Katie's Hellion

He pointed as he walked, indicating the dining room, the library, the reception room, and others, each sounding stuffier than the last and all marked by polished oak double doors. They left the common area for the bedchambers wing. His voice grew hushed, as if the all-important guests behind each door might hear him. He paused at one room toward the middle of the hall and pushed it open.

No one in this place believed in locks. She crossed her arms and followed him in. Her bedchamber was half the size of a small house, with a domed ceiling replete with vibrant paintings of the sun progressing across the sky. The bed was the largest she'd ever seen, with a finely spun silk bedspread of pale yellow. The bedchamber was done up in pastels, soft rose drapes, light blue and green rugs, yellow pillows and highlights, which seemed to take the chill out of the stone walls.

She wondered if she'd freak everyone out with a few Hello Kitty posters to take away the severity of the rooms. They strode through the bedchamber to a small living room to the side with a flat-screen TV and comfortable-looking couch. The windows all faced east, over another valley, and a terrace was decorated with dainty iron-scrolled chairs. Off the living room was a private dining area.

Opposite the living room was a massive bathroom with marble floors, a Jacuzzi, small sauna, and a large shower with multiple shower heads.

"Doesn't this make you feel so much better?" Ully asked, envy in his voice.

She saw the glow of his eagerness and tried to be more upbeat than she felt, for his sake.

"It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen."

"I know!"

"And this is mine?"

"Yep! And Rhyn's, unless he wants to stay with the other Ancients in their hall."

She didn't think he would but remained silent. At least, she hoped he wouldn't.

"I'll leave you here. Make yourself at home."

She didn't fully register his words until the door closed behind him. The bedchamber was silent. She looked around, feeling very much alone in the cavernous room. She couldn't help but think the barracks and all their activity and life were far more appealing than the solemn, stately apartment that was hers.

Her sister would be in heaven.

She felt like crying again. She roamed the apartment again and opened all the closets and drawers, not surprised to find them filled, as if she'd lived there all her life and hadn't just arrived.

It was creepy. She left the apartment and walked down the silent halls, turning down the hall with the common areas in time to see the back of a silk ball gown disappear into opened doors. She slowed until she smelled the scents of dinner. Suddenly ravenous, she quickened her step despite her dread of meeting one of the elitist mates.