Hade's Rose

Chapter Two: Kitchen Musings

The rhythmic splash of water was numbing, as I scrubbed and cleaned the endless piles of dishes and assorted crockery. The job was dull and repetitive, as were most roles given to me. But, Edna thought she was being kind in giving me this chore, as it meant I wasn't having to walk or haul my way around the extensive property. No doubt this also inspired the change in my cleaning rota to just the King's quarters. And, I was grateful; it was sad, but true – the constant bending and walking across the staterooms and many halls were leaving me worse for wear. Although, I could hardly reveal that it was the separation from the King that had been compounding my pain. But, being down here in the dish pit was decidedly worse than hiking around to clean. It was often times lonely and it left me to dwell on my thoughts for too long.

Today I felt mentally stronger however. Contemplating the change, I caught my reflection in the back of a now spotless pan. A gawkishly thin figure, with a sickly olive complexion and lanky black hair, looking flat due to its heavy weight down my back. My eyes, what I once considered a source of vanity, were brown and dull with the residue of hopelessness. But, as I scrubbed away dirt, I could feel in me a burst of energy I hadn't felt in a long while.

Although we hadn't been starved in the Bane pack, neither did we have much food to spare. I had struggled with seeing my compatriots grow plump and lively around me these last few months, whilst I wasted even further away. Stabbing my brush into a particularly stubborn plate stain, memories stabbed back at me.

The Bane Pack had been my home for as long as I could remember. The humans were made to live in small communes, second-class citizens to the wolf-people. Our lives had been plain, some education and access to healthcare was allowed, enough not to risk censure from the Crown's human rights' laws. It had been that way for a long time, the Pack flirting with the law and what they could get away with.

But, the pack leaders and Alpha took things too far when they began administering the human women with scent blockers. A procedure they forced upon all the women from the time they hit puberty age to block wolfmen from finding their mate amongst the supposedly 'too weak' and 'vulnerable'. Of course, such a procedure could not escape the King's attention forever, although by then it had been common practise in the Bane Pack for thirty years. I can still remember my first injection when I was 12. They did it whilst we were in school, herding the girls through the medical office as if it was no big deal and inserting an implant into our arm.

Ten years they last, or there abouts, although they repeated the procedure every eight just to be sure. I remember my mum having to get hers done, although by then women her age were mostly nonplussed by the situation. Unless you were one of the unlucky ones... one of the women who discovered they did have a mate amongst the wolfmen. It was rare, but not so rare that we didn't all know of at least a few who had had such a curse.

We were taught from a young age not to reveal to anyone the identity of your mate, if such a person existed. It was inevitably a death sentence; the man, unhindered by the bond, would be able to relocate you to a far corner of Pack lands. Left to wither away. Out of sight, out of mind. Or, you simply disappeared, predicted to have been killed. Of course, some humans speculated that the wolfmen simply kept their mates hidden from society, locking them away in their homes if they could afford to do so. But, we had no proof of such a thing. For of course, no human could definitively prove that they were the mate to a wolfman – of course, they would have a tattoo that appeared, but who was to say it was for them?

It was a horrible fate for any woman to go through. To feel the pull of the mate bond and for your mating mark to appear across your arms and back, yet to keep yourself totally in the dark. Eventually losing the will to live as your soul was crushed over time. It was a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone.

"Rose? Rose, are you still here?" The call brought me abruptly out of my reverie.

"In here", I called back, staring guiltily at everything still left to do.

Edna bustled in, a perfect square of a woman with hair that resembled a brown loaf of bread. Her manner firm and unyielding, yet she was not afraid to tease and laugh. Suffice to say, I warmed to her quite quickly upon my arrival. "What are you still doing here?" she scolded, wagging a pudgy finger at me, "the bell for the servants' dinner rang fifteen minutes ago."

"Sorry Edna, I lost track of time." I pulled off my gloves and tried to look contrite. I was rarely hungry these days and had little appetite.

"Come along Dear, I saved you a plate." As I walked past, Edna squeezed my arm affectionately. For some reason, Edna had always taken time to look out for me since my arrival, making sure I was comfortable and looked after. She reminded me of my mum and for that I was supremely grateful.

"How was this morning? Did you get up the stairs ok?" her tone was warm and friendly as she spoke. She never made me feel embarrassed of my disability, just accepted.

"It was fine, thanks." Opening up a little, I went over everything I did quickly and asking any questions I had been saving: "Am I meant to water the flowers?"

"I wouldn't bother, one of the gardeners replaces them every other day. Are you sure it's not too much for you? I can get someone to help. They're large rooms."

"No, no." I tried to hide my panic. The only thing that would keep me alive that bit longer was close proximity to my mate and to be in contact with his scent. I couldn't afford to have that time cut in half with someone else doing the cleaning with me. "Honestly, I'm fine" I assured Edna, squeezing her arm back in affection.

"Alright Dear, but I don't want to see you back here after dinner. It's straight to bed with you, you look ready to drop!" There was no point arguing with her when she used that tone of voice, neither did I want to. I was ready to fall into bed and sleep for a very long time.

Arriving in the Dining Hall, I surprised myself by eagerly accepting the plate of food left out for me and digging in with some kind of gusto. Girls I grew up with invited me to their table to eat, they were just finishing their meals and idly chatting. I didn't say much, but they were used to that by now.

"I saw King Hadrian today" whispered Melissa, as if saying his name was something forbidden. A tall, frizzy haired girl I occasionally remember seeing in the school year above me. Other girls sat along the table twittered in excitement.

"Oh yeah, where? And when?" gushed Sam, always keen for a bit of gossip. We had never been close, but our mums had worked in laundry together for years. She leaned her whole body in, along with the others at the table.

"Well, I didn't see much. He was surrounded by his councillors, coming down the Guilded Corridor." For some reason I didn't know, in the East Wing where the meeting chambers were kept, we servants called the main corridor running through it the 'Guilded Corridor'. To be fair, it was fancy enough to merit the name.

"What was he like?" Sam enquired, her eyes alight with curiosity.

"Tall... Very tall." Melissa clearly did not have a lot to reveal, but the girls seemed impressed with just that tidbit. "Rose, you've been reassigned to the King's quarters, what have you seen?" The girls swivelled their heads expectantly in surprise and admiration.

Damn. I didn't think any of them knew that. Edna promising to keep it quiet in case it was interpreted as favouritism. "Ermm... not much to say" I added quietly, awkwardly shuffling my cutlery.

Sam, pouncing like a cat, "You're cleaning the King's private quarters!"

"Hush Sam, try not to yell it any louder" Alice intervened. I inwardly sighed gratefully, Alice was always such a sweetheart and could read when people were uncomfortable. "We all know Rose, she won't want to share about anyone's business if she doesn't have to, so let's leave well enough alone."

I gave Alice a small smile. Sam didn't look like she was quite finished, but she had the good sense not to pry any further. We'd all grown up learning such a skill, and we knew when to give each other their privacy. In a bid to change the topic of conversation, Alice asked the group "Anyone considering getting their implants removed early? I hear Leah has had hers taken out." Leah was an older woman from our district, who transferred here to work as a secretary in town. New chatter arose in the group, and I took that as a sign to limp away, back to the safety of my little room.