Clover

The soft sound of hooves clipping over the stoned path interrupted the soft humming of the girl. She sighed as she got up form her crouched position and made her way towards the front of her cottage.

It was still seven and she didn’t open her shop for 2 more hours. Confused, she dusted her blue dress and tried to look more presentable. Though it wasn’t actually possible,since her bun now had twigs in it and the sleeves of her dress were wet with muddy water.

But it didn’t really matter to her. Well,what do they expect from a florist early morning anyways?

She quickly entered her cottage from the back door and took a long breath, waiting for whoever who was now going to knock on her doors any moment now.

She took a look at her attire in the mirror by the dining table and frowned.

Leave it.

She thought as someone rang the bell hanging outside her doors. Vespera plastered a smile on her face as she opened the wooden doors to welcome the visitor but was shocked to see the royal guards standing outside her home.

Her facade faltered a little as she cleared her throat and stepped aside to let the guards in, who were staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze. Half a dozen of large,armed weres entered her small abode and took on all the corners before a small,petite woman entered her dwelling.

The woman looked young, around her early twenties, just like Vespera who herself was 23. The young lady was fair and had long,soft brown curls cascading down her back, unlike Vespera whose hair was currently a home to twigs and mud of all sorts. Though young, the woman carried an air of authority around her and her steely gray eyes oozing dominance, which made the young Vespera bow her neck in submission to the young she-wolf.

She bowed elegantly to the royal standing in front of her and stepped aside to let the regal lady in. The young lady smiled at her in approval as she stepped inside and sat on one of the little chairs by the dining table. Vespera closed the door hurriedly and quickly sat in front of the young lady, but on the floor ,bowing her head as sign of respect and her submission to the superiority.

“Your grace.”

She said politely nodding her head, not once making eye-contact with the higher ranked she-wolf.

The young royal laughed lightly at the formalities but said nothing. Instead she took the other she-wolf by her shoulders and raised her. She hugged the young wolf who now stood stiff and awkwardly pat the royal on her back and hugged her back.

“Oh please! Call me Rachel. I don’t like so many formalities. Makes me feel i’m 60 instead of 36.”

The royal lady or more likely, Rachel laughed as young Vespera stood there both flabbergasted and flustered at the bluntness of the royal wolf and her sudden outburst of affection and a teeny weeny bit of her age. Okay, more like a lot of her astonishment was because of her actual age, but she concealed it well.

“Yes your hig-” She started but stopped at once seeing her glare.

“Uh-Um..Rachel” She completed as she saw the satisfied grin on her face.Rachel squealed and ushered Vespera to get closer. As the young florist reached her, she grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her on one of the chairs and hurriedly took the seat next to her and her rough, slightly big hands in her own small,soft ones.

To say that Vespera felt like a whirlwind passed her would be an understatement. Still a little stunned by her earlier friendly outburst, she got dazed by the unpredictable strength and speed the young lady had in her. She wasn’t used to it.

Heck she wasn’t even used to being in presence of mere delta warriors that roamed through the streets of the rather large kingdom. And sitting here, in presence of such higher ranked warriors and a royal herself was a little too much for her wolf to accommodate, when all her beast wanted was to submit like a meek rabbit and run,with her tail in between her legs.

She smiled, a little scared of what the royal lady had to say. She was getting herself ready for whatever accusation that was to come her way and prepared her answer.For the wolves of lower ranks weren’t allowed to speak unless spoken to. It was a common rule and everyone knew it.

You don’t disrespect a royal.

“so..” Rachel started and Vespera gave the royal her undivided attention as she continued, “I was here to ask for your help.”

Now that was something she had not expected.

She thought they were here to either arrest her or directly kill her for the one time she tried to free one of the Delta Barry’s little parakeets or the time when she secretly fed one of old Mrs.Harrison’s chicken some pickle just for the fun of watching them run like their tails were on fire..or the one time she accidentally on purpose broke the grumpy Leo’s ‘abstract’ statues for mocking her for riding a horse.

She snorted at the last one but then got reminded of the superior she-wolf sitting in front of her , who now looked quite skeptical but then started laughing.

Vespera frantically searched for appropriate apologies inside her head while the royal lady in front of her shook her head and wiped some of the happy tears that leaked out of her eyes.

“Those were surely some happy memories. weren’t they?” She said smiling.

“Y-Yeah” Vespera stuttered as she blushed profusely and Rachel smiled at her.

“But how?” She added quickly,“If you don’t mind me asking me,that is.” and cleared her throat.

“I can see into memories. Like an insight. watching other people’s life through their perception..It’s quite enthralling.” She said smiling and added,” now enough about me..Tell me can you help me?”

“Of course Your maj-- I mean R-Rachel!” Vespera said flustered, wondering what a royal might need from a mere low ranking florist like her.

Rachel shook her head smiling and nodded towards the man who stood beside her, someone Vespera hadn’t noticed before. Vespera began to get up to greet him but was stopped by a small nod by the big man in armor as he took out a scroll from beneath his arm and gave her to Rachel ,bowing lightly.

“Here.” Rachel said handing the scented scroll to Vespera as she smiled and continued, “This includes the invitation to the royal ball which is to be held in a 3 day’s time to welcome the prince.”

“Um..why am I-” She started but was interrupted by Rachel.

“I want you to decorate the ball.”

Wait what?!

“M-me?” Vespera stuttered at the sudden proposition and said, “..uh that would be my greatest honor Rachel but there are so many better florists in the kingdom and the royal gardener himself is so--”

“-is sick and has suggested your name for handling this event himself.” Vespera’s little rant was cut short by Rachel’s statement as she sat there stunned yet again.

“He did?” she asked.

“Yes he did. Now tell me will you take up this offer? Because if you do then Sir Arnold was thinking of having you work under him as his assistant at the palace for 6 months and then beside him. This is a win-win for you I gue-”

“Sorry to disturb but Your Grace it’s time.” The head warrior beside Rachel said in a low gruff voice as she huffed out a breath of irritation and mumbled something under her breath.

“Are you alright Rachel?” Vespera asked feeling worried for her superior, as if sensing her distress and utter dislike for whatever was to come her way.

“Yeah..so as I was saying ..It’s a win-win situation for you. Anyways think about it overnight and If you are interested you can just come tomorrow to the palace with the letter and you’ll find me there. Just ask my name. alright? Now I must go..since I am running late ”

She stated the last sentence with distaste glaring at the head warrior from her periphery and scoffed and turned to give her one more hug before exiting her small,cozy home with her guards right behind her.

The door closed quietly as Vespera sat on the chair exhausted, with the letter with beautiful cursive scribbles in one hand and her head in the other thinking about one thing only.

She'd just been invited to a royal ball.