Chapter 35: THE FIRST BREAKFAST (1)
As Arella reached for the door to her chambers, she hesitated for just a moment, her fingers grazing the polished handle. It felt like her nerves were eating her from the inside out.
She had not stepped a foot out of the room since she got married after all. What difference would another day make? She could very well stay in all day and have the designers come to the room and the king have breakfast with her here. She didn’t have to leave the room at all.
Arella shook her head, tempted to smack herself. Since when had she become such a wimp? That was not her style at all, and she refused to let nerves get the best of her.
She felt a familiar energy outside her bedroom door, which she immediately opened. She was greeted by the sight of Echo standing outside. Its eyes turned to her, and it let out a low rumble from its chest.
The massive creature sat patiently, its sleek obsidian form rippling like liquid smoke in the bright hallway. Its fur shifted with his subtle movement as the creature’s tail swished lazily behind him. "Echo." Arella gave the creature a wide smile as she walked up to it and knelt to meet his height. "You have been here waiting for me."
Echo tilted its head slightly, letting out a low guttural sound somewhere between a purr and a growl. She reached out, her hands resting on the fur of his head. "I hope you came to join me for breakfast." She ruffled his fur, messing it up.
Echo let out a quiet huff of agreement as his massive form rose. Arella stood up as well, smoothing the emerald velvet of her dress, and cast a quick glance at Velmoria and her maids, who had been standing behind her. "I see that the shadow hound really likes you," Velmoria said as they walked down the hallway. She had dismissed the other three to tend to other tasks, leaving just the two of them.
Velmoria did not hide the approval that tinged her voice.
Arella reached out and scratched behind Echo’s ears. "He has been with me for a hundred years. I think it would be odder if he did not like me."