Misha the Beast Tamer.
Chalter 32

It was at breakfast that I first laid eyes on the servant that Stefan suspected was sleeping with my father. He was not much older than I was, probably eighteen. He was delicately framed, with golden hair, porcelin- coloured skin, sky blue eyes and perfectly, plump red-coloured lips, it looked as though he'd never worked a hard day of labour in his life, let alone been a servant before. Stefan' s suspicion of him being a plant to trap my father, seemed to be on the right track.

I believe if he wore a dress and a powdered wig, no-one would know that he was male. He'd have a line of suitors all fighting to impress him. I now understood why my father was attracted to him. He was beautiful. Not handsome and strong like Stefan, but beautiful like a delicate rose, fragile, and vulnerable to my Father's charm.

It seemed that the servant boy noticed me studying him. He smiled sweetly, yet also seductively at me. My face burnt, he knew I found him beautiful. Like Father, Like daughter I guess. I whispered under my breath. My Father also noticed me staring at the servant boy,

"Oh! I do apologise Misha, I haven't introduced you to my new personal servant. His name is Jean."

He then smiled at Jean, motioned for him to come to the table and continued

"Jean, this is my daughter, Princess Misha."

Jean smiled and extended his hand, in an accent that was familiar, but I was unable to place it, he answered,

"Nice to meet you, your highness. You're more beautiful than I'd ever imagined and a beast tamer in training as well. You're not like any Princess, I've met before." He swooned.

My face burnt, I couldn't replace the words to say. Luckily the doors to the dining room opened and in walked Stefan. I smiled to myself as I realised that he had taken my advice from earlier this morning and had worn his hair loose.It flowed behind him as he walked. It teased his face as he took his place at the table. He radiated confidence and seduction, like an exotic traveller from a distant land. He was wearing my Father's favourite perfume. I glanced over to my father and saw his eyes devouring Stefans new look. He smiled, he liked what he saw in front of him. I took the chance to glance over to Jean, and noticed that he was staring directly at my Father. He had a slight look of disappointment on his face which then turned to anger and determination. He was not letting my father go without a fight. He again noticed me staring at him, he looked me directly in the eye. I saw, determination reflect back. He smiled at me, and returned to his work.

I certainly didn't trust him now, everything Stefan had said rang true. I needed to stop my father from falling further under Jean's spell. I also needed to stop myself from doing the same.

I spent the rest of the morning in the garden, continuing to practice using a sword. We only started learning the basics of sword use in the last part of the year. They were moving on from swords to guns, as they were more efficent, successful and powerful than a sword.We would be learning to use Guns at the beginning of the new school year.

As I was returning to my bed chambers I ran into a very happy and excited Stefan. He wrapped his arms around me.

"You were right my daughter. King Luca has requested my company in his bed chamber tonight. I haven't been invited since Jean started at the castle. He started five months ago. I miss your Father and I miss his touch, I just want to be beside him again. I want him to love me again, daughter. Thats all I want." He said.

"I'm happy for you Stefan. I wish you luck tonight. I don't think Dad ever stopped loving you. You're always in his heart. Don't forget I love you too, Stefan." I replied. We hugged again and separated

I sat on the edge of my bed and fiddled with my hands. The sea breeze swirled around me bringing the smells of the ocean with It. I was not only nervous about my birthday, but in a little over four weeks, I'll finally meet the Conri's. My paternal family that not even my father knew that I had made contact with. I started having doubts, what if I was digging up a past that was better off buried and forgotten. What if my wolf family hated me and never wanted to see me again? Then I'll be forever yearning to know of my past and forever curious about my birth father and what he was really like before he turned into a sadistic murderer and what drove him to do those awful things to Micah. Was it jealousy, hatred, lust or fear? I wanted to know.

I paced around my chamber, restless and anxious. There were too many things running around my head. It became too much so I left the castle and walked up to the cliff that hid the cave filled with the memories of Micah. I sat in the middle of the mouth leading into the cave and watched the waves and birds in the distance. I listened to their eerie calls and the crash of the waves against the shore, I relaxed, finally.

I checked myself over once again in the mirror. I was relieved that I didn't have to dress up extravagantly, like I would for a ball. This birthday was already better than the others. As I walked towards my destination the niggling thought in the back of my head, decided to take centre in my mind. The meeting with the Conri's was a little over three weeks away. I started fiddling with my hands as I rushed towards the informal dining hall. I was already running late.

I was the last to arrive and quickly greeted my Father, Stefan, David, Lord Elbi, and when I moved on to greet my Mother, she stood from her chair. It was then I noticed that she was pregnant. She smiled and whispered,

"Surprise! You will have a new brother or sister in a couple of months."

I was shocked,

"Why didn't you tell me?" I questioned her, disappointed.

She sighed,

"I knew you would be coming home, so I wanted to surprise you and I swore everyone else to secrecy until your birthday dinner."

"Well, you're glowing and look the perfect picture of health. Congratulations, I can't wait to meet my sibling." I said.

Mum smiled as she sat back down and I took my place at the table. The night was a blur, I was still getting used to the idea of having another brother or sister in my life and was side tracked by the anxiety I felt whenever I thought of meeting the Conri's.