Wings of Grace

Chapter 10

As the old nursemaid cat tucked in the four pups she took care of into their beds, they started to coax her. “Please tell us more about Luna, we promise we will stay awake this time.” The cat laughed to herself—they had fallen asleep the last time she started to tell them about their ancestor. The cat sat back in her rocking chair, refreshed their memories and continued on with the tale…

“Luna, a young wolf was unique with her wings and blood that ran pure gold. Because it was valuable, she had been captured by the sneaky lycan-wolf SilverGlade and his co-workers from a place called Lab Tech. She was eventually rescued by a young fox named Antoine, now living in England in a castle that he had earned as a reward from some huntsman.

Antoine had asked Luna to be his mate and stay with him after Silver was put behind bars for his evil plots and deeds. ShadowStar his housemaid along with her family had stayed at Silver’s castle taking care of it.”

“Now.” The cat said to the pups eager to hear more, “I will tell you more of the story…

For the first time in her life that she could remember, Luna felt safe. Because of her unusual gold blood, she had always been hunted down by those who wanted to become wealthy. Now that the greedy one were in jail, she felt a sense of relief. Besides that, now she had a true friend; she had pretty much accepted Antoine as her life long mate. Safe…and happy. She never dreamed her future would work out this great after everything she had been through. Antoine himself was overjoyed at the way everything was looking up for him too. Well, there was still the matter of his parents disowning him and his girlfriend Luna, but he would deal with that situation later. For now, he had a home he could call his own, a future mate, and possibly a family. His enemies were out of the way and he had many friends. At least he too could enjoy his life. He had invited some of his homeless friends to the castle…how else could he repay them for the aid they gave him in restoring the money that had been stolen from them- they were his faithful pirate crew and he appreciated them for the way they helped the poor of the county, themselves included.

He thought about the large room s in his castle, there was the great hall, baquet and music room. He had wished that someday he would use them; perhaps now was that time. He would plan a huge celebration. Yes, he would welcome everyone for miles around… near and far, young and old, rich and poor. There would be music and dancing ( he knew how much Luna loved dancing). Of course there would be a great feast.

Maybe Luna would let him announce their engagement at this time. He knew his family wouldn’t be there under any circumstances, but he wished he knew how to locate her parents, if they still existed. Even she didn’t remember much about them anymore, let alone how to find them. After all she had endured, he was amazed she could recall much about herself.

Yes, Antoine decided, this will be an open house party. He selected a date well in advance and set a general time for the festivities. After all, this would be a come and go event to accommodate everyone. So many plans needed to be made, decorations inside and out, a variety of foods to suit all tastes, and music. The biggest job would be housecleaning. The old rooms, vacant for so long, would require a thorough cleaning, polishing, and airing out to make them presentable.

The main guard room could be transformed into a banquet hall with no problems at all, the huge great hall would be an excellent roomy area for dancing. It would have plenty of space for the musicians as well as numerous buffet tables, affording all in attendance a choice of activities.

He knew without asking that his pirate crew would assist in the heavy duty chores, leaving their mates to help Luna with the finer details, formulating a menu and designing decorations. She would also select musicians capable of playing music for listening, dining and dancing, and she loved to dance. As soon as Antoines friends learned of the upcoming event, they immediately went to work on the cleaning detail. They showed up with buckets, rags, and ladders to clean every nook and cranny of the huge rooms. Portraits and trophies on the walls were taken down, the walls washed, and the items freshened and replaced.

Furniture was polished until it reflected ones image. They even got down on their hands and knees to make certain the floors were scrubbed until they were spotless; then they swept and replaced the rug runners in the guard room, but left the floors in the Great Hall bare to accommodate the dancers.

Meanwhile the ladies decided how they wanted to decorate, using ribbon and ivy swags draped wherever possible. They wanted candles in all the wall sconces, and even in vases to line a pathway to the castle to light the way. They washed the dishes and polished the silver utensils and serving trays. They prepared an elabrate menu suitable for everyone.

With so much co-operation, Antoine had no problem meeting the deadline, and all was ready for his big social event.

The special day was here at last, even the beautiful was spring weather was happy to contribute to the gala doings. Late in the afternoon Antoine made one final check of all the areas and the people who would be involved. The he and Luna dressed in their finest, she chose to arrive in the white gown with the gold roses at the neck and hem, the one Silver had bought for her for the town fair some time ago. She brushed that memory aside and decided to wear the gown anyway, it really was flattering on her.

Several of the crew and their mates had volunteered to wear white aprons and perform maid and butler service, much to Antoine’s delight. That was something he hadn’t thought of doing.

As the guests began to arrive, they were guided to the castle by a candlelit pathway, then greeted by the host and escorted to the area of their choice. Several harpists played soft dinner music as the guests sat down to tables laden with an abundance of food to satisfy the many different tastes.

After the guests had their fill, they were invited to assemble in the great hall. “may I have your attention please?” Antoine asked. “I have a special announcement; I would like to introduce you to the future Mrs. Conner, Luna has agreed to become my mate! After a long period of cheers and applause, the musicians began to play a soft waltz and the happy couple to be led the dance. Others joined them, and the celebrations lasted long into the evening. Eventually the guests began to drift off to their homes, and a happy but tired Luna congratulated Antoine on his successful soiree.