Silence

At The King's Palace
Magda has left and I am impatiently awaiting her report.
I assume it will take her several days to get someone to talk in Conselho's Construction, but I trust she will succeed. The only thing I can do now is to wait.
Tonight is the Full Moon.
A shudder goes through me just thinking about that. Ralph told me last night that many Lycans will shift tonight as an honor and gratitude to Selene who has blessed them with their higher status. A communal run will be held far into the woods, nearly a hundred kilometers from the Kingdom. It is an ancient tradition of the Lycans to reaffirm their strength. I don't know why the prospect terrifies me, but I have decided to get under the covers soon after dinner.
I enter the dining room; Ralph and his parents are already sitting there.
Behind me, I hear Eric and Ivor enter. The dining room is weightily laid out as if we were expecting high-ranking guests. Everything is in red and white, even the chairs have been reupholstered. I go sit beside my mate.
I am starving like hell. "Saray baby, the Sages are coming today. They definitely got the date of our mating and marriage from the Oracle. Ooohh Moon Goddess, I can't wait for them to get here", Ralph whispers to me. He grins from ear to ear, clearly content with the arrival of the Sages, this time. Nothing can be seen of the feigned politeness when he hears about the Sages, now they are more than welcome to bring him the news he has been waiting for, for days.
When we are all seated, Ralph stands up. His eyes sparkle and he can't keep his happiness off his face. "Family, I'm delighted to inform you that the Sages are coming here today to use breakfast with us again," he begins. All the faces turn to him. "They will inform us on which day my wedding and mating with Saray will be held and of course, we will do her installation to Queen alike." He looks into my eyes in love. "Then I can finally call my mate mine and confirm that the pups are the heirs to the throne."
He takes my hand and presses a kiss on the back.
His parents look on endearingly, Ivor looks emotionless ahead of him while Eric's face radiates concern. And then, servants enter, the most expensive wine and liquor are placed on the table next to a carafe of apple juice. The latter, of course, is for me; alcohol is out of my reach now. And then I see various dishes pass my nose, my mouth waters. Roasted ducks, a towering platter of fried chicken, a jerky pork back leg, curry beef with some more Broccoli and vegetables. Ralph made it a real feast. And since I am hungering, I will see to it that nothing is thrown away.
"That's fantastic, Ralph. Your mother has been preparing for weeks. I hope we get this over with soon so I can finally sleep peacefully at night," he sighs. "We need a Queen as much as I need my sleep." Everyone chuckles and looks at the King-Mother. The wife presses her lips together and stares accusingly at her husband. "Come on, Randall. You're looking forward to that day, too. Don't you want it to be perfect? Saray only gets crowned once and it should be unforgettable for her," she belts her mate.
The man laughs teasingly and presses her against him.
"Yes, yes. Your daughter-in-law and grandchildren will soon be more important than me. You obviously don't need a mate anymore," he whispers to her. Everyone at the table looks at the two with interest. They are clearly still very much in love; they seem to have forgotten all about us. Ralph clears his throat. "If the lovebirds remember that we are all still here, we can all announce our special wishes for the day," he offers. "There is a script and protocol. That will be announced to the distinguished guests. But I want to tweak the day a bit, it shouldn't be technical and stiff". He then turns to me.
"Saray, please give all your special wishes to my mother or Eric. Whatever it may be, we are going to do our best to accomplish all of them. It is your day, you are also allowed to do some input. What is important to me is that you show up, my beautiful mate," he tenderly ends his short speech. Ralph is clearly overjoyed, rattling on about the big day. No one notices how quiet Ivor and Eric are, they look anything but excited. Well, it's hard to please everyone.
The only thing I hope for is that the date the Oracle has put before the Sages is far enough away to give Magda the opportunity to find that Jasper. My gut tells me he is the key to my past, I would like to know more before I commit myself permanently to Ralph. I feel dizziness rising, the stress of the past hours threatens to be too much for me. But I want to hold firm to hear the Sages. Suddenly I feel kicks in my belly. The pups are not really active, by now at three months, they should be making their presence known vividly. But now I feel them clearly moving. Immediately I forget my dizziness and concentrate on my belly.
But it stops of a sudden.
Too bad, I would have liked to feel them more. They are such a comfort to me, the reason why this whole situation doesn't drive me crazy. Nothing is harder than having an empty head, wondering who you really are, than what third parties tell you.
And then the doors open and there stand the Sages.
Authoritative and confident, knowing that they control the fate of everyone here in the room. Elder Nicolas stands in front of the two and looks at each person present with his head held high.
"Elder, welcome," Ralph exclaims obligingly and hurries toward them. "Come in quickly, we have been waiting so long for you." He spreads his hand toward the table and the trio wanders toward it. Each takes a chair and crosses his hands. Ralph hurries back to his seat at the head of the table.
"So? Do you have any good news for us?" he asks eagerly. "Has the Oracle spoken out? Just give us the date quickly," he speaks impatiently. The Sages are silent and look at him. The tension in the room is running high; I can feel the men losing patience.
"You'd better hurry up, Nicolas," Randall comes in. I hold my breath; this must not escalate.
Finally I see the Elder open his mouth.
"The Oracle is silent. It refuses to give a date. This is the first time I have experienced this. It must have something to do with his previous statement about Saray". It is as if a bomb has come down to earth. Everyone is silent and stares at the man incredulously. "Silent? How can that be?" stutters Ralph. Now it is Elder Welch who stands up. "There's a mystery hanging over the Kingdom. Only the Oracle can reveal that, but in its time. All we can do is wait for it to happen".
These words sound like the echo of my soul. It waits for Magda, waiting for her answers....