The wolves descend

Chapter six

After about thirty minutes of riding in the caged wagon, I could finally feel it coming to a halt. Nervously I tried to look ahead at the queen's carriage, while examining the extravagant carriage just ahead of me I noticed the large castle we were now in front of. Craning my head, I take in the full view of the castle, the stones were dark, giving the place an eerie vibe. The windows were huge and ornate, with gargoyle statues creepily peering down at us from the roof. This was the nicest place I've ever seen in my life but also the scariest. Sucking in a deep breath, I try to calm my nerves while the guards open the cage door.

Soon, the same lady in waiting from earlier trudges over to the carriage, without so much as a word, she roughly grabs my leash and pulls me along. Following behind the lady, I couldn't help but notice her dark brown hair braided together to create the most bizarre but oddly beautiful hair I have ever seen. It seems she had braided mini strands of her hair and then braided those into one massive braid. Against her smooth porcelain skin she wore a beautiful violet silk dress, unlike the queen's silk dress, the lady in waiting's dress looked tight at the bodice almost like a corset before it went into a ball gown skirt. It was big but very elegant.

Walking through the palace, we finally stumble upon a large room with a bathtub in the middle of it. The lady in waiting walked us over towards the tub, after filling the tub with hot water she looked over at me expectantly, "Aren't you going to take your clothes off and get in, you stink." She said almost sounding board, tears threatened to spring from my eyes at the thought of disrobing in front of a stranger. I doubted she wanted to take advantage of me, but I hated feeling like I didn't have any sense of control. It wasn't fair, but then again, life isn't fair, I remind myself, slowly I slip off the tattered navy-blue dress I once adored. Before Slipping into the hot water she unbuckled my collar and untied my hands, afterwards I layed down in the steaming water of the tub where I can see the tub turning brown from the sheer amount of dirt that has been covering my skin and hair. Dunking my matted hair into the water, I begin to look around for the soap and shampoo. Once I found the products, I immediately started rubbing the soap into my skin.

Scrubbing my skin until it's pink, I decide it will do for now, looking around I notice the lady in waiting is lazily standing by the door. Thankfully, she hasn't tried to rush me, getting the bottle that I presumed was shampoo, I immediately started massaging the liquid into my dirty hair. Soon enough I am cleaned, as I stand from the now filthy tub, the lady in waiting hands me a towel. Wrapping the fluffy towel around myself, she hands me a new pair of clothes. After drying off, I start by putting on a fresh pair of undergarments, I then put on a small black long sleeved Lenin dress that comes down to my shins. Thereafter, I layer on a white apron and some black flats.

"Here's something to tie your hair back with. The servants must have their hair in a bun or braid, so go ahead and do that now." The lady in waiting stated flinging the hair tie in my direction, I decided to do a quick single braid. Pushing the braid off my shoulder, I can feel it cascading down my back. Thankful to be free of the collar and leash, I diligently follow behind the lady to wherever we are going. After going down many stairs, we finally end up in what I can only assume is the servants quarters. Opening the second door we see, she shows me to a tiny room, the room was small with a twin sized bed and a dresser being the only two things occupying the space. "This is your room, tomorrow one of the queen's top maids will come and get you. She will teach you everything you need to know." With that, she left, locking my door from the outside behind her.

With a massive sigh of relief, I plopped down on the small bed, to be honest, it was much nicer than my real bed back at home, and it even had a bed frame. Even though the room was much smaller than my previous home, it was very charming here, but I still harbored an ache in my chest for home. I hated knowing I would be forced to work for the very things that murdered my father and destroyed the town I grew up in. Images of the last time I saw Mia flash through my eyes, her tear stained face and matted hair reminding me of all the terrible things that wolf did to her. I know I'm partly to blame for what had happened to her and the guilt was eating me alive, if I could trade places with her, I would. The last thing I ever wanted was for Mia to get caught, making a mental note that when I escape I will find Mia and save her too. After hours of laying in the plush twin sized bed I feel my eyelids grow heavy, letting out a small yawn, I let sleep take me, hoping to dream of my mother again.