Whatever it was that had the house in an uproar the night before meant that Carmine was left alone in her room for the better part of the morning. She spent the time staring vacantly at the wall with the memories of the night before flitting about her head. The things that Jace said, at the time they seemed impossible, but then after that kiss there could be no doubt that what he said was true. And she had turned him away. Maybe if she had accepted his offer first thing with no arguments, then he wouldn't have left when the horn called him away. For that was what had happened, the horn meant something and made Jace go away. At the moment the only thing that stuck out in her mind was that Jace was gone and he had taken half of her soul with him.
By and by, she began to process other things. The house had been bustling when she had returned in the middle of the night. She couldn't remember so many people being up at that time in the house and they had all seemed in various stages of panic. She tried to remember what she had heard. Something about an attack close by? The war had never come so near and it was thought nearly impossible because of their well defended position on the border. It would be a good reason to explain Jace's quick departure. If the other half of her soul had ridden out into battle, Carmine had to know. Her door was still unlocked from when Nathaniel had opened it the night before. The servant's quarters were dead silent in sharp contrast to how it had been the previous night. It made sense seeing as everyone would be in other parts of the house doing their daily chores at this time. Carmine's only concern was running into one of the Chiots when she was supposed to still be locked up in her room. She would find Nathaniel first and ask him about what had happened. He was still helping in the stables after someone had injured their wrist.
The first thing Carmine noticed when she entered was that there were markedly fewer horses occupying the stalls than normal. Most of the labor horses were missing and a few of the riding ones as well. "Nathaniel?" She called out it. A few of the other animals made noises in response to her shout and Nathaniel's head popped out from one of the horses stalls.
"Carmine, what are you doing out here? Has Lady Chiot decided to let you out of your room?" Nathaniel stepped out fully from the stall to talk to Carmine. He was wearing dirt stained pants and tall boots for mucking out the stalls. He leaned on his shovel and looked at Carmine. She could tell that he was stressed about something.
"No one locked my door last night and something has happened."
Nathaniel flicked a bit of straw out of his hair. "I'll say. Lord Chiot sent eight horses off to Isolon to help."
"What happened?"
Carmine was slightly annoyed by the way Nathaniel's eyes widened and his stood up straighter in shock. "You mean you don't know? I thought since you were with Jace last night, he would have said something."
She shook her head. Something was wrong and she had a suspicion about what had happened but she desperately wanted it to not be true. Nathaniel ran a hand through his hair and sighed. It was like he was looking for the right words. "Isolon was attacked two days ago. A man arrived just last night to have the regiment sent to help. From what I heard he was in bad shape and barely made it to the general in time. He died before he could deliver the message but they found a letter from the commander in Isolon on his person. That's what the horn was last night. It was calling all soldiers to take up arms and ride into battle."
Carmine staggered over to a bench and sat down heavily. Her worst fears were confirmed. That's what Jace had meant when he said he might not return. He thought he might be killed on the battlefield. She could not bear the thought and sobbed into her hands. Moreover, Isolon was so close to their town. Before, the war had always been a distant thing happening far off somewhere else. Now it had arrived almost on their doorstep and it became painfully real. Jace was going into battle and the enemy army was closer than anyone had ever anticipated. In one night everything had changed.
Nathaniel sat beside Carmine on the bench and put an arm around her shoulders. He stank of sweat and horse dung but she still wrapped her arms around him and cried on his shoulder. "What are we going to do?"
"The regiment is strong, they are all pureblood wolves. They will be able to save Isolon. We will be safe." Nathaniel tried to comfort Carmine but she could tell his words were empty. He was just as frightened as she was.
The threat of invasion was a heady fear that had descended over the house in the following days. Everyone was silent and even the family offered up fewer orders than usual. It was nearly a week before word came that the enemy had been driven out of Isolon with the help of all the regiments in the immediate area. It was still a shock that Isolon was able to be invaded at all and the soldiers would stay in that area for awhile longer. Regiments were sent back to the nearby towns for protection, but Jace's was one of the ones that stayed in Isolon.
Carmine listened for news of his regiment returning every day for over two months before she gave up hope of his return. She figured he must have been busy with the war or else he would have come back. She refused to let herself think that he had simply forgotten about her or worse had died in battle. She kept telling herself that if the Vilkas prince had fallen in battle everyone would have heard about it. Still that did not quiet the small voice that said it was a possibility. The more time spent waiting and wishing for his return, the more missing him hurt until Carmine simply began to turn off. She stopped asking around after the prince and starting believing that loving him was just a nice dream that had no place in reality. Believing that seemed to suck the color out of the world. It was a small comfort when she never heard that Jace had died in battle, but it did nothing to quell the notion that he was never going to come back for her. So much time had passed that she hardly remembered what had made her feel so strongly that she was his soul and they were destined for each other. It all seemed foolish now that a Vilkas wolf could love a human servant. That did not change what she felt for him though. She still loved him and knew she always would; the feeling was simply too deeply rooted inside her to shake.
After accepting that she was not going to see him again, Carmine tried to find other things that made her happy. Nathaniel had been worrying over her like a mother hen ever since Jace left. He could see that she was not the same and he did his best to perk her up even though nothing seemed to work for a few months. Carmine appreciated his trying and latched onto him fiercely to try and remember what life was like before she knew Jace. Nathaniel didn't mind and he seemed relieved that his friend was no longer morose most of the time. It was late spring when Carmine truly laughed for the first time. It was a good feeling and made her believe that maybe she could live without the prince.
The seemingly endless war carried on, but there were no more attacks nearby since Isolon. Multiple regiments passed through the town, but Carmine had long since stopped looking so intently for familiar faces among the soldiers. Lady Chiot had been pleased with the way Carmine ferociously threw herself into her work after Jace left and had taken to giving her more work to do. Carmine did not mind so much. At first it kept her occupied enough to not think about Jace quite so much, now it was simply something to fill the long hours of each day. Breaks and free time were a welcome occurrence, but she feared that given too much free time she would go back into the ghost-like state she fell into the previous winter.
It came as little surprise that Carmine was told she would be accompanying the family on one of their many vacations to one of the largest cities in the kingdom. Mable adopted Carmine as her own personal servant, and insisted that she could not go anywhere without her 'lady in waiting'. The carriage was packed with the help of Nathaniel and a few other servants, Carmine among them. She was to personally see to Mable's luggage.
"Are you sure you will be alright on your own in another town?" Nathaniel had not forgotten what Carmine was like after Jace left and still worried over her.
Carmine smiled as she lifted a small hat box into the storage compartment. "I'll be fine. It will be more of the same as it is here: just waiting on Mable hand and foot."
"I'll miss you."
Carmine smiled and tightly hugged her best friend. "I'll miss you too, but it's only for a few weeks then I'll be back. I'll even bring you back a present if you'd like."
Nathaniel returned the hug. "I never say no to presents." He joked.
"Carmine," Mable sang as she walked down the front steps. Her family was following behind her. "It's time to go. I hope all my things are loaded properly into the coach."
Nathaniel let her go and stepped back. He bowed as Lord and Lady Chiot approached. They didn't pay him any mind as they climbed into the large traveling coach. Ivan had his nose buried in a book about watches and nearly stumbled as he climbed into the coach. Another servant had to catch his arm and help him in. From outside, Carmine could see the look of disappointment on Lady Chiot's face. She had tried to divest him of his dream of being a watchmaker but she could not persuade him to take up a more 'masculine' occupation. Mable was the last to climb into the carriage and Carmine followed behind after giving Nathaniel a quick kiss on the cheek and a promise to bring him back something fancy.
On the rather lengthy journey, Carmine found out the purpose of the vacation. A rather prominent ball was being held and all the noblemen of the country had been invited. Lord Chiot was never one to turn down a chance to revel in his status and so the family was brought along to be shown off to the rest of the county's gentry. Carmine was thankful that she had the opportunity to see a town outside of the one she grew up in. It would be the farthest away from home she had ever been. She would not be allowed to attend the fancy parties, but she would help Mable dress up for them and she could imagine what they would be like. Mable would no doubt tell her all about them at some point. The girl had taken to telling Carmine everything since dubbing her a lady in waiting.
As predicted, Carmine spent the first few days of the trip following Mable around the town. She carried bags mostly, but it gave her a chance to see the town. In one of the shops she found a beautifully formed dahlia made of colored glass. It was the perfect gift for Nathaniel. He had always wished to grow dahlias, but the climate did not allow for them. That didn't stop him from trying every year though; they were his favorite flower. It was expensive and would take a large amount of the money Carmine had saved, but it wasn't like she was spending any of it elsewhere. So with a smile she bought the flower and admired her purchase. Mable insisted Carmine leave it out on display while they were in the town because it was so beautiful. So the glass flower was left sitting on the dresser in Mable's room of the hotel.
The night of the party, Carmine helped Mable into her dress and brushed her hair. Mable chattered on about what the party would be like. There would be dancing and handsome men by the score, according to Lady Chiot. She hoped her daughter would catch the eye of one of the men and that would lead to an advantageous marriage for the family. Mable informed Carmine that she needed to look her best in order for this to happen. Lady Chiot had hired a woman to do up Mable's hair and face professionally as Carmine had no real skill in that area. When Mable was deemed perfect she preened in front of the full length mirror in her room and the woman praised her for how well she looked saying that all the men would have their eyes on her. To Carmine the compliments sounded like a ploy trying to eke out more money from Lady Chiot through her daughter. Mable did look rather nice, but she was far from the devastating beauty the woman praised her for. The mint green dress was accented with small pink roses that matched the ones in Mable's hair and her eyes sparkled with the help of the woman's make up. Seeing Mable look so happy made Carmine wish for a moment that she could dress up in a nice gown and go to a fancy party, but those thoughts were quickly pushed aside. She was a servant and knew her place.
"You look beautiful, Miss Mable," Carmine said as Mable wrapped her shawl around her to leave. "Have fun at the party and try not to break too many hearts."
Mable giggled at the joke and waved her fan. "I'll tell you all about the hearts I break when I return, Carmine."