12 years later
"Good morning, your Majesty." said a serving girl, who was holding the Queen's breakfast "Ah, good morning Leah." said Queen Keira, "How are you this fine morning?" Leah said as she was setting down the tray that held Keira's breakfast onto the small table in her room. "I am doing just fine, just reading. Have you visited Orana's room yet?" Keira replied,
"No, I have not gone to her room yet, your Majesty. Would you like me to check up on her after I leave?"
"No, it's fine, I can check on her. I haven't talked to her lately anyways."
"If you insist, your Majesty."
After Keira had finished her breakfast, she got up and started to head for Orana's room. The way down the grand hall was long, but always full of energy and activity, servants talking and gossiping to other servants while doing their work. The Queen always loved the sound of happy voices talking about whatever they wanted to, it always put a smile on her face that everybody else loved to see. Once she reached Orana's room, she knocked, "Orana? Can I come in?" Keira asked, "Yeah… sure…" responded Orana,
"How are you?"
"I am doing fine."
"You don't sound fine, what's wrong?"
"You found me when I was five… Right?
"Yes… Yes, I did, why do you want to talk about that?"
"You said that you would keep me safe until she returns for me… what if she never returns for me?"
"I get how you would get something like that in your head, and I am sure that she will return for you, she just needs time to make sure that it is safe for you to return to your original home."
"I guess you're right, but why do you keep me here… away from the world?"
"Because if your mother had a reason to keep you safe, then I will make sure that I keep the promise I made to myself from the moment that I took you under my wing, 'If her mother had reason to put her in a cave to keep her safe from the world, then I should keep her away from the world as well.', I have put complete faith in that promise."
"But the farthest you ever let me go is the castle walls… Will I ever get to see my mother if I am forever within these walls?"
"She can request to see you from the castle guard and earn permission to see you and take you back home."
"How will I know it is my mother?"
"You will know when you see her, there is no way you can look any different from your mother."
"How will I know what my mother looks like? What if everyone has odd colored hair?"
"Trust me, no one has hair like yours, or even eyes the color of yours."
"I guess you're right."
"Well, I have to get going. Lots of duties today!"
"Okay, bye Mom."
"Bye Orana."
She exited the room and went straight to her daily duties.
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
Once Keira had left the room, I tried to think of what my real Mother would look like. I pictured she would look very similar to me, silver hair, deep violet eyes, and skin so fair that it was practically white. It was only morning and I was already feeling depressed. All I longed for was to see what it was like outside these castle walls, find out what was on the other side. What would other people think of me if they saw my unusually colored hair? Or eyes that are not normal colors like Blue, Brown, and Green? If I did get out of here, covering my hair would be easy enough, but there is no way I could ever cover my eyes! Maybe there are some good reasons that I have to be locked away behind these castle walls.
We never get any visitors here, and even when we do, I am locked up in my room because Keira does not want me to be seen by anybody else, fearing that I would be killed for being too strange. Leah says I look like an angel, but I think she is just saying that. The farthest I ever go to is the castle gates, I have never been allowed to go past the castle walls. Usually, on the weekends I go out to the castle garden, occasionally I see a rabbit that snuck its way in through the gates.
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
I have been living in these woods for three years now, there is a castle nearby, but I don't think they would welcome wolves into their home. Every night I wait for something to happen, but nothing ever does. The upside of this curse is that while I'm in wolf form, I don't have to worry about only eating meat, but the berries that I do find taste a little funny, for all I know I might be poisoning myself. But, who cares, for all I know, everyone would be happy that another wolf is dead. What they don't know is that if I die as a wolf, I will instantly turn back human and anyone who kills me, will be severely punished.
It's a full moon tonight and I can't wait to stand on two feet again, maybe I will go close to the castle tonight. Ever since I turned into a wolf, I have been living in these woods near a large castle. There is lots of green in these woods, and the ocean is very close by. The closer I get to the castle, the more I can hear the waves crashing on the shore.
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
I have been staying in my room for half the day now, and I am bored out of my mind! Maybe I will go to the library and read myself to sleep, yep, that is a perfect idea… not. Right as I am getting up to leave for the castle's library, I receive a knock at my door. "Orana? You still in there?", it is just Keira, "Yes, you can come in." I replied to Keira's question.
"Orana, I think it is time…"
"Time for what?"
"I think it is time that we discuss your marriage…"
"Marriage?! Why do you want to discuss that?!"
"Orana, you're 17, the appropriate time to find you a husband."
"But I don't even know who I should marry! Then again, I don't know anybody I can marry! The only people I know are you and Leah."
"That is why we need to find you a husband, specifically a prince."
"Mother… I don't even know if I'm ready for that kind of thing yet… for all I know, they would think I'm strange, and… different."
"But you are beautiful just the way you are, and if any prince turns you down, they should regret ever doing that!"
"I don't know… what if the prince that I decide to marry is dangerous?"
"Then we will have you choose again and he will be thrown into the dungeons for hurting you."
"Still… I don't really think that it's necessary… and besides, my mother won't be able to take me back home if I'm married to someone."
"That is true, but I think that having you marry someone is necessary, but if you're not happy, then we will schedule a divorce. Please, would you do it if your Mother told you that you have to get married soon?"
"Let me have a little time to think it over, I will give you my answer when I am ready."
"Okay, I will give you some time. Well, I guess I will be going then!"
"Bye Mother."
"Bye Orana."
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
The sun is starting to set, not quite time yet for the moon to be out. I just finished getting food and I am camping out near the tallest tree, which is pretty close to the castle. Every night for the past 3 years on a full moon, I keep hearing a song, it is a beautiful song, but I do not know who the voice of the song belongs to, but when I follow where the song is coming from, I always end up outside these castle walls. But, tonight I am going to find out who the song belongs to. The song that I hear every full moon always reassures me, and makes me believe that the curse I am put under will be lifted, but who would ever love a wolf, a prince maybe, but never a wolf. The voice of the song is angelic and sings like they mean what they are saying. Over the years, I have fallen in love with this song, after it ends it aches me that I have to wait till the next full moon to hear it.
At least I can hear the song tonight, but I have no idea what the song means to the voice that sings it every time there is a full moon. Maybe tonight I can try to figure that out, and maybe I will even see the person who holds the voice. "It is a mystery, but I will find out tonight, I will find out who the voice belongs to, and I will figure out what the song really means… I am determined to find out.". I have no pack because they would never accept me, and if I did, I would probably die when I turned human, so it's for the best that I do not have any other wolves around me at all times. I may be a lone wolf, but I'm a strong wolf.
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
Tonight is a full moon, I feel much safer when the moon is out, "I can't believe that when I was five I thought that the moon was an extremely large star… I guess I don't really blame myself, after all, I was only five.". I still don't think that marriage is okay… I mean, what if I get married and my Mother won't be able to take me back home? I don't even know if I was a Princess before I was found in the cave, Keira never told me the whole story of when she found me, maybe there were some things about me being found that I don't remember and that she won't tell me. I get up and walk over to my trunk at the end of my bed and I open it, after a little bit of digging I finally find what I was looking for. I pull out the dress that I wore when I was first found and I take a closer look, it was a very simple dress, but the colors were not normal, it was a dark navy blue at the top, and as it went down it shifted to silver in a gradient-like effect. The material feels like a type of satin or silk, it is smooth and soft, the only thing is that silk or satin can never be dyed to look like this, the entire dress is a mystery, but I have connections to this dress because this is what I wore before my life here. Just because it feels like silk or even satin, I guess my parents must have been wealthy.
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
It's dark now, the moon will rise any second… As the moon rises, my paws turn into hands and I start to turn human, luckily when I turn into a human I have clothes on. Once I'm fully human, I start to climb the tree, and by the time I reach the top, the moon is well in the sky. I tower over the castle walls while in the tree, I see past the wall and see a balcony, the balcony leads to glass doors, and in those glass doors I see a light, "They must still be up, luckily I am too high for them to see me.". Just then, as I looked through those glass doors, I noticed… something odd? It was a girl, that I knew, but… she didn't look… normal. I mean her facial features were human, but the rest of her was… different, but in a beautiful type of way.
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
I looked out and saw that the moon was not quite all the way up yet, but it was getting there. I put the old dress back into the chest and put all of my things back in it as well. I started to get ready for bed, I changed into my nightgown, which was simple and white. It had a light blue bow near the collar, and it had sleeves that fit and went outwards from my wrist. It was slightly elegant but simple and pretty. I went to my vanity and started brushing my hair, and with each stroke of my brush, my hair looked as if it was made of pure, shiny silver. I washed my face and stepped out onto the balcony for some fresh air, and to do the thing I do every full moon…
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
The girl that was behind the glass doors came outside and I could see her more clearly than ever. She had hair that was silver and looked like it was made of strands of moonlight. As she looked at the moon, I could see that her eyes were violet and that her skin was so pale it was like snow. All of these things about her were very abnormal for someone, but these traits made her seem like she was the moon itself. "Starlight, star bright, I would like to make a wish tonight. From the bottom of my heart, and to the farthest star, I wish for this wish to come true. I know that I make this wish every night, but please… this is the only wish I ever hope to come true. I make this wish to the moon, sun, stars, and even the gods above. Have my wish heard, so that I may see my mother again… She promised to come back for me. So please… I beg of you, let me see my mother again.". The girl had knelt on her knees and was now pleading and crying… she wants her wish to come true that bad, huh? The girl gets up, wipes away her tears and calms down, then she starts to sing the song I hear every full moon.
The way she sang the song was like a lullaby, and her voice was like that of an angel. Once she had finished the song, she stared at the moon longingly for a while, then went back inside. "I now know who the voice of the song is, I hope that I can get to know who she is, but… that would be impossible for me to do being a wolf." I started to climb back down the tree when the candlelight went out, leaving the room with the girl in darkness.
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
I blew out the candle and started to get into my bed when I heard a rustling sound outside. "Maybe it is just the wind?", I was unsure, when I was outside on the balcony it wasn't windy at all. I went outside to go and look, right then I saw a young man around my age, climbing down the tree hastily. "What are you doing climbing a tree this late at night?" I yelled to the man, he looked at me and smiled, "I was, uh… a wolf was chasing me and I, uh…", the man started to explain, "I climbed the tree to get to safety! It looks as if the wolf has left me alone, so it's safe for me to go down now. Goodbye!" with that the man continued to go down the tree. "What are you doing out in the woods so late at night?" I tried to ask him, but it appeared as if he was ignoring me now, "I guess he needs to focus to get down that tree."
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
She saw me! I thought she was asleep, that's why I started to climb down. Did she wake up when I slipped on a branch? This odd but beautifully perfect girl saw me in this kind of state, clothes slightly ripped from being in the woods for 5 years, and everything is covered in dirt. I wish she never saw me like this…
⬤ ⬤ ⬤
I try to go back to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about that man, he was handsome, I'll give him that, but… there was something off about him, I can't quite put my finger on it. I think about what that might be as I slowly drift off to sleep.