The Castle Under The Moon

Chapter Twenty-Three

Luna groans, she felt heavy and groggy and as though she was being pulled up through water, her body fighting it, wanting to stay at the bottom, enjoying the cold peace.

Before she moved or opened her eyes, Luna decided that she should take in her surroundings, just in case what had happened at the cabin was all a dream.

She was secretly hoping that it all was a dream, that she had fallen asleep before the coronation and it was all just a nightmare. Though she didn't really think of it as a nightmare, images of the giant man flooded her head along with the black animal.

Breathing out, she tells her brain to focus, remembering what had happened in the cabin, Luna figured that she was most likely in her bedroom because of the soft mattress she was laying on as well as the feeling of fluffy blankets and pillows surrounding her.

Luna opens her eyes and instantly rolls them when she sees that her room surrounded her, slightly sad.

Of course. She thinks as she begins to stretch her limbs, hating the numb feeling that they held.

Determined to find out what happened to her giant and Gheorgie, if it hadn't been a dream, Luna sits up.

She instantly regrets it whenever her body complains, sore, adding to the thought that the night before really did happen.

Feeling the cool air feather over her chest, Luna glances down, her face heating when she sees that she was completely bare.

The door to her room opening had her pulling the blanket up to her neck, her face even more red then before.

"You're awake!" Valda grins, relief flooding her face when she sees the red faced girl sitting on the bed, looking right at her.

"Am I not supposed to be?" Luna asks, her right eyebrow raised.

"The healer didn't expect you to wake up until later tonight." Valda explains after she closes Luna's bedroom door and begins to make her way to the girls bed.

"Oh," was all that Luna could say.

"The arrow had enough silver in it to knock out our largest Lycans, even kill some of our small weres." Valda tells her as she sits on the bed, facing her, a small, sad smile on her lips.

"Gheorgie, he shot me." Luna whimpers, her heart aching knowing that the man she thought of as a father would have done such a thing.

"I'm sorry, honey. I can't really believe it myself." Valda looks down and grabs Luna's hand, her heart hurting in its own way, still confused as to why he would have done such a thing..

"Where is he? And the giant man?" Luna felt silly calling him that out loud, but she didn't know what else to call him.

"Gabriel and Asher decided to keep them in cells until you were to wake up." Valda gives Luna a small smile, hoping that this wasn't too much for her.

"Where is that?" Luna asks, her eyebrows were scrunched up, confusion clear on her face.

As Luna was growing up, she was shielded from many things. While Jaiyana was alive, she was angry at the way Gheorgie was treating the young girl, knowing that one day she would need to know these things so that she was able to run everything, but after Jaiyana had died, Gheorgie disobeyed, deciding that she didn't need to know about certain things.

"We have a place under the castle to hold the people that are not permitted to stay in a room until they are able to speak to someone in power." Valda speaks, trying to find the right words.

"A dungeon?" Luna wonders, going through her memories, trying to see if she had ever seen or heard of a place like this.

"Well, yeah, I guess so. Gheorgie thought that you didn't need to know about it for the time being." Valda states, knowing full well that Gheorgie had thrown Jaiyana's plan for Luna and Asher out of the window when she had died.

Anger instantly finds its way into Luna, causing her to stand, using the blanket to shield her naked body from the older woman that was sitting on the other side of her bed.

"I am going to get dressed and then I want to be informed on everything that he neglected to tell or show me." Luna demands, leaving no room for Valda to argue if she wanted to.

"Who shall I gather, and where?" Valda asks, standing up, a small smile on her face, proud to see Luna take control of her position.

"Gabriel, Asher and you. In the throne room."

With that being said, Valda bows her head and begins to make her way to Luna's bedroom door.

"Wait!" Luna says, taking a step forwards, almost tripping over the blanket as her left leg gave out.

"Yes?" Valda turns around, watching as two sides battle in her eyes, each wanting to win.

"Make sure that they are all being treated right. A bed. Food and water." Luna says after a few seconds, one side finally winning over the other.

"Of course." Valda grins after she turns around, fully knowing who she was talking about, another jolt of proudness swims through her.

"Thank you!" Luna calls out just as Valda closes the door.

"You're welcome!" Came Valda's reply through the wood.

Luna sighs and drops the blanket that surrounded her to the floor, happy to be alone.

Her entire body hurt, as if she had taken a tumble down the stairs in the castle.

Taking some much needed time, Luna began to stretch, slowly working out some of the soreness in her body so that she was able to move without wanting to just lay on the ground and cry.

Her left leg was the worst, it took her at last fifteen minutes to get it to take some of her weight.

Knowing that it wasn't going to get any better, Luna decided that she should get a dress and walks over top her wardrobe to look at her options.

Making sure to look over them all, she decided on a casual blue dress that was both comfortable and nice enough to wear out.

Before she is able to slip the dress on, water sloshes in the tub that was in the bathing room to her left, making her thoroughly confused.

Luna tilts her head to the side, wondering why there was water in her tub in the first place and why it was sloshing.

When she walks into the small room she smiles, seeing a note written on the mirror in front of her.

                                    Thought you could use this

                                                        xoxo, Valda

Luna lays her dress onto the stand that stood beside the tub before getting in, allowing the steaming water to relax her muscles.

She lets her mind join in as well, not letting it wander off.

Good memories flow in and out of her brain the entire time that she was in the warm water, making her mood lighten.

As she slips her dress over her head there was a knock at her door.

When she opens it, happiness burst within her, it was like there had been a mini explosion of joy.