Annemarie
Annemarie couldn't sleep. The sun was shining brightly. Not even the heavy, dark curtains helped. She held her old stuffed bear in her arms, which was waiting for her here on her bed. As if her parents, or servants, had put him there. Presumably, the servants did it. Awake, she rolled back and forth. Burying her head under her pillow. Eventually, she gave up and climbed out of bed.
Nothing had changed in her childhood bedroom.
It still looked like the room of a well-protected and spoiled princess. Yawning, she pulled a dark red silk dressing gown over her fine black nightgown and left the splendor of her past. Much of the furniture had been chosen for her by her parents. Many of the books were birthday presents. She was still hugging the bear. It was missing a glass eye by now, but it was as fluffy as it was back then. In her childhood. Maybe I'll give the bear to Rayk. Or Rosina. When I see them again.
Are they okay? Is Torsten okay? She kissed the bear on the forehead, as she always did with her children, and sighed.
She probably didn't look very regal with a stuffed bear in her arms, but that didn't interest her. She missed her parents. And she missed her children even more. Torsten. Annemarie hoped they were fine.
She wandered lazily through the castle. Her sleeping rhythm had adapted to that of the wolves after they had traveled for a long time during the day. She met one or two friends in the castle. They greeted her with smiles as they walked quietly through the corridors so as not to wake the vampires. They were currently occupying guest rooms. Just like the staff who had lost their rooms in the fire. Her friends didn't stop to chat with her. They were still grieving too much to be interested in a conversation. This came in handy for Annemarie. She didn't seek any conversation.
Tired, she looked at the old paintings in the castle. Someone had smeared a new picture of her brother with red paint. His old paintings, especially children's pictures, were spared. But someone had vented his anger on the latest. One picture was cut up, one lay on the floor with a broken frame... She sighed. Should I thank the person in charge? Or punish them?
As she slowly approached the broken part of the castle, she noticed a group of humans. Skinny young women and men. Often a little younger than herself. They were the ones who provided their blood in the castle. Annemarie wanted to walk past them at first, but then she noticed scratches and bruises. The group of people was not in good condition. They looked sickly. Shocked, the new queen stopped. When the people noticed her presence, they bowed frantically and palely.
"It’s all right!", said Annemarie quickly and full of pity. "What happened? You're hurt! Was that..." My brother?
The humans exchanged uncertain glances until one young man pushed another forward. As if he were to sacrifice himself. Annemarie grimaced slightly until she looked into the human's bright, fearful eyes. He stared at Annemarie in shock. "So... We... Excuse me, Princess... Your Highness!", he stammered, avoiding her gaze. "Your Majesty?"
She nodded. "It's all good. What happened to you?"
"Well… Nothing!", said the young man. "We are doing wonderfully. Are you thirsty? Which of us may serve you?"
Shocked, she blinked. "What?" None of these people gave the impression that they could spare a drop of blood. "No. I'm not thirsty. Did my brother treat you badly? Was he? I’m sorry. This shouldn't have happened to you. Do you need medical help? I can have a doctor check on you."
"We're doing wonderfully!", the young man murmured again. "If you want blood.." But Annemarie shook her head. "No. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I can guess the answer. I'll send for a doctor. He will examine you. And I'll let some servants bring food for you. I'm sure you're hungry. As soon as you have recovered, you can go home."
Shocked looks met her now. A young girl, perhaps eighteen, cleared her throat softly. "You're kicking us out? We haven't finished our year yet." All these people came from poor backgrounds. They needed the money they earned in the one year they served here.
Annemarie didn't know any of these faces. They all seemed to have come here after she left the castle.
"Don't worry. You will be paid in full. I'm now sending for a doctor. A servant will bring you food to your rooms." She took a deep breath and bowed deeply to these people. "I'm sorry."
Finn
Tired, Finn stroked Marko's fur. His boyfriend walked cautiously across the forest floor. The group was on its way to the next village. They needed supplies. Luckily, Paula had some money with her. She had her purse with her when they had to flee. Julia and Leopold also had some money in their pockets. Otherwise, they would probably be lost.
Finn's stomach growled softly.
Peyo, Chloe, Benjamin, and Leopold collected some edible mushrooms along the way, which fortunately grew between the light snow. The mushrooms must have made a mistake about the season. Just like daisies that sometimes bloom in winter. Finn didn't like mushrooms very much, but he was ready to eat almost anything out of hunger. His gaze wandered to the small children. Amaury sat on Emmie as if the wolf were a pony. The twins were carried by their parents. They were asleep. Mads and Levi romped through the snow in wolf form, as if this was a fun family outing.
Julia talked to Lea and Shay. And Fritz looked at Finn with concern. The sickly wolf gave him an encouraging smile. At least he tried. I’m fine. Don't worry about me, worry about... About what? Everything?
It was quiet in the forest. No bird chirped. Only their own rustling and voices disturbed the silence. Finn's gaze wandered to the hard-working elves. He liked Peyo. The elf was friendly and very nice. Emmie seemed nice too. In a rough, gruff way. Finn was worried about her. She was now an orphan. And an alpha wolf on top of that. She had dreamed of one day taking over and changing her pack. That's what she'd told them. But now this pack no longer existed. Ever since the girl knew this, she seemed aimless. Although Emmie claimed that she had given up this wish when she was taken away, her eyes said otherwise.
Will she challenge Noah? To become alpha of the pack? If she gets the chance at some point? Noah will never give up his pack.
