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Trinity
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As Telyn led us up the stairs toward our rooms, I had a chance to see just how different the architecture was for this Alpha home compared to how they were typically built in the United States. There were quite a few differences that were immediately apparent to me. First of all, the building seemed to be mostly made of stone, though there were wooden supports and accents. It was very neat, tidy, orderly, and all in all very beautiful. However, it is what most back home would call rustic. It had the feel of a stone longhouse or cottage, however, it also felt grand and large, like a castle.
The colors were mostly neutral with things like white, grays, and blacks. The primary color was white while the others were just the accents that were either added after the fact or never covered up. It was very nice. I happened to like it here, seeing the differences in what we had in our homes even though we were all wolves. Well, most of us. Shawn wasn't considered a wolf anymore, and Dietrich was never considered one.
When we made it to our room, I felt like they had done some sort of magic to have a room this large in here. It was not as big as my room in the castle, but it was far from small. It had all the comforts that we needed and then some more. The walls were white stone with black wooden supports and trim. The bed was made of the same black wood, as was the rest of the furniture. The windows were just like an old storybook cottage, but larger since they seemed huge.
And the bathroom in this place was a lot more modern than I expected. I silently cheered with eager excitement when I saw that it was not a 'rustic cottage bathroom', or the bathroom that one would find in a very old bathroom. It was clean, modern, and perfect. The only issue, there was no tub for me to soak in. Oh well, I would live. I would have to. And besides, we weren't going to be here for too long.
.....
“If you need anything, Queen Trinity, please just press this button.” Telyn handed me what looked like a small pager with just one button set into it. “This will alert me to your need for my assistance and I will come right away.”
“How will you know where I am?” I asked her with a smile. I expected a cute answer, but instead she blushed like she was embarrassed.
“W..well, uhm, I..I am very good at tracking people. Better than most people in the pack. If I weren't considered underage, I would be helping to find the man responsible for these attacks. My tad doesn't want me to get involved because he is worried about me getting hurt.” I could see the sadness in Telyn's eyes. She wanted to be useful, that was clear. However, as a mother of children near her age, I could understand why her parents were keeping her out of the investigation.
“You will have plenty to do, Telyn. There is no reason to feel sad.” I smiled at her as I put away the button that she had given me. “Thank you for bringing us up here. Please show the others to their rooms now. We need to settle in before the witnesses get here. We have a lot of interviewing to do tonight.”
“Yes, Queen Trinity, right away.” She bowed to me as she backed out of the room and left with the others. Now, Reece and I could relax for a few moments before we started to interview the people that were coming at our request.
Reece and I were busy putting things away when he suddenly started to speak to me from across the room.
“We should sit out for the interviews.” He didn't stop putting his things away and he didn't even turn to look at me. I know this because I had stopped and turned to look at him. And he definitely hadn't done either.
“Why? What on earth makes you think that I should not interview those people along with everyone else?” I was angered by his words, and I didn't know why. I just knew that I wanted to find an end to this as soon as possible.
“Think about it, Trinity. These people revere you. You are their queen. I am sure that they will think the same of me, but to a lesser degree. You are their Goddess, their queen, their everything when it comes to shifter and magic user high authorities. They will all be nervous and scared around you. Just look at how Cadwal and Telyn acted around you.”
“Yeah, I get that, Reece. I really do. But I can't just sit out. I can't ignore it all. I need to be there.” I didn't want to let others do this for me. “Like you said, I am their queen and their Goddess. I need to protect them. I should never have let this happen in the first place.”
“Then, perhaps, we should observe. The others can interview them while we watch. That will allow us to pay attention and see if there is anyone that stands out to us. And I also think that Gabriel and Vincent will be best as people that are walking around the interview room. My plan is to bring in four witnesses at once, the others can interview them while you and I observe, Gabriel and Vincent will be able to see if any of them are lying or untrustworthy.”
“Hahh. You're right Reece. I know you are. I just hate not doing anything.”
“I know, Little Bunny. But this will be better. The people will be scared and nervous if you interview them. This way, they might be able to speak a little more calmly.”
“Alright. I agree. We will go with your plan. Please tell the others when they arrive.” At my words there was a knock on the door. They were already here.
Reece told the others what the plan was for the interviews, giving them time to get situated and to figure out what they were going to ask most of the people. Gabriel and Vincent were used to having to check people and their intentions, so they had no issue with this at all.
We all arrived in a large hall that had been prepared for us to conduct the interviews. Cadwal and the others had definitely worked hard to accommodate me. That was when I finally understood what it was that Reece had been trying to tell me. They were intimidated by me. They were afraid to be normal around me. And that was going to hinder me a little bit. If I didn't change things a little bit moving forward, then we were never going to get things accomplished.
While Shawn, Dietrich, Shane and David interviewed the witnesses that were called in, Reece and I listened in. I heard the same things over and over. No one really knew what happened. No one had seen anyone that was out of the ordinary. There were no suspicious people. There was nothing at all that they would have suspected was wrong. Not a single one of them was lying. And not a single one of them was able to give us any information at all.
It got to the point where I didn't need to listen anymore and I started to brainstorm some ideas on how I was able to get past the whole 'queentimidation' effect I was going to have on the rest of the Alphas and witnesses. Of course, 'queentimidation' is a new word that I am using to describe my naturally intimidating queenliness.
I needed to find a solution quickly. If I didn't, then I was going to end up ruining this investigation. And that was something that I refused to do. I didn't want to make the others work harder for me, and I refused to leave the investigation. So, that would just mean that I would be hiding who I truly was.
I think that I had come up with a pretty good plan, all things considered. When I left this manor and traveled to the next one, I would inform the Alpha that the 'queen and king' had to return home for business. In their place would be their representatives. These representatives would be able to act on the full authority of the queen and would be reporting back to me regularly.
I had a feeling if people thought they were just talking to an investigator rather than the queen, they would be able to handle it all much easier. I mean, it was worth a shot at least. And if it didn't work out at the next location, then I could try something else when we traveled out of Wales.
When we returned to our rooms that night, I even told Reece what I had planned to do. I wanted him to know that once we left here, we would actually get a break from being the king and queen. However, to do that, we needed to stop being Trinity and Reece.
I guess we also needed to think of different identities to use while we were travelling. We would also have to forge the documents in a hurry. I mean, it was a good thing that I was able to use magic and that I could just, you know, magically make all the travel papers and documents that I wanted. No one would ever know or suspect a thing.
