The Moon Goddess' Chosen

345 Second Chance

The words from the female rogue royal hit hard. Bree had sought her out to get to the rogue king, but this woman had only spelt her errors out for her and it irritated her to the core. She searched her mind for a witty comeback, but nothing came to her rescue. She’d messed up, she knew that now. Unlike Ginger, Bree didn’t have it in her to go through with something that wouldn’t work.

In fact, she would have started all of this in the first place if Ginger hadn’t tried it first. The late girl’s actions had given her the push to come up with a plan and she had, however, she’d also allowed a lot of holes to sneak into it, “No, you don’t understand anything.”

“Oh, don’t I now?” the woman searched her eyes, “I’ve lived in a world so cruel that you couldn’t begin to tell which side was right or wrong, up or down if I was to throw you into it. And you almost marched yourself right through the doors of hell.”

Calming down her tone, Amanda continued, “Earlier, I heard you speak of the breeding camps the rogue king keeps around like it was something normal, but do you have any idea what happens to the women in those camps?”

“I’ve heard the stories. I know what happens. You don’t have to spell it out for me,” the girl replied. Disgust was beginning to set in her mind.

“Do you have parents?” Amanda asked. When the girl didn’t answer, the woman’s jaw dropped. The girl before her had held such a strong front when they’d met that she wouldn’t have thought she’d lived such a sheltered life, but then again, she could sympathise. There were a few things she could think of that could make her lash out like that, “You’ve lost something dear to you, haven’t you? Or at least, you feel like you do. I’ve noticed one similarity between you and your friend.”

“What might that be?” the girl mocked. This sudden mind-reading was starting to get on her nerves.

“Chris... Christle... No, Crysta... Yeah, that girl we captured that day. She’s the one the three of you care about so dearly. I won’t pretend to know what the three of you have been through, but I know it can be fixed. Anything can be fixed if you come clean and try to fix it,” the woman said, half to herself.

“You say it like it’s so easy. Have you ever come clean about what you’re doing?” the girl asked.

.....

“Yeah... I have done that once before. It’s the reason my mate and I were still going this long, but we didn’t do it with the current king. It’s not like it’s that easy to do. With honesty, time and patience, relationships can be fixed. I don’t know what happened between you and Crysta or Liana-”

“You mean Lina...”

“-yes, Lana. The three of you can fix whatever mess you’ve got yourselves in,” the woman explained. While the wrong name she used made Bree laugh, the point got across.

Through her giggles, “You didn’t strike me as someone that could offer advice.”

“Ugh, tell me about it. I blame the man in the kitchen. He brings out the worst... or the very best in me,” the woman groaned, tipping her head so she stared at the man working in the kitchen.

“Are the two of you finally getting along? The food is almost ready,” Sean yelled from the kitchen.

“No, in fact, we are wrestling at this very moment,” Amanda lied, chuckling with the girl who was now warming up to her.

“Oh, I’m really good at wrestling. Just letting you know. If I find that you are interested, I’d be glad to teach you a lesson or two,” the man yelled back from the kitchen.

“Oh my, is that really Prince Sean making a threat?” Bree was the one to ask this time, “They are normally scarier than that.”

The royal in the room went silent for a while before his voice came through, “It’s easier to make threats when you spend that much time away from your significant other.”

“That explains why you are so grumpy all the time. How long have the two of you known each other?” Bree asked.

The two of them laughed at the question, “It’s been quite some time, Bree. Honestly, let me see... If I was to estimate, it would be about forty years... maybe more. Just so you know, Sean is the king’s uncle, so... It’s been a while.”

Bree’s smile dropped at the mention of how long the two of them had been apart, “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It has nothing to do with you, really. And everything to do with our goddess. It was her plan after all,” Amanda quickly replied.

“So, we’re telling her now?” Sean asked from the kitchen.

“Yeah... I believe she can tell right from wrong once again,” the woman replied.

“That was fast,” Sean replied with a chuckle, “In that case, come help me set the table before we get into that story.” With that, Amanda invited the girl to help them get ready for a filling lunch. It might not have been much or permanent, but Bree felt what it was to be a part of something.

Amanda didn’t desire her death anymore and Sean didn’t want her hurt or injured in any way. For the gloomy brother of the king, he was oddly kind and considerate. Almost like his personality was often hidden when he was in the presence of others.

The three of them set the table, idle chatter milling through them with a hint of dark humour from the rogue royal. Having lived within the rogues for a long time, the woman’s military tendencies often leaked into her personality, although it only gave her an irresistible charm of her own. When the table was finally set, Sean was the first to launch into story time, taking the girl back to a time before the two powerful wolves had even met.

.........