~Daciana~
“Randall!” King Edwin called in shock, while Prince Randall kept smiling like a fool. His smile made me so furious that I didn’t know when I began to approach him. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you blind that you didn’t see the cake in front of you?!” I yelled in rage. “Daciana, please,” Carl uttered, holding my wrist as he tried to caution me. “Woah woah! I think you need to watch your mouth.” Prince Randall responded. The smile on his face faded off as he closed the gap between us. As he moved closer, I could perceive the alcohol in his breath. “That’s enough!” King Edwin commanded as he walked to where we were. We both kept quiet, exchanging death stares at each other. “We should leave.” I heard some of the guests say to each other and one after the other, they began to leave. “King Edwin, please excuse us,” Carl uttered as he pulled me away from the absurd scene. Watching everyone leave broke my heart. This wasn’t the perfect birthday I had envisioned. Every single thing went wrong. As we headed to my room, my anger turned into tears. I cried profusely and all attempts to console me were in vain. I hated myself. “Why didn’t the name show? What have I done to deserve this?” I mumbled. “Daciana, it’s not your fault, okay? There was definitely a mistake somewhere. You can always try another time,” Carl answered. “Carl, did you hear what the chairwoman said?! It had never happened before, and that it was impossible! Everyone was watching. There shouldn’t be mistakes on a day like this. I am cursed.” “You are not cursed, Daci. Stop saying awful things to yourself, okay? This isn’t the end. This must have happened for a reason. Whatever that reason may be, you know I’ll always be here.” After hearing him say these, I raised my head to look at him. “You still love me?” “What?! Of course, I still love you, Daci. Not even the globe can stop me from loving you.” He reassured me as he cleaned my teary eyes. “You’ll be holding the globe in a month, what if another girl’s name appears?” “Let’s not think about that now, Daciana. I love you and that’s all that matters.” I nodded slowly and sniffed hard. It was easy to say I shouldn’t think about it, but it was impossible for me not to think about the worst thing that could happen after today. “Cheer up, my love. You know you have to prepare yourself for your first wolf transformation, right?” Carl asked and I bobbed. “My mother made arrangements already. The basement is all set.” I answered, and he smiled. “Great. Don’t worry. Your wolf would distract you from whatever happened today. That, I can promise you. Though it’s pretty painful, it’s the best feeling ever.” He added. “I can’t wait,” I responded with a faint smile. “Daciana!” I heard Trisha call in the hallway. “I’m here,” I responded, and shortly after, my door opened. “Hi, Carl.” She uttered, moving to the bed where we both sat. “Hi, Trisha.” He responded, adjusting himself. “How are you feeling?” She asked me, and I scoffed. “I would have felt so much better if Prince Randall didn’t trip over my cake,” I muttered, and she chuckled softly. “Why am I not surprised? That guy is a pain in the ass. He left with the king already. What the hell was he doing here anyway?” She asked, causing me to heave a sigh. “He came with his father, the king, and that is because my mother and King Edwin are a thing.” “That is the most shocking discovery I have ever seen today! What?! How did it even happen?” Trisha asked enthusiastically. She seemed very curious about their relationship, but I wasn’t in the mood to share. I couldn’t get rid of the feeling of anger and sadness I was feeling. “Trisha, not now, okay?? My birthday party was awful! The worst ever in Bedfordshire.” I muttered. “I think it’s best if you stay off the internet for a few days. It’s going to be crazy there.” Carl added, turning off his phone. “It’s online already?” I asked in awe, and he kept silent, heaving a sigh. “Some people took videos,” Trisha mumbled, causing fresh tears to heat the back of my eyes. “Hey! Hey! Listen to me, Daci. It’s just going to trend for a week and everyone will forget what happened, okay?” “No. It’s going to be worse than that.” I shook my head as I wept. “It won’t if we distract them. Give them something else to talk about.” I heard my mother’s voice at the door, and we all looked at her. “And how are you going to do that?” I asked, cleaning my tears with the back of my hand. “King Edwin and I will get married this Saturday. Publicity would start today. They are working on it already.” My mother answered, and my eyes slowly widened. “Wow! It’s really happening!” Trisha squealed happily. “Saturday? You mean in two days?” I asked in awe, and she nodded with a faint smile. “It will successfully distract the people from what happened at the party today. It was all King Edwin’s idea. And he also sincerely apologizes for his son’s behavior. He promised to put him in his best behavior before we become family.” My mother further explained. The plan sounded very good to me, but all I was worried about was the fact that Prince Randall was going to become my stepbrother faster than I had imagined. I wasn’t sure I was ready to live under the same roof with him. Not after pulling such stunt today. * Nighttime drew close very slowly. I couldn’t touch my phone because I knew I would be tempted to check my social media, and I didn’t want to be bothered about what people were saying about me. I wanted to be emotionally stable for what was to come. After Trisha and Carl left, my mom refused to leave my side. She feared I was going to feel lonely or angered for some reason. “Daciana, it is time.” She uttered, looking out of the window and staring at the moon which was starting to get full in the sky. I hurriedly pulled the duvet off my body and started taking off my clothes. “Let’s go now, Mom. I don’t want to turn here.” I uttered in haste. “Right!” We both ran out of my room, heading to the basement. Getting to the basement, I saw the chains attached to the walls already. I gave my mother my hands and she put shackles on them. She made me kneel and also locked my ankles. “So here is the thing, Daciana…” She moved backward and sat on the stairs. “You’re going to feel a very sharp pain, starting from your chest. You’re going to be so scared, but remember, I am here with you.” “Once you’ve turned, you’re going to be very hungry, your senses would be heightened, and you’ll try to get out of those chains to do something you may regret later, but don’t worry. I made sure they were tight enough. I’m here with you, baby.” I nodded eagerly and shut my eyes, waiting for the sharp pain in my chest. “The moon is full in the sky. It should start now.” My mother’s voice sounded shaky as she spoke. I shut my eyes even tighter, waiting to feel something. After a few minutes, I slowly opened my eyes to look at my mother, and I could see a shocked look on her face. “What is happening, mother? Why am I not changing?” I asked, and she shook her head. “I don’t know. We should just give it time, okay? It’s going to come. We just need to be patient.” She assured me, and I believed her. Minutes upon minutes passed, and soon hours painfully went by without me feeling anything in my body. Nothing happened! “Get me out of these!” I yelled as I broke into tears again. “Daciana.” My mother called softly. “You said I was going to turn! The moon is gone! I’m never going to turn! Get me out of these!” I yelled even louder, and she rushed closer to me and started getting the shackles off me. “I know I am cursed! I have always had that feeling!” I yelled in tears, running up the stairs. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. I felt useless… like a walking dead. I wasn’t even sure if I was a werewolf or not. I rushed into my room and slammed the door behind me, hoping this would shut me out of my damned reality.~Daciana~After three days “Daciana, the car is here!” My mother yelled from the hallway as I reluctantly got out of bed. My mother got married to King Edwin yesterday and I must confess it was the biggest wedding I had ever attended. I was happy to see my mother happy, but I hated the crowd. I hated that they kept whispering things to themselves everywhere I went. They just wouldn’t stop talking about my failed eighteenth birthday, would they? As if that isn’t enough frustration, I am about to move into the palace, the house where my enemy, Prince Randall lives. ‘He is yet to apologize for ruining my cake!’ That also made the headlines of gossip on the internet about my birthday. I grabbed my two bags and headed to the door. Before stepping out, I took a pause and stared at my room one last time. It held so many memories and I was going to miss it a lot. “Daciana, hurry! We’re keeping the driver waiting!” My mother called out again, this time, from the front of the house. Hurr
~Prince Randall~ As soon as she was out of my room, I walked to my closet and picked up my khaki shorts. I wore it and picked a small towel to dry my hair as I headed out of the room. I stared angrily at the door to her room. ‘Who the hell does she think she is? Coming into my room like that? And why is her room right in front of mine?!’ ‘There are so many rooms to put her in. Why here?!’I knew deep down this was a plan from either my father or her mother. They knew how much I hated her and they brought her this close to me? ‘You gotta be kidding me!’ Still fuming in anger, I stormed into my father’s chamber. I met him sitting on his bed, his legs folded and his hands resting on his legs. I had just disrupted his meditation session and I didn’t give a f**k. “Father, why is she in front of my room?” I asked, watching him slip out of his meditation. He opened his eyes and our eyes locked. “Randall, I am meditating right now.” “I know, father. But I need you to answer this real
~Daciana~ Getting into my room, I slammed the door shut and broke into tears. He brought back the pain I had been trying so hard to conceal. I just wanted to be far from him, far from everyone. While I buried myself in the bedsheets, I heard a knock on the door, followed by the voice of my mother. “Daciana baby, are you alright?” She asked, with concern evident in her voice. “I want to be alone, Mom!” I yelled tearily. “Baby, can I at least come in? Please. I can’t just leave you right now. Can I come in?” She insisted, and I heaved a frustrated sigh and nodded. “Fine! Come in.” I uttered and I immediately heard the door open. I heard her footsteps hurriedly approach the bed and I felt her hand on my body. “I am so sorry about the Prince’s behavior. I know what he said was uncalled for and you didn’t deserve it.” She spoke. I yanked the sheets off my body and sat up, staring at my mother’s face. “But he was right! That’s the most painful part of it all. He was telling the tru
~Daciana~“…hmm… yes! Yes! Haaa! F**k me!… don’t you dare stop!” These moans filled my ears in the most annoying way. I pulled my pillow over my head, hoping the noise would stop and I could continue my sleep, but I was wrong. I could still hear them. “How can a lady's moan be so loud?!” I yelled in my head out of frustration. I threw my pillow across my room and sat up angrily. I was so tired of Prince Randall. ‘Do I have to keep up with this forever?!’ It’s been a month in this palace and it’s been nothing but torture from him. Sometimes, the concentrated smell of weed, seeping in through my door would wake me up very early in the morning. Sometimes, it was extremely loud jazz music, and sometimes it was the moan of his hoes, just like today. I could feel my eyes were still pretty heavy. I stayed up till midnight because I was looking for the perfect dress for Carl’s birthday today. I got three dresses and they all looked good on me, but I decided to go with the red short dre
~Prince Randall~ In my shorts, I dragged my feet on the smooth tiles as I walked to the kitchen to get some cookies. I remembered what happened in the morning with Daciana and I broke into laughter again. ‘She should have seen the look on her face.’ I thought as I kept laughing. Getting to the kitchen, one of the older maids hastily rushed up to me before I could reach the cookie tray. “Prince Randall, you could have rang us. What do you need?” She asked, with her head bowed. “Oh, don’t worry about it, Mrs Thompson. I wanted to take a stroll anyway.” I answered, walking past her to the tray of cookies. She hastily passed me a plate and I put about five cookies on them. I also reached for the juice in the fridge before heading out of the kitchen. When I got to my room, I stared at her door and furrowed my brows. I took a peek at my wristwatch and saw it was getting late already. ‘It’s almost 8 pm and she isn’t back. Does she plan on sleeping over at his house for the after-birt
~Daciana~ “…Baby, I like your style! Grips on your waist. Front way, back way…” It was another day to be woken up by the extremely loud music coming from Prince Randall’s room. “Argh!” I groaned, clamping my ears with the pillows. My head was hurting so bad and the music wasn’t helping at all. As I sat up, I grabbed my head in my hand. It felt too heavy for my neck to carry. The room seemed to be spinning and my throat felt so dry. But above all these, I needed that music to stop! I wasn’t in the mood to start a conversation with him, so I thought of the best thing I could do, and that was to go to my mother. Sluggishly, I made my way out of the bed. I put on my fluffy slippers and dragged my feet on the floor as I headed out of my room. I could barely open my eyes properly. While I walked down the hallway, I realized I was in my nightgown. ‘When did I get out of these?’ I pondered, but the pain in my head couldn’t make me think for long. I just wanted to feel better, and movi
~Prince Randall ~ I took another shot and slammed the glass on the table. “Argh!” I shut my eyes tight as I felt the liquor burn my chest. ‘How dare she?! That was a slap on my face! After all, I did for her last night? She repaid me with such filthy words?!’ I clenched my jaws hard as I began to think of ways to get back at her. I wasn’t just going to let her walk after that. “She has to pay,” I muttered as I began to pour myself another drink. “This newly found sister of yours is really getting to you, isn’t she?” Branden, my best and only friend, uttered as he watched me drown my anger in alcohol. “Getting to me? Tch.” I scoffed. “Am I wrong? Since we got here to enjoy ourselves, you wouldn’t stop talking about her. This is the first time we have talked about her for so long. You don’t even like talking about her.” He added, and I sighed. “I just need to punish her and I can’t think of a way. It annoys me.” “Then don’t punish her. The hatred you two have for one another s
~Daciana~ The annual moonlight ball party was fast approaching and everyone in the kingdom seemed to be looking forward to it except me. There were many reasons why I wasn’t excited about it. Everyone, from all the corners of Bedfordshire would be present, and I bet more than half of them have seen the disaster that happened on my birthday. As if this reason wasn’t enough, there’s a ninety-nine percent chance that I’d see Carl and Trisha at this party. I’m so sure about this because we three always attended. We were always so excited and never missed anyone.I bet Trisha would gladly come so she could rub it all in my face. I wouldn’t want to do anything rash, so it’s better I stay away. ‘But how is that possible?’ My Stepfather, the King, would want his children to be present at the ball party, and now, I’m his daughter and I have to be present. “Arrghhh!” I groaned, turning over on my bed again. I reminisced about what happened during dinner last night again and how my mother