The Last Witch Princess

Chapter 2

    “Princess Aislyn, please, I insist you rest. We have another three days of travel ahead of us and you’re exhausted.” Ana said. I sighed, sitting on the log as I watched the men reload the wagon. Last night was the second night sleeping in a tent, the second night sleeping with that horrible pillow. I felt so much pity for Geisha women, and most of the morning I've been sitting here wondering if Ana would notice if it suddenly went up in flames. My head was aching from the tight braids and more than once I wished I could cut it all off and be done with it, but even miles away I could sense Belinda would somehow know and hunt me down to beat me. 

    I sighed, looking up at Ana with a weary smile. Over the past two days, I've come to really care about her like an older sister, and I was glad to learn once we got to the kingdom she’d stay my personal maid. “Ana, I'm not going to be fully rested no matter how hard I try. That pillow is horrendous and my hair is giving me a headache. My body aches because I'm not used to this hard ground. It’s no use trying, let's just get in the wagon and head out. The faster we get to the kingdom the faster I can take out my hair and sleep in a normal bed.” I said to her. She curtsied to me and turned to the closest guard, whispering for him to get the others to hurry along. They had to listen to me to a degree since I was to be their future Queen, but for the moment I looked like a tired spoiled princess and I could tell they were scoffing at me under their breath. 

    I stood up astutely, glaring at them all as I straightened my shoulders, ignoring the shooting pain in my spine. They lowered their eyes and continued to pack up faster, most likely scared I’d tell their king they annoyed me. I rolled my eyes at the annoyance, wishing others would see me as more than I am. Sure I was a princess, but I was soon to be the queen of what's rumored to be one of the fastest-growing kingdoms around, and on top of that I was the last witch! I was more powerful than any of them, and they needed to understand this. Sure, I was also untrained and I barely knew how to use my powers, but besides that, I was full of magic. We couldn’t locate a grimoire, all of them lost over the centuries of misuse, and there was no one around to train me. I had my own book I had started, but it would be a long time and a lot of experimenting with herbs and ingredients before I could figure out exactly what I was doing. Centuries of spells lost, countless witches information wiped out, I was starting it all from scratch. 

    “The wagon is ready, Princess Aislyn. I had them place more straw in the cushions for more comfort. The road will start getting bumpier from here on, and you’re already sore. I’ll have a nice bath with oils prepared for you the moment we arrive at the palace.” She said. I nearly hummed with the mention of a bath, the dirt of the road clinging to me in places I've never had dirt before. I was raised getting scrubbed and oiled every day all my life, this was the second time I've traveled so far before. The first time was the funeral, and maybe I was too young to remember but I didn’t feel this exhausted on that trip. Then again I also was allowed to have my hair free and sleep however I wanted on the soft pillow filled with feathers I had carried with me for the trip. 

    I followed Ana into the wagon and we settled down in our respectable seats facing each other. Gently I pressed my fingers against the nape of my neck and could feel my magic massaging the tight knots, causing me to sigh in relief. “Princess, you don’t have to hide your magic. If you’re uncomfortable you could have done that out there, none of us would have judged you.” Ana said. I flinched, biting my lip. She was right, but it was a habit, and habits were very hard to break. 

    “All my life I was raised to hide my magic use, not because I wasn't allowed to use it but because my older sister was jealous of me. She also helped raise me, since my mother died giving birth to me, and I tried not to flaunt in front of her that I could do something no one else could do. I know I am allowed to use it freely now, it’s just a habit to hide it. I’ll try better.” I said shyly. 

    Ana smiled warmly at me, and the wagon started to move, making me sigh inwardly. I was happy we were getting closer to the kingdom, but I was scared at the same time. The promise of a bath and a warm soft bed wasn’t enough to stop the fear of the King of werewolves, and the cage I was walking into. I tried my best to settle back, without touching my hair to anything. The herbs and sprays Belinda had put in my hair was to make it stay good-smelling and fresh for the journey, but the idea of not washing it for a week made me cringe. When Ana had her eyes closed I touched my fingers to my tight braids, gently running my fingertips over it as I muttered a few quiet words. I could feel the grease fade away and sighed in relief, wishing I could just let my hair down. 

    I took a few hours to question Ana about her life in the kingdom. “Are you married?” I asked her suddenly. We were sitting here sipping water from our cups, the jug of water sploshing back and forth with the movement of the wagon over the bumpy road. Ana nearly spit her water out and looked at me with a flushed expression, embarrassed by her reaction to my sudden question. 

    “No, princess Aislyn. I haven’t found my true mate yet.” She said shyly. I studied her, curious about their heritage since I was going to be surrounded by it now. 

    “Can you tell me what true mates are?” I asked her. She smiled at me and nodded, happy that I didn’t call out her embarrassing moment. 

    “Werewolves get true mates. It’s where we are gifted our life partner by our Moon Goddess. When we turn eighteen we shift into a werewolf for the first time, and usually, we meet our true mate as well. We don’t know who our true mate is until we are eighteen. I’m twenty-three, I haven’t met my true mate yet. Sometimes we don’t get one, or sometimes we have one somewhere out there that we never meet. It’s sad, and I hope that doesn’t happen to me, but I can’t help but feel discouraged every month watching the newly eighteen-year-olds shift for the first time under the full moon and I don’t have a mate yet.” She said sadly. 

    “If werewolves only have true mates with werewolves, then why wouldn’t you find one? Not trying to be mean or talk about it if it’s too hard for you. But, aren’t all the wolves in the kingdom? Maybe you just haven’t found yours yet because the kingdom is the biggest one of all?” I asked her. 

    She stared at me incredulously. “There’s so much you don’t know, princess. First off, werewolves have a central hall where we have ceremonies. All the unmated wolves go and dress up, we have a ball. It happens once every six months to ensure us the opportunity to meet our true mate. Every six months I go, and I never find my mate.” She said with a sigh. “Also, every kingdom has rogues, or whatever they call it for the other kingdoms. For us, wolves that are banished, or wolves that don’t want to follow our King’s rules, are sent into the wild, the free land in between the kingdoms that no one rules. There they stay and live, probably having encampments around the forest and clans, I don’t particularly know. But if my mate is a rogue then that would be horrible.” She said with a shudder. 

    I stared at her, biting my lip. “But let's say the rogues have a relationship and have children, what if those children grow up and decide they want to live in the kingdom and live under the king. Would they be allowed to live there or would they be forced to live with their parents' actions?” I asked her. 

    “To live under our king, one must submit to obey him. Once we do that, we have no choice but to do as he commands even if it’s horrible or even if it's the best thing in the world. The Alpha command is the most absolute and we can’t go against it. If the rogue's children decide they want to come live under the king and the royal family, they must request an audience and submit themselves to the Alpha, the king, and agree to be under his command. Oh, also we don’t very much go by the traditional titles. Of course, it’s not uncommon to have the king called King, or the wife to be called Queen, but for us, it’s slightly different. King Larry would be called Alpha Larry by the werewolves, and all of his offspring would also be called Alpha instead of prince or princess. His son, Tylor, for instance, is called Alpha Tylor. Tylor must be obeyed by everyone as well, and he only listens to the parents. You, the queen, will be called Luna. You’ll become Luna Aislyn, to the werewolves, but to other kingdoms, they will most likely keep calling you Queen because they don’t understand our hierarchy. As for the rest of the royals. Alpha Larry has two Betas, sort of like generals. They are in charge of the pack if Alpha Larry must be away and they are usually sent out on hard missions. Under them are two Gammas, like captains. They usually stay and train the pack, keeping them in shape. Those are the royals and we all have to listen to them as well. They can command us, but only an Alpha can break their command over us.” She said. 

    My head was swirling around with all the new information, but I did remember that they were calling the man in charge of our wagon entourage a Beta and now it was starting to make sense. I wondered if I should feel flattered he sent his Beta to guard me, but the fact that he was still a rumored wife killer and a horrible heartless vicious man who was fine with marrying little girls twenty years younger than him made me discard all thoughts of him being a good man. “What are you, then?” I asked her. 

    She frowned, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I asked a bad question, if maybe it was a secret, but before I could apologize she looked at me. “I am an Omega. Under a Gamma are Elites, which guard the royal family. They go everywhere the royal family goes. I’m honestly surprised you weren’t given Elites with this pickup, but probably because there are so few and it’s hard to have them so stretched out. You have one Elite guarding you, which is the man seated with Beta Brian at the front. Everyone else is a warrior, which is a normal pack member who guards borders and fights wars. I am an Omega, and we are the ones who are the servants. We do all the cleaning and work that no one else wants to do. We take care of the royal family and even the others ahead of us can tell us what to do as well.” She said. 

    I frowned, biting my lip. I didn’t particularly like this hierarchy system, where they force others into being servants based on their title. In my kingdom, everyone was paid, and the only ones given titles by blood were the royals. Our servants were paid and they chose to work for us, we didn’t force them into it by birthright. I looked at Sweet Ana, remembering she said she was twenty-three. Now that I was really talking to her and looking at her she seemed closer to my age than my sister’s, and I wondered if it was because she was able to be in the fresh air and laugh and talk. She seemed more carefree on the road than she did when she first arrived, and I felt bad for feeling like she was older than she was. I needed to change the subject to something that would make her stop frowning, but the only thing that I could think of to ask was something that made her expression turn from sadness to fear. “Did King Larry really murder his previous wives?” I asked her. 

    Her eyes shifted to a darker hue, the fear overwhelming her as she slammed the curtain down over the only window, and I found myself holding my breath along with her. I suddenly remembered she's beneath every single person out there and the things they could do to her were horrifying. I went to open my mouth, ready to tell her I’d protect her with my magic if anyone dared to hurt her, when suddenly the horses pulling the wagon neighed loudly in alarm and the screams of the men filled the air.