Hearing this, her grandfather laughed as if something that had been worrying him had disappeared.
‘I am happy to see that you both get along so well,” her grandfather patted her back.
Beth had later quickly gone hopping into the kitchen to see what her sister and grandmother were up to. Her grandmother stood next to her sister while helping her drink something.
‘What is that, grandma? I want some too,’ Beth demanded as it seemed like her grandmother gave biscuits and juice to drink only to her sister while making her feel left out. She had come to learn to ask if people were not going to share things with her, a trait that had gone too far with the passing time as she grew into an a.d.u.l.t.
‘It was tasty! Beth should try too!’ decided Madeline, her neck craning to see her grandmother, who looked a little caught in the situation.
‘Oh dear, that was the last glass. I will make it for you in the night, will you wait until then, Bethie?’ questioned her grandmother, and she nodded her head.
‘I can wait,’ she smiled before dragging Madeline outside the house to roam around.
‘What is the matter, Beth? You look sad,’ stated Madeline as they walked next to each other.
Beth quickly shook her head and said, ‘It is nothing. You are just imagining it! Come I want to see the things in the market!’
When night arrived, her grandmother had brought the glass of drink that she had promised her in the afternoon but noticing the milky white liquid, Beth didn’t have to guess too far that this was something different from what was offered to her sister.
‘Are you not going to drink it, dear?’ asked her grandmother, and Beth drank it, handing the glass to her grandmother before getting inside the blanket.
In the middle of the night, she was woken up by her grandparent’s voice, and she stepped out of the room while feeling something very familiar with the situation. It felt as if she was reliving the moment again.
‘I don’t sense anything in there,’ said her grandmother, ‘She isn’t reacting to the ring or the chain or the liquid.’
‘Maybe she isn’t that hideous thing anymore, and it was only in the past,’ replied her grandfather in a serious tone. ‘Or worse it is yet to show up.’
‘As far as I can tell, right now there’s nothing. She’s normal,’ her grandmother responded to her grandfather. Beth didn’t understand what they were both speaking about. She tried to lean in closer to hear them better. ‘Did you notice? Beth is picking up on what we do, she seems suspicious. Isn’t that right, Bethie?’
On hearing her name being called, Beth felt her hands go cold while her grandparents appeared to stand right in front of her.
‘This seems to be a recurring thing, to be eavesdropping is a bad habit,’ said her grandmother, her eyes slightly colder. ‘I guess the last time’s spell wasn’t good enough.’
‘W-what were you speaking about?’ asked Beth, her back hitting the wall. ‘What are you speaking about Maddie? What’s wrong with her?’
Her grandfather raised his hand, placing it on her shoulder and said, ‘You shouldn’t worry about those things. Your concern for your sister astonishes me. You are soon going to enter an age where you should think about clothes, jewels, and handsome men who can provide you a secure life.’
Saying this, her grandfather placed his index finger on her forehead, and she felt a sudden pain in her forehead that started to spread across her entire body.
When the pain turned excruciatingly painful, she screamed, but no voice came as if it was stolen away, and no one heard her. Beth’s eyes suddenly snapped open with a gasp when she heard the gate of the cell open, and she was brought back to the present.
“Bad dream?” asked the woman who had unlocked the gate of the cell. “If you are a newborn werewolf, dreams of the past are nothing less to a blast.”
Beth furrowed her brows, wondering if the dream was one of the things her grandparents had erased and manipulated as until now, she didn’t have a recollection of it. She wondered how many memories she had lost every time she visited her grandparents or her aunt Mary’s house.
She looked around the cell to notice the ray of sunlight pass through the little space of the window in the room.
“Jagger told me to bring you to the magistrate’s office. They want to speak to you as you don’t smell like a werewolf. I am Violet,” informed the woman.
Getting up, Beth stepped out of the room to be led out of the dungeon by the woman.
When they reached the building that appeared to be in a better shape than the other buildings of the village, Beth wondered if the man named Jagger would be willing to help guide her. She hoped he would. After all, who knew when the King of Warring’s would return to the land.
If there was something Beth had noticed, this place had old buildings that had not been pulled down to rebuild it again. There was a mossy formation covering the wall, leaving a dark greenish colour on it.
Before they entered the building, the woman whom Beth was following spoke, “Be sure to answer the truth, if you cannot then don’t lie and stay quiet. Magistrate Langston doesn’t like to be lied and he might put you back in the dungeon,” she advised Beth.
“I don’t have anything to hide,” stated Beth.
“Here is your way,” said the woman, pushing the door open.
Noticing the darkroom that was in front of her, Beth finally stepped inside the room, and the door closed behind her. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room where a lantern was placed on the table, her eyes fell on the man who sat behind the desk. This was the magistrate’s office? Asked Beth to herself. The place looked like it was where one would come to conspire against someone’s death.
“Ms. Elizabeth Harris, take a seat,” said the man. “I am Richard Langston, the magistrate of this area.”
Even though the magistrate was seated behind the desk, Beth could tell he was a buff man.
Taking a seat in the chair in front of her, Langston said, “Have you ever met any family members of the Jordan’s before?”
Beth shook her head, “I have been here only for four weeks. The only person I know is Mrs. Robbins. She’s the one who gave me the place to stay until I meet King Sebastian.”
“I heard that you are King Calhoun’s wife’s sister. Is that true? The last we had information, you were still a human,” questioned the magistrate, moving forward to place his hands on the surface of the desk. Beth caught sight of his canine teeth that belonged to the werewolves.
Beth had tried her best to keep a low profile while trying not to gain any attention to herself. When a person of the royal family was alone, it was always better to camouflage in the crowd than turn into a possible target for blackmail.
