The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0600This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

"Oh." Susie's eyes widened. "I suppose you wouldn't have known." She hung her head a little. "Tensions with the Bear People have more or less exploded. Mark says more and more soldiers are being sent to the northern border. War seems imminent."

I didn't want to believe that. "Surely there's something to be done to keep the peace?"

*The Bear People have made demands but those demands are impossible to fulfill."

"What are they?" I asked.

Before us, out on the lawn, Elva sat on the grass with the two wolves, Night and Silver, in sitting in front of her. They were all looking so intently at each other, it was like they were having a conversation. I wondered what they were saying.

Focusing on that was less heartbreaking than thinking of the reality of war.

*They want their princess back," Susie said. She made it sound like I should know what she's talking about.

My brow drew together. "We have their princess?"

Susie tilted her head. "You don't know the story of the lost bear princess?"

I shook my head.

Susie hummed thoughtfully. She tapped her chin with a finger. "Oh. It was something like twenty years ago, I suppose. One of their princesses was stolen away as an infant and believed to be brought across the border into werewolf territory."

I couldn't believe my ears. A stolen princess? "Why haven't I heard of this?"

"I'm not sure," Susie said. "Though I imagine the royals wanted to keep a lid on the whole thing. I don't remember ever seeing anything about it on television. It was only ever discussed in gossip groups. I remember my mom talking about it sometimes."

I supposed news like this would be hot topics among royalty, but not bothered with by commoners. A missing foreign princess did not affect the day to day life of anyone I knew about back in my regular life. And if it made the werewolf royalty look bad, I could understand why they would try to hide it.

*Our King and Queen back then denied any wrongdoing." Susie continued. "They said that the princess had been kidnapped by rebels among the bears own people. They couldn't deny that the princess had been brought into the werewolf kingdom, but they do deny involvement."

*If the Bear People never believed them, why wait twenty years to start a war?" I asked.

"I don't know," Susie admitted. "There might be more going on behind the scenes in their own nation. But whatever the reason for it, the bears want their princess back. They said that if she isn't returned, they would come into our country and retrieve her themselves."

The Bear People entering the werewolf kingdom without permission sounded like an invasion, even if their intentions were only to rescue their princess.

"It's common belief among the nobles that the bear rebels likely killed the princess. Even if they hadn't, surely her bear would have manifested by now, given how long it's been," Susie said.

True. The girl would be old enough to understand that she's different. She would have likely spoken up by now, or had someone speak for her. Bears were powerful. There would be no reason to hide it.

Surely, if she was still alive, she would come forward now if not before, to stop the needless violence and death that a war would bring.

My heart weighed heavy, and my thoughts were filled with grief. They'd taught us something about war at the Academy. They wanted us to be ready to fight, physically and mentally. War was brutal. It would take its toll on

an entire generation.

Parents would lose their children. Children, their parents. Families would be broken apart. Babies would learn to fear the world far sooner than they should be ought to.

"There," Susie said, looking at me.

"What?" I asked, returning to the present.

"That look you have... the empathy... not just for royals, or even the soldiers, but for every person that will be affected by the war. That is why you would be a good Queen."

I gave her a sad kind of smile. I never really considered feeling so much for so many to be one of my finer qualities. At least to me, it was a constant source of heartache.

Didn't the Queen need to be of stemmer stuff? Able to make the hard choices no matter who it hurt? So long as it was best for the kingdom?

I didn't want to hope too much, afraid of how my heart my break when it all inevitably came crashing down around me.

Susie stayed quiet beside me, and together we looked back to where Elva was now laying down with the wolves. She was resting her head on Night's back, while Silver was resting her head on Elva's lap.

They looked so peaceful. I wished that I could keep them safe, away from the hardships of war.

"Miss Piper," Mark said, suddenly appearing beside us. Susie smiled at him, but I jumped. I had forgotten how quickly and quietly he could move.

"Yes, Mark?" I asked when I recovered enough.

*Prince Nicholas is waiting for you in his personal office," Mark said. "He has finished his meeting with his parents and wishes to speak with you at once."

"Of course," I said, rising.

"I'll take you there," Mark said.

"Oh. Let me get Elva." I hated to disturb her. She was resting so peacefully with the wolves she'd missed so much.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Susie said. "Between the wolves and me, I think she's well protected."

"Thank you," I told her, and made a mental note to let the usual nanny know we were back in town and that her services would be needed once more.

Susie and I exchanged smiles, and then I followed Mark into the palace. I had a pretty good feeling that I remembered where Nicholas's office was, but I was grateful to have an escort nonetheless. The last thing I needed was to get lost and end up facing someone I wasn't yet ready to see.

Like Lilliana. Or Olivia. Or the King and Queen.

Mark led me on a course that avoided most of the others. I only once saw Jessica, at a distance, but she was reading a book and did not notice me.

When we arrived in front of a closed door, Mark knocked.

"Who is it?" Nicholas asked through the door.

"Your Beta," Mark said. "With Piper."

"Come in," came Nicholas's immediate reply.

Mark opened the door and gestured me inside. He did not enter with me. Instead, he grabbed the handle of the door and closed it behind me.

With the door closed, I turned my attention to Nicholas. He was facing away from me, his arms crossed over his chest. The way he was standing, shoulders taunt, I could tell he was filled with tension.

I stepped closer to him. "Nicholas? What's wrong?"

Slowly he turned to face me, and the abject fury on his face made me gasp. I wasn't afraid of him, I never would be. I trusted him implicitly. But that look still froze me in place.

"Nick?" I asked.

"I might as well tell you straight," Nicholas said. He inhaled through his nose, exhaled through his mouth. "Not only do my parents refuse to remove Bridget from the competition, but they still want her to win."

They... want her to win? After everything she's done?

*They want Bridget to be my Luna."