#13 The Dragon King and his Werewolf Princess

We continued the tour, leaving the west wing and going back to the foyer. We went down the corridor opposite of the south wing which was decorated in a deep, plum purple wallpaper stamped with lilac-colored flowers.

“The northern wing is the main part of the house, it has the living room, parlor room, kitchen, dining hall, library, and sunroom. There’s also the main entrance with the grand foyer and the back door which goes to the courtyard and greenhouse.”

This was my favorite part of the house; it was really the heart of the castle.

First up was the library which was ridiculous in size and grandeur. It had a dozen asiles made up of ceiling height bookshelves, and the ceilings were an easy ten feet high. There were three fireplaces, one for each wall of the library, besides the one with all the bookshelves, and seating all around. In the center were schoolhouse style tables and chairs with lights in the center for research and reading. Around each of the fireplaces were overstuffed sofas, chairs, and pillows along with floor and table lamps. Scattered around the library were pillows and beanbags to lounge on.

It was a warm, cozy escape with no fluorescent lighting and only a few outlets for charging computers. It was a reminder of the days before our scientists and engineers and inventors developed electricity.

“This is incredible.” River said in awe, a huge smile lighting up her face.

“Do you like books?” I asked stupidly.

She laughed at me,

“Very much. My father owns an antique bookstore in the realm.”

“We have thousands of books here from all sorts of eras and authors. Nothing you’ve ever read, I’m sure, as we don’t have access to anything outside of our realm. I’m sure you can find something to occupy your time, though.” I stuffed my hands inside the pockets of dress pants and forced the word vomit to stop.

Silently, I admired her as she admired the room.

“Oh, I’m sure.” She giggled.

I thought she might be mocking me with her response, but she replied with such a giddy smile that I didn’t care if she was. It was the realist expression of joy I’ve seen from my mate and it was amazing the effects it was having on my soul.

“Would you like to continue?” I asked, but a part of me wanted to stand here and watch her adore the library all day long.

“Okay.” She nodded, taking one last look at the books before following me out of the room.

Next was the dining hall which was just that, a room with one large, rectangle shaped table surrounded by chairs. A door in the back of the room led to the chef’s kitchen. Inside were stainless steel appliances, cabinets, and countertops; everything was state of the art. It was equipped with a walk-in fridge and freezer, two sets of double ovens, a ten burner gas stove, and a million other gadgets. There was a door that led outside to where the dumpsters and compost bins were.

Our head chef, Heidi, was already in there working on dinner.

“Chef Heidi, this is….River Storm, my guest.” I fumbled with the introduction, not wanting to reveal her identity to anyone outside of my advisors just yet.

“Lady Storm,” Chef Heidi bowed her head respectfully, “Do we have any requests for dinner today?” She asked us both.

I looked towards River who seemed surprised that I was directing the question towards her.

“What do you people eat?” She leaned over and whispered.

I threw my head back and laughed at her expression. Clearly she was fearful that all dragons ate were full sized cows and hot embers.

“What’s on the menu?” I asked Heidi, who didn’t seem at all bothered by our interaction.

“Boar, chicken thighs, cooked yams, stewed potatoes, salad with chopped vegetables, blueberry cobbler, and spiced apples.” Chef Heidi replied.

I looked down at River and cocked an eyebrow.

“Oh, that sounds good.” She blushed, looking embarrassed.

“Thank you, Heidi.” I laughed again and guided River back through the dining hall.

“I’m sorry, I was afraid you ate….I don’t know.” She grumbled.

“It’s okay. I wasn’t sure if werewolves ate raw or cooked meat.” I shrugged, trying to make her feel less embarrassed.

“Wolves usually like raw meat, but not in our human form.” She replied, her blush softening some.

“This is the house kitchen,” I changed the subject, opening a door to a normal looking kitchen,

Inside was an open concept kitchen with a large center island, gray concrete countertops, white shaker cabinets, black stainless steel appliances, and all the common amenities like a microwave, toaster oven, and coffee maker sitting out on the counters. There was a large, walk-in pantry as well and everything was fully stocked. Bar stools were pulled up to the kitchen island and a table with bench seating was posed in the corner of the room,

“The staff keeps the kitchen stocked, but it’s for us or our guests to use in case the need for a midnight snack or a craving arises. The kitchen prepares breakfast, lunch, and dinner to be served during specific times.” I explained.

“Do you cook?” She asked me, running her hands along the counter top.

“I manage.” I shrugged.

The truth was, I loved to cook and bake, but there wasn’t always the time for it. It was also seen as a lesser man’s job inside the realm, not something a King should be wasting his time with. I wasn’t sure what River thought of the hobby.

“I can’t even manage a bowl of cereal half the time,” She laughed at herself, “I tried to make waffles from scratch once and poisoned the entire royal family, which isn’t easy to do in a house full of werewolves.”

“With waffles?” I wasn’t sure how that was even possible, they were one of the easiest things to make.

“I didn’t realize you had to crack the eggs. When it said “two eggs” I thought it just meant two eggs.” She shrugged with a completely innocent look on her face that I found adorable.

“You put two entire eggs into the mix?” I was shocked.

“I also thought two tablespoons of butter meant two sticks.” She added, holding up two of her delicate fingers.

I stared at her with wide eyes.

“My brothers spent two days living in the bathroom.”

I blinked twice.

“I’m not allowed in the kitchen anymore.”

“Well I guess not.” I said and she started laughing at me.

I took her to the living room next, which was the largest room in the castle. It had a huge curved sofa that took up most of the room and a recliner on either side of it; all of which were the same navy blue color. In front of the sofa was a wall of shelves and cabinets which held movies, books, puzzles, and games.

There was a large movie screen that was designed to come down from the ceiling and a projector hanging in the center of the room. Behind the sofa was a square table for games and puzzles. There was another ensuite bathroom off the back. This was the one room in the house that was fully carpeted.

Then, we were at the front of the house. A large foyer with marble flooring and columns stretching up the twelve foot ceilings greeted anyone who walked through the mammoth double front doors. There was a marble faced fireplace in the room to welcome our guests. Off to one side of the front doors was a walk-in coat closet and a half-bathroom, to the other side was the parlor room.

This room was quite like the library, lacking most modern technology to keep up with the gothic demoner of the castle. It had another fireplace, gas lanterns for lighting, and moody leather furniture. There was a large bar cart with different size crystal bottles of amber colored liquid and delicate looking glasses.

“We rarely use the parlor room. It’s mostly just for when guests are over or we are hosting visiting diplomats,” I said as River glanced inside the room, “Other than the bathroom and coat closet, there’s also the entrance to the staff quarters over there.”

I pointed out the third door tucked into the shadows of the main foyer. On the other side was the staff break room and locker rooms, along with the supply and storage rooms and a massive laundry facility.

“All that’s left to see is the sunroom and courtyard.” I said,

“Where’s that?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

“In the back of the castle. This way.” I craned my head back towards the direction we had come from.

She followed after me as we passed by the living room and kitchens again. After the dining hall, there were a set of glass french doors which opened to the four seasons sunroom. It was made of wall to wall, floor to ceiling windows with a glass dome ceiling overhead. There was comfortable furniture and tables filling the space. In the center of the opposite wall was a sliding glass door. I pulled on the door and motioned for her to go first.

She stepped down the three steps to the stone patio. It curved its way across the back of the castle and was level with the rest of the grass courtyard. There was an outdoor sectional sofa, chairs, and an average sized table with seating on the patio. The yard was manicured with fresh green grass, trees, bushes, and sweet smelling flowers. There was a pond in one corner with a water fountain in the center and the large greenhouse stood in the other corner.

“Is that where all the food comes from?” She asked, pointing at the greenhouse.

“Oh, no, that’s not near enough space. There’s a farm not far from here with fields of produce, orchards, and greenhouses that supplies most of the food to the entire realm. There are a few other smaller farms that help with the demand and private farmers who sell at markets, as well,” I said, “That greenhouse is just for personal use. My mom loves roses, so right now, it’s filled with her roses.”

“That’s nice.” She smiled.

“Do you like to garden?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried before, but the castle at home is always filled with fresh flowers and I like that.” She replied.

“Well, you could grow whatever flowers you’d like in the greenhouse. I’m sure my mother could help you.” I offered and earned a stern look in response.

“Let’s just focus on the present.” She said in a hard voice.

“Do you want to go back to the east wing and pick out a room? I can have the staff prepare it for you.” I decided to change the subject.

“Okay.” She agreed.