chapter 9

Keila jumped a little when she saw princess Mirana come through the door.

Mirana had a bright smile on her face and much to Keila's surprise hugged her right after she closed the door. 

Keila couldn't move as her heart was hammering in her chest. She so didn't expect this. 

Mirana pulled away and sighed. "At last, there's another woman in the palace. I was getting so lonely with all the old soldiers and my boring brothers." 

"Excuse me your highness, but what are you doing here?" 

Mirana scoffed "Oh gods, don't call me that, we are going to be sisters. Call me Mirana or Mia." Mirana winked and Keila couldn't help but speak back. Finally someone friendly.

"Alright Mia, what brings you here?" "I just wanted to spend some time with my new sister. I think we're going to be good friends. I don't usually come near Kronos' chambers but I might come to see you sometime." 

"Kronos' chambers?" Keila was confused, she had no idea where her prince's chamber was.

"Yup, his chambers are the very next door right after yours? They didn't tell you?" Mirana asked confused. Keila slightly blushed at the thought of her prince sleeping right next door. " No, they didn't."

"Anyway, wanna go to my rooms? They are much better than yours, no offence." 

" Alright, but what do you want to do?" "Just talk, get to know you, maybe make fun of some of the servants, I don't know." Mia grabbed her hand and started pulling her out of her room. 

They walked out the door and saw Kronos closing his door. He was fixing his pants before he looked up at them and frowned. He didn't expect to see his sister with his new bride. 

Keila stared at him and frowned too. His hair was a mess and his shirt was slightly turned on his torso. Was he fucking someone behind that door just a minute ago? 

Kronos cleared his throat and walked past them. 

Keila's frown deepened. He didn't even look at her. Maybe it was for the best. If he didn't care, he wouldn't hurt her. Mia also frowned and turned to Keila with pity. 

"Do you think he had someone there?" Mia didn't know how to respond. She didn't want to see Keila hurt but she wouldn't lie.

"Probably, but don't worry about it. He's not that bad and there's a high chance you won't see him much. Come on." 

They walked for a while and after a few minutes came to a big red door. Mia opened the door and Keila's jaw hit the floor. She has never seen such beautiful chambers. They were prettier than all the chambers in her father's palace. 

The walls were dark grey stones and there were plants on a lot of them. In front of her was a huge sitting area with dark burgundy sofas and black pillows. The furniture was also black. There were a table and another desk by the wall, probably for writing as there was a chair in front of it. 

In the next room, she could see a huge bed with silk sheets and on the other side was a garden. It was just another room but it had no roof and lots of plants. There were a small table and a few chairs in the middle.

 Mirana saw her face and giggled. "I know, I know. Beautiful right? It took me quite a while to persuade my father about the roofless room but he complied after I annoyed him with it. He couldn't take it anymore." She chuckled at the memory of her father's resignation. She really knew how to annoy him.

Keila just nodded, speechless. Mia sat at one of the sofas and motioned for Keila to take a seat. "So, why are you marrying my brother exactly? You don't look excited at the thought of the wedding."

"I thought you knew? At the dinner, it looked like you know who I am."

"I know only what my father told me. I know you are the shifter princess Keila and that you are marrying my brother. Nothing more. So, why?"

Keila thought for a while. Should she tell her? Probably not but then again, she was the only thing close to a friend she had in this place. "Your father threatened me to burn our kingdom if I didn't." She shrugged. 

Mia looked rather annoyed than surprised. " That does sound like him."

"Do you know why he wants me for his son?"

"Yes, he didn't tell me but I overheard him talking to one of my uncles. He said, you are young and from a good family. Also that as the mother of the heir your kingdom would never risk attacking our empire. Oh and that as a shifter you are strong and your and Kronos' children should be strong heirs."

Keila nodded at that. It did make sense. She was basically a hostage and she would be an obedient good little wife thanks to the king's threats.

"I'm curious, how exactly does this shifter thing work?" 

" Well, you shift for the first time in your eighteenth birthday and then you can shift whenever you want. You get your shadow in the form of an animal. What animal depends on your personality and soul" Keila explained in a monotone voice. 

Mia nodded "What does your shadow look like?" 

"I have no idea, I'm not eighteenth yet." Keila shrugged. 

"You are not? How old are you?"

" I turned seventeen a few days ago"

"I see. You really are young. Is there a way to predict what will your shadow be like?"

Keila thought for a moment. "Well, the shifters with big and strong shadows tend to have increased strength or speed depending on their shadow. I had a friend who was the fastest since he was twelve and turned out his shadow was a cheetah. It made sense. The strongest teenagers are usually trained and when they shift their shadow are usually felines, bears, wolf's, rhinos or something. So yes, you can sort of know what size will your shadow be or how strong, but it can always turn out differently."

"Does your shadow change? I mean, people change, they evolve, so do their shadows?" Keila shrugged "In a way, they sometimes change their size but never form."

"That makes sense I guess." They were quiet for a while before Mia spoke again. "What do you think your shadow will be like?"

"I would like to think I'm strong and fierce. I hope for a lioness or panther. Not sure."

"That would be so cool." Keila just nodded smiling a little."I am so happy to have another woman near. I was so so bored." 

"What about Ravena? Doesn't she live in the palace? I know she's a few years younger but still..." She got interrupted by Mia scoffing. "She's a little bitch. She may seem like a little miss goody shoes but she is definitely not. She's fifteen and her mother is the queen of all bitches. Ravena takes after her."

Keila so didn't expect that. Ravena seemed so innocent and shy.

"Where is your mother?" Keila haven't thought about it till Mia mentioned Ravena's mother. 

Mia stiffened at that question. "She was a maid my father took a liking in. She told my father about her pregnancy and he made her give me away and move far from here. I was brought up mostly by the stuff and my aunt."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Keila knew how she felt, she basically grew up without a mother too.

There was an awkward silence after. Keila didn't know what to say. Suddenly she thought about her wedding again.

"What is Kronos like?" She asked shyly.

"He's a good soldier, boring and a little rough around the edges. He's smart, I mean really smart but doesn't talk much so you wouldn't know."

"Do you think he will keep his whores after the wedding?" Keila was surprised with her own boldness. Was she jealous? She saw him only twice for gods' sake.

"I don't know. You should move to his chambers after you are married and that would make it harder for him. Also, you will probably leave to the military camp and there are mostly men."

"How do you know what the camp is like? Have you been there?" Keila asked surprised. It was unimaginable in her kingdom for a princess to go to such a place. It was for soldiers only.

"No, I haven't. I just heard it somewhere I guess." Mia shrugged like it was nothing but looked quite uncomfortable. Keila didn't want to pry so she let it go.

"Will they want us to do the bedding?"

Mia paled. "I am really not sure. My father seems adamant about it but it's an old tradition, no one really does that anymore. Kronos seemed upset, maybe he will convince him."

Keila was really scared of that. She surely didn't want to go through that.

"Even if he doesn't change his mind, it's not like anything changes for you. You will be behind a curtain and probably under a blanket as well. Just...try to forget about them and think about something else." She tried to make her feel better but it didn't work. 

"Or are you scared of my brother?" Keila just nodded. She was a virgin and scared of the prince. 

"I'm sorry but you'll just have to go with it. My father wouldn't be happy if he found out you didn't...well...you know. Are you a virgin?" Keila slowly nodded still looking down and blushing furiously.

"Maybe you can talk to Kronos and ask him to be gentle? He looks cruel but you should see him with Clossos. I even saw him smile one time. They are like best friends. They play together. I think he likes him more than anyone else." 

Keila raised her head. Who the fuck was Clossos? She never heard of him. 

"Who is Clossos?" She asked confused.

"You haven't met Clossos?" Keila just shook her head. "Oh gods. Come on then." Mia grabbed her hand and started dragging her through the palace. It was almost dark but Mirana didn't seem to mind. She was dragging poor Keila and didn't give her time to even think. 

Who was Clossos anyway?