Castle Walls

Rose POV-

A cold blast of air hit my face, waking me from a deep slumber. I trembled beneath the blanket given to me and sat up seeing the carriage door was now propped open. Outside the door the wind was fierce and brutally cold, causing the snow to flutter around both inside and outside of the carriage. Melody was standing at attention waiting to take over in case the unknown situation before us took an unprecedented turn in the wrong direction. A MoonKnight came into view of the door, the quiet crunching of snow beneath feet could be heard getting closer before a quiet whispering caught my ears echoing through the wind. Sitting as quietly as possible I strained my ears to listen, trying to catch the words as they fluttered through the wind, disappearing into the snow-covered mountains. The only words I could make out through the sound of the rushing wind was a jumble.

"Gold ..... yes..... positive ..... by the Goddess ......:

The words stopped echoing as I heard the sound of snow crunching beneath feet before an armor-clad hand of RoseGold reached into the carriage, gently grabbing my hand and pulling me out into the wind. A large wolf in solid rosegold armor took me under his arm, quickly walking up a set of large stone steps. This was clearly a servants' entrance. Upon entering through an archway with ornate filigree ironwork, we stepped into a dimly lit kitchen of marble and cherry wood with gold decor decorating the walls and edges of the counters. Once safely inside the warmth of the kitchen, the guard turned barring the door behind us and pulled off his helm before turning and gesturing for me to walk ahead of him. I had not seen the crest upon the front of his armor before; a white gold crescent moon sat in the middle of a sapphire circle surrounded with moonstones. Beautiful.

Walking out of the kitchen and into a large stone hallway dimly lit by candlelight, I stopped letting him walk in front of me and followed him down the deserted hall. Coming to a large deadend, he turned toward a set of several doors, opening the one on the left side and nodded to me, letting me walk in before closing the door behind me, leaving me alone in the firelight. At the end of the room left of the door stood a large ornate four-poster canopy bed of cherry wood and a gold inlay of dancing wolves. Cream velvet curtains were pulled back against the bed frame matching the curtains on the stained glass windows opposite the bedroom door. To my right, a small table with two chairs and a gold-covered plater atop it sat in front of a large marble fireplace that crackled quietly in the silence. To the left of the fireplace a beautiful ornate desk and high back chair matching the bedframe sat in a caddy-corner next to a beautiful ornate tapestry depicting a family of wolves in a snow-covered forest. Yurning to look behind me to the left of the door, a large 3 tiered dresser sat next to a small open closet filled with various colored dresses in velvets and silks.

Walking over to the small table, I lifted the gold cover from the platter, revealing an assortment of fresh cut fruits and cheese. A small loaf of rosemary bread sat on the platter next to a wooden bowl of spiced butter. Diping my finger into the butter, I tasted it savoring the amazing taste of orange zest and thyme. Kicking off my old brown boots, I pulled off a piece of bread, and dipped it into the soft butter and walked over to the bed and sat down. The bed was so soft, like a cloud, and the blankets were of furs and velvet that led Melody to ask a very good question.

"Are we being like .... sacrificed? Or is there some good reason that we are being treated as if we hadn't just got sold to a pack miles away from our home?" Melody's questions were valid and i wanted to know the reasoning for this as well. Finishing the bread, I crawled back into the bed next to the headboard, curling up to try and relax a little before the morning.

I must have fallen asleep fairly quickly as the next thing I knew I was being woken up by the sound of the heavy bedroom door opening and the sound of heeled boots on the stone floor. Sitting up, I saw a she-wolf in a green and cream corseted maid's dress. We made eye contact for a split second before she let out a small, barely audible gasp and turned to walk back out of the door. Hearing soft whispers in the hallways, I waited a few minutes before she walked back in and stood there staring at me for a few minutes. She was interesting. Everyone in this pack was truly interesting yet beautiful. She had a soft tan complexion with the same curly white hair as the Priestess, only hers was cut into a short curly bob and had little gold clips holding back the front. Both Melody and i watched her quietly as she walked further into the room and curtseyed at us with a smile.

The girl pulled the blanket off of me and held out her hand for me to take with a bright smile,

"Sorry to wake you Ma'am, but we've really got to get a move on, Cmon and strip down so we can get you in the bath. I'm here for whatever you may need .... Oh my name is Olivia, by the way." She smiled and took my hand, helping me out of bed as a large copper tub was carried into the room and sat under the windows. Several maids wearing simple black dresses walked in with buckets of steaming water, pouring them into the bathtub before walking out and closing the door behind them. Cautiously, I undressed, covering myself with my under-slip as I watched her pour small bottles of black rose-scented oils into the bath with salts and fresh milk.She turned and held her hand out, helping me into the bath and taking my slip, laying it on the floor with the rest of my clothes.The bath smelt of black roses and some scent i could not place as i sniffed close to the water. She laughed sweetly and grabbed a cloth out of one of the buckets left on the floor and took my began to wash my arms and legs, cleaning the dirt from under my nails and massaging oil onto my hands.

"Not many Packs have black lilies that grow nearby, so you wouldn't be able to place the smell, most cant." She said as she pulled my feet out the water, washing them and my legs.

"Now I do have a question for you. Would you prefer your hair up or down?" She asked me and she took my hair out of the bonnet, letting it fall into the water and threw the bonnet on the floor. Lathering a bar of milk soap in her hands, she ran it threw my hair, making sure it was well cleaned and brushed before grabbing a towel from the bucket and holding it open for me. Stepping out of the tub, she dries me off and wrings the water from my hair before drying it with the towel.

Sitting me at the desk, she begins brushing my hair and running oils through it when the smell hits me. Lavender and Lemons. Melody began to howl incessantly, the words "Mate" echoing in my mind as butterflies filled my stomach. Olivia quietly brushes and drys my hair, letting it form its natural large curls down my back and pins the front back behind my ears before having me stand and follow her over to the large mirror atop the dresser, the entire time Melody howled with excitement the feeling of her mentally dancing across my mind slightly tickled. Pulling out a thin white slip, Olivia slipped it over my head having me pull my arms through the top and fastening it around my waist before her eyes clouded over black with a mindlink. Opening the door she grabbed a stack of white and cream colored dresses from the maid on the other side and closed the door behind her. Smiling at me she laid out the dresses on the bed and starred at me in contemplation before smiling wide,

"Alright! I had several dresses chosen that should suit your figure perfectly, and a box of accessories for you to choose for your liking." With a smile, she grabbed a cream-colored silk and lace dress hanging it on a hook by the dresser before pulling out a white corset with a large smile exclaiming,

'Now let's get you ready for your wedding!"