202Rosella hummed softly to herself as she strolled through the gardens between the Half Moon Palace and the servants quarters. She loved walking through the gardens during spring time; the flowers were just starting to bloom in the warming air, releasing their frangrent scents on the wind. She stopped beside a rose bush and knelt down at its base. A few weeds were trying to make their way into the bushes roots.
She pulled them out carefully, leaving as much dirt behind as possible for the roses to thrive. She always favored the gardens rose bushes, after all, she was named after them. Her mother was the head gardner for the palace and when she gave birth to Rosella and saw the rich red color of her hair, her name was given without a second thought.
Rosella didn't remember her mother, she was killed when she was very young by rival demons.
'It is a sad day when an innocent dies by a cowards hand,' King Malodan had said when Rosella was old enough to understand.
She did remember her father, but only from a few fleeting memories after King Malodan had visited them. Her father had silently died in the night afterwards. From a broken heart, the priest had said.
Rosella was all alone, her entire family dead before she could have known them like she should have. Remembering her past and the people she would never know always brought a wave of sadness to Rosella. A curse she bore happily because the very flowers she tended herself brought the memories back everyday.
Queen Atrea had just finished weening her own son, Lord Aldolan and was feeling lonely without a constant child to take care of. Wolf Demons mature much faster than humans, often becoming self reliant after a few years.
Rosella didn't know how she should feel about the Queen taking pitty on her at such a young age, but having the queen dote on you and take care of you made the sadness of losing her parents easier. She would cry at night and Queen Atrea would cradle her in her arms and rock her gently before putting her to bed with herself and her mate, the king. King Malodan seemed to tolerate his mates sudden attachment to a new child for a time. She guess he grew tired of her quickly because he had given her a room in the palace and had given her to the maids for training.
Rosella laughed and stood up, grabbing the pulled weeds on her way up. The wind blew through the gardens, playing with her long red hair as she watched the sun start to fall behind the mountains.
'I was a little demon of my own when I was little.' she smiled to herself as she pocketed the weeds and turning back to the palace. 'I gave Annie such a hard time.'
A flash of silver from one of the balconies caught her eye. She watched the beautiful strands of silver hair disappear into the room.
'Lord Aldolan? What could he have been doing up there?' she blinked, stopping to look closer. 'Was he waiting for someone? A possible mate?'
Rosella shrugged quickly and headed up the stairs. Her simple maid robes were dirty and she quickly tried to brush the dirt away, only to smear it and spread it because her hands were covered in dirt.
'Lord Aldolan hasn't been himself after King Malodan ordered his son to find a mate.' Rosella quickened her pace through the darkening hallways, keeping her head down and her hands covering as much of the dirt on her robe as possible. 'I don't know why I would care if he had company, and it's not like my Lord to be so secretive. When he has chosen his mate, we will all know it and the demoness will reside inside the palace with him and that will be all.'
She turned the corner towards the servants bathrooms and smiled to herself. 'The last demoness to try for his hand ended in failure, and serves her right for treating us that way.'
Lady Grydia Ravencaller from the South Lands was a tyrant and an evil demon. She saw humans as her own personal play things, to do whatever she wished. Both King Malodan and Lord Aldolan had tolerated her punishment of the palace servants, until she had set her sights on Rosella.
Rosella was serving the drinks at the feast the King and Queen held for Lady Grydia. She was her usual self, happy and laughing with the Royal family. Lady Grydia didn't like the fact that Lord Aldolan would tolerate such casualness from a servant and proceeded to put Rosella in her place. She knocked the wine jug out of her hands, feigning clumsiness and when Rosella knelt to pick up the broken peices, Lady Grydia had kicked Rosella. She moved to strike Rosella again but found both King Malodan and Lord Aldolan standing between her and Rosella; the king helping Rosella up and Lord Aldolan holding Lady Grydia by the wrist.
Lady Grydia struggled and complained as Lord Aldolan dragged her from the palace while King Malodan and Queen Atrea helped Rosella to the healers quarters. Rosella woke up 3 days later and was told Lady Grydia had left.
'I never did find out why she left, no one would tell me. Lord Aldolan is just overprotective of his servants, that's all. It's not like he'll choose one of us humans as his ma-'
Rosella turned the last corner towards the servants bathrooms and ran straight into a solid wall. She stumbled backwards, falling onto her bottom and holding her nose.
"Oh... Owie." Rosella held her nose as the tears burned her eyes. She opened her eyes and looked in front of her. "What did I hi-..."
Lord Aldolan stood over her, looking down at her through cold, slitted red eyes. Rosella squeaked, covering her mouth to stop the sound. Both stayed starring at each other, frozen in time at the shock of running into each other.
"Lord Aldolan! I am sorry, please forgive me, my Lord. I was not watching where I was walking." She scrambled to kneel and bow her head.
Rosella felt a finger curl under her chin and raise her head up. She was afraid to open her eyes and look at him directly after showing such disrespect as to run into him. She squeezed her eyes tighter, letting out a small whimper.
When the finger didn't move, she dared peeking with one eye. Lord Aldolan was kneeling in front of her and looking into her eyes. Both of her eyes slowly opened as they looked at each other.
Lord Aldolan was the first to move, moving his hand from under her chin to take her hand in his. He stood, taking her with him and she slowly stood with him, a shocked look on her face.
"Are you alright, Rosella?" Lord Aldolan asked in a deep, growling voice Rosella had never heard before.
She stared blankly at him, shocked beyond thought at his actions towards her. Lord Aldolan was nice to her, and often talked to her about the day, but she had never heard the tone of his voice before and niether did he ever grab her hand.
Rosella jumped, shaking herself out of her frozen shocked state when she felt Lord Aldolan's other hand caress her cheek. His eyes locked onto her lips as she spoke.
"Yes, I am fine, My Lord. Do not worry about me." She smiled weakly, feeling an uneasy and terrifying sensation from Lord Aldolan.
Lord Aldolan growled softly as his eyes traveled down to her neck along with his hand. His claw tipped fingers slowly caressed the nape of her neck as his eyes slowly moved down her body, first over her breast and making her feel dirty before moving to her stomach and hips. Lord Aldolan's eyes carried a lustful glint to them.
"My-my Lord?" Rosella stuttered, feeling his claws drag against her skin.
The fear in her voice brought him back to normal and he quickly jerked his hands away from her. Lord Aldolan took a step back before walking around her, the hem of his robes brushing against her legs as he passed.
"Come to my chambers after the sun has set." He said in the deep growly voice against her ear as he passed.
He walked on silent feet, moving without a sound down the hallway. Shivers tingled their way up her spine at his voice and words. She turned her head and watched him leave, a cold knot forming in her stomach.
'Come... To his chambers? After sunset?' Rosella shook her head, pressing her hands to her cheeks. 'Stop overthinking things!'
The dirt on her hands transferred to her cheeks and she gasped. She couldn't show up in dirty robes. Rosella hurried to the servant bathrooms for a change of robes and a quick wash of her hands and face.