Going Out To Spar
Lilith’s POV
The rest of the day went by slowly with me staying in my room.
The air was dry, and it seemed to stand still among the clouds. After Adams left to handle pack matters, I couldn’t bear to be alone, so I called Cara, and we remained together for most of the day.
I sat on my bed while she sat on a low stool.
“Cara,” I called to her as she cut away the nail on my toes.
“Your Highness.” She paused and looked up at me to hear what it was I wanted and give heed to my request.
“The royal family has been invited to the wedding of Raider and Cassandra, but I do not feel like going.”
“Then you shouldn’t, your highness, everyone knows how badly they treated you before the Alpha brought you to this pack. They deserve to suffer for all they have done to you, gracing them with your presence is pampering them.”
She continued cutting my toenails as I looked up at the clouds floating in the beautiful sky. She was right, they didn’t deserve my presence. But I already agreed to it and there was no way I could take my words back.
“We’ll go either way, the Alpha is going. Although he did ask for my permission before agreeing to go attend, I didn’t want it to seem like I was jealous of Raider or Cassandra, so I agreed to it.”
I expected to see a surprised look on her face but all she did was smile, not taking her eyes away from her hands as they worked tirelessly to make my feet clean.
“I guess you have no choice then, my lady, but to attend. Be rest assured that all will be well over there because aside from the numerous guards that would be watching the Alpha and you, the Alpha himself will keep his eyes all over you, he loves you that much.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her words. My husband indeed loved me, and he never hesitates to show it to the world.
We continued in silence for a while before she spoke again. “I’m sure Cassandra will be envious of you just like she did before.”
Alarmed, I stared at her deeply. “What do you mean?”
“Uh… never mind my queen.”
I suspected she was hiding something from me. “You know…” I began. “I could easily command you to speak as your queen or probably involve the Alpha king. You know how he is when it comes to issues like this.”
I could see the look of shock on her face as I said those words. I didn’t intend to scare her or make her fear me, she was someone I trusted, and I believe she trusted me too. There was no reason to hide secrets from each other, especially if it was about things affecting me.
“Don’t look scared Cara, I would never do such a thing. You are my friend and I see you as a sister. If you don’t speak about what it is that is bothering you, then it’s fine. I wouldn’t force you to do so. However, I believe we are much closer than that, and you should be able to freely talk to me about whatever it is that bothers you.”
My little talk seemed to go into her head as a faint smile replaced the frown that settled on her face before.
She continued what she was doing in silence and I decided to let her be till she spoke again, breaking the silence for a second time.
“I’m just scared for you, my queen. I wouldn’t want you to go back to the state of mind you were before because of some bastard who does not deserve a tiny bit of your attention.”
It warned my heart to know that someone loved me this much aside from Adam. Every other person in the mansion seemed to take sides, especially since the brothers were divided.
I wanted to speak but stopped when I realized that she had not stopped talking.
“When you first got here, you were a shadow of who people said you were. You may not believe it, but everyone knew your father and knew who you were. You were someone girls like myself looked up to, and we wished to be like. Seeing my idol become shattered and heartbroken because of a man made me realize just how much love you must have given him to hurt like that.”
I instantly remembered the love I once shared with Raider and tears began to drop from my eyes on their own will.
“Don’t cry, Your Highness, I don’t want you to feel sad or think about him. I’m sure he loved you too but got carried away with things that didn’t matter, letting real beauty and worth slip through his fingers like water.”
She was done with cutting my toenails and was about to grab my fingers to trim them when I moved my hands up and cleaned the tears off my face.
“I would make them pay for what they did to my parents, sooner or later.”
My father’s words before he died re-echoed in my ears. I can remember him telling me not to take revenge as his death was for the good of the pack. But all that didn’t matter to me, not anymore. I would take my revenge on Raider, Cassandra, and every other person.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“I’m always with you my lady, any day, anytime,” Cara assured me.
After the emotions swirling around settled, and we no longer talked about my ugly memories, I decided to take a stroll around the mansion, to clear my head. “It’s been a while since I trained. How about we do something fun?”
I stood up abruptly, making Cara lose her balance where she sat, and went to my wardrobe, opening it wide to search for appropriate clothes.
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “I’m sorry.” Cara had fallen and it was all my fault. There was no way I would ignore her like she was a nobody.
“It’s fine Your Highness, I’m not hurt. ” Cara asked, picking herself up from the floor where she fell.
I sighed, realizing that she was indeed not hurt although a part of me remained guilty. I stood a few meters from where she was, my hands behind my back, my lips formed into a smile at the idea laughing at me in my head.
I could almost pass for a child who was waiting for her father in his room after he left for work in the morning, promising to get her a new toy.
“One would think you won a lottery if you kept smiling that way, your highness.” Cara chucked and her set of white teeth flashed before my eyes.
“Promise you wouldn’t laugh at me if I told you this.”
“I promise.” She put her right hand on her chest and raised her left hand before bowing slightly, still maintaining that position.
“I want to spar with some of the soldiers in the training yard. It has been a while since I held a sword or did anything engaging.”
I watched her react to what I just said and wasn’t in the least disappointed. She seemed very happy for me and I couldn’t just stop imagining how blessed I was to have her as a friend.
“If you want to spar then you are putting on the wrong clothes…” she sized me with her eyes before looking towards my wardrobe… and you are looking at the wrong place, all you’ll find in there are dresses and dresses and still dresses.”
“Where then would I find appropriate clothes to fight in?” I asked curiously.
Silence descended around us for a minute and then our eyes met before we both smiled, knowing the same thoughts had crossed our minds.
“Wait for me,” I ordered her before leaving the room.
In less than a minute, I was back with a pair of shorts and shirts. I had gone to Adam’s room-the very one I shared with him and had checked his wardrobe. He wouldn’t mind if I borrowed them, would he?
She helped me get dressed before tying my hair into a ponytail behind my head. I had a pair of gladiator sandals which I had not worn since I came to this pack.
I put it on and looked at myself in the mirror. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I looked at the entirely different person I had become.
“Even dressed as a fighter, you look beautiful your highness, I can’t wait to see what you do out there.”
I felt moved by her words. It therefore came as a surprise to her when I hugged her unexpectedly.
Just then, we heard some sounds coming from below through the window, and we rushed to see what it was that was happening.
A smirk found its way to my face as I saw the gathering crowd. “Let’s go show them who is the boss Cara.”