Royal Frustrations
*The sound of the shutters lifting announced the exchange between the sun and the moon in the sky. Darkness had enveloped us once again and another busy evening waited and purred in the shadows. Turning over in bed, I opened my eyes and reached out. The empty space beside me was both a relief and an open wound. Wrath and I had endured many trials and tribulations over the past years and this year was proving to be no different. I pushed myself up against the pillows with more effort than the small task should require. I missed my hellren when he didn’t sleep in our chambers, but I granted him the space.
Hell, I needed the space too. There was too much going on, too many arguments and no time to talk things through. We seemed to spend our time doing royal duties and extinguishing fires on a daily basis. If it wasn’t the Glymera, it was the bastards, the lessers, the Omega and even the Scribe Virgin on our case, stirring up something to keep us occupied. The revelation that Lash was indeed alive and kidnapping our females had been the latest headache and this proved to be more time consuming to handle than many of the other duties.
The fact that Lash had more information on us than any other enemy before him, made this much worse. Layla was recovering in the Sanctuary and Wrath agreed that it was for the best. Qhuinn could visit her anytime he chose and things had returned to almost normal on that front. I had been meaning to visit Layla to see how she was doing, but the hits just kept coming and I hadn’t been able to pull myself away long enough to go see her. The confirmation that her and the young were both doing well and had escaped injury was a relief to us all, but this shouldn’t have happened at all.
The males in the mansion all struggled with some form of guilt. Some, more than others. Wrath was concerned about the safety of all the females and the ability to get to them so easily. Tohr struggled with a whirlwind of emotions since all this brought back everything he went through with Welsie. The shitstorm that hit the mansion while Layla was gone was another story. Talk about the wheels coming off. Blay was back but him and Qhuinn didn’t seem to have figured things out yet. Vishous was another level of batshit crazy since Haley left and Cop wasn’t talking to anyone about it, not even to me.
Everyone needed time to deal with the hand they had been dealt and that included me. With Wrath spending almost all his time in his study, it gave me time to think and plan, but I needed to get out before the walls really closed in on me. I needed to feel the sun on my face. It had been months since I’d even seen the sun. Wrath had always hated it when I went out by myself but there were times that he allowed it if I was escorted by Trez or iAm. Now the shadows had their own things to handle and babysitting the vampire queen wasn’t on the cards. I don’t understand what danger I would be in if I walked around the gardens by myself anyway. I trusted that V’s security system was impenetrable, but I didn’t want my hellren to have my safety to worry about on top of everything else.
When the time was right, I would stress my point further. I was slowly losing my mind and I needed to get out. The frustration I felt at being stuck with paperwork dwarfed what Wrath felt. I was a journalist before and my job was part paperwork, part research and part field work. He was a warrior, a fighter. His job was all out there and all action. Now we spent all our days around paperwork and some hours a week doing strategizing and brainstorming with the brothers, trying to be one step ahead of our many enemies. His only out was a sparring session which he didn’t have time for anymore. I had the feeling that the brothers were feeling the pinch too in some way. They had to protect the race while training the new trainees and try to keep their shellans happy. There was so much that needed my attention around here, so much more than the paperwork waiting in Wrath’s study.
Right now though the mansion was coming alive, and it was time to join the family as first meal was being served. My arms lifted above my head, stretching skywards as I got out of bed. A quick shower should do the trick to make me look half presentable. I wouldn’t miss the meals for anything. It was the only time lately that Wrath and I had to spend together without working. After first meal I would join him and George in the study and a normal “royal work day” would resume. When daylight arrives once again, I’ll make a plan to get sun kissed, even if just for an hour or two.