THE FATE OF LOUISE

CHAPTER TWO

Prince Oliver was visibly sweating in his sleep, with obvious signs of struggle and confirmation that he was having a bad dream.

He kept reliving this ordeal for years now; it was a vivid, unaltered picture of him witnessing the death of both parents at the hands of Robert, his uncle.

Oliver saw his younger self standing by the entrance to the small door his father had created for him to easily access his parent's room when scared.

He was barely eleven years old, and this ordeal had lived rent-free in his dreams, hunting him. The dream came as clear as the incident; he could see his mother by the large king-sized bed on the floor in a pool of her blood, with a masked man standing by her.

He saw his father's huge frame bent, motioning and pleading to young Robert, his uncle, to spare their lives.

Robert paid no heed; he said a few things to his brother before he lodged his dagger directly in the Jugular.

Oliver could no longer put words to the dialogues because he could no longer account for the number of times he had dreamed this dream.

He had always been a very smart kid. He bottled up his whimpering, made sure no one saw him, and then used the door back to his room.

"Oli, Oli," Max called out as he moved towards the heavy silk curtains and lifted them to let light into the prince's room. When the light reflected in the room, he could see Oliver sweating profusely, with his wolf halfway out.

Twisting and turning as though possessed by a spirit, his thick, sharp claws once again sank a big hole in his bed.

He tapped Oliver, who jilted up with a clear expression of gratefulness on his face.

Sleeping tormented the prince greatly; he had not experienced a night of peace from his nightmares since the unfortunate incident.

He was scared to sleep sometimes; other times he either visited the whorehouse or drank a lot of wine to force himself to sleep.

Max and Oliver had been close friends for years, since the moon goddess chose Max to be a part of the Royal guards. It was like they were fated friends; Max had taken Oliver like the brother he lost, and Oliver took him like the family he could never feel.

"One of your nightmares again? Are we not going to do anything about it? We can visit the moon goddess and seek peace from the spirits. I think it has gotten worse over the years, and if I am not exaggerating, this is the twelfth bed that has been destroyed because of your dreams. Your uncle is asking questions already."

Max said as he helped the prince up and helped him with his robe.

"I don't need the moon goddess; I don't need anyone; I know exactly what I must do; there's no spirit that can help me do that; it's something I must do myself. As for my uncle, if he asks, just mention I had one of my usual episodes." Prince Oliver said.

He followed with, "What do you want at this time of the day? Where have you been?" and his wolf growled at Max.

The prince was rumored to be deranged, and he pretended to have episodes of manic attacks. It worked well for his plans; no one put eyes on him because they believed he was useless, while he made plans to avenge his parents.

"The king has summoned you urgently; I have been asked to prepare and escort you to the outdoor garden, and as to where I have been, I had some issues that needed handling, " Max said calmly.

Max was not himself, and Oliver knew him too well to know he didn't want to talk about it, at least not right now.

"Why? What does he want from me this time? I have been out of his hair and on my own; why can't he just let me be?" said Prince Oliver.

"Oli", Max called him as he fondly did, and added, "I do not know, it's something about the royal council and their shenanigans; he will tell you more. You just get ready and save my skin, young man."

Prince Oliver stood up; he was a taller man than Max, with broad shoulders and ripped abs. He was a fine man and would have been an attraction to all the ladies in Humsbane if he hadn't let the rumors fly.

He got to preparing so that they could head out.

*************

Louise pushed hard at the entrance to a cave she found while running with one hand, but it didn't budge. She then used both hands and her wolf partially out and was able to. She was still in tears; her wolf senses were already perceiving members of her wolf pack close to her, which is why she needed to hide from them.

'My life is a mess; I am sure it would be better if my mom were still around,' she thought to herself as she sobbed more in the dark cave.

'Max promised to never leave me; he was the only safe space I had aside from my father occasionally. What do I do now? Where do I go?' she thought about all these things as she tried to bring her sobbing down.

Suddenly, at the entrance of the cave, she noticed a shadow. She was frightened and quickly reached for her bag.

As the figure moved closer to her, she heard Joseph's husky voice,

"There you are; we have searched everywhere for you. You may not be very strong, but you sure know your way around this forest," he said, trying to lighten her mood.

She rushed to him and hugged him while letting out all the tears and pain she had been holding back.

"You conspired with them, Father. You knew the child was Max's, and you left me in the dark. How could you do that to me? How could you do that to your daughter?" She screamed.

"I am sorry, my dear, I was protecting you. There is no difference. If I told you then and now, it would be the same pain. I agree I should have told you earlier, but I was only trying to break the news when it would be much easier for you to bear." Joseph said as he stroked her hair.

He held her as they both sat down on a log. "I have something to tell you, although it might not be the ideal time to say it, I have to say it anyway: as a favor from King Robert, I promised one of my daughters to be the chosen mate of the prince."

She relieved herself from his hug and positioned herself in a way to look directly into his eyes.

"Initially you had found your mate, so Josephine was the only option, but right now we have just you; Josephine is with a child unfortunately," he said as he braced up for a reaction.

"The rumored mad prince? Prince Oliver, who is said to be useless? Father, have they taught you to hate me?" She said this as she stood up.

"Yes, the rumored mad prince, thank the moon spirits you said rumored; what if it's just a rumor? No one knows; King Robert is eager, so the prince might not be all that bad.

It is for your good as much as it raises the status of our house. Even if he were mad, what has that got to do with you? You can be his Luna queen and live free, as you have always wanted, while he goes about his duties. Think about it, my dear; I'll be there with you every step of the way. This might be all you need to get over all that has happened. It is what your mother would have wanted," Joseph explained, emphatically.

'Is this my destiny?' Louise thought to herself.

It was not a bad idea because she had nowhere to go, and she made a vow to herself that she was never going to stay at their house anymore. There was just one problem for her: Max was a royal guard at the same palace.

On getting home, Joseph decided to tell Agnes. Louise walked straight to her room, visibly dazed by everything going on.

"So, the favor I asked of the King has been granted and, since Josephine is no longer available, I have decided to send Louise to marry the prince in her place."

Agnes could not hide the shock, "Tell me it's not true? All this while we waited, why now? after we have made other plans."

"Woman, calm down. You made other plans, not me," Joseph replied nonchalantly. He was fed up with the issue.

"Repeat what you just said to me, the plans I made? Were they made for my benefit alone?" She responded defensively.

"Explain to me how the marriage of one of my daughters to a royal guard is of advantage to this family?" Joseph said aggressively.

She was about to respond when they heard a loud thud on the floor, from the room area. They were both shocked and caught each other's gaze, as Joseph stood up and hurriedly went toward the sound.