Chapter 23: the prince and his duties

The days after he had last seen Kiera seemed to pass by excruciating slow for him.

He had a mountain of things to do as usual, but no matter what new report graced his desk, his thoughts would be pulled away by the captivating Beast General. More than once, he had looked down at his hands, remembering the way she had felt in his arms.

He almost couldn't believe everything that had happened when he visited the city with Kiera. He was able to hold her hand under the pretense they needed to keep track of each other as they maneuvered through the thick market crowds.

In no way did he think the Beast General's hands would be soft and delicate like the Solomon noble ladies he had seen, but he was still surprised when he touched her rough and calloused hands.

He looked down at his own hands again, eyes tracing the smooth lines on his skin. Their hands alone pointed out the stark differences between him and the General. Sam knew they were like the moon and the sun. Even when he heard Kiera talk about her village and her parents, he got the impression that he would never truly understand the pain and experiences she had gone through.

When Sam saw the tears roll down from Kiera's blue eyes, he first clenched his fists to keep himself from reaching out, but when her tears continued, he couldn't hold himself back any longer. He wrapped his arms around the capable General's shoulders and pulled her into his arms. Her dark hair felt smooth as it brushed against his skin, and having her close to him, he could see she had braided two small strands of her hair.

She had struggled against him for a moment, her body stiffened as she got ready to push him away. But for whatever reason, she gave up and let him keep her for a little while longer.

"We should be heading out soon for the gathering your Highness." Kepler's voice pulled him out of his trance and he sighed as he ran his hand through the front of his hair.

"Is it that time already?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Kepler took the documents from the top of his desk and put them back on the stack within his hands. The neatly composed man readjusted his monocle on his face.

"Are you coming along with me this time?" Sam asked even though he knew his aide's answer.

"I detest watching your Highness act the fool." No emotion passed through his inky eyes as he responded to Sam. "Since I know how devious you really are, I get goosebumps every time I see you show the public your fake smile."

Sam let out a short laugh.

"I didn't think I scared you that much Kepler."

"I'm not so much scared as baffled by your every performance. Since the first time we met, I couldn't believe how easily you went from being a dimwitted prince to a completely different person."

"Like a wolf in sheep's clothing." Sam said offhandedly but Kepler didn't seem to catch what his young lord had said.

"What?" He said, scrunching up his usually even-tempered face.

Sam shook his head and rose from behind his oak desk.

"Never mind that. It's getting time for me to depart. I don't want to keep my siblings waiting now do we?"

Kepler followed him out of study, reminding him of the things he should be focusing on while he was at the gathering of nobles. He paid little attention to him, his thoughts once again roaming to the blue-eyed woman that had taken over his thoughts recently.

"Prince, whatever you do, you need to remember you cannot make your other siblings angry today. The First Prince almost had your head from the last stunt you pulled the other day." Sam's mind briefly flashed with the image of hitting his older brother with a hardbound book. He enjoyed the sound the book made when it connected with his brother's thick skull. He enjoyed it even more when he stopped his brother from berating the Beast General.

"I'll try to remember." He said, knowing Kepler was not convinced as he noticed the other man's lips twitching as if he wanted to laugh.

"Your older sister will most likely be schmoozing with as much nobles as she can, try to keep her from making any more connections. Her betrothed has been seen recently making deals at the black market."

This piqued Sam's interest, and he instantly focused his attention on Kepler.

"The young sir of Vernon? How sure are you of the information's validity?"

"There are several sources that say so your Highness. For one, the Crones first approached me with the first parcel of information, then the information guild contacted Elbert and were able to tell him more." Kepler shook his dark colored head. "I do not believe this information to be false."

"Alright. I'll keep a closer eye on Rosalind."

With that, Sam was escorted out of his palace to where his carriage awaited him.

He arrived at the function at his usual time; late. The first thing he did was to apologize for his tardiness to the party's hosts. Then he mingled with the other guests as he searched around the lavish ballroom for any signs of his older sister or the other princes.

"Did you hear what happened the other day?" He heard the small snippets of conversation here and there, but he mainly paid the voices any mind as his eyes stealthily scanned the room.

"Oh yes I did and my heart almost stopped in my chest when I heard the news! Can you believe, a giant wolf stalks the Royal Hunting Grounds!"

"What's this I hear?" Another woman asks the two ladies who were being awfully loud. Concern was etched into the other lady's powdered face. "Did you say a wolf?"

"It's true! I heard the terrifying howls of a wolf!" The ladies kept their voices loud as they fretted over the supposed wolf they swore they heard, even when Sam knew it would be impossible to hear the howls from the Hunting Grounds from the safety of the main palace's walls.

"Ladies, ladies," Sam turned his face at the melodic sound of his older sister's voice. The same voice that gave him chills as he remembered all the times she would insult him when they were much younger. She was one of the reasons why he almost always tried desperately to escape the small parties they were forced to participate in with all the other noble children.

"Do not cause panic within the nobility with such lies." Princess Rosalind smiled. Her light pink tinted lips stretched gracefully into a smile. Her green eyes glinted as she kept her golden head held high and her extravagant red dress just barely brushed the ground as she walked. The ladies all hurried to curtsy, now in the presence of one of the members of the royal family.

"Princess it's not lies! I heard the howls!"

"Everybody knows there are no wolves in Solomon." Princess Rosalind looked at the young lady as if she were a spooked child. "You must have read too many stories about the Beast people. They can't really turn into animals."

"Are you sure your Highness? Last time I saw one of them I could have sworn I saw their eyes turn into slits."

The laugh that came out of the princess' small lips made Sam inwardly scoff.

"Oh, Lady Hailey, you must have not been sleeping well lately. There's no such thing as werewolves."

Lady Hailey's face flushed red at the princess' derision and she quickly stammered out her next words when the other ladies began to snicker at her.

"It's true I say! I-I heard the Hunters that were caught by some of the King's Knights, they said they were attacked by a blue eyed wolf!"

Sam tilted his head to one side as he pictured Kiera's blue eyes. Almost immediately he shook his head of his next rising thought.

As much as the Beasts claimed they were animals, no one has ever seen them transform into their supposed animal form. Hence, everyone thought they simply revered certain animals as spirit guides of sorts. Others thought they played the part of the animals in their private ceremonies, an action they saw as barbaric even though none of them knew much about the Beast people and their customs. Sam couldn't imagine the refined Kiera on all fours, pretending to be a wolf.

"They said it was giant! And it had fur as dark as night!"

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