Chapter 5

Roxanne woke up to the beautiful morning light. Her body was refreshed and she let out an excited breath. She could not remember the last time she had felt so happy to wake up. Maybe it was the fact that she did not have to do the job of maids, even if it was for a brief while.

She was still enjoying the weird feeling that came from a good sleep when a knock on her door caused her to sit with her spine as straight as a rod.

“Yes, who is there?” She asked.

“It is me, Larry.” The voice came.

“Oh, come in.” She answered, relieved it was someone she was familiar with.

However, she was surprised when she found two guards ushering him in with harsh glares. She had never seen these guards before, they were different from the ones stationed in front of her room the previous day but from their stern faces, she could tell the were not to be messed with.

“Good Morning Princess Roxanne.” The guards both chorused to her at the same time.

"Who are they?" Roxanne asked.

"They will be stationed outside your door." Larry replied. “You have thirty minutes to get ready, his majesty awaits you.” Turning to the guards. "You can leave now." They stormed out of the room, leaving the boxes they've came with.

Roxanne hated the fact that her heart was beating a million times in a minute. She was already aware of the fact that she did not have a long time here but she couldn't help but feel anxious being in the midst of men.

"Can I have my maid or preferably a female attendant?" Roxanne asked. "I don't feel comfortable being in the lot of you, men."

"Here in the palace, we have only male attendants for royals and esteemed guests and it is strict protocol we must follow."

"But I got female attendants, yesterday." Roxanne tried to protest.

"That was before I got to know about your special status, princess. I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable but you'll bear for now, it's for your safety."

"And my maid?"

"I'm sorry but except with the Alpha's permission, she can't be here." Larry answered.

Larry looked at her face as he could tell she was nervous. Every lady he had served in that room was nervous so he wasn't so shocked by the scared look on her face.

He could tell what she was thinking just by the look on her face but almost jumped out of his skin when Roxanne suddenly grabbed his hands and whimpered.

Am I dying today?” She asked in the most pitiful voice he had ever heard.

Larry stared at her for a second and did not know if he should keep on playing with her mind or tell her what exactly was going on.

He knew that the sudden change of guards must have definitely tipped her off that something was wrong.

He felt a pang of pity towards but he had instructions to follow, if only she wasn't special, so special, she had eyes on her.

“Come on, talk to me. If I am going to die today, then, at least let me know so I can prepare my mind.” Roxanne pleaded.

"Nobody gets fully prepared for their death, princess." Larry said looking away. "Well, then, I guess we should not delay anymore on getting you dressed as delay is dangerous." Larry said and pushed Roxanne into the bathroom and followed suit.

Her face fell on hearing this. "This did not sound good." She said to herself as tears welled up in her eyes and her body shook.

She watched Larry prepare a bath for her and thoughts of running away flashed in her head, but she remembered the guards at her door and she knew she had no way out.

"Alright, you can step right in," Larry said to her and pointed to the steaming hot bath. "I'll be waiting at the door, if you need anything."

Her gaze moved from the steaming hot bath to the look on Larry’s face. She wished he could tell her what was happening.

"Those special people get disrespected this way?" She sighed. But well, since she couldn't help herself, "don't think about it too much Roxanne and just focus on the moment." She advised herself.

She stepped into the water and her tense body immediately felt a calm wave wash over her.

It was soothing and calmed her raging nerves. She wished the bath could take a little longer but Larry however was on a time leash.

Soon she was done with shower and saw the neatly placed gown on the bed. "Getting dressed in this beautiful clothing to my death is such a waste." Roxanne murmured running her hand through the white-laced gown. It had a pretty bodice that was hand-beaded with tiny beautiful shiny beads.

“Are you really that scared of dying.” Larry chuckled gently.

"Who isn't?" Roxanne asked. " Besides this is not something to laugh about. I am about to die and you think dressing me up in a pretty dress is the right thing to do? Is this how all the other girls were killed?” She found herself ranting off.

"Princess Roxanne, time is not on our side." Larry said in a bid to change the tide of the conversation. "My work is done here, you should help yourself change." He turned his back against her.

"This tattoo..." Roxanne began but paused midway gaining Larry's attention again. "You seems to identify it earlier. Tell me what you know." She requested as she began to change into her dress.

Larry paused for a millisecond. "The mark on your body could be your safe zone or doom."

"What do you mean by that?" Russo asked surprised.

"You can't afford to get on Alpha Russo bad side by coming late when he had invited you, the price is too much to pay especially when you're so worried about losing your neck." Larry said in a bid to get her to be faster.

In a twinkle of an eye, Roxanne got into the dress and marveled at the perfection of the dress and how well it hugged her curves. She quickly prep her face and in no time she was done. "I'm done, you can turn around now."

Larry turned around and took a look at his wrist watch and knew he had to be fast.

Alpha Russo was not allowing just anyone to see Roxanne and Larry knew it was because he did not want anyone to know she was the one with the mark.

Larry knew it was top secret, but he was certain that, the news would definitely go out and that is when the real drama would begin. He wondered how long Roxanne would last?

But for now, he was just going to do his job and try to survive, after all, Roxanne isn't the only one grasping for a chance to survive.

"I'll do your make up now, princess."

"You know how to apply makeup?" Roxanne couldn't believe her ears.

"Being a steward in the pack means you have to be multi talented." Larry replied as he got to work. He didn't have to do much on her face as Roxanne was a very pretty lady. All she needed was good clothes and jeweleries to compliment her beauty.

He looked through the jewelry in the box, and a perfect idea for jewelry popped into his mind. When he was done, Roxanne could almost not believe she was the same person in the mirror.

"You see today, you would die, but you would die to your old self because as of today, you are not just the Lady of the Alpha King. You, Roxanne, are the chosen one." He said as he stared at her transformed face in the mirror.

Roxanne spun her head to ask him what he meant by “she is the chosen one” when the door burst open and the guards came in.

"It is time to escort the princess." One of the guard said.

Roxanne stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what was about to happen to her life but Larry nodded at her.

“Everything is going to be fine, princess.” He whispered.

As she walked out of her bedroom escorted by the two guards, she took in a deep breath and promised herself that she would be brave about all of this.

No matter what comes her way, she would face it head-on, including her death.