Princess, It's Me

Breakfast

My eyes shot open.

I haven't had that dream in years and it was never that vivid. Usually it was blurry and it would end when the little girl went into the basement then everything would be black and only voices were heard. This dream was clear as if I was living it. As if was a memory of mine.

From the little I remember of the fire that took my parents, I did get trapped in the house, but I cannot recall anymore than that. I blacked out and woke up in a strange room. The second I opened my eyes, the nurse in the room screamed for the doctor. The doctor did some examinations and then let me go.

My parents and I lived in the outskirts of the kingdom. My father was a respected knight and my mother was a seamstress. They were ordinary people from what I remember. My father would travel for a long time when he was called to fight and my mother and I stayed at home. We rarely visited the castle grounds. Occasionally, my mother needed supplies or a dress was ready to be brought to its owner and we would travel to the castle. We would be there for a couple hours then head home.

When the doctor let me go I realized that I was just outside the castle grounds. I remember looking up at the wall that surrounded the castle and feeling so small. I walked to my house only to find a pile of ash and wood where it used to stand. I don't remember crying. I don't remember much at all really.

I sit up and look around. Stephan is no where to be seen. I climb out of bed and look around the room. The paintings were the first thing that caught my attention. There were different sized canvases of various different lands. One was grass and flowers surrounded by tall, dark trees, another was of mountains and a lake, and the last one was mostly of water, however, it seemed like it wasn't finished. I traveled to the wall of books and examined the variety of colored spines. Some taller than the others. One book caught my attention more than the others. The once purple spine was mostly tan with the title illegible.

I pulled that book from the wall as Stephan walked in.

"Good morning." He said with a bright smile on his face. He had changed clothing. He had a tray of food in his hands. It had some bread on a small plate and a wooden cup beside it. As soon as he saw what was in my hands his smile faded. He stared at the object in my hands with a serious face and that's when I saw it. His eyes glowed gold and changed between hazelnut and a deep red. His eye color danced until the red and gold vanished and only the hazelnut stayed. He finally looked up and saw me starring. The smile returned even bigger than before.

"Your eyes. What is wrong with them?" I asked. Staring at them waiting for them to change again.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"They changed colors." I responded.

"That's crazy." He answered tilting his head to the side. Seriously? Nice choice of words.

"I'm not." I said angrily, "They changed colors." 

Disbelief was clear across his face so I continued, "They went from the hazelnut to gold then red and then gold then hazelnut. It was as if your eyes glowed gold then changed color."

"Oh. That..." He said as he walked passed me to sit on the couch and set the tray down on the table in front of him. "Come. Sit and eat breakfast." When he saw that I would not move he said, "I'll explain while you eat. Now come on. Please."

I hesitantly did as he said. I sat in the unoccupied couch and set the book down next to me. Stephan picked up the tray and moved it closer to me. He motioned me to eat. When I took a bite of the bread he began to explain:

"Listen, I'm new at this. I never had to explain myself to someone so bear with me. As I told you before, I am a wolf and human. I can turn into a wolf. My wolf's name is Xavier. Xavier and I share the same body and mind. When my eyes are brown or hazelnut, as you call them, I am Stephan. Stephan is in full control of his actions and words. When my eyes glow that means I am communicating with Xavier. Stephan is still in control. When my eyes turn red Xavier is in full control of his words and... actions. Now... ummm as a werewolf, which is the most common term to describe me, I have a destined mate. My mate is someone who I will spend the rest of my life with. It's someone who I share a connection with that I can't share with anybody else."

"Ok, but how do you know who your mate is?" I asked as I paused from eating.

"Well, there are multiple signs and it is basically obvious. First, I can smell my mate from miles away. It's a specific scent and you just know. Second, when I touch my mate I can feel this tingling sensation where my skin touches that of my mate. Lastly, Xavier, the wolf, knows instantly." He explained.

I took a sip from the wooded cup to find that the cup was full of warm milk. "How many mates can a wolf have?" I asked after my sip from the cup.

"Just the one. Well, technically that's not entirely true. So if both mates reject each other, then the bond is broken and you stop getting that tingling feeling when you touch them and that scent they once had is gone. However, this is extremely difficult to do. As a wolf, you share a special connection to your mate. So if your mate rejects you, then it breaks you and it could possibly kill you. Same goes if you lose your mate. And this is when your 'unofficial' mates" he responded.

I set my cup down before asking, "What the difference between an official and an unofficial mate?"

"Well, there is process you need to get through when you find your mate. Usually, the male will bite the female in the neck." Stephan said pointing to the area of his neck where he was describing. "Then it seals the deal. Both of you are official mates and the bond you share becomes unbreakable."

Surprisingly, I was processing all the information he was giving me. I don't believe that he was lying or making any of it up. He answered my questions without hesitation and he did not show any signs of mischief. "And why exactly are you telling me all this?" I asked.

"Because your my mate."