Cassandra
Lune left shortly after we shook on the deal, though she promised to remain close by, not that she could return home anyways. As great as humanity sounds, it seems that a few of her pack members would rather remain as the feral beasts of the woods.
Keeping that in mind, I left home in the dawn hours, taking to the streets. With the windows dark and roads empty and wind whistling through the alleys, it felt more like a ghost town than anything. I made my way to Claire's house. I needed to speak to her, seek her advice. Claire was always the whimsical one, head over heels for all things fantasy. Unicorns, trolls, dragons, you name it, she probably knew it, and if there was anyone in this town who could cure a curse, it was her.
I stopped at Claire's front door, hand hovering in the air about to knock when I remembered that it was an absurd hour of the day. Nobody was going to answer, and if someone did, they would not be thrilled to see me. So I went around back instead to knock on her window.
Back pressed against the bricks of the house, I crept through the grass, a cat on the prowl, hoping the shadows would conceal my presence as a downwind would conceal a scent because, by Gods, if anyone caught me sneaking about—
"Cassandra, is that you?"
I yelped and spun around. Peter stood behind me, a shotgun hefted on his shoulder and a perplexed—and concerned—look on his face. I felt my cheeks heat up, and I was sure they were as bright as a radish.
"Uh, hi, Peter," I said.
"By the Gods' will, what are you doing here so late at night?"
"A-Actually, Peter, it's the early morning." The look on his face told me I did not help my case whatsoever. "Listen," I continued, "I really need to talk to Claire."
"Honestly, Cassandra, this seems like a bad time. Couldn't you wait until—"
"No!" Peter tilted his head. "Um, what I meant was," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "this is urgent."
Peter puffed a sigh and shrugged his shoulders, turning on his heels. "Okay, whatever you say, Cassandra."
"Wait, Peter." I reached out and he looked back, first at me, then at the hand on my shoulder. I jerked my hand back with a nervous chuckle, tucking it behind my back. "Um, where are you going?" I asked.
"I thought you had urgent things to do?"
"Ah, sorry. I was just curious."
He cast me a sideways smile as if he knew I was stalling for more time with him. Yes, I know, I know. Lune was important, my top priority, but how much harm could a little time with Peter really do?
"Well, since you want to know so badly," Peter said, "I'm going on a hunt."
"Are you?"
"Yeah." He patted a hand on his trusty shotgun. "I'll catch a foul beast and become the hero of town."
"You're already a hero, at least, to me you are." Peter looked at me and raised his eyebrows. My eyes went round, and I slapped a hand over my mouth as my face lit up for the second time today. "Um," I stammered, "what I meant was that, um, that you are—"
"How about dinner tonight, Miss Anne?"
My jaw dropped. "Dinner? As in, like, just us?"
"You, me, and a well seasoned, charcoal roasted duck. So, what do you say, Cassandra? Would you like to join me for dinner?"
⥷⭃
Immediately after Peter's invitation, I banged on Claire's window like there was no tomorrow, and Claire, groggy-eyed and with a bedhead, drudged across the room to let me in.
"Are you aware of the time?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "A heavily sleep-deprived brain cannot function fully, much less engage in proper conversation." She yawned. "You know what I mean?"
"Claire," I said, "Peter just asked me out to dinner."
Her back shot straight up, sleepy demeanor gone in an instant. "What? He did?"
"Yes!"
"Wait, when?"
"Just now, as I was on my way to see you."
"Did he tell you a time?"
"Late, tonight. He said he had to make sure you were asleep."
Claire made a tsk sound with her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Of course. He wouldn't want me spying on the two of you." She sighed. "But I guess I'll forgive him this time because oh my Gods, Cassandra Anne has a date." Starry-eyed, Claire bounced up and down on her toes, taking my hands in hers and squealing quietly to not wake the house, but still with the same enthusiasm as a child would have receiving a big, birthday present. "Girl," she said, calming down, "you and I better have a rendezvous before this dinner of yours because you could not dress properly if your life depended on it."
"I will. I promise."
"Good, because we need to fix up your hair, clean up your face—uh, not that there's anything wrong with your face, but it's just that…"
I tuned her out after a moment. My mind was buzzing with joy. Dinner with the perfect Peter Roran. It was a dream come true, and, call me boy crazy, but I really wanted to know if he was a good kisser. What? Don't judge. Doesn't every girl wonder just a little?
"Hello?" Claire waved a hand in front of my face. "Earth to Cassandra."
I blinked a few times, pulled out of my fantasy. "Uh, sorry. What was it you were saying?"
"What was Peter doing up so early?"
"Oh, he said he was going out on a—" A hunt. At the time, I had been too star-struck to fully process it, but now that I was here in Claire's room, brain slightly more placid, his words began to sink in. Peter wasn't going to go hunt Lune, was he?
"Andra?"
"A hunt," I finished. "Peter was going out on a hunt." I paused and sucked in a sharp breath. "Do you know anything about curses or spells or anything?"
Claire cast me a suspicious look. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I, um—"
"Gods, is this about the wolf? It is, isn't it?" She sighed, dragging a hand down her face. "Andra, I thought I told you to stay away from it."
I held my hands up. "Claire, listen," I said. "She's different. She's human."
"Oh yeah, and I'm a unicorn."
"I'm serious, Claire. When Lune—"
"The wolf has a name now?"
"Yes. Her name is Lune, and she and her people were cursed by some enchantress, and my blood can somehow temporarily cure her, and—"
"Wait, your blood?"
"Yes," I exclaimed, "my blood. Now, will you let me finish?"
Claire nodded, opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again with a second nod.
I let out a breath. "Okay. Lune the wolf, bewitched by an enchantress, blood with a temporary cure, do you know how we can undo her curse?"
Claire scratched her chin and began to pace the room. "Well, as we know, with freezing there's melting and with growth, there's cutting. Therefore, with your curse, and all others, there must be a way to undo it."
She paused, and I tilted my head, nodding her on. "And that way is?"
Claire shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I'm a fairytale fanatic, not a vengeful witch. Breaking curses is not my forte." She frowned pensively. "Actually, if we're going by the books, most curses are followed by a riddle or rhyme depicting how to break them. Did your friend perhaps mention one?"
"No," I said, "but maybe I can ask her." I started for the window.
Claire grabbed my arm. "Wait." I glanced over my shoulder. "Be careful," she said. "Despite how kindly you speak of Lune, I still don't trust her."
"There's no gain without risks," I said. "You've heard about the chattel massacres recently, right?" Claire nodded. "Well, Lune promised if I helped her break the curse, she would help me find the culprit."
"A trade-off," Claire said slowly. "Are you sure about this?"
"I'm positive."
"Then I guess I won't be the one to stop you."
"Thank you, Claire." I slipped out of the open window and landed on the grass. Casting her a farewell smile, I took to the streets, making my way back to my house and then to the forest. My heart was jittery and aflutter. I was making progress with Lune and with Peter. Clearing curses with one and a romantic candlelit dinner with another. Life couldn't be more perfect.
But when I passed by the town board, a piece of parchment crinkling in the wind catching my eye, my heart dropped. There, written in black, bold ink, was the word: BOUNTY. I ripped the paper off the board, leaving the nails that were holding it up still in place, and skimmed the information.
A bounty? On Lune? Well, that explained why Peter was going out on a hunt so early. He wanted a headstart in the race to kill the wolf in the woods. But that also meant that everyone else in town would be hopping aboard later.
I folded the paper and stuffed it into my dress pocket, breaking into a run.
I needed to warn Lune.