The Prince's Mate

Chapter 21

The next few days danced by easily, but slowly. There were no obvious bumps or glitches throughout the days, no arguments or emotional melt downs, but the days were also incredibly boring. Yes, I had recently discovered the basement which housed many activities but there was only so much time a person could spend in front of a television before their eyes began to blur. And Indigo had shaped up to be quite a lovely companion, but he was very quiet and I wasn't sure if it was even possible to get his coat any cleaner than it already was.

I ended up spending most of my time in front of the television or trying to immerse myself into a book, but that didn't last very long, and by the time Bennett came home one day I was ready to burst. When he ignored my presence I followed him closely as he ascended the stairs to our bedroom and jumped onto our bed as he began undressing.

"You seem excitable." He said flatly while he loosened his tie.

"I'm bored." I whined. "I want to go do something that isn't shopping or just walking around the palace grounds. You can't keep me under house arrest anymore."

"I can and I will." Bennett replied easily. I averted my eyes as he began unbuttoning his dress shirt.

"Bennett, please." I begged.

"No, that's final Brooklyn." Bennett snapped. "Now, have you been briefed on the gala? It's only two weeks away."

"Briefed, you make it sound like a military procedure, not a party."

Bennett spun around the face me as he tugged on a soft cotton tee shirt, frowning deeply. "This isn't going to be a party, this is a very serious matter involving very powerful people and you should be nothing but proper and perfect through the entire event. I guess you really haven't been briefed, I'll send over a tutor tomorrow. She will teach you how to be civil." He disappeared into the closet, coming out in a pair of sweatpants. "I see you have your dress though, so that's a good start."

I crossed my legs on the bed and leaned back onto my hands, my mind on a conversation I had had with Donovan while the dress was splayed out between us. I hesitated, not sure if I was ready for another fight with someone else in my life, but also incredibly interested.

"Bennett, can I ask you something?" I asked.

"You are more than welcome to ask, I don't have to answer though."

I sighed, frustrated with his snarky responses, but I still asked: "I heard there was a war, can you tell me something about it?"

Bennett seemed startled for a moment. His amber eyes widened in horror and his mouth opened as if he was going to refuse my request right away. He stammered out a few half words, then seemed to collect himself. He even smirked which unnerved me, but he finally answered, "What do you want to know?"

"Was there actually a war, like packs tearing at each other?"

"Yes, it was four packs against the royal pack and our close allies."

"Who won?"

"No one can win when they go against the royals, Brook; it's the way the werewolf community works. We are the elite, attacking us would be foolish."

"So the other packs were just slaughtered then?"

"Obviously." Bennett said, leaning against the door frame casually as if we were talking about a book or a movie.

"That's terrible though, they were just trying to save the princess from a life she didn't want, they didn't deserve to die."

"They interfered with the royals. That's treason, that's punishable by death, regardless of how you look at it."

"The princess didn't want to be here! She wanted out and she was royal, should her feelings not be considered? And, in all fairness, acting against a princess's wishes would also be treason." I retorted sharply.

"The princess's feelings didn't matter, what mattered was the nature order in the kingdom, alright? The prince wanted her, and he made the choices, not her. I know it's not the fairy-tale you wanted, but that's how it went. The princess wanted out, she didn't get what she wanted, and people died, that's the whole gist of the war, okay?"

"Just one more question, then I won't ask about this war again, okay?"

Bennett nodded tightly.

"How long ago was it?"

"About twenty five years ago."

"Wow, that was pretty recent."

"Yeah, a couple years before I was born."

I nodded absently, my mind not really grasping the magnitude of his words for a long time, but eventually the reality sunk in. my mouth flapped open and all I could do was stare at Bennett in shock for a little while as my mind went into overdrive.

"Oh God, the princess is now the queen."

"That's right." Bennett agreed stiffly. "Well, I suppose I'll be on my way now." Bennett spun away from me and started walking towards our bedroom door.

"Where are you going, you've already gotten ready for bed?" I demanded.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, the only person you spend a considerable amount of time with is Anderson, therefore he must've been the one to tell you about the war. Now you can claim ignorance because it is clear that you knew nothing about the wars, but the same cannot be said for Anderson."

"Ignorance? What are you talking about?" I demanded, unfolding my legs and slowly standing up.

"The war is no longer talked about Brooklyn. You see, my father was so disgusted by the actions of his wife that he never wanted to hear about it again so he passed a law which made it illegal to speak about the details of the war unless one was granted a pardon."

"Bennett, no." I whispered.

"Oh yes, your beloved Donovan is going to be charged with treason."

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