Rose's Thorns: The Wolf's Prophecy

21

Orion pov

When Orion had seen Rose greeting all the people, he could tell how much it bothered her to have so many faces around her. In the time he had known her, he realized she was not much of a "large group" type of person. A small crowd of people seemed to be all she could handle, and that was if she were ever in the mood to handle anyone at all. She looked stunning in her long red dress, and to anyone on the outside, she looked calm and collected. Almost lethal in the way she carried her shoulders and her head high. Her eyes always seemed to change colors with every emotion, but today, she seemed to have as much control as possible.
To the naked eye of course.
Orion knew her though. He could see the frisson. He could see the way her eyes darted, or her smile faltered after every word. He noticed these things. He noticed what even her father could not. The unhappiness that she was doing so well to hide. The nerves. The shaking.
But she was doing so good. So damn good. When he had gotten to her in line, she smiled her real smile. The one where it seemed like even her eyes were smiling. It always seemed to light up her face when she smiled like that. It was his favorite thing to see. When the king had finished talking, and everyone in the hall seemed to lunge forward at the girls, it was unnerving to see the way they fell over themselves. A large burly official-looking man put his hands up and shouted above the loud talking. "The princesses will see anyone with questions, the rest may wander the halls. Please form a line to get a turn. Thank you."
And the lines were clear. The older people seemed to admire Josephine's manner and openness and were asking questions like, "how long has the castle been here?" Or "when will you take the thrown?" Orion mentally laughed, for they were only questions the heiress would know. He subtly moved to Roses group, making sure to keep her in his line of sight. At the very moment, she was speaking to a very rambunctious kid, younger than himself. As he got nearer, he could hear the boy ask "Is it true? Are you an evil sorceress? Are you cursed? I have heard rumors; can you really sing a song that makes someone do your bidding? Are you plotting against the heiress? Are you-"

"Whoa" Rose laughed tightly and held up her hand. The boy grew warm, and much to Orion's irritation took on a lovesick faraway look.

"No, I'm not an evil princess or sorceress. Whoever made that rumor must've been very bored." Her smile grew fake but still dazzled the crowd. "I don't believe I'm cursed, but then again, everyone can be wrong. Can't they? I also can't sing to save my life, and I'd never plot against my sister, I'm shocked you'd ask such a thing." Another smile. "Maybe it would do you best to not believe everything everyone says around you. Okay? I love my family, and I love my people. Never think otherwise." The boy nodded and soaked in every word she said as if he were dying and she held the key to everlasting life in the palm of her hand. She nodded to him, politely dismissing him, and Orion laughed stupidly at the way he walked away.

The next person walked up to Rose, and much of the same thing happened.

"Do you really get a dress for every hour of the day? How many maids wait on you? Are you getting married to a prince? Are you allowed to have pets? Can you eat all the sweet foods you would like? How do you make your hair that shiny?" A real laugh came from her this time, as the little brown-haired girl drew in a deep breath. Rose waited for her to begin her barrage of new questions but the girl stayed silent, much to Orion's relief.

"I don't wear a dress for every hour, but I'm are there are enough for just doing that, I don't have many maids who wait on me, I'm capable of running my own bathwater and feeding myself. I do not really think too much of the future, mainly the present. I am allowed pets, but I don't believe in holding animals captive unless they choose to be where I am, and I could eat all the sweet food I'd like, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth nowadays. And what was the last thing?" The girl giggled and shook her head, walking away from the line. Orion chanced a glance around and saw that Syline had already gone through her small line of people and was now leading a couple of kids her age to the open doors. The line moved up and Orion shuffled forwards. The next person gave him the creeps. His hair was very dark, and his eyes were cold and calculating. Orion recognized him to be a worker in the Meadows village. He was tall and had broad shoulders, and even his step seemed threatening.
 He bent low to Rose's ear and whispered something into it, and her face became a pale mask, frozen with a fake smile. Her words came out strong, but by the time her sentence ended, her words were low. A cold feeling pierced its way into Orion's heart, as her fingers clenched around her body, the way one would clench if she were fighting away a biting chill. Her eyes flashed to a brilliant blue, and her words were forced.

"My kingdom had recovered from the sickness, though it took many long nights to get used to the emptiness. I'm so sorry for the loss you've endured, and the whole of Meadow feels the pain as you do." She said it shakily, but with emotion that was hard to miss. The boy stood back and nodded; his head bowed. He glanced around the hall, and Orion could see the tension coming off him like the heat on a black road. A rigid stare, a sad look. But it was so threatening. Orion exhaled when he got to Rose, and from the looks of it, she was just as happy to be rid of the line.

"You doing okay?" He asked her when they had found a nice place to sit.

"I guess I am, just a bit tired and weary now. Who knew this kind of thing could take it out of you?"

"I couldn't even begin to comprehend how your sister and father can do it with such realism and kindness."

She sat up quickly "Was I unkind?"

"No, not at all. You did well enough, but I know your fake smiles from your real smiles like I know the best time to steal an apple from the markets."

"That's not a good thing, is it?"

He shrugged and crossed his hands behind his neck. "It all depends on the way you view it, I guess."

She laughed and leaned against the wall, skillfully snatching a shiny bright red apple from him. "I guess so."