Zee paced anxiously outside Belle's den, gaze shifting occasionally in the direction of Sirius' to be sure he wasn't coming to find her. A storm brewed overhead, and her fur tingled with the energy in the air. It would come soon, and Zee would need to make her choice. It was late, surely her Empress would not be pleased to be awoken at such an hour for something so small and stupid. Though it would be easy to simply return to the den her and Sirius shared, there was more fear grasping hold of her then just of the thunder to come. He'd attacked her, and she still was not sure why. Though he seemed very sorry, Zee couldn't shake the feeling that took hold of her when she looked upon his menacing fangs. She was all-too grateful that whatever demon had possessed him had not used them upon her, for she surely would be dead. Gathering her courage, she stepped onto the patio and swallowed hard. She lifted her paw to knock gently upon the walls, but before the action was completed the first crack sounded in the air and the small slave gave a shrill yelp before running headfirst past the furs and into the opening of the den. The Empress' palace was massive, and Zee knew there were multiple corridors between her and her mistress' slumbering form. Quivering, she lay herself down in the main room. She'd intruded rudely into Deathbelle's home and that in itself was hard enough for her. To barge into her bedroom and wake her was unthinkable, although she wanted desperately for the comfort the other woman could provide. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Deathbelle did most of her sleeping during the day, so when she heard Zee’s squeal at the door following the clap of thunder no slumber was disturbed. She had been meditating though, she sat sphynx like on her pile of furs with Obi’s lovely present nestled on her paws. The scent of rose and lavender wafted all around her. She practiced the technique of clearing her mind to reduce daily stress. There was even more evidence that this would be a large litter, and reducing any bit of stress on her royal form would be beneficial. The Empress opened her eyes to the darkness and gently placed the earthen sphere back into its alcove. She slipped under her bongo pelt and let it drape over her shoulders before she slipped from the curtained room. It was warmer than the rest of the cave thanks to her own body heat warming the space. She needed to find a small pet to keep with her to help warm the place. She was curious to see Zee cowering on the furs of the main room. She tilted her features curiously, but didn’t hesitate to move closer to her handmaid. Quietly Belle settled herself beside the frightened woman. "Zee?" She whispered softly into the darkness as she rested her head over the woman’s shoulders. "Are you alright, dear?" She certainly didn’t look alright, and she wasn’t one to appear in the palace with out invitation or cause. "Speech"

A noise came from deeper in the den, and Zee lifted her head from the ground to peer back towards the sound. Surely it was only Deathbelle, but her anxiety was already raised so high that for all she knew it could be a mountain lion. Her Empress moved gracefully towards her, laying her head upon Zee's shoulders gently. "Oh, mistress." She murmured, feeling ashamed for waking the woman. "I am sorry to disturb you." The royal wolf had asked her if she was okay, and the softness in her voice brought a wave of emotion forward into the slave. "No." Zee whined her answer, forcing a heavy exhale through her nostrils. Her resolve was broken quite quickly in her mistress' presence, and her words spilled out of her in a fast ramble. "I hate thunderstorms. I normally stay with Sirius on nights like this but -" She cut herself off abruptly, gaze flicking towards her Empress. Had she heard what happened? Did Luce tell her? "... But I don't want to tonight." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

The slave girl was quick to apologize for her transgression, but Belle hadn’t much been disturbed. Yes she was meditating, but she had also been about to retreat from her room to watch the lightning storm. She did expect the qick ‘no’ that fell from Zee’s lips, but she hadn’t quite expected the reason. She leaned more heavily into her serant’s side, she was feeling a bit warm and fuzzy at being Zee’s choice of comfort. It meant the girl did have trust in her Empress. Her words were fast and nervous as she explained herself, thunderstorms seriously effected her, and her normal mode of comfort was not available. While Belle knew the two of them shared a ‘den’ she had considered it thus far like servant quarters. They lived mostly separate but within the same complex. The way Zee spoke of him made Deathbelle’s stomach tie into knots. Unintentionally she stiffened against the blue marked woman, her mind raced with the words she had been given. Was this a regular occurence? Was her guardian snuggling up her her own handmaiden when they weren’t with her? Belle took a deep breath and relaxed again, pushing the thoughts from her mind. No surely not. Seer was hers, and Zeitgeist would never turn against her master like that. She almost said something harsh, but mellowed herself. There was no proof of anything her mind jumped to. "You are always welcome in my presence," Belle offered softly as she began to groom the fur of her servant’s scruff absently. The action was meant to be a comfort to Zee, but it also soothed the Empress. "Speech"

The Empress stiffened against her, and it did not go unnoticed by Zee. Her anxiety flared. Did that mean she did know of what had happened that night? She did not have the courage to ask, for fear of the answer. It did not seem that the royal wolf held any ill will against her though, because she did what the slave would least expect and began to groom Zee's scruff. She had not been treated to such a feeling since she was a pup and she mellowed into her mistress' side at the gesture - her fear for Sirius forgotten for the moment. "Thank you." She responded genuinely, a soft sigh of contentment peeling from her as her body began to relax. The storm still brewed outside the den, and though the slave kept a careful eye out the door she no longer quivered as hard. "It's silly, but even when I moved out of my family den we always came back together when there was thunder. My mother and sister's would tell stories to keep calm." Her heart hammered in her chest and she spoke up once more, her voice small and shy. "Do you know any stories?" "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

As Deathbelle’s tongue stroked lazily over Zee’s fur she could feel the woman start to relax against her. A smile pulled at the corner of Belle’s lips as she shifted slightly and held onto Zee just a little tighter as her body quit its quivering. She spoke of thanks, and a little bit of her life before she was thrust into the Empress’s waiting arms. The slave was more soft spoken than usual, and it wasn’t difficult for Belle to realize just how frightened her handmaiden was. "Hmm.." She started, trying to recall any of the stories she might have been told as a younger pup. The Klein wolves were a cold bunch, though their loyalty was strong. She was quickly brought thoughts of her beautiful mother, and memories of a warm safe den filled her mind. "I don’t remember many stories." Belle was honest as she continued her gentle affections to her companion. "I might have one..." She tried to think back to how it began, lifting her features from zee’s scruff as she reminisced. "There once was a poor wolf, an orphan without any family. His only companion a loyal monkey." She began, believing this was correct. "There was also a princess, a fair maiden who was the only child to a powerful alpha. Though she had everything in life she still felt trapped behind the pack’s borders." Was she remembering this right? "One day she disguised herself and fled the territory by night and met the poor wolf. She’d never known anyone like him before. He was honest and rugged, and didn’t treat her like she might break at any moment." Belle looked down at her slave, she seemed to relax but had she fallen asleep to her story? "Speech"

Zee listened attentively to Deathbelle's words, ears first flattening when she spoke of not remembering any stories, and then perking quickly as one came to mind. She settled against her mistress, looking up at her as the royal wolf's face grew thoughtful. She gasped quietly as the characters were explained, excitement building. Dozens of questions flooded into her mind but as if she was a pup again she kept quiet to listen - she'd always been chided for interrupting stories as a youth to get further clarification. It was easier to ignore the storm outside while intently set upon her empress' words, and she listened politely feeling her body begin to relax further with each new sentence. "Mmm." She murmured when Belle paused, blinking sleepily. "Is this a romance story? I love romance stories. Ooh I hope the princess gets with the poor wolf." A part of her wondered if the story was a true one - Deathbelle was a princess after all, though the man she spoke of could not have been Sirius as he didn't have a monkey companion. Eventually she pushed her musing aside to redirect her attention back to her mistress' words, relieved she'd decided to approach her den after all. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Zee was relaxing, but she hadn’t yet fallen asleep. As she paused the woman mused softly about romances and Belle smiled. ”Indeed.” She spoke softly, ”You’ll have to listen to find out.” A soft chuckle fell from her lips as she took her storyteller voice back up. ”The two of them were falling in love, they enjoyed the best night of their lives together.” It wasn’t quite the end yet. ”Other forces were at work, the Beta of the princess’s pack, wanted to take her as his bride and take control of the powerful pack. He conspired with a few wolves sympathetic to his side.” She grew more serious, ”They needed to capture the poor wolf, because he was the only one who could touch the fabled magic acorn. The acorn is home to a mythical spirit that can grant three wishes to the wolf in possession of if.”

Deathbelle continued, not remembering how long it took to tell the full tale. Did she even remember the details right so far? Did she set everything up correctly? She was putting too much effort into worrying about it, Zee didn’t seem like she would resist sleep too heavily.

”The poor wolf was taken into custody, and the princess was returned to her father.” Belle sighed heavily and relaxed a bit more herself. ”She immediately asked for his release, but was told that he had already been put to death, and a marriage with his Beta would be arranged.”