Louisa's POV
Will walked into the room, gloating and giggling.
He threw himself between me and Zackery, looking up at us.
"You look happy, little bat," Zackery looked curiously at him.
"I peed on Lucas' face and he didn't catch me!" Will said with excitement.
"I've got a lot of questions for you, little man," Zackery said.
"I don't want to tell you anything." Will turned his head away from him and said. "My father told me that you're a bad person."
"Me? Vincent told you something about me?" Zackery asked.
"Yes. He said you're the worst wolf he has come across in the past century. You and Lycidas. Both of you will be doomed." Will said without looking at him.
"Hey, that's not fair. We are always trying to be nice to vampires. Wolf Kings used to systematically kill vampires on the mainland. We couldn't be worse than them," Zackery tried to justify himself.
"Will, I smell marshmallows somewhere in this place. Could you please look for them? I want to make some grilled marshmallows for midnight snacks," I said.
"No," Will hid his head in my arms like a little ostrich.
"Grilled marshmallows? I like some!" Akela walked into the room with wet hair. It seemed that she had just taken a bath.
Zackery looked at the entrance of the room and a bright smile appeared on his face.
"Lucas, do you want to fetch us some marshmallows from the kitchen?" he said.
Lucas looked very puzzled. He was wet from head to toe, with a towel covering his head. It seemed that he had taken a bath in the lake.
As soon as I saw the perfect body underneath his wet shirt, I was turned on.
I had to turn my head away, so I didn't look embarrassed.
"Marshmallows, Your Excellency?" he asked.
"Yeah. The colorful candies that are lighter than clouds," Zackery said.
"Your Excellency, the world is coming to an end and you want me to get your candies?" Lucas said.
"Why not? It's Full Moon's Day and I'm in a festival mood," Zackery said.
"Your Excellency, may I have a word with you?" Lucas threw the towel on the floor and said.
"Yeah, bring it on," Zackery said.
"In private," Lucas said. "We can look for marshmallows together."
"It takes two grown-up men to look for candies?" Zackery looked a bit reluctant.
"It's a fucking big house, Your Excellency," Lucas said. He looked as if he was reaching his limit of tolerance.
"Alright. I'm on a treasure-hunting trip with the Alpha of White Walkers. Exciting." Zackery laughed and stood up.
He quickly pecked on my head and ruffled Will's hair.
"Stay with Louisa. Don't go anywhere, little man," Zackery said.
"Ahhh! Don't mess up my hair! It's totally unnecessary!" Will protested and snarled at him, exposing his fangs.
After Lucas and Zackery walked away, Will looked at me and said, "They must be scheming something. Do you want me to spy on them?"
I shook my head and said, "Don't worry, Will. Stay here with me, because I want to snuggle you."
Will looked very happy, stroking my cheek with his head.
"Your son looks so adorable," Akela said. "And you look so young to have a son of this age. My brother used to tell me that some servant girls get married as soon as they get their first period. It must be horrible to get married to someone so young, isn't it?"
"She's not a servant girl!" Will protested. "You keep calling her a servant girl and it's really annoying!"
Akela looked very confused. Then, she was observed to give up thinking, picked up a brush from the table, and started to brush her long red hair.
"Have you known Lucas for long?" I asked.
"Not really. I only met him a few years ago at the King's party. His Majesty introduced me to him. I was wearing my favorite purple embroidered sheer-bodice dress. I was dancing with Lucas and everyone was looking at us. Lucas said that he liked my legs. That was the only thing he said to me that night. He was so charming and he made me realize that I do have great legs," Akela smiled and said.
What an amazing story. Love at first sight.
I rubbed my forehead and sighed.
"I know what people think of me," Akela said. "A lot of people say that I'm stupid. But I don't think those self-righteous smart people can live any better life than I do."
"Akela, please don't listen to others. They don't know what they're talking about. Sometimes, they're just trying to be mean, so they can feel that they're better than others," I said.
"Yes, you're right." Akela looked at me and smiled. "That's exactly what I want to say! I have always wanted to say things like that, but I just can't find the words. You're very smart for a servant girl. Where did you go to school? Did they teach you to say something like that at school?"
"I have never been to any schools. I wish I could get more education," I lowered my head and whispered.
"It's such a pity! School days were the best time of my life. Everyone should go to school. You can hang out with so many people at the same time! The only thing I don't like is the uniform. They ask everyone to dress up in the same uniform and I just hate wearing the same clothes as others," she said.
"Did you meet Zackery at the Royal Academy?" I asked.
"Yeah. I have known Zack since I was a little girl. He was so smart! I have never seen him studying anything, but whenever he was called to answer a question, he would always get the right answer! He was the second straight-A student in our school."
"Who's the first one?" I asked.
"Lucian. But we weren't allowed to say his name in our class. He was expelled... a big disgrace. If we mentioned his name, we would get punished by copying Guillaume's name correctly a hundred times. It's a very difficult name. I can never get it right," Akela said.
I was silent.
I doubted what people could learn from an academy like that.
"I'm going to sleep now," Akela yawned. "I'll have to go to the tailor in Skagen City for measurement of my wedding dress."
She stood up and looked at me, "Are you coming with me?"
"Me?" I asked.
"Yeah. You seem to know a lot of things about clothes. I was in your tent this morning and saw the cloak you made for your son. It's really great to work," Akela said.
"Akela," I asked. "When were you in my tent this morning?"