I didn't dare to move as the unfamiliar weight across my legs got heavier; something else was placed on my lap. 

I waited for the pain, the shouting to start but there was nothing.  My heart pounded as something soft brushed against my clenched hands.

I peeked, quickly closing my eyes and waiting for a few seconds before slowly opening them to discover two long grey furs covering my legs. I followed the ends and saw that each one was attached to the sibling's. 

"Your punishment is to brush our tails to our satisfaction." Aidan had a smile on his face as he handed me a brush that appeared in an instant. 

"Y-your tails?" I touched them, they were as soft as his ears, my hand sinking into the soft fur.

"They get tangled very easy as we move around." Nadia's voice gently brushing away the last of the panic and fear that had almost overwhelmed me. "And we do not always get a chance to brush them as much."

I look down at the two tails and carefully started brushing them, trying really hard with each stroke. 

Minutes later, both Aidan and Nadia's tails shined in the sunlight and the brush was covered in hair. 

"Wow!" Aidan couldn't help wagging his tail. "When was the last time it felt so light?"

"This was amazing work!" Nadia suddenly smiled, two fangs pointing out from her mouth. "Thank you Princess!"

I looked down at my hands as a strange bubbly feeling filled up my chest, I have never been praised before.

"Dear!" Mimi's voice came from a paper bird that swooped down and landed on my knee. "It's time for a check up! Please come back to your room."

"With your permission, Princess." Nadia knelt besides me and offered her arms.

"P-permission?" I didn't really understand what she meant. 

"To carry you back to your room."

I looked at her hands, seeing the bumpy parts that covered them and looked up, meeting her eyes. They were steady as she waited for me to respond; this was another person who was willing to look at me with  a clear gaze.

I nodded my head towards her, still tensing a little as I felt her hands touch me and settled against her chest- the hard metal cold against my back.

~~~~~~

"How was your day?" Papa asks as food appeared on the table, soup and bread steaming up into the air. 

"I-it was good." I watched as he used the sparkly lights to cool down the soup. "I w-went on a walk with Nadia a-and Aidan."

"That's good." Papa watched me eat, leaning his head against his hand. 

"I-i got to touch Aidan's ears...." I trailed off as a piece of bread was held out before me.

"Touch his ears?" Papa's eyebrow raised in response.

"A-and his and Nadia's tails." I tried to talk around the bread as Papa's face scrunched up. "W-was that a bad thing?"

"No, no." Papa quickly reassured me, brushing away crumbs that stuck to my cheeks. "Beastkin usually do not allow others to touch them. Petting their ears or touching their tails is a sight of great trust that only Pack members are allowed to do."

"P-pack?" 

"A Pack is like a family Soraya. So they must of really wanted to get close to you if they allowed you to touch them."

"I-i see." I could feel my face heating up as the bubbly feeling returned. 

Papa reaches over, brushing my hair way from the side of my face. 

"This looks much better."

The burn was no longer dark red and the scars are a little thinner than before; Mimi's medicine was working though I still have been refusing to look at myself in the mirror. 

Papa's touch was light as his fingers carefully smoothed the bandage back down, smiling as I met his eyes. 

"Does it hurt?"

I shook my head, a lump in my throat suddenly appeared. So many good things kept happening; a little pain like this is nothing.

Papa seemed to believe me as he held out another piece of bread. I quickly chewed it before grabbing the last slice of bread and held it out to him.

"You don't need to do that Soraya." He smiled. "Go ahead and eat."

"B-but I wanted to share with y-you Papa...." 

It wasn't fair if I was the only one who was fed.

Papa stared at me for a few moments before leaning down and biting the bread, his lips surprisingly cool against my finger.

"Thank you." He pats my head softly before gesturing to my unfinished bowl of soup. "You do have to finish that by yourself."

"Y-yes Papa!" I dug in, almost finishing the entire bowl this time. 

~~~~~~

The next day, I walked outside with Aidan and Nadia once more, heading out to something called a 'stable'. 

It was a large wood building with tall doors on either side, open to the breeze that followed us in.

Doors lined the walkway as I could hear the sounds of animals from the other side. I peeked though one door and saw a strange looking creature with a human-like head, wings and a tail full of spikes resting on yellow straw.

"W-what is that?" I asked as I met its grey-blue eyes causing it to start growling.

"A manticore." Nadia stood behind me as the manticore suddenly quieted. "It's a creature that has been around for a long time, a dangerous opponent but a true companion if you earn its loyalty."

"Why d-does it have spikes on it's tail?"

"Those are venomous." She paused as I looked at her in confusion. "If you touch it- you will be in a lot of pain."

"I see." I glanced into the next door and was surprised to see it completely different; the walls and floor was stone except for the pool of water that sat in the middle of the room. 

"N-" I started to speak when the water suddenly gushed up into the air as a horse-like animal sprang up and gently landed. 

A large fin was in the place were a horses mane would be, its back legs came together into a long tail with scales that shimmered in the light while the front did not end with hoofs but long fins similar to its tail.

"A hippocampus." Nadia seemed to be enjoying my reaction as I hid behind her. "A relative to the Kelpie but they are not as likely to try drowning you."

"Princess!" Aidan calls my name, standing next to a door farther down. "Would you like to see my mount?"

I glance in, not really sure what to expect when a shadow fell over me.

"It's a griffin Princess!" Aidan looked smug. "I call him Benny."

The griffin was amazing; feathers that covered his wings turned to fur once it met his body which looked even softer than Aidan's ears. Claws on his front legs were smooth with not a single scratch causing my eyes to look up and meet his eyes, a forest green.

To be honest, I was really surprised that his name was Benny- it didn't seem to suit him and glancing over at Nadia who was shaking her head: meant that I wasn't the only one who thought that.

Hey everyone! Wow it has been a really long time since I've posted a new chapter..... Things have been hectic since I came back home and I ended up pushing the release of this chapter back a lot.

But Holy freaking crap- 19.8k views!?!?!!?!? Man, that's great! I was surprised when I finally got to look!🥳🥳
Also for those who followed me from 'How the Emperor Trapped a Witch'; I'll be submitting it into the Watty's this year! 

Please pray for Good Luck!😁🙏

I missed all of you and now that things have calmed down- I'll be posting more chapters! (So that means I won't be hunted down right?😅)

Love all of you and thanks for reading!!🥰🥰😍