The Luna He Forgot

Chapter 8 : A Twist In Time

I knelt before Ava, adjusting the light blue and silver fabric of her dress. The slit revealed her legs beneath it, and I carefully smoothed the material into place.

Ava preferred me to dress her. She refused to let the other maidens touch her, especially Tilya. Perhaps she enjoyed reminding them that even a human could be useful when properly trained. After all, I had grown up among wolves. But that never made me one of them.

To Ava, I was still the human girl her family had taken in out of pity, a servant who had somehow managed to climb high enough to stand inside the Queen’s chamber.

“Any slower and I’ll miss breakfast with the King,” Ava said, watching me through the mirror. “You do know what that means, don’t you?”

“Yes, My Queen.”

“Good. At least you understand the importance of not embarrassing me.”

I lowered my eyes and fastened her tiara.

Ava studied her reflection, then her gaze shifted to me.

“Be careful with the dress,” she said coldly. “It costs more than everything you’ve ever owned.”

My fingers stilled for a moment.

“Yes, My Queen.”

She smiled faintly.

“That’s what I thought.” She said, as she snatched the edge of her dress from my hands and walked out without another word. We scrambled after her, because when the Queen walked, everyone followed.

We entered the hall just as the announcement of the King’s arrival echoed through the room. The tall doors swung open.

Elyan stepped inside with his entourage behind him. Dressed in black and gold—the colors of the royal house—he commanded the attention of everyone in the hall without saying a word. Every step he took seemed to pull the room’s focus toward him as he made his way to the head of the long golden table. He took his seat beneath the tall arched windows, where sunlight streamed through the glass and bathed the hall in a warm golden glow.

The room was filled with wolf-blooded dignitaries, though only the most influential had been invited to breakfast.

Eradel was rarely cold. Its warm climate lasted for most of the year, and winter passed quickly whenever it came. Even now, sunlight spilled across the polished floor, catching on the golden decorations and making them glitter.

Ava rose from her seat and bowed, Elyan took her hand and pressed a kiss to it before gesturing for everyone to sit.

Ava lowered herself into her chair while Tilya and I took our places a few steps behind her, ready to attend to her every need.

“My feet are aching,” I whispered to Tilya. “And I can barely breathe in this corset.”

She glanced at me sympathetically.

“It’ll be over soon,” she whispered back. “Then there’ll only be a few more duties, followed by a few more after that. Eventually, we’ll be finished.” She responded, her attempt to comfort me failed completely.

Well, isn’t that delightful?” I said, as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, but it wasn’t helping with the pain.

“Could you cover for me? I need my feet to breathe.”

Before Tilya could object, I hurried out of the room.

——————————————————————

Finally, I was outside. I dropped onto a bench and immediately pulled off my shoes. My feet were killing me. A small red bruise had already formed beneath one of them. I touched it and flinched.

“Not again,” I muttered. I tried putting the shoe back on, but my foot refused to cooperate, so I left it beside me. A few feet away, a small fountain sparkled beneath the afternoon sun. Water trickled over pale stone, catching the light in sharp, glittering flashes.

I stared at it, walking towards it, letting my mind wander. What even was this life? Was I really born to serve other people for the rest of my life? Would this ever end? Would I ever get to decide what happened to me?

I sighed and looked away from the fountain.

Then I turned—

And bumped straight into someone.

“I’m sor—”

The stranger staggered, then his balance gave way. There was a loud splash.

Water burst over the fountain’s edge and sprayed across my ankles. I froze, my heart hammering as ripples raced through the basin.

Slowly, I looked down. A man sat in the fountain, drenched from head to toe. Dark water streamed from his hair and dripped from the edge of his jaw. His clothes clung heavily to him, and one hand gripped the fountain’s rim as he stared up at me in stunned silence.

I swallowed. I noticed the signet ring on his hand, the embroidered crest on his soaked coat and the unmistakable crown stitched in gold at his collar.

My stomach dropped and my mouth fell open.

It was the King.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty!” I bowed quickly. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. He was drenched. His wet clothes clung to his body, and for one dangerous second, flashes of another time filled my mind. His hands, eyes, his body against mine…the night we had shared.

I lowered my head immediately. He wasn’t mine anymore and I had to remember that.

I forced myself to breathe and reached for his hand.

“Quick! We have to leave.”

He stared at me.

“How dare you touch a King?” His voice hardened. “Aren’t you one of my Queen’s sisters?”

I froze.

“The adopted one?” he added.

The words stung, but I swallowed it.

“Well, if you want your dignitaries to see their King sitting in a fountain, covered in water, then be my guest.”

I bowed politely.

For a moment, he simply stared at me, clearly taken aback.

“And whose fault is that?”

“Yours, apparently.” I snapped back. His brows lifted. I grabbed his hand again.

“The sooner we leave, the better!”

Before he could argue, I pulled him behind an arched wall. We stopped there, both breathing hard.

He was so close…too close. I could feel the warmth of his body through our soaked clothes, and suddenly I was painfully aware of every inch of space between us. I looked up, his golden eyes were already on me. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then I felt it…something warm pulsing beneath my hands where they rested against his body. What was that? I thought to myself, it felt familiar.

Suddenly we heard voices from the corridor.

“Where is the King?” a voice called from somewhere beyond the wall.

“He came out for a smoke break,” another answered.

“Well, I see no King and no clouds of smoke. The Chief Lords are waiting.”

“He must be in his room. Search for him.” The footsteps slowly faded, I finally let go of Elyan.

“Well, isn’t that great?” he said, a smirk appearing on his face. “The whole palace probably thinks I’ve gone missing because a certain girl with the guts of a goddess kidnapped me.”

“I did not kidnap you!” I protested. He stared at me. Those unnatural eyes were even more distracting up close.

“You could be hanged for this.”

“Yes, I could.” I shrugged.

“But you wouldn’t hang me, Your Majesty.”

His smirk disappeared.

“Now you dare call me weak?”

“I dare say you’re…” I paused. “Curious.”

He studied me.

“Curious?”

His gaze travelled over me. “Curious about a girl who throws her King into a fountain and gets him all…” He glanced down at himself.

“…wet?”

Then he noticed something strange. His clothes were completely dry and so were mine. I looked down at my dress…not a single drop of water remained.

I looked back at him, his expression had changed too. He slowly touched his shirt, then looked at me.

“How is this possible?”

I didn’t answer because I had no idea. But somewhere beneath my skin, I could feel that strange warmth again.

“Don’t you ever feel like running away sometimes?” I asked, looking into his eyes, forgetting where I was and remembering the first time we met. It felt like a twist in time:

Elyan suddenly froze. He then quickly grabbed my hand, his fingers tightened around mine. Then his eyes began to glow—a brilliant, unnatural gold. I barely had time to react before he pulled me toward him

…and kissed me.

My eyes widened. This wasn’t supposed to happen…he wasn’t supposed to remember me.

Yet somehow…I kissed him back. I let my lips be wrapped in his. My heart raced, it felt terrifying, but irresistibly good. It was strange. My mind knew this was a different life, but my body didn’t. It felt as though some part of me had been waiting for him to find me again.

He pulled away sharply.

“What am I doing?” He said as he slowly stepped back, my heart couldn’t stop pounding.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I have caused you enough inconvenience already. I must leave.”

I turned…his hand closed around my wrist.

“You will leave when I tell you to.”

I stopped.

His voice was low now…his golden eyes burned into mine.

“For now…”

He stepped closer.

“I want to know why my wolf keeps calling you…”

His gaze dropped briefly to my lips.

“…mate.”