The Crown's Obsession

Beth stared at the ceiling of the small room she was in. To think that she would be able to go home soon, it felt like a decade had passed since she had left Devon and since she had seen her sister and the rest of her family.

In the last few months, she had worked hard under the help of James, whom she had come to value as a good friend here and the person in charge Jagger and Ms. Reina. Lifting her hand up in the air as she laid on the bed, she brought her hand closer, noticing how calouse they had turned because of the work done here.

'Why is there dirt on my dress!' she heard her own voice in her head, her eyes looking lost as she continued to stare at her hands.

'Mister, do you know how expensive this is?' asked Beth to the man in the market when she had gone to get vegetables with her sister. She had only turned sixteen and she had saved enough shillings to get the money with her.

'This is the market, what do you expect? Carpet to be spread for you?' asked the man with an incredulous look on his face.

'Beth,' whispered Madeline next to her while pulling her arm. 'It is only mud, we can remove it if we pour water on it.'

In the past her sister had always been meek and quiet, and Beth had taken the role to be the stronger outspoken child. Also, she had learned from her family's actions that if she didn't speak what was on her mind and what she wanted, she would probably never get it as they had often been subtly partial towards her and her sibling.

But Beth was angry. She had worked for the little shillings, saving every penny that came to her by completing little errands before buying a beautiful dress for herself, which wasn't upto the par of the townsfolk, but better compared to the villagers.

And it wasn't by mistake, as the man had seen them coming and he had decided to step on the slosh of mud that was on the ground.

'Yes, I do expect a carpet. Who do you think I am?' questioned Beth with pride, her chin up and waiting for the man to apologize.

Of course, in the end the man didn't pay for the mud he had splattered and the girls had gone home to clean the dress.

But she had heard other girls of her age, who liked to whisper and taunt on how she had been stupid enough to wear a good dress in the market and that she deserved it. This had only spurged Beth to show off and turn herself into the most sought young lady, where people stopped what they were doing to look at her. Back then it was what she thought was an accomplishment, and right now, it made her smile.

The world wasn't small and there was so much more to it. The value was greater than what one could imagine and it was the purpose that kept them moving forward. It wasn't that the dress and jewels didn't give her joy, somewhere she was still her, but she understood it wasn't everything.

A few months ago when she was leaving Devon, it had been painful. But she was glad that she had finally stepped out of her own.

In the dim lit room with just a candle burning on the nightstand, Beth turned to lay on her side, watching the flame of the candle. When morning arrived, she packed her clothes and other belongings of hers in a trunk.

Stepping outside the house, she headed to the forest where the training for the werewolves had started.

Walking to where two werewolves were sparing against each other, Beth came to join the people who were watching. Her green eyes stared for a while before she went to stand next to Ms. Reina.

Noticing her presence, the woman asked, "Is it time already? Time does fly quickly, doesn't it. When will you be back?"

"I am not sure," replied Beth and the woman nodded her head.

"Did you decide on what we had discussed before?" the woman's eyes were fierce to look at. Her head snapped to the two people who were wrestling and she caught hold of one the werewolf's scruff to bang the person right against the ground. "What did I say about the rules? No using weapons! Go get yourself turned and meet me!" she glared before calling two more people two steps inside the circle. "Where were we?" she said getting back to Beth.

Beth doubted there was a way to return back to her human-self, but she was grateful for the hope the woman had given her.

"I will keep the gift," answered Beth with a straight face and a smug smile appeared on Ms. Reina's face.

"That's good to hear. I am sure it will come to be very handy. Your approval letter is with the magistrate that has already been signed by King Sebastian. Don't forget to collect it," said Ms. Reina.

"Thank you for everything. I won't forget it," Beth bowed her head.

"If you're going to miss this place, you can always return," the woman reminded her and she smiled. "Have a safe trip."

Nodding her head, Beth then started to walk through the forest so that she could head to the village magistrate's office. On her way, the two girls who often liked to walk around her appeared to stand in front of her. It was Laurel and Rosella.

"It is good that you are finally leaving this place," commented Rosella. "We can finally have some peace here without the conspirer in this place. Are you going to poison the King again?"

Beth didn't feel bad about it, "I did try to poison him," she accepted her mistake. In the past it had been hard to accept the truth but like many other things, it had turned easier to own up to her actions. "But I was also forgiven with the thought that I would change. I will miss both of your remarks on my life," she offered them a polite smile.