Helen made a hot bath and poured in some spices and fragrance. She also added a 'falhi'. It was a special spice her late grandmother had shown her that helped to neutralize body magic. Not many werewolves knew about it or how to make or find one. She had just met Accalia and until proven to be harmless,she wasn't going to take her chances.
The 'falhi' had a sweet fragrance like the rosemary,so it was impossible to detect it when mixed with other fragrances. If anyone with evil magic stepped into a bath water filled with 'falhi',he or she would feel a severe burning sensation on their body. It was usually used on strangers that came visiting or enemies that pretended as friends.
Placing a clean towel by the rack,Helen alerted Accalia that her bath water was ready. Accalia thanked her profusely and stepped into the water. Helen excused herself from the bathroom but peeped from a hole. Accalia was too focused on the sweet feeling of hot water on her soft skin, to feel Helen's presence.
It had been a while since she had a proper bath and even one with sweet-scented and expensive fragrances. She silently prayed the Alpha doesn't detect the reason she ran and that he accepts her to their pack. She had barely spent a day in town and she could feel the sweet air of peace and love in the town.
Since her arrival,she hadn't set her eyes on any slave or seen any harsh treatment towards anyone. "Maybe she was too hasty to decide,but she was sure of one thing,this place was better than the place she came from", Accalia thought to herself.
Accalia dipped herself completely in the water and her mind ran across her meeting with the Beta, Ethan earlier. "Why did he act that way towards her after.. What happened between them? Did he have.. someone else?".
Just as she reminisced about their meeting,she suddenly felt his presence and she was certain he felt hers too at the moment. Immediately, Accalia rose from the water, breathing hard.
Realizing that she had spent more time in the bathroom than expected,she grabbed the sponge by the tub and began to scrub herself. She untied her hair and it fell all the way to her waist, before washing it with the hair shampoo,Helen gave her. She grabbed a large comb and brushed it carefully,then rinsed herself clean.
Accalia felt refreshed when she stepped out of the bath. Helen, who was peeping from the hole, ran off before she was detected. Accalia grabbed the towel and dried her hair with it before wrapping herself with it.
She stepped out of the bathroom and walked into the room. On the table,she saw a body lotion and on the bed,were some neatly folded bedsheets and blankets. Accalia's guess was this was going to be her room.
"She seems harmless to me",Helen said, barging into the kitchen while Rachel was trying to pour some cream into the coffee.
"Oh my goodness.. what? Who?", Rachel shot back, startled at Helen's words almost spilling some milk on the table. Rachel raises her hands, hushing Helen from speaking till she is done pouring the milk carefully into the cup.
Rachel dropped the jug when she was done and raised her head to finally entertain Helen. Rachel places her left hand on her side and gestures for Helen to continue.
"The new female. Umm.. Accalia",Helen replied.
"Can you please stop calling her new female? She both told us her name", Rachel corrected.
"Right.. female, Accalia, doesn't matter. She's new and she's a female. So back to what I was saying. I added the ' to her bath water and she didn't hurt. She's okay", Helen completed breathlessly.
"Okay. Wow! That's nice. So we just have to wait for the Alpha to decide seeing that she carries no potential harm", Rachel reasoned.
"With that out of the way,I'm sure our new female friend is hungry and this food would taste more delicious when it's hot", Rachel said emphasizing on the word female which made Helen chuckle lightly at the literary expression.
"Yes ma'am,I see what you are doing", Helen joked.
Holding the door steady for Rachel,she walked out of the kitchen and knocked lightly on Accalia's door. Accalia opened up slowly and gave a little peep. On seeing that it was Luna,she opened the door widely and let her in.
Rachel set the tray of food on the table carefully. "Please,eat something and get some rest. I'm sure you had a long journey", Rachel said .
"Thank you so much for your kindness. I'm grateful", Accalia replied,bowing her head in gratitude.
Rachel nodded and left the room shutting it after her. Accalia rushed to the tray of food and grabbed a spoon to stir the cup of hot creamy coffee. In one gulp,she drank almost half of the tasty coffee and heaved a sigh of relief before digging her hand into the plate of egg and beef stew.
Accalia ate the stew with some freshly baked buttered-croissants. Few minutes later, she finished her food,drank the remaining coffee and burped loudly in satisfaction. It had been such a long time,she had a hot meal without waiting for the crumbs from the master's table.
Her mind cringed with disgust when she remembered all the harsh and miserable things she was made to go through back,in the place she called home.
She despised that place and no matter what happened,she would never go back. If she was unaccepted in this pack,she would set out and keep moving. She didn't even mind becoming a lone-wolf,if that's what it took. She had one thing she had always wanted. Her Freedom. She was free at last.
Accalia walked to the window and looked out. She saw some children playing in the fields and some women in the farm, harvesting some potatoes. A new dawn was upon her. She was going to start her life afresh. How beautiful that sounded!
She didn't have to be abused or beaten with no remorse. Her life had been one that gave her no choices,but not anymore,she had made her decision and she didn't regret it. Her joy was that her foot tracks wouldn't be traced to the new place she had found.
That was why she had taken the 'helwulf' ointment on her feet to cover her tracks. She had prepared well and had taken into consideration every attempt that the monster would use to find her. She was on her own now and it felt good.
Accalia kept watching the beautiful landscape of the village from her window. This was her beginning. After some minutes, from her window,she began to feel drowsy. She stretched her arms and gave a long yawn. She turned to the bed and met the neatly folded bed sheets still folded.
Accalia carried the empty tray of food to the kitchen, before going to get some rest when she bumped into one of the young boys she had identified playing in the field. Obviously,he had run into the house.
"Hi Lady! I'm not sure I've met you here before. My name is..", the young boy tried to say before he was cut off by Helen's shrill voice.
"Adam? What are you doing here?", Helen called in surprise. She turned to Accalia and asked why she had to stress to carry the empty tray.
Oh my Accalia! You shouldn't have. No.. please. Go get some rest and I'll take that from you", Helen said, taking the tray from Accalia's hands.
Accalia nodded politely at Helen and said to the little boy smiling up at her "It's so nice to meet you..Adam. I'm Accalia", before walking down the lobby to her room.
As Accalia walked off,she wondered why Helen sounded so surprised when she met the young boy, however,she was right after all. Everyone was just so nice. She opened her door and went straight to the bed to get some rest.
Quickly,she made the bed with the clean white sheets and fluffed the pillows before tucking herself in. The bed felt soft and smelt like lilac. The sheets were probably washed with lilac water. Accalia tied her hair all back and laid quietly on the bed.
Shutting her eyes, Accalia fell asleep with a faint smile on her face.
Helen's POV
After I helped Rachel clean up after serving Accalia breakfast,I began to feel anxious for no reason. Gabriel and Ethan were yet to return from the Alpha's home and we both knew because there were lots of issues to be tackled by the Alpha.
That wasn't my concern as I was at ease knowing that Accalia carried no potential harm. I didn't want to raise concerns for Rachel about the way I felt, so I told her I'll be leaving soon to finish some chores back at my place.
Rachel,also had an appointment with one of the women at the other part of town so she begged me to return to the visitor's lounge to check on Accalia if she didn't get back on time which I agreed to.
The visitor's lounge was the mini-apartment we had that served as the room for visitors or strangers alike that came far from our town. It contained a large bedroom and a lobby that led to the little kitchen and a tiny bathroom that could barely contain two people.
With Rachel's exit,I felt an overpowering strong presence washed over me and I guessed. This feeling was something familiar to me. He was around. "But why would he come this early",I thought to myself. I gathered myself and made to step out of the lounge to my place.
I didn't want to bother Accalia because I thought she must have been resting,so I decided to use the back door when I heard voices. Stealthily,I took some steps ready to confront whoever it was when my eyes fell on Adam and Accalia. The element of surprise was evident in the way I shrieked.
"Adam?", I asked with shock. The young lad turned to me and ran towards me, throwing his little hands around me in a warm hug. I hugged him back briefly when I noticed the empty tray in Accalia's hands.
Immediately,I got it from her and reassured her that she could go have her rest and I apologized to the little brother of Adam,if there was any. Obviously, Accalia didn't take any offense to Adam's presence because she smiled cheerfully at him and introduced herself before walking back to her room.
"Hi Auntie Ella..",Adam called me displaying his brightest smile.
"Haha! No dear. It isn't Ella. My name is Helen",I corrected, holding him with one hand and the empty tray with the other hand.
I dropped the plates and stepped out of the lounge with Adam resting on the side of my body and his little fingers playing with my flowing hair.
"So tell me kiddo! What brings you to this part of town this morning?",I asked Adam who seemed focused on the brightly coloured mockingbird on the branch of an old tree.