Darius was out and about, inspecting the Grand Hall. He deemed it the right choice for the gathering to be held here. Still, it had been a whim to let people into the castle , and a selfish one at that. He simply wanted it to feel a bit more alive.
He was regretful that he hadn’t seen Serena that morning, despite promising to be with her in a few hours. But with preparations tugging at him from all corners, he’d barely had a moment to catch his breath.
The gathering was to be done in the evening, but the preparation had started the day before. The empty hall was filled with multiple pews. The estimate given to him by Elder Iris was that about two hundred and fifty wolves would be in attendance. It was a sizable amount of the population.
Darius stood to the side, his arms folded tightly across his chest as he watched the chaos unfold. Orders were barked, fabrics were flung, and more than one vase teetered on the edge of disaster thanks to careless hands. The only Elder who would not be in attendance was Elder Silas. He would remain in Ficus, overseeing matters there.
"Darius, my boy," came a frail old voice.
Darius had a smile on his face before he turned around, he knew who the voice belonged to. It was Elder Evelyn.
He leaned in so she could reach his cheeks, accepting the two warm, ceremonial kisses she pressed to either side of his face. It was their little tradition. He straightened his posture and studied the old woman’s face. He could never imagine what she was thinking.
"It is nice to see this Hall being used once more," Nana said.
Darius nodded and looked around briefly. There was so much hustle and bustle. The last time the hallway was this alive was during his mantle ceremony, where he was blessed by the Moonseeker to be the next Alpha to lead Ironshade.
To be frank, the ceremony was not as lively and joyful as this. That ceremony had an air of death, like it was a funeral as opposed to something wolves looked forward to.
He looked back at the old woman, who had served in his father’s council and now served in his- his honorary grandmother.
"It is. It feels better," Darius said softly.
The old woman chuckled, the corners of her lips revealing a gummy smile. "It is. I am glad Serena found herself into your life. Where is she anyway?"
Darius leaned closer to his Nana. "I do believe she is upstairs getting dressed and preparing with Livia’s help."
Evelyn’s eyes widened slightly at the sound of Livia’s name. She raised a wrinkled brow at Darius. "Livia?"
Darius nodded. "Yes, Livia."
"That is strange. Was it your decision for her to help?"
"No, it was not," Darius replied.
The old woman’s brow scrunched up in confusion. "It could not be her that wanted to work with Serena, could it?"
"It was," he said simply.
"How strange," Nana said.
Darius understood her confusion to a degree. He knew of his cousin’s disdain and hatred towards rogues. It had taken him years, and mostly due to Serena’s presence, to separate those malicious rogues who loved to disrupt his pack’s peace from the ones like Serena who were just unfortunate. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Nove1Fire.net
"She could not even stomach the thought of the initial trial that was meant to decide Serena’s fate, and now she is helping her out?" The old woman laughed and dug around in her pockets. She slipped a piece of hard candy into Darius’ hand.
"It is the issue of the Dawnbreak delegate," Darius offered.
Evelyn shook her head. She knew these children she had watched grow up better than anyone else. Livia, proud and stubborn, would have pawned the duty off in a heartbeat. The downfall of Serena would be a joy for Livia to behold. Yet, she was putting effort into helping Serena.
The woman gave Darius a slow, knowing smile, her eyes softening as she studied him. In some ways, Serena would bring healing to Ironshade’s deepest cracks, the ones even its own wolves had grown used to stepping over. The look in Darius’ eyes was one she thought she would never see in her whole lifetime.
"Perhaps," the old woman said simply.
Evelyn sighed inaudibly as she looked at Darius’ turned back. Maybe every evil thing Magnus had done would finally be undone. Her eyes landed on the few wolves who seemed to stare daggers at Darius, the ones that never listened to his orders.
The woman pressed her lips in a thin line. Her boy, who had to assume responsibility younger than most. He was not even allowed time to grieve and was nearly spat on.
"The curse will be so broken," the old woman murmured under her breath, low enough for the Moon to keep.
Serena heaved as she gripped the bedposts to steady herself. Livia and the woman whom she brought stood at her sides, inspecting her backside like she was an animal on display.
For the past half an hour, they had been struggling to get her into the dress that had fit her perfectly yesterday.
"For the love of Lunara, why had you tampered with my work?" Livia raised her voice as she addressed her assistant. " "If you didn’t understand my instructions, you could have asked."
Serena heard a sigh from Livia, and then the sound of ripping fabric followed. Till this day, Serena could not explain what magic Livia had done to make the dress fit properly.
Serena exhaled in relief as she was at last allowed to stand straight. Her back ached faintly, but she was free now. They had applied light makeup to her face before they had tried on the dress. They left her to style her hair whichever way she liked.
Serena heard a gasp from Livia when she was done and stood up straight. Then Livia looked at the dress like she had found something to criticize.
"You look beautiful, Your Excellency," one of the assistants said, her voice shy but sincere.