•~•

[SILVER RAYNE WILLIAMS]

"Lord Bane." Lord Graydon gritted out, a tight click in his jaw.

His posture was as impeccable as always, looking the bald Lord directly in the eye.

"Lord Graydon! As punctual as ever," Lord Bane ushered, fostering a cheeky smile, "you know you don't actually get any brownie points for being first to arrive-" he smirked.

Lord Graydon glanced at me for a moment and I returned my own personal 'just let the fool speak,' calming stare right back at him.

He hummed at this, gaze drawing back to the Lord Select, with a soft sigh,

"If you truly believed that, Lord Bane, you would have arrived after the Tribe."

Lord Bane paused for a moment, before chuckling.

"The early bird is known to get the worm," he shrugged, before returning slightly, "And where is the large one? The wolf? Has he not yet arrived?"

I figured no one was meant to answer that question because Lord Bane was quick to continue-

"What a wonderful opponent he is! Giving us a run for our money, I can barely keep up," he mocked.

I was convinced the posh accents that the High Lords used were just so they could make shifty comments like this sound luxurious.

My gaze drifted to my High Lord whose formerly pleasant mood had quite literally shifted, his gaze darker, jaw tight.

"Lord Heil will soon be with us," was all he replied, tone firm.

Lord Bane raised an eyebrow at this, just as the doors opened again, and in walked-

The Tribe.

My gaze shifted to the figures as they moved flawlessly, dressed in long dark cloaks, hoods drawn up, though the array of piercing shades of their eyes could be seen as they walked forward, and toward the black door.

My breath was humid against my lips as I counted the figures, around 13 members.

All Fang, all could kill faster than I could tell.

For they were the Royal Court. The people who made decisions for the whole Kingdom under the reign of the Veridians.

Lord Bane had somehow moved to stand just slightly beside Lord Graydon and they both nodded firmly as each member of the Tribe passed by.

I followed suit with the red guards that had followed Lord Bane, keeping my head bowed so all I could see were feet skimming by me as they moved in fruition towards the black doors.

When the sound of footsteps stopped, I was breathless and unsure if it was okay for me to look until Lord Bane spoke.

"Looks like Lord Heil won't be getting any brownie points," he gleamed, glancing at Lord Graydon before he too left for the black door, his red guards following after him.

I watched as he disappeared through the doors, the Red guards pausing right outside the now shut doors, forming uniformed stances and facing forwards.

I would never understand how guards and soldiers were able to accomplish standing like that for hours on end, every day. The look of their postures alone made my spine want to hunch for eternity.

Lord Graydon let out a loose breath, and I could tell Lord Bane was someone he certainly did not get along with.

He had to take a moment to breathe, eyes rolling toward the main doors for a moment before glancing down at me.

He stopped as if just now realizing I had been watching him before shaking his head,

"I will have to go now. The King will soon be arriving-"

My breath hitched at this.

Was I supposed to hide then? I was quite exposed right here in the center of the Whispering Hall.

"Don't worry," Lord Graydon suddenly spoke and my gaze flipped to him immediately.

He had been studying me too.

He grinned softly.

"The Lord's chamber," he noted, his gaze twisting to the black door, "has a private entry for the royals," he started, "a quicker way to get to the chamber without traversing almost half of Fang Court."

My mouth dropped into an O, nodding in understanding.

Lord Graydon's gaze turned back to the main door, shaking his head once more with a grunt and I turned to look at the door.

Lord Heil. He was waiting for Lord Heil.

I did not understand whatever for.

"I shall leave now," Lord Graydon commented, gaze reluctantly leaving the door, "I'm sure he'll show soon," he muttered.

And as if by magic the doors were thrown open and Lord Heil tailed by his Blue guards stormed in. He seemed out of breath which should have been strange for an Alpha wolf but there he was.

Huffing and Puffing.

"My lord!" Lord Heil grinned eyes set on Lord Graydon who smiled widely.

"It's about time, the worms are being eaten by the early bird," Lord Graydon joked.

Lord Heil raised an eyebrow, "The old bloke?"

"The very one, yes."

"Then we must hurry before he chokes!" Lord Heil gleamed as he and Lord Graydon moved toward the black door.

"And we agree that would be horrendous?"

"Absolutely not!" Lord Heil chuckled the voices echoing as they joked onward toward the black doors.

It was opened for them and they walked in. Doors slammed after.

My eyebrows arched at this backing away from the door of death. Of course, I wasn't going to follow him
Into the Lord's chamber, that was for certain, but the door slamming in my face had been a tad bit dramatic.

I glanced at the two sets of guards perched at the outside of the black door, both blues and reds. Their gaze aimed straight ahead, opposite each other.

How did they not fall in love with all that direct eye contact was a mystery to me.

I backtracked by steps, taking a stand at the end of the last blue guard.

I certainly did look out of place beside their perfectly tailored uniforms and impeccable height.

As much as I hated to admit it, Penguin was such a good description of what I probably looked like right now.

Curse that bald brute of a High Lord.

I let out a breath trying to push out my anger. It would not serve me here and now. It was bloody hot and a brewing pot of anger would do nothing but cause me to sweat- sweat more that is.

My eyebrows drew together fighting the urge to not take off the uncomfortable helmet and let my scalp breathe.

My gaze trailed to the guard beside me who stood emotionless, staring straight ahead to the Red Guard.

My gaze shifted to the red guard whose straight posture and mimicked stance only meant he was staring straight ahead at the Blue guard.

They had to be in love.

There was no way they could stare like that for this long. My gaze trailed to the next two guards standing opposite each other.

So were they.

Given the time, I perhaps could even write out their whole lover story.

I raised an eyebrow at this but my whole attention was taken off them when the main doors suddenly flew open again.

At the sight of the Royal attire of the Royal guards my heart fell to the pit of my stomach, where I was certain it was now rotting at an impeccable speed.

My fingers became numb and everything slowed down as if in slow motion as I watched the Crown Prince walk in.

Common sense told me Lord Graydon had said the Royals would use another route to enter the Lords Chamber, but here he was, as present and yet absent as ever.

His saltwater gaze was empty as always, and kept forward, as if there was no one else in the room.

But screw that!

Of course, he knew I was here.

My heart demanded to be heard at this point and it began its restless best within me-

I was unable to look away-

Unable to run. For where was there to go?

Even if there was, my footsteps would be multiplied over a billion times in this so-called Whispering Hall.

No, that would be awkward and would only bring more attention to me as it was.

There was no getting out of this scenario.

My breathing became heavy when I noticed that Lady Elise was trailing behind him, a mere foot away.

They walked together but not as if they were together-

It was simply hard to describe.

Or perhaps I was overthinking things because I knew-

No-

I Would not think of these things. It was none of my business.

None of my business.

They approached and my body felt like stone, eyes only shifting to the side when I felt the guards fall to their knees.

I scrambled to mine, keeping my gaze low as the Prince casually walked on by. I felt his shadow pass and then the trail of Lady Elise's skirt, following.

My gaze only shifted up slightly as the doors to the black door opened, and only mouthing "Your Majesty!" along with the other guards yet noting how the Prince's hand swung freely beside him, even when Lady Elise stopped by his side.

He couldn't even touch her- was the first intrusive thought that sparked in my mind

The doors closed and with it, the last glimpse of them.

I was numb when I got to my feet, and there was an annoying ringing in my head that made me feel like I was far away from my body.

I stared down at my hands in a hazy glance, fingers folding into a fist to relieve the shake in them.

I couldn't go on like this.

I had told myself- no, promised myself I would stay low.

How did I go from rarely seeing the Prince to meeting him twice a day when I was actively trying to avoid him?

Yes, he had not said a word.

He had not acknowledged me in the slightest and by all accounts, I should not be feeling this way -but I was.

A morbid panic was growing within me.

Possibilities draining my soul.

My vision was blurry and I shook my head for a moment, glancing at the guards with me.

The only guards that were allowed in the Lord's Chambers seemed to be the Royal guards.

"Do we.. Do we just stand here for how long?" I blurred feeling drowsy.

I could feel myself swaying slightly, "h-how long is the meeting anway?" my eyebrows drew together.

I received some stray glances. Mixtures of disgust and morbid frustration but no answer as expected.

I looked down at my hands still shaken, vision still blurry-

"No answers, wow, what a surprise," I mumbled, swaying slightly, "it's okay, okay-- I'll just..."

I shook my head. Screw this.

My body seemed to be shutting down.

I wandered away from the line, ignoring the strange looks the guards were throwing my way and I walked further into the whispering hall, visions still or of order, heart still a hard thud within me.

I bumped into the base of one of the statues and I paused there my breathing hard, and I tried to let some air in.

My back against the marble, I slid down to the floor where I sat like a sweeping widow.

My head rolled backward and the coolness of the stone cooled what I felt was a growing headache.

Unclipping the clasp of my helmet, I placed it to the side, closed my eyes, leaned backward, and sighed.

Yes, this was better. Much better.

I let a few moments pass to ease away my panic attack.

Dad always said in moments like these I had to keep a cool head and think of things that made me happy.

Right now? There wasn't much.

I mean I was having a panic attack just because the Prince had passed a foot away from me. Oh God, this was so pathetic.

But happy thoughts.

The only thing I could think of was Vella. She made me happy.

A small smile broke out against my lips at the thought, and I could feel the constriction in my chest slowly clear.

Lord Graydon.

He has said he would put a word for me. With his influence, I would surely be given a spot. My eyebrows arched at this. I did not know for the life of me why he agreed. I thought I was going to have to beg, perhaps even pledge my soul-

But all he said was yes-

And offered nothing in return.

I blinked at this. MAYBE, perhaps.

He wasn't all that bad.....

The thought was only a whisper in my head, a suggestion but despite my better judgment, it calmed me.

It made me feel warm inside.

I could breathe better now. There was a certain peace in my heart as I thought of the days ahead I would be spending with Vella.

Dad would be so proud. I was doing as I promised. Taking care of her.

She was ours. Vella Easter Williams.

Ours to keep. I would make sure of it.

My gaze finally opened, after a few minutes and it adjusted to the sight of a statue before me.

Oh, would you look at that? The Prince. Again.

He was younger here, but the absent emotionless look In his eyes could not be betrayed by anyone else's.

My jaw tightened and I shook my head, shutting my eyes again.

Happy thoughts. Only Happy thoughts.

--------------

There was no denying the Queen's obsession with her son. I called it an obsession because there couldn't possibly be this many statues done of her son throughout his years.

He practically grew up right before my eyes.

But despite this, all the statues were the same. There was never one in which he smiled, or laughed. There was never an echo of joy in his marble eyes.

Each remained lifeless. A still sea on an endless horizon.

It was nerve-wracking at first. To understand that there was no dimension to this being. That all through the stages of his life, there was nothing that could be remembered. I wondered if he could point at one of these statues and remember what it was exactly he had been doing.

No birthday statues.

I shook my head at my own folly, realizing I had been staring at these statues for way too long now.

I had overcome my little panic attack hours ago and was now aimlessly wandering amongst the statues. The red and blue guards were still perched as if they were statues themselves by the black door and whilst I was incredibly impressed by their levels of endurance, I had to remind myself that these were Fang.

Of course, I a human, would not have as much stamina as they did.

Hence -walking around.

I was just about getting bored when the black doors swung open.

I watched as the Tribe left, my gaze shooting to the floor, only looking up at the sound of Lord Heil's voice and the taunts of Lord Bane.

They did not spare me a look, however, leaving the whispering hall the way they came in, following right after the Tribe.

The guards followed after their Lords.

And then there was silence. The black door closed after.

Lord Graydon had not come out.

My eyebrows arched at this turning back around into the emptiness of the whispering hall.

I sighed knowing I would have to wait longer

"Oh great," I mumbled, rolling my eyes at the extended echo.

I fumbled with my fingers leaning against a statue.

At this point, I was bored out of my mind. I was ready for a change of scenery. No white walls, no Renaissance ceilings-

For goodness sake, if anything I wished I was at West House this instant.

I knew Lord Graydon needed time, but I was dying at the anticipation-

The door flew open and immediately my back straightened, adjusting the helmet I had put on after the first scare, watching As Lord Graydon's gaze summarized the hall until he reached me.

I suddenly felt small when his gaze rammed into mine. There was something wrong.

Terribly wrong.

His eyes were dark.

Very dark.

Grave.

My eyebrows drew together as he took long strides towards me,

"My Lord-"

"Come-" he all but barked, pulling me by the arm toward a statue, my feet could barely keep up.

I was confused. Why did he seem so- angry?

"w-what's wrong? What happened?" I breathed out desperately ignoring how tight he was holding me as he pushed me out of sight and against a statue.

He glanced behind him for a moment before looking down at me, "Your punishment has been forgiven-"

"W-what?  My punish-Why?"

I did not know what he was saying, or why I was asking- my mind was jumbled and he seemed to be in a rush.

"Listen to me Silver, you are to leave this evening-"

"Leave?" I echoed but he did not give me a chance to understand, perhaps take it all in, rambling all at once,

"This evening, 9 o'clock, I will come for you. Everything should be in order, pack what you can and be quick with it-"

"I don't understand-"

"There is no time to waste. No time to think. You are to go now. Make sure your affairs are in order, there will be no time to waste, I have to join the others as soon as I can," he grunted his gaze shifting in mine, before glancing back at the main door.

I watched him, my gaze wide and unsure-

"Where are we going? Is there somewhere the race is taking you?" I asked.

Was that it? Did I have to follow him someplace?

His gaze shifted back to mine, pulling away from me for a moment, back straight, heavy, stern eyes on me.

"You're going home, Silver."

I froze.

•~•

Eh..
•~•