The next day, I get out of my room hours before my first shift. It was still dark outside, a couple of minutes before sunrise. I slowly make my way to the place garden, deep in my thoughts. After tossing and turning in my bed for hours, I had given up on sleep and decided to take a walk outside to clear my mind. After the king dropped the "ring" bomb on me, my mind was on overdrive trying to come up with a thousand possibilities of what it could mean.

How cliché..

A girl wakes up in a dungeon with no memories only to later find out she is a lost princess or better, a queen of some big kingdom?

Yeah right, my ass! I think, Laughing to myself.

But if that's not it, how did such a precious object end up in my hands? Considering my current predicament and the group of people I am known to be associated with it, I think it's more likely that I stole the piece from some royal.

Great! Now I can add one more title into my list of honorable accomplishments.

And what does he even plan to do with the clue? We can't just barge into the royal castle and demand answers. I mean, sure he is a king and could easily arrange a meeting with a neighboring royal family. But this is a fight for power. One can't just accuse someone of high treason and except them to admit to it, even if they are guilty.

You need proof. Rock-solid ones. Or this could lead to a political dispute between the kingdoms, or worse, a war!

I break out of my thoughts when I notice that the sun had fully risen, and the castle was slowly waking up. Still have an hour before my morning shift, I decided to take a tour of the castle.

The castle of Eistas was truly magnificent. Although it was built over two hundred years ago, it still stood strong in its majestic glory. There were several aspects of the castle that was modified throughout the years, making it more of a palace. But werewolves, being very cautious creatures, made sure the dominant aspects of the castle remained as it originally was. There were thick stone walls to fortify the castle against attacks, several raised battlements, a large drawbridge connecting the castle to the opposite bank, and a strong metal portcullis on the castle entrance blocking any unwanted entry.

This place looked as if it was ready for war, and at any given circumstance. Hearing several grunts and groans, I make my way to the stone bridge overlooking the castle courtyard.

There were several men, warriors I suppose, fighting and training. Half-naked.

Damn, I think, whistling at the impressive sight. If the king didn't want to entertain the possibility of the mate bond existing, it was fine by me. Now that I had decided to suck it up and put on my big girl panties, I could see that there is plenty of fish in the pond for me.

My nose prickle recognizing a familiar scent and my eyes fall on a very naked back. He was training with beast man. Judging from his occasional comments and barks of command at the men, he seems to be the head warrior, training the fifty men in the courtyard. Including the king. I watch the king curiously as he fought with beast man. Occasionally stopping to correct his posture or nod at the remark beast man was making. He was fast and strong undoubtedly, but not as strong as beast man. He was clearly learning. What Luanda earlier told about him only accenting to the throne recently crosses my mind.

As if sensing my presence, he slightly turns his head sideways, and his eyes lock with mine. My ears tingle with embarrassment at being caught literally ogling him. I immediately duck down to my knees, hiding from his point of vision. If my skin wasn't bronze, I would look like a cherry tomato right now.

I crawl all the way to the hallway, not wanting to face him. Realizing that I was running late, I quickly make my way to the common room.

The common room as usual was filled to brim with all sorts of creatures. But unlike most times where everyone would eat and chitchat, the room was utterly quiet. I quietly make my way inside and take a seat next to one of the cleaning girls.

I hear Luanda make her way towards the front of the room, addressing the crowd.

"Hello everyone. As most of you already know, the king is hosting a winter ball a week from today,"

The crowd murmurs in shock.

"Now, I know that a week is too little of a time to prepare for a ball but unlike the usual winter ball, this year we will be only inviting a small group of people."

She choughs uncomfortably, "Because of obvious reasons, the common folk will not be attending this year's ball. So one week should be enough for us to prepare everything,"

Wait what obvious reasons?

"The king has personally requested that everything be perfect and I will tolerate no mistakes,"

She calmly moves her eyes across the room, trying to meet as many eyes as possible.

"This is a very special event for him. So I suggest that all of you work with me to make this ball a success"

I hear several stiffened laughs and giggles.

What is going on? Am I too dumb to comprehend or does everyone else seem to know something I don't?

She choughs slightly to grab everyone's attention, a small smile tugging on her lips at their action, "I will be now assigning everyone their duties. The next few days will be hard, but please bear with me"

She then divides the crowd into several groups and assigns different chores to each. Soon she calls me and lists my duties for the rest of the week.

I sigh, this is going to be a along week.

We spend the next five days working tirelessly to perfect every detail of the ball. The ballroom was a headache to clean, but with the help of several creatures, we managed to do it in a day. Every single drape and cloth in the castle was washed and dried, every silverware was meticulously shinned to perfection, several new plants were brought to decorate the already extravagant garden, the cook and his hundred team members were working tirelessly to produce a top-quality three-course meal.

Everyone was tired, to say the least. But not a single person complained or muttered a word of disproval. Not because of their unconditional love for working or anything, but because of the looming presence of the king.

He. Was. Everywhere!

Nothing would go past his eyes. He made sure every single thing was done to perfection. His presence put everyone on so much edge that even the triplet's maddening pranks seemed more bearable.

This guy was really trying to impress someone.

Two days before the ball everyone was very pleased to hear that the king left the castle for work and won't be doing his daily rounds. I walk towards the library smiling,

Finally, my nose can take a break from his stupid scent.

I stop dead in my tracks. A strange feeling buzzing through me. I feel my body get hot.

Really hot.

This was different from all the "hot" feeling I had before. While before my body welcomed it, felt comfortable in it, this time it was very different, kind of like my period pain but tenfold.

I drop on to my knees and moan.

Wth?

My body was throbbing with waves excruciating hot pain and....need?

***

Ok so what do you think the pain is? *wink*

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