"What?" Lysandra's eyes widened. Getting their ass whooped? Putting down her cup the cheering continued. "Wait, you have a brother?" She questioned, not really bothered by her language whatsoever. Daisy was quite well versed in cursing as well. As long as they were in private, Lysandra had no objections. It always gave Ambra a kick to teach cuss words to Daisy, who said them so unapologetically.
"Ah—erm—Yes, my brother is the Duke's right hand man. I believe you met him when you first arrived, Milady. He is about two heads taller and has equally long hair as me." Tara had a slight grin on her face. "But Milady, I must admit that it is quite fun to watch the soldiers and the Duke train. Would you like to have a look too? They won't notice! Usually they are too absorbed in their training."
The way Tara described her brother reminded Lysandra of the man who took her to see the Duke. Then again she had only briefly met the man and hadn't really taken the time to properly look at him. She wasn't too surprised to hear the men were training. The North was the army that would be sent out to protect the Empire for a reason. So training made sense. "Uhm– well," Lysandra heard another cheer. "Alright then." She sounded hesitant as she stood up. Tara helped her put her fur coat back on. They headed out towards the direction of the cheers. Tara led Lysandra towards the training grounds. The grounds were below them at the bottom of a set of stairs. Stopping at the top, they could see the training grounds clearly. Lysandra could somewhat recognise people's faces.
About a hundred soldiers had gathered around two men who were standing in the midst of the crowd. On one side of the circle stood a man who matched Tara's description of her brother. A tall man with long dark hair and a tanned complexion just like Tara. On the other side stood a familiar menacing man. The Duke's aura radiated. He had a cold demeanor. He was taller than Tara's brother. Akin to a tree, he stood out amongst the gathering of people.
Even from a distance it was clear that the Duke had a frown on his face. Lysandra squinted her eyes for a moment. She had been so focused on the faces that she didn't realize— They— they none of the men were wearing a shirt?! Lysandra could feel a rush of heat creeping to her cheeks, but she couldn't look away. Not wearing a shirt was unacceptable in the capital. Yet here the people didn't seem to bat an eye. Tara was remarkably unresponsive as well. The maid was balling her hands as if wanting to cheer.
Lysandra reverted her gaze to the two men in the circle. They were already at each other's throat, literally? The right hand man was pushing back too. Was this what they called wrestling? It looked violent at best. Tara's brother jumped back, narrowly evading the Duke's fist. Another quick movement and the Duke was lifting the man by the throat. Lysandra stiffened at the gruesome display of violence. "Apologize! Or I'll have your head on a pike!" The Duke's low voice roared in anger.
The rush of heat instantly left Lysandra's body. She saw the Duke grabbing Tara's brother by his throat. Was he going to kill him?! Didn't Tara say her brother was his right hand? Was this how the Duke treated his people? Afraid for the brother's life, Lysandra turned to Tara "Help? Shouldn't we go and help him? He is— " Lysandra turned her head back to the crowd only to see the right hand man fly through the air. The brother landed into a bunch of the soldiers, who all fell to the ground from the force. She feared for her own life. Just how strong and cruel was the Duke? The Duke had tossed a man several meters far into a crowd of soldiers with just one hand?! He truly was a demon.
The soldiers burst out laughing. Tara did so too at almost the same time. Looking back at the circle it seemed that everyone was having the same reaction. Everyone but Lysandra. Why would they laugh?! Someone was just grabbed by the throat and thrown into a crowd? He could have died. Her gaze wandered back to the Duke. It seemed almost as if steam was forming over him. It was then that she noticed the Duke's appearance. His back was littered with scars, some more pronounced than others. All of them seemed healed as the scars were white. The Duke stood straight again and seemingly relaxed. Looking further Lysandra could clearly see that the Duke was in good physical shape. His back was sculpted but the moment he turned, abs, abs so fine and well defined. This hadn't been in any of the books in the attic. Warmth crept to Lysandra's cheeks once more.
Literally staring at the Duke's defined abs until out of nowhere Tara's brother came back into the view slapping the Duke on his back. The right hand man pointed straight at Lysandra and started to wave excitedly. She stepped back with her cheeks still heated, noticing the Duke turn his head in her direction. Spotting her, the Duke instantly turned away. She felt sick to her stomach realising the man was most definitely avoiding her. The Duke barely said a thing at their dinner, making it even worse by showing up late and leaving early. How was Lysandra supposed to marry a man that was not only a cold blooded murderer but that also wouldn't even look at her. He clearly despised her. He was no different from the men in the capital.
Tara was about to take a step down the stairs when Lysandra turned her heels and walked away. She held her head high as she walked off. "M– Milady." The maid was quick to follow and fell into her step. "We could go have a look at the wolf house." Tara made no mention of her brother or the Duke. Lysandra stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder "The wolf house?" She wondered what a place named like that even was.
Tara nodded excitedly. "Yes, Milady! You may not have seen them yet but to protect the duchy, we have wolves. They are their own breed and live here at the estate, in the wolf house. They help hunters and soldiers alike! There are some handlers. So if you don't feel like taking guards along on a stroll it is very much acceptable to take some wolves with you, Milady."
With small and gentle steps Tara urged Lysandra to follow. "We can go have a look there and then return to the main house for lunch." She suggested. "It's only a five to ten minute walk." The maid led the way as Lysandra followed, if only to get her mind off of the Duke's display of violence.
The walk was brisk and the wolf house was located just outside the gates of the estate. It was a large house with an equally large barn attached to it. Three people were visible as Lysandra and Tara approached. There were some wolves walking about the yard. There was a variation of sizes in the wolves. Some were normal sides, others were smaller. But there were also some wolves that were too large to be considered normal by any standard. Tara approached the wolves with ease and all seemed to gravitate towards her.
"Here, Milady! These are the wolves. They're very kind!" Tara petted one of the larger wolves. They truly were different from anything seen in the rest of the empire. Not that the capital had any wolves roaming about.
"Want to try and pet them?"
Unable to believe the sight in front of her, at first Lysandra had assumed that they were just dogs but the closer they got the more she realized Tara wasn't joking.
"P–Ppet-t them?! The-re there wo-wolves there–" Lysandra stumbled over her words. Wolves and humans didn't live together. Wolves were wild animals that lived out in the mountains, killing anything or anyone that crossed their path. Lysandra shook as she remembered the night when she was in the forest with Daisy with the canines and the wolf. Taking a step back she spotted a big white wolf that walked out towards them, blinking twice she recognised it. That was—
The wolf that saved her and Daisy back in the forest, how was that even– taking another step back she bumped into someone's chest. She turned, seeing Tara's brother behind her.
"Ah! Hello, Milady." The man's voice was kind. "I believe we only met in a rush." It was an honest answer. They had only met moments before she had yelled at the Duke. "My name is Malik and it's good to see that you're fearless enough to visit the wolf house." He sounded honest enough. Lysandra noticed the man had put on a shirt. "How are you finding the estate, Milady? Stuffy enough?"
"S-stuf stuffy? I- wouldn't say that. It's uhm– Unique." Lysandra said with a small smile. In response the man threw his head back and laughed. "You don't have to say it, Milady—I'll just say it for you, it's stuffy and old fashioned. I don't think it has changed since the late Duchess." There was a small grin playing on the man's lips. Not expecting such honesty from the man, she couldn't help but chuckle softly. She forgot about the wolves as her nerves eased. "I mean old fashion is a-" Suddenly something wet touched her hand.
Quickly pulling back her hand Lysandra's eyes widened as the big white wolf she had spotted earlier bumped its nose into her hand. Unsure of how to respond, she looked down at the wolf noticing its tail wagging just like that of a dog. It walked up to her once more and bumped into her hip. The wolf was tall, reaching her waist while standing on all fours. Malik didn't seem phased by the animal. "It's alright to pet them, Milady." He reassured her. "They are quite harmless when near the house. They've been living together with the people of the North for generations. Their fur is quite soft because they are kept so well." The man pointed behind him.
Lysandra averted her gaze and spotted Tara with another man on the porch of the building. That was one of the guards that had joined her and Daisy on the journey through the forest. His name escaped her. They were both sitting on a bench, carefully brushing the wolf in front of them, armed with a brush each. "Give it a try, Milady." Malik said. Pulling Lysandra's attention back to the white wolf in front of her.
She hesitated for a moment, afraid the wolf would bite off her hand. Lysandra looked between Malik and the wolf a few times. Realizing that if the wolf had wanted to eat her, it would have done so by now. Slowly she put her hand on top of the wolf's head. Blue eyes stared back at Lysandra. There wasn't any sign of aggression visible in them. She ran her fingers through the wolf's fur. It was soft, just like Malik had described. It was like a warm fluffy blanket that gently tickled the tips of her fingers. The wolf wagged its tail more and then barked excitedly. Lysandra took it as a sign to continue to pet it like it was a dog. The wolf walked a circle in front of her and sat down again resting its head against her hip. "Cute." She whispered softly looking at the wolf. "Do– Do they all have names?" she questioned looking at Malik realizing she had completely forgotten to introduce herself. It felt stupid to do it now especially since the man clearly knew who she was.
The man nodded at her question. "Yes, they should all have names. Though I will readily admit there are too many to keep up with for me." He looked over at Tara and the young man. "Hey Hannic!" He called and instantly the blond haired man looked back to Malik. "What's this one's name?"
"Mira!" Hannic called back, prompting the wolf to turn its head to Hannic for a moment.
"Ah, it's Mira, Milady. Hannic is training to take over the care of the wolves from his parents. He's almost done with his training." Of course there had to be a handler.
"I already passed Malik!" Hannic yelled back before turning back to his task of brushing out another wolf's fur. The Duke's right hand man shrugged. "He's been taking care of the wolves since he was a kid. There was no way he wouldn't have passed." He then looked back at Lysandra and raised an eyebrow. "So touring the estate? Must be exhausting. Did you have lunch yet? We could order you some and have you rest up a bit. If anyone bothers you in the estate I'm sure that if you call Mira she'd come running to you." He leaned over and petted the wolf too.
Lysandra smiled gently. She felt at ease, which had been hard since she had gotten to the North. The idea of being able to call Mira was reassuring. Not that she would know how the wolf would hear her back at the estate though. Lysandra happily accepted Malik's offer for lunch. The lunch ended up to be quite the feast. They sat down in the wolfhouse. Hannic's parents eagerly invited them in and shared their lunch. During their meal, Lysandra was just listening to the stories about the wolves and the training that Hannic had passed. It was hard to miss that he and Tara got along well.
Malik ended up guiding Lysandra back to the estate once their meal was done. Something Malik had said during lunch was on the forefront of her mind. Even as she returned to her room. He hinted that the library had quite a few books on wolves. But it wasn't that what intrigued her. It was the part where he mentioned the estate had a library. After having dinner alone, it was the disgusting duck dinner again, Lysandra gave in to her curiosity. It was a little after ten o'clock at night when she had gathered all her courage. She had dressed and was ready to go find the library. The guard stationed at her door had left about twenty minutes ago. This was her chance. Lysandra stepped out.
Navigating the estate was something she could only do based on the stuffy decoration. The servants and the guards were absent during the night. She wandered around for what felt like hours. Why did all the halls look the same? Yet it had only been thirty minutes as she spotted a big old clock in one of the halls. Lysandra sighed, wondering where the hell this library was. One more hallway, she would try one more. She walked down her final hallway of choice and spotted an elaborate door at the end of it. "That might be it!" She whispered to herself and rushed over. Her fingers rested against the door, feeling the elaborate carvings. Lysandra slowly pushed the door open. With a loud creak the door opened. She was met with a room she could only describe as paradise.
The room was double in height, spanning two floors. The walls were lined with bookcases on almost every available stretch of wall. Rows upon rows of books! Lysandra took a few steps inside. The smell of old books filled her nostrils. Just how many would be here? Hundreds? Thousands perhaps? Feeling a little more confident she took another step and then another. Dust, dust she could also smell. Yet the candles were lit. They softly illuminated the space. "Who—?" It was a question best left unspoken. Taking a look at some of the bookshelves it soon became clear just by all the leather bindings that the books were old and rare. "Hmm—plants—-animals—" Lysandra read along as she browsed the supposed categories. After some time she finally spotted something familiar. "Ah! It's Melcha!" Lysandra could hardly contain her excitement. Did they have her favourite author here? Besides all the dusty older books. It seemed a little out of place. Melcha's books were newer, with a series still being published.
Not questioning why Melcha's books were there, Lysandra pulled a book from the shelf. It was a leather bound edition. She ran her fingers across the embossed title on the cover. "Midnight lake?" She didn't know that title. Was this a new volume or? Quickly checking inside for the publication date, it was older than any of the other books she had of the same author. Could this be?! One of the rumoured earlier works? One from before the author had a contract with a general publisher? Lysandra scanned the room and quickly found a comfortable looking chair. Sitting down she could feel herself almost drowning in the softness of the seat. Opening the lush leather cover she set to reading. Finally she could let her mind wander off to a kinder place.
Completely getting absorbed into the book, page after page Lysandra kept reading. She was over a hundred pages in when her eyes started to become heavy. Nodding off into the chair, finally finding a peaceful slumber.