A Thief and Her Knight?

"If anyone have a similar opinion, I'll have you know I am always ready to listen to you…"

His words held a double meaning that all readily understood, but still he never wavered away from her face. It was like he was baiting her, to see how much she was willing to endure. Verona felt she was being put under some sort of test by him. What he hoped to achieve she still doesn't know but it didn't relieve the tension she felt from his attention.

When no one stepped forward, he ordered for the heads to be brought down and given a proper burial. There was no sympathy or empathy in his tone, just pure rationality and swift decision making.

Despite whatever cocoon the palace residents may have been submerged in, people were hit by the events of that afternoon. The sight of the dead children as well as the arrogant killing of the wolf left Goosebumps on their skin. Some she-wolfs even were seen crying as they went about their stations.

All the while Verona was yet to know how to feel about it.

It was now evening and she stood alone at the railing trying to bring down the loud thumping of her heartbeat. Once calm she made to head back into her chamber when she caught sight of the young maid from earlier, the one who understood that strange language.

Seeing an opportunity to speak to her the Queen made to step forward but upon sensing something odd her feet stopped mid-way. The girl seemed rather engrossed in looking towards a particular spot at the floor below them. Following her gaze she found her object of interest to be in the form of a young male guard barely past his eighteenth moon.

At first nothing looked out of the ordinary, as a matter of fact one may even mistake the scene to be that of a fair maiden looking fondly at her love interest. But upon a closer look she felt the boy was shaking like someone who had come upon a ghost.

He was stood behind a pillar but after a while he composed himself and began to walk away. There was no contact between the two, at least none that she could see but Verona had a gut feeling that the young wolfs knew each other. And being her usual inquisitive self she grabbed onto a hooded thick velvet coat and followed him.

Leaving behind the royal comfort of the inner courtyard she followed the young man past the chained gates and got out in the general courtyard, all the while making sure her face was shielded by the hood.

The boy was quick in his steps as he rounded all the corners, mingling with the crowd and soon he was upon the gates that would lead outside the palace into the town of castle rock.

The guard stopped to speak briefly to his superiors and once the conversation ended he continued to the large barricaded gates.

Verona rushed to immediately follow him when she felt her garment stuck onto something. Without looking she dragged the flimsy material forward with much force and the threads came apart.

Now she was stuck between looking at the boy who was long past the gates and tending to her ripped garments. But at last the cold triumphed and she chose to salvage what was left of the cloth, which was nothing by the way.

So she now relied solely on the coat for cover.

But then she realized another dilemma. Her mind had been so involved in trailing the guard that she forgot her surroundings and now stood transfixed.

She had lost her way. 

This would become her very first time away from the inner court and it may very well be her last.

The outer courtyard was made for guards and their families and imitated the appearance of a small unit pack. It was larger in size and could hold a population of almost five hundred wolves.

Pups moved around with their mothers behind them and the sound of laughter reverberated through the walls. There was mindless chatter and jesting made between groups of friends as they regaled each other with warm smiles. Houses were clustered together to somehow give off the feeling of a pack house, and mini track roads showed up after every two/three buildings to serve as streets.

She felt like an outsider even though she was supposed to be their Queen and they, her subjects.

No one recognized her and for that she couldn't be grateful enough.

Right now there was nothing underneath the coat. If should a rumbustious child choose to pull some tricks then she may become hot gossip, as the queen who strutted around naked in public.

The gate that led to the inner court was nowhere in sight and all she could do was stand there like a confused mad woman while people passed by. Everywhere she turned looked strange not to mention the loudness of the entire place.

Verona was no classist but she somehow understood the need for the demarcation between the two courtyards. One could only but wonder what the rest of castle rock would look like beyond the gates. That was the place designated for the rest of the free folks containing thousands of wolves.

In her confused state she came upon a stall where a Beta woman sold some wares. The she-wolf gave her a once over and continued with what she was doing. Verona wanted to ask for direction but as she tried to reach the woman's hand someone screamed from behind startling her in the process.

"A thief! I've caught a thief"

And in a twinkle of an eye the redhead was snatched up by the man as he began dragging her to the center of the courtyard. And soon what began with a single person soon attracted a dozen of spectators.

"Let me go. I haven't taken anything. Let my hand go or you will regret it"

She protested but the hand tightened the more and soon her other hand was grabbed too. The velvet coat had no buttons nor belt so she was now stuck between defending herself and holding onto the flaps of the coat.

"Wearing these expensive garment and still engaging in petty stealing is way beyond my imagination" the owner of the stall spoke and then proceeded to hit the back of her neck.

Her mind was racing against time as she sought for strategies to escape such dire situation.

There was only one punishment for such crime as it was considered to be in the jurisdiction of the public where it was committed. It may differ in regions but would always share similarities; a hundred strokes of the cane on bareback irrespective of gender. Some may even take it a notch higher by stripping the women just to satisfy their perversions. By the look on these men's faces they seem to be that kind.

One began pulling her hands away from her body turning it into a fiery struggle. Verona trusted her strength but that was just going to last a while. She was getting tired, especially as she was still recovering from the ordeal few nights ago.

Their intentions were boldly written on their faces. It wasn't as if nudity was anything new to wolves but it may seem the thought of uncovering that which is hidden gave them a different thrill, not to mention the show of shame attached to it.

Her strength was failing rapidly and it would be only a matter of time before they manage to detangle her hand from the coat. She knew what was about to happen and somehow shut her eyes when it became unbearable to keep holding on.

The Varleh link had failed to connect and all she was hearing in her head was a slight buzz which wasn't received.

"Take off the coat."

" hahaha I bet it would sell for a good price"

"A few cups of rum and some free show, isn't my night made?"

The lots were laughing at her expense as they made plans of what would become her shame, both men and women. They were getting closer, one finger at a time and soon her right hand was completely off the material, leaving behind the left one.

"Please don't do this, I haven't done anything wrong." That was her last attempt to beg after conjuring up what was left of her strength.

Her plea was met with a smack in the face as one of the men, who seemed burly and had the stench of a drunk took charge. It took him only one forceful pull to pry the remaining hand away from the material.

The cloak fell apart and Verona forced her knees to the rough grounds. She held onto her ears while shutting her eyes as she waited for the first stroke to land.

But nothing came afterwards.

The redhead whose face was now marred with streams of tears paused her crying to take a look around.

Her eyes went to the left and then to the right but there was no one in view. It was like they had disappeared, but how possible…it had barely been two minutes.

Sensing the presence of a shadow in front of her the woman looked back down only to see a pair of masculine pale feet. He was barefoot and it took the sight of the golden anklet for her to know it was him.

Verona snapped her head up only to meet the imposing face of Razhal. He was crouched down with a hand supporting his jaw as he starred down at her.

"I knew they would never be a dull moment with you around"