It was in the early hours of the morning; the sun hadn’t come out yet when Samara returned to the night shadow packhouse with a heavy heart as to what had happened with the rogue king. None of the wolves had woken up too, so she didn’t expect to meet or bump into anyone on the way, and it was exactly as she thought.
But upon returning to her room, a big surprise met her as she nearly jumped out of her skin seeing that Walden and his bitch of a sister were waiting for her right there.
She began to stammer like a scared puppy, “g-good morning, s-s-sire… I didn’t expect to see you here. What are you doing in my room so early?”
Walden shook his head, “I just returned from the silver territories where I’d been helping them out with my army, and you didn’t happen to be there with me, so it seems you went somewhere else.”
“I just went to stay with a friend close by, sire.”
He scoffed, “so, Sandy was right. You have been sneaking out of the packhouse and you denied it so well the last time. Might I know who this friend of yours is? Because I’m not aware of anyone you could possibly have been spending so many nights without informing me at least.”
“It’s a personal matter, sire. I hope I will be excused from telling you who it is.”
“You said it’s close by, so why does this friend of yours live outside the border?”
“Outside the border? Sire, I….”
“Do not lie to me, Samara. My men spotted your wolf running as we were returning. I told them not to stop you, as I would be dealing with you personally… so, not only have you been lying to me, but you’ve also betrayed my trust as well.”
“I would never betray your trust, sire. I swear on my life that I would never.”
Sandy just shrugged with her deceitful words as Walden’s voice became louder, “so who then did you go to see that you didn’t want I or anyone else to find out?”
Samara sighed, “I’ll tell you the truth sire, but please, before I do, can I just ask a small request?”
“You will be given no requests.”
“Please, sire… I promise I will tell you as soon as it is done.”
“What is it?”
“Can you ask Sandy to excuse us? I don’t mean to say this, but her stares make me so uncomfortable,” she stated innocently. “I know she believes that I’m a bad person but it’s far from that.”
Sandy began to yell, “are you scared that I will debunk any lies that pass through those teeth of yours, huh? Are you scared that your lies will finally be exposed…”
Walden cut her short, “Sandy…”
“Walden, you can’t seriously allow her to send me out! She’s going to fill your head with…”
“That’s enough, Sandy!”
“But, brother…”
“I said shut up.”
.
After keeping his sister quiet, he then turned back to Samara who still had that innocent and sad expression written all over her.
“Why do you want Sandy to leave? Is there a problem if she stays while you speak?”
“There shouldn’t have been, but sadly, there is. I’ve already told you the reason, sire. It’s not just about the way she speaks, the way she looks at me, especially when you’re not around. She judges and despises me so much; I do not even have a hint of any of the accusations she points at me so harshly. I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding and she…”
“There is no misunderstanding! Stop lying, Samara, you…”
“I did not ask you to talk, did I?”
Sandy kept quiet again after eyeing Samara, “sorry, brother,” she muttered.
“If I tell Sandy to excuse us, you promise to tell me everything about whatever it is you’ve been hiding?”
Samara nodded, “I promise, sire. I promise to tell you every word.”
“Sandy?”
“Yes, brother?”
“Please, excuse us.”
“Walden, I seriously can’t believe you…”
“That’s an order, Sandy. I will meet with you after my talk with Samara.”
Sandy nodded her head, dismissing her reserves, “okay brother.”
After the door closed, Walden spoke to Samara again.
“So, Sandy is gone now, just like you’d asked. You can start speaking now.”
**********
Sandy’s heart remained jittery as she paced about in her brother’s room, waiting for him to return.
Samara. How evil could a person be? She has the mind to ask her to leave her room, because she knows she can only fill Walden’s head with lies if she’s not there. It pained Sandy so much that Walden keeps taking her side, but how much more could a princess do?
“This is all for you, Conor, because I know I have to avenge your death. I have to make Samara pay for all she’s done to you…”
She suddenly heard the door open which cut off her thoughts. Finally! Walden was back from the talk with Samara. It only remained for her to vacuum all the lies she’d planted from his head. It would be tough for her to do so, but she certainly won’t give up until Walden sees the snake for who she truly is.
“Walden… I don’t know whatever it is that Samara has told you, but please… You have to believe me when I say that she’s not who you say she is. I will keep hammering on it because I know it’s true. Samara does not mean well for any of us.”
“Sandy…”
“Walden, please… Before you say anything, let me just talk. Samara is a liar and a deceiver. She tricks people into thinking that she is otherwise but it’s far from that. She’s killed a lot of people. Do you even bother to do a head count of all your guards? Why is it that some of them just disappear mysteriously and most are the ones under Samara?”
“Sandy…”
“Walden, please…”
“Sandy!”
She sighed, knowing that all this talk of hers was a fruitless effort. Samara had once again turned over the mind of her brother completely.
“What will I say to make you believe me, brother? Do you possibly think that Samara could mean well for you any more than I do?”
His next words surprised her.
“You do not have to say anything again Sandy, because I believe you.”