Author's note: Hey guys! I'm SO sorry this took so freaking long to come out. It was my turn to write out this chapter, but with my writer's block, an event that happened for a week that caused me to not be able to write, and troubles with school, completing this chapter took an unfortunate amount of time. But I PROMISE that none of the other chapters will take this long to come out unless said before hand. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and tell us what you think!

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Jesse straightened her posture, folding and placing her hands gently above her stomach. She held her head high as she stared out the grand window that was directly in front of her, consuming an entire wall, moonlight streaming through, reflecting off the polished flooring of the ballroom. The kingdom's beautiful paper lanterns filled the streets, lit by the active citizens, that during the night would illuminate the frigid atmosphere, the closest they were going to get to basking in real sunlight. But she tried to keep her focus on the marching of a pair of feet that paced circles around her, the inflated sound of the person's voice and footsteps bouncing off the walls of the empty ballroom. Jesse's governess, Lucaria, came into view, stepping in from the right, her posture perfect with her hands folded behind her back in an intimidating way. Her eyes never met Jesse's as she held her head tall and proud, a powerful and commanding voice spilling from her lips.

"Now, recite to me the Tiara Protocol." She commanded, her older but proper voice booming through the room.

Jesse took a deep breath, making sure to keep her posture, and remember the proper words. She knew her voice was expected to be the perfect image of both grace and confidence, just as her mother, Elindrial, had taught her many years ago. "On any and all occasions, a tiara must be placed on the head at a forty-five degree angle when seen from a profile view. This rule is most important for any royal bride, as they are expected to bear their fiancée's jewels as a sign that they are now a part of his family."
Relief caught in her throat as she anxiously waited for Lucaria to either correct her or hum in approval, before moving onto the next question. But she remained silent, other than the repeating pattern of her heels clicking against the polished marble. Panicked thoughts raced through Jesse's mind as she automatically assumed she had recited it wrong, trying to recall precisely what the scrolls she had studied said. But the sound of a very specific humming broke her thoughts, washing away any ideas of failure.

"Right, last question for tonight...how are you to walk down a flight of stairs according to "Royal Manners and Etiquette" by Lapis Legeré?"

A relatively simple question. One that she knew by heart. She remembered spending hours trying perfect the technique, practising and practising until grace became natural. No easy feat for any royal. She took a deep breath, carefully choosing her words before answering.
"If you are being escorted by a gentleman, then you are to gently loop your arm through theirs. If not, then rest one hand on the railing, and your other hand should remain beside your thigh. Be sure that your chin is parallel to the stairs and your toes pointed towards the railings at all times until you reach the bottom of the steps..." She was ready to dart out of there as soon as her governess gave the word. She was ready to leave the ballroom behind her and face the great outdoors, to have the call of the whippoorwill reach her pointed ears, to race past the wild bittersweet field and down the stream. It was already such a beautiful night to walk a moonlit landscape, to see the softest shades that silver starlight now revealed. But it was little ways past the stream where her heart was set on, the thing she longed for most of all; playing with a pack of Les Loups Mors, she had come to know. To the Midnights, they were more commonly referred to as Mors, but to the Dawns, they were known as the Nightbeasts. Relatively friendly and harmless to Midnights whom they deemed unthreatening, an honour that she was lucky enough to be graced with. For the most part, she was free to roam the royal acres, excluding certain parts, such as the woods, where she was not allowed to walk alone.
"Excellent work, your highness. Tomorrow we will review The Royal Family Tree." A peaceful silence ensued.
"Dismissed. Good night, Your Grace..."
Lucaria finished, her rough yet proud voice echoed through the room before she bent down in a small curtsy. Jesse mirrored the action, answering Lucaria's curtsy with her own before wishing her a humble goodnight. She watched as her governess made her way towards the end of the room, toward the large, finished dark oak doors, heels once again clicking against the floor. Once she was out of sight, Jesse lifted her weighty dress and ran, eager to escape the confining palace walls. She ran past servants and maids, and other staff members of her home, who were all a little startled by the sight of their princess dashing full speed through the halls. All but two influential individuals who just happened to be Jesse's best friends; Royal Redstoneologist, Olivia Cresent, and her work partner, the Royal Explosive Specialist, Axel Auberon. Both were good friends of Her Grace, ones that were allowed to simply call her Jesse.
"Jesse, don't tell me you're gonna go back out with that pack of Mors again." Olivia whispered, stopping her in her tracks with a concerned but unsurprised expression. Olivia was always protective in her own way, cautious and analytical. She almost always prioritized responsibility and safety over fun. Because of this, she was often accused of ruining the mood or any potential fun, but it was something she was used to.

'Awww, come on, Olivia! Jesse's fairly responsible, what's the worst that can happen?' A tall, black-haired man interrupted, leaning into their conversation, keeping his voice low as to not let it slip into anyone else's ears. Axel, however, was the opposite. Though on occasion he did make a responsible decision, often times he threw caution to the wind. However, due to his stealth qualities, which were lacking, he was rarely ever successful in his mischievous adventures. Olivia sighed defeatedly, knowing that her input wouldn't change Jesse's mind.
'Fine. But don't come crying to me once both of you get in trouble.' Her deep brown eyes stared at Jesse, pinning her with a hawklike glare, with one of her redstone covered hands on her hip, before she diverted her gaze towards Axel, her eyelids half-lidded. The expression on her face was the very definition of judgement as her eyes not only darted to Axel, but fixated on him for much longer than Jesse.

'Hey!' An offended scoff escaped Axel's lips in a whisper. The two friends began to bicker as Jesse quietly slipped away into the grand hall, ensuring that her slippers didn't make a sound. Sapphirelles lined the halls in large, delicate vases, their petals radiating a glow, lighting the hall. The young woman's racing steps were absorbed by the cobalt blue carpet, the draft of her swift movements swaying the long banners and tapestries lining the walls. She disappeared down a swirling staircase, nearly tripping in her haste to reach the outdoors as she sprinted for the grand doors. Opening the palace doors, her satisfaction was finally met as she clung to the feeling of the breeze hitting every inch of her face. She raced down the gleaming quartz staircase, swift, but careful to not injure herself, choosing to ignore the odd looks the entrance guards shared between themselves.

Water from a clear pond, reflected by silver moonlight, laid beneath her as she swayed her bare feet back and forth, having kicked off her slippers earlier. She planned to sit and watch the rippling of the water as leaves gracefully flew down for a few minutes, and then sneak out into a clearing in the woods, beyond the boundaries her parents had set. Once her few minutes were up, she rose from the dark wooden deck and quietly crept past the tree line and into both the familiar and unknown. The forest floor sank beneath her weight as the sound of snapping twigs and crunching leaves echoed throughout the trees. She made her way past the tree trunks as she attempted to lift her gown as much as possible, an irritating effort to both help her walk through quicker, and avoid any visible evidence on the hem of the fabric. It was always difficult to see her own feet in the darkness of the woods as she passed the stream, her only lights being the streaming moonlight through the canopy and the faint glow of wild bittersweet and sappirelles. But eventually, she found what she had been seeking. Before her was a familiar, majestic pack of Mors. Their fur an obsidian black, resembling that of a husky, and the glowing purple markings running along the tip of their ears, down the scruffs that they were famous for. Deep, lustrous violet eyes pierced into your soul as they gazed directly at you, their pink tongues flicking across their teeth.

All eight of the five-week old pups spotted Jesse and quickly skipped and hopped their way towards her, standing on their hind legs and placing their front paws on her thigh, like a canine begging for scraps. The full-grown mother Mor was lying down, calmly watching as her pups excitedly played with the familiar princess, the only human she had allowed them to be around so freely. Jesse bent down to interact with the pups closer. They attempted to tackle her, as all eight worked together to topple her over with kisses and leave her pinned to the leaf-scattered floor. A fit of giggles escaped from her lips as their purple tongues all licked her face, grinning as their tails wagged enthusiastically. But in the midst of play date between Jesse and the Mor pups, the mother Mor pupils constricted, her half-lidded eyes shooting all the way open, her muzzle poking up in the air. Her dark nose sniffed the earthy night breeze, trying to track down and identify the scent she had spontaneously detected. She got up from her spot on the dirt and paced the floor, cautiously tracking the smell. But she abruptly stopped in her tracks for a moment, staring off into the distance at nothing, almost as if she was thinking. Once she had made her decision, she faced her pups and stared at them intently, as if she were communicating with them. They responded to their mother's stare by stopping their playing and padding over to her, following her lead like ducklings.

Jesse watched the mother Mor's eyes, as she stared at them, then watched as the pups unhesitantly got up and walked with her, their heads low and their ears folded back. To Jesse, they looked scared. But she had to ask why a beast as legendary and powerful as a Mor would retreat so quickly, especially at something as mere as a scent? Not many creatures could win a fight against a Mor, and the ones that can were far too dangerous to be allowed to lurk so close to the palace. A chill ran down her spine, and she suddenly didn't feel comfortable. Didn't feel safe. Curiosity had her debating whether or not to examine the area, but something in the pit of her stomach told her she should leave, her instinct. Something about the night 's atmosphere turned dark and sour, even though logic had told her that nothing actually changed. But then she noticed it. Something had changed. It was quiet. Absolute silence. No wind, no owls, no other nocturnal birds, no howling. Nothing. Nothing other than the racing thumping of her own heartbeat ringing in her ears...
Something was horribly wrong...