Silence

Silence surrounded the castle like a blanket of thorns. What once was a lively place that leaked happiness and joy, was now seen as a black hole, and not only for Easton, but for Nathaniel and Lilah.

. The mother and father of Noelle, though not by blood, they treated her as their very own. The loved, adored and cherished every moments with her.

Even since Nathaniel found her in the forest, he's been wrapped around her little finger, treating her like a princess. They watched her grow, her first tooth, her first time eating solid food, her first step, her first jump, her first word, her first sentence, her first everything. But it was cut short, way too early, leaving them to fall into deep depression.

Imagine that, finding out your baby had died in the womb, and that you can no longer conceive. Then finding an abandoned baby in the forest, taking her in and raising her as your own, as if she was a gift given by the higher powers. Then 10 years later, she's taken away cruelly, stripping away the only source of happiness in your life.

How would you feel?

Roaming around the castle grounds, making sure everything was in order, was Nathaniel Spade. His platinum blonde, almost white, hair glistened in the beaming lights, making it look more vibrant than ever. His cold blue eyes, the looked shades of navy ever since his daughter was taken away, stayed fixated on the staff members, making sure they were doing their job correctly.

In the castle lived high ranking vampires, and close companions to the king, as well as the maids and chefs. All other vampires lived in the lands below, the villages were always busy, civilians making bread, mothers fetching water from nearby wells, fathers carpentering all sorts of materials, children playing games. Pure serenity. If only the castle felt that way too.

Nathaniel and Lilah made numerous trips to the villages, feeling like it were some sort of escape from their minds. Refreshing and new. They remembered how Noelle preferred the villages over the castle, such a simple girl she was, easy to please.

"Sir Spade! Master Alexander has requested for your presence in his office", a butler spoke, breaking Nathaniel out of his thoughts. He nodded and made his way to the office.

Opening the door, he sees the former king smoking a cigar behind the mahogany desks.

"Alexander", he says, bowing in respect to his companion.

"I need a favour from you", he spoke in authority, meaning this was something serious.

"Whatever you need, Master."

"Count Vladimir of Chestwood, a possible ally, has requested my attendance at his charity event next week. However we will be visiting the Knights during this time, so I would like you to attend instead", he orders and Nathaniel sighs.

"Will I have to discuss our union?", he asked.

"If you can, Easton and I have to deal with Robinson, and you're my most loyal companion. I trust no one else with this job", Alexander states in a pleading tone.

Nathaniel sighs. Fancy balls and dinners are definitely not his thing, in fact, he hates it more than anything. As the King's companion, he is always expected to attend out of respect, but he'd much rather stay at the castle. But he won't ruin this alliance for his kingdom.

"Of course, master", he says with a nod.

"You don't need to call me that, we've known each other for decades", Alexander rolls his eyes and Nathaniel chuckles.

On the other side of the country:

"Good job, mutt. At least you can do something right", the soldier states and Noelle collapses to the ground in exhaustion. He laughs cruelly then leaves her where she is.

This also happens quite often. They train her to use her powers effectively almost every week. She's perfected all of her abilities: invisibility, healing, elemental powers, you name it, she's perfected it. Thankfully, she's never had to use her powers against anyone but the stone mannequins, but she knows that at one point she'll have to. After all, she is still weapon,

It's physically and emotionally draining. Walking up everyday to abuse of all kinds, walking up knowing that you have no purpose in life, walking up knowing that your family and the love of your life don't know where you are. She questions whether they still remember her or not.

If they had loved and cared for her they way she thought they did, why haven't they found her yet? Do they even try? Did they just forget about her? Was she that much of a burden? She doesn't want to believe it, even though all the brooding males who assault her everyday say so. She has faith in them, every single person who lives in that castle has a special place in her heart, and she knows that one day they will be reunited. She's just got to be patient.

Her fox, Crimson, barely talks to her. The only time they communicate is when Noelle is on the verge of death. Crimson is just as hurt as Noelle, and won't talk until she get's her life back. Much like Axel, (Easton's vampire counterpart), he barley talks to Easton unless he has a forced transition.

Noelle has only ever shifted once in her life. She was 16, 6 years into her kidnapping.

Flashback:

"Get up you whore! Be useful and do as I say!", the huge masked man yelled.

"I-I can't! Something's happening", she argues, feeling her bones burn in agony. She has no clue what is happening to her. She can feel each and every part of her body crack and she let's out a death defying scream.

"Shut the f*ck up! If the Alpha hears you I'm done for", he hisses at her.

"E-Easton? Help m-me, please!", she cries in pain, hoping her mate can save her. She imagines his voice in her head, calming her down.

"Your little boyfriend isn't here to help you, now do as I say", he orders, grabbing a knife.

She holds in her breathe, wanting to pain to go away, when suddenly her mind goes blank. She can't see or hear anything.

This is it, I'm dead, she said to herself.

"No you aren't", she hears a sweet voice reassure her.

"Huh? W-who's there?", Noelle asks in confusion, still not able to see anything.

"I'm Crimson, your fox counterpart", she introduced and Noelle gasps in shock.

"Crimson", she breathes out in a quiet whisper. "Why can't I see anything?."

"Your eyes are closed, dummy", she says and Noelle curses at herself.

She opens her eyes to see the masked man that was yelling at her paralysed in shock. Crimson stretches her body, licking her palms as a way of comforting herself.

"A-Alpha? You need to come and see this", both Noelle and Crimson see the man who is clearly mind linking his Alpha. After a few minutes, another masked man, who they assume is the Alpha appears. He too is frozen in surprise.

"How did this happen?", he asks angrily.

"I-I don't know, I was training her t-to use her powers and then she suddenly shifted", the man stuttered out in fear, and Crimson tilts her head to the side, observing the two men.

Crimson was tiny, just like Noelle. She could easily be mistaken for a pup, but boy is she more powerful than any other creature. She's small but fierce. Her fur is auburn, just like Noelle's hair, with snow white paws and ears. She let's out a sneeze, catching the two's attention, pulling them out of their previous conversation.

"She i-is cute, don't you t-think-"

"Shut up! I don't care if she's cute or not, that abomination needs to be punished for not following the rules!", the Alpha orders, earning a whimper from Crimson. Her silent cries made the man who was training her soften his features. Although he's wearing a mask, both Noelle and Crimson can read his, or anyone's, eyes.

"Do not disturb me again, get to work", the Alpha orders, walking out of the garage like room.

"Uh, well I'm g-going to need you to shift back", The man says in a quiet voice, much different to his previous loud and condescending tone. Crimson shakes her head in fear, shaking uncontrollably under the man's gaze. He sighs deeply, clearly thinking of what to do.

"I won't hurt an animal, I can't do it", he says to himself, loud enough for the fox to hear. She reminded him of his daughter, and when she shifted for the first time. He couldn't bring himself to hurt her.

"Oh but hurting a human doesn't bother him, how could someone think like that?", Crimson hears Noelle say sadly in the back of her mind.

"I'm sorry, Noelle. If there was a way out of here I'd take it in a heartbeat", Crimson replies solemnly.

The man kneels down, crouching in front of Crimson, causing her to take a few steps back. He reaches his hand out, stroking the back of her ears. Crimson shakes his filthy hand off her, a sign to tell him to not touch her again. He somehow understand her silent orders, and backs away from her.

"Just go back to your cell, you're done for today", he says while nervously scratching the back of his neck.

And that was the last time she had shifted

Back to present:

Nathaniel was currently getting ready to go to the all important ball. A tired Lilah enters the walk in closet, wrapping her arms around his shirt-clad chest.

"I'll be back soon, darlin'", he whispers and she hums while pulling away and taking a seat on the small couch.

"Why can't Alex go?", she asked, slightly irritated.

"There's a problem going on with Robinson, they're headed to the Knight's residence right now as we speak", Nathaniel informs her, slipping his suit jacket onto his shoulders.

"But shouldn't we be there too, we are his most trusted companions", she asks.

"We'll meet him there, after this ball we'll be heading to the Silver Moon pack", he tells her and she smiles, feeling excited that she'll be reunited with a good friend of hers, Olivia Knight. "Anyways, I'll be on my way", he announces his departure and she stands up to give him a peck to the lips.

"Stay safe please", she whispers and he nods, reassuring her with a gentle kiss to the forehead.

"See you later", and with, he leaves the castle, entering the car and making his way to Count Vladimir.