The General’s Manor

Ice cold water was being thrown violently towards the sleeping figure. She tried to dodge it, but it was too late. The water soaked her rugged blanket and got to her scantily dressed body. She hissed as a reflex reaction to the cold that was taking the liberty to permeate her bones. She looked towards the figure that had just barged into her small living quarters.

Two women stood before her, hands akimbo. Their eyes glared at her, sending daggers her way. There was an obvious difference in their age at first glance. The older one was chubby and short.

Her long black hair was in a single braid wrapped around her small head. It complemented the shape of her face, which was round and soft like that of a baby. Her choice of clothing was suitable for the wife of a respected General. The woman was of average beauty compared to the younger woman standing next to her.

Though the girl had no make-up on like her counterpart, her beauty still outshone the other. Even with a scroll on her face, Arya looked gorgeous. Her dress did little to hide her pear shape body.

Her pouty lips were sneering at Xiomara, yet it didn’t dim the radiance of her round face. The nose on her face only accentuated her amber eyes, making her look superior. Her long black hair was in a French braid on her head. She held an empty bowl in her hand.

Mara looked caught off guard. To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. Today’s ritual of waking her up was new. She was used to being insulted and yelled at by the Lady of the house who was usually in her night wears. She would be grumpy like a bear who was disturbed out of its hibernation.

The look today was, however, significantly different. The woman was not only fully dressed but also looked impatient. The other odd factor was Arya’s presence.

The girl was one of the laziest people she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. As though that was not enough, she was a two-faced hypocrite who had mastered the arts of being a bitch from the bigger bitch. She would be in deep sleep on a normal day. Nothing seems ordinary about this day anymore. An angry howl brought Mara out of her contemplation.

“What are you still doing in bed? You should be out there doing your chores. If you don’t get up right now, your punishment would be anything but light. Stand little whore!”

Reyna was her name. The Queen bitch. Now this, was normal. Unfortunately, her voice was nothing like her face. If only it had been a little better, she wouldn’t mind it at all.

The woman’s voice was loud and boisterous. As though it was not enough, it was too sharp, making it unpleasant to bear early in the morning.’ Heavens, could someone tell this woman that her voice wasn’t exactly the best?’ she thought, shutting her out like she always did.

She was brought out of her mind once more by a sharp pain in her cheek. She had been slapped by the little witch as the Queen bitch kept up with her ranting. She looked up in shock, almost hitting her back. ‘Calm down, baby. Calm down. It’s not yet time to reveal yourself to the enemy,’ She chanted in her head. Arya would not survive a single blow if Xiomara was to retaliate.

They all thought of her as a useless wolf simply because they never had the chance to see her shift. She still had the marks from all the torture her ten-year-old body had gone through just for them to force her to change. Luckily, her willpower was stronger than their patience as they finally let her be.

“Oh, look mother. She wants to retaliate. Awww. You poor thing. You have to get stronger first to harm me. Anyways, enough of the chit-chat. I am here to warn you. We are going to have guests around for brunch and lunch. Stay away from the men. Don’t even think of trying your luck with them. Just to make sure that you would not disobey, I brought a present along. Mother,” she called in a way of asking for something.

A syringe was presented to her. Inside was a greenish-yellowish liquid which Xiomara could tell was a mild wolfbane. It was not enough to kill a werewolf but was enough to cause excruciating pain after a few hours. She could neither resist nor defend herself. She stayed still and let the girl inject the poison into her system.

“Alright slave, it’s time for you to perform your duties. You better do it well too. You wouldn’t want to have a stronger dose won’t you?” Arya laughed wickedly at the shudder that was evident despite how hard she tried to conceal it. The mother-daughter pair spotted a knowing glance as they strode out of the tiny space that had been jammed after their arrival.

“Fuck, “Cursed Xiomara. The wolf bane would not kill her or cause her pain. Instead, it would do something more dangerous within one month. This was the first time they had used such a means to torture her. Changing into her wolf was far more dangerous at the moment.

She had to look for ways of getting out of the kingdom before that time. When she does leave, she should leave as a ‘corpse’.

……

Long curly ginger hair was tied up in a messy bun as Xiomara worked in the kitchen. It was around ten o’clock in the morning, however, she was already exhausted from all the dusting, sweeping, and washing she had been doing.

These were her normal chores. For some reason, they were making her sweat bucket today.

The heat radiating from the fireplace was not helping her case. ‘The damned wolf bane’, she recalled.

Of course, it had the opposite effect on her. While others would be rolling on the floor in pain, it drained her energy and turned her body into a puddle. Her bones seemed to have melted away as she could hardly feel her hand and body. The effect would last for only thirty minutes but it was enough to render her useless for that time.

She finally couldn’t control her movements and fell face fast onto the dirty floor. She closed her eyes unable to do anything else. She silently prayed that no one would witness her in that state.

Unfortunately, bad things often happen when we pray for them not to. A few minutes passed by as she lay there defenseless and vulnerable. She had been counting in her head and had about ten more minutes left before she could get back to normal.

The sound of clicking heels filled her senses shortly after. Her focus was not the best but she knew that there were more than three pairs of feet approaching her. She struggled hard to separate her eyes lids and came face to face with exquisite leather shoes.