The following morning, Vorel had awoken early to complete all of her morning tasks. The Prince did not at all seem as though he were planning on waking up anytime soon, so she set about her tasks quietly. After cleaning his room, she took his dishes from last night to the kitchen where she was told that he does not normally eat breakfast. This meant that, unless she was told otherwise by the Prince, she was not required to bring him food until lunch. Upon learning this, she returned to his room, gathered his laundry, and took it down to the washmaids to be cleaned. Naturally, none of this took her very long, so all she could really do was wait for him to wake up.
She sat at the foot of his bed and looked over her shoulder at him. He looked like a little wyrmling when he slept, his fearsome features at peace while he snored softly. She grinned and faced forward again. 'He's so naive and kind-hearted... If he only knew who he let into his bed. It's not his fault that my kin were slain and my entire race is nearly extinct, but I doubt he will be willing to forgive me after I take my revenge by slaying his Father," she thought to herself as she gazed through the palace window at the midmorning sky.
Prince Seian began to stir and opened his eyes slowly to see Vorel at the foot of his bed. The sunlight coming through the window made a gorgeous silhouette of her curves and features when she turned to look at him. He wanted nothing more than to look at her forever, but quickly shook these thoughts away and stood, starting to get dressed. She stood immediately to show the proper respect, facing him with her gaze averted. "I see you've completed all of your duties for this morning. Go make yourself more familiar with the palace so that it'll be less likely for you to get lost. If anyone questions you, just show them this," he told her and handed her a note with his Seal on it that stated, "She is authorized."
'Why is he doing this? I could take this and go just about anywhere in the palace...' Vorel thought to herself, looking confused.
"The only person that has any authority to stop you while you have this my father, but if I find out that you've abused this privilege, I will have you executed on the spot. Understood?" It pained him to say that and he knew perfectly well that he would not be able to bear losing her. He was falling for her, fast and hard, and he could not understand why. He hardly knew anything about her other than how she looked and how she felt from the inside. He wanted to be the only one that got to feel her like that. More so, he wanted to her to share everything with him: her favorite things, her experiences, her feelings, her fantasies. He shuddered at the thought, feeling himself harden and get chills thinking of the possibilities...
"Thank you, your Highness," she bowed deeply, ignoring the strange look on his face when he turned to face her and the bulge forming in his pants. "I understand the consequences fully."
"Then go. Also, if someone asks for your assistance, help them, but do NOT do for them the things you would do for me," he said as he rested his hand on her cheek, gently turning her gaze to his.
"Yes, of course, your Highness," she replied softly. He let his hand drop and watched her bow again and leave. He said a silent prayer the Great Dragon and carried on with his morning, preparing to go see his tutor for his daily lessons: a task he had loathed since he had reached adolescence like most children. He got headaches just thinking about it.
*****
Vorel made her way through the halls of the Palace, wandering aimlessly. She knew very few places in the palace, but knew that, as a warrior and in order to better achieve her goal, she must get her bearings. She decided that the best place to start her search was the Archives. 'After all, they're bound to have a layout of the palace somewhere in there,' she mused.
The only issue she had now was finding the Archives. She had no idea where it was, only that it was a large building on the palace grounds that housed tomes and scrolls from all across the Dragon Empire: a wealth of knowledge unmatched by anything else in the world. She did not think that it could possibly be difficult to find, so she made her way to the throne room and out the palace doors into the courtyard. In the center of this was a beautiful garden, filled with colorful flowers the likes of which she never seen save for one: the rare Wolf Lily. She gazed at it for a time, admiring its red and purple swirls. It looked like something as common as a calla lily, but it was far more than that and held mysterious properties known only to her kind. The garden only had a few of them and they were marked as a humble memorial for the conquered Wolven race. She had to admit that it pleased her to see that her race was memorialized here out of what seemed to be a sign of respect from the old King, but she still struggled with forgiving the Dragons for what they had done.
It was not long before someone noticed her, lost in thought while she admired the Wolf Lilies. One of the soldiers placed his hand on her shoulder and said softly, "I am sorry for our great loss." His voice sounded as though it were filled with sorrow and pain that could only be matched by someone who truly knew how great a loss it was. She turned to face the voice and saw before her a Wolven man, clad in Draconian armor, with dark brown fur and blue eyes filled with pain. Vorel was suddenly filled with nearly every emotion possible: rage, joy, shock, and a deep sadness and shame.
"How could-?!" she began and stopped, growling softly then sighing to compose herself. "What are you doing here?"
"I was told that I could either join their ranks or be killed like a common dog," he replied, lacking the courage to look her in the eye. "You don't seem to have much room to be judging me, though."
"I have bigger plans that dying would not help me accomplish. At any rate, I do not wish to argue with one of my people. I am honestly glad to see you alive." Her eyes began to fill with tears as she said this. "I had begun to think myself alone. Please... Tell me your name."
