"How is she?" Cameron asked as he stepped into the room.
"They seem to be having a break. I cannot tell what's happening in there." Riven sighed as she leaned back in the chair she was given.
They were in Winter's room back at home. By now the girl was in a capsule made of Mana, used to help in her Awakening and contain her if she lost to the wolf she was to fight. The room itself was quite large like a noble persons, the bed being centered against the wall to leave enough room between itself and the floor to ceiling windows. The rest of the room was pretty empty save for the make-up desk and door leading to the walk-in closet, showing it was barely used.
"Do you have an idea what we can expect?" A woman suddenly asked as she followed the man into the room. "It's already been a few days, surely there are some signs."
"Only visions of flame and shadow. The Princess has chosen a rather unique pelt, Mrs. Báthory." Riven said as she looked over at the woman.
"Please, this eras name is Elizabeth Magister. I've long since given up the Báthory name." Elizabeth said as she leaned against Cameron and rested her head in his shoulder.
"As you wish, Mrs. Magister." Riven bowed her head a little and almost slipped into sleep once again, causing her to shake her head and blink a few times.
"Have there been any others with the same properties?" Cameron asked as he wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's back and rubbed her shoulder.
"The others were always warned to be careful about multiple traits. The Princess should've been warned as well." Riven glared at Cameron threateningly, feeling an urge to try and cut his throat once again.
"Even if we had warned her, my sister would've still chosen the hardest path." Devon spoke up as he walked into the room. Like his mother, they both had jet black hair and hazel eyes and the same lightly tanned skin. Unlike her, he had Cameron's Roman nose and wider eyes, giving him a rather mature look.
"This is true. She's not one to shy from anything dangerous, no matter how bad it gets." Cameron sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "I'm more worried about how big she will get after this."
"Not about how distraught my Mistress will be once she wakes up?" Riven asked as she raised her brow.
"We may not have told her, but we've given plenty of hints that she will piece together once she's returned. That, along with the regular trials she would get once a month." Elizabeth chuckled softly as she rested a hand on Devon's shoulder.
"She's a tough girl, much tougher than me honestly. I'm sure she will only have an episode for a moment." Cameron chuckled as well as he waved his hand.
Riven could only blink a couple times as she turned her head between the three. No matter how much they trusted her Mistress, how could they not be worried about the state she could possibly be in?
Seriously, what is wrong with this family? Riven thought as she dropped her head and let out a long sigh.
"It isn't that we aren't worried, Riven. We know that we cannot do anything for her right now." Cameron said as he gave Riven a soft smile.
"Though I wish to be in her place instead, I'm just as hopeless as my husband is." Elizabeth bit her lip and turned away. Once again, she looked as if she was on the verge of tears.
Cameron and Devon both hugged her and closed their eyes. The sight astonished Riven. Had her Mistress been at the Castle, the only looks given would be cold and unforgiving. Over the last few days, she learned how warm the two famous beings were towards their daughter. This man, who was known for his heretical experiments, and his wife, who was known for gruesome murders after being controlled by a vampire, were warmer than even the most welcoming people of her own household. She had always been told that her Mistress was kidnapped by them and was used for their experiments or some other diabolical reason, but she was beginning to doubt those words she'd heard.
She was about to ask a question, but was interrupted by the sound of the capsule cracking infront of her.
"She's waking up!" Devon was the first to shout, immediately running to the other end of the bed.
Cameron and Elizabeth followed and knelt by the edge of the bed, anxiously waiting for their daughter to wake up from her long spell.
"Please, please let it be you Jennifer." Elizabeth sobbed as she gripped the sheets of the bed.
"It will be her, I know it." Devon said as calmly as he could, choking up as tears welled in his eyes.
"Be prepared, you two. If she failed, we will need to make whatever took her give the body back." Cameron clenched his teeth, praying that it was his daughter that was coming out instead.
"Victor, Elizabeth, help me stabilize her Mana." Riven ordered as she began to cover the cracking capsule with her Mana.
"Yes." The two spoke at once, merging their Mana with Riven's to help stabilize their daughter.
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It was the same routine every time they fought. Flames would be the first to appear and rush down at her, followed by whisps of shadow or the wolf itself jumping out of the darker shadow at her feet created by the flames.
How long had the two been going back and forth in the forest that as created by the mist? Hours? Days? Maybe weeks even, she had no idea at this point.
She could only focus on dodging the balls and spears made of flame while blades of shadows tried to stab at her from the darkness. At one point she had been completely blinded by the darkness, forcing her to rely on her senses to avoid the claws and teeth of the Maned Wolf.
This was far different from facing the other wolves all those years. At least they only used their bodies to attack her, not fucking magic.
Twice was she almost killed the first time she experienced magic. Once by a sudden arrow of flame aimed for her head, the other when she was almost made into a pincushion by spikes made from the shadows as she fell back to avoid the arrow. Since then, she had recieved multiple injuries from both the magic and the claws of the wolf.
She knew that Maned Wolves preferred a more direct way of hunting while it circled its prey using its longer legs, but this was something else. Not only was it way to fast for her to run from, it also kept to the shadows and used ranged attacks to distract her before jumping at her blindspot. If not for the sticks and stones she would pick up along the way, she would've been long dead by now.
Since Maned Wolves preferred an open ground, she was forced to run into the forest, but she felt it was her that as at a disadvantage now. She was still naked, and the branches and rocks at her feet kept clawing and stabbing at her with each step she took. Worst still, she had injuries all over her body, the most burdensome being the deep scratches made from the wolf on her side.
Another arrow of flame rushed at her head, forcing her to duck before jumping to the left to dodge a blade made of shadow that she could barely see. Realistically, she couldn't understand how she was able to avoid these until now. She was acting more on instinct to dodge everything, even to throw the long stick she managed to sharpen by smashing the end against a tree to break some off in an attempt to pierce the wolf in the darkness.
Once again, she could hear it crash into the ground as it missed its mark. She was at least closer now, given the urgency of attacks the wolf returned almost immediately.
She managed to duck behind a tree to avoid the attacks and give her a little time to catch her breath as she held her chest. As the attacks stopped, she tried to peek out and look for the wolf, only to narrowly dodge a shadow blade that cut her cheek.
"Fucking bastard. Wait until I get my hands on you, you damned mongrel!" She shouted as loud as she could to taunt the wolf. She did this occasionally in hopes it would fall for her tricks and try its hand at close combat.
She was met by a shadow spear that erupted from her own feet, forcing her to jump to her right to avoid it. An audible crack was heard as pain shot up her arm, making her grunt and grit her teeth. Before she could fully register the pain, a few flame spears suddenly flew at her from above and forced her to roll away.
The spears pierced the ground as they just barely missed her. She managed to roll onto her feet and reached for one of the spears in an effort to try and get an advantage. Instead of a searing pain, the flame instead felt warm and hard.
She was astonished at how familiar the feeling was. It was like gripping a weapon that was meant for her to wield. Somehow, she missed the part where she was supposed to wonder why she wasn't burning from touching a live flame. As the familiar feeling enveloped her arm, she almost lost her right hand to a blade made from shadow. She was lucky enough to get away with only losing her pinkie to the blade as she let the spear go, making her cry out and take a few steps back.
This seemed to be the moment the wolf was waiting for. Instead of launching more attacks, it raced out of the shadows and jumped at her with its maw open. Winter barely managed to lift her arm and brace herself, forcing her forearm into the beasts mouth and gritting her teeth. Her flesh was pierced by its molars, but that didn't stop her from turning her body to use its own momentum to slam it into the tree standing next to her.
The wolf let out a yelp as it let go of her arm and fell to the floor. Several whimpers could be heard as it struggled to stand and face her once again. The constant fighting seemed to have worn it down as well, panting about as hard as she was between growls.
Winter took a few steps back and grabbed the flame spear from before. After a grunt, she pulled it free from the ground and pointed the tip at the wolf.
"Alright...you...little shit." Winter panted hard, bringing one foot back and gripping the spear with both hands. "Let's...end this."
As she finished, Winter turned her foot and launched herself at the beast. The wolf responded by opening its maw to launch a few flame arrows at her, missing her entirely with the first one while the second aimed for her head. The arrow was knocked away by her spear, allowing her to keep rushing down the wolf with a shout.
It was then a sharp pain found its way into her calf. She tumbled to the ground with a shout, almost losing grip of the spear. She had almost lost consciousness, but managed to recover in time to roll onto her side to avoid a shadow spear aiming for her heart.
A flash of reddish-brown in the corner of her eye forced her to bring the spear up in defense. She'd barely been able to hold her ground as the wolf bit into the shaft of the spear, the sudden weight causing her to take a few weary steps back and push her back up against a tree. The pain in her calf and side almost made her keel over, but the fresh pain of the wolf using its claws to tear into her arms and chest fueled her rage and brought out an inhuman roar from her throat.
She brought her knee up to find the wolf's stomach and force a yelp of pain to leave its maw as it backed off a little. With a shout, she pushed the spear forward before twisting it aside to force the wolf to roll away from her. Before it could scramble to its feet, she jammed the spear into its hind leg to force it onto the ground once more with her weary body in tow.
Whimpers sounded through the air as the wolf struggled against the pain. The sounds urged Winter to slowly struggle to her feet. Finding the nearby tree, she fell against it to try and catch her breath. She looked down to see the arrow the wolf missed with had found its way into her right calf. Though it was amazing how there was no burning sensation, it still hurt enough to remind her it was real.
As she heard rustling not far off, she clenched her teeth and took a deep breath while bending to reach for the arrow. She let out a shout and saw white as she pulled the warm arrow out. Though she wanted so badly to lay down and rest, she couldn't miss this opportunity.
She pushed herself off the tree to limp towards the wolf as it tried to kick itself away from her in a song of whimpers. Each step was harder than the last, warm blood snaking down her side and calf. Finally reaching the wounded wolf, she straddled the beasts side and pinned it to the ground.
She then leaned back and took a few breaths to steady her hand that had raised the arrow above her head. Her eyes then met the wolf's, watching as it finally accepted its fate of death. The body beneath her then lay still in submission. The warm fur felt nice, but the racing heartbeat she felt kept urging her to put an end to the beast. As she let out a shout, she brought the arrow down on the wolf.
As the arrow landed next to the wolf's neck, she hunched over the creature and shook her head. "There...I won...you...fucking mongrel."
After rolling off the wolf, she laid on her back and stared up at the misty sky above her. The surrounding trees then began to disappear into the mists they started out as, leaving her alone with the panting and whimpering wolf.
"Why?" A husky, yet feminine voice asked next to her.
"Why what?" She retorted as she dropped her head to the side, staring into the wolf's eyes.
"Why...did you not kill me?" The wolf asked as it rolled onto its stomach.
Winter simply chuckled and looked back up to the sky. Her hand came up to gently pat the wolf's side as she responded. "I felt...I would lose something...if I killed you."
"Lose something...what a strange host you are." The wolf said slowly, leaning in to lick the scratch on her cheek. "You know I could kill you now, right?"
"You could've killed me a long time ago. I could tell by how you would just barely miss me after those first few attacks." Winter chuckled as she raised her hand to scratch behind the Maned Wolf's ear. "And here I thought you couldn't speak."
"Hmph, to think you noticed." The Maned Wolf huffed as its ears flattened. It's tail tapped the ground as it turned its head away.
Winter let out an exhausted laugh as she dropped her hand. Taking a deep breath, she looked up to the sky again and shook her head. "So, now what?"
"Now, you accept your pelt and truly Awaken, Princess." A familiar voice answered instead.
Recognizing the voice, she closed her eyes and sighed. "And how do I go about that, Alpha?"
The white wolf walked up and sat next to her, looking between her and the Maned Wolf. "This circumstance is rather rare, but not unheard of. As you've both accepted eachother, you just need to accept her Mana and meld it into your own."
"You make it sound so easy, damned mutt." Winter retorted as she slowly sat up. She almost passed out again, but was helped upright by the Maned Wolf's sudden nudging.
"You felt my Mana earlier, when you held my flame spear and arrow. Imagine that warmth entering your body and hold onto it." The Maned Wolf responded in a happier voice, licking her cheek once more.
Winter nodded as she rested her hand on the Maned Wolf's back and closed her eyes. Once again, that warm and familiar crept up her arm towards her chest. She imagined that warmth spreading throughout her entire body, a soft sigh leaving her body at how good it felt.
She felt a little hotter in the areas she was wounded, doing her best to imagine those wounds closing up so she wouldn't bleed out. Flames sprouted from her brody as she did and slowly closed the various wounds she recieved from the ongoing battle.
"Focus on that feeling, Princess. Practice it often, and few will match you in the future. I pray that you will claim your rightful spot in this unforgiving world." Alpha's voice called out from the mists as it faded in the black.
"Don't you dare run away, Alpha. I've a score to settle with you." Winter called out as she grit her teeth.
All she heard in response was an amused chuckle as all sound around her began to fade away. The sounds were slowly replaced by a faint chirping and the darkness replaced with a misty light that forced her eyes to open slowly.
After a few blinks, she let out a small groan and turned her head to the right. She was met with the sight of her mother and father kneeling next to the bed, their eyes red and faces caked with both dry and fresh tears. She found her brother passed out next to her mother, looking more exhausted than she was.
"S-sweetheart? Is that you?" Elizabeth asked in a soft voice filled with fear.