Sins Among Royals

Indie sat in the ornate room and stared at her surroundings. She was realizing quickly what kind of family she was now a part of and just what standards they had. The walls were lavishly decorated in a pale yellow fabric wallpaper, the wrought iron wall lights gave off a medieval feel while a large mirror stood on the floor and reached more than halfway up the wall. The ornate gilded frame gave the entire thing an opulence that she had never seen before.

“Shit,” She mumbled as she turned from her surroundings and crawled along the mattress till she reached the pillows.

Slipping beneath the covers awkwardly she felt a sense of awe at the entire thing. Maybe she was taking the wrong approach to the entire situation, maybe Ebony was right. Maybe there was a way Indie could be herself in a world like Noah’s. It wasn’t her dream to give up her sweatpants but maybe there was a way to get around it.

As her eyelids grew heavy and a yawn escaped her mouth Indie thought about her future and though it still scared her it also gave her hope. Hope that she could change things to suit her, hope that she could still return to Stoneden and live, hope that she could be with her family again.

Indie woke to light streaming in through the window and someone at her bedside. Startled by the presence of a stranger she sat upright like a bolt and stared wildly around. So sudden and unexpected was her reaction that the two little boys that had snuck into the room quickly ran screaming down the corridor leaving a rather bewildered Indie sitting there wondering what had just happened.

Pushing the luxuriant covers of the bed back she threw her legs over the side and stumbled out of bed. Her hair a mess of tangles and knots, her eyes still filled with sleep, her body fatigued and drained.

Pulling the door open Indie was left a little stunned when she saw Noah standing there looking more than a little amused. “Good morning,” he smiled warmly at the sight before him. Though he would normally be repulsed at the site of someone still in their pajamas he found it rather amusing when it came to Indie. Especially since she was still wearing the same clothes as the previous day.

His presence alone startled her from her would be drowsiness and she realized she’d stepped out of the room. Rubbing her eyes lazily she yawned again, “were those your nephews?” She questioned curiously.

Hearing screaming and yelling she looked in one direction for the source only to hear it ion only to hear them running up in the opposite direction. “Timothy! Drop that right now and stop chasing your brother!” Ebony’s voice chased the boys down the corridor as they whizzed past Indie and Noah who watched what was happening.

“Mommy help me!” Ryan screamed as Timothy ran hot on his heels with what looked like a dead rat. “Mommy!!!” The two boys made it to the end of the corridor before Ebony reached the amused pair watching them run around.

“Noah!” Ebony complained, “don’t just stand there and watch, could you help please!?” She demanded gently as she huffed and puffed. “I am so unfit, I need to shift more.” With her hands on her hips she urged Noah to go after the boys by pushing him. Indie did not expect such casual encounters with any of them.

“What is Timothy holding?” Indie inquired as Noah disappeared off after the two quickly.

“His pet hamster died last night apparently. Ryan has always been afraid of little animals so Timmy thought it would be a good idea to get his brother used to them.” Ebony sighed as she regained her composure. “I tell you having two sons is difficult work. I hope for your sake that you and Noah have at least one daughter,” at her words Noah appeared triumphantly with Timothy in one arm, he still held the hamster while Ryan followed behind them timidly. “If you’ll excuse me Indie I must tend to my sons and scrub Timmy a thousand times.”

“Oh yeah no worries,” Indie smiled quickly, “I should probably go and get dressed,” she glanced down at her jumper and sweatpants as Ebony took Timothy from Noah and Ryan demanded to be picked up by his uncle.

Indie entered the bedroom again and sighed as she closed and locked the door behind her.

Children.

It had never crossed her mind much the thought of having her own but as the idea settled on her she knew that one day soon she would be expected to give Noah an heir and it scared her.

Remembering back to her prayer when her car wouldn’t start she snorted at the whole thing, “of course! I make a promise to keep my virginity till I get married and my mate finds me a few days later.” She threw her hands up as she walked to the bed and threw herself down face first. “This would only happen to me wouldn’t it.” Laying there for a few minutes she closed her eyes and ruffled her knotty hair.

With a deep sigh she pushed herself off of the bed and decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for herself, at least for the day it was.

Emerging from her room half an hour later it was very quiet and empty. An eerie feeling filled Indie suddenly and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She realized it was probably just her own paranoia but in such a large house the silence was strange.

Pulling the door closed behind her Indie ran her hands down the front of her outfit and found herself worrying about whether it looked alright. Her baggy dark slogan t-shirt was half tucked into her black skinny jeans, she learned when packing that her style was very much limited but she didn’t want to change it.

Walking back down the corridor she’d been escorted down the previous night Indie felt someone or something watching her. Turning to look back down the corridor she saw nothing and as she focused and trained her hearing there was nothing there. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jeans she heard Timothy and Ryan giggling.

“Hello?” She called in the hopes that someone would hear her as she emerged into the foyer.

“Back here Indie! Outside,” Called Ebony. Her voice cheerful and happy as Indie followed the sound of laughter.

Emerging out onto the back entertainment area she noticed that it closely resembled Alpha Thornton’s and wondered with a smile if they all had the same contractor. The thought alone drew a giggle from her lips as Noah and Ebony looked on with curious stares.

“Did you sleep well Indie?” Ebony asked curiously as she stared at her soon to be sister in law with many questions she wished to ask.

With a nod of her head Indie smiled warmly, “oh yeah I did. Thank you!” Thinking back a little to the moment in the corridor she felt someone watching her she asked, “is there anyone else inside right now? I swear I got the feeling someone was following me,” even just thinking about it sent a shiver down Indie’s spine.

“Following you?” Ebony asked again as Noah played with his nephews. “That can’t be, Raif is out running errands and the staff have all finished for the morning, are you sure someone was following you?”

With a shake of her head, Indie smiled, “oh no. It must have just been me still half asleep and imagining things.” Though it felt far too real to have been an imagination.

“Why does she look like a he?” Indie heard a curious question as she looked at Ryan, the younger of the two boys and laughed.