I wake up to birds chirping outside my window and sunshine pouring in like rays of gold. I got out of bed and washed my face, brushed my hair, and went to my balcony to get some fresh air. I looked down at the garden below to the castle gardeners working happily on roses, petunias, and lavender. The rose vines are climbing up the wall, trying to block anyone from coming in or going out. I could never climb a wall, let alone one covered in rose thorns. I hear a knock at my door and I rush back to my bed, quickly covering myself with my sheets. "Orana? Are you awake?" relieved to hear Leah's voice, I get back to the balcony and call to her.
"Yes, I am awake, Leah."
"Is it okay if I come in?"
"Yes, please, come in."
Leah enters my room carrying a tray with things like fresh biscuits, fruit, berry jam, garlic trout and steaming chamomile tea; one of my favorites. She sets it down on a marble table in the corner of my room. "Would you like anything else, Orana?" Leah asks me, I respond to her. "No, this is just fine. Thank you, Leah." She bows to me and leaves the room to allow me to eat my breakfast.
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I wake up in my den to a fox growling at me from outside. I growl back, telling him to back off. He starts to advance on me and I start to bark at him. I get up to show the fox that I was larger and more dominant than him. His ears fall back and so does he. I advance while growling to tell him it's my territory and that he should leave. He gets my message and leaves in a hurried run. I turn back to my den and hear my stomach growl just as fiercely as I did. "Well, now I need to get something to eat…" I go to maybe hunt down a squirrel or a raccoon, some berries would suffice as well. After about an hour, I have a few squirrels and some berries (I may have also found a cottage and stole some fish), looks like today had some lucky finds.
I return to my den and eat what I have (have some leftover fish for dinner tonight). I leave again to go to the river for water that I need for the day. It's lonely out here, no one wants to be your friend when you're a wolf. They are always scared that you will hurt them. Can't be a part of a pack either, because I'll die if I turn. Guess it's better this way, no friends or death, that's my option. Might as well stay a loner, like I always have.
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I get into the dress that Leah said was "most appropriate" for going outside. I never really understood why there were different dresses for different times of the day. My dress is light and flowy; it also has much less layers than the other ones. The color is a vibrant emerald green with flowy sleeves made of lace. The dress has a flower lace at the collar, and a forest green belt around the waist. I leave my room and walk swiftly down the hall. I pass chattery maids and my mother's ladies in waiting, usually the ones who are sources for rumors. I walk down the main staircase leading to the main doors. I take a left, going through the indoor greenhouse. The greenhouse is large and has very special herbs that are rare and can only survive in certain climates. The herbs are bright and colorful, but can only be used by the castle herbalist. I exit the greenhouse and into the garden.
The garden is filled with a variety of flowers, ranging from common to extremely rare. I go to the bench that is surrounded by my favorite: Moon Lilies. They are an exotic flower that grows in a perfect ring. Normally, the flower is a deep blue; nearly as dark as night itself. During a full moon, they turn silver and give off a light that is similar to the silver moon. After a full moon, they look like they are molded from real silver, yet they still move and sway in the breeze like a real flower. Legend says that the reason they do this is because when the moon is full, they absorb the light and turn to silver. When they are dark as night, that means that the moonlight is stored into their thick roots that glow like stardust. These are called starroots. Starroots are used by mages to perform powerful spells.
The starroots have never been collected because of the legend, only believed to be a myth. Moon Lily is just a nickname for them, their real name is "Lunar Asphodel". As I sit on the bench in the middle of the Moon Lily ring, I hear bells ringing. I turn to see bluebells swaying in the wind, but I know it's not them. Bluebells don't ring, then I remember the wind chimes I made when I was young. I made them out of shells, broken glass, and bells. I dismiss the noise and sit down. I close my eyes and breathe in the sweet fragrance of the Moon Lilies. When I open my eyes, I notice that the flowers are once again blue. This happens every time. I just wish I could watch them change with my own eyes.
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I run to the river quickly, trees are whizzing past as I go. I run up and over hills, passing cliffs and running past animals, who I'm sure are confused as to why I'm alone. Trees taller than what seems like the sky itself tower over me. Fruit trees have blossoms falling as I run past, littering the ground and the air with their beauty. When I reach the river, I see a black bear that made it there before me. The bear sees me and starts getting defensive. It stands on its back legs, making them at least six feet tall. The bear starts to advance and growls at me. I turn around, ready to run. Right then, I realize what's standing behind me, two baby black bears. The bear was mad because I was too close to her cubs. The bear was a mother collecting food for her cubs, apparently, she didn't like a wolf near them. I look at the cubs and slowly back away from them and their mother.
The cubs went to their mother and they left, leaves falling behind them. I moved to the river to cross so I could get to the castle wall. I hoped to see the girl with the unnatural beauty again. When I reached the castle wall, I tried to look for a way inside. I couldn't go through the main gate, for it was shut and locked. I decided to do a full perimeter examination. Maybe there is a hidden secret entrance, nearly every castle I've even been to has them. By the time I got to the back wall, opposite the main gate, I found a hole. The hole was dug beneath the wall, by the looks of it, by a large dog about my size. It was an old hole, dug about five or six months ago. I went through the hole and came out the other side in a garden.
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I heard a rustling noise over by the lilacs. Walking over to the group of flowers, I see a black wolf. The wolf is covered in a light dusting of dirt. The wolf looks around, it seems very confused as to where it has ended up. Judging by the size of it, it's probably a male. Suggestively, an alpha. His fur is dark as night. He doesn't seem to be hostile, so I start to approach him.
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I hear footsteps far to my right, coming closer to me. I look towards the source of the footsteps and see the unnatural beauty of the girl last night on the balcony. When I spot her, she freezes right where she is. Then, she stands upright and continues towards me. She stops about 5 feet away from me and kneels down, then sits on her legs. For such a simple gesture, she does it so elegantly. "Are you lost?" she asks me. I try to figure out how to respond to her, all I do is shake my head since it's the only thing she would understand. "No? Well, you seemed pretty confused as to how to answer to me," she said to me with a giggle. She wasn't afraid, this was a first, making me confused as to why. I started to slowly approach her, but she didn't even flinch. Either she was really brave, had no fears, or was just really stupid. "Why do you think that?" she asked me like it was no big deal.
"Can you read my mind?"
"Well, not really. I can just hear the thoughts of animals. It's the only way I can communicate with them, having no friends can be hard."
"I hear you there."
"Why? Don't you have a pack that you can be with?"
"Uhh… well, no. I don't have a pack."
"But, don't you need a pack? I thought a pack to a wolf was like a family."
"I can't have a pack for… certain reasons."
"Well, if you are so alone… Then, I'll be your friend."
"Really? Why would you want to be friends with a wolf? Aren't you scared of me in the slightest bit?"
"Nope. I've made friends with a coyote before. She was really nice once you go to know her. I just figured that you would be the same as well since you weren't hostile when you saw me."
"That's a fair point… wait, you were friends with a coyote?!"
"That's irrelevant right now. Anyways, how did you even get into the garden?"
"Through that hole behind me."
She went behind me and looked into the hole. "You climbed through this?" she asked me. I responded to her, "Yes, I climbed through there. Why?". She didn't respond. She looked at the hole and was inspecting it very closely. Then, without warning, she jumped in and crawled out the other side. I followed her and asked, "Where are you going?". "Away from here. I can't be here. Not anymore." she said, running away from the castle and into the forest. Why would she run from here? She can't survive out in the woods on her own! I have to protect her! I must!
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I ran into the woods as far away as I could from the castle. Everything was speeding past me and I couldn't see where I was going. All I wanted was to get as far away from the palace as possible. I didn't care where or how far I was going, I just needed to get away from there! I can't hear anything except the wind blowing past me as I ran. I can feel the cold biting at my skin. I ran out of breath and stopped. I leaned against a tree to keep my balance, then I felt something moving on my hand… "AAHHH!!!" I screamed, a large spider had crawled onto my hand, I screamed and jumped away then continued to run. I kept on going until I reached a river, then I hear a low growl behind me. I turn around to stand face to face with a giant black bear. I'm too scared to move or even make a sound. I hear a more vicious growling off to my left and look to see the wolf from the garden. He was advancing on the bear and growling louder as he came closer. The bear slumped over onto all fours and walked away. "You saved me," I told the wolf.
"Heh, it was nothing. Ran into her earlier."
"That was a girl bear?!"
"Yeah, she was mad at me for being near her cubs."
"Then… why was she growling at me if her cubs weren't near me?"
"Probably saying that you were in her territory. It happens all the time."
"Thank you anyways. Where are we?"
"Not very far from the castle, why did you run away?"
"I needed to get away. The queen was planning on marrying me off to a prince. Just because I've lived with her since I was a child does not mean that I belong to her! I have to run away so I can find my mother and live my life with her."
"Wait… so, you're not a princess? Why would she treat you like a daughter of her own if you ran away from your mother?"
"Oh no, I didn't run from my mother. She left me in a cave and said she would return for me."
"She left you in a cave?! Why on earth would the queen take in a child that she found in a cave?!"
"She must have thought that my mother was wealthy because of the dress I was wearing."
"Are you serious? Was your dress made of expensive silk or something?"
"Yes, it was made of silk. Wait, how do you even know what silk is?"
"Uh… How do I say this without making me sound totally crazy?"
"You know I can hear you, right?"
"Sorry, forgot about the whole 'hear what is in my mind' thing. Anyways, I guess I'll just say it. I'm not a wolf. I'm really a prince who was cursed as a child to become a wolf."
I stared at him blankly. Was he really a cursed prince, or was he lying to me? He sounded honest, but I still don't believe him. I needed at least a little bit of proof that he was telling the truth. "Really? If you are a prince. Then you must know the name of the queen that lives in the castle, all neighboring royalty know each other."
"The queen of that castle is Queen Lorinda, single ruler of this kingdom. Husband died in his late thirties 8 years ago."
"How did you know that?"
"Is that all the proof you need to believe me? I really am a prince."
"Okay, I believe you. And, I believe that I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Orana."
"I am Prince Conan. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Wow, you even introduce yourself like royalty."
"Well, Orana, since you don't want to go back to the castle, I'll help you in search of your mother."
"Really? Thank you so much, Prince Conan."
"Please, just call me Conan."
"Okay, Conan."
"Why don't you follow me? It can get dangerous for a girl out here. Especially for one being cooped up in a castle all her life."
"Excuse me? Just because I've only been in a castle my entire life doesn't mean that I can't defend myself!"
"You've been in that castle all your life? You haven't even been outside the walls? I bet you don't know the first thing about being in the woods."
"I don't, but I can learn. If I need to, I can go and find a nearby village and live there. Maybe even help in a small bakery."
"You don't even know how to bake if you just live in that castle."
"I do know how to bake, the chefs and cooks showed me how when I was younger."
"Okay, now we are just going off-topic. If you want to go and live in a small village, there's one fifty miles west of here. Have fun on your little voyage to the village."
"I'm not going anywhere unless you go with me."
"Seriously? You're going to act like a child right now? Okay, suit yourself."
He walked away from me, deep into the woods. I tried to catch up with him, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Pretty hard to find a black wolf in the dark of the woods beyond me. I keep walking and find a clearing, golden sun glowing upon it. I walk into the clearing and find a tent set up, with a fire burning bright nearby. I walk up to the tent and hear the voices of men inside. "Hello?" I said, only silence answered my question. I hear ruffling inside the tent, I back away as three burly men came out. "Hello, girlie. What might you be doing out here? The woods are not a place for a pretty girl like you." said the scrawnier of the three, he was shorter and older, he had teeth yellowed with some missing. He had a long pointed nose and small beady eyes, he had a hump in his back and slouched. "I ran into the woods and got lost, I was wondering if you could help me?" I said as the two larger men came closer. The men had similar builds, tall and muscular. They had chiseled facial features, handsome and intimidating. One had black hair with deep blue eyes, the other with dark brown hair and brown eyes. "Yeah, we'll help you, girlie." said the man with black hair. They kept advancing on me, so I backed away. "Really? Thank you so much! Could you help me get to the nearest village?" I said, "Yeah, we'll help you find it." said the man with brown hair, who I had no idea slipped behind me. They had surrounded me, they came closer and one of them had grabbed my hair. I tried to run, but they had a hold of me. The older man came up to me and said, "We'll help you, but first, you have to help us." He smiled creepily and hit me in the head with the end of his spear, making me drift into complete darkness.
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The sun was starting to set and I still hadn't found her. I was getting worried, what if an animal killed her? What if she dies of starvation or poison? I had to find her quick! By the time the sky was dark, I saw an orange light come from nearby. I turned the other way, where there was a light like that, there were humans. I started to walk away, then I heard a scream. The scream belonged to a girl, then I realized it was her. I ran towards the light and stopped in the bushes so I could see what was going on. There was a tent, with a fire burning not far from it. Around the fire were three men, one old and scrawny, the other two tall and burly. Within the light of the fire, I saw a girl tied to a tree with a panicked look on her face, and her dress ripped. It was Orana. There were bloodstains on the ground and on her dress. The men had cut her arms and legs. I looked at the men and the older one was drinking some sort of liquid, then the man started to turn young. I then realized that he was a vampire.
The burly men were his minions, and they just captured Orana for their benefit. Vampires are awful creatures who abuse humans just for their own good. They collect their blood just so they can live forever. Only a few people have the curse of the vampire, but in their eyes, it's the blessing of the immortal. Only the weakest ones have minions, they need them because they cannot survive without them. Making someone a minion is a power only vampires have, brainwashing them into their slaves.
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I heard growling come from the bushes. Conan stepped into the light of the fire, teeth bared as he growled. As he advanced on the men, he started to get larger. He was taller than the men, eyes glowing red; different from the usual amber eyes he had. The men drew out their swords and started to attack Conan. He lifted his paw, claws sharp, and swiped at them. The men bent over, blood dripping from their chests. They fell over in agony and turned to sand. "And this is why I hate having them fight. They always die! Now I have to get new minions to protect me." The used-to-be-old guy said. Conan crept up to him and pounced. The next thing I see is that the guys head is gone and is now just a lifeless body, withering into dust. The men are dead and Conan just saved me. He shrinks back to his original size and shakes his head. He looks at me with his amber eyes and walks towards me. "What happened? Where did the guys go?" Conan asked me. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you just saved me. Again."
"Again? How many times have I saved you today?"
"Only twice, but that has proved that you are indeed as brave and courageous as a prince."
"You do realize that's only a stereotype, right? Not all princes are the same."
"Yeah, I guess so. Anyways, could you help me? I'm kind of tied to a tree."
"Oh, yeah, right."
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I freed her from her bonds and I figured that since the men were gone that she could stay in the tent till morning. I explained to her what the men were as she treated her wounds. She asked me to step out of the tent so that she could change out of her torn dress into spare clothes around the tent. Once she was finished, she said I could come back in. She wore some brown pants that belonged to the vampire because he was the only one small enough to have clothes that fit her. I found a black belt for her to put on since it looked like the pants were a little big and kept slipping down. She wore a white button-up shirt, she had to cuff up the sleeves to her elbows because they were too long. The shirt was baggy on her since it belonged to the larger men. She put on a pair of black knee-high boots that had obviously belonged to the vampire, but they fit her quite well. Orana found a bandana and tied up her hair into a ponytail. She was dressing like a man, yet she still had the charm and beauty of a woman. "This should do. It's not what I'm used to, but I can live with it."
"Okay, we leave in the morning to town. But, for now, you need to rest. You've had a long day and you need it."
"Thank you, Conan. Good night."
"Good night, Orana."
Orana laid down on the thin mattress and drifted off to sleep. I stepped outside the tent and slept by the fire. I could sleep comfortably knowing that she was safe and that I was near and ready to protect her.