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The day of the ball
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My mother nagged me all day to get ready; I said I would, but I didn't and stayed quiet in my room. I displayed the dress I had made for Lola just for show. To this day my mother doesn't know what follows.

Painting was one of the only ways for me to keep my mind from wandering off and discovering that human kingdom that Papa talked so much about. I could only paint how I imagined the place with the little information I had gathered. Tall towers without a castle to guard them, with lots of people living on them. People singing for pleasure and dancing in the main square. It all seemed like a dream. Here duty was above pleasure. Feelings had no place.

My door broke open with a bang. She literally broke the door down with her magic. I roll my eyes and continue to pretend to paint, knowing that my time is up.

"Isabella!!! For God's sake, stop that right now. LOLA, TATIANA HERE NOW!" she screams.

My mom comes over and inspects my hair.

She slaps my head furiously.

"You two, help her bathe. I knew she wouldn't fall for that. I roll my eyes.

I wait for her to tell me what to do. There is no way I will do anything voluntarily.

I pout.

I am washed and dried. I let them waste as much time as possible. Maybe if I am too late, the mating will be over and I will avoid my worst nightmare.

Once outside, I run to my bed and lie down. I sob. Well, I'm not really crying, but I'm good at pretending.

Mom rubs my back.

"I know you are scared, but it is a great honor to be matched. You'll see. You will learn to love your suitor."

I yell in annoyance and she smacks me hard with my pillow. "Enough pretending."

I complain and get up. She has given me a new card to play.

"What if he's a womanizer or a woman beater? What if he wants to rape? Is that what you want for me? Why can't I fall in love like those women in the books you burned?"

She gets up and leads me to the chair in my room, pulling me by the wrist. She is wearing that damn bracelet tonight and she shows it to me with her eyes. My hand trembles as the similar bracelet rotates on my wrist, sending a rush of fear through my gut. She uses the device to punish me whenever I misbehave.

Since she got it a few months ago, I have been at a loss. A void fills my stomach. She follows what society tells her. It's not her fault that Dad raised me to use my brain. Some say it's because he had no sons, maybe that's why I'm so stubborn. For any other seventeen-year-old girl, this was the moment she had been waiting for.

I am the guilty one; I blame myself. For not finding a way out of this kingdom. Ever since I was told about this day, I have been looking for a way out of the kingdom, but they have always found me. There is no way out of the guarded city. My only hope is to choose a mate instead of finding a fated mate, as every girl dreams of.
At their mercy, they do my hair and makeup. They made me wear a push-up bra, as if I needed more breasts. Because my D cup wasn't enough! To my horror, I am dressed in a silk thong and stockings with beautiful embroidery on the thighs.

Goddess, does she expect me to lose my virginity tonight?
I take a deep breath. I look at the clock. The shop will close soon. My heart beats in my chest. I need time. My mother can't find out about the dress before closing time. Otherwise she'll force the owner to keep the shop open and I'll have no choice but to dress the way she wants me to.
A slut, ready to be found and fucked by her destiny, looks back at me in the mirror. My dress is my only way out of a heavenly match. If the wolf doesn't smell the chosen one, there is no match. That means I can choose a mage as my mate. Tonight, I must cover myself and use essences to keep the unwanted noses away from me. Only then, I'd gain two and a half years to find a way out, as the blue moon enhances the pheromone that calls for our chosen mate.

"Look at you. You are so beautiful. Any man would love to have you."

She means fuck me!

I cry. This time for real.

"Stop crying. You'll ruin your makeup." She moans.

She slaps my face just enough to bring me back to reality. I sob quietly. My eyes are still ruining my makeup. I can't help it anymore. The emotions I have held in for so long are showing through my eyes.

Then she squeezes the bracelet.

I grit my teeth. Needles come out and spear the skin around my wrist. It goes deep. Some stay deep in my muscles, others pinch my cartilage.

"Mom, please. I'll stop. Please." I plead, but the look on her face is clear. She was about to do it, I inhale as she presses the second button.

I shudder. The servants, who have gotten used to it in the past few months, keep me from falling.

The feeling is horrible. Electricity ran through my body. Lola said I looked like a fish out of water. It is not a pretty sight.

She asked them to put me on the bed. As soon as I was lying down, they reapplied my makeup.

Then they are called to fix her appearance. She takes a seat in my chair. I can only look. I am paralyzed. Prisoner of my body. I can only breathe and blink. My mother lifts a finger. Lola runs and puts a towel under my mouth. I was drooling. I have no control.

I regret not drinking water before. I wish I could pee myself and start all over again.

Ding dong, the real show is about to begin.

Mom's confused face looks at the servants. I wish I could see that. She's not expecting anyone on such an important day. She sends her maid to the door.

"Lola, explain to me! What exactly is her plan?" I wish I could see her face right now, but I am happy to hide my shining eyes from her without being tortured by my mother again.

Lola's body stops and bends to the floor. The thud of her knees on the wooden floor is clear. Mom is frightening her, and with good reason.

"I have no idea, madam." Her voice trembles, making my heart pinch with shame for creating this.

"Remember, I can torture you," my mother hisses with venom.

Another thud reaches my ears. I am sure her forehead is touching the icy surface now, afraid to face my mother.

"Sorry, madam, this servant is unaware of your daughter's plan."

She whimpers.

"Tell me everything you know," my mother adds with anger in her voice. No one can stand here when she is like this. She has so much power, that's one reason why they mated her with the king's second in command. But the goddesses didn't give them any sons. She became barren after my birth, announcing a great purpose for my existence. This is what they believed and why my father treated me more like a boy than a girl. He was preparing me for my future.

A rhythmic sound of footsteps reaches the door of my room.

"She bought more than a dress. Madam. The last one is there." Excited, I can only imagine the scene.

Mother running to the box and pulling out the veil attached to the hat, letting the gloves fall to the floor. Her face turning red with anger and desperation growing in the pit of her stomach. In fact, I can't even hum, the magic still running high in my system.

She screams and the box falls to the ground with a thud. She runs to the dress, still covered in the closet, where I can finally see the scene.

She slides it open, revealing the dress inside. She breathes a sigh of relief.

"Whose dress is this?" she asks, pointing to the one on the floor.

"Hers, ma'am." Her speech trembles, and her subdued voice tells me she has bent her face closer to the floor.

Mama stretches the dress. "What about this one?"

"It's too small, ma'am. She won't fit in this one."

Mom yells and kicks my maid.

Lola's cries made me feel sorry for my friend, but her misfortune was imperative for my plan.

Then my mother came running down the stairs, shouting.

"Tatianna. Where is my communication device? Now! Hurry," she hurls, already far from my room.

Lola comes close to me.

"Sorry, Isa, I had to."

I blink one eye. She exhaled.

I blinked twice.

"Oh! Your antidote. Yes. Yes." Her mouth turns into an O as she nods.

On the bright side, being tortured so often has made me think of ways to communicate. It's so helpful today.

She gives me the precious fluid. After a few minutes I can move. My muscles ache. I can still hear her scream in the background. She has sent people to look for the owner.

They won't find her. She also has a daughter to introduce. I gave her beautiful jewelry when I came back without Lola and insisted:

"You should leave early. Your daughter will have the advantage of seeing all her suitors before anyone else. Besides this fine jewelry, she will catch a good match!"

The look in her eyes told me that I had her full cooperation. She followed my plan well, even though Lola was unaware of it. Mom has her ways, and I am no fool. I have more surprises up my sleeve.

Still, I have to be late. I have to hide and hide I did. I brought a potion to cover my smell. It has a three-hour time effect. In my bathrobe, I spread the potion everywhere and went out the window.

Before I left, I said.

"Lola, wait 10 minutes and go out. Scream that I left the moment you went to the bathroom. This will protect you."

She nodded as I went out the window.

They never found me.

I came out when the potion wore off. My hair, makeup, and shower had to be redone. Mom couldn't find another dress, and I couldn't possibly wear something I already had on. She didn't want to be the laughing stock, she thought, and I knew it!

To be sure, I wouldn't fool around anymore. She pressed the third button. Her last card of the night. Lost of Will.

For three hours I would be a puppet. Unable to speak or move without her command.On our way, my mother opened her heart making me wonder if I knew her at all.

"Your dad had to give you high hopes while coping for the boy I could never give him. Your birth was the only miracle and the only light of hope I had in my life. I thought I was barren." She sighted lowering her head over my shoulder. "I am sorry now that I let him give you such freedom. I saw it when you began looking for ways to flee the kingdom and deep down I hoped that you would." She whispered to my ear. "But you failed regardless of your strength and the time has come. In the end a woman remains a woman and you are not a men. Your sole purpose and duty for your family is to carry our family name by growing children." She places a loosen hair behind her ear. "I am sorry now to have turned the eye for so long, but you will learn to forget yourself and to live like I do. A shadow of yourself." Her voice turned to a murmur making my mind wander to the implications of those last words. "I am sorry that I had to use that bracelet again, but there is no other issue for you. You must follow tradition and find a suitor or you will get us all killed. Tonight you shall find a husband and consummate your marriage."

We were late, but not that late to lose the event. I could only hope to avoid any suitors with my dress. Who would want a mate bold enough to fight against traditions?

No veil, no gloves. Lola had hidden them in the car as requested and sprayed the remaining liquid in them for me just before we left. Like always,  she is a loyal friend. As a werewolf servant, she is immune to my persuasion magic, but she is my ally.

45 minutes remaining . People were staring at me, while girls were gossiping among themselves giving me an eye, men were avoiding my gaze.

Just 30 minutes left.
Mom is becoming increasingly irritated. She keeps waving at people she knows, only to learn that they have already settled their son.

Can the clock go any faster, 15 minutes, just 15.
Defeated she finds Dad in the crowd and hurries to him. Before she finishes her story, he smiles proudly at me. He always loved my fighting spirit and hoped to find a way to give me a greater purpose than being a housekeeper. Whatever that meant.

A tingling sensation running through my arm made me move it. Dad's blinking eye made my head grow, he was distracting my mother for me.

Turning on my heels, I hid among the crowd.

Finally out, all I needed was my veil and gloves. My scent had to be masked to avoid my possible mate, a wolf. Only then would I feel safe and have some sense of freedom! Until next year, or until I accepted an alliance with a man of my choice. Yes, it was my best option, an alliance that could meet my mother's expectations.

A servant took me to my car, he alone had the car keys.

To my doom, they parked it near the king's limousine. For once, I cursed my father and his title. He was the king's right hand and because of it odds were higher, I could cross paths with a wolf. After all, wolves surround the king as his bodyguards. Getting my things back was a huge risk.

The servant opened the door. I jumped into the car and frantically searched for my purse. "Crap!"
It fell under the seat.

"Miss, are you okay? Do you need any help?"

"Don't worry, ouch."  The metal frame of the seat slit my skin. Sucking on my finger, I put on my hat and veil. A nearby door closed with brute force making me jolt me to my feet and out of the car.
My glove, I have to put on the glove.

My scent was all over the car and now I was bleeding enough to be smelled from a distance. ' only one, one glove to fit.'

The valet was walking ahead of me, leading the way, while I was doing my best to walk in this huge dress.
I'm regretting my choice right now!

A shadow passes by me and slams the valet into a car.  "Mate," a man says, lifting my hand and pulling it up to his nose.

"No," I whispered pleadingly to those beautiful gray-blue eyes looking back at me.

I am fucked! Literally!

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Present Time
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It was a long time ago. I worked hard to get out. After ten years, two kids and one on it's way, I got out. I was lucky.

Lucky because my husband, like me, was looking for his freedom and together we left that kingdom behind. Until all his beliefs turned against us, his family.

I look back at the screen and see them jumping over the bed. Everyone has a room now, no more sharing. Why did I wait so long to move out of that place? It was supposed to be temporary until it wasn't.

Richard's place will be our nest until I can be with them again, and maybe even after that. Richard is a good and strong man.

A warm feeling nests in my heart. I yawn and get ready. It's too late and Annie hasn't made it to the apartment. She won't be on the screen for a while. Tom took her on a trip and I allowed it. After all, she is so young; she needs to live a little.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ NOTE

Do you have any questions?

What a ride !! (っ＾▿＾)💨

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