The Taste of Seduction

Meredith asked Kate as she tugged her along quickly through previously unexplored corridors of the castle.

Tomorrow was the day that she was going to do the public ritual to remove her spell.

Ever since they came back from the trip she hadn\'t seen Marcus anywhere. When she asked they said he had gone to sort some royal business whatever that meant.

Atlas had taken the role of her bodyguard and they spent literally every second together. But every night, Meredith would wake up in an empty bed.

She knew he was hiding something from her. The late night sneaking and him coming back with bruises on his face and body.

Maybe he was training in order to be strong enough to protect her. She trusted him so if he didn\'t want to share whatever he was doing with her she was okay with it.

Kate brought her back from her stupor as she replied,

"We are going to get you a dress.

"Down here?" Meredith asked in confusion.

"Yep"

She answered as they entered a large room and flicked on the lights.

As her eyes adjusted, she inhaled sharply. For as far as she could see, the room was filled with racks and racks of clothing. She breathed,

"What is this place?"

"This place is a storehouse where we kept your mother\'s belongings, especially her clothes.

Meredith glanced at the clothing as she followed her. All of it appeared to be new with tags still hanging on them. When they reached their destination, Beatrix gasped,

"Wow!"

There were exquisite and stunning gowns in every

size, shape and color. Several of them quickly

caught her eyes.

"I know!" Kate answered excitedly, still continuing

along her determined path. "We need to find the

ones specific to the ritual."

"There are certain gowns just for the ritual ?"

Meredith asked curiously.

"Oh yes. We need a specific gown which can stand harsh magic. We don\'t want you to be naked after you change into your wolf form. Some fabrics are laced with magic so they can stitch together after they have been shredded into pieces.

"You mean to say my dress will shred into pieces once I turn?"

Nerves shot through Meredith at the thought of her being naked in front of strangers she didn\'t know.

"Yes but don\'t worry once you go back to your human form, the cloak of the dress will automatically cover you. "

Meredith scrunched her nose in confusion.

"How is that possible?"

Kate grinned and shrugged, "Magic. Everything is possible."

Meredith was speechless as she watched her pull out three different dresses. Kate led her to a large fitting area with a platform and floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

There was no specific room to change, just an empty rack where she hung the dresses. She stepped back, obviously waiting for Meredith to remove her clothes.

Meredith flushed as she removed her clothes. Kate, seeing her discomfort, started a conversation with her easing the mood.

The first two were pretty, but when she tried on the

third one, she knew it was the one.

The long navy blue dress was fabulous and stunning. It resembled the starry night sky for its opulent and exquisite stars and moons beaded decorations trailing from the navy tulle cape and classic basque waist.

Her bosom was left on display by the low-cut neckline of the dress.

"That\'s the one," she whispered in agreement.

"So…..will Marcus be around tomorrow?" Meredith asked as she fidgeted with the dress.

Kate sighed and shook her head, "I don\'t know but I\'m sure he will come. After all, he is your betrothed and he has to be present at an important ritual."

Meredith sighed and nodded.

"Don\'t beat yourself up Merri. I\'m sure Marcus doesn\'t hate you. He needs time to process everything. This is the first time he has fallen in love over a decade now and to know he can\'t have you is devastating."

Meredith swallowed and nodded.

...…

Meredith tossed and turned, desperately

trying to find a position that would help her fall

sleep. It wasn\'t working. The night seemed to drone on indefinitely. She stared at the clock. Only a minute and a half had gone by since she checked last.

By tomorrow at this time, she would be some powerful tribid, the first of her kind. The thought alone scared her of what her future held.

Finally, she eased out of the bed. She slipped into her kitchen, looking for hot cocoa. It always helped her fall asleep.

She found none and wanted to cry in frustration, but she kept silent not wanting to wake anyone up. She went to the balcony and sat at the edge.

Sitting there she let her feet dangle in the cold air.

Closing her eyes she felt the air blowing sweetly on

her skin, causing goosebumps to appear.

A smile made its way up to her face.

This was peace.

Feeling a presence beside her Meredith opened her eyes only for them to land on Marcus.

They didn\'t say anything, they just sit in silence, a

comfortable type of silence, watching the starry sky together.

"Nervous for tomorrow?" He asked, still looking at the sky.

"Hmmm I\'m afraid I would piss myself if I see a different face looking back at me after all these years." Meredith said jokingly.

"No matter the face you would have, it wouldn\'t change who you\'re." Marcus replied.

Meredith turned to look at him and met his gaze.

It was the first time she was seeing him in months after that night. He seemed tired with all those dark circles under his eyes.

Meredith reached out her hand and held his cheeks.

"How have you been Marcus?"

Meredith noticed the flicker of pain that passed through his eyes and her stomach twisted with pain.

"How have you been Meredith? Are you happy?" Marcus asked instead, avoiding her question.

"I\'m happy now that you\'re here. I missed you."

A tear slid down her cheeks and he wiped it, his lips curling into a smile, "Well I\'m here now."

"You won\'t leave again?" Meredith asked even though she knew she was being selfish. Marcus has been one of the few people she could trust in this foreign land and she didn\'t want to lose that friendship that they had even if it meant she had to be selfish.

"Hmmm, as long as you need me I will be right here by your side." Marcus replied.

A/N: Hello guys…. So I read all your messages and I was so touched thank you all you\'re all truly so kind and lovely. I get shy when I\'m showered with love and I don\'t know how to respond but I hope you all know how much I appreciate everything. Thank you and I\'m much better now so I will try to update as much as possible. Thank you once again.