I sat at the table where Dandeline had already started to serve. She had made an entire meal in such a short time and it made my mouth water. It had been such a long, long time since she had cooked for me.

Dandeline, out of habit, stood behind me after serving. My head turned to look at her. "Have a seat. We are not in the castle or something." I pointed to the seat in front of me. She reluctantly took her steps ahead, and I had to wave my hand again for her to finally pull the chair and take a seat.

"It would have been easier to serve," Dandeline murmured.

I hummed in response, "There is enough on my plate. You will have to get used to talking with me as friends." I gulped down some water before continuing, "I might need your help with the mission. Come on, try and strike up a casual conversation with me using my name"

"Princess! How could I?" Dandeline panicked and got up from her seat to bow.

My hand raised and gestured for her to take her seat back. "Dandeline, I am asking you to be casual. Just relax. Think of this as one of your disguises. You are excellent at that, aren't you?"

Dandeline looked sceptical for a while, not being able to meet my eyes. Her index circled on the dining table glass, "um... H- how is the. T-the communication with the pack members coming along?"

My lips pulled up in an approving smile. "Great. Actually, I have made some new friends."

"That's nice," Dandeline was happy to hear that, and her twinkling eyes made my mood lift. This girl was older than me and yet her childish innocence was something that kept me going through the starting days in the dungeons. "H-How is the competition for Beta going on?" She tried to continue the conversation.

I looked at her and tilted my head. There would be two days that I won't be joining the pack again, as Channing had mentioned. Diana was the one that worried me. She had changed colours immediately after seeing I was competent enough to win the place of Beta. There might be other times when I leave the pack and travel somewhere for work. I would need an extra set of eyes so the few people who hate me don't plot something funny.

"The competition is going in the right direction," I replied. Taking another bite of the meat, I chewed it for some time before coming to an appropriate answer. "You should join the pack, Dandeline. I need open eyes around the village, the people who work for the elders in and around the Winterwells pack"

Dandeline formed a crease on her brows, "But then madam, I won't be able to help you as your servant"

I tsked, "You help me as my friend. Let's not say we know each other since childhood, just show on the first day that our thoughts match and stuff." I thought about all the possible holes where others might investigate my origin like Channing had cornered me today. "Let's say this condo belongs to you. Come up with some disguise, personality of your own. This way I could come here any day without having to hide my face"

She bit her lips, putting too much thought into it. "Is it that important? I mean, for the mission?" I nodded in response and she immediately spoke up, "okay, I will put my name in the registry tomorrow itself and join the pack a day after that"

"Very well," I said and wiped my mouth after finishing the last morsel of food. "Come to my house tomorrow after the registration. Help me dress up. Make sure no one sees you when you come there"

Dandeline got up cleaning all the plates from the table, "okay princess"

"Dandeline!" I rolled my eyes. "If you are joining the pack, call me Selene. Not madam and never Princess"

"Ma-madam?" Dandeline shivered in her voice, "I could never"

I brisked to her and held her by her shoulders, "You do understand how heavy a loss that could cause?" But she couldn't even meet my eyes properly. I sighed, "take your time to prepare. And come on Dandeline, we have a stronger bond than friends. I trust you, okay?"

Her eyes slowly raised and met mine. She was sentimental at my words as tears welled up in her eyes. A little giggle escaped my lips. Dandeline always found a reason to cry around me. "Y-yes Princess"

I pulled her in a hug, "Stop crying you idiot" She sniffed her tears over my shoulders and I rubbed her back. "There, there. How do you always cry over my words?"

Dandeline understood my words were not a question, so she cried for a little more while and then pulled away from the hug, wiping her tears. "Do you want any specific personality from my disguise?"

I hummed, raising one of my eyebrows to think of something specific, but nothing came to my mind. "I think you would be the best judge of that. Let's leave that for the expert you to decide." And it wasn't a lie. Dandeline was best in the business when it came to disguises. She had been doing that for a long time and there was no one I believed to do it as perfectly as her. "I just need a reliable pair of eyes around. There are many fouls looks in the pack directed towards me, and I can't focus on that petty thing when a bigger mission lies ahead."

I needed to work fast. It has been almost three weeks now since I left the castle. Half of my time was wasted in the hospital and the other half in jail.

This mission wasn't as easy as it looked. There are too many distractions coming my way, especially Fang and Channing. I cannot waste my time on questions not related to my mission. Those clarification can be done at any later date, but every second dedicated to ending the war was expensive for me.