101.

-HER-

After the session that day in the library, I was feeling drowsy while walking back to the wing.

“Where’re you going?” I asked Celeste when I noticed that she wasn’t headed towards her wing.

“Avyanna wants to go out tonight. I have to go with her,” She told me. Even though I was feeling very drowsy, I felt like going with them so I asked, “Can I come too?”

“Sure!” She told me before I followed her out of the palace where a carriage was already waiting outside. As soon as the door to the carriage opened, Celeste motioned me to get in. Although I froze because at first, I thought it was Nefret sitting inside the carriage.

The young she-wolf stared at me for a couple of seconds before her eyes lit up and she smiled at me.

“I am Avyanna. Ares’ sister,” She introduced herself as I got inside the carriage. Celeste followed me inside before closing the door behind her.

“Oh,” I croaked awkwardly, “Hello,” She simply nodded at me before she turned to Celeste and requested, “When can we go to the mortal realm again?” I didn’t miss the slight mischief in her eyes as she had asked that.

As the carriage started rolling, Celeste shook her head at the young she-wolf and said, “I cannot risk that again. Last time was too dangerous,”

“Why would you want to go to the mortal realm?” I couldn’t help but ask the young she-wolf. She sighed before answering, “I often like to go there for fun. They are interesting, especially the humans of the future. I want to live and learn their ways,”

“The king wouldn’t be very happy hearing that,” Celeste commented, making the young she-wolf pout.

“But I get really bored in Zaeris,” She said, “And the triplets, they get to stay in the mortal realm. Why can’t I stay with them?”

“Avyanna,” Celeste tried, “The triplets have been sent there to do work. They are there to watch over the mortal wolves since the king is too busy to do that,”

“I still want to go,” She pouted and crossed her hands on her chest. Celeste sighed and decided to say nothing in return.

“The mortal realm is dangerous,” I told the young she-wolf. I had enough experience to be able to say that confidently.

“I know,” She groaned as she sunk deeper into her seat. The rest of the evening, Celeste showed me around Zaeris. We visited several places there and dinned at a beautiful place before returning home.

“I had fun tonight! You should come with us more often!” Avyanna told me when we reached the palace and were about to go back to our own wings. It warmed my heart that some wolves were so welcoming and accepting me already.

“Sure!” I told her before I returned to my wing. The drowsiness was back now with full force. I didn’t even change the dress that I had worn throughout the day. I crashed straight on the bed and fell asleep in a couple of seconds.

The next day was the same. I woke up feeling slightly sicker. My stomach churned before the urge to throw up had me jumping from the bed and rushing to the bathroom. I didn’t throw up much because the food from last night had already been digested.

I was sweating profusely so I decided to take a cold bath before I went back to bed.

“Wake up, you’re late for training,” It was Celeste’s voice that woke me up again. I didn’t know what time it was but the sunlight had already started to drain into the bedroom. It was late but I couldn’t find the energy to drag myself out of the bed anymore.

“I feel sick, Celeste,” I told her while trying to pull the blankets over my head.

“Do you want me to call a healer?” She asked.

“I think I’ll be fine if I get a day off to rest,” I told her. She contemplated for a moment before telling me that I can skip the training today. After that, she left me alone so I slept until after sunrise.

It was her again who came to wake up and take me to the court session. I woke up this time still feeling sick but a lot better than before. She helped me get dressed before we headed towards the court. After the court session, we went to the library as usual.

“Are you alright?” Nefret asked me, snapping me out of my daze. I was struggling to keep my eyes open in the afternoon.

“Yeah… I am,” I spoke while fighting a yawn. Nefret looked at me for a couple more seconds before she commented, “No you’re not,”

“Yeah, she missed training this morning because she was sick,” Celeste spoke up even before I could say anything else.

“Oh dear, then you should go and rest. I will send a healer for you. I value the health of my subjects more than anything,” She spoke before we were being sent to my wing.

“Why did you say that?” I frowned at Celeste.

“Because you look sick,” She told me. I groaned and instantly collapsed on the bed as soon as we reached the bedroom in Ares’ wing. She stared at me pensively for some seconds before sitting at the edge of the bed.

“I miss the three of them,” She commented all of a sudden while we were waiting for the healer to come.

“Me too,” Especially Ares.

“We were the first pups to be born after the queen lifted the curse from Zaeris,” She told me while I listened, “Ares was the first one. Then Regulus was born, then me and then Augustus,”

“Sounds like a fun childhood,” I commented. She chuckled, “It was… I don’t know about them but I enjoyed quite a lot. I was taller from the beginning so I used to steal their toys and prank them until they hit their teenage years and grew bigger,”

She then told me a few instances from their childhood about how they used to raid the kitchens at night with Arles’ help until Nefret caught them. It definitely surprised me because as far as I knew, Arles was a bitch. I couldn’t imagine him being nice or playing with children.

“Are you sure it was Arles?” I asked. She giggled, “Yes. I know he could be mean sometimes but he likes pups in general. Why do you think the royal couple has so many children?” She wiggled her eyebrows before we burst out laughing.

It was amidst our laughing when the healer visited us. The wolf asked me some questions before taking a few drops of my blood and leaving.

“They’ll be back with the results in a few moments,” Celeste told me before we talked some more.

“But I think Arles hates me. Everyone here does, except a few, of course,” I commented.

“Yeah, he is like that sometimes. Although you don’t really have to worry about him. As long as the queen is with you, no one can do anything to you,” She told me.

“I like her. She is really nice,” I couldn’t help but comment, “Even though Cleopatra sent me to kill her, she still respected teh Queen of the wolves,”

A knock on the door was heard before Celeste got up to answer it. I heard some whispering before Celeste stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her. A couple of seconds passed as I waited for her to come back.

My eyelids were starting to get heavy and my yawns grew bigger. I was doing my best to fight the sleep because I wanted to talk more to Celeste but she still didn’t come back.

I didn’t realize when I had fallen asleep. I was being shaken awake. I sat up, all of a sudden finding Nefret, Celeste both looking down at me.

“What happened?” I asked urgently.

“I am going to become a grandma,” Nefret answered.

“Oh, congratulations,” I told her before the two she-wolves burst out laughing.