days, and she is not the slightest thrilled.

“Can I ask for a dessert?” Riven suddenly asked out of the blue, nearly making Alexandria face palm.

///

After breakfast with the humans, Selene proceeded to go to the town to visit her people, and most especially, to personally check on the two Alastair’s. Speaking of breakfast, she really didn’t mean to be late and unprofessional, but the girl from last night were clinging into her, and distracting her with kisses in the neck. Selene’s just a being of this world after all.

She was also amused by how Alexandria acted, they were on Selene’s territory and yet, it seems that fact isn’t enough to contain the girl’s feistiness.

She knocked on the door to the sibling’s house, it was one that the Alistair’s had before they moved to the outskirts of Helike when Arya was still a child. Selene was an orphan too, so she sympathizes with them. She grew up in the castle without love and care of her parents, the only things she could ever receive were beatings and unreasonable expectations from Vorkalth.

She learned to live with it, happiness was when Vorkalth would give his reserved praise as he rarely does. Brainwashed to the bone, it was only when she was older that she realized how children should not grow up like that, that they should be warmed with care and comfort, not having to wish for it.

“Selene!”

“Hi little one… how are you?

“Just fine.”

“Where is your sister?”

“She’s in the kitchen… Selene look!” Lucas went to get a paper from the table, and shove it to Selene's hands. “What is this?” She asks as she opened the folded paper of what looks like 5 people in stick figures.

“That’s you, and me, and father, and mother, and Arya!” The little guy enumerates to a grinning Selene before he added, “I wish father and mother were here to see it... They would like it”

Selene’s heart breaks into million pieces, “Yes they would.”