9
NAOMI
With morning came chaos.
I was sleeping the next morning when out of the
blue, a rude knock snatched me back to the present.
I sat up, shielding my eyes from the fierce rays of sunlight that peeked through the blinds in Agnes's bedroom.
The door opened, and Agnes made her way into the room quite noisily and way too quickly, which was unlike her.
As soon as I saw her reddened face, I knew instantly that something was wrong.
"Agnes? Good morning. Is something wrong?"
She paced the room, taking huge steps that made me leave my bed and approach her cautiously. I barely knew her, but she was the only one in the palace who had talked to me normally, without treating me like an outcast or a leper.
"The Alpha's ring is missing, Naomi. It's a very special ring. One of the rarest in the country, a rare and expensive piece."
I nodded, somewhat confused. Yes, the Alpha's ring was missing. What did that have to do with Agnes?
"It went missing from his chambers this morning." Agnes continued, scratching the back of her neck repeatedly to the extent that I feared she would give herself a terrible rash. "He found out this morning, and is ready to let all hell loose until he finds it."
When I spoke, it was with the naive mind of a woman who had absolutely no idea of what was going on.
"Yes, his ring is missing. What does that have to do with you?"
She glared at me as if I had gone nuts.
"I'm the head of affairs in this palace, Naomi. When things like these happen, I can lose my job. My family, everything I love. Alpha Lockwood will stop at nothing until he has wrecked the living hell out of me."
I swallowed hard, knowing that if anything happened to Agnes, I was going to be losing a friend. And at that moment, I knew I didn't have anybody to call my friend.
I couldn't lose her.
I was searching for the right words to console her when the door opened and the captain of the army whom I still recognized from his unsmiling face barged in.
"The Alpha wants to see the both of you. Immediately!"
I was still in Agnes's nightgown. Was it appropriate to leave the room with just a nightgown? When I attempted to go towards Agnes's bag of clothes, his huge baritone snapped me back to my senses.
"Young lady, when the Alpha commands, you respond with immediate effect! Now move!"
Trembling in fear, I fell in place next to a worried Agnes, and there and then, I wished there was something I could do to relieve her of her burden.
*
Alpha Lockwood was in his chambers when we entered, and so was his wife, Queen Cecilia.
It was the first time I had seen her in his chambers even though she was his wife.
Alpha Lockwood glared at me for a fleeting moment, and his green, powerful eyes seemed to see right through me. My legs seemed to go numb when I tried to move, as if his eyes had me rooted to the spot.
"Agnes, have you found my ring?"
Agnes shook her head, and I could see the fear in her reply, in her every move. Alpha Lockwood was a man who made you question yourself even if you were sure of what you were saying.
"No, your grace. I've checked…"
"Oh, you have no idea of what is coming to you! You are the head of affairs in this palace. Nothing, I repeat, nothing is supposed to happen without you knowing about it. I will feed your body to my hounds if my ring isn't found in the next hour!"
I stared at Alpha Lockwood, spittle flying from his mouth, his eyes popping with rage, and without being told, I knew that the man standing before me didn't make empty threats.
"Wait."
Queen Cecilia's voice was the calm during the storm. When she spoke, she looked at me directly, her eyes never leaving mine.
"Didn't you say you slept with your ring last night, your grace?"
"Of course I did." Alpha Lockwood replied, his fists clenched. He looked extremely offended that she had asked him such a question.
"That means it went missing during the night or early this morning. Only one person spent the entire night with you, your grace. And she's standing right in front of you."
I swallowed hard, unable to believe my ears. I glanced at Queen Cecilia, and the stare she gave me in return reminded me of the threat she made about my beauty and my face. Was this what she had been insinuating?
Alpha Lockwood turned to me, and for the first time, it looked as if he was seeing me in a different light.
"Naomi! Naomi?"
"Ye..yes..yes your grace." I stuttered, struggling to reply coherently.
"I will only ask you this once. Did you take my ring when you spent the night with me?"
I shook my head, defiant, knowing that I was innocent.
"Are you saying you're innocent? That if you're searched, the ring will not be found in your possession?"
I nodded, confused because I didn't even have belongings I called my own to start with.
"Boaz, come with me, we're going to search Agnes's room."
*
The search barely lasted two minutes.
Boaz, as if knowing where the ring was, went to the gown I had worn yesterday to see the Alpha, checked the pockets, and retrieved a ring which I had never seen before in my life.
At that moment, the rays of the sun caught the ring, and it gleamed in all its glory.
"It is your ring, your Grace."
Alpha Lockwood turned to me, his brows bent in fury, the smell of his rage filling the room. And in that instant, I saw not only rage, but disappointment, as if he hadn't expected I would be the one to steal his ring.
"Everyone, to the throne room! You are going to be judged like the thief you are!"