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Frowning, to the sudden wall between him and Alistair, Rex wondered what was going on. Sometimes this did happen, more frequently lately because of Ryne no doubt, but it just always made it obvious to Rex that they weren’t as one anymore and it made him sad. Naomi… Closing his eyes, Rex remembered times with her. From all the times that she was a newborn, to being a teenager…Every single moment, every single feeling… He missed her so much… “Rexxie!”   Engulfed in a hug, Rex opened his eyes to see the human form of Naomi. Could it be? ‘Rexxie’, that is what she called him… Was he dreaming? Pinching himself, he saw the woman look up, “What, no hug?” It was her! Taking her into a strong hug, Rex couldn’t help a tear to form in his eyes. “…Sweetheart…It’s really you!” If she had just laid there all this time, it might have been easier…Or harder but…Isilesah had been around… “Naomi…Naomi! Don’t ever leave me again!” Rex stated, pulling away from her and looking straight into her eyes, “Promise me…Please…”   Yep, I was back…And my man missed me! I bit the bottom of my lip, smiling, “What if I need to go to the toilet?” Rex smiled quickly, then lost it, trying to be very formal and bland! “You know what I mean, little squirt!” She was back! Touching her nose, Rex’s eyes softened. “So, if I want to go see…Knort…” Haha, I can’t believe I remember that name! But what was weirder is that I can’t even remember the name of my own pack! “I’m coming with you!” Rex stated. Mmm, that doesn’t sound too bad… For me, the fight was still only yesterday so…Getting away sounded like a great plan!   Seeing Rex bend down, putting a hand over my cheek, I looked deep into his eyes and could feel what he was thinking. It was time… Before he could ask, before he could do any kind of action himself, I jumped into his arms, kissing him. “You just woke up…Are you sure?” Removing his shirt, I nodded quickly, hardly able to contain myself, “Yep, totally! Completely! I want it all!” It was about time we completed our bond! With a simple movement of moving his hand to my head, his teeth came into contact with my neck and…   Letting out a big breath of air and holding his back tighter, I closed my eyes tightly to the pain. Dammit! I want to scream but I don’t want him to think that I regretted it in the least! Love you…I love you, I missed you so much! Letting out a moan to his thoughts and feelings, his tingles, my eyes clouded over and could hardly see properly anymore! Feeling his lips on mine, I put a leg up, jumping a bit and found his hand around my leg…Making me sigh… Ah, and the other one! Moving both of them now up, and hooking them around him, I found myself up against the tree.   Save me, my love…My Queen! Save him? Save me! I felt like I’ve been sleeping for all eternity! His thoughts and feelings surrounding me made me feel like I was dripping out of a certain area and god… This is so…Totally x rated! Rexxie…You’re a pervert! Honestly though, what did I expect, he hadn’t gotten laid in all these years, it’s no wonder he was so…Ready… Ohmigod…Holy shit!     Without my knowing, Rex had made the area completely inaccessible, while finally completing his bond with his mate. It also didn’t take too long before the pack knew that I had completely returned, considering that Isilesah and I were so different. I did question though, why I felt like I was being left out…I heard his orders…Rex’s orders… I was blocked off by everyone as Rex wanted to fill in the blanks of my time sleeping, without others accidently telling me. Even Isilesah wasn’t talking to me, at least she told me that she wasn’t unhappy or anything, she’s just doing as she was told… My return also made a lot of people happy, considering that they didn’t want me to die, so that they could live. The women and children know what I had done, as they are a part of the bond, so they felt that way along with the fighting survivors…The problem was, I really did have to accept the death of my father now… I put in a lot of thoughts, closing my thoughts to anyone else at this time, and realized that whether he be my second father or not…I loved him.   My father had loved my mother, he had loved me and respected me. He didn’t say or do much I suppose but he was a part of my life and I did love him. After seeing my mum so heartbroken, I really didn’t know what to say to her but…It wasn’t like she didn’t have anything to live for! While I had been sleeping, my mother had the child that she had been pregnant with before the attack and the little boy was already nearly two years old now! Beyond that, I was still here, you know, her other kid! But time really had gone by, and I felt like I had lost so much of it…   Was it worth it? Looking at the place that they put my father’s ashes, I looked at my hands, then my breasts and sighed. Didn’t I come into this life already having lived a life? Why am I upset on losing time!? That’s right, I thought, this is a second life! I am really blessed to have gone this far! Really, I haven’t much to bitch about! I really am lucky to have been able to have this life! I was able to mate, to have a mate, to see green and red, to still see the future and well, being able to become a wolf and have a wolf in my head…Oh, well, perhaps not so much becoming wolf anymore but still Isilesah, my best friend, was still there in my mind at least!   It became quite apparent, within just the first day of my recent awakening, that I was no longer able to shift, and I hardly needed a doctor to tell me that I was a bit different now, then I was ‘a few years ago’…Again, the fight only feels like yesterday for me but…It’s not! Suddenly becoming ‘more human’ instead of ‘wolf’, it was a bit of a shock but, now that I’m thinking of life being worth it, I still think it’s great! Whatever! So what if I can’t turn into a wolf again! But dammit, it was so good! I’ll really miss it! I’ll miss that tail so much! But yeah, I’ll miss my daddy more. My daddy well be gone forever, at least…At least Isilesah was still here in my head but my dad… Smiling, I nodded. My father was great, and I was glad to have known him! And so…I left it at that, remembering every now and again about this father, just like my last. I will miss him, but my life will continue…   ***   “Uh?” Yeah, that’s it… That’s all I got right now… Uh? “He was born while you were sleeping…” Rex frowned, looking away…Perhaps this was a bit harder than he had expected. “But we hadn’t completed our bond…” I said. Rex took my hands in his and interrupted me, “I know, I know. I was drunk one night and because Isilesah was mostly wolf, she was on heat…I didn’t even know until a month afterwards what the dogs did!” Both wolves then spouted that they weren’t dogs…Making us smile slightly.   Only our walls were down now, not everyone else’s and I was not sure on what to think, glad for the walls… Rex kissed me on the forehead and then my lips, “I…I had gotten mad and they nearly terminated the pup because of it…” I widened my eyes to the thought and shook my head, “No!” Rex softened his gaze, thinking the exact same thing…Whenever the idea of something being created with these two bodies would be terminated came up, he was also very unhappy with the idea. “And I tried to let it go but…They are still worried…”   Alistair and Isilesah tried to state that they weren’t worried but, it was easy to know that they were…Now that I knew, they waited to see what I will want to do with Ryne. Smiling, I then pulled away from Rexxie and looked at the little one playing in the corner. Rex didn’t let me go there alone and he sat down when I did too. “Since he is the first son, he will…” Rex took a deep breath. I saw it… “He’ll be King…” I finished… “…Yeah…” Rex said, putting a block together with another. On the other hand, I was stuck in a future sight…Perhaps the wolf democracy might have to wait that bit longer by the looks of it! Or, perhaps again, the best leader was going to be the next King… That was worth a laugh!   Letting out a light chuckle, I take the boy in my hands and pulled him in for a hug, “Mmm, baby smell.” Rex smiled. Was it really ok? He thought. “Yes, it’s fine. Actually, he is the best to be the Shifter’s next King!” I state, smiling. Isilesah smiled inside my head and Rex looked at me with interest, “What’s going on?” “He will be able to turn into a wolf early too. He’ll be the strongest! No more questioning alright, he’s our son and he will be the next in line.” I held the boy to me and cuddled him. Even though I did not remember him being conceived or even giving birth, the child was mine. I felt it, I smelt it, he was our son! You did good, Isilesah.   I felt like I was connected to the boy. I didn’t mean that as in because of a pack or mate…I meant it because he was more like me then any other. Was it because the boy will shift when he’s two, like me, or even earlier? Does he have the red and green sight? I didn’t know but I felt a connection to him and so, he was most definitely my son! “Rexxie, you really can’t remember that night?” “Uh? What night?” I rolled my eyes and cuddled the boy again, “I think maybe I urged Isilesah to seduce Alistair!” I laughed. “What!?” I laughed out loud and held the boy up, “You’re just too cute! What a heart breaker you’ll be!”   Whatever it was that let this boy to be conceived, even while I was sleeping, it didn’t matter. Rex kissed me on the side of the face and smiled. “You’re right. He’s our boy. Our first born…” Suddenly Rex stopped and looked at me, “I didn’t tell you.” There was something else!? “What?” He got up, bringing up me and along with me came Ryne as well. “Hey! What are you doing!?” I asked. “We have to…Take precautions!” Rex stated, taking Ryne from me and starting to walk out of the room. What was he talking about!?   After we left the place where we, the King and Queen stayed, I stopped and pulled at my hand. Rex couldn’t bear to hurt me, so he stopped too. Actually, I went quiet, noticing how weak I was. I had not gotten free from his hold at all and I had nearly been tagged along like I was…A rag doll… My strength was so noticeably different… “Naomi? Sweetheart?” Rex immediately felt my feelings and I blinked. It was fine! I’ll be fine! I’m just not used to it yet, that’s all… If it wasn’t so obvious, the change that is, I probably wouldn’t feel so bad but it, to me, it was so obvious!   I swallowed and cuddled myself, again noticing how cool I was… I was wearing the same clothes I used to wear, a shirt and shorts, but now, here in winter, it was just not enough! Needing a moment to collect myself, so that I didn’t cry, I just stood there. Rex could hardly contain himself to my feelings, he wanted to tell me how important and special I was to him but right now, he knew that I also needed time. When would it be a good time for him to tell me that however I am, it was fine… Cuddling the woman that seemed smaller, even though I was clearly ‘older’, to his body, Rex kissed my forehead and waited.

Rex was thinking of mates, then ages… Age was definitely something new. His sweetheart was not the normal Shifter, she was still young and really…Does the normal rules still apply or not? If she had been of age, there probably wouldn’t even be a problem whatsoever but that was the wall here, age… Since Shifters didn’t get their wolves and find their mates till eighteen normally, this really was new territory, a new and unknown idea… Marking a twelve, thirteen-year-old...Will it hurt her? Will it...Be something that will look bad upon her? If only the little treasure had not brought it up! Now...He was unable to let the thought go so easily! He and Alister wanted to mark her! They wanted to complete the bond but of course, they knew it was too early! What a little tease!   Rex could only sigh and bring his mate close to him. Both of them still needed time... She needed to grow up! And he...He needed to stop thinking of 'completing' the bond until a further date! It wasn't that hard, after all, to stop thinking of it. Whether it was his wolf or him, they didn't dare to harbor feelings that would be beyond her age. He will continue to act the father or brother that she would need, right until she was ready for them to advance further beyond that! Yes, for a while he wondered, as he was a man with his treasured mate after all, but he was quick into falling back into his original thoughts and feelings. As…He would never hurt or take advantage of her in that way! But...The idea of marking...That is something he did want to look up!   If he could mark his treasured mate, half completing the bond between them, then he will do so! Having his scent all over her because of the mark, basically stating that she was his, would probably stop a lot of things! Of course, it would add on a better link between them, with other things as well, but her being marked would mean that he had chosen his mate! The rumors would seize and not become a reality and then everyone would know for certain! It really was such…A good idea…That’s if it could be done to begin with though. Everyone was normally eighteen when marking and mating was done, so knowledge of marking without being intimate was something Rex didn’t know about… He will wait patiently for her to grow, to complete their bond, but if he could mark her earlier… Yes...He will look this up with some loyal people and...And he will also talk to her about it. Tightening his hold of the girl, Rex easily fell asleep, relaxed and content...     Feeling like something was real, I suddenly woke up, with Rex by my side, holding me tight. He was sleeping so soundly that I dared not to move to wake him. It had been so long that we had been so close! How could I not make the best of it! I smiled and closed my eyes, holding tighter to the arms around me and sighed. Why, all of a sudden, did I feel that everything was fine once again? Was it because we finally broke down that barrier? Was it because we finally touched each other again, reminding us on how perfect we were together?   Unable to stop myself, I spent a long time slowly turning around to face Rexxie. He was so handsome, so perfect to me! Was being in love something like mates? Or was it more powerful to have a destined mate? Perhaps they were two totally different things... Touching those lips of his, his cheekbones, that chin...I nearly squirmed my body in delight, stopping myself quickly. Do I really have to wait so long to be even closer to him!? It had been years now, years of only seeing him as a father or brother figure... Hang on just a minute! How was I thinking such thoughts!?   I was only...Thirteen! Actually, I wasn’t thirteen just yet, which was even worse! But…My birthday was soon… It doesn’t matter, dufus! But… ...It wasn't like thirteen-year old’s didn't know how to love, I suppose. They could have crushes and wants to kiss a man! Then, I remembered that idea of marking. Isilesah was immediately paying attention then...Could she hear my inner thoughts? Oh...Was it because I had unconsciously placed my fingers to Rexxie's neck? I heard the basics of markings and was sure that it never had come to pass to mark someone as young as thirteen before...Simply because wolves didn't appear until an eighteenth birthday. Most times, the female didn't bite the male...Yet...Why did I have the extreme want to bite his neck, right this second!   If only I saw a light, either that of red or green, but I didn't... I leaned forward unconsciously and tried to get more comfortable, finding myself right up next to his neck, suddenly going crazy! My body was just moving on its own! Isilesah! Can't help it... Seeing a slight green color in the place that I wanted to bite him, I just lost all resolve and Isilesah suddenly took over!   What the hell was going on!? I was just happy to finally be in my mate’s arms and suddenly I see Isilesah biting into Rexxie! Was he going to die!? What would happen!? A new and updated link was formed straight after Isilesah bit into Rexxie's flesh and I knew that he was awake now but was not pushing me back. He groaned into my own neck, while Isilesah finished and licked for a moment. Then, as Isilesah swapped back to me, I pulled back, hurriedly saying, "I'm sorry!" Feeling me pushed into him again, I heard Rexxie grunt, holding me tight.   After a moment of silence, Rexxie finally said, "I...Didn't expect that..." I was washed over by his feelings, now that his shock was gone, and I felt his conflicted happiness over what just happened. "I was having enough trouble with wanting to mark you but then...You throw everything out the window and mark me instead!" Rexxie stated, then let out a small chuckle. "I...I don't know why, but suddenly I felt like..." Rexxie pulled back, looking at me with such gentleness in his eyes that I stopped talking, only for him to say, "You had too?" I nodded, somewhat in a daze.   His eyes were shining, making me ever so trapped. It was just me and him, there wasn't even a world, another person or even space. Tingles were now even stronger and both of us seemed to have the same idea of wanting to explore our new and improved link between us. Rexxie kissed me on my forehead, touching my face and I hugged him, falling so perfectly into his embrace. "You smell even better now..." Rexxie stated in husky words. "So do you." I stated back. Our hands connected then, as he clasped his fingers through mine, and I think both of us sighed.   "I don't know anyone where the female had bitten the male...It's...A mythical type thought." Rexxie stated, kissing me on the forehead again. "Apparently it's been done but there isn't much about it. I know I shouldn’t have done it without at least looking it up but...I don't think it will be bad for us." I said, bringing our clasped hands up to my chest. "Shifters are well known to 'complete' a bond through body and blood but having a marking done like this, what will it mean?" Rexxie asked, which sounded like he wasn't just talking to me. I snuggled even further into his embrace, so relaxed and content that I was thrown into a new way of tiredness. "I just...I just wanted more. I guess it was because of this...This bodies age..." Without more prompting, I fell into a sleep, not knowing that my Rexxie was so smitten to hear me say that, that he had never been happier in all his life!   He had been worried, even a bit scared that his mate’s emotions and the past of her going out often was her taking steps away from him. Now, seeing how she had wanted more, and so boldly at that, and having admitted to him so openly only made things even more questionable. Knowing that her upbringing had indeed gone a bit haywire, considering that she had been bullied and had even attacked someone, he hadn’t known what else to do but take her into his arms and show her how much she meant to him. Finally, he felt like he was obtaining what he held most dear to him! It was now time for him to openly state his wishes to everyone! His mark would be all that was needed and with these laxed thoughts, Rex fell asleep easily…   ***   The next day, it became obvious very quickly that a scent was on the King, which led shortly after by seeing a mark now on his neck. Many things were stated, even before Rex could say things himself! He was a King after all, so any news about him would fly everywhere very quickly! Upon finally getting his closest aids to his room, having asked for them an hour earlier, half of them already had an idea on what the King was going to say! “It seems, the news has already gotten out.” Rex stated, sighing in dismay. He had wanted to tell the whole world that his mate had claimed him! It was such good news and should be his to share but now…Now it was like getting a present that’s already been unwrapped!   “Is this of your choice, My King?” Of course, the first to say something and say it in a way that the King may be a victim…Was Danika’s father! Rex looked at him squarely and showed a deep smile on his face, “If I knew this could be done, I would have asked my mate to do it upon her birth!” Yes, he wanted everyone to know that he had always been loyal to his mate! He had always wanted her! His Naomi! “Congratulations, My King!” Came two responses but still, Danika’s father said nothing of congratulations!   “Then what of it of your first heir then? Danika will be heartbroken, like she has been used to only carry your child!” Silence entered the area and Rex narrowed his eyes. “If you believe that child as mine, you will only make a fool of yourself!” Rex was very positive in knowing that child wasn’t his and…It wasn’t like they lived in historical days were tests couldn’t be done! If it got to a point where evidence was required, then he’d do it but…He’d much prefer to get Danika’s help with that instead because…Well it would only prove that he, the King, was the one being used!   The problem was, no one had known that Danika had gotten pregnant till this very moment. Not only that but…The King so openly disregarding the child as his, when everyone knew that he had been intimate with her recently… “It’s true…” Came a voice at the door. Rex turned to see Danika…Who looked absolutely terrible. Finally, Rex understood what was going on! Danika must also be a victim! Before anything more happened, Rex quickly got up and went to Danika, “Do you know where your mate is being held?”   Even though he used a light voice, everyone heard it and Danika’s father was speechless. Danika looked up at Rex, then turned to her father, seeing him narrow his eyes at her and she shivered. Closing her eyes, she didn’t know what to do! If she were to state a lie, only to have easy evidence to prove it was not the truth, she’ll be in trouble later but… “I promise to find your mate!” Rex stated, looking directly into her eyes. “So, tell me, do you know where your mate is being held?” “No…” Was all Danika stated, somewhat lifelessly. Whatever path she took, she knew neither of them were easy but…The one that meant to most to her…Was her mate! And that was what Rex thought as well, simply because he felt the exact same way!

Having to get used to this stupid routine of singing, as well as work and train, made everything so much harder! I wanted to think about our next step, but they made me shift twice a day and had someone inside my head at all times. The problem was, even if I was trying to keep their heads out of mine, it seemed that they were doing the same to me. I did not find out more information on the bomb nor anything else of their plans. I was still an outsider and to that I agreed to it…I didn’t want to be a part of their pack, especially when I couldn’t even think normally! It was such a pain! I was getting so sick of singing the same songs over and over that I started singing songs that I didn’t quite know all the words too and then lost myself on how the song went and before I knew it, I had wasted a whole hour!   I knew that they would always talk about me and what I was thinking, even seeing them laugh, but I could only keep up pretence and continue what I had been doing for weeks, only having minimal time to try and figure out what I was going to do now! Six weeks…Six weeks and I had not seen Rexxie! I couldn’t believe it! How much longer will it take for us to get back to our mate! Seriously, I was really glad that Isilesah was with me, as the only other person I talked to was Pete…Well that and the time that they forced me to talk, knowing that I could talk now. Ah! I wanted to go! I want to go back to my Rexxie!   It was in the next week that things went from bad to worse. It wasn’t just because I knew that they were up to something, something big! But the other thing that happened… Whatever was happening outside of the pack, seemed to have picked up pace and apparently, I was now some awesome pawn that they could use…It was ‘time’, I had heard and I had already noticed before this that some Shifters had come and many of them had left, it was very different to all the six weeks previous! I had not taken out the bomb…I suppose I had been too focused upon not thinking about it that I completely did not think of it! It really was a worry though, because even if all this time I did have the chance to take it out, I just felt like I would be given another one…So, it was put directly on hold! Every time the ‘bomb’ wanted to call me, to remind me it’s there, there was only a long beep on the other side! But now…Over this week, things got desperate! First off, they talked about me leaving right in front of me. They had stated that I should go the path that they had showed me, and I had shaken my head, stating that I was a part of their pack now. One of them had gotten mad and stood up, starting to state that I was needed for their plan to work perfectly, but they were told to be quiet. That was when the Alpha aura had been used and I was forced to leave…With the bomb still implanted in my shoulder!   What they had not thought of, was my unique state of basic thinking and when the Alpha had commended that I leave the boundary…Well, that was what I did. I left the boundary…Then sat right next to it and did not move! I did what I was told to do! Singing songs in my head, while still in wolf form, it wasn’t long before they realized that I was not going to move! Being brought back to the pack, that was when shit really hit the fan! They all were ganging up on me and calling me names, throwing stuff at me that even stunk! I mean there was only like ten of them there now, but ten against one was really dishonourable and I could only think they were all bastards! I had been told to shift and then was forced to kneel in front of the witch of a woman! “Luna, she’s here!” Hearing a chuckle, I clearly saw her relishing this particular moment… “You might think you’re clever little one, but you aren’t!” She pulled at my hair and pressed down upon my face, pushing it right into the dirt. “You like this place so much? Then have some, eat it!” Laughter rang out, and I desperately tried not to eat the dirt right up against my mouth.   Feeling less pressure on my head, a minute later, I still kept it bowed, getting scared. I know they needed me alive but, torture…Torture didn’t really sit well with me…And…I knew that they didn’t have any time to waste! They were in a hurry to use me! “Mmm, it seems that the little one thinks it’s blind…” The woman’s ugly voice let out a loud sigh and after that, and cheers went out, I went from being panicked to fearing what was going to happen next. And just as I said, from bad to worse, the witch of a woman had savagely lifted my head and brought out her wolf claws and did not stop to gauge out my eyes! I screamed! It was not something I have ever gone through, like I guessed many others hadn’t either, but from being able to see, to see nothing and to feel pain! I felt the blood go down my cheeks and down my chin and I think I felt one of my eyes popped, like a balloon… Screaming and screaming through the heartless actions of the wicked woman, it was stopped by feeling a hand around my neck. In the next moment, I heard her wicked words, “I have no problem doing this again, with silver…Now go with them and do as you’re told!”   Being pushed down, I breathed heavily, sobbing and wanting to touch my eyes but…I just… I was in complete shock… I couldn’t see anymore…Well, it takes me a while to realize that I could still ‘see’ red and green, but at this point in time, I was mortified! Forgive me if I felt like I went back to Earth, that when you go blind on Earth there’s hardly any type of cure, if any at all! I felt like my life was over, that I won’t see my Rexxie, my wolf, my pack, the sun, the beach, the grass for crying out loud! Before I knew it, I found myself getting pushed along somewhere and that my hands were bound. I don’t know how much time I lost to my blindness and pain but being pushed and feeling like I was going to trip with every step, scared the hell out of me! Isilesah finally got through to me and told me that she will heal us, making me finally remember that I was now a Shifter…And Shifters heal… Oh… And this point was where I am now.   I’m walking…Somewhere, most probably somewhere that could harm my Rexxie, and I couldn’t see…I was in deep darkness, yet I was sure that it was probably still daylight for real ‘outside’. I remember seeing a few blind people and a watching eyes get poked at in shows or movies but this…Going through it was just too much for me! Going to the toilet in the middle of the night was annoying enough but it was better than this! I might have had an idea of how many steps it took to get to the toilet, and where the walls were, but now, now I had nothing to hang on to, nothing to help not trip upon the ground! There were rocks and pebbles and even weeds and roots of trees were enough to make me trip over! Not only that, but I could feel blood still slowly going down my face and I can’t imagine how I looked like right now! I was literally freaking out! I had never been this freaked out before! That woman had indeed put fear into me and even knowing that I would heal and get through this, I was worried that silver would be used in a next time! I really didn’t want this to happen again and to be blind for the rest of my life! I liked my eyes too much!     With Isilesah coaxing me, I calmed down a bit more, the pain around my eyes seems less and this was when I realized that I could still ‘see’ red and green. Taking a few breaths, I then started to get serious. Which direction did they take us in? Did you hear what they were talking about before we left? Honey, I wasn’t paying attention, I’m sorry. I let out a calming breath to her caring nature of having been too worried about me, and said back, it’s fine, thank you for helping me with the pain. We’ll figure out how to get out of this mess! “Was it here?” “Nah…A bit further to the south east…I think.” Hearing that at least two Shifters were bringing us somewhere, that seemed to be to the south east, I finally brought my head up to look around. Seeing red in three areas, I frowned and lowered my head. There’s three, think you could take them, without being able to see? I will do all that I can! Did you pinpoint the bomb? I asked. No, I still couldn’t find a way. Looking to my shoulder, a very small red light was there, and I was surprised to finally be able to see a positive to being blind! The red dot was so small that it was no wonder why I had not been able to see it before! I’ll take it out, I stated firmly…I know full well that it was going to hurt like crazy, but it had to be done!   Are you sure, my dear? Yes, but are you sure you can take out all three of these bastards? I asked, feeling slightly better…Perhaps it was because I was getting angry! Really bloody angry! Of course, I may not be able to see but I still have my nose! I let out an inner chuckle, feeling strangely overcome with the want for some revenge, very well. I’ll try to help you as much as possible. I could still ‘see’ red and green so I could possible say ‘to the left’ or whatever…Well, it was worth a shot anyway! I have a gift…Might as well use it! For the fight, if I say ‘Ahead’, that is where they are. If I say, ‘to your left’, that is where they’ll be, understood? Yes, honey, I’ll listen to you!   I took in a calming breath and looked around, one was obviously ahead, pulling us along, one was to the side of us, to the right, and another was behind us. There wasn’t much else going on, but I guess they were probably getting bored. What was binding us was just rope, and Isilesah stated that the rope will break when she will Shift…It seems that they think that since we were blind, we weren’t as big of a threat to them. If we fight, they must be sure that we would be under their control! It’ll be good to prove them wrong! As long as we get them fast, so they can’t shift to wolf form and inform the fact that we had attacked…Wait… This isn’t like Earth… I sighed, because I realized that as soon as they die, they’ll know! I forgot all about the connection between the pack! What an idiot!   Want me to attack now? No, wait…If we kill them, they’ll know, won’t they? Yes, but what are we to do? I frowned… That’s a good question… Whatever we do, honey, we should do it as quickly as possible! Thinking of the predicament of this bond link, I really did try to come up with something quickly, but nothing beat the idea of just killing all three of these bastards! I know! Ok, they were rushing us for some reason, let’s just hope that killing these three won’t cause us any troubles! There’s one straight ahead of us, one to our left, then one behind us. Are you ready? Yes, let’s do this!

If I had known that Rexxie felt that way, it probably wouldn’t have changed much really anyway. What’s there to ask for help for? The girl was just…I don’t know, maybe she was getting her period or something! But whatever it was, I was pretty sure that she had her family behind her, willing to let her do whatever she wanted… Were they going to use their power for something? I could only see a glimpse of the future from having thought this, but it wasn’t anything that I could understand so…Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as I thought…   I didn’t have a prominent family like hers, my mother and father were basically just workers but were known only because of who I was for the King. Hers were of those who stood close to the King and were helping the King directly… What sucks though, is that it seemed their family was starting to gain some courage and would eye me directly, basically daring me to tell Rexxie upon what was going on. I didn’t though, I felt this beneath me in most respects and really did just continue on with my life but…   With her growing figure, bobbies coming out of her chest, whereas I hadn’t yet, I started to feel like I was really running behind her! I was only eight! I wanted bobbies! I wanted that curve of the waist like she had too! It wasn’t fair! On the rare chance that Rexxie would come to get me, this girl would go up to him and try to flirt with him with those boobies and waist, like I wasn’t even there and that I wasn’t his mate. This was really starting to become a problem!   ***   On one particular day, I was just trotting around in wolf form when I stopped from entering into a meeting room where Rexxie was. He sounded busy and so I just sat and wondered what else to do, wagging my awesome tail. “Your Majesty, would you like to come with us, or you will head over when you’re finished here?” Uh? Where’s he going? Putting my wolf head to the side, I guessed that it was getting closer to dinnertime. My mum would be calling for me soon in my head and I would, like many other times, make my way back home to eat. “I’ll go there on my own.” I heard Rexxie’s manly voice and I let my tongue out to the sound of it. Even just the sound of his voice got me excited!   “I will stay daddy, His Majesty and I will come together!” I heard a deep laugh and I pulled my tongue in, feeling hairs stick up. It was her! That girl named…Danny? Daniella? Danielle? Which one was it? As I tried to remember, I had missed some of the conversation and suddenly a man came out and halted in front of me. He put a finger to his mouth, looking at me, then kept walking. He had turned red there for a moment…   Not liking this, I peek around the corner, through the door, but the door shut in my face. Seeing red once again, I look up to see that man…Oh, I thought he had walked away… Again, he put a finger to his mouth and fiercely glared at me. …Be quiet, I get it… Seeing him wonder off again, looking back once, I turned back and sat there. That girl hadn’t come out yet… And the door closed in my face… Not cool…   Even though a submissive part of myself felt slightly insecure right now, I was mostly fine. I trusted Rexxie completely and did not worry myself. Rex on the other hand had wanted me to come in, knowing that I was there but sighed upon seeing the door shut. I miss her, he thought. If they weren’t organizing such a big scheme that held the future of all Shifters, he’d only be too happy to stop the planning over dinner and just take her into his arms. Alister agreed with him, feeling Isilesah being close but too far away…   The problem was, this occurrence, was only the first of many. Because of that girl’s father, Rexxie would now seem to go to their humble area of living and discuss quite a few subjects…Which I have no idea about. And so…The girl, whom now after another year I remembered her name as Danika, I started to slightly crack to her hissed insults and low laughter…Until that is, I attacked her. That was my downfall… I had lasted so long, why couldn’t I just kept on letting it go? Why…Why couldn’t I just think like most other times and not have taken it to heart?   The father was mad at me, the mother, my mother, my father and…My Rexxie… I didn’t expect such an outcome…Especially when Danika’s Alpha aura stopped me almost as soon as it started! If only I told them that this girl was insulting me for years, whispering to me that I was not worthy and useless but…I just had a feeling that it wouldn’t be believed. No one had proof that I was being slowly being broken by her… She had taken a friend away from me, whom has grown to scorn me as well. She had wrecked a few of my belongings, one in which I had treasured, as it was from Rexxie…But…   I felt…Wronged. ‘This isn’t the time for you to have to step into a useless fight! Don’t you know how childish this is?’ Rexxie had said, making me feel like crying. I had been good…I hadn’t been naughty…Why did he just yell at me? Why? Everyone had gotten used to me acting beyond my age but at that moment, I felt like a two-year-old fighting for a toy that I should have been sharing with another! No, it wasn’t like this! She…She… Dammit! As much as I wanted to say everything to Rexxie, I still felt like it wasn’t worth it! This was childish! I just…Had a momentary… Dammit!   The problem was, it was like a scar had formed over my reputation. I was young, yes, but I was already known as the Queen and…A Queen that fights another…What is that? It’s wrong, that’s what it was. Murmurs, murmurs upon the future were heard by me and I slowly felt like I was being put into a cell… I was still free, but I felt restricted. I was still able to walk, talk but…   The questions seemed to make Rexxie slightly upset and so, I slowly saw less and less of him. I felt his want to be with me, that was always there…It was just that he was so busy, and I didn’t know all the details. I repeatedly told the bodyguards to not tell Rexxie what had happened between me and that girl and it seems that they had listened to me on most occasions. Rexxie would still come to me sometimes, hugging me, but the conversation of my reputation and what others started to see me as did not come up. As much as he came across as trusting me and all through our pack link, I still felt that he was a tad bit upset.   Rex was upset! He was upset because he didn’t know how to take this back! He knew there were problems arising because of his precious, cherished mate’s actions and he didn’t know what to do about it! No matter what had made his mate attack, making injuries onto the other, he thought it justified! There was a reason and…He felt upset that she was not talking about it… He wanted her to tell him more, he wanted her to speak of it first but…Then he could only be upset because she was scared…Again, he was hopeless…   This was getting ridiculous, I thought. How can something like this become something!? Her family seemed to be pushing me away from Rexxie and it was working. Upon the girl turning seventeen, and I ten, that was when my world really did start to shake… I know I did not get the whole story…I know it! But, for the years that I had been slowly been harassed over and over again, I couldn’t shake the picture in my head away. That picture, it was of Danika and Rexxie being close...Touching, embracing… It was only just a second or two, but that…I ran… Again, I know I was not being mature and thinking things through but that submissive part of myself seemed to come out more and more now. I was starting to get…Lost…   After seeing…My mate, with another like that, I started to detach myself from everyone that I used to spend time with and started another type of routine. I started leaving the imminent area of safety, to spend time running around on the outside. I knew I still had bodyguards with me, so I felt the courage to do this but…I couldn’t keep being on the inside anymore…I felt like I wasn’t just getting put into a cell now, but the bars had come up, confining me in it…I was suffocating. To me, when I think things through, I still felt like things were weirdly immature and childish. I still had not talked about all the years that Danika had hissed insults at me because…Well, shouldn’t I be better than that? But, was this her plan? To have done all that, to make me attack her, and then I would be looked at in a terrible light?   Whatever… And as much as I still know that Rexxie is my mate, I not only still trusted him, but I was not of the age. I was only ten… I was not someone he could touch in a mature light and for that…I felt like I could give allowances. If it was just a small embrace, I can handle that and I even felt like that was all it was, honestly…I can’t see Rexxie putting too much effort at all into Danika and that was a great feeling! I knew my Rexxie well and he was a businessman and someone that only spoke in the dark, like he didn’t want anyone to know that he had a heart or something.   He told me many times that he loved me, well loved this, that, this, that…But, I suppose…In the last few months, things had started to change… We haven’t talked and cuddled as much as we used to and… Well, it was fine, I was fine, I guess I just needed to be a bit more free and come out here from time to time to sweat it out! And so, that’s what I did. I ran out my complaints and saw the ‘light’. I would be happier when I came back and I would not worry so much about Danika and what she said…At least not for a while.   ***   Two years later, I was finished with my school studies, even having extra studies on the side to have entertained me a bit, but I came to realize what my mother had been doing all these years and started to feel terrible to how I had treated her. She was teaching me how to be Queen in her own way and to be honest, I’m sure I could come up with a better method but hey, the thought is what counts! I was also taught as much as I could be taught in defensive skills and had even taken up on attacking skills just because…Well, just because. I was told that I couldn’t at first, which seemed to make a few people remember what I had done to Danika, but I ended up learning a lot on my own. Isilesah was quiet, agreeing with me on most accounts but her being like that didn’t help me and my merry ways because it went to me as well.   Yes, over these two years I gallivanted often, away from everyone else, and it seems that my relationship with Rexxie was taking its toll. I told him that nothing was wrong, and truly, I felt alright! But it seems doubts were forming in both of us and he only saw me once a week now. Granted, in that once a week, we made the time well. I was growing now, and my wolf was bigger. We’d run, we’d talk, we’d cuddle and laugh. But…After he was gone, I felt lonely again…

Frowning, to what felt like being in a moving vehicle, I felt vaguely aware that I was not in a bed. Feeling so tired, I worked hard to open my eyes, to a blurry sight. Narrowing my eyes, trying to see better, I guessed it was land and then I became aware of arms tightly holding onto me. I don’t know how long I was out, but it took me a while to understand why I was on land, to what looked like the middle of nowhere! ‘Looked’ in this description purely meant that I really wasn’t sure because it was all mostly blurry…To a degree, I felt like I could be possibly be dreaming still! And I really was questioning upon why my eyesight was so terribly bad!   Upon finally remembering our dire situation, and that my eyesight had actually gotten better and not worse, I move my head to see the other side, from over Rexxie’s shoulder, and then I work up! …Now I understood why Rexxie was running! Those red dots had gotten so close that I didn’t need the red dots anymore! Blurry figures that were moving and growling were in sight, quickly catching up to us! “Rexxie!?” “Hush…” I heard him breathing heavy and I wondered how long he had been running for. “How long was I out?” Rubbing my eyes and trying to pay attention. “Don’t worry, Sweetheart, even if you were sleeping for a week…” He took a fast breath, “I would protect you!”   Squinting my eyes, I looked up, to see that the sky seemed dark. I really wanted to know what that meant…Was it night-time? Or was it possibly dawn? But even if I knew…What would that mean? When I was blind, I had not much of an idea upon what time of day it was, so…Even if I knew if it was night or not, it wouldn’t give me any answer to how long I was sleeping for! Holding onto Rexxie tighter, I see that Isilesah was also waking up and begun to move. Do you know anything, Isilesah? Not much, my dear, I was focusing on healing us. …Oh…   Seeing the blurry moving figures come even closer, I was suddenly taken and placed securely on the ground. Squinting, I saw a big blurry figure cover most of my eyes sight and I knew that it was Rexxie in his wolf form. The problem was…Red dots weren’t just in front of Rexxie, as I turned my head and saw a few to my other side, now slowly creeping towards me… What do I do!? Honey, let me take over! Isilesah might not be able to see the red dots, like I did, but she had keen hearing, able to know that there was indeed a second lot of wolves approaching us.   I don’t know what it was though, but I found Isilesah quite confident when it came to her ears…Well more confident than the last time that we fought…So, I let her go forward, as her confidence was bigger then mine and well…Me in human form, at two years old, what could I do!? In no time at all, Isilesah had gone into wolf form and snarled at the other approaching red dots, backing herself up to Rexxie. I forbid you to get hurt! Hearing Rexxie’s voice in our heads, both of us were delighted, even though it wasn’t the best of times to feel that way.   I don’t know what was going on, but as growls and wolf steps could be heard, no attacks had been made yet. Seeing what Isilesah saw, I noticed also that we were being completed circled by red dots, making me start to really panic… My heart started to race and the intense killing aura’s surrounding me started to make me tremble as well… Calm down, honey, you need to focus and help me…Remember!? Hearing Isilesah’s voice didn’t really help me! Back when we were running away from The Light Exalted Pack, only three had been around! Now…Now we were surrounded by what looked about twenty, or thirty…More… I was realistic here! Forgive me for thinking that we didn’t have a chance!   Focus! Taking a deep breath and shaking my head, in her head, I squinted. Dammit! Closing my eyes, I again took another deep breath, but it seems the attack had already started! I wasn’t ready yet! I…I needed to… Forcing myself to pay more attention, I suddenly felt a scratch upon my waist, making me wince. To your right! I state quickly. Even if I wasn’t ready yet, I couldn’t miss the red dot just about ready to overcome us! Isilesah used her nose, as well as her teeth to sink into something on the right. She had the same eyesight as I did, so she could hope to see what she was doing was right. Having suddenly turned her head, two lots of heads knocked together, so she did not actually bite into anything. Left!   After my yell, Isilesah quickly turned left and ducked her head. Since she was down there, she went to go bite the foot of the other wolf but felt the wolf being close to being on top of her, so she quickly rolled to her back and went straight for the wolf’s throat! Biting hard and ripping to the best of her ability, Isilesah felt the wolf fall and quickly went to get up but was not able to get away from a bite upon her hind leg from another wolf. Yelping to the bite, the wolf only let her go when a big wolf rammed itself into it, taking along it’s throat, before it continued to attack another wolf trying to get at Isilesah. Getting up, Isilesah sniffed and I stated, Left. Isilesah then turned left and knocked her head once again on the side of another wolf. Shaking her head, because of the impact, I quickly say Left, once again.   Isilesah was getting upset that she wasn’t doing so well but really, how could two do well against twenty or thirty, especially when one couldn’t see properly! Focusing more, Isilesah used all her instincts to further her defence! He went behind us! Isilesah already knew, so she ran forwards, out of the encircled area and it seemed to break away the circle into two areas. Some red dots stayed behind, while a few followed after Isilesah… Isilesah trotted and turned around, focusing upon her task and was ready to fight! Two in front of us, three behind them and one further away to our right. I stated. Hearing the footsteps, Isilesah backed away, only to go for the furthest wolf on the left in the front and not only shielded herself with that wolf from an attack but got up on her hind legs and bit into the fur at the neck, pushing it sideways.   Ripping at what was in her mouth, she then used all her might to take it with her when she went to go around the back of the wolf, towards one of the ones that was behind it. Having smelt that wolf go around, nearly the be behind us now, I quickly stated what Isilesah already knew. To your left! And so Isilesah raced towards the wolf, and further away from the rest of the attackers. The other wolf backed down, lowering himself. It seemed like he or she didn’t expect what just happened and was surprised. Isilesah rammed herself into the wolf and the wolf lost its balance and fell, seeing in its last moments another biting at their neck.   It wasn’t easy to always have the attackers to be in front of you but Isilesah was doing a great job at it for the moment. They had the numbers but didn’t expect for a two-year old’s wolf to be one that seems to have a talent at surviving! I wondered though, if they were trying to keep us alive and that’s why they hadn’t gone directly to kill us, if anything it seemed they wanted to hurt us so that we would stop fighting… Rexxie is to your left, go there! Isilesah followed my command, trusting me unconditionally, and I continued, one is behind him, slightly more to your left! In no time at all, Isilesah jumped towards an attacker, that wanted to get at Rexxie, taking his neck along with the few others that she has taken. Snorting out some unwanted juices, Isilesah shook her head and I saw Rexxie take one of the ones that had followed Isilesah from her attackers.   Once again, we were together, with a few less attackers then last time. Sweetheart, I thought I told you not to get hurt! Then strike these bastards down! I yelled back at Rexxie! As you command, Princess! With that, Rexxie raced back into combat and I stated left again, for Isilesah to know the closest attacker. Seeing a red dot race towards us, I panicked and quickly said right! Right! Isilesah immediately turned, seeing someone pouncing at her and she quickly jumped into the wolf, knocking both of them down to the ground with a thump, yet…Isilesah used that time to quickly rib out the throat of the wolf, before racing off. I frowned, two are to our right, one in front and one to our left! Why did you do that!?   Isilesah, hearing my words and focusing, went left, charging into the wolf and raising her claws to the face of the wolf. Running again, I explained her new surroundings and then I started to understand Isilesah’s defending technique. I wouldn’t say it was an awesome one, but it seems this was how she defended herself against a large number of attackers. She would try to move the attackers around but still not have one behind her. Most of the time she went for a side, to attack one wolf, but when she didn’t and went another way she tried to take out more than one at time. I don’t know what decision she would make because it all seemed to be random! …I was adapting to what she did though, making me pretty proud of myself… We made a good team!   We did indeed get a few scratches on us and another bite on our shoulders but Isilesah was focusing too much to feel it. I felt it! Boy did I feel it, it hurt so much that I was losing my focus. I winced to the pain and clenched my teeth together. Upon forcing myself to focus once again, I would see Rexxie help us out of a bind and then I would then help Rexxie out from being attacked from behind… That became our routine…   After what felt like five days, a crazy number of Shifters were laying dead all around us and a few Shifters quickly scattered off, not wanting to get killed. Both Rexxie and I were completely exhausted…Same too with Alister and Isilesah… Both wolfs stared in the distance, on guard, yet they could hardly stay on the feet much longer…I know…Our legs were shaking so much that I was sure Isilesah was going to fall at any second! Rexxie’s wolf came up to us, giving a very quiet huff and then licked one of our wounds, making Isilesah snarl at him. She had focused so much that the lick gave her a complete fright because of the pain that came with it. Knocking his wolf head into hers, Isilesah quickly stopped her snarl and shook her head, falling down in the next moment…I could tell that her adrenaline was gone now…She was completely exhausted! I was put in control and I looked up at the big wolf licking me.   Sticking out my own tongue, I wagged my tail and closed my wolf eyes. Ah, I felt so loved! Feeling the big wolf continue to lick our wounds, I put my head down lazily and let out a big breath. Twitching slightly to the pain, I didn’t move away from my mate’s touch. Putting a paw on his wolf head, I turned over, wagging my tail more. Hearing a grunt, I looked up and let my tongue out again. We hadn’t been able to play much while in our wolf forms earlier, and since lately I haven’t had playtime because I was more of a slave, so I felt thrilled to do this right now!

The fight within the Shifters must have stopped or something because I hadn’t heard much about it. I also don’t see Danika much either so, my confidence was somewhat returning and to be honest, I was missing spending time with my mum, Rexxie and my dad… I mean, I love me! I think I’m great! I love my tail, my personality… What’s not to bloody love!? The problem was, even with being my own best friend and all, there was only so much I could tolerate on my own!   I missed people, you know. Talking to them and all… How the hell did I end up so introverted!? Yeah, ok, so I was just giving Rexxie space and getting away from that girl, but did it have to come to a stage that I only saw my wonderful mate once a week! How ridiculous! I’m not on Earth anymore! I’m here, on this planet with all it’s strangeness and so I better take advantage of it already! Let’s go back! Let’s go tickle and hug that fabulous mate of mine!   I was just about ready to stop gallivanting out here for the day…Which was strange, as I joked, because I was just about a teenager! Teenagers are known to rebel and here I am ready to return back home and do whatever they asked of me! Yeah, mum will smile and that will be good! I think, knowing now of what my mother was trying to do for me, that I have been pretty ungrateful. This was my life now, not my previous life, I needed to be on the good side of everybody so that I didn't have any guilty conscious on my hands!   What I never expected though, was a sudden pain over my body. I cringed, stopping where I was and slowly falling to the ground. Through the pain, I try to search through Rexxie's link, but find it completely hazy and nothing much coming through it. What was going on? Was Rexxie alright? Was he in danger? Letting out a groan, I bring my legs to my chest and hold them tight, trying to endure the pain to the best of my ability. This... It wasn't a pain that comes from breaking a bone, it wasn't a pain from something like a headache...It was a deep type of pain that felt like it was scaring my soul! He must be in danger! He needs help!   Letting out a sudden scream, I yanked my body around and breathed out harshly. Even with my eyes closed, redness floated around me, making me see and know somehow that something was wrong, or everything was wrong... I clenched my hands together and poked them into my skin, but the pain from my palms gave me no relief at all! Bringing my bloodied hands to my chest, I start ripping, trying to get to the core of the problem. I hated it!I hated this feeling, like I was getting ripped apart! Smelling blood and feeling pain now all over my chest, I could see that even Isilesah was in as much trouble as I was. I wanted to ask her what was going on, but the pain was just too deep and took over all my thoughts and feelings! No, all I could think about was the searing pain that seemed to be ripping my heart into shreds! Feeling bound suddenly, I screamed once more, before the pain suddenly stopped. Thank god... Whether it was of exhaustion or relief, I immediately found myself in a deep slumber, unaware of anything that was going on around me…     I had been kept to this hospital bed now for an entire day... Having a short conversation with Isilesah, we both fell into a deep, black hole. She knew that this type of pain only meant one thing...And that was that Rexxie had been intimate with someone else. Isilesah tried to sound like she could deal with it, even though she was sure that it was over very quickly but...That type of pain was pure suffering and I think both of us were still in shock. We had not mated with Rexxie, we had not even been marked, yet…This pain was completely unbearable, and I didn’t understand how we could have felt it so much!   Isilesah had stated that since we found our mate and that we already had a bond, that it was because of that of why I had been able to feel such torture upon Rex having done what he did. If…If Rexxie and I had not met each other yet… Was Isilesah stating that if I hadn’t met him, would I have not felt anything? The pain still somewhat lingers, reminding me that I had been rejected… My stomach was hurting…My palms were hurting…My heart and soul was hurting… How do I get over this? My mother was by my bed and she had been tending to me, but she already knew that I was not my usual self. I didn't tell her anything but what else could have made this happen to me? I was sure she wasn't stupid and had ideas, but I wasn't going to bring it into words for her.   I had rarely said a word since being here, and I had not seen Rex at all. Rex... I didn't know what to think of when it came to Rex. I already felt like we had come apart...I couldn’t even call him Rexxie anymore… It was so terrifying for me to think about, so shamefully scary to me that I was losing myself. I wasn't normally one that let things get to me, I would try to be positive and be happy but this time...I felt exhausted. Truly exhausted...   "How is she?" My head had already been to the side, just staring lifelessly out the window but upon hearing this voice, I shut my eyes. I wasn't ready to talk to him...Even though that voice gave me shivers of delight, entering into my ears like a purr from a cat, I just…Wasn’t ready to deal with it… "Nearly fully healed...They say...They say that it took awhile because her wolf was..." My mother's voice cracked, she cleared her throat but then just stopped talking... Yeah, I already knew that I was delayed in healing because Isilesah was so shocked and upset. She was just as broken as I was. I had done well though, having put deep cuts over my palms and chest. I had dug so deep, having somehow used wolf claws when wanted to claw at that deep pain...   I think it was obvious to everyone upon what had happened to me. The doctors probably knew, my mother probably knew, I knew and Rex...Didn't he know for sure too? I heard his heart beat faster and faster, as the time went on. I heard him swallow and take a few steps towards me, but I felt like cringing. I wasn't ready!   "Sweetheart..." When he touched my hand, I nearly jerked it away from him but...I... This was so hard! I wanted to already forgive him, I wanted him to touch me yet, my broken heart just wanted to run away and hide. I was scared...I was...Such a mess! "...You..." Now Rex's voice was cracked, as he stopped talking. He kissed my hand, over the bandages, and I smelt salt. ...He was crying... "It's my fault, I'm so sorry!" Finally opening my eyes and moving my head to look at him, I gave him a small smile and slightly nodded, "Don't worry about it."   "No, I'll worry, and I'll beg for forgiveness for my entire life!" The determination in his voice was real, yet, his sadness did overcome it a bit and I knew that he felt utterly terrible… "You should state, Your Majesty, that you had been drugged..." "It doesn't matter!" He yelled harshly to the doctor, but then turned back to me and kissed my hand again, "It doesn't matter..." He knew that in an uncontrolled moment, he had given her pain! So much pain!   Having heard what her bodyguards had said, Rex couldn’t imagine what she had felt like to have clawed at herself like this! He had heard about things like this previously, but it had never come to a point that he’d seen it personally! As soon as he had been able to stop from what he was doing the previous day, it still had not been quick enough! Upon racing away from the place that he had been, he had slumped down in pure agony in feeling what his mate had been feeling and knew that he had been the one that had made that happen!   Drugged? He hadn’t been lying…The green stated to me the truth and honestly, in a moment of letting the information process in my head, I remembered when I had tried to link to Rex and that I had seen the link as hazy…That it really had been that way, that Rex, the King, had been drugged to sleep with someone… My poor Rexxie... I stared at him, his defeated profile wounding me to the depths of my core yet... Time...I just needed some time is all. I was sure I still loved this man deeply, I just...Needed a bit of time to get over the pain and what had happened. I didn't want him to think that I blamed him though, now knowing that he had been drugged. "Then…If you weren’t drugged, would have you have done…” He interrupted me, “No!”   Closing my eyes and smiling, I nodded, “Then…” I wanted to say that ‘There is nothing to forgive’, but I still felt some sort of betrayal. Rex had spent so much time away from me, and I him. We weren’t very strong at the moment and I really didn’t want to think that we couldn’t get past this! We are fine, I repeated to myself. He was drugged! “Your Majesty…” The voice from across the other side of the room had a certain ring to it, like they wanted to say something. And I knew that Rex would leave again soon…   In no time, Rex was up and gone and my hand, with the lingering tingles of his touch and kisses was fading away. It’s alright. I can still do this! But this was not over! More dramas came upon us after this… Rex was away from me just as often as before, but now there were rumors going around stating that since Rex had obviously been with someone else then my position of being by his side was going to be someone else’s… And that person was…Danika…   ***   Rex slammed down his fist on the desk in front of him and angrily looked up at what he thought of his subordinate, his ally! “How dare you!” Rex stated through clenched teeth. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, it is not just me that thinks this! Have you not had the past in thought? Have you not seen what my daughter can do? Before you slept with my daughter, things like this were already out of hand and being talked about all over!” Rex narrowed his eyes, getting up from the chair, “…I know we had work to do…But, I feel like all this time you have placed me in this position on purpose!”   Yes, it all makes sense now! We had gone through so much business talks and perhaps I was getting used to it and let my guard down, Rex thought. Due to that I had been placed in this circumstance, he yelled at himself in his head. Walking around his desk, Rex punched his subordinate and watched as he hit the wall and fell to the floor. “You can’t do this, Your Majesty!” Danika yelled, quickly going to her father. “Oh? Why not? I have been used!” Rex stated, releasing his Alpha aura uncontrollably. Known as the King, and he was used! …How embarrassing!

I cleared my throat and then took a deep breath, “So, tell me what you are doing! I…I am still sort of an outcast right now, so I don’t know what you are talking about.” Telling him that I was being blocked a lot at the moment, probably because I was a bit upset and just taking it out on him, I felt a bit bad but couldn’t help saying what I did. “We completed our…Bond…” Rex started but stopped. How had he only just thought of it now! It had been, nature…Instinct… I shrugged, not understanding a simple thing. “We need to take precautions…” Rex repeated, but this time he was not walking, just cuddling me.   Precautions? “Why?” I didn’t hear an answer and looked up at him. I clearly felt him being worried, even a bit scared to tell me. “You might be too weak…Too weak to…” Rex took a deep breath, “When Isilesah was pregnant…We, she had troubles.” Oh… Was it just me then, getting all…Happy to finally start a family? “It’s not that I don’t want to have a family with you, Sweetheart! I want to have pups with you, I do, I just also want you to be healthy!” I nodded.   He was scared and I understood, it’s just… Looking at him, softening my gaze, I then smiled, “Ok, we’ll take precautions from now on.” Rex frowned and said, “But…” I covered his mouth and pouted, glaring at him for a moment, “We’ll leave it up to…Fate…” Shaking his head, knowing the high chance of… Looking down at her stomach, Rex put a hand there and couldn’t help but think that right now, there was a high chance that his own pup was there… But how could they deal with that! “No…”   I looked away and even turned around, away from Rex. Can we talk about this later? I had a huge feeling that I was easily upset and angered, and I was scared to yell at him. Hearing him sigh and hold me from behind, I closed my eyes, “Sorry.” “You have nothing to apologize for, Sweetheart. I’m just…” He was a man after all, I didn’t expect him to state loudly that he was afraid. He didn’t want to lose me and that was that. “We’ll go see the doctor.” I said, guessing that was where Rex was going anyway.     The doctor had already taken new tests since I had awakened, seeing that I was practically human once again. I was able to get sick a lot easier, I had some type of trouble digesting and I actually didn’t have as much energy as some others but…It didn’t mean it was the end of the world. The doctor stated that he would be here for us if needed and that I should not die if I were to get pregnant and give birth. Rex’s plan had been to take certain medication so that nothing would be growing, but I decided against that and stated that we will use precautions from then on, knowing the chances. So what… Well…It was really simple in my eyes. If there really was something growing, how in the world could I destroy it!? Are you nuts!?   With a slight strain between us, it still didn’t mean that we didn’t love each other. We were one once again and I finally started to see people more, having a bit more fun, except I no longer did it in wolf form, I did it instead with a scooter! Scooting around was so much fun! I did have two stacks but really did take a bit more precaution after that, just like with a few other things… Actually, even though we were a bit worried, we were still very much in love and very much already a family. I finally got my time with Ryne, since I had missed out already on so much of it, so I had a lot to make up for! Actually, since I loved being so carefree, Ryne and I got on like a house on fire! We drew together and laughed together, and I was happy to swing on swings and go down a slide!   Then, otherwise, we were able to ‘explore’ different ‘regions’…. What we couldn’t do before, we were doing now! I wasn’t a teenager anymore! I was an adult, with adult wants and desires! I was finally having the ‘sex’! You know, back on earth where the ‘sex’ was rumored to be good and all. It was better! No wonder there was porn! No wonder men wanted it, like all the time!   We went through so many ‘precautions’ just in a week that I would easily get red cheeks! Ahh! The sex was magnificent! I swear it was different to earth, simply because when you are mated, it tingles and feels right…Like, so right that the world doesn’t exist or…Or the world exists for you! No, not just the world, the universe! The universe came into being just for the moment of being with your mate! Yeah, that’s, that’s it! It wasn’t long though, when the ‘worry’ came to be a real worry though. Different smells, different feelings and actions…   It wasn’t like Isilesah’s pregnancy, which actually only happened over about five months or so, maybe four, it was a human’s one. My smell only started to change about two months in, but then everything changed! I finally realized what it was like to be pregnant and just like nearly every other pregnant woman…I didn’t want to be pregnant anymore! It sucks! Rex could only sigh to this! He had tried and failed, only to be happy and to see me unhappy! He really didn’t know what to do with me!   The man that was my soul mate, the father of my children, was someone that needed me, wanted me, desired me and protected me. He was…My life as well… I needed his presence, his smell, it soothed me greatly. I wanted his desire, his protection and…I loved him ever so much! As much as Rex was having trouble without me, when I was sleeping for that two years, give or take, I think I would have done better with Alistair if I had been in his position instead! If Rex was sleeping, I probably still would have gotten along fine with the puppy! …How many times do I have to tell you, I’m not a puppy! Haha   Don’t deny it, almighty puppy, your just as happy as I am! …Troublemaker… That all I am to you? I pretended to grumble. No… No what!? …Thank you for existing… Cuddling Rex, when really I wanted to cuddle Alistair, I suddenly realized that I was talking directly to Alistair…Like he was inside my head again. “Uh…Sweetheart? What’s going on?” Rex asked, obviously confused. He must have also just realized that something was different in his own head! Pfft.   ***   What was strange, was that I suddenly loved being pregnant! With Alistair inside me, I felt strong! I felt so high! So right! My little pup was doing great now, I felt like I was normal again and, and… I was even able to become a wolf again! I demanded wolf time every day! Alistair couldn’t bear to ever say no to me, of course he said yes in a majestic, kingly way but I knew that he adored me! To be honest, my pregnancy went really well, it was so great that I wanted to be pregnant all the time!   So what was it though? I put a hand to my overgrown stomach and sighed. Why is it even possible that Alistair is able to completely swap and go inside my head to begin with? It’s how everything started, wait no…It started when I forced myself into my mother’s body and then Alistair just sorta came with me…Did he know somehow that I needed him? I will always be there for you, always! Mmm, thanks! Actually, Alistair loved being the one that was ‘pregnant’…He not only feels like he has done most of the work for a change, but he feels like he is closer to this pup somehow. I told him it’s a mother’s nature type thing, that it’s sort of what the males miss out on. Of course, Alistair has this certain concept that he is making this pup become ‘great’, actually he says ‘greater than ‘normal’ but…Whatever…   Rex, on the other hand, now understands a bit more upon how much strength that I have lost. It was quite the joint effort actually, as I gained ‘strength’ so that I could grow this pup and give birth to it, and how Rex lost strength but came to understand me more because of it. He understands now why I let the pregnancy happen…As it was because I was still human. Fair enough I had not the wolf’s strength, but it wasn’t the end of the world! Human’s had their flaws and what mine ended up being was something to do with digesting and energy but…Guess what, a lot of people on earth had that!   After I had thought about it just for a moment, I had realized that really, I was only so very different simply because of all of the shifters around me but…If I had gone to a human area, I would have been found as quite normal! Finally, Rex came to understand that I was still alright, in fact, I was great! With the awesome power to get Alistair with me, I was even still able to shift! What more could I hope for!? Isilesah was as great as ever, always being optimistic and always wanting nothing but the best for me and all her pack! Bah, I was bathing in the love of life… I was just so happy!   Then…There was such a thing called ‘newborns’… Suddenly I wanted to remember what it was like to sleep soundly once again… Haha! Alister, now that you’ve gone back to Rexxie, you are making Isilesah and I to look after the pup!? Alistair! What happened to this pup being better then normal and you feeling close to it!? Looking over at Rexxie and seeing him busy, I smiled. I know both Rexxie and Alister have their moments with this new daughter of ours. Even Ryne seems to like her a lot…He looks excited! “Mummy, is Caitlyn my new brother?” …I’ll think I’ll be quite busy from now on…     THE END     Thanks for reading this novel, I hope you liked it. It wasn’t going to ever be a big novel, it was more of a ‘hey, lets work on something else for a bit’ but surprisingly it was interesting, and I still enjoyed writing it! I have on purpose left questions without answers! You can fill in the blanks because I don’t think their will be any sequels or sister stories to this one. Have a nice day! ?

It had only been two days since I freed the ‘green’ team from the ‘red’ team, but the ‘red’ team had been talked about twice already…Making me have to wiggle myself around the subject and try to change from it as soon as possible. Otherwise, I had been able to get half the people into where it could be best for them to help out their ‘new’ pack. Since there were so many people in their pack, I was able to link them to myself, so that I could keep a better eye on them, but it still was not fail proof. I might be able to read their minds, if they let me, or feel their whereabouts but it’s not like I could control them or their thoughts…   I’d like to say that I was someone that put in a hundred percent into my jobs, or whatever it is that I do, but…Sometimes I guess I was lazy… When it came to these Shifters and with the half of them already doing things, keeping an eye on them from time to time, I felt like my work was already half done… The other half of the Shifters were still hanging around, having not been found interested or having a talent in something to do with the war, which was obviously something first looked at. Now it was seeing if they could do something else, something that didn’t really have anything to do with the upcoming war but obviously that took a bit more time to figure out…   It was a few days later when I was still truly doing what I was doing and watching the ‘green’ team, when I saw the difference of red over the horizon. Perhaps, since it was a slow change, I hadn’t seen much difference from the first time that I had seen it but now, now that a noticeable difference was indeed seen, it was a sudden change that clearly meant that whatever was out there, was approaching faster…Faster than it was before…Faster than we had originally anticipated… …I had to tell Rexxie!   It was just as I had started to travel towards Rexxie, that the earth rumbled beneath me. I could hear, not too far away, something like that of a building collapsing or whatever… The bomb…It had gone off… Wha… Nether Rexxie or I had been there, why had it gone off? Wasn’t it so that they could kill one of us? Did it accidently go off? Perhaps they wanted to die and didn’t care anymore about the…Plan… This was just another reason to run towards Rexxie!     In no time at all, I was at Rexxie’s side, breathing quickly yet hadn’t really done much to get to him… Even me, even the way I looked, the way I was acting, Rexxie could feel it all and knew that something had changed. Before I could even say anything though, someone else ran in and yelled out the report upon what I already figured out. “The bomb went off?” Rex asked. He also honestly thought it was mostly there to try and kill him, why had it suddenly just gone off? “They are also getting closer…” Was all I said, breathing out heavily afterwards. “…Right…” Rex stated, giving a nod or two, “Finalize the shelters, do another evacuation test!” As Rexxie barked more orders out, where one after another would leave the room to do as been told to do, I came to stand by his side, taking his hand. I know he was busy and had to be formal right now but…At least let me hold your hand, mmm?   More than anything, I just wanted to feel assured. Perhaps I just wanted him with me so that I can relax…Or…Well, whatever it was, I… He knew, didn’t he? Getting pulled onto his lap, even while there were still two others still left in the room, I melted into his embrace. Closing my eyes, I suddenly became aware of why I might have felt suddenly clingy… The idea swept over me and I couldn’t let it go, thinking it to be true… I might not be able to cuddle him like this for a while…And that was the thought that stuck! Without further ado, I took his lips with mine!   Something big was coming, this war… It was like five against one, we were surrounded and was it bad of me to only feel like I needed to be in his arms right now? Placing my hands into his hair, deepening the kiss myself, I moaned out my pleasure. This man… I had the thoughts and mind of a woman, one that was much older than fourteen, yet a body of a fourteen-year-old…It really wasn’t fair!   I was lost. Lost to not just those lips, not just his scent, his aroma… We were like two links that wanted to meet up and then make it impossibly hard to disconnect once again! Ah, the tingles… I was so giddy just by kissing that I felt like I really could faint! “Sweetheart, you really are amazing!” His whispered words gave me shivers. “Your feelings, your actions and thoughts…We are in an important time where I really should pay attention but…You fill me with such feelings that I can hardly contain myself!”   Rex was at a loss. He himself knew that they will not go much beyond this, even though his Queen had matured and even gotten her period. She was still young and both he and Alister had already agreed to wait…It’s just, he felt like he was filling up, filling up so much that the container that was holding his desire was growing and growing… Perhaps he should step back for a bit so that he could calm down! Or…Perhaps… Rex couldn’t place what he just thought into words…It was more… Because of the thoughts and feelings from his lovely to be Queen, he was wondering if perhaps what he was feeling was like this ‘teenager puppy love’ too…   “Your Majesty! It seems that there are indeed a pack coming from the north!” “And to the south, Your Majesty!” With one rushing in and stating what was last stated, I cringed to a sudden glimpse of seeing a small amount of smoke from a distance…And someone stating that it was time to go. Argh… Putting a hand to my head I tried to think more of it, having tried to remember most of it and came to realize that the smoke was from this complex…This place… The bomb…Was it like the gun going off and they start…Start to fight? “Sweetheart?” The bomb…It was never meant for killing us! It was…It was to state the start of the war!     After that, things turned into a mad rush for just about everybody! Woman and children who weren’t fighters or doctors to help out outside, went into hiding…Like they had planned. In fact, since they were already doing a test, it became the easiest accomplishment on this day… Men who weren’t warriors or doctors turned into helpers, like helping the bomb area, making sure to put the fire out and to report upon any type of destruction… Then, the fighters had to get to their posts, to which most had already been organized…   It was those who had not been organized properly yet ended up defending what becomes the ‘beach head’ into the complex, where upon the bomb had gone off. Yes, it’s determined later that this bomb had a weird circumstance to it that we never really thought of before… It's a bomb…That’s what people thought, but really, it was a specific type of bomb that didn’t blow up in a circular type of way, no it was concentrated because it blew up in more like a sixty degree, instead of that of 360 degree…Because of this, the wall did indeed collapse which became the ‘beach head’ that I talked about earlier.   If one could see from a distance, like a computer, it would be more understandable upon what was going on. Put quite simply it was a fort, being the complex, slowly being surrounded from each side and one side in particular was indeed the ‘beach head’ strategy. That side, where already the enemy was slowly advancing through, was where the bomb had gone off. It was indeed the plan that Mallick had come up with! He had bribed packs to help, bribed the rogues to help and even the humans! Having to take so much of this time to achieve their alliance and give them what they wanted, Mallick was only able to start the attack just a two months ago. First, was being able to implant someone with the bomb…To have them come here, to make a part of the complex become opened to them, so that now they could advance inside.   This plan had been in the works for so long that it was no wonder that it worked…It had to have worked, otherwise all these years of grovelling and looking like he was not an Alpha King, wouldn’t have been worthwhile! No, he had put everything on the line for this moment and there was no choice but to surround this place and have the bomb work! But…We were on the ground and casually being reported to upon what was going on outside, or inside…It was making our links to each other within the pack very hard to determine who to listen to the most! At this point in time, I understood the downside of being able to link to everyone… Rex had more knowledge then me in this department and ended up only opening his link towards his top people in charge instead, but me…I was getting a headache because of this!   Through all the pain and voices in my head, it still didn’t make it hard to know when my father had suddenly died… I felt it, probably more so because he was my father but, we all felt the lose of a few links, making us already very sad. Rex looked at me sadly but all I could think of was that he shouldn’t just…Disappear like that! Perhaps I just didn’t want to accept the truth, but I moved on, thinking that the link between my father and I will fix itself in time and that he’d be right as rain…In fact, I thought, my father maybe knew that I was having trouble with all these voices and volunteered to help me by ‘disappearing’… That had to be it…   Yes, we were surrounded and yes, they had a plan…We just weren’t entirely sure upon what that plan was. The reason why it was harder to get the idea of what their plan might be, considering that things also happened very quickly, was because nothing was ever reported upon where the bomb ended up going off…It’s one thing to think that the bomb was still causing destruction, enough to still kill those around the area, but another to come to realize that perhaps the bomb was made to make that area the area in which becomes the enemies way in…And, as a good diversion to help us not think about it, was the humans that were coming straight for our front gate!   I was not surprised to the humans having tanks…I wasn’t surprised to the humans having guns and artillery. No, what I was surprised about was that they were aimed at me! Why!? What idiots! Do they even know who they are aiming at!? Oh, there’s also Rexxie! What… There are beep noises now to the continuous names that I call them… “This is…Bigger…” Bigger than we thought? More worrisome? Problematic? A predicament!? I totally agree!   We were just people that could turn into wolves. We were a family, a pack, that had no want to destroy humans. We were not some overwhelmingly overpowered people that ruled the world! We weren’t sacrificing others to ‘gods’, we weren’t killing to express our power! What the hell was going on!? “Your Majesty, just as you thought, to the west are…Are rogues…” And that was the last straw…We were indeed surrounded by everything that could represent an enemy… We had to give it to him, that damned cousin of Rexxie’s! He’d done awesome in preparing for this war! Humans, rogues and other shifters were against us… Yep, you could say that our moral plummeted after that!

After knocking down one part of the ‘hut’, that the girl had previously been residing in, the beige wolf was off, and I was in my own little compartment, not worried in the least. That was because, things had gone so quick, that I needed some time to catch up! I had really transmigrated…This wasn’t a dream! I was really here! On another, entirely different world! Haha! I was also now…A werewolf…Or shifter… I asked the puppy what they called themselves and he got even more uncontrollably angry at me for not knowing anything! He was confused though, he saw the memories of the girl and she seemed to know a lot more then this idiot and I grumbled at his thoughts! Actually, it was annoying that we seemed to be one, yet at the same time…I liked it. It was like an angrier, annoying me that had a masculine voice, but still another me…Was that right? Whatever…   Every now and again, I watched the professional puppy run and even sniff the air. He would sometimes find a high ground and look around, looking for ‘north’ and making sure we were going the right way. I vaguely heard his thoughts of knowing where his other master was from where we were, but he wasn’t sure in what part of the north his other master would be in, by the time that we would get there. As to how he was now, currently in the body of the girl’s instead of his original owners, both of us had no idea! The puppy’s thoughts were more upon thinking of if he’s here, then the girl’s wolf must be with his original master, but I got over the fact because it wasn’t something I could change. To me, all this was new, and I had to adapt and having more and more questions didn’t seem like an option because…The puppy seemed to always be mad at me! Nonetheless, he continued to the north, even through his thoughts. He didn’t seem worried in case of danger, which was yet another interesting point, because I was sure that rogues existed here, just like in the many books that I had read.   It seemed that this girl was to the south and his other master was far to the north and I wondered if it would be as easy as he thinks to get there…As…He seems to have the ego of a prince! He was a great wolf and that was that! There were no if’s, but’s or maybe’s, he was just great! Along the way, I got fed up with him calling me ‘Chelsea’ and told him to call me Naomi from now on. Naomi was my real name back on Earth, but I did use another name on the internet but who cares about that now!? If I somehow get back to Earth, I’ll worry about it then…But…As I previously thought…My life there had indeed ended, so it was probably pointless on thinking of my internet name! And that’s when the puppy questioned me and pretty much found out that I wasn’t the girl that he had the memories of and I had to calm him down, stating that I hadn’t demanded this girls’ body and that she was probably gone. In a moment of short madness, considering that I’m another soul, he demanded that I return the girl back and give every opportunity to move on when she does! I got upset and really didn’t like how he already seems to hate me so much to have my soul shattered into smithereens! I mean…What am I to do!? It’s not like I asked to be this way! With a strangled sounding sigh, I accepted my fate to being kicked out of the body if the girl returns…     For a whole day, we were silent to each other, but it wasn’t like we still weren’t able to hear each other’s thoughts. The puppy told me how to put up a wall between us, in which he sometimes already does to me, but I still am unable to achieve it… But there is a time when every living thing becomes exhausted, and suddenly, I was pushed forward to be in control and commanded to continue to travel ‘north’. As the puppy went into some deep, coma like sleep, I was then all by myself…In the new world, with new… Nope, it wasn’t so new. This place had the same type of animals and the same type of areas… Right now, we were in a bush land type of place and yeah, I’d seen a deer or two, heard a few noises that even sounded familiar…It was very similar to Earth in that respect. Sighing, I am determined to follow orders because…I just haven’t any other plans yet… I thought of returning back to the girl’s so-called father, but… As I was trotting slowly towards the so called ‘north’, I suddenly stopped and wondered if I should really go back. If the girl does take her body back, then…Wouldn’t she want to see her father? She seemed stupid enough to want too… Should I fix things up for her, so that if she does return, they bow at her feet? But, how would I accomplish that feat? Mmm… I let out a snort, startling myself into remembering I was in wolf form once again. It really wasn’t easy to get used too!   As I was in the back of the mind, I even saw the puppy eat prey like a normal wolf and it somewhat freaked me out! He was quick and agile. He didn’t put much effort into catching and even eating what he had caught. It was just a rabbit, but once he cut through its fur, he dived right into the flesh beneath it and I felt like vomiting! It was so weird, from seeing animals do it on TV, I never cared to think thoroughly about it, but now…It seemed so disgusting that I had to close my eyes to the view! But…After a good hour or two, as the puppy had continued, I finally came to the conclusion of what were we to do if he hadn’t done that…Was it like we’d starve! We had no money to buy anything and I wasn’t some caveman hunter that could make a fire and use a bow and arrow! As much as it disgusted me, I told myself to accept this, I told myself I have to accept this type of way to gain nourishment. Now though, being in control, what is the first thing I want to do? That’s right, I wanted to check myself out! Hell yeah! Who on Earth wanted to be a shifter or werewolf!? And so, I had to make the best of it! Checking myself out in the water, I found myself adorable. Putting my wolf head into the fur, it was nice and soft! Mmm… Then, I even tried to walk like a human in wolf form, just because…Well, I was curious… But it didn’t last long, and I decided I would practice!   I couldn’t talk, as I tried again. But saying ‘I love you’ in wolf, really does not sound the same in human language! Remembering the dogs on the internet back on Earth saying, ‘I love you’, I wanted to cheer quite hard for them, because it’s a lot harder then I originally thought. I’d have to practice! Not only couldn’t I talk in wolf form, but I was covered in fur…Which was weird… I did have a curious nature about myself, yet I had never thought of being an animal with fur…I never thought what it would feel like… Having fur wasn’t like all the clothes I used to wear. I was rarely in snow, so I didn’t know what it was like to be an eskimo but, I swear, it is different! I’m sure he…I mean me…Us, would survive in the depths of snow! Having long fur, that was everywhere…Felt like I was naked but strangely not naked. Clothes didn’t cover my hands, unless I wore gloves, but the fur was long and thick, and even a woolen jumper didn’t supply as much warmth. Actually, after a deep look, this beige looking wolf was quite cute! …The tail… I fell completely in love with my tail! I wagged it, then wagged it some more and probably looked utterly stupid to my wolfy grin…But, I didn’t care because my tail was not only gorgeous but felt great when I wagged it. I thought it would be hard to wag a dog’s tail when you’ve never had one before, but I called myself a natural at it. …From then on, it would be rare to see this tail not wagging if I was in control! …Well, anyway, I do get hotter in the sun, and I realized this quite quickly… The panting! I did come to realize in my last life that dogs don’t sweat so they pant, but I never thought it would be so much fun to have my tongue out of my mouth like this! Haha! It felt so good, so right, that being in the sun didn’t matter to me anymore! But…The next problem, was drinking… Honestly, they lick it up? I saw the puppy do it earlier, but was there a better way? I had so much troubles getting water down my throat that I just jumped into the small creek and drank water while inside it instead!   The problem was, after doing all these ‘experiments’, I had lost my way…And I was getting hungry! It was dark now and I had absolutely no idea on which way was north! But even though it was dark, I was still seeing that extra green within my sight and only came to wonder if it was normal when I saw a redder area, if I turned to look around. Upon going ‘north’ this whole time, the sight in front of me hadn’t changed from having the extra greenness, so…Seeing the red, making things around it look extremely weird, I could feel the strange, anxiety feeling from within the red area…Making me back away from it. Feeling this was not uncommon for me and had even saved me once before from danger…So…Even if I had no idea why, I was not going to follow the red path in the slightest and turned to see a greener area…Wondering now if what I see…Is like a path that has gone on before me, is a path that I should follow. If I followed the green path, would that have led me to my real death and to something like heaven? Actually, whatever it was, I was sure that it was better then following the red path! So, that was all that mattered! Whether I was going ‘north’ or not…I stayed on a green path, making sure to not go into the red at all!     What I hadn’t known, was that I was right, that there was something strange and wrong in the ‘red’ direction. It wasn’t anything to bad and wouldn’t have been a problem if ‘the puppy’ had been in control. But…Since ‘the puppy’ was sleeping and I was in control, with no idea on how to fight in either that of wolf form or human form, I would have come to a bad circumstance. Two rogues were there, just talking and yapping away, just about ready to head off towards some other rogues who have news from the north…And since many rogues have a much ‘freer’ type of lifestyle, they would have done whatever they wanted with me. Luckily, I did not venture into the ‘red’…   ***   It wasn’t long, until I finally came across a new scent…It seemed, I’ve finally come to the boundary of another pack! Yes, I was still getting used to having such a good nose…I mean snout…Well, really, I was still getting used to the whole head thing of a wolf. Bigger mouth, bigger teeth, twitching ears and, of course, the better sniffer! But I guess I had gone just over this invisible ‘boundary’ because the scent was something that I couldn’t ignore… By the looks of it, the packs didn’t take every little space of earth there was, and the puppy seemed to have stayed clear of many of the boundaries…But, I found one within the day… Of course, I had wasted a lot of this day by testing out the wolf form and so I had easily found another pack within just a few hours of being by myself…But…Since it was ‘green’, I did not feel worried for some reason and just trotted like a happy wolf with its tongue hanging freely out of its mouth!

Dammit! Not only do I have to try and prevent this explosion, but I have to try and get that person away from everyone else! First things first…Get the ‘green team’ and myself out of here as fast as possible! Then, perhaps, come up with an idea to get the red team out of there or…Or get the one with the bomb…Or…Dammit! I’ll think about it later! I don’t have the time to dilly dally right now! Taking a deep breath, I try to smile and no longer look at the place where the bomb was, just thinking now that I should not stare directly into the Shifter that has the bomb, as it might set them off!   My worries didn’t quite end at that, as even when the door was shut, holding in the Shifter that had the bomb, I was dead certain that we could not keep him there! Not only because there were other Shifters that could die, even though they were ‘red’, but…As it was, four of these people got out, so…What if he somehow got out of there like these others did! Oh right, I could just ask! “This place is restricted for the time being! Lock it down! Get more people to guard those inside and not under any circumstances…Is the King to come here! And you…” Pointing at the person that I called ‘Mr Muscles’ earlier, I continued, “Tell them how you got out before so that it can’t happen again!” Not only did the guard Shifters look at me stunned, but so did the people that I had just taken from that particular place. I suppose there could be several reasons why they were stunned but…Please people…Now is a good time to do as you are told! “My Queen…Is…” I looked at the person that was just talking to me and tried to nod calmly at him, “For the moment, those people I have left there, have been left there for a reason. As for you people.” I looked at each of them and then let out a carefree smile, “I want to ask you a few questions!”   Seeing a few blinks, a few of them look taken aback and then a few frowning, it made me laugh. For some reason, I finally feel like I have done something extremely helpful to my mate! With what I just did, we were not only helping the Shifters, but also finding out about the danger of that place and I almost laughed to my gift that I should have been using for this cause sooner! I had just potentially saved about twenty or thirty from being put through a lot of drama, when innocent. I’ve lowered the chance of death for these people, well with that bomb anyway…And well, it might also help us, as these people may become fighters or something for the war, instead of being coped up there in the locked up spot so…Yeah, I did a good thing! Ah, I couldn’t help it, I smiled, feeling pretty good about myself! I just knew it, I knew this would make my Rexxie happy and so…It made me happy too! Right, I was finally walking the footsteps of the Queen! Letting out a laugh, I stopped soon after, seeing the Shifters still in front of me…   “Hehe, sorry, it’s just nice to be of use to the King! Ok, let’s go somewhere where we could all sit down, hey!” And where there’s no bomb! Right, we should all leave here! What am I doing!? Quickly, I started to walk towards the doorway to lead us out of there, again feeling worried about the bomb going off… As I walked, I got lost to my thoughts for a moment, trying to remember more details upon the small fragment of future that I saw, that may indeed come true…   The bomb did go off in that future ‘glimpse’, but…Really? Is that all you’re going to show me!? There’s no ‘where’ or ‘when’…Nothing! Utterly useless gift! I wanted to spit! “Sorry if I’m rude here…My…Queen, but is there…Someone else we could talk to?” I stopped walking, stopping myself from ‘spitting’, and looked at the person, who must feel like I was inadequate for them, and smirked, “Who do you think let you out of that place and willing to add you into the pack or trust you to go into another?”   “Was it not His Majesty the King?” The Shifter asked, pretty sure of his answer. I shook my head and pointed at myself. “I did! So just give me some of your time and trust! I just want to ask if you want to be initiated into our pack, ask if you have any talents and perhaps a few more questions, is that alright with you, Mr Doubt? Mr…Paranoid…” In an instant, the person bowed down, and I frowned, why are they bowing all of a sudden! “Get up!” “I beg for forgiveness, my Queen! I am wrong, I must be punished!” He yelled out, unwilling to get up with my help. As much as he thought this girl as weird, he couldn’t let go of the chance! He didn’t want to go back there into that locked up spot! He wasn’t going back! Wow, I thought, he’s going the whole nine yards! “Get up I said!” Ah, he’s heavy!   “Sweetheart, what…What’s going on here!?” Turning, to see my Rexxie, I widened my eyes and ran towards him. “Get out of here!” I state, pushing at him as soon as I came into contact with him. “What…What’s wrong!?” He asked, automatically panicking to my panic. Seeing that he was willing to go with me, I take his hand and quickly turn to the Shifter guard behind me, “Bring them too, but don’t touch the ones still inside the locked area!” Without further ado, I race away from the area, scared that there would be a sudden explosion yet…Forgetting that no one else knew that there was a bomb in that place so…I looked really stupid right now. So many wanted to know what exactly where they running away from!?     After a minute went by, I stopped and Rexxie let out a small laugh, saying afterwards, “What is it?” Seeing the Shifters that I had ‘saved’ still following, coming to a stop like us, I got closer to Rexxie, “In the locked area, with the people coming from other packs outside, I am pretty certain that there’s a bomb.” Rexxie became serious straight away and looked at me with incredulous eyes, “And you were in there! What if it had gone off!” I pouted, “I didn’t see it until late and…Wouldn’t it be after you, not me?” “I don’t care, I don’t want a bomb anywhere near you ever again!” He stated like the stubborn King he was… I sighed, perhaps I shouldn’t have told him about what had happened to me ages ago, with the bomb being in my shoulder and all.   And, just as I did, Rexxie made sure that the area was locked down well and to not let anyone near the place without his approval. “Your…Your Majesty!?” Finally, someone from the ‘green’ team had the courage to speak. “…And you are?” Rexxie asked them, making me smile. I stood in front of them and then came close to whisper to him, “They are green! I was going to offer them a place in the pack and find out how they could help us!” Rexxie pulled me away, to look at me with his oh so dreamy eyes, and I got lost…   As I was lost, Rex was suddenly aware upon how his mate’s unique gift could help him so much with this particular problem! He didn’t know how he was going to deal with these Shifter refugees! Having been unsure whether to trust them or not, he had no other choice but to place them into a big holding area for now, simply too busy… Probably because he didn’t want his precious treasure to go anywhere near the untrustworthy Shifter refugees, he hadn’t thought of her gift but now…Now that she had gone there anyway, this made him feel slightly better to those Shifters. He knew that they could turn if he let it go too long but…As he even thought, there were some untrustworthy Shifters and…On top of that, there was one with a bomb! Thank god, he thought, thank god that they had not just trusted them straight away! Thank god that they had gotten innocents out and that they have blocked off any path from there… Now he could sort this out a bit better! He loved this precious treasure so much!     “…Take care of this!” Blinking and taking a breath in, I mumble, “Uh?” Seeing him smirk at me, I got out of his embrace and tried to not get distracted, “Can you repeat what you just said?” Rex laughed and nodded at the guard, taking me into his arms again and leading me away from the people for a moment, “Thank you, you really had done well, my dear Queen!” Putting my head down, all I could mumble out to his sudden compliment was, “It seems everyone is calling me Queen nowadays.” Ah, I felt so giddy! I really did help Rexxie, he really was happy! I wanted to jump…Do a dance… I wanted to shift! Right! Shifting it is!   “Hang on!” I heard Rexxie state, making me realize that he may already know what I wanted to do! Rexxie spoke a few sentences to someone else, while I took in his scent and was sure that he was wanting to shift…Just like me! Ah, so he was probably trying to get some time, was he? Is that what he’s doing? So that he can run with me? And look at him as he barks out his orders, really so dreamy. Actually, I never cared too much for Kings, real or fantasy. They always seemed to have a major lacking virtue that didn’t fit well with me! They always had a flaw, whether it was greed or not having enough power on their side, or too much power…Or something else! It just never got me interested… But look at this magnificent man, hunky, charismatic, oh… I was really growing up…I don’t know what was stopping me before, but now, more and more often, I was able to lose myself to romantic feelings like this…   I don’t know how long it took me to snap out of it but by the time I did, Rexxie had taken me out into another opening, that was obviously not in the direction of what they thought a bomb may be. And then his wolf was licking me, making me feel strange…Simply because I liked the attention but didn’t particularly like how I was getting it! Immediately I shifted to my wolf and pounced on him, letting out some playful type of noise as I grab hold of some of his furry skin. Yeah, that didn’t last long! I don’t know if it was just me but when I wasn’t fighting for my life, I didn’t care too much for grabbing onto hair like this! Trying to spit any hair out of my mouth, and probably making a weird face to feeling hair in my wolfy mouth, I heard noises from the wolf beside me… He’s laughing at me…Yeah, I saw! Alister and Rexxie both are laughing at me like I was some sort of circus!   ***   After a play had been had, the ‘green’ team was then initiated into the pack, under my command and watchful eye, but they were given some trust just because of me. And for that reason, I volunteered to watch the people, but it seemed that small bit of trust had gotten a lot! Many of the newcomers were very happy with what had happened, by participating with anything that they could be of help with, especially that of fighters for the war, and then…There were a few that were a little harder to obtain their happiness. It wasn’t like they were thinking terrible thoughts, it was more like they had either friends or family that was still in the ‘red’ teams place of holding…Which was something that I could do nothing about…   It wasn’t a simple matter because in one case, one that was green to begin with, then fighting for one within the ‘red’ team, they started going red themselves! I couldn’t tell them that I was doing all this based upon what I see! I couldn’t tell them that the King himself trusted this ‘sight’ of mine… All I could do is tell them what the King had decided himself and that was the ‘red’ team was left to the King himself and that I couldn’t make anymore decisions about the Shifters left behind…It was a sighing matter…

Feeling the entire area slowly turn from green to red, I stopped abruptly, feeling my tail fall and become unmoving. Oh oh… Looking around to see nearly everywhere start to go red, I start to panic and the ‘merry’ part of myself turned serious. Hearing rummages of leaves and bushes moving, I look around and finally…I hear a growl and as a naked man comes out, he yells out for me to shift and announce myself and where I have come from. My eyes bulge to the sudden sight of a naked man and I immediately lower my head in complete embarrassment. Ohmigod! A hot man is naked… Naked… I saw…Everything!   Yes, with the job I previously had and the strange feelings of right and wrong, with even the sense of understanding some kind of future…I was never able to go beyond a date or two with a man…I had never… …Besides that, of some movies or shows that may show some skin, this was most certainly the first time I had ever seen a naked man in the flesh with my own eyes! Why was he naked!? Was this some kind of joke being played on me? Having slowly fallen to the ground and then put my paws up to cover my eyes, I slightly heard chuckles through my thoughts. It took me another moment to realise that…This might actually be normal! That’s right! The books were somewhat the same…That being naked from shifting from wolf to human…This was normal! Reading…And going through it…Hell, it was so different! Even knowing about the people on Earth who had liked being naked had never gotten to me, but now… Holy crap!   “Seems too innocent to be a rogue sir.” Uh? A rogue? “Shift!” I felt an urge to shift come through me but then I felt the puppy awakening and he growled. “I said, shift!” Again, the powerful urge went through me, but the puppy finally spouted out some words. He dares!? Not wanting to move, because…Weren’t they still naked? I just watched the puppy growl again and hear the other men finally speak once more, “Get the Alpha. Even a Beta’s order isn’t enough for this one, yet…” I didn’t put much thought into why the person was confused, instead, I asked the puppy about what to do. You idiot! Why didn’t you go north!? I did go north…I…Just don’t know for how long… If you had gone north from where I left you, you wouldn’t have run into this pack! I sighed…This conversation seemed irrelevant to me because, we were in the pack now and we had to find out what to do! Dammit, such an idiot. Let me take over! Thinking that it was probably better for the puppy to take over, since I couldn’t even open my eyes, I felt the change of being in control and closed my eyes as the puppy got up from the ground. “Peters…”   Within no time at all, I heard yells and I opened my eyes to see the puppy running. His thoughts were annoyed, as he didn’t want to content with a pack until he was back with his original owner. He had tried to stay away from them on purpose! So early, and quickly, they had run into one and it was all thanks to the idiot! Not long after that, I was blocked from his thoughts and left alone, only to see that we had successfully exited the boundary and members of the pack… He’s mad at me… But seriously, what does he expect!? I’ve never been a werewolf before, does he really think I wouldn’t check it out!? And besides, I did try to follow his orders! It wasn’t like I was being naughty on purpose! Getting upset, I decided that I would get some sleep while I could. Sleeping was a lot more easier then getting mad and I was certain I’d be back to normal when I woke up. So, at the moment, it was the best plan! And without further ado, I was sleeping soundly while the puppy took over. Of course, he had to eat something, as I hadn’t eaten anything since I took over…And…He also had to get us back on the path of going north!     After I woke up, I see that the puppy is being very cautious, and I sit up, stretching. I didn’t like how I’d feel much of what he felt, because it had indeed interrupted my sleep! It was night-time now and I was pretty sure we were no longer in a bush… Seeing the puppy trot from one hiding place to another, lower his head and looking around, I start to finally wonder why he felt cautious and noticed that the redness could be seen in my sight. There’s danger ahead. I know already! Already, he was losing patience with me! I really didn’t like it! I had only woken up and didn’t need his angry tone to make me mad again! Go left! Having seen a greener sight, I had to tell him! Hell, I agree to staying out of danger! Why should I listen to you! Go left! I heard a growl, but…Strangely, I see him move towards the greener area and I sigh in relief. Where are we? The edges of the human town of Knort. What the hell? What kind of name is that? Never heard of it! And no…That does not really help me! Are we far away are we from your original master? Silence followed my question and I felt him block me once again… Well…This was so much fun!     After that, I was unable to go back to sleep and just watched what the puppy saw, thinking back to those movies that you could only see through a camera. It was…Annoying! I really hated those movies! But…Seeing redness around the scenery, I was happy to keep the puppy in charge. I wasn’t stupid, I knew I was weak in this type of place. I had no idea how to defend myself in any kind of respect! I learnt very basic defence, but…That was ages ago and I really didn’t want to depend on that knowledge if I had too…And, finally accepting my total inadequacy, I realised that I should learn how to become a bit more stronger, as…To live in this world, learning was probably a must! Sighing, I watched as the puppy raced across a beach or bank of a dam and shot into the new upcoming bush. He really was an interesting one, he seemed to know the ins and outs of this entire place! Had he been a traveller or something? Was he…A rogue? Shuttup! You are the rogue, not me! When I get back to my original master, you can go your own way! Uh? So, he had put his ‘blocker’ down once again uh? I wish I could get used to this! It was all so new, even though I had read about it in my past life! I mean, I hadn’t been the werewolf story fan, I read other stories too, but I swear I should be a lot more adapting to what I am now! Sighing once again, I figured that I should review everything I knew and what the girl knew, so I wouldn’t come off so much like an idiot anymore…     Over the next day, I became aware of the things that I didn’t care to see earlier. Obviously, shifters can go from wolf to human, and being naked was normal. There were packs, some good and some bad. There were rogues and normal humans and even the occasional witch or shaman? The pack the girl had been in, was called ‘South Valley Pack’, and they had been known as a ‘good’ pack. Guessing that if it was a ‘bad’ pack, it wouldn’t have mattered if the girl had become known that she was the Beta’s child. But, since the pack had good standards and rules, where ‘mates’ came first, the Beta abandoning his pre-mate child was probably considered against the rules... There were many packs on this continent, and it was large. We integrated ourselves into the human world and we were known about with the humans. I don’t know much but apparently there had been a war at some stage, but it looks like we weren’t fighting each other currently. Because some mates could be human, our race of shifters had tried to stay at peace…Some minority ruined it for majority though and that was why the first war had started. Just like the books, there’s Luna’s and Alpha’s, then there’s also Omega’s. I was such an Omega and we were shunned a lot but weren’t just killed off for no reason, unless a ‘bad’ pack does it secretly…To that, I don’t know anything else… But, by the looks of it, rogues can lose themselves if they are ‘wild’ too much. Since leaving the girl’s pack, I had indeed gone rogue and since we had no connection to any other wolf, we could fall under being ‘wild’ and might even lose ourselves in time. It seems that ‘shifters’, or ‘werewolves’, here relied upon having a connection and without one, that is what they call rogues… I guess now, I realised why the puppy was somewhat in a rush… …I didn’t know… Even knowing now, I still didn’t feel worried for some reason. I didn’t feel any different, nor did I feel like we would end up that way. In fact, I hadn’t even known when our connection to the girl’s pack had gone! Nonetheless, now that I knew a little bit more about this new world, I was still not worried…   Seeing the future in very small aspects, I was sure that, for now, we were fine. But…Seeing the future, was not always something good… The reason why I like to be ‘merry’ a lot, is because I’ve seen a lot of death. It’s not pretty, even if it’s seeing my customer’s die in a ‘good’ way. It was something that I could never get rid of, and since I saw death so much, I found my life to become precious and simply something that I could not let go of easily. Life was indeed too short and when I see the death of someone, when I do their fortune, most of the time I can only give back false future’s or give them their money back. Through this way, I had lost money and I had gained bad reviews, but what was I to do? Having told two people of their impending deaths had led me to disaster and I decided to no longer tell a future like that anymore… I had hated seeing some people’s future’s so much, yet, it was something I was always good at, a natural talent. Now…By the looks of it, it had followed me here, into this life and…The green and red…It seemed to help me ‘see’ a good and bad path before me. I wish I had known about it earlier, then I wouldn’t have died previously! Oh well…   As I see the puppy eat and drink the next morning, he then finally spoke to me. You’re turn, but you better do as you are told this time! I shrugged. I had nothing better to do, why wouldn’t I try to follow his order…Unless of course I saw red! Do you see the sun? It rises in the north here, follow it until it is noon, then it should be behind u after. Really? Earth was different…But…Hearing his voice and how patient he was with me, made me happy and forgot this difference in the worlds easily. I nod my head and found myself in control once again…I really needed to learn how to do that! Looking ahead, where the puppy left the wolf, I nod, so that way was north uh? I did wonder…Did he do this last time as well, having the wolf facing the direction of travel? Haha, if he did, I hadn’t noticed! Maybe that was why I had ended up travelling another direction last time, because my thought of ‘north’ with the sun was different…Whatever… This was a piece of cake! I can do this! As I trotted through the bush, seeing a side of it come to an end, but continue on the other side, I guessed it was better to move a bit to be inside the bush. As far as I was aware, being seen in the open was probably something the puppy would get mad at me for. Hearing a sigh and seeing him close his eyes to sleep, I narrowed my eyes…It seemed he had watched me, probably not trusting me one tiny bit! This puppy was driving me crazy! I am not a puppy! Humph! Seeing green, I continue to trot through the bush and luckily, I didn’t feel hungry or thirsty…

…After watching ‘Chelsea’ for a while, even after she had woken up, and still feeling nothing for her, they had let her go to another part of this secret complex…Well, it wasn’t like they had a choice, she had found her mate here and no one could come and go as they pleased! Hearing her story over quite a number of hours, because she was just so timid, they were happy for her to stay here anyway. It was a sad fate, to have been abandoned by her own father and to have no mother. She didn’t tell them names but had said ‘Beta’, making a lot of them unhappy! To add onto that, a few of them knew that her running and being found with something that she had ‘stolen’, was all a ploy, and felt completely sorry for the omega girl. Upon her feeling like she should return and ‘accept her fate’, because she didn’t belong here, Rex himself stated that she was to stay from now on, and that she was not to return to a pack that could treat their own members that way…Making her have no other choice… And her finding her mate, really was quite an amazing feat, considering that she really shouldn’t be here in the first place! Not only had she come all the way from the southern end of the continent, but a strange occurrence of her vanishing and having Alister go into her body and her wolf into his, had made her come here… There was that and…Well Rex couldn’t let her go… Having felt like his mate was here somewhere, or somehow, at some point…He wanted to make sure that he would not miss the chance to be with his destined mate. That…If there was a small chance that this girl was somehow related to his mate, how could he let her go!?   It was obvious though, from waking up and being timid and scared to do anything, that Chelsea had changed slightly upon finding her mate. Her mate was just a simple technician that happened to be close to her new room and he, being one of the righteous few, completely accepted the abandoned Omega. She was like a blossoming flower… Well, blossoming flower was indeed a current word, because she had soon become pregnant, and she was actually my new mother…Which sort of explained why I may have overtaken her body…Well, who knows and who cares… Before I was born though, Rex had been conflicted for a while, just like Alister, not able to pin point what was wrong… When he had finally realized that he faintly has been smelling a great scent all along, he was relishing in the fact that he would finally meet his long lost, other half and be able to live together and start his family! The scent was an old scent from his younger years, so it wasn’t like he was unfamiliar with it, but he felt like an idiot when he realized it was obviously because of his mate, when he had not thought of it first…But then, he just had to find this mate, but had no idea where they were! Normally mates don’t connect with each other until they are eighteen, yet…He had eyed each and every eighteen-year-old and higher, also considering males, and still never found where this beautiful scent was coming from! It wasn’t like he hasn’t been busy, and he was confused with the girl, so it had indeed taken a while to seek out the scent…To finally find that one of his people had just gotten pregnant…And the scent was indeed the strongest with…The girl, also known as Chelsea… After that…He was deeply grateful to have thought to have kept that girl close by!   ***   The best thing about being reborn and being a small child, was that I was given a lot of what I wanted! Luckily, seeing that I couldn’t talk yet for a stupid reason, I was still able to find that my mates name was Rex, but he rarely gets called that…As…It seemed that he was royalty… Yeah, I don’t get it…How in the world did I, this ‘idiot’, Alister’s words, becomes mates with royalty? Strangely, as soon as I asked that question, I did get an answer from Isilesah…Apparently the King not only needed my ‘fun’ and unique gift, he also need her to take upon the Shifters as her children. She said that we were a team and that we exhibit exactly what the King needs and…He seemed to come across as thinking the same thing… He had found the antics of ‘Naomi’ quite charming already, but still keeping his indifferent face as normal…Especially because he knew that this mate of his might cause quite a big problem sometimes! He was not stupid, as he clearly sees such a carefree spirit that belonged to his destined partner and it really did worry him! So, for the moment, he was unable to completely show others how content he really was inside, because he was already so worried! It wasn’t like he was a cold iceberg, he was a busy man and had a bad past, making him not trust a lot of people.   After a while, I completely understood him and his distrust, because it seemed there was red within the men that sometimes hung around him. When my vocal cords work better, I will have to tell him that there were people next to him that he will have to keep an eye on. Well…That’s if he believes me and my story… Thinking about telling him, made me nervous…Of course, though, telling him was something I was going to do! I was not going to be silly and keep things away from him, besides, if he thinks I’m nuts and crazy and wants to burn me to the stake…What could I do!? So, with this future in mind, I deeply depended upon our bond to stop him from doing that and I reckon that I had the guts and courage for it! Besides…How could he let the cute and lovable me go!? Seriously!     As the days went by and I demanded my mate, I would cry, only to be returned to my birth parents to get my fill of baby’s milk. I knew that my mate was busy, but he always made time for me, even if it was to hold me, while he worked at the same time. Actually, this happened a lot at first, because I was just so tired all the damned time! But that was great in one aspect! I slept really well with my dear Rexxie! It sucked though…Because my life as a baby was similar to all other babies…I was tired and could only cry, drink and poo! There was a lazy side of me that liked it, yet there was an impatient side of me that hated it! Especially when the red would show up in my line of sight and even wake me from sleeping! I wanted to grow up faster and say, ‘Oi, there’s someone bad here, don’t listen to them!’   I also felt bad to my new parents, to always demanding my mate, but for me, he was what always helped me sleep and brought me way too much happiness to stay away! Sadly, I was never able to get more then cuddles! I wanted to be in his arms all the time, all day long, but I would return to my parents when ‘His Majesty’ slept and had very important meetings. In fact, I was only with him when he was mostly alone and with his trusted advisors. Listening in, they had been very curious about the baby that His Majesty holds, but the ‘secret’ of me being his mate was not revealed and they had used this to make his reputation better by stating that Rex was a good leader and would even have time for the newborns… It was wrong! So wrong! Not only was I being used, but I still wanted to be in his arms even when he slept! I was sure both of us had trouble sleeping without each other, but it seemed beyond my capability to change it! Hearing that I was still so young and that my mother and father were upset that they hardly get to see me, this was the best Rex could do for them…As he already felt lucky that he was able to watch his mate from the very beginning. If he had to have to wait until his mate had been eighteen, to have meet then, he would not have any type of interaction at all! So, he was still very happy to be a part of his mate’s life at such a young age… Fair enough, earlier when he was sure his mate was around but didn’t know where, he had thought of starting his family, but that has all changed now! And I didn’t think it was such a big deal…It wasn’t like my mate was going to take advantage of me! Actually, Rex seemed to be whatever I needed him to be, and I was sure that not once, had he thought of me as a lover. So…Why can’t I be with him! Yep, I’m ganna cry! Mummy send me back to my Rexxie!     Over the long months of slowly growing, I couldn’t help but make it hard upon my parents…Because well, it wasn’t my fault that I had found my mate! I was such a little schemer and played tricks, making them have to discipline me! Feeling like I owned the place, I would press the wrong buttons, like on photocopiers and computers, just to annoy people…But…I guess I was going too far… Sighing, because I missed my mate, I decided that having everyone mad at me and questioning my capabilities as a future Queen, was probably not good and that I should slow down… As I became two years old, I was able to already shift into my wolf and everyone was flabbergasted to find that I was indeed a special wolf. I had black, white, brown, gold and rusty colors and grey colors…All the colors of any wolf have been known to have…And in my opinion, I think I looked absolutely dashing! Especially my tail…It was fluffy! …But, since I was able to talk, I was now able to state about the people that showed ‘false’, or to me red, to my mate…   “Then, can you tell me why you think that way?” Rex’s question caught me off-guard and I put my head against his shoulder, “I don’t have a reason why, but to me, if something show’s red, I have a bad feeling, like trouble is there. Don’t get me wrong, Rexxie, but please just take care when it comes to Clinton.” I felt my mate lean his head towards mine and hold me slightly tighter, “Whether it is the case or not, I want you to completely stay away from him then. I’ll smack you on the bum if you don’t take my words seriously, sweetheart!” I nod my head and put my small arm around his neck, “Okay! That’s no problem!” He kissed me on the forehead and then became busy once again, with the documents in front of him… Being only two at this time, I was still unable to climb all over him, like I wanted to, so I just stayed in his arms, keeping my head near his neck. Ah! So good!   ‘Rexxie’ was my angel! He had seen that I was indeed like a reincarnation and had been the quickest to get over that, but my parents were somewhat scared of me, since I had easily done the ‘baby puzzles’. At first, I had played with the puzzles for fun, because it had been ages since I was able to do anything fun, but I was already bored of them…I wasn’t stupid! They know now that I can read and do math, I can figure out problems and that I was special when it came to my wolf… The problem was…Other people started to see this same fact about me and obvious closeness between that of me and my mate…   That’s right, I might be able to see red, knowing that it could be danger…But I was still just a tiny, little kid… And that was not enough, or fast enough, to get away from someone who came and took me one day, while I was with my parents. With my small hands and feet, nothing was able to stop the person from taking me, and when I tried to wail out or scream, my mouth was then covered nearly to the point that I could barely breath! Within just a few minutes, I was taken out of the complex by someone who declared himself as ‘fat’ and then I was strapped to wolf and rushed away…

“Sweetheart…My god…” Rexxie had taken over and shifted, picking up his beloved mate. In just mere moments, my body was shifted back into wolf and Alister could hear Isilesah. She’s sleeping. Alister stated. Rex nodded, hugging the wolf and feeling so glad that he could almost cry. It’s not over yet. Again, Alister spoke to Rex. Kissing the furry wolf in front of him, Rex stood up and saw that he was now surrounded by the pack members that were healed… “Til Death, Your Majesty!” “Til Death!”   Rex pat Isilesah, who was now standing beside him, and looked beyond his members, towards his enemies, and glared at Mallick. “Til Death!” Rex yelled and shifted, charging directly towards his cousin! Like an arrow, his pack members charged after Rex and Isilesah, their King and Queen, and not only was loyalty unbreakable but that of their bond… They wanted to stop this war too! They wanted to help their King and Queen survive! They wanted this wonderful pack, of their family and friends, to survive!   Mallick tried to calm himself, after seeing such a loud and huge wolf and no longer able to hear, but seeing such a…Sight… Why are they so fierce!? They were even leading a fight out from their defence line…All of them! He could get someone to go behind them and kill the people that they were supposed to be defending! Why were they… Seeing this, Mallick orders his army to attack on the side, to surround what was coming straight for him but… Even with blood dripping down their wolf’s furs, with what looked like one having a broken leg…They were still fast…They seemed unfeeling… Before anyone could start trapping us, we were already just moments away from Mallick!     Apparently, my pack members didn’t need to be told that Mallick was Rexxie’s target…They knew! I suppose you didn’t have to be too smart to figure that out but…Yeah, we seemed to come together even now, as we all seemed to target someone different and straight away the enemy lost about twenty in our first attack. The thing was, we kept going, running and running… Whether it’s because they would never believe that we would have the courage or that they already thought of us as dead or…That they had stopped fighting because Mallick was now headless…The enemy stood there as we charged through their line. And that is the story that I was told…   I actually don’t know the real details because I was sleeping. Normally it is the wolf that sleeps but in my strange case, I was the one sleeping while Isilesah was the one awake. She helped her mate out as much as she could, showing again and again upon how much she deserved the title of Queen. In fact, her being the colour of all wolves, it was like her destiny to have achieved what had been done. Our fate as human and wolf, as queen, as the mate to the King and able to do whatever it was that we had done…It was just…Fate… Granted, we still lost people but apparently, we gained enough respect to have the enemy back off…Whether that is true or not I’m not entirely sure but I trust my pack members, even if some wish to achieve revenge…   ***   I’d love to say that our win was remarkable, but it wasn’t… I’d love to say that we gained more then we lost…But we didn’t… What I had lost, for what I had done, was years of my life… In just the first couple of hours after the end of the fight, when I was seen too, it was noticeable straight away that I was indeed in front in my years now. My body had grown, it was now mature, like an adult…What was not certain off, was how old my body was suddenly. They took blood tests, skin tests and whatnot but the fact of how many years I had suddenly gained, or lost, is uncertain…   The doctor really was unsure of what to say or do, simply because Isilesah was still awake. So, it wasn’t like my body was in a coma, because Isilesah could take full control of my body. According to Isilesah, I was fine and just sleeping but the doctor still felt like he could not determine much until I had fully awakened… The problem was…After days, then weeks, things got complicated… I was not waking up… It was like I was dormant…Perhaps like a volcano? Was my deed done now and I was empty? What was I doing!?   The pack doctor did worry as it seemed that not only had my body grown and it seemed I suddenly lost some years but as tests had been done and done again now, weeks later, it seemed that the constitution of the body was slowly becoming weaker somehow. At first, it hadn’t been seen but now the doctor does see that the body does not do some of its normal processes properly, or as efficient. As simple as eating and digesting food now took longer and there was even a chance that the food would be brought back up. Even something that wolves seemed to have naturally, like a fever and higher temperatures, seemed to bring Isilesah discomfort. There was even once, in just these couple of weeks, where she was sick with a cold! It…It was like her wolf powers were nearly all but gone and that the body had turned nearly all back to human…Or was in the process of doing so… Seeing that a healing process was not being used to help this situation, the doctor did indeed tell this to Rex, stating that his mate may have a weak body from now onwards…   When they question upon what had happened in the fight, they could only put it down to that being something that drained me to the point that I was put into some kind of stasis. They even wonder if I will sleep until the body goes to that of a full human, worrying both Rex and Alistair endlessly! Rexxie hated that one half of his…Half, was not here but what was he to do? He can’t bring sadness to Isilesah, because he wasn’t sad about her being awake…It was really conflicting and confusing!     The fight had indeed been a terrible loss and so, the pack had a lot of cleaning up to do. Luckily this helped Rexxie be able to think less upon how much he missed his treasure… Isilesah was brilliant, but she was Alister’s mate. Of course, Rex did love Isilesah, but…It really was a predicament! Rebuilding, punishing, counting members, re-evaluating…So many things to do… Before Rex new it, a year had passed, and he was starting to run out of things to keep his mind from wondering…Then…The strangest thing happened…   A month ago, Rex had gotten drunk. He had been alone at the time and what ended up as what he thought as ‘passing out’ was not as he had thought… While he had ‘passed out’, his wolf had taken over and with Rex having no memory of it, Alister had been with Isilesah. They had been extremely good up until now, trying to keep their love from being too obvious but…It can’t be helped if Isilesah had a wolf moment of going into heat…Making Alister completely unable to stop himself from being with her. …Rex had no idea… None… His lovely, precious mate was not awake but…She was pregnant…   It was strange. Rex was happy yet not…He was excited, yet not… This pup, it wasn’t really his and Naomi’s…It was fully that of Alister’s and Isilesah’s! What a weird predicament! For most of this time, Isilesah had stayed in wolf form, actually, she was not able to take human form for very long or much at all, the meaning of that was unknown so…When he walked into see Isilesah, he couldn’t help it…He smiled… Really…These two were such… With a lick and nudge, Isilesah moved Rex’s hand to her abdomen and although he felt nothing, it was her stating herself that she was indeed pregnant!   Taking a deep breath, Rex lightly patted her area and felt like he was really missing out! He and Naomi had not even been able to mark properly yet! They had not… It simply wasn’t fair! Really, at this time, she was fifteen, which still wasn’t old enough for them as wolves, but her body wasn’t…The pack doctor thinks the body to be even beyond that of a twenty-five-year old’s… You will be able to have Naomi’s pups Rex, don’t worry… Alistair’s words made Rex frown…   Do you know something? Alistair sighed, Naomi’s link between her and Isilesah has slowly been getting stronger. Isilesah thinks that if going by how long it has taken to get this strong, it may be another year before she wakes but…She will awaken! Closing his eyes, Rex nodded. She was going to come back to me, he thought. Thank god! Yet, with this good news, there was a strange question. It was pretty certain that Naomi was becoming completely human, so…How could her wolf still go into heat?     It was just another question that pilled up with all the rest…Like that of how Isilesah was still awake when I wasn’t and how we had become such a large wolf… I really was becoming more and more mysterious! Rex had not told anyone that I had come from another world and that I had already lived over twenty years of life before coming here but it’s like he didn’t have to. Even a story came out, becoming popular within the pack about the ‘Queen’ that was able to connect to everyone so well that she was able to bring them in as one and make them whole!   Then…Even though good news was heard about the pregnancy of Isilesah, it being unable to be prevented from leaking out, things weren’t so ‘great’. Isilesah stayed as a wolf throughout all her pregnancy, and it was for a reason that seemed scary enough for all three of them. It was indeed coming more and more true that Isilesah’s wolf like powers were almost completely gone now. She could no longer heal and there were moments that she would sleep for a long time and not walk around so much… It was sad to see, this lovely queen stuck like this but the pregnancy took it’s toll upon Isilesah, making both Rex and Alistair decide that they would not have more pups, at least for the time being…   ***   Some time later…   Rex was hiding. He leaned against the tree and sighed. It seemed everything was getting to him…Everything… He missed her so much… Every time he sees that little bundle of joy, Alistair’s and Isilesah’s Alpha pup, he gets sad. He was happy, so happy it was scary but… How had it come to this!?   Not long after knowing that she was pregnant, Isilesah found out that Naomi’s strength in her bond came to a halt…Which told Rex that Naomi was not coming back so quickly anymore, simply because of the pup. It had made him mad…So mad! But even with Alistair and Isilesah finally relenting into giving up the pup that they had created, Rex finally snapped out of it and said no. After that Rex has tried to wholeheartedly to accept little ‘Ryne’. In fact, everyone accepts little Ryne as the next King already, which doesn’t irritate Rex in the slightest…It really was great, but sad…That’s all.   Ryne considered Rex as his father, and that he was, but it was Alistair that took over many times upon Ryne being in the same room. Alistair was being cautious, not wanting Rex to state that Ryne should leave. Perhaps he was scared for his offspring, but really, he had nothing to worry about. Rex had been shocked, yes, but it was okay. He told them that they weren’t to do it again, because he wanted Naomi to return faster and so the wolves agreed easily, wanting the same thing. And well, that obviously wasn’t the only reason, but it did give them more want to not do as their natural instincts desired… Alister did miss the little troublemaker after all and, she also made his master happy, so…How could he want otherwise?

…The good news is that I believe that you are still south, which means that you may be closer to master. The bad news is…At the moment, you are in between the Light Exalted Pack and the Breaker Dawn Pack, whom is another pack against master. It isn’t a very good position and I don’t know how you got here but we can’t go west because that is the ocean…So, the only way out of here, is to go east. Frowning, I finally remembered something, wait…Wait, the reason I thought of you, was because we are a part of the Light Exalted Pack and I wanted to stop the bond to the pack! …You were initiated? It worked? Ye…Yeah. I can only admit this seriously, disturbing fact outright. I was completely bummed out… Dammit! Ok, we need to cut the link first, hopefully myself doing it will be enough but…Don’t expect perfect results! If…If we only knew that it would have worked on a two-year-old, dammit, of course it works because you are already able to shift! I’m sorry that we had not done it beforehand, Darlin. It’s ok…Mmm, even if we did it beforehand though, they would have done it anyway, breaking our link to you afterwards. I smiled, to be honest, I felt a lot more assured then I did earlier. Seeing him made me want to burst into tears and snuggle into him, while I told him all of my complaints! Sweetheart, you…We need to focus! Ah, I smiled wider, I could feel his want to let me do all that just by how he had started to talk! Isilesah and I were really very lucky, we have the best boys as our mates!     Alister came up with a quick plan, to loss our connection, while being in the water and at the same time it would also get rid of our scent. So, while in the water, he took over and bit himself, swallowing some of his blood…Which I’m sure wouldn’t work normally but, this was my body and since he was an Alpha, it was worth a shot! And it worked! Our bond to the Light Exalted Pack was now gone and I…I finally could feel Rexxie! Sweetheart! Oh…Rexxie’s voice in my head! Rexxie’s pack! Rexxie! I’m coming Darlin, I’m coming for you! Good work, Alister!   Master, thank you. Seeing that she could be initiated at such a young age, I could only do it with us to rid of her last link. But just wait a moment, you do know where we are and what is in between us? To be safer, I think we should try to get away from this area first and meet with you further away from these two packs. Silence came over the link between us and I got worried. Now that I thought about it, they were after Rexxie’s life and if he came here, in between two enemy packs, his survival rate would diminish by a lot! I couldn’t have that! As much as I was exhausted and hadn’t been with him for a long time, I couldn’t take the chance that he’d get killed just because of me… I agree with the puppy! We’ll try and make our way to you ourselves! That’s my girl! I nodded inwardly at Alister and knew that Rexxie’s silence did not state that he agreed and that he wasn’t happy.   Rexxie, is Isilesah alright? I asked through our link. Oh, she’s alright. I told her to get some sleep while I trusted Alister with you. I can wake her up at any time. No, don’t wake her, let her sleep. I sighed, and then continued, she’s probably exhausted, and we might need her later to take over me when we meet up… I heard a grunt over the link between us and I wasn’t too sure what it was about. Finally, Rexxie’s voice came to me again, Take good care of her Alister! You must bring her to me in two hours…Or I’m coming to get her! Master, we…Please be patient! I will bring her to you!   Alister and I took the silence from Rexxie to start organizing ourselves and I reminded him that I could see red and green again and how that’s been a helping hand to how we’ve survived so long without them. Alister also guided me towards some fresh water and he sniffed out a quick catch to eat. I didn’t want any part of it, even though I knew we should eat something, but…Raw meat…Yuck… In the end I felt better and was thankful that Alister was pretty good with his nose and able to catch something while being blinded. Another thing that needed to happen, was for us to leave, as I could see in the distance red dots slowly become bigger and bigger. This was where our connection was cut off to them, so it was understandable why they were heading this way…In fact, now that I thought about it, perhaps they didn’t care to come earlier simply because I was still a part of their pack and they could pick me up at any time… Nonetheless, now wasn’t the time to jump into the minds of our enemies! We had to leave! Right now!   Turn to your right, love. I need to see what’s up ahead before I take over to see nothing. You’re taking the lead? I asked. I thought that he’d tell me to run and make sure I don’t run into anything…Wasn’t that the most sensible thing to do right now? Yes, you’re exhausted and…Shouldn’t I take the lead!? You just sit there and wait! I nodded, even holding back a smile to how much he wanted to protect me. He wanted to be the one to save the damsel in destress… Ok…I’ll let him! I wanted to giggle! In the end though, he was sort of right, I was exhausted! But it didn’t mean that I was ready to sleep, not when we were still on the run! With another minute to look from his eyes, even though Alister was the wolf inside me, he then took over and ran so fast that even I was freaked out! Ah, the power…   Just like this, every few minutes, Alister would switch and see his surroundings and take over once again and I was lucky to not have to do anything but be at ease to my mate’s wolf taking me to my mate and his master. On the sad chance, we did run into a tree. In my defense, the red didn’t come up until the very last second! He was going too fast and when I called out to stop…It was already too late! With that, Rexxie had been anxious, because his head hurt, knowing that Alister had gotten hurt… So weird… If something happens to Alister, it happens to Rexxie, but…Well, I suppose it makes a lot of sense that Alister could see, whereas I couldn’t…It seemed that those two were still linked. But, how the hell did this all happen in the first place!? How is it possible that Alister could swap places! He did it with Chelsea’s wolf but…Rexxie had fallen into a coma like state. This time was different, Rexxie was obviously awake and feeling whatever happens to Alister…   I couldn’t wrap my head around the strange situation as I continued to try to help with the red, which did again become a problem in the next swap over… It was a type of bush, I guess, and a branch scrapped past Alister’s leg, hurting Rexxie at the same time… We had only made it halfway, but Alister decided to swap with me more often after that, so that he would no longer hurt his master and make it harder for us to continue. Whenever I was in the lead, I couldn’t move, so that we wouldn’t lose our heading, and when Alister took back control, he raced off like he was a mad man…Excuse me, a mad wolf… Ah, the drama’s of not being able to see! My wounds were slightly better then before, but I still could not see, and right now, as I wished to get safely back to Rexxie, I wished to also have my eyesight back! It wasn’t fair!   With red dots no longer following us, as they were searching out the area that the link had disappeared, I hadn’t looked back for a while…But when I asked Alister to look back, I found that the red dots were spanning out and looked like they were searching to the east of the lost link… Dammit… They must have realized that the other Alpha to the south didn’t play a part in my losing my link to them and they decided to look for me! I don’t know if they sent many towards the water, because I simply couldn’t see red that far, but I just knew that they were searching east for us! I think they are searching for us… I wanted Alister to know, yet at the same time I knew that we couldn’t go any faster. I was wounded, Alister was wounded, and through that Rexxie was wounded, and Isilesah was trying to sleep so that she could recuperate… This wasn’t looking very good…   Don’t look back anymore, sweetheart…Let’s just focus upon meeting up with master. I nodded, but still had a bad feeling about this. This planet had phones and whatnot, they could probably find Rexxie just by seeing what direction I was running in… Yes, I was getting extremely nervous! Sweetheart, calm down. Yes, calm down, Darling. I’ve already asked to get someone to pick us up, there’s no need to panic! Hearing both Alister’s and then Rexxie’s voice trying to calm me down, I tried again to focus and do as I’m told. The problem was, as we got closer and closer to Rexxie, I started to see red dots to our left, that were now closer to us… It seemed that there was a small lot of Shifters watching Rexxie… There’s some Shifters to the north. I said. After a moment’s silence, I heard Rexxie’s voice, Trapping me in!   I took over one last time, looking to what we knew as ‘east’ and then Alister went running again soon after. We were all getting slightly nervous and anxious, and I could even feel some eyes from Rexxie’s pack were watching us, while they were in their wolf forms. There’s a nice cover, further to the south. Meet me there! I heard Rexxie say. Yes Master! Alister stated, while changing his heading, to what I imagined as south east. I could feel Rexxie’s link coming closer and closer… Since we changed our heading, Alister told me to switch and then I was running, getting help by Alister, whom I could see was exhausted. We had run practically nonstop for two hours and I was proud of him. He had been blind, injured by hitting his head and injured once again on one of his legs that had been scrapped, so it wouldn’t have been easy. Not being able to see, but by using my nose, I finally caught on Rexxie’s fabulous scent and felt like I glided all the rest of the way to him. “Naomi! My god, thank you for being safe!”   I shifted and flew into his arms, even though I couldn’t see them. I just felt like I would be caught and just like I thought as well, I was directly placed into his embraced and hugged tightly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Rexxie said, his head was placed into my neck and I think both of us were calming down slowly. I tightened my hands around his neck and snuggled into him, feeling so elated that I couldn’t reopen my eyes. His smell, his warmth, his protective arms, his familiar voice…Ah And just like before, as soon as we had touched, Alister returned to Rexxie and I found the sleeping Isilesah back with me…And just like her, I fell asleep too…

For the whole day, I followed ‘north’ and I was getting exhausted by the end of it. I had been a good girl and done as I was told but…I was so bored and was thirsty and hungry again! I can deal with a bit of boredom, but the reoccurrence of hunger and thirst really made it worse! Feeling like I had been really good, I stopped at the next little lake and dived in, fixing my thirst and cooling down a bit. Ahh! This is good! There had been a desert like place there for two hours and I had slowed down to a ‘walk’ instead, because I had just gotten so hot! But, now that that desert like place had passed, I felt a lot better in the water, merrily seeing how a dog…I mean wolf…Can swim, and found out that they couldn’t do at least half of what the humans can do! The four legs and how they were situated, stopped me from doing butterfly and floating…Hell, even freestyle swimming didn’t feel right! Nearly losing myself under the water once, I realized that wolves are better off in the water as wolves, not wolves acting like humans! Laughing at myself, making the wolf look extremely comical, I’m sure, I got out of the lake and see the sun setting in the south, telling me where north is. Giving myself a good shake, feeling all silly for it, I shake myself a second time, just because I could! It was so weird, but what was even more weird, was that I loved it! I loved being a wolf! I never wanted to be human again! Haha!   And since I felt so great, and I wasn’t so hot anymore, I ran north, making sure I didn’t lose my sense of direction when the sun was finally gone but I still also followed the ‘greener’ path as much as possible… That was…Until I came across yet another border…But this time, I hadn’t gotten stopped until I was just about in their headquarters! That’s right, I knew I had gone too far, but I was just so happy and feeling free that I had stopped really late…And no one had come to stop me beforehand! Besides…It was ‘north’…I can’t particularly get in trouble for it! I thought I was lucky and that I could just go through the pack hey! I mean, why not? Why can’t I travel through just like that of a human town? Why do I have to steer clear!? But I see a few wolves start to come closer to me and the green started to go red, making me fall to a stop… So…How am I going to get out of this predicament? And there it was…Another naked man! Omigod! I knew it was normal, but I was just not used to it! Just like last time, I bent down and covered my eyes…Were all male shifters so hot and sexy?   Within no time at all, they were doing pretty much the same as the other pack had done, by demanding that I shift and tell them where I had come from. They also seemed to say that I was too ‘innocent’ to be a rogue, but still didn’t drop their guard down against me. This time though, they had gotten a step further and their Alpha came out! With having shaken of their demands earlier, there seemed no way I could continue to fight with the Alpha, maybe because the puppy was still sleeping, so I was forced to shift into human form. Covering myself as much as possible and squeezing my eyes shut, I heard footsteps come closer to me. “Who are you?” I took a deep breath, pulling my legs into myself more and finally spoke, “Can I please get something to cover me first?” “Why are you so worried?” His question really made me puzzled…Of course I was worried! I was a girl and he was a boy and we were…Naked! From where I came from…I just wasn’t used to it!   Hearing the voice sigh and yell out for some clothes or a blanket, I still don’t move my body, nor do I open my eyes. After some shuffling and then feeling something go over me, I sigh in relief and touch it, feeling that it wasn’t a blanket, but that of two pieces of clothing. Using it to cover my private parts, I then ask, “Are…Are you dressed too?” “Yes…Now, speak, who are you?” I slowly opened my eyes, but the feeling powered over me, making me unable to stop it, “I’m Naomi.” Wow…Alpha’s really have such power? “And, what pack are you from?” Immediately, again forced, I answer, “I don’t belong to a pack.” “Then what pack did you come from?” Even though the force was powerful, it didn’t help that I couldn’t remember, so in the time I tried to remember, the Alpha got mad, “Put her in the dungeon! I’ll question her later!” Panicking, I quickly remember and say, “The South Valley Pack!” As I got picked up by two men, the clothing fell off me and I screamed, “Stop, wait! Let me put the clothes on!” The Alpha turned back to me and eyed me, making me glare at him, “Stop it!” He glared at me in return and then turned, saying, “Put her in the dungeon!” With that, I was taking…Naked…To the dungeon and then they threw the clothing to me. …That was nasty! I am easy to get along with! Why make it look as though I’m not!? Dragging my innocent self into a dungeon…Who do they think they are!? What have you done now? Why are we in a dungeon?   So…Now he talks to me! He seemed still tired and his voice had been that of just awakening, making me feel like it was cute. I bumped into another pack! What!? I finished putting the clothes on and didn’t care that it didn’t fit me properly, it was a covering to make me feel more at ease… You went that far!? I can’t believe it! What you mean? …Since you didn’t venture far last time, I had not expected you to run into this pack… He…He didn’t think I’d go that far north? I let out a chuckle and felt proud for doing as I was told! This isn’t good…You should have awakened me! What? How do I do that? Normally a certain amount of fear would wake me from a deep sleep…Were you not scared just now? Ah…When things went red, I had started to worry…But…I was more worried about the fact that I was naked, surrounded by men that were naked… …Idiot… So…What do we do now? I saw him shake his head… The only thing I can do is let them know who they’ve captured…So…Let me take over. I looked down at my clothes and worried…If he takes over…I really didn’t want to get into a predicament again were I was naked! Dammit, I’ll take off the clothes before I shift and take it with us then! Sighing with relief, I nod and felt the control leave me. And just as he said he would, the puppy took off the clothes before he shifted.   Waiting for someone to come, I got bored and ended up asleep, feeling that there wasn’t anything to worry about. The short glimpse in the future held us continuing our journey to the north, so…Somehow, we get out of here… I’ll leave it up to him… Without even realizing, I had no idea how happy the puppy was that I completely trusted him. He, like said before, had no idea that I would have traveled as much as I had, not dreaming of it in the least! This pack was right in the middle of their path and there would be no way to miss it, the problem was, it would take a few hours to safely go around it. Alas, he was thinking of attempting to do that the next time he was in control… Not long after he watched the girl sleeping in the background, finally someone came to them and saw that the girl had shifted! Growling and spreading his profound and strong aura, the person was kneeling in front of him in no time… All that had to be done now, was to explain the situation, embarrassing enough as it was, and demand to even find an easier way back to his original master. This was an idea previously, but it had not been something that Alister had planned to do as of yet. Now…That it had come to pass as it did, it seemed that this was his only alternative now. To show who he was and get to his original master the fastest, strangely, this was the best idea, but… He had no answers to state why…Why oh why, he was in the body of a little girl! All that was known was, once they felt the aura of the King, they knew who he was and could only do as asked and find a driver to drive them further to the north…   ***   The trip was easier after this, as they traveled down a highway and was able to finally get in contact with the Shifter King’s Beta by phone. I was flabbergasted upon waking up…Seeing myself in a ute, next to a stranger. Rubbing my eyes, I turned towards the stranger beside me, and asked, “What’s going on?” “…He was right…” Someone said from the front and I looked at them, but they had already turned around. Seeing that the area was greener then normal, and not red, I looked out the window and saw the scenery. Seeing the sun above us, I guessed we were going north, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. Before I fell asleep it was night, so I’d been sleeping for quite a few hours…So…In those few hours…Something has obviously changed… The ute seemed small, because the men were bulky and big. The driver wasn’t as big as the other two, but I still felt a bit cramped… Seeing that I was dressed, it made me feel better and I was sure they hadn’t taken advantage of me…So… Should I try asking again? The greener view helped me give up, and I was even slightly happy to not have to run ‘north’ for the moment. Change was something good! I can just practice being a wolf more later, it’s not the end of the world! Right…   “Here, have something to eat and drink, we should be there in half an hour.” Raising my eyebrows, I still said nothing, taking the food and water happily. Even though I felt safe, it didn’t mean I felt comfortable…Again, I could only question…What really was going on here? These guys were acting strange and I didn’t know why I felt like the silence was more out of respect, instead of not having anything to say. Feeling the burger go down my throat, I moaned to the pleasure of normal human food. Instantly forgetting my worries… Ah…So good! It had been too long…Too long! Taking another bite, I munched on it slowly, remembering it, as…Who knows what will happen next! So good! Not once did I realize that a few eyes were watching me, unable to look away at this really strange scene…Perhaps if I knew that they didn’t understand why the King’s wolf was inside such an innocent girl, I probably still wouldn’t care so much…Because I was truly and wholly focused upon the most awesomest burger I’d eaten in…Forever! Besides…I never tried to think of why’s so much…I accepted what is and if there was a problem, all I tried to do was search for a solution… …Yummy!   Before I knew it, the ute stopped, and everyone got out…So…I did too… Seeing them look at each other with strange faces, I was then asked to follow them. What was going on!? Upon reaching a very high security area, we then walked down some steps into a creepy underground hallway…Only to see that it was like a whole other world down here… …I thought of my predicament and wondered if they were going to do tests on me or something. As, even for me, they might also think that me with Alister, a male wolf, was strange. Oh man…I don’t know if I could handle being locked up, played with and used as a lap rat… Letting out a deep breath, I continued to follow the green… If it goes red…Then…Maybe I could still get away… And well, if I get freaked out enough, wouldn’t the puppy wake up? …Hang on just a minute! Why is the puppy just sitting there, even…Even wagging his tail! Are you saying that, this is where I’m supposed to be! Fine…Fine, I won’t be scared…I’m sure it’ll all work out! But if it doesn’t…I’mma annoy the puppy…Forever!

Rex turned to Danika’s father and pointed at him, “Guards come in and take that man to the interrogation room! He is holding someone dear to his daughter and your job is to find out where!” In no time at all, the room went into somewhat hysterics as the other loyal subordinates are finding out what is going on. There were the obvious stricken words from Danika’s father but with the King being so serious, no one dared to help him. Just in the space of a few minutes they find out that the King’s real mate had marked him, that Danika was pregnant but the she wasn’t pregnant to the King but her own mate and her own mate was apparently being taken hostage by Danika’s father. …What a mess!   ***   Within just a couple of days, everything was finally sorted out. Everyone choose to accept Naomi as the King’s mate, seeing now that Rex was really loyal to her, after only having the affair due to being drugged. No more rumours floated around after Danika herself spoke of her father’s scheme. She had not spoken until her mate was safe but when she had, she told them everything, including that she had also been interested in the King at the time. Her mate was not placed in front of everyone though and Danika still looked exhausted and pale. Rex did not know what to do when it came to that girl because she had gone against him and his precious mate, but it seemed that she had a bit on her plate!   With Danika’s father placed in prison, her reputation torn, to shreds, pregnant and having trouble with her mate, Rex let Danika go without any punishment but that of going to another area to live with her mate. Danika was sad but accepted anything given to her, holding tightly to the fact that she will still be with her mate and their child. We don’t hear from Danika again, but it takes a long time for her to get her mate’s trust once again. Of course, being mates might have helped but her mate had been tortured into believing words from her father and so his mind ended up being confused. Nonetheless, they end up alright…In time…     Rex, on the other hand, now had complete authority over his mate. Since I had marked him, it was practically me stating that I was now in his care and life became all that richer. I was always allowed to go anywhere I wanted, even able to come into the King’s discussions. I was told to often come by his room when he was there, and I did. My parents could only accept the situation of letting their daughter go, even though I was only nearly thirteen! But Rex and I wouldn’t have it any other way! We spent a lot more time together now and our link felt like it became stronger than ever before!   It really was great! It was like I had been waiting for this for years! And you know what!? I loved the fact that Rex was marked! I felt so great! I know that people and animals shouldn’t be owned and all, because they are you know ‘their own people’ or ‘priceless’ and whatever but…I completely owned Rex! I don’t mean it in a bad way! Not at all, it was in a good way because it felt wrong to say ‘owned’ but, I don’t know how else to put it… I tried thinking about it for a while, to come up with an understanding of how things are between Rex and I and all I can come up with was that Rex and I were bound to each other now.   We were bound by blood, by a mark, by our feelings, our lives, our wants, our desires…I suppose I didn’t particular ‘own’ everything about him but that is where it is the wrong word. Like, I didn’t own his own opinion, I didn’t own his business desires or the way he wanted to act with other people but…It was a part of him that I accepted completely. I liked watching him when he was talking business, especially with just other men in the room. Even in my last life, I knew men acted differently when together with no females. Was it just me or do I feel slightly happy seeing him like that? I wanted him to have other connections, I wanted him to be able to be ‘immature’ and whatever with other guys…Well, especially when he didn’t do it too often!   Well, anyway, our new relationship was great, and my thirteenth birthday was just as great! I had a party and people finally accepted my strange uniqueness…Apparently that is the word for me, unique. I swear they only say ‘unique’ because they don’t want to hurt my feelings! Whatever, I have fun and I want to be happy, end of story! Ah, it was great to go back to my merry ways again! I would play with my wolf, as my wolf and do wolfy things, sometimes really embarrassing myself but hey, laughing is better than crying, so there’s at least one good thing to come out of it!   On the other hand, I started to understand more about what Rexxie has been planning all this time. He was working on completely demolishing the leadership system that they were using right now…Which meant that even though he had ‘royal’ blood, it didn’t matter. I guess I understood a bit because of where I came from in my previous life, I had hardly ever thought of the royal family and whatnot back then so, in a way, I felt more advanced in this department. …What I worried about though, was the fact that whoever was put in charge needed to be watched because it’s easy to become greedy and get away with things when you have power!   I know where they were hitting a snag though, where they had troubles going forth with this strategy of abolishing the royalty way of leadership…And that was because the best leader that they could find, was in fact Rex… That was why nothing had happened yet! After all these years of going into detail upon this new way of living, it must have felt like they didn’t get anywhere! How funny! I mean I can understand, Rex was awesome! Trying to find the best leader to take over, yet the one that would be the best is already in lead! Hahaha! So, the system in now, might as well just stay as it is!   Anyway… What I felt strange, much like that to Rexxie too, was that his cousin had done very little in the way of trying to fight us and take what he thought as ‘his’ back. It really was starting to feel like something big was coming…That we all knew that this cousin was not doing nothing all this time but…Having a few people trying to watch him, that hadn’t died, we could only find out so much. And yes, upon one full moon, I could feel a redness come over the horizon… I didn’t know if it was like one of those red moons or something, considering I’m on a different planet and all, or my red and green sight…So, I just kept an eye on the area, just in case.   After the moon had changed from being full, and I was still seeing a redness in the horizon, I wondered if I should tell Rex. It was a worry, after all… I saw red over each part of the horizon that made me sorta scared of what it might mean. Does it mean that we are going to be in trouble from all directions? If that was so… Shivering, I wondered how I should say this…How can I say that I feel, and sort of see, something ominous coming! I didn’t know when, I didn’t know why…And that was what prevented me from saying much but, after my fourteenth birthday, I decided to state what I see to Rex.   “Everywhere?” Rex asked, continuing to stroke my arm gently. I nodded, already I had taken so much time to state all this because I was getting distracted by his hand yet, I had no want to stop his hand! “That wouldn’t make much sense, Sweetheart. If it was seen everywhere then, in some type of way, he has surrounded this area.” Rex felt doubtful. I shrugged, at least if Rexxie knew of what I saw, perhaps he would act a bit different to when he wouldn’t know anything at all. Rex kissed me on my forehead then and I looked up, to see him thinking…And frowning. Touching his forehead, to attempt to smoothen his skin, Rexxie took my hand and smiled at me. “I believe you, I’ll put out more Shifters to find out what’s happening in other areas.”   Smiling back at him, I felt a huge amount of relief and pride. He was the best mate ever! The best in the world! I had no prove, no evidence, just saying what I had seen, and he believed me! Ah, I loved this man so much! Snuggling into his hold, someone then came in after Rex had called out, “I’m here, Your Highness?” Rex looked at them and stated, “Get a few others to go in each direction from here and seek out any information you can find on my royal cousin!” “…Yes, Your Highness!” Obviously, the person didn’t understand but was doing what he was told. He left quickly after and Rexxie kissed my forehead again. “I have a bad feeling about this…”     Within the next month, a few things happened and getting my period was one of them. I hadn’t forgotten it, because I felt like I had been waiting for it for about two years to finally get it! Rex could smell me bleed, which was a bit embarrassing, but it seems that our relationship was indeed slowly changing…As we went into to what I would call ‘first base’… Kissing Rexxie on his cheek and peeking him on his lips before had all been slightly childish to me now as, kissing him on the mouth like lovers did…Was really intoxicating…Addicting…Electric…Magical! We sort of both got hooked on this first base and kissed frequently, becoming breathless afterwards! But it was really great! So…Great! Magnificent! Exciting! Overwhelmingly Perfect!   What happened afterwards though, sort have placed a damper on our ‘first base’ syndrome, and that was the people that we had sent out…Because half of them had not returned and could not be contacted! It was within a week of no contact that our link gave our thoughts truth as at least one or two of the links had been completely severed! Those that returned had bad news, and the bad news was quite alarming, bringing Rex back into a fighting mode that I had not seen him in since I had been kidnapped all those years ago! Yes, the royal cousin had been working quite hard over the years! Being in the dark of a few packs, mostly small ones that didn’t really come to see Rex at all, they had all connected with his royal cousin in some way. Some of them integrated into The Light’s Exalted pack but some did not, and anyone could guess upon why not!   What was worse, was somehow, the humans were even involved now! Rex had no idea how upon this had happened but, his royal cousin now had guns with silver bullets and a small human party on their side! So…In other words, the people that had not come back and had been likely been killed, probably held the same type of news…Or worse! Rex didn’t want to leave anything out, not wanting to underestimate his own royal cousin, so he started to prepare for war! They had to make up for lost time! They had to be ready for something big that was bound to come at some point! They had to prepare everybody and everything so that casualties will be at a minimum and so they could defend for a long period of time! And with that…The whole of the pack changed…   ***

Opening my eyes, I’m really distrusting my view…What? Was this real? I let out a laugh, hearing a different sound to what I’m used to. My voice was different and even my body. How…Interesting! The last thing I remember from my previous life… Suddenly, pain exploded through my body and the memories of the life that I had transmigrated in, started to become completely the only thing I could think about! Groaning to the pain and putting a hand to my head, I pinched my eyes tightly shut and hoped it would be over soon. Seeing the pictures of a realistic life, that I never was a part of, flow ‘in’ me, it was strange how it all fit into place. I read books about transmigration, yet, going through it was another matter… It was like, even though I started reading in the middle of the book, the first part of the book became known to me, as though I had read it! Except…It was a very painful book! Argh!   Clutching at a small part of my messy hair, I groaned once more to the mental and emotional pain. It really wasn’t as easy as I would have thought…I felt what had happened now, as it had to the person before me in their past, and I was already getting mad because this life I had gone into, had gone through a bit of abuse. In my previous life, I hadn’t received all that much abuse, but now, it seems like my knowledge of it had grown immensely! Sighing and putting my head back down on the floor…I realized that even though I had the luck of transmigrating, having a second chance at another life, was it really worth it at the moment? I found myself in a girl that was twenty years old, that was the infamous ‘Omega’ and she was an unwanted, secret child. Sighing, I pouted to the misfortune of being inside this girl’s body. Why couldn’t it be a girl that had more freedom or something!? But no! I had to get the delinquent! “…Awesome!...”   What worried me, wasn’t the fact that this girl’s existence was still a secret, being the child of the Beta before he had found his mate, nor was it that she was an Omega…It was because, I was literally stuck… I read enough novels to always yell at the mc’s and tell em to ‘run away’, ‘bad pack!’ yet…I felt like an utter idiot right now, because it really isn’t as easy as it sounds! I reached over to the door knob and twisted it, then nodded expectantly to finding that it was locked. Of course, it’s locked! “Stupid!” If anyone is ready this type of book, they be like, ‘You’re screwed.’ “No thanks! I’m not screwed!” Letting my arm fall back down beside me, I turned over and humphed. The girl before me is the one that’s screwed, I’m just a free-spirited soul that swooped down. Perhaps…Perhaps I can leave again? With this thought, I close my eyes and… And what? What the hell am I supposed to do!? Was this really it? This girl was really in for it and now I gotta go through it? “Not cool!”   After another minute, the pain from gaining the girls memories dwindled down and I again realized my new surroundings. I was in a very small…Hut? A bed on the floor, a small chest of drawers and a window. “Argh, pitiful indeed!” I got up and tried to look for some painkillers, trying to think of where they are with the ‘new memories’ that I now had but there wasn’t any… “Not cool!” Slumping back down on the floor, I made a face in thought…Looking around, seeing everything a tiny bit…Greener then usual…I was wondering if there was something wrong with my eyesight! Sighing, feeling slowly better, my headache aching less and less by the minute, I decided to just sit there and wait a bit longer…Maybe it’ll disappear aye!? Thinking, since I had nothing better to do, I put a hand to my chin and wondered what I should do… Sighing…Very loudly, I did come to at least one resolution, and that was…I was stuck here for now, because I had most certainly died in my last life. Now, being able to remember, without giving myself more pain, I reminisced my last moments and knew that my life there was finished…Complete…Full stopped! …And it really looked like…I wasn’t even on Earth anymore… I mean, the memories from the girl really suggest that Earth is no more as well. I wonder what happened to it? Was it like that funny movie and blew up? It can’t go on without me right!? Pfft…Of course nothing had happened to it! I’d be forgotten about in no time! “…Awesome…” Sighing to my sad fate, not being able just shut off all feelings of having to leave everything behind, I huffed and crossed my hands together. I was, in what looked like, a harder world… Oh, man!   Reading about other worlds was fine and dandy, being in one… It was like I was going to war! It was the powerful against the weak! It wasn’t lovey dovey stuff and I really wondered if this is what I deserved because of my past life! I gave out a small, cheeky laugh…Maybe it is what I deserve… Then stopping and blinking, thinking it through, I then shook my head with determination, “Nope, I don’t…I don’t deserve this! I was a good girl…I did do things wrong, but it wasn’t on purpose!” Sighing, I thought about the girl’s problems again, wondering if it would bring me any trouble. I didn’t like trouble…And that was because, it seemed to find me whether I wanted to stay far away from it or not! Seriously, if I didn’t get into trouble, I wouldn’t even be here! I’d be back on Earth! But…The girl’s past was simply put, unwanted Omega daughter of a Beta. The girl’s mother was suddenly missing and soon after found dead, as it seemed like she was going to expose the Beta’s secret. My guess, the obvious, and that would be that my father had killed my mother, before it became known that I was his child… Frowning, I really wondered how the Beta was getting away with it! I read stories like this and I’m like, ‘How do they not know? Do they know and just ignore it?’ There’s gotta be some easy evidence to state that…This body, is connected to his! Mmm…Face? Blood? Haha, wouldn’t it be funny though, once I bring it out! Just to see his livid face…Or will he be like Austin Powers and say, ‘That’s not mine!’ Hehe!   But that wasn’t the problem at the moment, as the girl was just found caught by not only running away from the pack but having stolen money. Sighing, I knew she hadn’t stolen the money and the reason she left, was because her father had given her a note from her mother, telling her to run. She had left the note in their last house, yet her father had only just given it to her now…Her mother had died a few years ago…So that was extremely suspicious! Obviously, he wanted the innocent, naïve girl to do as the letter wanted her to do! So…It looks like her father was coming up with ideas to get rid of his own Omega daughter uh? Scary bastard! …But…What is going to happen to her? I mean, me? Not cool! The attempt at running while having ‘stolen’, is obviously going to be something they’d want to punish me for and it freaked me out, because I felt my impending future not being very pleasant… I had to get outta here!   Chelsea! “Uh?” I looked around, trying to figure out who was talking… Chelsea! “What!?” I yelled, looking up at the roof. Are you…Sane? It was a male’s voice…But where the hell was it coming from? I have no idea why, but I seemed to have accepted all your memories…And it seems that I have switched master’s…How…Unpleasant… Uh? Was…Ohmigod! It was a voice in my head! That’s right! This was a werewolf or shifter world! Haha! Ok…So…How do I talk to it!? I am not an it! My name is Alistair…And for some reason…I’ve…Become the wolf inside your head… Letting out a small huff, to his obvious discontent, I narrowed my eyes and thought about what this means. There was a wolf in my head, yet, he was male…I guessed that wasn’t normal. It was true though, the girl’s wolf was gone. But I tell ya what! Seeing a wolf inside my head was really strange! He looked scary… …A wolf…Was it in a cage? A cage!? You dare put me into a cage!? “Hey hey, I’m good, just don’t hurt me, alright!” Strange girl! Anyway, since you want to get out of here, let’s go!   Happily nodding to the voice inside my head, I waited. What are you waiting for, shift! Shift…Okay… …Bibbity boobity, shift! …Abracadabra, shift! What the hell are you doing! I shrugged, “I have no idea!” …You don’t know how to shift into wolf form? You’re kidding!? “Nope, teach me!” Actually, now that I thought about it, I could try to go through the girl’s memories and see how she did it… …I want to go back to my old master! “Tough! Now tell me how to shift!” …So embarrassing! My master is an Alpha, a very important person, and you…You “Shut it and tell me! Or I’ll call you a dog!” I am not a dog! “Little puppy!” … “Oi!” Silence enveloped the small area and I looked around, even though I knew I wouldn’t find the owner of the voice here. “Hello!?” … “Fine, if the puppy wants to sulk, I’ll play catch with you later!” Insolence! “Ah, come on! Tell me already!” I heard a huge, deep sigh. Fine! To shift means going from human to wolf, obviously everything changes. You must not only think physical, but picture the change, feel the change, want the change to take place. You have to accept… “Ok, Ok, let me give it a shot!” Seeing a beige furry area in my head, I knew I could do it already. * That’s right, in my past life, I used to be a fortune teller! I was one of those cheesy ones that go through the net, but…But, I was pretty good at it! Thinking, feeling, wanting! I yelled out to the pain and found my body seem to shutter and shake to change into a wolf that was…Beige… Seeing slightly better than I did before, but…Everything seemed…Greener still…I huffed out my agony, standing there with no want to move just yet… So not cool…It hurt! It was quick, but it hurt so much! Scared that if I moved, I would hurt all over again, seconds ticked by and I finally heard an exasperated groan. What are you waiting for!? Taking a deep breath in I moved my ‘paw’, yes…I had a ‘paw’… Ohmigod! Looking at it, while balancing on three other ‘legs’, I started to panic. Falling over from having lost my balance, I wondered how I had thought it so easy at first! Right, I’ll just do it again! Trying to get back up, I heard growls and groans to how stupid I must have looked and finally stood on all four legs again! “Arrr!” Uh? Oh…That’s right I can’t speak when I’m in wolf form! I think I’m dreaming, this can’t be real! This can’t be real! Ignoring the puppy inside my head, I move about a bit and got used to being on four legs instead of two. It didn’t take as long as I thought, and I wondered why I fell over before… Right, balance is good! What next? How about we get out of here!? Sounds great! …But how… This…This is going to be a long…Day… “Arr!” Oh…Haha, that’s right, wolf no speak English! How do we get outta here puppy? I heard another huge sigh and finally the other voice spoke. Let me take over, I’ll get us outta here! Okay! What I never thought, was that from then on, this puppy will try and take over with every chance he has…Simply because he can’t bare the idea of having me as someone in control!

With us being ready to fight, Isilesah took over and jumped upon the person ahead of us, she was clumsy, but was still able to find the neck and rip something apart, hearing a thump. Isilesah turned to what she thought was towards the other two that were left. It became real then, that the Shifter had indeed died because a link was broken between us and them. I suppose this was the only good thing about being a part of the pack… One down…Two to go! I doubted the next two will be as easy as this one was… One meter ahead! Isilesah quickly pounced and felt her two front legs connect with another two wolf legs. It seems that they had shifted…   My heart started to beat faster and faster to knowing that they were now wolves, as we had more of a chance if they were just humans. Not being able to see was scary, even knowing where they were, because of seeing red, was not giving me any type of relief! We had no other choice but, we needed to get this bomb out and we needed to survive! We can do this! We can do this! Feeling her neck get scrapped, Isilesah quickly grabbed onto something and flung herself over, wanting to continue to move. Feeling like she had not gotten the wolf’s neck, Isilesah bit to where she thought it was and again flung herself and the wolf over, tumbling over the ground. Hearing a yelp and then nothing, Isilesah quickly got up and moved away in a half circle, putting her nose in the air. Again, the link was broken, but my heart was still racing crazily! Perhaps we were lucky but…We might not be so lucky, we had to keep paying attention until there was no one left! He’s to your right, quick!   Isilesah turned to her right and just as the wolf knocked into her, she grabbed some of it into her mouth and had to endure the weight of the wolf upon her head, making it hard for her to continue to bite on what she had in her mouth, which she has an idea that what she got, was the back of the wolf. Letting go, making her decision on taking her chance upon another attack, Isilesah did another half circle, again putting her nose in the air. A growl was heard and Isilesah stopped and looked in a direction. He’s ahead again! Watching Isilesah growl back to the other wolf, I was sure that she was still okay, making me breath out a breath of relief! It was so hard to watch this without being able to see!   I knew of our predicament, I knew that we had a bad start as we were against three, but… Ah, my heart was pounding like crazy! Isilesah walked to the side, making me wonder if she was waiting for the other one to attack first. Seeing the red go lower and go to the side, I frowned. Was he getting ready to pounce? Actually, was he…Rolling around? Dammit! I wish I could see! He’s closer to the ground, but still ahead of you. I think he tried to get rid of his scent… He’s low, walking to our left slowly. Isilesah shook her head, making me worried. Were we still bleeding, and the blood was in the way? Seeing the redness move more to our left, I quickly stated, he’s trying to come up behind us! He’s two meters away!   One meter! Isilesah put down a paw but still did not move, depending entirely on the coloured vision that I had that I could ‘see’ in the in the blackness. Now! In quick succession, Isilesah turned and pounced with a bit of force to come up from the side and rammed into something with her opened mouth, whatever it was, Isilesah viciously ripped it from side to side and even dragged it a bit. A scuffle then took place where I could not help. I had to feel what was happening and see red all over, yet there was growls and turns and I was holding onto my beating heart and hoping that it won’t give me a heart attack! Nips and bites, claws and yelps but…Finally, Isilesah got what seemed to be the neck and we only found out that he died because the connection finally broke.   And as soon as the connection was lost, Isilesah let go of the limp wolf and shifted back. My heart was pounding so much! I needed a second…No, I needed a minute! Taking deep breaths, I closed my eyes and waited. I needed to be a lot calmer to proceed into getting rid of the bomb…A lot more calmer! I didn’t want to do it! I didn’t want to! Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried not to focus on anything else besides breathing and finally, I was back to normal. I had to do this now! It was now or never! I turned to my shoulder and shifted my hand into that of a wolf’s hand and clenched my teeth…This was ganna hurt!   Needing to get this done and out of the way, I did a quick test, so that I knew where the claws were, and then dug into my skin. Letting out a deep groan, I didn’t look away and with clumsy claws, I tried to get the red dot out of my shoulder, taking way too much time and hurting myself way too much! …A few yells later, I see the red dot fall down to the ground and I let out some deep breaths. Even though I had tried to get it out with my human hands, I still had made a huge wound now! The stench of blood invaded my nostrils and I just knew that blood was all over my hands. Did wolves need to sanitize as much as humans did? A wipe would come in handy right about now… Feeling something down my face, I wiped it and knew that they were tears from the pain. It had hurt so much! I’ll get us out of here, honey. Think you’ll…Be ok with a dud shoulder? I couldn’t help but let out a small child like sounding sob. We’ll be ok, but if that thing goes off, we might not be! I could only let her shift back to wolf form and limp off in a bit of a rush. We must look a sorry state to anyone that sees us…I was sure that we had blood all over us…     I didn’t know if leaving the explosive there on the ground was a smart idea, but I could only leave it there because we simply wanted to survive! Not knowing what direction we were going in, I tried to figure it out by what I ‘saw’ through green and red, but I really had no idea! We couldn’t even know where the sun was, to use that as a point…Even if I do remember that here on this planet it rises and sets from north to south, instead of east to west, but knowing this information did nothing to help us now! I didn’t want to go back to that pack, I just knew that not only would they use us again, but they would probably blind us with silver next time and that was something that we couldn’t heal from! But whose to say that we weren’t traveling back there ourselves right now! This was…Really annoying! All we had, was my being able to see red and green…So, I suppose we’ll just have to use that to our advantage…   Isilesah, I…As soon as I see red, I will tell you to run from that current direction…Okay? Yes! We’ll be alright, honey, we’ll be alright! Relaxing slightly, feeling bad that not only was Isilesah being the one in control and doing the limping and healing for us, but she was also taking away some of the pain. If we weren’t in such a rut right now, I might be rolling over in pain and unable to do anything else, but luckily, I still had to focus upon our situation, even though we weren’t surrounded by Shifters anymore. Trying not to think too much about our situation, with our damaged shoulder and eyes, I focused on red and green, not wanting to sleep, even though I was extremely exhausted. Whether we were going north or south, east or west, we stayed away from the red and a few hours past before we collapsed…We could not go on without sleeping…We were hungry and thirsty…We were still sore and feeling pain…But this was all that we could do right now! We could not go on!     It felt like we had only been asleep for seconds, when we woke up once again. I could see red in the far distance, but it didn’t look like they were getting closer at the moment. I heard birds and I swore that I could even hear water, but it didn’t help us find our location. Nothing was good! The pack will know where we are, through our link…They will come after us and it’ll be easy for them to get us, simply because there was only one of us and we are also blind! Our eyes were not very good still, it was mostly black, with a small part of it being able to see a change but it didn’t mean we could see now. My shoulder had gotten better, the pain was endurable now but…I felt ill at ease. We’ll always be on the run because of the stupid link to the pack! Isilesah, how do we get rid of the bond with the pack? …Alpha blood…Only Alpha’s can take a Shifter from one pack to another. You were initiated before age but I’m sure it still works the same way. …Alpha… Well, the only Alpha I knew, with a pack that I’d like to be in, was Rexxie! Well that and the puppy! My eyes started to shut as I wondered how I was to find an Alpha that would help us. Perhaps it was a good time for the puppy to reappear, maybe he could…Help…Me…   ***   Wake up! Uh? Opening my eyes, I didn’t see anything and leaned my head back against a tree and frowned. I thought…That was a problem…How in the world have you ended up like this!? Taking a breath in, I finally found that something strange was going on… Puppy? …Mmm, it’s me, Sweetheart. I don’t know how you’ve done it, but I’m back with you again! Sitting up and rubbing my tired eyes, I really started to pay attention. Seeing that I felt a bit better, I wondered if the Puppy had helped heal me… The Puppy…Was here… You’re here! …I think we’ve acknowledged that! Sweetheart, we’ve been looking for you in the south east! Let me take over! Without further ado, I let him take over but…Found myself in the lead very quickly… Weird…I can see from here, but when I take over, I can’t. I had thought that your eyes were bad, but I hadn’t thought they were this bad! Confusing…   You can see? When I’m not in control, yes. Do you know where we are? Look around for me, please, Sweetheart. I did as I was told, seeing nothing, but I had a feeling that perhaps we might be able to get somewhere. Some hope entwined itself into my heart and these few weeks suddenly felt like nothing. With Alister, the wolf of my mate, here, I felt a lot better! All that ‘missing my mate’ feelings, had been cut down tremendously and I couldn’t help but be happy. I was really really, very glad that he was here! Calm down! I know, it’s good to see you too Darlin…But I doubt you are in the position to be careless right now! We got to get you back to safety, back to my master! I agree!

There was one thing good about all this, I decided to speak to one person…And that was the person that was green in my eyes. The problem was, the first idea that I thought that he was a spy, and was one of Rexxie’s men, had been wrong…He was a Shifter of this pack, the ‘Light Exalted Pack’, from the very beginning! Making my words immature and childish, the boy didn’t make a big thing of it, for which I was glad. We never really had too much time to talk, because I was always simply too busy with ‘chores’, but over a few times of being a ‘cutie pie’ or whatnot, I was able to get into his good books and he was willing to tell me things! He honestly thought I wasn’t listening, as I would play with his shoe lace or his buttons, but I paid a great deal of attention to whatever he said, which filled me in a great deal about what was going on here…   I found out that this pack used to be royalty, well ‘used to’ is probably not the right way to say it...The Light Exalted Pack was still royalty, it just wasn’t the one sitting upon the ‘throne’ right now. There was approximately two hundred in the pack, in which had astounded me very much, as I didn’t think it was that big! Apparently though, this boy’s mother was on a mission and his elder sister was also on a completely different mission, that led them both out of the pack…So, I guessed that quite a number of their pack was not here at the moment… I wanted to know what the missing members were up to, but didn’t want to ask and show them that they may be right and that I was aged beyond my years…So, I was in the dark upon what they could be doing… They still had the last King, and that was the ‘Alpha’…Which happened to be Rexxie’s cousin… He had been trying to get his throne back all this time but when his mate got pregnant, things turned more drastic and they had put in all their efforts to get me, so that they would have a big advantage over Rexxie! So not cool! Without being told the whole story, I was already biased against this Alpha, as he was cold blooded and selfish. Without a doubt, I was sure that he was kicked off his throne from a whole bunch of good guys, stating that he was not someone fit or worthy of looking after us shifters!     Over a space of another week, of grudgingly accepting my torturous chores and training, I found out more information about this so-called Light Exalted Pack! It was the fathers of both Rexxie and this Alpha ‘Mallick’ that were brothers, and that was how they were related. Alpha Mallick’s father was younger but had found a mate that was a Beta. While on the other hand, Rexxie’s father had been mated with a human and did not want to fight for the throne…Yet, I was not told the reason why… When the two brother’s father had died, he had bestowed the title of King upon Rexxie’s father, but with a threat and possibly something that I wasn’t told as well, Alpha Mallick’s father took the throne by force and had become the King of Shifters instead. Afterwards…Well I don’t know what happened, but Alpha Mallick, who had been King for about twenty years, had been forced off the throne…Which I think was karma and laughed at him wholeheartedly in my head…But since then, Rexxie’s father had taken the throne from Alpha Mallick and then given the throne to Rexxie… I think I missed out on a lot of gossip but that was all I got out of hearing everything and trying to put everything together… I could thank the lucky stars for this boy, named Pete, who told me most of this. I wasn’t sure if he meant to tell me or wasn’t fully there in the head, but his contribution really did help, and I hoped to come back for him when I left this pack. Some other details were from listening to what others stated but since I’ve had time to piece this information together, this was how I thought the story went…I suppose I could be wrong and placed the wrong information in somewhere, but the most valued point was…They were obviously wanting the throne back!   Anyway, this stupid pack is against stuff like human mates and omegas for some reason and they are building up their army and wanting what they call ‘retribution’ and what they ‘deserve’. I call one big bag of bullshit! They are greedy bastards that only think of themselves and want the best of everything! And there you have it, the antagonist of a book…I mean life…Or whatever this is! So, the villain has indeed showed themselves uh!? After finding this out, I did notice that there was not one omega here that was happy like the rest of the other bastards. As it was, there was probably six all up, and that was including myself… They were all like me and working all the time, doing all the shitty work, while the others just dicked around and twiddled their thumbs! Bastards! Omega’s are great! Yet…I seemed to be the only omega here that thought this…It was strange, because the omegas here had red, yet I think it was because they hated this pack or something. They must be angry, so I guess I should just stay away from them, just in case they lash out their anger out on me…   On the other hand, there was not one human here. I heard someone had been mated to one, but they had dismissed the bond completely and had marked one of the female shifters here instead. I don’t know how they did it! For me to have to say no to Rexxie and find someone else would pain me to no end and I really did wonder how much hatred they had for humans to think that this type of union was no good. What was so bad about human’s anyway!? I was human once and…Well, I suppose I can’t really go into much about it because I hadn’t been on this planet at the time… Remembering seeing a couple of humans within the place that Rexxie stayed, I was starting to wonder which one was normal or not…Even the pack, that my new mum came from, hadn’t had very many humans and had treated omega’s like crap… But, since I didn’t know what was normal, I still didn’t care. People…I mean shifters who can just dismiss someone because they were born into a different status were the ones missing out! I happen to be an omega and feel absolutely special to be with my destined mate. If others want to forgo their destined mate, isn’t it their loss!? Blah, wouldn’t the world be boring if everyone was the same anyway!? Why can’t they think better of the situation instead of being immature!? After that, I no longer worried that this pack was only for beta’s and alpha’s…At least for now…   Anyway, there was something else that I had decided this week too, and that was the fact of taking advantage of this ‘training’ to get stronger! Of course, at first, I was against it, especially with this two-year-old body! But in just a few days, I came to realize that I needed this training! I needed to be someone that was strong enough to run away! I still was that same person that didn’t think ‘what if’ this and ‘what if’ that, and if I had a problem, I would solve it! And this was me, dealing with the situation at hand. That, even if I found a way to escape, I’d need to be strong enough to leave! Who knows how long I’d have to run for, or who knows how long I’d have to hide! I needed to keep that in mind with each groaning push or hit that I receive and with each breath that I have trouble to take in, due to exhaustion! Yes, I must get back to Rexxie, at all costs! Who knows how much longer he can go on without me! He needs me! …And thinking like this was a really a good help, making me work extremely hard!   The recent gossip was that it’s been said that ‘they’ are looking for me, but it seems they haven’t been able to find me yet. When I say ‘they’, I guess the shifters meant Rexxie and his pack were looking for me…Man, I should probably find out what Rexxie’s pack is called… I honestly could not recall his pack name being used, most of the time it was ‘His Majesty’ and what not…Now that I think back, did Rexxie’s pack even have a name? Ah! How could I not know the name of my pack! Aren’t I the Queen!? Uh, they’ll understand, I’m only two! Right, just a little squirt, yes…And well, I’m so lovable that whoever they are, they probably miss me terribly! Even that girl I peed on! Oh…And that funny man by Rexxie’s side who gives me glares, he must miss me too! And dam right! So, they should! Yet, at the same time, I was worried…It’s going to be obvious, now that they were looking for me, that I meant something to Rexxie, and it would give this Alpha Mallick more ammunition against his enemy… I could only sigh to feeling completely special yet feeling at a loss at the same time!   I’ve also come to realize that being apart from my mate hurts just like the first day. That strange, unexplainable pain never goes away… I’d have trouble sleeping and would dream about him, only to wake and realize that he wasn’t anywhere close to being by my side. The dull ache never let up and I was constantly trying to not let it show, but sometimes, I was really down in the dumps! I hadn’t smelt his great smell for ages, nor felt his arms around me, making me hate the feeling of being insecure. Reading those books had only been the ice above water, or however you say it… What was he doing right now? That was the most common question in my mind. Was he eating properly? Was he safe? Did he miss the lovable me? Of course, he misses me! But then, who wouldn’t!? I know it sounds bad and all, but missing my new mother and father paled in comparison to missing my dearest Rexxie… It probably hadn’t helped that I’ve had a mother and father before, but really, Rexxie was my jam, my rock, my life…How could I place the same importance over my new parents!? My heart would probably break from being packed too much, if that happened! Plus, I can hardly take the loss of my mate by my side, how the hell would I feel if I felt this way towards my new mum and dad as well! So…I didn’t feel bad after thinking this…Yet, it didn’t change my circumstance at all…I still missed my dear Rexxie like there was no tomorrow!   I also got to meet this ‘Tangie’ fella too. He was Alpha Mallick’s Beta, and second in command, and he was all for the dreams of the pack! I was…Utterly surrounded by idiots… If they died right now, would they regret thinking and wanting so much ‘retribution’? …Probably not…Because when you’re dead…Well, I meant when you see your life flash before your eyes just before it, would they regret it then? I was never in the place of wanting revenge, even when I was run over in my past life on earth. I really don’t get it… If everyone wanted revenge over what took their loved one’s lives…Wow, I can’t imagine it… I was entertained for a whole day picturing these types of events! Instead of people getting revenge with people, I instead went to objects, like that of cars or bullets. People getting revenge with a fist, sounded a lot better than getting revenge with the person behind it. Oh well, after that I was back to keeping my eyes opened and trying to keep my mouth shut, waiting and biding my time for getting out of there!

I know I should focus on what was going on and how this future is told, but it took me awhile to get over the sight of seeing an end come to our dearest Rexxie… Having stopped, minutes went by as I collected myself and Isilesah was not too far ahead of me. We had both taken a great big shock and it ripped to our very core…It was simply something that we both obviously could not handle… Finally, having calmed down, we both searched the memory, helping each other overcome this sad outcome of the future. We had to change it! We had to find out what we had to do to change this future! …There seemed to be something on us, somewhere, and that little thing waited until Rexxie was in sight, and then…An explosion filled my sight, making me sure that it would be something that both Rexxie and I could not live through…Actually, it was quite an extensive bomb, it was even going to wait until a confined area to blow up, making me think that perhaps someone might be able to know the best time to make it go off! That’s right, it seems that this trap was put up, to let us go, so that we would bring the trouble to Rexxie ourselves! They had done something! When!? The only conclusion I could think of, is when we were asleep…Otherwise, I was pretty stomped… What and where was this little thing that would explode upon seeing Rexxie and being confined!?     Having no choice but to return back to the Light Exalted Pack, both Isilesah and I fell into a strange daze. She got depressed and I was trying to figure out a solution to our problem… We couldn’t go back to Rexxie…Well at least, we couldn’t go back right now. Even though we found a way out, a way that they hadn’t even come after us, we still couldn’t take this chance… Trying not to think of depressing thoughts, I fought myself to continue to find a way, find what it was that was on us! But it was extremely hard to see a good short-term future for us at the moment… We missed our beloved Rexxie a lot and knew that we were getting weak because of it…Yet, we can’t go back and let him die! It really was a messy situation!   I must find what is on us! But where do I start looking!? In the future sight, the thing ended up growing suddenly and then blew up moments afterwards…If only I could pin point the exact location… But my future sight was only of what my own eyes had seen in that moment and I only saw a tiny two seconds or less on this thing that came from me…Could I somehow slow the sight down? In my last life, I had not been able to know to much about my future sight, it just happened and I was ready to pay attention to it straight away…Of course, that had taken a lot of time to get used to, but seeing it from the age of nine, I had time to learn how to focus. Slowing my future sight down was never something I could do though… I thought about doing it so often yet could never accomplish it! All I could do was pay complete attention to my future sight when I saw it and go through the sight afterwards from memory. Nonetheless, if I want to try and slow it down, it was not the time to do so, we still had to get back to the pack before they notice that we had gone in the first place! Silently and discreetly making our way back to where we were supposed to be, I made myself to focus upon two things for the next two days…And that was to find what is on us and to look as though we had not left at all or even look as though we had accepted our fate here in the pack! In this predicament, I felt like this is all I could do!     While Isilesah sulked, I took over, making sure to stay vigilant. I watched as some strange glances went our way and was sure that they had probably already known that we had tried to escape. I see them talking at a long distance away, but even with my keener hearing then my last life, I could not hear what they were saying…Well, half of it wasn’t said in the open either, so there was no point in trying to figure it out… It looks like they were onto me being ‘older’ then how I looked, and I felt that perhaps they might change their plans or something…But, what I hadn’t expected was…They showed the path directly to me again, then…Showed me a map to how I could get back to Rexxie. Yes, I couldn’t help it, I looked at the map eagerly, wanting to know where I was and how to get back…But, I wasn’t going to fall for their trick! Until I remove what was on us, I was not going to return! I can’t…I can’t do that! There was absolutely no way that I could kill my mate! To this, I think they misjudged my abilities to see the future…Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if they never thought of me being able to do so, I suppose… So, this thorn will stay by their side and continue to poke them over and over again!   That’s right…I stayed! I stayed at this pack that was to the south west of Rexxie’s establishment. They were indeed not too close, nor too far… The pack that had helped the puppy and I to get to Rexxie before, when I was inside my new mum’s body, was to south east, so it seems we were closer then them…What made me think more though, was that…The map showed areas in circles surrounding this one, and I really wanted to know what they meant! But…At least now I knew where we were! And, I also knew that we couldn’t leave yet…So… I knew that I had no choice, so I wanted to make the best of the situation! I acted like I was wanting to stay, even calling that cruel woman ‘mummy’ with an innocent smile! To be honest, as soon as I had made my decision to stay and ‘act’ happy, I felt better…Of course, I was still was looking for this bomb that was attached to me but until I found it, I might as well have some fun! The cruel woman didn’t like it at all and kicked me, but it really only made me more determined to piss her off! Didn’t they want me to be like this anyway? They really only have themselves to blame! No one bullies and schemes against me and gets away with it! I seemed to have more fight in me now and them seeing this…Sort of made things worse! …Now they were thinking of making me a part of their pack… Ah, I must have acted way too good!   ***   At night time, when I was ‘sleeping’, I was finally able to look for this ‘bomb’. I got Isilesah to help me, both in wolf form and human form, yet, my skin was soft and didn’t look out of place. The only place that had a scar now, but had practically healed, was that of my shoulder… That…Was when I remembered what they had done and got angry once again…But, I also had a slight idea. What if…They had put this bomb into my shoulder? Keeping this in mind, and checking the rest of my body, with Isilesah’s help, I came to the conclusion that this ‘bomb’ must have been implanted when that person had pushed into my shoulder wound that day! That has to be it! Was that the reason they had me shift and fight? Had they thought of this back then? Of course! The more and more I thought about the sudden demand that I fight, the more it made sense that they had already wanted to put a bomb into my flesh! It’s not something that I should digest, as I could poo it out, no…They had gone that one step further and put it into my flesh, making sure that it stays with me until the time is right! After these questions, I also realized that I had not gone into the ring again, since that day…So they must have thought that after inserting this bomb, it was enough, that I was no longer required to fight in that stupid ring. So, that was probably the only reason that they had put me into the ring, so they had a chance to insert this ‘bomb’… Creepy bastards!   …The next question was, how was I to take it out without them knowing!? Not only would I have a new wound, that would state that I had done something to my shoulder, but they might know due to the bomb no longer being where they would think it to be… Do they have some kind of camera on it or something? Isilesah and I had a few chats about what we should do now and so I spent the next two days after that trying to find out information on this bomb, yet we found nothing… What to do? Do we attempt to leave again, get rid of the bomb somehow on the way and then go back to Rexxie? Or, should we try to get rid of the bomb before leaving, because then they won’t let it go off because it’s in their pack territory? Before I knew it…Having such a predicament on my hands and still being busy, another week went by…Making it now five weeks that I had been away from my mate, my family and my home…   ***   Isilesah and I tried to think of the best method to leave. She too worried of when and how we were to get rid of the ‘bomb’. We weren’t sure how big it was or if we could even find it, making us wonder how much damage we could do to our shoulder when we tried. With this thought, we thought it would be best to do this in the pack, as then we could heal before we ran away…But then, would the pack know that we had taken out the ‘bomb’ and just implant another one… It really was a predicament, because then we thought we should do it after we left, knowing that we might take a while to run far enough away, because we’d have to heal… But, as we tried to come to a decision, it became too late… Before I knew it, I was initiated into the pack…   The ceremony had not happened like that in the books, no, instead it seemed a rushed event and I was forced to drink the Alpha’s blood and bend to his will as my pack master… It sucked…I honestly thought I was worth more than this! What about a festival or something, you know a day in the year that people get off from working…But no…There wasn’t even an extra meal for me or some booze…Well, it’s not like a two year old could drink booze but still, having it on the table would have been like saying, ‘hey were having a celebration!’. The worst part though…Was that now my thoughts could be read when the pack members were in wolf form and I was too… They immediately tried to get me into my wolf, and I found that they had read my thoughts, as I could read theirs… Again, before I knew it, they acknowledged the fact that I was indeed above my years and that I was able to speak and interact with my wolf very easily…   Shutting down my thoughts as much as possible, I hoped that they did not know much more than that. I had never been in a predicament where my thoughts could be read, but in my last life, there were times that I didn’t want to ‘show’ what I was thinking and would revert to singing a song or whatever in my head. And that’s what I did…I sang songs while in wolf form…I also went on and on about how beautiful I was and how much I loved being in wolf form. Getting carried away with myself, on most times that I was forced to shift, I took a while to snap out of it once I shifted back to human again…As I found being human was something that they couldn’t read into my mind, giving me time to relax. I don’t think they know…I’m not sure, but if they knew that I had already left the pack once already, come back because of seeing the future and knew that I had a bomb inside of me…I’m sure they would act differently then what they were now!

Sweetheart…It’s time to get up… Uh? In the next instant, I finally heard a vehicle that was coming closer and closer… I hadn’t even heard it until now, but it was already nearly here! Oh…. Rexxie shifted to his naked human form and I covered my widened eyes with my wolf paws as soon as I could! …Whoa… It’s fine, Naomi, it’s his birthday suite, nothing fancy! Don’t overreact! I had to keep telling myself that I was only ‘two’ right now and that I should be acting totally different but…Yeah, nah…I wasn’t two! I really really tried to console myself but really…I still wasn’t used to seeing naked men! Hearing the vehicle slid to a stop, I felt myself getting picked up and smelt Rexxie’s scent, knowing it was him. Shift, Sweetheart, it’ll be easier. Tensing up, I uncomfortably moved to look at him and he smiled at me, “Don’t worry, there’s a blanket here.” In that case…   I shifted and just as Rexxie stated, I felt a blanket go around me and we got in the car…Or ute… “Sorry we’re late, Your Majesty. We came as fast as we could.” I looked out of the blanket, to see the person in the passenger seat turn towards us. I felt the anger in Rexxie’s aura and turned back to him, putting a hand to what I thought was his face. Sadly, my eyes were still only seeing blurs… Immediately, his aura changed, and he closed his eyes and put a hand over mine. “You’re safe. You’re safe…” I didn’t know if he was really talking to me or not… Was he…Consoling himself? Feeling his arms wrap around me tighter, I snuggled into him more and felt completely at peace. I hadn’t felt this much peace in so long! Ah…So nice… It was that nice that I was asleep in moments…   ***   “Finish tending to her first.” Hearing Rexxie’s voice, I blinked and squinted, trying to make out the blurry area in front of me. “Sweetheart, you’re awake!” Rexxie smiled at me and sat down. I felt someone touching me and turned towards my shoulder, wincing when I noticed that it was painful. A growl entered my ears and I turned to Rexxie, who had narrowed eyes to the one who was tending to my shoulder. Giggling, I put my other hand out to him and poked him. He took my hand straight away and played with my small fingers. “…I’m so sorry…”   Hearing Rexxie’s deep apology, I knew that he regretted just by the sound of his voice. He looked at me and then put his forehead down to my hand, “I’m so sorry, Sweetheart…” I dearly wanted to just jump onto his lap and hug the poor bloke…But I couldn’t. “Sorry for what?” “…You were taken, hurt…” Raising my eyebrows at him, I nodded, “That’s right!” Feeling and thinking of seeing him looking down and down casted, I laughed, “Was it you that let me get kidnapped?” “Most definitely not!” He directly answered. “Then was it you that hurt me?” I asked. “Most definitely not!” He said again. “So…You want to apologize for the people that did hurt and kidnap me? You want me to forgive them?” Seeing Rexxie blink and look confused, I laughed again. “Silly!”   Showing a very mixed emotion on his face, Rexxie slightly smiled at his precious mate. “I am not silly!” I laid back and nodded, “Yes you are!” Hearing a defeated sigh, silence entered the room as Rexxie tried to understand what conversation they just had… After another moment, he finally spoke again, “I’m sorry that I didn’t protect you and keep you safe.” That was it, that was what he was sorry for! Taking a deep breath, trying not to show that my shoulder hurt because of the other person doing something to it, I quickly said, “I get it, I’m your weakness and it might not be the last time something like this happens to me but…Rexxie, don’t misunderstand our connection. You don’t need to ask for forgiveness for something like this!”   “…Why not?” Rexxie asked, quite baffled. He regretted not paying more attention, he regretted not putting more security around and not even attempting to add her into their pack… Most of all, he regrets the kidnapping and not being able to get his most precious mate back for weeks! I looked back at his blurred face, missing the more in-depth version of it, and smiled gently, “I just know. I’m an all knowing being and am completely sure that your forgiveness isn’t needed for this…But you know what is?” Absorbed in her words, Rex intensely looked at Naomi, “What?” Letting out a smile, I said, “To get that pack to kneel and say, ‘Naomi is all knowing, Naomi is all knowing!’ Hahaha!” I don’t know why, but all that sad and bad time away just sorta flew away. I was happy…So very happy! And…I think I got him to smile…Yay!   Watching Rexxie shake his head at me and kiss my hand in his, I smiled, showing my teeth, “I grew, did you see?” Rex lost his smile and again remembered what he had missed out on. He knew he already had such a great gift of watching his mate grow up, but now he was greedy and not having her these weeks had made him angry, not just because she wasn’t around but because he wasn’t able to see anything new in her development. Before, he was already taking it for granted, knowing what she was learning and seeing that she could run for at least a minute…But when she had gone, he was at a loss because he never knew anything…Nothing…   He didn’t know what she was eating, how she was treated. He didn’t know if she had grown or what silly thing that she had done that day. He had missed her terribly and now…Now that she had said that, he couldn’t help but regret once again! “Silly.” My voice got his attention again and I watched as he looked at me with what my imagination thought as sad, puppy dog eyes. “I’m not silly!”   Again, smiling gently at the big man, that was my mate, I said, “Have you heard of the saying, ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’?” Rexxie frowned and didn’t say anything. I rolled my eyes and simply said, “I was so happy to see you! I’m still so damned happy!” With a huge smile, I looked at him…Only to wince and turn to the person handling my shoulder, glaring at him. Again, a growl entered the room. “Sorry, sorry, nearly finished!” The doctor stated. Breathing out quickly, I turned away from the doctor, and said, “Good, because then you can do the King!” “Yes, yes of course!”   Turning back to Rexxie, I smiled once again. “You might not be an Alpha, but you are indeed my Queen!” He stated, showing happiness to her attitude and watching her easily tell someone what to do…But what he liked most of all was that he was in her mind. She was obviously worried for him and wanted him to get tended to and to that he was extremely happy! His wounds were already healing anyway, so all he might need was to clean some scratches, so that they heal faster…It was her that he was worried about. His most beloved treasure was hurt!   He knew that Isilesah was exhausted, so her healing was going to be a lot slower than his. When his beloved, precious mate had fallen asleep and Alister and Isilesah had swapped back, they had been able to hide away for a couple of hours in a small type of trench. Rex had let his beloved sleep and was even able to eat something, while hiding away… In that time Alister was able to speak to Isilesah and had told her to try and heal, while she had the chance. Obviously, after healing and then having to defend herself, she was not going to be able to heal once again so quickly. Squeezing the hand in his a little tighter, Rex felt blessed to have them back…He was never going to lose her again!   Even with his struggles that he was having with the so called ‘throne’ was something he was willing to give up! The problem was, he was someone that wanted the best for Shifters as a whole and knew that stepping aside was not going to make things right! He had taken slight measurements already to make things better for Shifters and already he had received thanks…He was just going to have to become stronger and take proper precautions so that his beloved would not get taken again! “A Queen…” I was still dreaming over the word…The idea of it! A Queen… “Can’t I be a Princess instead? A Queen has more work to do!” I suddenly stated. “…Uh?” Rex was at a loss for words…If she were a Princess, then he could only be a Prince…   I laughed, hearing the obvious ‘what the hell?’ in Rexxie’s voice. “Don’t worry! Don’t worry! Queen is good, I’ll just demand time off every now and again then!” I said, waving my free arm about, only to make me feel pain once again. Again, an apology was said after an angry growl was heard from a certain man… “That one was my fault!” I stated, then laughed uncomfortably. “Doesn’t matter!” Rexxie stated, still sounding angry. I looked at the blurry figure of him and frowned, “Stop it! Really! It’s already feeling lots better! Geez, calm down!” “Sweetheart?” His sudden change of voice threw me off… What was wrong now?   “What?” “…Don’t be mad, please…” I heard him nearly whisper. “I’m not mad!” I said rather loudly. “…It sounds like you are! And you were frowning at me!” Rexxie said, I was sure that he was pouting…Dam I missed my eyesight! “I was frowning because you are making the doctor uncomfortable when there’s no need for it!” I said. “He was hurting you!” Again with the pout! Man, how long was it going to take to see this man properly? I wanted to see him pout so much! “Sweetheart?” Oh, I guess I didn’t respond to him! “I was just picturing you pouting because I can’t see properly still…” I blurted out. I heard a slight snicker and then the aura in the room felt chillier… What was going on now?   “I’m finished, Your Majesty.” I heard from the doctor, yet his voice was very small. Rexxie humphed and then the doctor continued, “At the rate that our Queen is healing, she might not be fully healed for at least another two or three days.” The doctor was uncertain as he was not used to having little children having their wolves already. For a normal child, it would take months and probably not heal properly until they would get their wolves at the normal age. But I already had my wolf and so he gave an estimate, hoping he wasn’t too far from the truth.   “I suggest that she doesn’t walk around though, in the case of tripping or bumping into things and making the healing process take even longer.” Feeling Rexxie let go of my hand, I then felt his hands under my armpits and felt myself drifting into his embrace. Holding tightly to the man, I smiled. “Thank you.” Was all Rexxie said, before I felt myself being taken away from the room. “Oh baby! You’re back!” “Mum?” I asked, looking at a blurry figure in front of me, just as I think as I left the last room. “She’s still healing.” Rexxie said. “I’m so glad you’re ok! Come and let me see you!” I heard my mum say but…I did not move from Rexxie’s side.   “She’ll stay with me.” Looking at the blurred face of Rexxie, I snuggled into him, not having the want to go to my mum. “Just for a moment, please, Your Majesty. Let me see with my own eyes that she is alright!” “She’s mine!” Putting a hand to his neck, I tried to calm him down, but it seemed that Rexxie’s message got through as my mum didn’t say another word. I’ll hug them later! Feeling myself being carried elsewhere, I heard my father’s voice soothing my mother but…I just had no want to be with them right now… No, if anyone needed me, it was Rexxie! I needed him to see that I was right here, with him…And not elsewhere without him.

  Hello everyone, I'm ohko, the author!   I'm dropping this message in the beginning because this novel is not a comedy. As you might have noticed from the ratings, it is quite polarizing and controversial.   This novel contains uncensored gruesome and graphic imagery that can be potentially triggering depending on your prior life experiences. Beyond the semi-light-hearted first chapter, the story is written with a realistic atmosphere, addressing multiple heavy and serious themes. The novel is rated mature and the content warnings should be taken seriously.   The protagonist is transgender and this story aims to present a fictional world of poverty through her eyes. Depending on your political or religious views, you may find some of the content in this novel to be offensive, disagreeable, or just plain repulsive.   I mostly write for my own self-expression, and not for any other particular purpose. In the end, this story really only reflects myself and my feelings, and nobody else's thoughts. Please do not take this novel as a sweeping commentary about broad groups of people. While the protagonist shares many similarities with myself, her viewpoints are not exactly identical to my own.   If you choose to continue reading, thank you for being understanding! In the end, I am only a novice writer, so I am always looking for feedback to help me improve!

Announcement Trigger Warnings: Graphic violence, physical abuse, nudity, and suggestions of rape. Please SKIP this chapter if you cannot handle GRAPHIC depictions of violence or are UNDER 18 years of age. This chapter establishes the traumatic and graphic nature of the world that the protagonist is dealing with and serves as a starting point (pit-bottom) for the growth and healing that is the focus of the rest of the story. This is not a comedic story, so please don’t read this expecting to find jokes or humor! D: Edited by Trismegistus Shandy.   When I blinked my eyes again, it was raining and the skies were dark. Around me, there was the pitter-patter of raindrops bouncing off cobblestone and gravel. The echo of water pounding against the hollow wooden rafters of the surrounding buildings seemed deafening. Yet, I doubted if it was actually that loud, as this couldn’t have been any heavier than a small evening rainshower. Rather, maybe my senses were heightened in this alien environment. Everything was too vivid and life-like, almost like this world was more realistic than reality itself. My skin felt cold and raw. I was soaked as if I had been wading underneath a lake, and thick strands of wet hair were plastered against my face. Water was getting into my eyelashes, and I blinked multiple times before I finally raised a hand to rub my eyes. My vision was blurry. The trace of rainwater in my mouth had a tangy and metallic taste. But mostly, it smelled awful. Yes, that was literally the first thought that crossed my mind. The thing that stood out to me the most was that it smelled goddamn terrible. On Earth, I’d grown up in a place with vast expanses of the Great Outdoors, so I remembered the fresh scent of rain blooming in the forest better than the back of my own hand. However, this place was nothing like that. The best way to describe the overpowering odor would be like being in a public restroom in the countryside of rural China. It smelled quite literally like poop. I looked down at my feet, which were incidentally barefoot on the gravel. I raised one leg and noted the faint brownish coloration of the dirty water that dribbled down my ankles.   My stomach fluttered at a certain sickening thought and I quickly looked around me to see if there was anywhere ‘safe’ to put down my feet. However, I soon realized that everywhere was the same. There were no sewers in this place. Clearly, this was the kind of world where people dumped their chamber pots out of the window and into the street. This place — it was a dark alleyway — the architecture around me seemed medieval. It was clearly some kind of city. The buildings were made of wood, and no house was taller than three stories. The style of the construction reminded me strongly of the timber-framed dwellings of historic urban Germany. The square frames, X-shaped buttresses, and whitewashed walls were all distinctive features. Where was I?   Frankly, I knew that was a stupid question, because I already knew the answer. God had sent me here. The only logical conclusion was that this was an isekai world of some kind. However, the question was what kind, and whether I should be concerned because I had clearly angered God? I finally looked down at myself. I immediately passed a subconscious sigh of relief, because the ridiculous boobs that God had started growing on my chest were gone. Instead, I was as flat as a washboard. But at least that wasn’t something I hadn’t already been used to. I also noticed I was wearing some kind of rags. An inverted oversized potato sack, it seemed? However, it was extremely worn down and full of holes. It skimpily provided just barely enough coverage, and furthermore, the cloth material was a little itchy. However, the main impression of myself that occupied the bulk of my thoughts was the fact that I was skinny. And not just ‘skinny’ like plenty of people are skinny back at home, but concerningly so. I was as skinny as bones, meaning that my skeleton was nearly showing. I could see the folds of my skin hug the outline of the bones in my forearm, and my wrists were so thin that I was literally afraid that they might snap. I had almost no flesh on my limbs, and I immediately thought of those pictures you occasionally see of malnourished children in Africa. Basically, I had been reincarnated into the body of a starving girl.   + + +   My self-examination was cut short by the sudden sound of multiple footsteps splashing through the puddles. I looked up into the dark alley, and heard some shouts I could barely make out in the distance. “Sdak dhu drooavk dlanavur!” (Stop that fleeing criminal!) “Thoav koddavk uvuav!” (They’re getting away!) Although it was clearly a foreign language I’d never heard of before, for some reason I appeared to understand the meaning of the words without a heartbeat’s worth of hesitation. Evidently, God had given me this ability without even mentioning it. Should that be taken as a reassuring sign that God didn’t hate me as much as I thought? I had gotten the impression that God was really angry when we parted, so initially I had been extremely worried that something especially ugly would be in store for me upon arriving here.   As the sound of footsteps running through the water got exponentially louder, I reflexively reached out and grabbed the blur of the little figure that nearly dashed right past me. They had been coming so fast that they sprayed poop-water into the air, much like a car splashes a curtain of water onto the curbside. However, my reaction time was even quicker. I seized their wrist and brought their sprint to a sudden jerking halt. No matter how I looked at it, this runaway figure couldn’t have been anything more than a child. Was this child a pickpocket? Stealing is bad, and it’s not good to let children develop such bad behavior. In this case, I definitely considered myself to be on the side of law and justice. A pickpocketing child should be chastised and learn from their wrongdoings before they grow old and it's too late for them to have regrets. For this reason, I intended to turn this young rebelling miscreant in to the authorities. Briefly, my eyes directly met with those of the fleeing child. I caught of a glimpse of their astonished face. It was a girl, I think. Probably no more than eleven or thirteen years old. However, what stood out to me the most was the sheer Terror in her eyes — terror like I’d never seen in a person before. Frankly, that extreme expression on her face shocked me to the point of speechlessness. Blankly, we stood there staring at each other for a few moments as I tightly held the child’s wrist in my grip. The girl broke the stalemate an instant later as she tried to shake herself free, shouting. “Lod dho didk ka!” (Let me the fuck go!) However, no matter how she tried, she couldn’t quite extricate herself from my grasp. She began to kick and flail and struggle, shaking her head wildly like her life depended on it.   It was right there that I had a sudden change of heart. I didn’t exactly have a strong reason for it, nor was it a decision based on logic or anything particularly rational. Frankly, I changed my mind solely because of a gut feeling. Some part of me deep inside just didn’t feel like it was right that a child could have so much overwhelming fear. It didn’t matter why. No child should have a reason to experience something like that. Without warning, I hauled the girl towards me and pulled her to the side of the alleyway. Earlier, I had spotted a crack in the crumbling whitewash that sealed the space between two buildings, and it was just large enough that a small child could just barely fit inside of it. Wordlessly, I shoved the girl into the crevice, and then I started pushing a large crate of some kind to cover the gap. This way, somebody passing by on the streets would have no inkling that a child was in fact hidden in the walls. Just as I finished shoving the crate securely into place, I heard the sounds of additional footsteps coming. Presumably, these were the police hot in pursuit. I turned around, my mind racing to fabricate a story about where the girl went and potential lines I might say. Currently, my goal was to misdirect them elsewhere, leaving us both alone. I had no idea, however, that things were going to get much worse.   + + +   I felt the side of my face slam against cold brick, sending stars and bright lights into my vision. Heavy coarse hands had a tight grip on my hair, yanking indiscriminately on my scalp and causing my eyes to water. A large figure that came flying from seemingly nowhere had tackled me and securely pinned me against the wall. I barely had time to catch my breath or get a good glimpse of my assailant before I was suddenly slammed with a knee in the stomach again, completely knocking the wind out of me. The man dragged me by my hair (ow!) before flinging me across the cobblestone ground. What the fuck?! Aren’t these supposed to be the authorities? Why am I being attacked without warning?! “Cukdv, dhavk vo duikhd avo dho livuvuav klakdadidok dlan dho rakhd kakdladd-lok.” (Capt'n, I think we've caught one of the runaway prostitutes from the red light district.) The man spoke nonchalantly as he drove his heavy fist into my chest once more, causing me to gasp from the inability to breath and my eyes to widen in blistering pain. Meanwhile, he pulled on my hair again, forcing my neck into a painful backwards arch. He chuckled. “Sho dlaok da kod uvuav dlan no dalkd, kid u dukd livvol. Voxol kaddh huk u dhuvdo, kok.” (She tried to get away from me at first, but I'm a fast runner. The bitch never had a chance, kek.) Wait! I’m innocent! You have the wrong person! Earlier there was another girl— Wait, how the heck is she supposed to be a prostitute?! Frantic thoughts raced through my brain, but my head was overflowing with dazzling pain and sparks of bright light. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I was struck across the face with an unsympathetic fist before I was able to croak an intelligible sound out. A few seconds and many beatings later, I was already writhing and gasping as terribly as my frail figure was bruised. Tears were freely flowing and I was trying to get words out every second I got a chance, but the man didn’t seem interested in hearing me talk. Instead, there was only a horrible mixture of involuntary shrieks and whimpers as I was abused and kicked around like a rag doll without a moment’s reprieve. And yet… the man demonstrated no sign of slowing down. I couldn’t erase the image of the sinister grin on his face and flashes of his flawless ivory-white teeth.   + + +   (Lieutenant Cuav, we don’t make a profit if you accidentally kill her.) I heard a second voice speak up from my bruise-covered and quivering position on the ground. (Yes, Capt’n! Don’t worry. I’ve only accidentally killed one or two before, rest assured that I’m better than average!) My assailant — the ‘Lieutenant’ — struck me without warning across my cheeks as if to casually demonstrate his point. e continued talking. (How much coin do ya think we’d get from selling this wench to the slavers, Capt'n? Oh, but wait, can I get a fuck out of her first? I'll be real quick. I like my girlies on the flat side, ya understand me, right, bro?) I was barely conscious enough to register this exchange between the two thugs, especially with my brain feeling like a constant fog and my ears ringing non-stop. However, the key words in the sentence manage to sink into me. Sell? Slavers? Sex? Wait, what? Everything was happening too quickly. I was confused. Everything hurt. I probably had a concussion. My scalp was still on fire and the tears were blurring up my eyes. Frankly, I was still in denial. I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me. It felt like barely hours ago that I was back at home, walking along to the train station and laughing with my friends. Typing away at my cell phone and messaging my boyfriend silly emojis like we always do. A heavy pair of muddy black boots suddenly came to a halt right in front of my face, right in the middle of a puddle. It was one of the few things I could see with the side of my face shoved crudely against the gravel, a fistfull of my hair securely bundled in a painful knot around the heartless hands of that hateful lieutenant. The rain continued to pour, rippling and splattering on the shallow pools of rainwater speckled across the street like islands. I could see the tip of a sword. n it, an elaborate coat of arms was engraved. It was sheathed and hanging from hips of the owner of the boots. I could only guess that this was the “Captain.” “I’m not the person you’re looking for,” I finally managed to catch my breath to croak out, my voice raspy and weak and barely audible. I’m not a criminal. “I’m innocent! There was a different girl earlier. Please let me go. Please!” I didn’t fully understand what was happening. I had thought that these two men were on the side of the law, or at least soldiers, but they seemed to behave more like thugs. Suddenly, there was a pause. Clearly, they’d heard me speak. (What is she saying? I don’t understand her. A foreigner?) the lieutenant said, confused. (......) Without warning, the Captain bent down and roughly tore away the piece of potato sack rag that was skimpily covering my torso in a single swift movement, leaving me completely bare. My desperate eyes rapidly flickered upwards towards the man’s face, virtually pleading and frantic. I didn’t comprehend why they couldn’t understand me. Was it the English? Did it not get translated when I spoke? However, the expression that I saw on the Captain’s face was completely unexpected. There was a grimace of complete, utter, and total disgust.   + + +   (Tch), he said, his voice bristling with annoyance as he slowly turned around. But then he immediately spun back and struck the “lieutenant” across the face with the back of his hand. A loud crack resounded through the alley as I watched the exchange between the two men in total shock. (You fool!) the captain roared in fury. He suddenly grabbed my left arm and dragged me to my feet. Shoving me around like a puppeteer with a rag doll, he pushed me centimeters in front of the other soldier’s face and started pointing all around my naked body, the remaining scraps of my rags fluttering to the ground as strips of destroyed cloth. (You see this?! And this?! And this?! Are you blind?!) The captain's gloved hands were practically shaking as his index finger gestured at random patches of skin throughout my body. At that point, I was finally able to get a decent look myself. Earlier, I’d only had the time to give myself one quick glance, so I hadn’t noticed that there were additional abnormalities to my body concealed underneath the rags. What I saw was quite surprising to me as well. It was weird and unnatural. Mutant. Macabre. Grotesque. There were bumpy and rough patches of purplish-black plaques scattered in random places on my pale-colored skin. I had some patches on my arms, thighs, neck, and an especially large cluster on the side of my midsection. They looked kind of like bruises, except they were clearly raised and rough-textured. If anything, I'd describe it kind of like patches of discolored alligator skin, although, to be honest, I’d never seen an alligator in my life. Apart from that, I was skinny as bones. I had no curves, was completely flat, dirty, and generally malnourished and repulsive. Ugly and disfigured — pretty much summed it all up. (This bitch is Diseased! And you still want to shag her, let alone sell her?! People told me you're 'slow', but this is beyond retarded!) The captain looked totally exasperated. At that moment, he shoved me away and kicked me aside in total disgust, as if he were handling feces. He held his gloved hands outstretched far away himself, as if afraid of accidentally contaminating himself, while he gingerly removed his gloves and threw the cloth at the ground like trash. (We caught the wrong person. We’ve lost too much time.) He gestured at me while talking to his partner. (There’s a standing order to kill any Diseased we find, but we don’t have time to dispose of the corpse. It’ll spread faster from dead bodies than living ones. The runaways take priority.) (Oh? I got the wrong one? But I was positive the prostitute was a flat one.) (Please just shut up. Use something other than your fucking dick as a brain for once.) (Yes, sir! I’ll take that into account, sir!) (We’re leaving.) (Yes, sir!) And just with that short exchange, they were gone. They didn't look back towards me once. Not a single word of apology or a shred of remorse.   + + +   A few minutes later, the crate in front of the wall budged. A little girl appeared from the crack. She walked over to where my broken body was crumpled, and looked down at me. Her eyes were unsympathetic and cold. (You’re Diseased), she said accusingly, as if that statement was the worst possible offense in itself. (People like you are the reason why the rest of us suffer so much.) Then she turned around and darted away.   + + +   My hands were quivering uncontrollably and I couldn’t make it stop. I couldn’t stop the waves of indescribable emotions streaming incessantly from my eyes. I couldn’t calm down, and I couldn’t erase the image of those men from my head. I… had nearly forgotten… what it was like to have this kind of trauma. I staggered to my feet, almost stumbling, my arms still trembling. I couldn’t stay sitting here, naked in the open. It wasn’t safe. I couldn’t allow myself to fall into the spiral of being a perpetual victim. I had to find a way to keep struggling, fighting, somehow. But was there any place in this isekai world that could be considered safe?   ∎

SYSTEM INDEX The following is a list of terms and explanations for certain aspects of the story that may not be explained well in the context of the story up to this point. It's not perfect, but then again, it's a WiP. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them.These Indexes will be made every so often (at least once a volume), to update information and clarify on things that may not have been clear at first.I want to try and put all of the Major Info Dumps into stuff like this, instead of like the last Interlude. That one turned kind of boring BWHAHAHAHAA! Tell me what you think. Item Ranking Low-Tier-- Common: Everyday, Mass produced items, nothing special about them.-- Uncommon: Common items that have been modified in some way or another. Uncommon items have been tweaked to perform a function slightly out of or above their intended purpose. Mid-tier-- Custom: Custom built items designed to fit the needs of their owner. The dividing line between a Custom ranked item and an uncommon item, Is the extent of the modifications. While an Uncommon item can still be grouped together with similar items, Custom ranked Items are their own beast entirely.-- Engraved: A Step above Custom ranked, Engraved ranked items have been modified by an Engraver Sigil, embedding a special program directly into the Item itself. Engraved items are often called “Magic” items due to their wide range of strange and powerful effects. High-Tier-- Relic: Powerful, highly advanced items and tools found within a Relic Ruin. The Inheritance from a long lost Civilization, the production method and effects of Relics are far beyond what is possible today.-- Myth: Items and treasures spoken of in Legends and Myths. These ancient items all have their own story to tell and may only show up once in a lifetime. It is said that Mythical items each have a will of their own, and choose their own Masters.------------------------------------ Coinage and Value Conversion0.10-USD = 1 weight = 1 Small Bronze1.00-USD = 10-W = 1 Large Bronze10-USD = 100-W = 1 Small Silver100-USD = 1,000-W = 1 Larger Silver1,000-USD = 10,000-W = 1 Small Gold10,000-USD = 100,000-W = 1 Large Gold Larger denomination exist as well, however they are almost never used by the common man, and are only seen during transactions between large Businesses or Countries. An average famliy of 4 can live comfortably for a year on roughly 60,000w in most medium sized cities. -------------------------------WORLD SYSTEM Basic Stat system, Class levels, but no Character levels, Class sigils. “Magic” and active Skills are performed by semi-organic, microscopic life forms (Magi) in the environment and instructions encoded into “Sigils” which designate “Class”. As the “information” (exp) in a Sigil increases, so does its functions, allowing it to relay more complex instructions to the surrounding Magi. Passive Skills are modifications done to the Body by internal Magi, according to the information drawn from an active Sigil. Magi: Magi are microscopic, semi-organic organisms that exist throughout the world. These creatures are the tools used by God to shape the world, and they have the power to influence the natural laws of reality. To do so, however, they must draw “Energy” in the form of "Metabolic Power" (MP) from a host. Magi take 4 main “forms” that all interact with each other in different ways. Core (Environmental) Magi, Miasma, Internal Magi, and Plasma -- Plasma: Plasma is the newborn, immature form of Magi. They congregate into large clumps of visible light called “Wisps”. These Wisps will remain near their birthplace in large numbers. Because of Plasma’s unsettled nature, they are extremely unstable and can react violently when stimulated. “Wisp pools”, the natural springs from which Plasma is born, tend to be extremely dangerous areas with unstable environments and powerful Monsters feeding on the young Wisps. However, these springs are also integral to the natural order of the world, so much so that they are recognized at protected sacred lands by every nation in the world. A Land who’s Wisp Pool is destroyed, will soon wither and Die. -- Core Magi: Core, or “Settled” Magi, is the most stable, mature form of Magi. Once magi reach the mature phase of their life cycle, they “Settle” into their environment, taking on the properties and nature of that area. Magi that settle in the Ocean will be better able to manipulate Water. Magi that settle in the Earth are able to shift Stone, etc etc. Core Magi can be instructed by the Super Computers call “Sigils” to perform certain tasks, according to the instructions stored in the Sigil resulting in the phenomenon called "Magic". -- Internal Magi: Internal Magi are Core Magi that have settled into the body of a living being, Human or otherwise. Internal Magi do not take on any set properties, but rather grow and adapt to their host. A Person, who spends a lot of time near the water, may find their Internal Magi taking on a more water-centric nature, where someone who mines for a living, may find their Magi more attuned to the Earth. Internal Magi take on a symbiotic relationship with their host. The Magi will slowly rebuild their host's body to better fit their experiences and abilities as they grow, taking the form of “Passive Skills”. This rebuilding can supplement itself with information from that life form’s Sigil, creating what is known as a “Unique Skill” constructed from their life experiences. Normal Passive Skills can be acquired by anyone, however, Unique Skills are one of a kind. -- Miasma: Miasma is the stagnate, rotting remains of dead Magi. Under normal circumstances, when Magi die; they will be reabsorbed by nearby Wisps and used to birth new Plasma. However, under special circumstances, such as deep underground or in lands where the Wisp Pool is no longer functioning, clouds of stagnating “miasma” will form. While harmless on its own, Core and Internal Magi that are exposed to Miasma for extended periods will mutate into a dangerous, viral form. These Miasmic Magi will latch on to any lifeform they touch, twisting and reshaping them into a “Malignant”, a mindless killing creature that will attack anything not its own, and reshaping the Environment into a twisted mockery of its former state. Malignants will also continuously produce further Miasma, “infecting” the surrounding Magi as they move. While Malignants can be very dangerous, they are unable to survive long in large concentrations of Plasma. As soon as Miasma is detected by a Wisp Pool, they surrounding Wisps will attack the Miasmic Magi as though they were dead magi and reabsorb them. Thus it has become practice for Adventures to carry a “Wisp Lamp” when adventuring to protect them from Malignant infection. Sigil: Extremely advanced Computer-like existence that takes the form of a pattern inscribed on a person’s Body and Soul. This pattern contains a huge amount of information (far more than even modern computers are able to handle), and interfaces directly with a person’s brain, allowing them to give instructions to surrounding Magi. The more information that the Sigil contains the higher level privilege (Sigil level) and thus the more complex instructions (Active Skills/Magic) one is able to give to the Magi, and the more detailed changes (passive skills) Internal Magi are able to make. Most people are born with what is called a “Blank” Sigil. Blank sigils are able to store info but cannot grow, acting more like a storage device than anything else. Through a “Baptism” a Sigil can be programmed based on that person’s Life experiences and wishes to that point, and can evolve and change as they grow. Blank sigils tend to follow a predictable pattern; someone who is physically active may obtain the Warrior Sigil with it eventually evolving into a Solider or Knight sigil. The Greatest advantage of a Blank sigil is its ability to change and adapt, evolving to meet its host's experiences and skills. Certain people are born with special “Inheritance” Sigils that already contain programming installed. These Inheritances differ in that they cannot be overwritten. They can be passed down from parent to child, meaning Inheritances tend to play a major role in nobility and succession. While Inheritances can evolve just like a blank sigil, it is far more rare and unpredictable. 4 Types of Sigils-- Body: Focus on physical changes to the body-- Mind: Focus on changes to the Brain and nervous system-- Spirit: Greatest connection to the Magi, and allows the broadest use of “Magic”.-- Composite: Combination of 2-3 of the above, however their strength in each area is not as great. Character Sheet Templates:All Numerical stats and Information are nothing more than units assigned by the host's internal Magi, and do not represent absolutes. Someone with 30 STR might be able to overpower someone with 40 STR, if they were able to properly use their strength to the best of its ability. In the same vein, Skill levels do not effect a person's ability themselves. Instead, they are a representation of that Person's general level of understand and talent in that field. Someone with Weaving lvl-1 would be a novice or hobby sower with little experience, while someone with Weaving lvl-7 would be an experienced seamstress with years of knowledge. Thus, Skills by their nature, have no upper limit to their lvl, though it is typically accepted that "Masters" tend to float around lvl 13-15. The exception to this rule, are certain passive skills such as Resistances, since these tend to be artificial modifications preformed by Magi. ┌~~~~~~~~~~＜Status＞~~~~~~~~~~~ │Name: Character Name│Race:│Age:│Active Sigil: The current activated “Class”. Only 1 Sigil can be active at a time. Sigils that have been “deactivated” are remembered by the Soul, but active skills cannot be used.│State: Active effects (Pos/Neg)││Sigil Level: Level of Active Sigil│HP: Total Life force; 100% = peak condition. 90% = slight injury, 75% = painful injury, 40% = debilitating Injury. Continued heavy action will cause damage, 20% Critical condition, <5% = fatal without treatment.│MP: Metabolic energy stored in the body. Used by Magi to warp the laws of reality. 1 Unit of MP is the equivalent energy needed for an average grown man to lift a 100lb object to chest height. MP can be restored with food and rest. Excessive use will drain the body of resources and will leave the host hungry, tired and sore. As the Internal Magi reconstruct their host’s body, energy storage will become more efficient, leading to a larger pool of available MP. However, for the same reason, the condition of the Host’s body can lead to a decrease in the total MP pool, if they are not able to retain that energy.││STR: Qualitative numeric value of a Life-Form’s muscle power. High values indicate more developed and complex musculoskeletal system, thus allows that life-form to demonstrate more physical power.│END: Qualitative numeric value of a Life-Form’s Regenerative power and body density. High values indicate an ability to ignore and heal from damage to a higher level. Increases HP.│WILL: Qualitative numeric value of a Life-Form’s mental capability and reasoning ability. A higher value indicates a larger intelligence, as well as a greater ability to instruct Magi.│DEX: Qualitative numeric value of a Life-Form’s flexibility in Mind and Body. Higher values indicate the ability to quickly analyze and react to the environment. Large values Increase the senses.││ACTIVE SKILLS:│A complex set of instructions constructed by a Host’s Sigil. Used to communicate with Core Magi and preform metaphysical abilities. Active Skills require the host to supply the Magi with Metabolic power (MP) in order to function.│PASSIVE SKILLS:│Modifications to the Hosts body performed by Internal Magi on a fundamental level. Can effect such things as muscle density, explosive power, brain functions, and even energy storage.│UNIQUE SKILLS:│Under special conditions, the Internal Magi of a Host may use that life forms experiences and memories stored in their Sigil to construct a completely new Skill. Since these skills are constructed using the data from their own past, these skills are unique to the host and can take on a wide range of forms, passive or Active.

Announcement The painting is “wilted tulips”, by Annemiek Groenhout (Saatchi Art). Edited by Trismegistus Shandy.

[Author's Notes: The Chapters from here onward, are Machine Edited, so I don't expect them to be perfect. If you see anything that looks or sounds weird, please speak up!]======================================================================================= Chapter 12 : Inheritance (Part 2) ​ About an hour later, Caroline walked through the office doors, a pair of fresh but otherwise plain shirt and pants on, similar to what she’d worn before, though thinner. The group sat in a small sitting area at one end of the office, drinking the light tea that a secretary looking lady had delivered a while ago. Caroline walked over to them and sat down in one of the large leather chairs, not even bothering to greet them before pouring herself a cup of now cold tea and leaning back to relax. Mark couldn’t help but feel that though they looked quite similar, Caroline and Grace had a completely different air about them; Grace had a gentle and flowing nature that made you want to simply nod your head at whatever she proposed, while the woman in front of him seemed rough and unstoppable as a glacier, compelling you to obey. Though despite these seemingly contradictory natures, one couldn’t deny that they were Mother and Daughter. She sipped on her tea for a moment in silence, before speaking, slightly annoyed, “Well? Tell me the Story…” Alex chuckled nervously as he launched into his tale for the fourth time. At this point, he had gotten it down so well, Mark laughed to himself as he thought that maybe Alex should take up a job as a Storyteller instead. Caroline’s face hadn’t change a bit as Alex spoke, and when he finished, she sighed and laid the cup down. As she did, Mark noticed that the thick glass cup had several spider-web fractures spreading out from five clear indents in its surface. Caroline looked over at Selah and spoke in a low voice, “This is troubling. On more than a few levels. I assume that your Sister has already begun preparations?” “Yes, Mother.” “Good. We can leave it in her hands for now. If worst comes to worst, I can contact Brother. Merry, come here.” At the Woman’s call, Merry gave a jump and slid from her space between Alex and Mark, before walking over and standing in front of Caroline. Caroline simply looked at the girl with a blank look and grabbed her chin, turning it from side to side as she examined her. Letting go of her face, she grabbed Merry’s arm and placed her fingers on her wrist. Caroline frowned slightly, before turning the girl around and pulling up her shirt to reveal her back. Merry blushed slightly as Caroline pulled several thin pitch black needles an inch long, from somewhere Mark couldn’t see. Caroline stared down at the needles and Mark was amazed to see them begin to give off a light white glow. They shook for a moment and then one by one began to float in the air. Before aligning themselves and then as fast as lightning, the thin black needles plunged into several places on the small girls back. Merry only gave a slight squeal as she felt something akin to an ice chunk touching her back and then a soothing warmth began to spread out through her body. Mark could only stare out in amazement as he watched. The little girl’s body flushed red and some of the lighter bruises began to clear up at a visible rate. After a while, the needles were pushed out one by one and felt to the floor, before crumbling to dust. Caroline gave a sigh and said in a tired voice, “I’m no healer, but I can at least get rid of some of the pain. Don’t try and push yourself, runt, you still need a few more days of rest.” Merry gave a quick nod before turning around to head back to her spot. She stopped halfway through, and turned to Caroline, looking as if she wanted to say something. Caroline looked at the struggling girl before raising an eye and giving her a look that said ‘just say it already’. Merry Looked down, and then reached into her carry bag, pulling out a small box and handing it to the woman. Caroline looked down with a frown for a moment, before slowly opening the box. Her eyes went wide in shock at first, then a gentle light replaced the cold chill. Inside on a cushion sat a small shard of metal, as black as night but with tiny specks of green and blue mixed in. On the inside of the lid, sat a small folded note, the words ‘Happy Birthday’ scrawled in messy handwriting on the front. Caroline gave a gentle smile completely unlike the ones before, causing Mark’s heart to flutter. She leaned over and softly kissed the little girl's forehead and petted her head, speaking in a soft voice, “Thank you.” Merry blushed and quickly retreated back to her spot on the couch between Mark and Alex. When Caroline raised her head back up, the same old cold icy look had returned. Selah watched over with soft eyes, though as she watched her mother read over the small note, a mischievous light flashed in them. She grinned slightly and spoke to her mother in a teasing manner, “Hoho, isn’t this great Mother? It must be nice to still get presents even at your age.” “Shut up Girly. I am still a young woman.” “Young Woman? Is that really something a cradle robber like you should be calling yourself?” “C-cradle robber? How dare you, you little..... Your father and I are only 15 years apart!” “And Father will be 142 next May. Doesn't that mean you just turn….” “Don’t you dare!” Mark gave a sigh as he watched the two go back and forth, Caroline’s normally cool and calm attitude crumbling as her face went red at her Daughters jabs. As they continued on, something clicked in Marks mind, as he realized something strange. Did he mishear? Tilting his head in confusion, he stealthily focused on the red-faced woman sitting across from him and activated Examine. ~~~~~~~~~~＜Status＞~~~~~~~~~~~ Name: Caroline Whitewood <Myth-Forger>Race: DwarfAge: 157Active Sigil: Earthsinger Sigil Level: 78HP: 8,000/8,000MP: 14,556/17,250 STR: 375 (30 + 65 + 5 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 100) END: 165 (20 + 65 + 5 + 25 + 50)WILL: 485 (20 + 390 + 5 + 25 + 50)DEX: 415 (40 + 195 + 5 + 25 + 50 + 100) ACTIVE SKILLS: Earth Pulse Needle, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???........PASSIVE SKILLS: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???........UNIQUE SKILLS: Deep Priestess, ??? ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Author’s Notes: Remember, status numbers (HP, MP, STR, END, WILL, and DEX) and are more like digitized Information, rather than some physical force like you might see in other novels. The numbers are a generalization so that overall ability can be understood at a glance. A quick tip for understanding the number. While numbers vary, the average adult male will have stats around 10, with each 10 after that representing roughly a 50% increase in ability (I.E. someone with 100 STR would be as strong as 4 “normal” men). The First number is that person’s “Natural” state, before any modifications. The second bolded number is modifications done by the sigil as it increases in level. The italicized numbers after the second, are modifications by passive skills. Any number that is BOTH bolded and italicized at the end are Temporary effects from buffs or active skills. Again, take the numbers with a pinch of salt, there IS a pattern and method to the idea, but they are more here as a guide rather than an Absolute. ] Looking at the screen Mark could feel his eyes bulge. He still didn’t know what the standard of this world was, but even he could tell that these numbers were not normal. Tsutsuji who was sitting on Mark’s shoulders, looked at the screen with a frown, being the only other one in the room that could see it. She leaned over and spoke in a low voice, unusually serious. “As expected of Myth-Forger Caroline, abnormal is the simplest word to describe her. All of the Whitewoods are Insane. You’d best step your game up Mark, there are plenty of powerful people in this world. If you don’t want to be walked on, then you need the power to back up your words.” Mark’s hand tightened into a fist at Tsutsuji’s words. It was kind of ironic; in his old world he was fairly confident he could protect himself, but ever since he arrived in this world, he started to become more and more aware at how weak he really was. Scanning the information once more, Mark confirmed what he had suspected before, but as he opened his mouth to ask, Tsutsuji beat him to it, “It’s the Magi. In your world, your bodies were governed by the natural laws and aged accordingly. In this one, a person’s internal Magi are able to make repairs and sustain the body for much longer. The average Human lifespan for a healthy adult is close to 200 years. For Dwarves and Elves who are naturally born stronger, they live a little longer, 220-225 years. 230 if they are lucky. The Relickin are a bit different, they technically have no determinate lifespan, though without proper care they may only reach 400. Congratulations Mark! You’re a spring chicken again! As for her looks. That’s because she’s a Dwarf. The Dwarves were engineered as manual laborers, and old workers are just a drain on your resources. Dwarves stop aging at their optimal state; for females their early to mid-twenties, for males their mid-thirties. There’s an old saying, ‘Elves may be eternally beautiful, but Dwarves are eternally young.’ ” Human, Elves, Dwarves and Relickin, the four major races of this world. Mark remembered reading about them in Merry’s Book. Elves and Dwarves were said to be branches of the human race; mutations caused by the selective breeding and genetic modifications of the Ancients in order to produce better and stronger workers. Collectively, they were “Mankind”. The Relickin, on the other hand, were something different; semi-organic artificial life forms, said to be someone’s attempts at mimicking the Magi, though somewhere along the line they gained sentience and life of their own. Mark found his thoughts wandering as the Mother-Daughter pair was still going at it, when his eyes landed on Selah, and he found himself wondering. Just as he was about to activate Examine again, Alex spoke up in a curious voice, “I’ve actually been wondering this for a while, but from the stories I’ve heard Mrs. Caroline, You and Matthew only had one Child, Grace. So who…” Caroline and Selah stopped their banter and stared at Alex with a strange look, causing him to sweat slightly before Caroline gave a sigh and nodded, “Correct. Officially, Grace is our only child. Selah, she’s…” “I’m adopted.” Selah spoke in a neutral voice, crossing her arms as she gave Alex a look that dared him to say something about it. Caroline gave a nod and spoke in a voice as if reminiscing about something, “In fact, it’ll soon be 20 years since a dirty little rug-rat no older than Merry showed up on my forge floor.” “I wasn’t that dirty!” “Really? I distinctly remember having to cut clumps of mud and twigs from your Hair.” Selah seemed unable to retaliate and stomped her feet and she puffed her cheeks out and fumed at her Mother. Alex paled a little as he bowed and spoke out quickly, “I-I’m Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry into private matters!” “No, it's alright boy. It’s more of an open secret really. Officially, Selah is my Elder Disciple, though it has been a long time since anyone in the city has thought of her as anything but a Whitewood. Mostly it is to keep those wolves in the Capital at bay; they’d just love to sink their teeth into a little princess. I am thankful that Grace is a little too ‘Hot’ for them to handle, so at least I don’t have to worry about her. This one, on the other hand…..” “Mother!” Selah’s face went another shade of red darker, almost blending in with her hair, as Alex nodded his head in understanding. Selah took in a deep breath and breathed out slowly, trying to calm herself. Slowly, her face cooled down and she looked up at a nearby clock, “Mother, we have to move on to business. We don’t have much time before we have to leave.” Caroline looked up at the clock after her Daughter and nodded her head, “Yes, let’s head to the Vault. We can continue there.” She gave a sigh and stood, motioning for them to follow her. Mark and Alex stood up confused as they followed after, Tsutsuji riding on Merry’s head as the little girl walked behind, hand gripping Mark’s coat. ------------------------------------------ After walking through a seeming maze of hallways and rooms, the group finally arrived at a large door at the back of a smaller room. The Door looked heavy and thick, the distinct grainy luster of whitewood peeking out from the peeling paint. Caroline reached out and touched a nearby brick, and as if the brick was made of clay, pulled out a small metal key from inside. Instead of inserting the key into the keyhole on the door, she turned the key around and touched the butt-end to several places on the door in rapid succession. There was a series of clicks and the sound of metal grinding as the wall nearby slid to the side and revealed a long narrow staircase descending into the depths. Not only was there a Dummy Lock and hidden key, but it seemed even the Room on the other side was just a diversion. What could be down there that required such security? The group entered in the hidden entrance and they descended down into the depths. They arrived at another door shortly after, and as Caroline opened it up and ushered the group in, she spoke in her normal cold voice, “This is the Whitewood Vault; we store my best works and the more valuable Relics in the city here. Matthew asked me to open it up as part of your reward.” “Mrs. Caroline, like I told your Husband, there is no need for something like this. I didn’t do what I did to ask for a reward.” Alex shook his head at her words, though his eyes lingered on the rows of glistening swords lining the Wall. Caroline gave him a cheeky grin and spoke like a salesman, “Now, don’t be like that. This isn’t just a matter of your pride. What would we say if it got out that the Whitewoods don’t repay their debts?” “Right, Right, like Mother says. You’ll be doing us more harm than good by refusing this small token.” Selah nodded her head in agreement with her Mother, a serious look crossing her face. Double teamed by the ladies, Alex could do nothing but sigh and begin to look around the room in earnest, though it wasn’t long before he became entranced by the various pieces of equipment stored in the room. Tsutsuji soon followed and the pair looked like a couple of children stuck in a candy shop. Selah chuckled lightly as she watched, then noticing Mark had yet to move, she asked in a questioning tone, “Not going to pick anything?” “No need.” “What, you think this old blade is better than something Mother can make?” With a practiced hand, she drew the old rusted blade hanging on his hip, giving it an ugly look. Truth be told, it was the opposite. Mark was a soldier, yes, but he specialized in unarmed combat and survival. He’d never even picked up a real sword until about a week ago. Unless they had a rifle stashed somewhere in this room, there wasn’t anything in this room he could make good use of. The most he could say was that he was confident in the throwing skills he’d trained in the Army as a pastime and the Bo-Staff training he’d picked up while studying his Martial Arts. As Selah held out the old blade, Caroline gave it a queer look, and plucked the blade from her Daughter’s hands, looking over it with strange but serious eyes, before asking Mark in a low voice, never looking away from the blade, “Where did you get this…?” “Off one of the Forest Goblins that attacked the girl. Don’t know where it got it.” “A Forest goblin, hu? Humm…” She looked at the blade for a long moment, lost in thought, before sheathing it at Mark side and spoke out, “Either way, you’d better choose something else. You’re not fit for a blade, judging by your hands. What do you prefer?” Mark looked down at Caroline in silence, slightly impressed that she could tell with a casual glance. He finally gave a sigh and spoke out in a resigned voice, “Staff.” “Staff is it. Humm.” Caroline looked down to the floor, hand on her chin before seeming to come to a conclusion. She stood straight and immediately walked to the back of the room and moved some things around. After a while, she seemed to find what she was looking for and pulled out a large, long box, then walked back. She placed the box on a nearby table and opened it up, dust flying out as she did. Mark leaned over and looked inside to see. A Stick. A long solid Whitewood branch, slightly gnarled and rough with age. It was roughly 8 foot long and as thick as a man’s calf. Mark looked down in confusion as the thing that could be called more a log than a staff. It was ugly as an old dried bone, but he found himself strangely attracted to it like he was seeing a long lost friend. Caroline looked down at the branch fondly and spoke in a sad voice, “It used to belong to a dear friend. Long ago. But it’s never found anyone it’s taken a liking to after her. How about it, want to give it a Shot?” Mark looked down at that gnarled branch for a moment, the strange feeling again overtaking him. He swallowed, then slowly he reached down and grabbed firmly onto the branch. As he made contact with it, Caroline’s eyes seemed to light up but quickly dulled as if not seeing what she was expecting. Mark was about to lift his hand when he felt a slight quiver run through the branch, then strangely it began to twist in on itself, like a towel being wrung dry. Caroline’s face lit up again as a small smile played over her icy face. Only a moment later, the large branch had shrunk down to 6 foot long and only 3-4 centimeters thick. The dense grain pattern on its surface was as smooth as glass and its length as straight as an arrow without a single flaw. Amazed, Mark reached down and lifted the strange staff out of the box, grunting slightly as it was far heavier than he thought it would be. As he held it in his hands, it felt comfortable, like it had always belonged there. Gripping the staff in both hands, he quickly moved through several forms testing out the balance and feel. Despite how heavy it was, Mark was surprised at how easy the staff moved, it almost seemed as if it was doing half the work itself. As he finished his forms, Caroline gave light applause as he stood to the side, her eyes still icy and cold as ever, but a slight smirk crossing her lips as she spoke, “Bravo. Good job. I’m assuming that it is up to your standards?” “….Yes.” Mark once again looked at the strange staff in his hands, before nodding and giving his answer. On a whim, Mark focused his mind on the staff and activated Examine, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Penitence Quality: EngravedOrigin: UnknownQuarks:--- Dense: made of super compressed Whitewood, this staff is far harder (and heavier) than normal. It takes great skill and power to properly use such an unwieldy thing. [Requires Long-Weapon lvl 6]--- Will (lvl-1): Over the years, this weapon has taken on a slight will of its own, allowing it to predict its wielders intent and assist them as needed. Only usable by those that it has acknowledged.--- ???--- ??? Index Entry: A specially made Staff carved from an ancient Whitewood. The Staff’s original owner was said to have been a traveling Monk who would appear in times of need, but only the Staff itself knows the truth of the matter. ~ A vow fulfilled, a debt forgotten, a life changed. ~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mark stared at the Staff for a long while, deep in thought before he was roused by the sound of Selah’s voice, “Well, now that we seem to be done here, how about we continue on with our tour of the city?” Mark looked up to see that the others had gathered near the doorway. He quickly glanced over them, curious as to what they had chosen. Contrary to what Mark was expecting, Alex didn’t choose a new Sword. Instead, on his arm was strapped a medium sized shield. At first glance, it appeared to be solid bronze, with a few specks of azure tarnish on it and engraved with a detailed image of a towering windswept mountain. However, there seemed to be more to it than just a pretty picture; Alex moved around with the large shield as if it weighed nothing at all, easily swinging the arm through the air as he tested his movements. Tsutsuji desperately clung to a large crystal, almost as big as herself, glancing into the nearby shadows suspiciously as if each one contained a thief. Mark didn’t know what it was, but if it was stored down here, then he doubted that it was something normal. Even Merry, it seemed, had been allowed to take something, though carefully guided by Saleh so as not to stumble on something dangerous. Unsurprisingly what the young girl carried in her arms was a small book the size of a notepad. It was a strange, crude thing, its cover made of hard whitewood and its binding seeming to be raw fiber. Even the paper look crude and low quality, but strangely the whole thing gave off an air of freshness as if it had just been made the other day. The group gathered together and headed up the stairs, Caroline closing the doors behind them.

Announcement Warnings: Nudity, offensive language. Edited by Trismegistus Shandy.   “And in summary… your verdict is Hell,” God spoke casually as he cleaned his nails. My fists tightened at those words, my fingers biting into my skin. It wasn’t fair. Life was so unfair.   Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised to discover that God was actually a hard-right conservative religious zealot.  As it was according to the literal text of the ancient rulebook, homosexuality, sodomy, and all of those controversial LGBT topics were classified as automatic tickets to Hell. I was promptly informed of this indisputable fact shortly after arriving here in the afterlife. However, I had really thought that Heaven would have modernized slightly by now. I had poured all my faith during my dying moments hoping that God wouldn’t be so… binary. I’m transgender. I died because I tried to stop my friend from committing suicide on the train tracks, but instead we both fell down into the path of a speeding train. I hate the idea of just becoming a statistic. It frustrates me more than anything that people only see that I’m transgender, so I’m not remembered as anything else. Does nothing else in my life matter? What about all the things I achieved, and all the people I loved?   “To be honest,” God broke my monologue of thoughts, “I don’t have anything against you personally. It’s just that rules are rules.” He shrugged as he stood up from his throne. “Did you know that I don’t actually make the rules?” God continued as he walked towards a long gallery of paintings that lined the infinite hall of this heavenly chamber. “It makes it a huge pain in the neck for me, y’know? It’s annoying as hell to constantly make Heaven and Earth appear and function like the way believers think it will.” His feet stopped at the first painting, and he tapped on the glass cover while looking at me. “You like anime, so you should be able recognize this poster.” “KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World?” I responded hesitantly, quite lost on how the conversation about the judgement of my soul had suddenly derailed to talking about popular Japanese isekai anime. Was God an otaku? Somehow, the imagery didn’t quite seem to match up. “That world is real. And it’s also my responsibility to manage that universe too.” “But it’s just a fictional anime,” I retorted, feeling quite skeptical of what I was being told. That particular series was not even a remotely realistic anime, and it was full of sleazy and and trope-filled characters. It was a harem anime as well, and I was always bothered by how artificially all the female characters acted. Women don’t actually behave like Megumin or Dustiness Ford Lalatina in reality, and the setting of that world was clearly something imagined by young otaku men to fulfill their 2D fantasies. “Yet people believe in it, so it exists, and it’s God’s job to turn Faith into reality,” God answered. At that point God pointed his finger towards me, his aura menacing and heavy. “You come from Earth, and the beliefs of the majority of your people dictate that you will go to Hell, so that is the fate you shall receive.” An ominous pentagram and summoning circle suddenly started forming underneath my feet. Instinctively, I began backpedaling, but quickly found that I was trapped inside of an invisible wall. I looked back up towards God in the midst of my plight, but my eyes were mostly blank. I guess, in the end, I couldn’t win against the whole world. Should I be surprised? Honestly… I only felt empty.   + + +   “Just kidding.” Suddenly the pentagram of red light disappeared from around me. With a devious smile so calculating that you wouldn’t believe that God could do it, he spoke once more. “Allow me to propose a deal. I’m sure you will find it to be very favorable to you.” He paused for a short second for dramatic effect. “Please reincarnate as one of my women if you don’t want to go to Hell.”   With a snap of his fingers, suddenly the scenery of the throne room changed and we were teleported into a room packed full with statues. However… it wasn’t a room full of ordinary statues. Rather, it was a room full of beautiful life-like naked women — or “statues” so speak — perfectly proportioned and covered with real human skin. All of them were mounted on pedestals and frozen in time and space. The disturbing part was that I was almost positive all of these statues were in fact real human bodies. I shivered at the sight of this chamber. It was beyond disturbing… definitely creepy. It kind of reminded me of otaku galge figurine collections, except this was with real human beings. I think if I were an ordinary male, it’s possible that I might have found this scene arousing. However, I’m not attracted to women at all. I guess you could call it a side effect of my transgender status. Honestly, I was just more disturbed than anything else by the fact that God had a room like this somewhere up in Heaven. “There’s no souls inside them,” God said, as if sensing my thoughts. “So it’s okay to objectify them if you want.” He pointed at one of the statues. This one had enormous breasts the size of watermelons, jade-like skin, and a figure that was far too sexualized no matter how you looked at it. Basically, it was the body of a porn star. “I think this one would suit you well. I think this one is the holy sex princess of the Magic Kingdom of Nyalorolothop. I haven’t been able to fill that role in ages, and she’s a critical character to the story, so it’d help me out a ton if you’d just reincarnate as her.” I was rendered completely speechless. “You’ve always wanted to be born as a woman, right? Then you should be perfectly happy!” “Uuh…” I was half-paralyzed, and my tongue felt completely tied. Was this some kind of sick idea of a sleazy joke? “Do you have some kind of problem with this model?” God tilted his head quizzically. I coughed to clear my throat, trying to be as polite as possible. " ...It's just that... there's no way I'd want boobs that big..." God's head instantly snapped around like a bullet. I thought he looked angry for a split second, but I think I must have imagined it because the next moment he was back to being cordial and conversational. “They all have big breasts,” God maintained dryly. “Who’d want to look at a female protagonist with a pancake chest?” he muttered. His gaze softened as he returned to a coaxing tone of voice. “Oh, come on, it'd look good on you. I'm sure you'd be really popular and loved by everyone, and normally you’d never get a chance to get your heart’s deepest desire fulfilled just like that! I can give you lots of cheats too!” “...I really don’t think...” I tried to protest weakly. “Oh, don’t be shy!” God waved his hands and all of sudden, I started to feel my chest expanding as large jugs of flesh began to grow underneath my clothes without my consent. Wait, what?! “Everybody loves large chests! Who doesn’t love big oppai?!” God began to talk passionately. Nearly instantly, my face flushed bright pink as I clutched my rapidly tightening shirt with my hand. It took me a few seconds to process this, but then the realization hit me like a bulldozer.   God was a pervert. I thought I was imagining it at first, but there was no other explanation. It was definitely a fetish. God definitely had a fetish. Oh my god, what did I even stumble upon?   “Oh, here’s another good model!” God gestured at another naked female body. “I think tsunderes go really well with long legs, so I think this one might even look even better on you! Just make sure you remember to leave a tad of skin showing underneath the skirt when you wear thigh-high socks. I must say, Zettai Ryouiki truly is the best fashion statement of the the 21st Century! Make sure you don’t forget!” And that was basically the point when I couldn't hold it back anymore. I exploded right then and there and punched God in the face. Yeah... Probably not the smartest thing, given that he was God and everything, but my fists were moving before I could even think to stop myself. Perhaps even more surprisingly, my punch actually landed right on target. God buckled over instantly and clutched his nose while yelping in pain. His nostrils slowly started dribbling blood as he recoiled from my sudden assault. Tissues seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and there God was, nursing a bloody nose right in front of me. I froze in place after I my punch connected with its target. Wait what?! That wasn’t supposed to hit. I thought God would turn transparent or that he would dodge it effortlessly, since well… he’s God. "W-wait, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" However, God slowly raised his head. When I finally got a good glimpse of his eyes… God... looked furious. Dangerous. Spite-filled with vengeance. Suddenly, he started laughing ominously, almost like a madman. “You don’t want big boobs? You dare refuse a deal with God? Yet you still have the guts to offend my taste for beauty and say you still want to be a woman?” A savage glint raged in God’s eyes. “Fine, I will grant you your wish. But you will regret this. You will pay the price for striking divinity.” He whispered coldly as a pentagram of red light formed around me again. “Enjoy your new life.” Sarcasm oozed from his words. “I’m sure you’ll find it lots of fun.” And then everything in my vision went dark. ∎

Chapter 2: A Light in the Darkness ​ The Little girl hummed a soft tune as she looked down at the open book in front of her. The slowly dimming light of the Sun barely illuminating the pages, as they shook gently with the swaying of the carriage moving down the road. The girl was so engrossed in the story before her, that she jumped slightly when the middle-aged woman riding in the back quietly spoke her name, [Merry, close the book, dear. It’s not good for your eyes to be reading in this light.] <Mother> The young girl turned around and gave her Mother a pleading look that only a 7-year-old girl could give, [Please Mother, just a little longer. I’ve nearly gotten to my favorite part!] <Merry> As Merry looked at her mother with an upturned lip, a large balled hand landed on the top of her head with a light thud, making her wince slightly, [Now Girl, Listen to your Mother. Close the book and start getting ready. We’ll be making camp soon] <Father>. With light tears in her eyes, Merry cast her eyes down and reluctantly closed her book, handing it back towards her Mother. The balled hand loosened then gently rested on top of the girls head, softly stroking her chestnut, shoulder length hair. The man sitting next to her driving the carriage, her Father, looked down at Merry with soft eyes and smiled as she smiled back, leaning up against him. He did not know what he had done to deserve such a beautiful wife and sweet little girl, but he could not help but think that this was what true happiness was. Watching the sweet family moment from atop a nearby horse, a young man in bright plate armor could not help but smile. Seeing him looking over at them, Merry quickly hid her face behind her Fathers back, making him jump slightly in surprise. With an embarrassed look, her Father looked over at the young man and spoke, [I’m sorry about that, Sir Hero. She’s still shy around strangers. If she ever wants to take over the trade, she’ll have to learn eventually though.] <Father> [No no, it is perfectly fine. I know how young girls can be; I have a sister that will be the same age this year.]<Hero> The young man spoke, a smile on his face but a slight tingle of sadness and homesickness in his voice. Hero. That is what her Father had called him. She had read the stories before, of the gallant knights chosen by the Hero’s Sigil to cleanse lands thick in Miasma. But truthfully, in Merry’s eyes, all she could see was a boy even younger than her Father, not the shining Warriors of Legend. Sneaking a quick glance out from her Father’s back, she looked the Hero in the eye and stuck her tongue out, before quickly ducking back into hiding. The Hero simply smiled awkwardly and gave a light chuckle. Turning his eyes forward to the road, the Hero’s face took on a more serious look and spoke to the Father without looking back. [Is it safe to make camp here? Should we not press on to Whitewood?] <Hero> [No. We’ll never make it before Dark. And besides, there is a small cave a little farther along the road we can use. As long as we are vigilant, there should be little danger.] <Father> The Hero squinted his eyes at the Father’s words. He wanted to press the issue, but He himself was not very experienced in such thing, having only just started his travels. In fact, if it was not for the good luck of meeting this Trader family on the road, he would have been hopelessly lost by now. In the end, he decided to defer to the Father’s experience and stay silent. However, the Hero could not shake a feeling of unease in his heart, like the calm before the Storm. ~~~ Roughly an Hour later ~~~ As time went on, the daylight began to fade into dusk. As they road on, the Father suddenly gave a small exclamation of joy; little ways away stood a stone bridge crossing a small stream. Approaching the bridge, the Father slowed the carriage to a stop then pointed up the stream, speaking to the Hero, [This is the place. The cave is about a 2-3 minute walk upstream. The path is too narrow for the carriage, so we will have to carry the more valuable goods and hide the carriage on the roadside. Merry, help your Mother gather the camping gear.] <Father> Giving a slight nod, Merry climbed over the back of the diver’s bench and began to help her mother. As the Father began to unbridle the Horses, the Hero walked over to the nearby path. In the distance, he could see a small back cliff, though the cave spoken of by the Father was hidden by the Forest. Suddenly, there was a slight rustle in the nearby trees, and the Hero looked up, His eyes bulging. With the ring of steel, his sword left its sheath, barely managing to block the heavy blow as the thing in the treetops leaped at him. ____________________________________________________________________________ Merry and her Mother chatted quietly in the back of the carriage as they prepared the camping supplies. They spoke of their journey so far, and what they planned to do once they reached the Trade City, Whitewood. As they talked, her Mother smiled gently as she stopped Merry from sneaking several heavy books into their bag. She never understood where the girl’s love for books had come from; she herself was just a plain farmer’s daughter who’d caught the eye of a traveling merchant, and could not wrap her mind around the idea when her cute daughter spoke about the “world inside of the Books”. But it made Merry happy, and that made the Mother happy. As they continued, Merry stopped and stared as she noticed a slight ruffling of the carriage canvas, tilting her head in puzzlement, as the night was windless. Suddenly, she heard the cracking of breaking wood, then the distinct sound of a blade leaving its sheath, before the ring of clashing metal. Eyes going wide in panic, Merry ran to her Mother as her Father called out admits the freighted neighing of the Horses, [Merry, Martha! Quickly, hide!]<Father> over the next few moment, the sound of fighting pursued, with deep grunts and the constant ringing of metal on metal. After a few moments, the Hero called out in a panic, [WATCH OUT! THERE’S MORE!] <Hero> Suddenly, there was the sound of whistling wind and sick sounding impact, then a gurgling grunt as though someone could not force air out of their lungs. In the next moment, Merry’s Father stumbled backward into view, a large arrow protruding from his chest. Her Father silently looked down at the arrow, dumbfounded, before turning his eyes to Merry and her Mother. The light in his eyes was filled with fear and confusion, but above all else, a desperate pleading scream for them to run, to hide. Then with a gentle smile, blood leaking from his mouth. He fell. [NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!] <Mother> Merry’s mother let loose a wailing shriek as she watched her Husband fall on to the coach seat. Though in her grief, she still had the presence of mind to cling to Merry as the latter tried to claw her way out of her Mother’s grasp in a desperate bid to reach her Father. [Father! Father! Let go, let GO! We have to help!] <Merry> as the young girl continued to struggle, tears flowing down her face, the sounds of battle continued outside. Finally managing to wiggle herself free of her Mother’s grasp, the young girl rushed on all fours to the front of the carriage, reaching for her fallen Father, her Mother hot on her trail. As she neared the exit, there was a heavy impact on top of the carriage, causing both to stop in fear. Without warning, the carriage gave a shutter, and a long sinewy arm, green skin lightly coated with white hair, reached into the opening from the top of the carriage. A large 4 fingered hand, fingered tipped with rotting brown nails swiped randomly around before grabbing firmly into the young girl's shoulder length hair, and began to pull her out. Screaming and kicking, Merry struggled to lose the hands grip, but could not overpower the large hand. Moving like lightning, her Mother crossed the carriage and wrapped an arm around the young girl’s waist, using the other to try and pry the hand away. As she did so, grunting sounds of frustration came from the top of the carriage. For a moment, the pulling force stopped, and Merry felt hope well up, only to hear the distinct ringing of a blade leaving its sheath. In a panic, Merry looked down at her Mother, to see a gentle and warm smile contrasted by a steady flow of tears, before hearing the sound of ripping fabric and seeing a large, rusty sword pierce down from the top and through her Mother’s chest. With a thud, her Mother fell to the floor of the carriage, using the last of her strength to desperately cling to her daughter’s waist. Slowly, the power in her Mother’s grip gave out, and with a Scream, Merry was pulled from the Carriage. As she did so, she came face to face with the creature that held her in the air by her hair. It had long sinewy limbs and mottled dark green skin, perfect for climbing and moving in the tree tops. Sparse white hair covered its body that gave it a flickering appearance, like light filtering through the leaves. Its eyes were large and dark, capturing the tiniest bit of movement and light. While it was relatively short when compared to an adult, it was still nearly twice Merry’s size, and its large gaping mouth, designed only for meat, nearly split its small head in two, as it grinned from large pointed ear to ear. {{Forest Goblin!}} That was the name that popped up in her mind as she saw the bizarre creature before her. While not as strong as their Mountain cousins, or as fast as those in the Plains, Forest Goblins were smart and agile. They were vicious, predatory monsters who saw other races as nothing more than food. Compared to the other goblin races, the thing that separated Forest Goblins was their high intelligence, able to prepare complex traps and strategies, as well as forge their own weapons and tools. In some parts of the world, their intelligence was so widely recognized that they were called “Tree Elves”, though if you were to called them that in the presence of a True Elf, you would pay a heavy price. Looking around the area, Merry could see the result of the battle; several dozen Forest Goblin bodies lay scattered around the ground, some long dead, other with not long left. A short distance away, Merry could see the Hero fighting a small group of 6-7 remaining goblins. However, he was heavily injured, covered in blood and outnumbered. Gre Gre Gre Gre!! The Forest Goblin holding her up by the hair, laughed as it looked towards the struggling Hero. Jumping down from the carriage, the Goblin held Merry up to eye level and grinned that wide mouth grin again, before extending a long black tongue and gently licking away the tears on her face, a look of ecstasy forming in its half-closed eyes. Feeling a rage unlike anything she’d ever felt before welling up in her heart, Merry screamed in anger, no longer fearing what may happen. She began to thrash and flail about; desperately trying to do any amount of damage to the creature with her frail strength. Laughing as though watching the funniest thing it could conceive, the Goblin did not even try and stop her. Finally running out of steam, Merry let her arms hang down as she breathed heavily. Looking the Goblin in the eyes with a deep, seething hatred, bile welled up in her throat, and with a coarse sound, she spat it into the laughing Goblin’s face. Instantly, the Goblin fell quite, its eyes growing cold and its face expressionless as it sheathed its sword and used the hand to wipe away the spittle. It stared at it in its hand for a moment, as if in contemplation, and then gently placed the girl on the ground. Confused, Merry could only stand there, when in the next moment the goblin balled its bony fist tightly and slammed it into the left side of the small girls face. Merry only heard a small pop, as the left side of her vision went dark, and she was sent flying several feet away. Moaning in pain as she struggled to move, Merry watched in fear as the Goblin slowly walked towards her. It was no longer smiling as it slowly drew its rusty blade, still wet with her Mother’s blood. Laying back down in resignation, unable to tell if her face was wet with tears or blood, Merry watched in silence, her heart strangely calm. Suddenly, there was the sound of a snapping branch, and the Goblins eyes shot up, looking past her. Merry could only feel a slight breeze as a dark shadow shot past, slamming heavily into the Forest Goblin and sending it flying several feet. The Goblin stood up, it looked at the shadow and screamed in rage. The last thing Merry remembered before her passing out was the shadow looking down at her, a strange light in its eyes, like a tiny candle flickering in a field of darkness.

Announcement The artwork is from a manga called Totsukuni no Shoujo by Nagabe (pixiv: 179415), which is a beautiful sad story that I definitely recommend! Edited by Trismegistus Shandy.   Ever since my adolescence, I have always had a strong aversion towards mirrors. Mostly, it was the fault of puberty. Whenever I got out of the shower and glanced at my figure reflected in the glass, my stomach would tighten and my nails would dig into their palms. The self-loathing illness would bubble up like a geyser, and quickly I would be reminded of a distressing physical reality that screamed in my head: The person who I always thought I had been was nothing but a lie. Tears would well up when I realized that I wasn’t going to grow up like all the other girls. There was an inevitable future of lifelong misery ahead of me, and the first time I recognized that bleak destiny was when my body started to undergo its first changes of adolescence. I thought my reflection was disgusting. There were ghastly microscopic hairs that would grow mockingly no matter how much I struggled to shave them. I hated how my shoulders were widening and how coarse angles were increasingly visible in my bone structure. In my head, I was slowly transforming into something monstrous, like a mutant freak alien gorilla. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Revoltingly ugly. Back then, I was filled with green-eyed jealousy.   + + +   This morning in the City of Ohm, it was raining. The ramshackle roof of my hideout was leaking, and the angled piece of broken plywood above my head barely provided the minimum protection against the elements. Everything in my surroundings felt as damp as soggy bread. My skin was raw from the cold after chafing on moist condensation for hours, but at the very least it was better than the alternative of being flooded in a relentless torrential deluge. I knew without looking that the earthen ground underneath my makeshift bed was probably flooding with liquid sewage. It always flooded here when it rained. The periodic floodwaters in this area were likely the main reason why I’d had no competition for this spot when I first established myself in this overcrowded isekai city. Located on the banks of the Escheu River near the lesser bridge that spanned the northern and southern districts, this marshy levee frequently bore the brunt of the rising water table whenever the weather was slightly temperamental. Furthermore, this location sat downstream of the harbor and the industrial districts. The most disgusting toxic sludge and sewage eventually drifted to these banks. In fact, most of the rainwater in the city’s residential districts probably also drained here. It was a literal cesspool of waste, refuse, and garbage. Common sense dictated it was a good place for a trash picker to work, but not exactly a pleasant place to live. However, what more could one expect from the notorious “Nezumi”, the Rat Queen of all things unpleasant and foul? I had a history of thriving in unpleasant places, so something trivial like this was nothing but a mere droplet in the ocean of my tenacity. Even if I had the current shell of a young unattractive woman, my aged spirit had already been tempered and jaded by the crucible of another world long before I’d transmigrated to this unfamiliar place.   The former me on Earth was also no stranger to death. I had tried to stop my transgender friend from committing suicide on the train tracks and failed despite my efforts. How many other funerals do you think I’d attended before that? How many dark and deeply disturbing accounts do you think I listened to in gruesome detail as I comforted a sobbing kindred soul after she was physically threatened in a filthy bathroom with a broken beer bottle? How many times do you think I opened my wallet, struggling to figure out how much change I could spare for my companion who recently got fired because her employer had found out she’d just started hormone therapy, and consequently couldn’t afford rent, find a place to stay, or have a home to return to? On how many occasions do you think I’ve been suddenly groped and touched without warning on a first date because “a girl with a dick” couldn’t possibly have a reason for going on a coffee date other than to give complimentary *fapfaps* for a deceptively sweet-talking man harboring a tranny fetish? How much poverty, violence, and sadness do you think I witnessed regularly in the world that surrounded me? If you avert your eyes because my words are too unpleasant, I don’t blame you. If you believe I’ve brought my own fate onto myself and deserve it for “choosing” to be born this way, I don’t have a response. However, while this may be your fiction, this is my reality, and I am trying to survive. I am absolutely adamant about surviving.   + + +   With apathetic hazel eyes that were sharp and wide awake despite the early rainy hour, I raised my left arm into the air as I examined the surface of my pale skin. During the night, I had slept without unwrapping the rag bandages that covered my flesh, and the bindings on my limbs had come partially loose after tossing and turning for the whole evening. The crinkled ends of the unwound fabric spiralled and pooled around my shoulders, leaving a portion of my mummified skin uncovered. As slack as they were, the bandages failed to hide the vulgarities that they were intended to conceal. There was a little piece of “that” exposed right there. It was black and gangrenous, much like a piece of rotting flesh. The Disease. Over the past seven months, it had only expanded and grown in surface area. Originally, this small plaque on my left arm had only reached as far as my upper shoulder, but now the dark splotches had progressed all the way past my elbow. Similarly, the other markings elsewhere on my body had multiplied. It was now impossible for me to wear short sleeves on a casual basis. Currently, I wrapped what I could with rag bandages and favored baggy clothing such as shawls and scarves. Given the seasonally cold weather and my prior reputation as a street brawler, none of my attire drew any particularly ill-favored attention during the winter. However, with spring now turning the corner, it wouldn’t be long before I would soon be forced to confront the nature of my slowly changing appearance. Appearances aside, the Disease was generally asymptomatic. It did not hurt or itch or smell. Apart from the slight loss of sensation and the difference in skin texture, the Disease appeared to be mostly cosmetic. It did not interfere with my daily function or my ability to carry out everyday activities. As long as I ignored my physical features or avoided looking at myself throughout the day, it was seductively easy to forget about. Sometimes, I’d even get carried away, thinking I was totally normal in the rare moments of laughter I shared with my new companions that I met in this isekai world. I didn’t feel any different, after all. I was still the same person I always was. That part inside of me never changed, and with my eyes closed, I couldn’t see my own skin. The actual problem lay elsewhere.   + + +   I sat up cross-legged on my makeshift wooden bed of planks as the stiff wood creaked underneath me. The leaking ceiling of this lopsided shelter was less than a foot above my head, so naturally the space was cramped. A dark woolen cloak that I had been using as a blanket slipped from my bare shoulders to my lap. My frizzly short hair was a total mess, a product of bed-head as well as chronically poor hair care. After arriving in this isekai universe, I was so tear-fraught and frustrated that my hair was constantly getting pulled amidst merciless fights that I tried to cut it as short as possible. However, using a rusty knife to hack away at your hair doesn’t exactly lend itself to nice bangs or even layers. If anything, it was full of split ends, knots, and dirt. Combs were expensive luxury items in the Middle Ages, never mind the fact that nobody took showers or baths in the first place. My hair was getting to a length that I was considering cutting it again. Although it only just reached an inch or so past my ears, there was already plenty to get a good grip on, and I often felt a need to tie it up to keep it out of the way. I reflexively brushed the stray strands of my hair out my eyes as I shifted diagonally on the bed to examine the side of my torso. Like my arms and legs, the majority of my chest and abdomen was wrapped in bandages made from miscellaneous strips of rags. However, these bindings were still securely knotted and cozy, and they showed no sign of being dislodged after a night of sleep. While it is not good for women to leave breasts bound for too long since the cloth constricts over time, I felt like my case was somewhat of an exception. Unlike other women of this era who wrap cloth tightly around their breasts as a form of structural support, my current flat chest had no need for such a brassiere.  Rather, the bandages were designed to conceal the largest splotch of Disease on my entire body. I slowly started to unwrap the cloth around my midsection. A few minutes later, the fabric was completely unwound, and I could examine the enormous black plaque on my skin in the full entirety of its macabre morning glory. This one on my torso was… Beyond disturbing. It was disturbing because it was alive. The best way to describe it would be to imagine a flat tumor of black, rotting flesh growing out of your midsection. It pulses periodically and seems to have a mind of its own. Horrifically, it has a giant mouth with dozens of small multi-layered sharp jagged teeth, much like a Venus flytrap lying in wait for its next meal. The maw is about as large as a coconut and is embedded in your skin. Although it does not move very much on its own, it is possible to pry it open and inspect the shark-like rows of tiny fangs and wonder exactly where the bottomless cavity leads to. It was clearly something demonic, grotesque, and supernatural. In the beginning when the sooty skin plaques were more mild, I had initially believed that my skin condition was some kind of biological Earth disease, like an unusual melanoma, mycosis fungoides, or the bubonic plague. However, after the giant evil teeth started growing a few months ago, I completely gave up on my efforts trying to identify the Disease that everyone was constantly whispering about. There was no way that something like this could be cured with antibiotics, steroids, or vaccines. What was the point of possessing scientific knowledge from Earth when sheer unbelievable magical fantasy laughed at you in the face? I was quite sure that this was physically impossible under the laws of Einstein's general relativity. The creepy dark hole on my abdomen was endless as far as I could tell, and I could stick a six-foot long pole inside and it wouldn’t strike any resistance. You could call it something like a wormhole, but outside of science fiction, there was no way something like that could exist without literally collapsing time and space. In short, there was a vegetative monster parasite with a stomach the size of a pocket-dimension growing on me. Of course, I’d freaked out at first. I’d even tried stabbing myself with a knife to carve it all off, but it grew back even bigger than before. Much like the rest of the Disease, it only seemed to grow larger day by day. I couldn’t help but wonder; how much time did I have left before the rest of me was consumed by it all? I was completely silent as I started to rewrap the bandages around myself.   + + +   A few minutes later, I finished my morning routine and efficiently packed up all of my belongings. Although the sun was not visible behind the rainclouds, my intuitive sense for time pinned the clock at somewhere between eight and nine o’clock in the morning — which was certainly “sleeping in” by my standards. I briefly poked my head out of the shack to get a gestalt feel for the weather blowing in my face. The rain was still relentless, which incidentally meant this was going to be a difficult day for the urban poor who lived in the City of Ohm. Rain was usually a bad sign. Well-to-do civilians avoided the muddy streets, meaning crippled beggars who made a small amount of coin off of sympathy and piety took a major dive in their primary source of income. Similarly speaking, petty criminals who cut the purse strings of clueless rich foreigners also found their hunting grounds particularly sparse. Even for trash pickers like myself, rain swept away the easiest pickings. Valuables got buried underneath mountains of stinking mud, and hunting for even a single copper was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Rain made people gloomy and irritable. The only silver lining about rain was the fresh water. I rolled several leaky containers out around my hut and left them open atop the mountains of trash. As the rain fell, it would collect, and that would be my drinking water for a few days. There was almost nobody who would willingly choose to drink from the sludge-filled river if given a choice. If you ever spotted a filthy and bruised child as skinny as bones hunched over the edge of the bank and desperately gulping to quench their parched throat, you could almost safely guarantee that they were at the end of their rope, and potentially dead before the end of the week. I had been there once before. However, right now, I was fairly well-to-do by the standards of the poor.   + + +   I held a large piece of the leftover bread loaf that I’d obtained last night in my hands. First, I tore it in half and looked at it again. I paused. Thinking better of myself, I tore the half again into quarters and stared longingly at the fragmented scraps. My stomach growled, but today, the carnal instincts of my hypothalamus would not triumph over the rational executive function of my prefrontal cortex. I had filled my stomach yesterday evening, and I still had further plans for the remainder. Three quarters I wrapped inside clean rags to save for later. The remaining quarter I stuffed into the folds of my clothes. And then I was off sauntering away over this massive dune sea.   + + +   As limber as a leopard, I hopped from one island of trash to another. Carefully, I avoided misplacing my feet. The piles of rotting wood and decomposing bones were fragile, and they easily crumbled if you weren’t familiar with where to step. It was too easy to accidentally slip into a sinkhole of noxious methane gas or find yourself trapped in tangle of invasive bogweed. Since this area regularly flooded, the ground was soft and dangerous. Dense fog from the river frequently swept over in the mornings and ruined any sense of visibility. The landscape of this quagmire was also constantly evolving, and few people knew this unfriendly maze-like territory as well as an inhabitant such as myself. Yet even as a native, there were plenty of areas that I didn’t dare approach. Most of the time, I only followed set paths that I had tediously learned by heart. There were a few instances when I had gotten lost in the wasteland and nearly found myself killed by a colony of carnivorous swamp spiders while encumbered knee-deep in quicksand, or some variation thereof. This was not frivolous or light-hearted terrain by any means. The locals called this place Quagmire Bottom, and it was located on the river banks in the neglected outskirts of the city. I had multiple hideouts and stashes scattered about and I regularly switched between them. Like the luxurious queens of fantasy and fairy tales, I had a reputation for hoarding. Consequently, I had the occasional adventurous guest (both human and not) who came sniffing for treasure. While the hazardous environment provided a sufficient deterrent in most cases, there was the occasional day or two when I returned home to find my belongings rummaged through and overturned. As a result, I had humbly rediscovered several months ago that the famous adages for stock trading on Earth were equally relevant in an isekai world of destitute poverty. Never put all your eggs in one basket. It was common for me to split the rags and valuables I collected into multiple small batches. Whenever I found a new spot that seemed promising, I would mark it in my mind and revisit it later. Every morning, I would run a loop around the few stashes I needed for the day before beginning my productive enterprises in the city proper. All of this was part of my daily routine.   + + +   Before long, I slipped into the main city streets. Now that I was in the public eye, I melted in with the sparse crowd of city denizens and slowed my gait to match all the other miserable soaked people trodding along. Occasionally, I pirouetted out of the way as a carriage or wagon came tumbling through the stone streets with the driver cracking his whip, splashing poop-water into the air. It was not good to attract attention, as an altercation of any kind involving the authorities never turned out favorably for the poor. Yet conversely, there was safety in numbers. As a former resident of New York City, I could attest to the fact that one was far less likely to be mobbed by gangsters in Times Square than in a shady Chinatown park after midnight. There was a certain logic and rationale to living in a city, even a medieval one. Depending on the time and circumstance, sometimes it was more favorable to travel one way or the other. I was on my way to the Market District.   + + +   I found the person I was looking for huddled underneath the eaves of a tannery, trying her best to avoid the rain and elements that pelted the cobblestone road. She was a woman, middle-aged, and pathetically poor. If you didn’t know her from her better days, it would have been easy to jump to the conclusion that she was just an ordinary street beggar covered in grit and filth. However, few people remembered the fiery beacon she had once been in her past. When she noticed me standing in front of her, she looked up. “Oh, Nez, it’s you,” she said. “You look good in that cloak. I didn’t even recognize you at first.” “It was yours to begin with, and I only borrowed it. When do you want it back?” My first response was as polite as the textbook, as always. “No~ No~ That cloak will only bring me more misfortune than it’s worth. It suits you better now. If it makes you feel better, you can consider it a long-term security investment on my part.” I frowned unhappily. This woman knew me too well. She knew I was the kind of person who thought excessively in terms of marginal profit and opportunity cost, so she adapted her language appropriately to utilize esoteric jargon in her conversation with me. These were not skill sets that just any beggar on the streets could just whip up out of nowhere. But then again, this was Madam Altheda, and she was a genius. Despite her misleading title, she wasn’t noble-blooded or an aristocrat in any shape or form. Rather, not very long ago, she was once a prostitute, and in fact arguably one of the finest in the red light district. In Earth terms, it was probably appropriate to think of her past status as something analogous to being a geisha.   The cloak that she spoke of was the one that I had been sleeping in lately. It was a plain dark somber color as rich as deep shadows, woolen, supple, warm, water-repellent, and furthermore of decent quality. It was the most expensive piece of clothing that I currently had on my possession. Although it wasn’t striking or flamboyant in any way, it could have easily been worn by any individual of the middle class. The reason for this was that not even the richest merchants were foolhardy enough to flaunt their wealth openly in the streets. This was like painting a bright neon target sign on your head and just asking for trouble. As a result, unless you were crazy rich and constantly flanked by bodyguards, virtually everyone else tended to wear outerwear that concealed their status. A nice cloak was the perfect item for this purpose, and all people with any amount of money to their name owned one. However, as a woman, there was one consideration that posed a slight problem to me. Specifically, I was short. Just by looking at my silhouette, it was obvious that I was either female or an adolescent child. If I wasn’t cautious about the way I maneuvered in the street crowds, an astute observer would note that I was alone and unaccompanied. It didn’t take much of a leap of logic to quickly draw the straightforward conclusion that I must have been a lost or vulnerable wealthy lamb with wool made of pure gold. This was the tastiest kind of target for wolves who made their livelihood on blackmail and ransom. While it was perfectly normal for poor women to wander about independently, this was an era when it was considered scandalous for a respectable woman to travel outside without an escort. This was what Madam Altheda meant by “more misfortune than it’s worth”.   “It looks like it’s been a rough day?” I changed the topic after taking a quick glance at the panhandling pot that laid at her feet. It was basically empty. Well, it wasn’t totally empty, but anybody with experience begging for money on the streets would know that you’re supposed to throw in a few of your own coins in to make it appear like there was some money flowing. Human psychology is strange. People were more likely to take out their wallets when they saw their neighbors doing the same. Similarly, it was textbook strategy among minstrels to stage a few applauding friends in the audience and have them toss a few fake coins into the hat after each song ended. By my reckoning, Madam Altheda probably had not received any sympathetic souls yet today. “The weather is bad.” She dryly stated the obvious in response. I nodded and gestured at the ledge underneath the eaves where the middle-aged woman rested, indicating my desire to sit together with her. Altheda scooched over to the side slightly, making just enough room for me to squeeze in beside her all while avoiding a puddle. Meanwhile, I took off the nice cloak I was wearing so it didn’t clash with the impoverished image my friend was trying to project while panhandling for spare change. Despite the way it sounded, the two of us were actually quite close. Even though we were separated by at least a decade in age, I considered her to be the closest confidant I had in this isekai world. When we first met, our positions were entirely reversed. I was the starving one in the streets, and she was the one who offered me her companionship nonetheless. However, now everything had reversed. “Funny how life can suddenly flip upside down on you in an instant,” Altheda remarked as I sat down. I didn’t respond to her comment as I rummaged through the folds of my shawl. Soon enough, I located the quarter piece of bread I was looking for and pulled it out. “Bread?” I asked. Although it was more of a statement than a question as I placed it directly to her hands. She gave the day-old block of carbohydrates a long stare before she responded. “Still fresh. You got it from the Rag Merchant yesterday?” I nodded silently as Altheda tore the quarter-piece of bread in half and tried to pass half back to me. However, I refused. A sly smile appeared on the middle-aged woman’s face as she popped a small piece into her mouth. “I knew you’d decline. You’re so predictable, you know? It’s kind of cute in its own way.” “I didn’t give you all of it,” I retorted. “I know. How much do you have left? A half? No, three-quarters?” “Something like that,” I said, sounding annoyed. The one and only Madam Altheda laughed as she tapped me lightly on the head. “You didn’t have to give me any, you know? None of other girls visit me anymore ever since I lost my foot.” I grimaced when she mentioned that. A month ago, a freak client of hers had gone batshit crazy after finding out Madam Altheda was retiring from her active role in the most prestigious prostitution house in the city to focus on raising her newborn child. Altheda had described it in a disturbingly light-hearted way when she told me the story, but basically it was a sickeningly twisted sequence of events along the lines of “porcelain dolls have no need to walk” and “small feet are sexier anyways.” In short, the customer drew a knife and my best friend got her feet sliced up by a madman. Even worse yet, the client was the son of an influential aristocrat, so the prostitution house didn’t even take any retaliatory action. Well, of course, they asked for a large sum of money in compensation, but Altheda didn’t receive any of that. They claimed that Altheda had already resigned, so they drove her out into the streets while her feet were still bleeding. Apparently, all the respect, fame, and admiration that she previously possessed all vanished overnight, and quickly nobody wanted to have anything to do with a cripple who had no value to bring to the negotiating table. Later on, her right foot ended up becoming infected, so I offered to help treat it since she didn’t have the money to see a Healer. In my past life, I was studying to be a nurse practitioner, so I thought I could manage the infection with some of my modern knowledge. At the time, I was also skeptical of the medieval bloodletting mumbo-jumbo, so I was fully prepared to go the full nine yards with boiled water, homemade poultice, distilled alcohol disinfectant… I did everything that I could think of. I even tried to culture penicillin. However, long story short, everything failed. The infection progressed to osteomyelitis, and that point I knew there was no choice but to amputate. Later on, my friend became septic and I nearly lost her, just like I’d lost far too many others. For a moment, I was terrified of the thought of being all alone again. It was finally at that point that I was so frantic and desperate that I spent nearly all of my own savings and brought her to the Healer, where everything was solved with a simple magic spell that took less than thirty seconds to cast. Funny how months worth of careful savings could go up in smoke just because of an instant of feverish emotionality. I also lost my faith in all of my other-world knowledge at that point. Retrospectively, I should have just forced her to go to the Healer from the very beginning. Even if she needed to visit a loan shark to get the money for it, it would have been worth the price. However, the way it was now, Altheda was crippled, and there was no path for the disabled in this cruel isekai world except for the hardest road of them all. It was my fault that she’d trusted me, believed in me, and consequently lost her foot because of it. I couldn’t look at her in the eye for weeks after that.   + + +   “I heard you went out with Sasha outside of the city yesterday,” Altheda remarked to me as she nursed a sleeping infant in her arms. “Hm? Who’d you hear that from?” “Rumors fly faster than the wind here. Of course I still hear things.” I looked at my friend’s baby, and the only thought that crossed my head was that it was quiet. Too quiet. It was never a good sign to have an infant that was too quiet. “I just needed an extra pair of hands to wash some rags,” I continued. “Ahh~ For the Rag Merchant again? I heard that’s going real nicely for you too. If anyone deserves it, it ought to be you. I’m cheering for all the best for you!” “Flattery doesn’t work on me, Althie, you know that already.” “Hahaha~ But seriously, I wish you wouldn’t wander outside so casually, Nez. We’re right on the frontier of goblin and orc territory. You never know when your good fortune will run dry. The world can flip on a dime at any moment.” “Eh, sometimes I feel like everything is a gamble to begin with. It’s a calculated risk. Besides, I’ve never seen a goblin.” “Bwuh~ Are you really as old as you say you are? Sometimes you say these really stupid things!” Suddenly, our chatter went quiet. Both Altheda and myself found ourselves reflecting in deep thoughts. Even though our dialogue moved superficially at the pace of wildfire, a disconcerting veil of restrained feelings floated like a murky cloud above our heads. The two of us had mutually sensed it at this point, so naturally the small talk ceased.   + + +   Altheda was the first to break the silence. “There was another death last night,” she started, almost hesitantly, as she stared down at her lap. “It was the Count’s youngest daughter. Ripped apart and cut into pieces.” “I see,” I responded. My friend did not continue to elaborate. Although her language was exceedingly vague, we both knew precisely what she was talking about. “That’s bad, isn’t it?” I spoke my thoughts aloud. “It’s personal now. The Count is going to want something done, right?” “Correct. The rumor is that they’re planning to take a torch to the Slums. Everything will burn.” “......” I was speechless. The Slums? All of it? But it was enormous — at least a third of the city — and so many people lived there. “Seems exceedingly heavy-handed, right? Their only objective is to exterminate a handful of the Diseased ones, yet they’re remorseless about catching everyone else in the crossfire. Apparently, it’s gone uncontrolled for too long now.” “I don’t think anyone ever cared about what happened to the poor in the first place,” I said bitterly. Altheda shook her head as she looked at me in the eye, her rich emerald pupils sad and profound. “That aside, the streets are getting more and more dangerous lately. There are Familiars stalking the night, and they are just as dangerous as any monster or demon from the outside. The City Guard is on full alert, and the night patrols have been doubled. There will probably be a curfew announced later today.” “Familiars,” I repeated, sounding out the feel of the word on my tongue. “You mean, the mindless monsters that the Diseased turn into after they’re consumed by the darkness of their skin?” “Yes. It’s a terrible fate. There are many more of them now than before, and they prey on human flesh.” I avoided Altheda’s gaze at that point as I looked down at the palms of my hands. “...Thank you for the warning. You should watch out for yourself too.” “I wasn’t finished yet.”   She closed her eyes briefly before rubbing her eyebrows with her fingers. To me, she looked more tired than I ever remembered seeing her before. “They’ve placed a new bounty on anyone who’s Diseased. The reward is ten silvers alive, five if dead. Even somebody who submits a tip to the City Guard can claim one silver coin if it turns out to be true.” My stomach suddenly froze. My friend continued to speak, her voice weary and flat. “Be careful,” she said, her eyes staring daggers at me, leaving some critical words intentionally unsaid. “What are you talking about?” My voice rebounded, instantly recovered from the hesitation I felt before. Altheda spoke as if she knew about my curse, yet I had never been one to tell her. Where had she found out? And how long ago? Why hadn't she said anything about it? How was she not bothered by this knowledge? Both of us knew that all Diseased eventually lost their humanity, albeit the rate at which it occurred and physical manifestations were different for each case. A billion questions flashed through my head, and all of them buzzed my mind around like a hive of frantic insects. I laughed out loud, more self-conscious than ever of how plastic my voice sounded. “Oh come on, Althie, why would I be worried about that? It’s a good thing that they’re finally doing something about the Diseased! I’m sure all of us can rest easy at night from now on.” “Nez!” Altheda's eyes were firm and serious. “Don’t think you can win playing word games against me. I’ve been dancing to these treacherous tunes far longer than you've been alive. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t want to help you out. There is more to our friendship than coldly calculated giving and taking, isn’t there?” “But why? What? How does this make sense?” “Nez, we all take bets, and I’ve taken mine. We’ve known each other for months now, and it’s more obvious than the sun in broad daylight that you’re different from everyone else. You are strange. You're an outsider. You stand out like a sore yet glistering nail in the bleak gloomy haze of this world. Many people are watching, keeping tabs on you, and counting the coins in their pockets. The landscape is rapidly shifting.” “Different...” “Be careful of whom you trust.” We stared blankly at each other as the rain continued to plummet. ∎   ohko This past week since SH’s opening has been a roller-coaster ride for me. I never expected my personal writing to be in the spotlight like this, and I had no idea how painful it is to put your bare heart on public display for so many people! It’s actually kind of a relief to see the ranking finally dip enough to almost hide it from the front page. >.< If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for giving this niche story a chance. Thank you especially to my friends and the lovely commenters who have pushed me to keep writing despite all my insecurities!

Announcement The exposition is almost over! This chapter is a time-skip and then up next the main story begins! Edited by Trismegistus Shandy.   I think as long as I can remember, my mother has always been a figure that seemed larger than life. Family name, Gao (高), meaning tall. Given name, Cailian (彩莲), meaning brilliant lotus. She was born in Shanghai in 1963. She spent her childhood growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China.   While not exactly taught in extensive detail in the history books belonging to the canon of the American high school curriculum, the era was one of extensive turmoil and bloody revolution. It was not unlike its more famous French Revolution counterpart — the Reign of Terror (“la Terreur”) (1792-1794). Whereas the French Terror was characterized by 16,594 official executions by means of the guillotine, which was then praised as a “civilized and humane” means to end a person’s life, the public lynchings of the Chinese Terror were far more indiscriminate, disorderly, and mob-like. The estimated death toll for the Cultural Revolution ranges from three to five million. A statistic, or a fact to be memorized for a classroom exam — but a vivid reality for at least somebody else in the world. As tempting as it is to pin the number of fatalities as a sweeping condemnation of Communism as a political entity, only someone who witnessed the violence in person would be able to tell you that the raging fire that fueled all the violence was nothing systematic nor carefully masterminded by secret Communist KGB agents. Rather, the Cultural Revolution was an uncontrollable fervor of spite and repressed anger that struck the average Joe like a viral frenzy, licensed only by rhetoric that validated and encouraged a mass physical assault on all those who were “privileged”. Neighbors turned on neighbors, employees revolted against employers, landlords were evicted by tenants, and families fractured at their seams. Windows were smashed. Teachers shriveled in fear of their students. Lynchings, beatings, and harassment occurred openly and were applauded on the streets. The world was turned upside down. It was a mob mentality akin to Lord of the Flies or the nightmare of Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany. There is something deeply twisted and sickening that lies dormant at the heart of the human soul. If millions of honest civilians and good people could be swept by popular wave to join the Nazi movement in one instance in history, I shiver to think of the number of other times this same pattern has repeated elsewhere in the past. I don’t believe that people are inherently evil. But none of us are totally immune to that darkness that lurks deep within.   + + +   Over the years, I’ve been asked by hundreds of people to tell my story. They want to know my “formula to success”. It’s usually at a dinner party, over a cup of exotic tea, or at some luxurious summer resort belonging to another aristocrat trying to win extra brownie points with the husband I met in this isekai world. Usually it’s an eclectic mix of sheltered people filled with novelty and curiosity, sometimes laced with subtle jabs at my preposterously humble origins, and other times overflowing with sparkly-eyed admiration I don’t deserve. Everyone wants to know how it is that an illiterate beggar in a potato sack managed to survive, let alone reach this jealousy-inspiring pedestal in the clouds, where I am fortunate enough to be today. They expect to hear a gallant story about genius talent, superhuman skills, or pure creative cunning. They’re waiting for the tale of heroic exploits, dashing romance, or tear-evoking bitter-sweetness. Their ears are trained for the romanticization — the ballad that is sung — whether it is the Odyssey, Don Quixote, or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. My admirers want to know how I’ve been able to accomplish something that so many other people fail trying. When I look up into their expectant, sparkling eyes, their uncalloused hands clutching porcelain teacups, and their minds obviously idealizing adventure and excitement, what am I supposed to say? There’s nothing romantic about being touched by the Heart of Darkness. There’s nothing romantic about warfare, underground criminal organizations, or poverty. I don’t even like to talk about it, because it’s human nature to avoid topics that make us look ugly and monstrous. There was nothing heroic about living through those early months in this isekai world, where instead I’d be hard pressed to describe our subhuman, disgustingly feral, and desperate lives of constant metaphorical cannibalism as anything close to “human”. I just happened to survive through it all. Some people who were unlucky, didn’t — just like some soldiers have their limbs blown off by bombs and some others don’t. And as a survivor, all you can do is wonder ‘Why me?’ Why not him? Or her? There’s no rhyme or reason to the violence! God is so unfair! Why can’t I have the simple happiness that others take for granted? If only I wasn’t born in this horrible place of irrational suffering, how much happier would my life have been? But God isn’t so talkative, so we’re left to struggle with our burdens alone as we leave the dead ones behind. Their corpses lay unburied, rotting in a ditch as maggots grow inside them. I can’t even count the number of friends who I’ve parted from like that.   + + +   My mother was the descendant of a nouveau riche family — bourgeoisie. My great-grandfather, a business tycoon who had newly established himself selling processed pork in the countryside at the rural-urban interface, was sent to and died in a concentration camp in Qinghai (the Siberia of China). His properties and landholdings were confiscated, and my mother’s family was evicted from the mansion they lived in. While fleeing from the Red Guard, my grandmother went into labor in the elevator to give birth to my mother’s youngest sister. My mother’s uncle was lynched in the streets of Shanghai. My grandparents did everything they could do lie low and blend into the sea of mediocrity. They carefully guarded the secret of their origins and their blood ties to capitalism as they quickly abandoned their assets and pursued a frugal life of poverty. Nonetheless, rumors are bound to circulate and children privy to juicy gossip are likewise cruel to the odd one left out. My mother was an eldest child. She didn’t have an older brother, so when people ganged up and punched her, she punched them back. She wanted to learn how to fight, so she watched traditional martial artists training students on the city streets and tried to copy their lessons from the shadows. Eventually, the Master noticed her, thought favorably of her tenacity, and took her under his wing as a student. It did not take very much time before she was soon his favorite disciple. She was only nine years old at the time. Back then, she used to wake up at four o’clock in the morning to train in the streets of Shanghai before going to school. She developed arms as hard as rock and murderous eyes that pierced with ‘killing intent’. After beating up a small gang of delinquent high schoolers that were terrorizing the neighborhood, people gave her a wide berth, which was exactly what my mother wanted. She exuded a dangerous aura that made people afraid to approach her. The greatest mistake of her youth was that she developed far more enemies than she did friendships. When my mother was fifteen, all of the animosity that she’d built up recoiled on her like a slingshot. In a series of dramatic events, she was set up by enemies and her knee was irreparably smashed up in an “accident”. Even as she raised me, a lifetime of joys and sorrows later, my mother walked with a permanent slight limp.   + + +   I ended up writing this brief story of my mother’s life because I think it is mostly due to her that I am alive today, and I believe it sheds some light on my past and current identity. The influence that she had on me — and the values that she imparted to me — I think are unique to me as a person. I’m conscious of the fact that I may appear like the stereotypical Chinese-American, as far as tropes go. However, looks are deceiving. Before I died, I “passed” quite well both in my lives as a man and a woman. Just from looking, you wouldn’t have been able to tell I was transgender, a combination of extremely fortunate East Asian genetics and modern hormone therapy. But not many people knew that I was raised by a stereotype-breaking mother who was a fanatic about training your reaction time, knowing how to break a fall from two stories high, and being able to run a 5k in less than twenty minutes just because you never knew when one of the Mega Disasters depicted on the History Channel might strike home. She was also obsessed with buying tons of stock in bottled water companies because she was convinced global warming would evaporate all the drinkable water and thus trigger the next World War. Basically, I thought my mother was insane when I was growing up. I also don’t have any illusions about femininity or what it means to be a woman.   + + +   My mother and I didn’t exactly have the best relationship. She was somewhat impersonal, and in fact we failed to connect with each other in almost every way. She was harsh, demanding, and highly temperamental. Both of my parents were, in a sense. I think they saw me as a vessel to vicariously experience the successes and accomplishments that they never had the opportunity to in their youth. Naturally, they had very rigid sense of what kind of person they wanted to shape their “son” to be. My father used to beat me when he caught me trying on my mother’s clothes at the innocent age of six or seven. However, this blip of transgender rebellion was nothing but a side story in the bigger picture of things. I used to hate my parents. They literally hammered, shamed, forged, and molded me into the shape they thought benefited me best according to their values. I went to a nice university that any Chinese-American parent could brag about, had an extremely impressive scholastic resume, played three musical instruments, and my mother was adamant about me being good enough at sports to get a scholarship (which I did). Ironically, I even had a girlfriend, because back then, I was the perfect dutiful little plastic Asian child who would do anything to please “his” parents. I mean, obviously eventually everything imploded and fragmented to pieces, or else you wouldn’t have the current me today. However, as I’ve gotten older and more mature, it’s difficult not to appreciate the things they’ve given me: my education, my abilities, my practical skills, the life lessons, and subconscious values. It was thanks to those that my life and financial situation didn’t totally collapse as they do for many young transgender people when they initially cut the line from their family and social support. My life on Earth was really fortunate in a sense. The things that kept me alive during those horrible pre-transition years in the real world were the very things I used to cry about when my mother screamed at me while flinging chopsticks at 1:00 AM on a school night. Your perspective changes as you age. In the end, my parents had given me much of the groundwork I built my future happiness on. Before I died, I was happy. I was really really happy. So many things ended up working out for the better. Even if it was an incredibly tenuous way to get there.   + + +   If I had to pick one lesson that my mother tried to beat into me the most, it would be a Chinese expression: 《坚苦卓绝》 Translating idioms is always challenging, but the meaning of this one is “persisting despite the hardships”. It may seem unremarkable and cliche, but there are bits of this that are lost in translation. “Hardship” (艰苦) in Chinese always had a stronger connotation to me than its English counterpart. In fact, I’d be more inclined to liken it towards “Suffering”, with far more graphic imagery. My mother always believed in using “Suffering” to grow stronger. To persevere. To survive.   The reason why I speak of this is that sometimes I used to think of that idiom when I was in my darkest times. Skills and knowledge and talents are frankly overrated. That is my honest opinion. Book smarts mean so preciously little in the brutish reality of the world, and people who count on their textbook knowledge too much are often in for a rude awakening. “Boil the river water to kill the germs!” You might think, but it turns out that firewood is nearly as expensive as bread in a city where everyone sends their kids out to scour the countryside for free wood (and to sell for extra cash too). “Invent some gunpowder and monetize it!” You might suggest, but it’s quite difficult to do when you’re literally starving and you barely have enough energy for your next meal. “Convince a wealthy person you’re really smart!” You might propose… but hahahaha. You try it for me. Modern knowledge wasn’t as useful to to me in this isekai world amidst my poverty as I had hoped. It doesn’t feed you, stop you from being raped, or protect you from beaten up because someone really likes your new shoes. Of all things that I brought with me into this the Heart of Darkness, I believe it was singularly my mother’s tenacity that saved me where I would have otherwise died.   + + +   What is tenacity? Tenacity is the willingness to discard your humanity in order for the right to live. Tenacity is the determination to search through foul-smelling trash for your next meal. Tenacity is the eagerness to drink water laden with sewage because you’re dying of thirst. Tenacity is the resolve to fight with a small child over a piece of bread and then wrestle it away. Tenacity is the heartlessness to flee and abandon your friend when she’s being raped by gangsters. Tenacity is the audacity to steal the coat off of a crippled old homeless man because you’re freezing in the snow. Tenacity is the pain of offering your virginity to a drunk man and then stealing his wallet as he drifts asleep. Tenacity is suffering. Tenacity is suffering and suffering and suffering. The suffering is endless. If you give up on tenacity, then you die. Is it a worthwhile exchange?   This was the true nature of the Heart of Darkness and the Belly of the Whale, and also the reason why I won’t write about it. I don’t pretend to put out the illusion that I’m a good person. I don’t believe I have the right to say that anymore. I spent three, four… five… seven months in that nightmare of a world. When I came out, I wasn’t quite ever the same. I had scars, and you are welcome to judge me for them.   ∎

Announcement The artwork is by Anne-Marie Broughton (instagram: @ambroughtonart). Edited by Trismegistus Shandy.   Altheda held her infant in her arms as she looked away, suddenly unwilling to meet my eyes. Unable to read the expression on her face, I found myself staring at the long shimmering locks that cascaded like a waterfall from the back of her head. Currently, they were knotted with twigs, mud, and manure, the product of several weeks of sleeping on the streets. Although the deadly brunt of the winter had passed, the temperamental nature of the rainy season in the City of Ohm merely changed the nature of the unpleasantries experienced by the homeless. Oozing sludge that had festered for many months was now swept up by the high tide from the gush of mountainous snowmelt. Even on sunny days that were a brief respite from the repetitive downpours of spring, most slum dwellers found their gritty hair caked in dried mud. For the illustrious former Madam Altheda, this was no exception. Once upon time, in a story from happier days, Altheda’s hair had glimmered like a blanket of twinkling stars. They rippled across the Milky Way, as if the night sky itself had chosen to take residence in her curls. The color was indescribable — probably closest to silver — but such a bland description only dealt a gross injustice to the rich complexity of hues present in those keratin fibers. Depending on the sway of her bangs or the angle of sunlight in the sky, one could catch a glimpse of a faint blue tinge, a subtle violet sheen, or any kaleidoscope of colors in between. As soon as we had first met, the scientist inside me had rationalized an explanation. There must have been some trace ultraviolet-fluorescent component to her hair, and the wavelengths of light emitted by those organic compounds could only exist at the borderline of the visible spectrum. Frankly, it was impossible for the human eye to perceive the full brilliance of her curls. Even in this isekai world where it was not uncommon for people to have unusual hair colors or other intriguing features, Altheda could only be considered a gem among gems. The iridescence of her hair reflected a heart that was as sharp as diamond. However, even the hardest diamonds could fracture when struck along their weakest point.   The corner of Altheda’s mouth curled up in a weak smile. Even with her head turned away, I could just barely see the edge of her face behind the thick curtain of her knotted messy hair. "Nez, do you trust me?" Her voice was soft. The question caught me completely off guard since it came without warning. I hesitated for a moment. Even though an instinctive reply immediately flashed through my head, I’d never expected to be asked this question so directly. It felt unnatural and awkward to receive such a blunt inquiry. The answer should have been obvious to both of us. Why was it necessary for her to ask such a thing? "Yeah, I do. I trust you?" I said with slight confusion. Altheda laughed out loud with a crisp yet eerie reverberating voice. Meanwhile, she leaned backwards, her wet curls dangling in the air. She looked up towards the eaves, her gaze keenly fixated on a broken crack in the slate gutter that caused a disproportionate amount of rainwater to gush from that fracture in the ceiling.   As the stream of fluid fell and collided with the cobblestone, it kicked up a thin mist of aerosols, gradually soaking anyone in the vicinity with tiny beads of damp perspiration. The globules of water swelled and coalesced with time, forming many thick nuclei of moisture that glistened in the reflected light. Big fat droplets slowly trickled from Altheda's cheeks and her loose bangs of hair, stalling when they reached the end of their cliffs in a hydrostatic cling to existence. Eventually, they succumbed to gravity, dripping as they plopped to the earth. They almost looked like tears, but I knew for a fact that they were no such thing. Altheda was not the kind of person who was prone to sentimentality. She never cried.   "Nez, you far overestimate me. I'm just a normal person," she said, her tone of voice misleadingly casual. "I'm not as strong as you think." "If you're normal, what is everyone else supposed to be?" I shook my head disbelievingly. Altheda smiled wryly again, still looking away. "I don't think you give yourself — and everyone else — enough credit," she said simply. My friend shifted around and turned to face me, her emerald pupils as clear as crystal. Her serious gaze bore right into my eyes. "Have a little more faith in yourself. While I’m flattered by what you think of me, you don’t do yourself any favors by mistaking ordinary people for heroes. Outside of fiction, there are no protagonists and antagonists. Those are imaginary narratives spun by storytellers.” “A prostitute who manipulated the vice provost after three sessions in the doggy-style position into funding the city's largest orphanage despite its bankruptcy sounds totally ordinary to me,” I said sarcastically. “That was five hundred thousand denarii reallocated from the royal budget.” Altheda did not even blink as she continued her train of thought without hesitation. “It’s easy to underestimate the ‘ordinary’ people around you, but that’s a mistake. Everyone has their own struggles and simple gifts, and every shallow-looking plebeian that you encounter on the streets is deeper than the ocean. Most people carry heavier burdens than they let on. We are not special.” “I don’t care. Your story is special to me.” “Nez, stop it. You’re being unfair. I don’t like hearing you talk about a fictitious version of myself that doesn’t exist. I’m getting too old, too jaded, and too tired for this. Frankly, if I had a chance at a quiet life secluded away in a hermitage somewhere, I would seize it in a heartbeat. You, on the other hand, are itching for something more. Sooner or later, you’ll fly away to chase a better future. You don't need a crippled old hag like me dragging you down, and frankly you’ve rapidly outgrown this place. Please don’t hesitate to cut me off when that time comes.” I laughed insecurely. “You're making this sound like I’m leaving you for some weird reason. What kind of horrible friend would I be if I did that? Why are we even talking about this grim topic to begin with?” I didn't like where this conversation was going. It made me feel uneasy. Where had the Madam Altheda I had always known gone? What had happened to her bright sense of humor, her dazzling confidence, and her fiery vision for the future? There was a long moment of silence between the two of us. Altheda had a contemplative and reflective look on her face. I shifted my feet uncomfortably as rain continued to splatter on the ground. A large puddle directly in front of my seat prevented me from setting down my legs in their most natural position. Rather than leaving my toes submerged in liquid manure, I awkwardly played a game of Twister with my bare soles, perching my feet on whatever dry spots I could reach.   "I guess that's true. We probably won't be able to sit like this anymore," she finally said after some time of deep thought. My eyes widened as I looked up from my feet. “What do you mean?” I said. “I mean exactly what I mean. This is a goodbye, in a sense,” she said. "In a sense? Don’t just dump this philosophical-theoretical abstrusity on me. That’s not something to joke about. I’m going to see you again tomorrow. I'm cashing in with the Rag Merchant this week, and I'll probably have enough extra to splurge on buying a little salt and oil. We can share a meal together and fix this problem just like we’ve fixed all the others." However, my friend shook her head. Altheda looked back at me, and her expression was apologetic. “I’ve been considering going to one of the street gangs, The Needles. If they take me, then I won't have the casual freedom like this anymore. I wasn’t sure about my feelings before, but after seeing you today, I think I’ve finally come to a decision. I’m going to sell myself in.” I stared at her blankly. “No. Absolutely not.” I blurted out reflexively. “You’re the one who told me never to go that route, no matter how desperate I get.” “Things are a little different for me.” “You know how initiation is in the gangs. It’s brutal. There’s no guarantee you’ll get through it alive. We’ve both seen the corpses of girls who didn’t make it. With the way your foot is… you won’t be ‘jumped in’ the ordinary way. They’ll make you prove yourself the only way you can, and at that point you’ll just be… just be… a thing that not even your own gang has the slightest bit of respect for.” “I know.” “Then why?!” Altheda closed her eyes as she suddenly reached out to grab my hands. It was at that point that I realized that her hands were trembling.   + + +   Ever since I was little, I’ve never been fond of fairy tales. I always thought they were misleading. “And they lived happily ever after,” the last page would read. The newlywed prince and princess would ride laughing away into the sunset as the evil witch laid rotting and vanquished in some puddle elsewhere. The ending was always implied, yet never explicitly written by Walt Disney. The hero and heroine would be blessed with many children and grandchildren, and the entire realm would glow with sunny days and golden flowers ever after. I would always read to that point and try turning the page. However, it was always blank. There were no more pages to turn. I would put down the book and feel a certain degree of confusion and loss as I returned to the monotony of my everyday life. To me, the “happy ending” only felt empty.   Before I died, I was twenty-six years old. The typical protagonist of a fairy tale was probably a late teenager, somewhere around eighteen or nineteen years old. They would go on a literary saga, slay some dragons, rescue some princesses, become rich and famous, and marry the king’s daughter in the process. If it was a Japanese webnovel, there was the added supermarket promotion of buy-one-get-five-free, and the protagonist would inevitably end up with a harem of beautiful bishoujos. Their overwhelming fortune aside, the story would usually end before the protagonist turned twenty-two. The author would pull the “happily ever after” trigger, and time would suddenly stop in the universe. Age twenty-seven, age forty-five, and age sixty-three didn't exist in the story. Any future joys, sorrows, blessings, disappointments, comedies, tragedies, and hopes were completely unwritten. There was no quarter- or middle-life crisis, no hint of divorce that is the outcome of 40% of American marriages, nor any inkling of the inevitable loss of our loved ones who played formative roles in our lives. The world would stay frozen in pure naive teenage happiness for the rest of eternity.   I think about this sometimes, because frankly it is too easy to take the small happinesses of life for granted. It is human nature to think that things will never change, and as obsessed as we always are with complaining about our misfortunes, we forget to appreciate the blessings we possessed all along. All of a sudden, it is too late. When framed and cut by the right film director, it is never too difficult to represent a piece of real biographic narrative as a poetic fairy tale. Madam Altheda’s story was a fitting example that could have made itself into a tear-jerking epic trilogy of heat-warming proportions, so long as the motion picture recording was paused before she completed her third decade. Despite her misfortunate origins, Altheda’s youth was blessed by encounters with fairy godmothers, Prince Charmings, and transformative glass slippers. She had dozens of romantic escapades and moonlight sonatas where she played the Capulet to another dashing Montague. There were one thousand and one nights when she was the Scheherazade who captivated King Shahryar with dangling cliffhangers and dramatic prose. I’m almost convinced she could have become the princess of an exotic foreign country if she had played her cards just a tiny bit differently. In this isekai world, it was not easy for one dirty girl in the streets to be noticed amidst an enormous sea of millions. All of us started mediocre and worthless, and this was an era where nobody even bothered to stop the cart when a wagon wheel belonging to a rich merchant casually crushed the leg of a misplaced beggar. Even a career in prostitution was not something that just any girl could obtain if they wanted it. Actually, in this universe, it was normal for many starving street girls to gaze upon the red light district with open envy. Unlike aristocratic maidens who spent their childhood fantasizing about becoming princesses, the rest of us dreamt of the enormous fat tips and the fawning lifestyle that came with being a celebrity entertainer like Madam Altheda. Prostitution houses existed on tiers in the City of Ohm. The finest ones were impossible for ordinary people from the streets to gain entry into, and women who worked there lived lavish opulent lives as elegant concubines for the wealthy. There was an entire spectrum of classier whorehouses and more economical ones, and the clientele varied appropriately according to the price and quality of services offered by the young women who contracted themselves there. Sex existed in a free market in this isekai city, and supply far outstripped demand. It was common to hear bachelors brag in the city taverns that a casual roll in the hay was cheaper than a pint of ale, depending on exactly where you went. Blowjobs were considered complimentary at some establishments, and intense competition drove prices to the floor. Eventually, there was a point where the burdens of sex weren’t worth the price for those who placed their bodies on sale, and most poor women had very little interest selling themselves in the trashiest whorehouses where each round went for pennies. At that point, it was hard labor just like all the other career options available to the poor. However, the dark stories did not just end there. Exploitative business practices were rampant in the underground world, and there always seemed to be a voracious demand for hardcore, deviant, and twisted sexual practices from hungry men that no sane woman would willingly consent to. Disturbingly, some of those establishments were among the most popular, and consequently they were a source of much of the cautious paranoia that any slightly attractive street girl harbored while walking alone in the night. This was just a component to the everyday routine of the urban poor, and we were accustomed to this unpleasant fact of life just as Americans are desensitized to deadly 5-car pileup motor vehicle accidents on evening CNN news. However, this wasn’t something that we could ignore just because we thought it was slightly unpleasant. After all, the victim could have easily been one of us if we had drawn a slightly shorter straw. Just as I chose a life rummaging through trash and sewage, others chose livelihoods in other unsavory aspects of the world. The experience was difficult for all of us, and the chance of winning the lottery was miniscule. In this sense, Madam Altheda possessed an incredible story for rising from the bottom of the barrel to the very top.   After achieving her own ‘happily ever after’, Altheda had become so successful that she’d considered retiring from the nightlife. With the abundant fortune that smiled upon her, Altheda had the time to reconsider the things that she wanted most in life. Although none of her dozens of romantic exploits had ever yielded fruit from the perspective of permanent companionship, she gradually realized as the years increasingly passed by that she was painfully empty. There was no hope and concept for a further purpose. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Altheda had reached the top of the mountain feeling nothing. She never obtained the self-actualization that she’d always desired despite her many tribulations. Later on, she confessed to me that she’d always wanted to have a family, and she didn’t realize it until very late in her journey. However by that point, the traditional rites of matrimony and fidelity — for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health — were out of the question due to her status as a scarlet woman. Nonetheless, she decided that she wanted to have a child with her aging body before the window of opportunity passed forever. In her head, Altheda mentally calculated the finances and her savings, and consequently stopped using contraception when the numbers seemed to line up. She thought that she had more than enough to live a quiet life of obscurity in a foreign country with her newborn child. However, things had turned out disastrously in less than a blink of an eye. At that point, it was too late for any regrets.   + + +   “I’ve sacrificed too much to just give up now,” she whispered with a wry smile. “You don’t have to do this. You shouldn’t have to do this,” I repeated. Altheda shook her head as she pulled her hands away. “I’ve been thinking about this possibility ever since the beginning. I’ve actually been incredibly fortunate that the Hibiscus Loft didn’t silence me from the start. With all of the nobility that I’ve shared a bed with, I’m more of a liability to the aristocracy alive than dead. Sooner or later, someone will notice the oversight, and the dagger will come after my throat. I’ve been living on borrowed time ever since I’ve been cast to the streets.” “But…” “Nez, it’s more than just me. You’ve seen how Imar is. He isn’t going to make it at this rate.” She waited for me look down at her lap, where her newborn son lay wrapped in woolen blankets. Hesitantly, she started lifting the fabric that shielded him from the elements. A lump developed at the back of my throat when I saw with my own eyes what the blankets concealed, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Altheda had not been exaggerating.   Contrary to what a lay person might expect, malnutrition in infants and children does not always lead to thin sticks and bones. My knowledge from professional school told me that child malnourishment could certainly result in edema in the limbs. Bilateral swelling in the lower legs was one of the early signs for severe malnourishment. In fact, extreme cases of Kwashiorkor’s are characterized by ascites and bloating of the abdomen. The lack of protein intake causes a reduction of albumin content in the bloodstream, which is the primary osmotic force that prevents fluid from escaping into the extravascular space. Compensatory demand for albumin synthesis stresses the liver and results in hepatomegaly. Particularly in infants, malnourishment is a dangerous spiral. As they grow too weak to feed, the starvation compounds on itself and the infant can decompensate in just a few weeks. In the Western medical lexicon, this was termed “failure to thrive.”   I looked back up at Altheda, concern deeply set in my eyes. She averted her eyes as she spoke again. “It’s not him. It’s me. My milk production is falling. I don’t think it’s enough for him.” “How long has it been now?” I asked. “Maybe for the past week? I don’t know why it’s happening, though. I’m not eating any less than I was a month ago, and I’ve been trying my hardest to fill my stomach as much as I can. My savings are vanishing like smoke, but this isn’t something I would try to cut corners on. I’ve been prioritizing food over shelter or warmth or anything else right now, so I can’t imagine that insufficient food would be the cause for my milk to run dry.” “Is it okay if I hold him?” Altheda nodded and hesitantly passed her infant into my arms. The first thing I did was obtain a feel for his temperature and his brachial pulse. My hands wandered to check his conjunctiva, inside his mouth, as well as his primitive reflexes. The rooting reflex and the sucking reflex are critical for breastfeeding and is present in infants since birth, and I wanted to be sure my friend wasn’t mistaken that it was only her milk production at fault. It was unusual for milk production to be the primary issue. While it was common for mothers to subjectively claim this was the case, the measured caloric content and volume of milk produced does not correlate well with the dietary quality of the mother.1Please don't take anything you read in this story as medical advice! >.< While this appeared to be the case for calories when I did my research for this chapter, there are many additional vitamins, nutrients, and other components that are present in breast milk that may be affected by maternal diet. In fact, there is strong evidence that starvation experienced by the parents does affect growth in the offspring through epigenetic factors. Even impoverished mothers in third world countries usually have no issue lactating, and the female body will still break down fat reserves to produce milk in the absence of a consistent diet. In this sense, primary lactation failure was rare, except in cases of extreme starvation. Secondary causes were more common. For instance, simply not breastfeeding enough can cause lactation to cease naturally. Suckling stimulates the release of prolactin, which is necessary for the production of milk in humans. As a result, a busy mother who forgets to breastfeed in favor of bottled formula milk will naturally experience a decrease in milk production, and such scenarios were far more common among first-time mothers. Another very possible scenario could be that the baby doesn't cry when it needs to eat. In this case, the mother wouldn’t be woken up to breastfeed or know when was the right time to feed again. Babies with cerebral palsy or developmental disorders might not latch during feeding sessions on for as long as they should. All of these could be considered problems with the infant rather than the mother. However, from my brief exam, I did not notice any obvious abnormalities apart from general lethargy. But then again, I wasn’t a licensed practitioner, and I had already learned the hard way not to trust any knowledge I carried with me from my previous life. I looked back up to my friend. “How long is he feeding for? And how many times a day?” “Ten minutes maybe, each time? He doesn’t cry as much as he used to, but I try to encourage him to suckle every one or two hours.” “If it were me, I’d make sure he absolutely doesn’t go four hours without feeding, especially overnight. Ten minutes sounds a little short to me, but there is very little you can do if he doesn’t seem hungry.2Do not take Nez's words as medical advice! >.< In fact, she missed a few things and is partially wrong about certain statements, so go see a real doctor if there's ever something that concerns you! He may be getting tired in the middle of each nursing session, so try to offer it to him more frequently if you can.” “Quella the Midwife also said ten minutes sounded short when I spoke with her, but thank you for your advice too.” Altheda nodded as she took her infant back into her arms. “Besides, I think my main problem is that I’m not producing enough milk.”   At that point, I paused. The words that Altheda had spoken earlier continued to echo and bounce about in my head. Worry and concern for my friend compounded like a crystalizing fractal matrix, and it was becoming increasingly clear that there were multiple factors at play in this complex picture. Mentally, I struggled to assemble the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.  “The Needles…” I murmured subconsciously. “Imar needs a wet-nurse,” Altheda said simply as she rocked her baby in her arms. I blinked a few times as I looked up at my friend. “Ordinarily, only the rich can afford a wet-nurse. Otherwise, it is a death sentence for the baby if the mother is unable to feed her child. Even before that, on this continent, the mortality rate for all children surviving to adulthood is close to 50%. I’m not oblivious to the statistics. I’ve slept around with enough scholars from the Royal Institute to know a little bit about numbers.” “So you think joining a gang will give you access to one?” I completed her train of thought. Altheda nodded. “The initiation aside, the street gangs treat their own like family and they’re fiercely territorial. Even if I end up used like a dirty rag at the bottom of the pecking order, I need people I can count on, and this is something that Imar needs right now.” I couldn’t find any words to say in response. Instead, I only played with my fingers absentmindedly as I bit my lip. “With the way things are headed, nothing good is coming for the lone wolves,” she continued. “I’ve been watching the ripples move in the pond that we reside in, and the way that I’m living right now isn’t sustainable. It will only continue to get worse in the future.” “You really think this gamble is the right choice?” I finally forced myself to speak. “You don’t exactly have a lot to offer to a gang, especially the way your leg is, and they might not even accept you. If you’ve bet wrong and miscalculated evenly slightly, they’ll kill you just for the fun of it.” “I know. And that’s also why I’m not going empty handed.” “What do you even have that will interest them?” I asked, genuinely curious. “That’s easy,” she said, staring emotionlessly straight into my eyes. “It’s you.”   + + +   I shot straight up, my feet splashing straight into the puddle I had gingerly been avoiding this entire time. For a moment, I only stared at Altheda. “You’re selling me out?!” My delayed reaction was filled with incredulous disbelief. “Evidently.” Altheda had a painful weak smile on her face as she finally revealed her full hand of cards. “You’re Diseased,” she said slowly. “But even more interestingly, you’re clearly an Otherworlder. With your name, Nezumi, were you born in a country called ‘日本 (Ni-hon)’? We have a few of those Japanese-Galican encyclopedias in the library at the Royal Institute. They’re a niche part of the collection since most Otherworlders seem to come from other places, but anyone sufficiently resourced would be curious enough to research the origins of your strange name.” I felt like I was being punched with a sledgehammer straight to my gut. I couldn’t believe this. My world had suddenly been inverted and turned upside down. After seven straight months of toiling away in subhuman conditions, now I was suddenly informed that there were other reincarnators in this shoddy world as well? Wasn’t this slightly too cruel, even if it was just for a joke? “I’m not sure how familiar you are with international politics, but Otherworlders play a curious role in the global theater. I mean, most of them are quite useless and clueless when it comes to practical things, so you’d be an idiot ruler if you actually gave them any real responsibility or power, but it’s fashionable these days for kings and emperors gather them like collectibles and parade them around all prettied up in gilded cages. If their identity can be verified, I think your people are some of the highest-selling exotic commodities on the black market.” “Hold on a minute!” My incredulous eyes were filled with hurt and disappointment. “You’re really going to do this to me?” I asked, feeling blank and betrayed on the inside.   My friend(?) looked down at her hands, her expression mixed and complex. She brushed the hair of her newborn infant, her actions tender and soft. “Yeah, I’m doing this,” she said. “Are you going to strike me down before I go to the Needles? Do you have the guts to stop me and kick me while I’m gasping helplessly on the ground? I have a dagger concealed on my left leg, so if you can reach it, you might as well slit my throat too. It’s important to properly finish your work and not leave any dangling threads that might come back to bite you.” Altheda’s voice was perfectly calm, neutral, and collected. “I’m a very stubborn person, so don’t think anything you say will change my mind,” she said. My hands tightened into fists at her words, my nails biting into my palms.  I felt torn and hurt like a stake had been driven right into my chest. Her provocative words fanned the betrayal that I felt in my heart. However, as silence fell between us, I realized that my feet were rooted in place. I couldn't will myself to move. Slowly, I stumbled backwards while my grip loosened. She was right. I couldn’t do this.  I couldn’t. I just simply couldn’t. I drew a blank on my tenacity, and this was my limit. I hated all of this. I hated everything about this goddamn world. The deeper into the mire I found myself sinking, the more I hated myself. With each passing day, I was becoming more and more of an unrecognizable stranger. Why did everything have to end in hatred and antipathy? I couldn’t even blame my friend for all this. The only thing I felt was emptiness.   + + +   Madam Altheda wordlessly shuffled her belongings around as she took her cane into her hands. With a huff, she pushed herself to her feet and hobbled a few unsteady steps with her entire weight slouched over the flimsy wooden support. Her infant was slung across the front of her chest in an improvised sling. Slowly, she inched forward with tiny lopsided steps as she passed the threshold where the rain poured down the eaves of the tannery. She paused at my paralyzed figure that was getting increasingly drenched from the downpour. For a moment, she just stood there without saying anything, imbibing the sensation of water pounding on her back just as it did to mine. She finally spoke. “Nez, don’t be stupid. Do I really have to spell it out for you?”   Altheda failed to elicit a response. She sighed and suddenly raised her voice. “Use your head more! You’re smart, but it’s useless if you don’t think on your feet,” she chastised. “Why do you think I’ve told you all of this? If I really wanted to sell you out, would I really announce all of my evil plans in front of your face like a cackling second-rate villainess?” She tapped her wooden cane angrily on the ground. “I don’t have all day. Quick thought exercise, right now. What’s my objective in telling you everything at face value?” Her voice was impatient and pedantic.   “You’re…” My voice was timid and reticent, unsure of what to say. Meanwhile, the gears in my head chugged and spun frantically while they chased the thread I had been given. “You’re.. telling me this because you don’t want me to be caught off guard.” I came to my answer simultaneously as I spoke my thoughts aloud. “Yup! Now do me a favor, Nez. I’d estimate around eight hours, give or take, before you have some very scary mobsters knocking down your front door in Quagmire Bottom. Before they and some other silly idiots decide to set fire to everything you’ve ever held dear to yourself, get out of my fucking shithole of a city. Comprendes, mi amiga?” My expression went completely white. This was entirely out-of-character for the Madam Altheda that I knew. It was a version of her self that she had never shown me, but somehow I recognized this unfamiliar personality. It felt warm, familial, and nostalgic. Where had I felt this feeling before? “Get out of the city? But how? It’s at least a hundred leagues to the next urban settlement, and even then I don’t have citizenship documents, supplies, or hardly enough money.” “You’ll figure something out, sweetie. I’m sure you’ll be fine, if you trust me at all. You’ve got what it takes already. All you need is a little push out of the nest.” Altheda patted me casually on the head as she turned around and started limping away deeper into the pouring rain. I watched her departing figure speechlessly, and my feelings blazed in total disarray. They churned inside me like a vortex, and my emotions felt like a child trying to fly a kite in the midst of a hurricane. I didn’t know what to say or do or feel. Everything was too sudden. I hadn’t quite registered everything that had transpired in such a short few minutes, and my legs felt as heavy as lead anchors.   Was this it? Was this her stupidly indirect way of saying goodbye? No matter how I turned it over in my head, I didn’t like it. In fact, I hated it. I hated the way this had all come to pass.   Suddenly, I lunged towards her. Reaching out as I flew into the rain, I seized my closest friend and pulled her to a stop in the middle of her tracks. I came from behind her in a tight hug. I buried my face into her back and dug my fingers into the stinky muddy fabric of her clothes, refusing to let go. Meanwhile, the rain continued to wash the dirt from our hair and blur our eyes as endless water fell from the sky above us. “What about you?” I whispered. “Are you going to be okay?” Altheda gently touched the back of my encircling arms with the palm of her hand. “I’ll be fine. I’m the one and only me, after all,” she replied with a reassuring smile. “So move along, it’s time to get going.”   It was at those words when I realized for the first time that Madam Altheda was a terrible liar. Slowly, the rain that rolled down my cheeks turned salty.  I wasn't crying. Despite how I looked, I absolutely wasn't crying. There just wasn't anything I hated more than rainy days.   ∎     ohko If you follow me (@otokonoko) on Scribble Hub, you’ve probably already heard that I’m now working together with Trismegistus Shandy, who is the fabulous editor of MrSimple here on SH. Both of them are incredible veteran writers and mentors to me, so you should check them out if you haven’t already. In short, thanks to Tris’s efforts, all of the earlier chapters have been edited up until this point. XD These past two weeks have been hard. It’s really emotionally exhausting for me to write and re-write and stress over this project, and honestly many days I don’t really know where I’m going. For those of you who read my incoherent blog on NUF and support me when I’m down, this chapter really only exists because of you guys. I love you all so much.

Chapter 11: Inheritance (Part 1) ​ ~~~ Later the same Day ~~~ Merry hummed lightly as she shifted through the large box in the back of the carriage, pulling out several random objects and laying them off to the side. It had been almost a year since she’d last seen Aunt Caroline, and she could barely contain herself. As she searched the storage box, a small glint caught her eye. She reached down and pulled out a short tube about the length her forearm; it was made of a dull gray wood. There was no distinguishing markings or other such things anywhere on its surface; if not for the slight shift in weight as it moved, one might think it was just a wooden rod or stick. But Merry recognized what it was. She could still make out the scene of her Father arguing with the stranger as she hid in the back, though the words they said were low and hushed. She reached down after a moment and picked up the rod with a frown, examining its length in detail. As she did, a memory popped into her head and she drew the small knife on her belt, then pricked her finger. She took the tiny drop of blood and wiped it on one end of the rod; it gave a small shake, and the opposite end popped open and half of the rod retracted back like a ribcage, giving a series of soft clicks. Merry gave a small squeal and nearly dropped the rod as it moved, but managed to maintain her grip. She stared in amazement at the strange thing, wondering how it worked. After a long moment, her eyes fell on the contents of the rod. Laying in the exposed center was an old scroll, tightly rolled. Her heart began to beat in excitement as she reached down to touch the old scroll, but before she did, a voice called out from around the corner of the carriage, “Merry, are you finished? We’re almost ready to go.” Merry gave a slight jump, before turning her head and gave Selah a nervous look, careful not to let her see the case. Selah looked at the carriage and the items that were strewn about, before giving Merry a frown and speaking in a stern voice, “Clean up the mess and gather your things. We leave in five minutes.” Merry gave a quick nod and began to shuffle some things around. Selah gave the little girl a suspicious look before turning around and walking away. Merry sighed when she saw the woman leave and pulled out the rod. It gave another series of small clicks as she picked it up and quickly closed itself once more without a visible seam. The young girl stared down at the rod for a moment, before placing it in her carry bag and turning back to the large box. After a moment of searching Merry pulled out a small ornate wooden box the size of two of her fists, her eyes sparkling. The young girl quickly stuffed the box into her bag as well, and replaced all of the remaining items into the box, before hopping out of the back of the carriage. A few moments later, she rounded the corner to see a small group of people surrounding a passenger carriage. Alex and Matthew were off to the side discussing something, while Mark was loading a few items into the back of the carriage, Tsutsuji napping lightly on his head. Grace was speaking to Selah as they looked over a small map of the city, marking certain areas as they did so. Selah, seeing that Merry had arrived, quickly walked over and picked the small girl up, while the Duchess gave a bright smile and clapped lightly, drawing the rest of the group's attention, “Well now! Seeing that everyone is here, let’s get this show on the road. I’ve put together a little route for you all that will highlight all of Whitewood’s charm. I do hope that you come to enjoy your stay here.” Mark walked over to the small outdoor table the map lay on and looked it over. According to the route they would take, they would first start off in the manufacturing district, before circling the city in a clockwise manner through the residential, workers, and trade districts, before finally ending the day back at the fortress. Ten minutes later, three adults, a little girl and a still sleeping Guide stuffed themselves into the passenger carriage and headed out. As the group moved through the Streets, they sat in awkward silence; Mark leaned back in the padded seat, staring out of the window, bored, while Merry sat quietly on Selah’s lap, the latter humming slowly to herself as she petted the small girl. Alex couldn’t help but feel a little restless in the strange atmosphere and pretended to study the small town map in detail, while Tsutsuji mumbled something softly in her sleep. Mark, seeing that it would be a while before they reached their first destination, decided to make up for a little-lost sleep. He didn’t know why, but recently he had become unable to sleep properly, even with his skill. He would often find himself waking in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat or shaking. Other times, he would lay down only to immediately sit back up, a wave of intense nausea washing over him. He had begun to take up small naps in the middle of the day to compensate, but he could feel his fatigue and irritation building. He gently rubbed his temples, trying to ease the slight pressure, before closing his eyes and letting the light rumble of the wheels on the paved road sweep him away. An unknown time later, Mark woke up to a gentle nudging. He opened his eyes to see they had stopped at a small building with several over passenger carriages lining the street. Dozens of people of all shapes sizes and colors mingled around. Some were dressed as travelers or adventurers, while others were obviously workers of the district and the various sounds of work and loud yelling filled the air. The building they had stopped at seemed to be some form of relay or parking garage as several people approached the nearby counter and filled out a form of some kind, before an attendant drove the carriages nearby, away. Mark stepped out of their own carriage and gave a grunt as he stretched himself out, then looked around the area. Alex was standing nearby with Selah, speaking to a well-dressed attendant, while Merry and Tsutsuji sat on the edge of the carriage door, looking out at the passing crowd. After a moment Alex and Selah returned, as the attendant walked over and sat in the driver’s box. Merry slid down as the attendant drove the carriage, and Selah spoke, “We’ll be heading to Mother’s workshop from here. It’s not too far, but we’ll have to walk the rest of the way.” It seemed that to cut down on traffic, only supply, transport, and emergency wagons were allowed on the Manufacturing District’s roads. While Mark didn’t mind the walk, Merry frowned; she wanted to see Aunt Caroline, but she never liked the Manufacturing District, it was smelly, loud and hot. She quietly walked over to Mark and reached up, grabbing his large hand as she stared into the crowd nervously. Mark looked down at the small girl and frowned, but said nothing. Selah, seeing this, furrowed her brow and quickly walked over, grabbing onto Merry’s other hand and gave Mark a threatening look as if she’d seen a stranger try and snatch her child. Mark simply raised an eye and shrugged. Selah’s face redden and a vein began to throb, but she simply humphed in the end and turned her head away. Tsutsuji gave a light laugh before flying over and laying on Merry’s head. Mark shook his head with a sigh and the group began to walk down the side of the road; Alex following behind, gave an awkward smile, feeling a little left out. The group quickly made their way down the road, Selah pointing out to a building every so often and giving the name of some famous company or craftsmen. Mark looked around the district, impressed with what he saw. While it wasn’t comparable to his own world, the technology of this one was a strange mix of old and new. On one corner you might see a carpenter steadily shaving down a massive log by hand, while on another you might see a man repairing a metal railing with a blowtorch like device. Over all though, the atmosphere gave Mark the vibe of a civilization on the cusps of a technological revolution. Elaos had said this world was “stagnating”, but as far as Mark could see, it seemed to be progressing along nicely. After about 20 minutes of walking, the group approached a large building with a crowd around the entrance. The building itself was a simple design, but it was a good three or four times the size of any others in the surrounding area, and the large sign hanging on top read “Mythforge” is huge glaring letters. Mark could see a steady flow of people coming in and out of the entrance; some carried packages and boxes, a wide smile on their face, others left empty handed. Selah quickly led the group through the crowd, ignoring the sounds of protest as those gathered were pushed away, before nodding to the guard standing at the entrance and leading them through. The building, while not overly crowded on the inside, had several dozen people milling about as they looked at the items and merchandise on sale. Several sales clerks walked around the store, approaching the guests as they answered questions or pushed a sale. The atmosphere made Mark feel like he’d walked into a large specialty shop in his old world. Though he’d never seen a specialty shop like this. While the vast majority of the displayed goods seemed to be metal or wood tools and traveling equipment, one side of the store was dedicated to things such as armor and weapons as well. Saleh led the group through the crowd and to the back of the store, nodding to a few of the employees as they passed. Several even gave Merry a cheerful greeting, though their eyes took on a look of pity as they noticed the bandages wrapped around her limbs and head. The group soon left the bustle of the storefront and passed through a door in the back, entering into a long hallway with several doors on either side. From a distance, a loud, rhythmic sound of metal on metal could be heard. The sound grew louder and louder as they neared the far end of the hallway. As they neared, the door opened and two young children walked out, carrying several large bundles and dressed in similar clothes and leather aprons as Selah. The leading one, a boy roughly 12 years old, called out with a smile, “Miss Selah! You’re back!” The young boy rushed over with his bundle. Though he looked quite young, he was surprisingly tall, only a head shorter than Selah herself. A wide grin spread on his face as he stopped in front of the group, and as the boy looked up at Selah, Alex couldn’t help but imagine a small puppy happy to see his owner return. Selah looked down with a smile and patted the young boy on the head, then said, “Yes, Yes. Sorry about running out on you guys like that.”“N-no, it’s alright! We can take care of just this small amount.”“Speak for yourself!” Suddenly, a boot placed itself on the boys behind and shoved him several steps down the hall. Mark looked to see the face of a young girl, a few years older than Merry, peek out from behind the bundle she carried. Her face looked over at the older boy in contempt, her temple throbbing. She suddenly snapped her head up to Selah, giving her an angry look before speaking in a light voice that would be quite pleasant if not filled with irritation, “And You! Big Sis Selah, do you have any idea how busy we’ve been with the sale today?”“Hehe, I’m Sorry, truly. Something came up.” As the young girl scolded her, Selah moved her eyes away nervously and glanced down at Merry. The young girl’s eyes followed her line of sight and she finally noticed Merry standing between Mark and Selah. Her eyes quickly went wide, and the girl gave a shout, “Merry!” She threw the bundle she carried at the older boy and rushed over, wrapping Merry in a tight hug, eyes on the verge of tears. “What happened?! Where’s Aunt and Uncle? Why are….” Selah gently pried the young girl away from Merry and patted her on the head, before speaking in a soft voice, “I’ll explain everything later. For now, take the supplies and go tell the Head Clerk we’ll be visiting Mother for a short while, so please turn anything away.” The young girl gave a short nod before picking up her dropped bundle and began to quickly walk down the hall, glancing back every few steps with a worried look. The boy looked over with sad eyes, before turning around without a word and following the girl. Selah watched the two walk away, before looking down at Merry. The little girl who’d been a little excited and bubbly a few moments before had gone stiff, her eyes cold as she stared at the floor in front of her. Mark looked down at her with a frown, before giving a sigh and gently petting her head with his free hand. Merry looked up at the man for a moment with a complicated look, then giving his hand a tight squeeze, she walked forward with determined steps towards the open door. Selah watched on silently, a frown marring her face as she followed after. The group walked through the door and into a large room lit by a massive forge and several open skylights. The room was stuffed full of tools, equipment and raw materials waiting to be processed. As they walked into the room, Tsutsuji, who had been riding on Alex’s shoulder in the back, quickly flew into the air and started to buzz around excitement, examining the large weapons and armor that lined one wall. A strange gleam lit her eyes as she flew about, touching each piece feverishly. Ignoring the bug’s strange behavior, Mark looked around the room in interest. When his eyes landed on the figure of a person in the back. With a quick downward swing, the person swung the large hammer into the glowing bar in front of them, giving off a loud bang that seemed to make the air around them shake. Then again, they raised the hammer and brought it down with precise movements. The group simply stared at the figure slightly blurred by the light of the forge, seemingly hypnotized by the work, while the figure continued on as if they didn’t even notice the newcomers. After a moment, Selah walked over slowly, and spoke in a quiet voice, “Mother. We have guests.” The Hammering stopped, and the figure looked up at Selah with a quizzical glance, before turning their gaze to the rest of the group. The figure paused for a moment, before glancing down at their work. They quickly picked up the glowing bar with a pair of tongs and quenched it in a nearby barrel, then laid it aside and walked towards them. No longer half blinded by the light of the forge, Mark’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the figure of the woman in front of him. There standing in an outfit the same as her Daughter, was a short lady no taller than 5 foot, her short blond pixie cut hair slightly dirty with soot. Her eyes were an icy blue, like looking into the heart of a glacier and her arms and body were surprisingly thin considering the work she had been doing. Though still red from the heat of the fire and slightly smudged with ash, her face was quite beautiful and Mark could instantly see the resemblance with her older daughter, Grace. Though Mark was slightly startled and confused; both girls had referred to this Woman as “Mother”, but no matter how much Mark tried, he couldn’t see anything but a young woman in her early 20s. Caroline’s eyes fell on the others with a dull look, her icy eyes staring are them as if contemplating their worth. She walked slowly over, wiping her dirty hands on a cloth she pulled from her leather apron and stopped in front of them. She stared at each in turn with a thoughtful gaze, though not saying a word. Alex was the first to catch her gaze; she looked at him with contempt at first, but as she moved her eyes up and down his body, she finally gave a cold smile and a light nod. Alex simply stood there at attention, nervously shaking as he felt her eyes on him, seeming to see into his Soul. He couldn’t help but give a sigh of relief when her gaze turned too Tsutsuji. When Caroline saw the little Guide still excitingly bouncing around the room, her eyes lit up in surprise, before regaining their cold light, though a slight spark could be seen in their depths. She gave a smirk and light chuckle before turning to Mark. As her eyes fell on him, she gave a frown and her brow furrowed as if in deep thought. She looked at him in the eye as he stared back, meeting her gaze without blinking. After a long moment, she broke away without another word and finally turned to look down at Merry, the young girl still clinging to Mark’s hand. Caroline knelt down to the girl’s level and looked at her with a blank face, Merry refusing to meet her eyes. After a moment, Caroline reached up and grabbed the little girl's chin, pulling it forward and the girl's eyes swam around. “Are you not going to say hello, Runt?” Merry simply looked away again, tears on the corner of her eyes. Caroline frowned and gave a sigh, before gently pulling the girl into a deep embrace. Her cold face softened, though only a little, as the little girl wrapped her armed around the woman and shook slightly. After a few moments of silence, the two separated, and Caroline stood up, looking slightly annoyed at the tear stain on her shirt. She quickly took off her apron and tossed it to her Daughter, before speaking, “I’m going to go clean up. Bring them to my office.”“Yes, Mother” Selah answered quickly, giving a slight bow as she folded the apron and walked towards the door, motioning for them to follow.

Chapter 3: As the sparks fly upward As the scream sounded through the night, Mark was jolted awake, his eyes growing wide in surprise. Body slightly stiff from his awkward position, he quickly jogged to the cave entrance, straining his ears as he looked out into the dark night. While the sound was far and faint, he could make out the sound of a commotion down the river. Standing there, he squinted his eyes trying adjusting them to the darkness. After a moment, Mark began to dash down the faint pathway next to the stream. He may have been a junkie and alcoholic, but he was an ex-cop as well, the least he could do was to check what was going on. If his luck was good, the other party might even know a way back to town. Of course, being this far out in the woods, there was always the off chance that whatever was happening was not something he should see. In that case, he would just hide and pretend like he was never there; the bosses of the local underground had been trying to find him for over a year now, he’d not be noticed by some low-level mooks. With practiced steps, he ran closer and closer to the sounds of fighting, furrowing his brow in confusion as he could make out the sound of clashing metal, like someone slamming metal pipes together. As he drew near he could make out a tall bulky man fighting a group of short fellows near a stone bridge, swinging rods at each other. Before he could be noticed, Mark ducked into the shadow of the nearby trees and slowly approached for a better look. [….the hell?] Peering out of the shadows, Mark could see a young man standing on the bridge in the moonlight, his size magnified by the heavy looking metal armor he wore. With a grunt, the young man swung the long rod; or sword rather, at one of the cloaked short fellows surrounding him. The short fellow gave a startled, high pitched scream and fell to the ground. Watching in confusion, Mark wondered to himself whether he’d wandered into a movie set or some re-enactment or another. Either way, it was the strangest thing he’d seen in a long time. As he watched the battle from the shadows, Mark’s eyes were drawn by another loud scream. While it sounded younger than the first, Mark recognized the emotions it carried; it was not a scream of terror or pain but a primordial yell filled with rage, welling up from deep within the soul. It was a sound that Mark was intimate with. Looking a little ways away, Mark could make out the outline of an old canvas topped wagon, sitting by the roadside. It was a simple design and could have fit neatly into any old western movie. But what drew his eyes, was what stood on top of it. There, in the shadow of the night, stood a short fellow, though a little taller than the ones fighting the man on the bridge. In his outstretched hand, he held the hair of a child, no older than six or seven years old. Jumping down from the carriage, the clouds in the sky parted slightly, illuminating the short fellow's figure. At the sight, Mark’s blood ran cold. There in the moonlight stood the ugliest creature he’d ever seen. Dark green skin covered long, thin bony limbs that made it look like an oversized spider monkey. Its small head was topped with a thin patch of white hair and huge pointed ears. Its mouth was long and slim, exposing thin needle like teeth as it grinned at the girl in its hand. The girl screamed and flailed at the thing, causing its large black eyes to squint in amusement. Mark could do nothing but stare at the creature in shock, mind blank, unable to process what he was looking at. It was not till the young girl spat in the things face that Mark snapped back to reality. With growing fear and cold sweat dripping down his back, he watched as the creature’s face went cold and he placed the little girl on the ground. With a fierce left hook, the little girl was sent flying across the road, landing hard before tumbling to a halt just shy of his hiding spot. As the thing started to slowly approach the girl, Mark’s heart began to beat faster. He did not know where these monsters had come from, but he had to run before they noticed him too. He may not have cared if he died or not, but that did not mean he wanted to die with a sword through his gut. As he quickly stood to move away, his unconsciously looked at the little girl lying on the ground and froze. The look in her eyes and the creature neared pierced his heart like a dagger. It was a dead eyed stare filled with remorse and hopelessness that did not fit the face of one so young, but there was still a spark left, screaming for life. As he stood there watching, his mind could not help but go back to all those years ago, when he’d seen those same eyes on another youth. With the crack of bones, Mark closed his trembling hands into a tight fist, before cursing himself in his mind at the foolish action he was about to take, {{SON OF A B****!!!!}} Then he charged out of the Shadows at a full sprint towards the slowly approaching creature. Rushing at full speed, Mark used his momentum to deliver a full power forward thrust kick towards the creature’s chest. The creature, noticing him immediately, crossed its arms to block the kick, taking the impact and flew several meters before tumbling to a stop. As Mark slid to a stop, his eyes caught the girls and he could see a small glint of confusion and surprise before she lowered her head and closed them. Letting out a sigh of relief as he saw the gentle rise and fall of her chest, he looked towards the creature again and opened his mouth in shock. While the creature stood up and screamed in rage at Mark’s intervention, it appears otherwise unharmed. Thinking about the kick itself, Mark felt confused; not only did the impact feel light, as though he were kicking something a quarter of the size, there was a strange bounce to the hit, like he’d struck a rubber wall. Not letting the thought cloud his mind, Mark took a shoulder wide forward stance, his right-hand square against his chest, his left extended outward along his center line. He’d studied Kajukenbo while in the Army for several years, and enjoyed it enough that he continued his practice even after leaving the service. He did not know how effective it would be against this Thing, but if it was good enough to keep him safe from the street thugs, then it was worth a shot. Eyes filled with Anger, the thing raised an eyebrow at Mark’s stance, but a thin grin began to spread across its mouth as it saw he was unarmed. Mark’s breath began to grow ragged and shaky and the thing slowly approached; eyes full of mocking confidence. When it neared to about a meter and a half away, Mark, still shaking slightly, gave a loud Kiai and shifted his stance forward, striking the creature in the chest heavily with his right fist. Again, the creature was blown backward several feet, as Mark stared in shock. Just like with the kick, however, the thing simply rolled a few times and stood up, otherwise unharmed. Again, the blow had felt light, like the creature weighed far less than it appeared. Rage filling its eyes, it charged at Mark, mouth filled with needle like teeth gaping wide. As it approached, Mark moved to strike with his left hand, aiming a reserve hammer fist at its head. However, the creature stopped mid rush and pivoted on its heels, ducking and using the momentum to send a crescent kick into Mark’s unguarded flank. With a surprised grunt, Mark took several steps back and adjusted his stance. Unlike the wildly swinging grunts fighting the armored man on the bridge, it was obvious from its movements that this one was much more skilled. It's smile widening to a mocking grin, the creature took its own strange stance and waved Mark forward, taunting him. Furrowing his brow, Mark moved forward with the creature moving in the same moment. Over the next few minutes, they would exchange blow after blow, Mark relying on his heavy and powerful blows to disrupt the creature’s movements, and the creature using its agile and long limbs to slip through Mark’s guard. After several moments, the two separated, both breathing heavy, soaked in sweat. However, Mark realized that while he was covered in bruise and cuts, the creature itself seemed only tired. Barring a few cuts on the face, it seemed otherwise unhindered. A slow fear began to creep into Mark’s heart as the creature let out a low chuckle at his pitiable condition. As Mark started to strongly consider retreat, a voice sounded out from nearby, [The Sword! You have to cut them!] <Hero> Taking a quick glance at the young man on the Bridge, Mark saw that there were only 3-4 of the Creatures left as the young man in armor called out to him in haste. Eyes turning back to the creature in front of him, Mark took a quick glance at the blade strapped to its waist. Hope growing in his Heart, Mark moved forward once again to meet the creature, the thing apparently unaware of the young man’s warning. After another brief exchange of blows, Mark saw his chance and took a sliding step to the side. Pretending to miss a blow aimed at the creature’s chest, he quickly grabbed onto the blade’s grip, smoothly freeing it from the sheath and flowing around to its back. With a rage filled cry, Mark swung down with all his strength. The creature, eyes wide with surprise, moved to dodge the rusty blade. As the sword made contact, Mark felt the distinct give of flesh and bone, before hearing a high pitched scream. Looking back, Mark saw the creature fall to the ground rolling in pain, as it held onto the stub of the severed arm. Breathing heavily, Mark approached the creature slowly, a fire burning in his eyes as he looked into the creature’s own, full of fear. Suddenly, there was the crack of wood and the twang of a bow from behind. Mark barely dodged the arrow as it flew past and embedded itself into a nearby tree. Quickly turning around, Mark saw another creature, its face half shrouded in a gray hood, standing in the shadows of the tree behind him. The Creature slowly lowered the bow it held, before giving him a mocking look with its eyes and disappearing into the shadows. A Light bulb going off in his head, Mark quickly turned around to look at the first Creature, only to see it running at full speed towards the opposite roadside. As it reached the trees, it leaped upwards, grabbing onto low hanging branches with its good arm and pulled itself up. With nimble movements that belittled its injury, the creature began to climb higher. Turning around to give Mark a hate filled, full toothed evil grin, it quickly disappeared into the treetops. As Mark stood watching, a shrill whistle sounded through the night. The few remaining creatures still fighting the armored man raised their head and quickly broke off their engagement, running swiftly into the Forest and up the nearby trees, just as the first had, then disappeared. The young armored man stood in shock for a moment, before collapsing to his knees, his sword the only thing keeping him upright. After a moment, he looked up at Mark with strange eyes as they both stood there breathing heavily. Then giving a bloody toothed grin, he began to laugh. Mark stood there and looked over at the strange man and raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. Dropping the bloody sword, Mark turned around and walked over to the young girl, still lying on the ground. Watching the slow rise and fall of her chest, a frown began to form on his face.

Chapter 6: Things that were Lost…​ Mark sat near the small fire, stirring a small iron pot filled with oatmeal and small chunks of dried fruit. He had never heard of these fruits before, but Examine insured him that they were edible. Tsutsuji hovered over the edge of the pot staring intently into its contents, a greedy grin spreading over her face. After several attempts on her part to steal a taste when she thought Mark was not looking, Tsutsuji was flicked away, giving a small cry as she tumbled through the air, “Hey!”“It’s not ready. Go play with some of the cave beetles”“I’m not a Bug!” Tears fell from Tsutsuji’s eyes as she raced to the far wall and began to sulk, repeatedly mumbling something Mark could not quite hear. Mark simply continued stirring the porridge, careful not to let it burn. As the mellow smell of the porridge began to fill the small cave he heard a small rustle behind him. He looked over to see Alex finally waking. Alex gave a long yawn as he stretched himself out and stood. Seeing Mark near the small fire, he drowsily walked over, speaking softly as he did so. “Yo, I have the strangest dream, there was this little Bug and you were…..”“I said I am not a Bug!” Alex stopped mid-sentence as his eye’s landed on the small figure of Tsutsuji crouching in a corner of cave. Her tear marked face was a bright red as she turned her head to yell at Alex, a dark and gloomy air surrounding her. Alex’s eyes bulged as his heart began to pound, then yelled in panic, “P-pixie! Quickly, kill it!” The cloud of sleep lifted from Alex’s mind and with a practiced hand he drew his sword. Mark moved at the same time, standing and striking down on Alex’s sword hand with the wooden ladle, still covered in hot porridge. Alex gave a sharp yelp and dropped his sword, giving Mark a confused look before raising his hand and blowing on his slightly burnt wrist. Tsutsuji quickly stood from her corner and flew over to Alex, stopping just short of his nose before yelling at him, a vein bulging on her head, “And I am not a Pixie either! I swear, do Human’s no longer know how to show any respect or reverence? I am a Guide. A GUIDE. G.U.I.D.E!”“A-a Guide?”“Yes, a Guide. Do you not know what that means?!”“You mean, you’re a-a spirit?!"“YES! Finally! Do get it now?”“Y-yes? No, I mean why is there a Magi Spirit here? Why do you look like a-““DON’T YOU DARE SAY IT!” Mark raised an eyebrow at the two’s banter before went back to stirring the Porridge. As he watched the two go back and forth, Mark wondered to himself what the “Pixie” Alex had mentioned before was. A small window suddenly popped into his vision, as if to answer his ponderings, --------------------------------------------------PixieIndex Entry: Also called “Fallen One”, “Corrupted Spirit”, and “Devil Wisp”. While the name and shape vary between cultures, they all refer to the same creature. Pixies are Malignants birthed when a Magi Spirit is corrupted by miasma. While Magi Spirits are naturally able to cleanse miasma, if the Spirit is weakened or exposed to huge amounts, a Pixie may be born.Pixies can take many forms, depending on their vessel when they were a Spirit, but every one of them is extremely dangerous and are considered to be at minimal a C-ranked threat.Adventurers are advised to take caution and report any Pixie sightings to the authorities.-------------------------------------------------- Mark raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden answer. He had not realized that the system could be used like this, as well. It would come in handy later. It took a moment to read through the information before he focused on another unknown word. The first window closed and a second opened in his vision. --------------------------------------------------MalignantIndex Entry: Lifeforms infected by miasma. Miasma is a poison released when dead Magi are unable to be recycled back into the system. This poison can “change” the Magi in an area, causes them to become destructive and virulent. If the internal Magi of a Lifeform is corrupted, they will begin to change the host, destroying their mind and mutating them into a dangerous Malignant. Like a virus, Malignants only goal is to “spread” their sickness. To this end, they will attack any uninfected life forms without warning and without regard to their own safety.-------------------------------------------------- Mark furrowed his brow at the screen in front of him, as a deep frown crossed his face. He did not understand fully what these things were, but he did recognize that they were dangerous. Where those things in the forest Malignants? Mark shook his head in response to his own question; no, the system said that Malignants where mindless but those ‘Forest Goblins’ were obviously intelligent, if not too bright. Whatever they were, Mark knew he did not want to meet either again though. He finally finished the porridge after a few moments and looked up at the two figures of Tsutsuji and Alex, still going back and forth before saying with a grin, “Tsutsuji, are you sure you are not a Pixie? Stop picking on Alex and get ready to eat. Food’s done.” Tsutsuji’s head snapped to the side as she gave Mark a fiery look but she still hovered over quickly to receive her share, eagerness replacing the rage as she stared at the hot porridge. Alex, still in shock, ambled over with glazed eyes and sat down across from Mark. Tsutsuji began to hum to herself as Mark passed her a small dish filled with porridge. Mark had found the small bowl in the supplies stored in the Spatial Stone, along with a few other items that had most likely been prepared for Tsutsuji by her Master. Despite it still being a relatively large dish for her size she was still asking for seconds by the time Mark has filled Alex’s and his own bowl. Tsutsuji gave a satisfied sigh after her third bowl and fell to her back. She lay there for a moment, before springing to the air and began to fly, slow and low, to the bedding near where Merry lay, speaking in a cheerful voice, “Well, that was nice. I’m going to take a Nap.”“Hey! Don’t just leave your mess for others!” Mark cried out to the retreating Tsutsuji, but she simply floated away, humming as though she had not heard him. Mark gave a heavy sigh and shook his head. Alex, who had been mindlessly eating like a robot, gave a slight jump and stared at Mark as if he was seeing him for the first time. He spoke in a confused voice, though coming out of a daze, “W-wait, this is not right. Someone explain what is going on here! Mark, why is there a Spirit here? Why is she just sitting down and eating with us like it’s normal?!”“Why? What’s wrong with it?”“What’s wrong with it?! What’s not wrong? This is a Spirit we are talking about, a Magi Spirit; a manifestation of Nature and you are talking about her like she’s some Stray that wandered in during the night!?”“See! HE gets it!” came a small voice from across the cave. Mark simply shrugged his shoulders as though he did not understand and said in a calm voice, scooping more porridge into his bowl. “Well, you’re not wrong, in a way. As for why she’s here, I’m not sure how m-““MARK!” Tsutsuji interrupted Mark suddenly, shouting in a panicked voice from across the room. Both Men quickly stood and looked her way, weapons half drawn. There in the dim light of the cave, they could see Tsutsuji keening near Merry’s head as she lay on the bedding, the young girl’s good eye slowly blinking as she stared at the three.___________________________________________~~~ 2 hours later ~~~ Mark scooped some of the still warm porridge into a small bowl, before thinning it out a bit with the prepared water. Careful not to spill any, he slowly walked over to the wall where Merry sat and placed the bowl in front of the silent girl before walking away. Merry had panicked when she had first woken up, though her injuries prevented her from moving much. Alex was still nursing the mark on his hand from when he had rushed over foolishly to check on her. Surrounded by strangers and the fear from last night still fresh in her mind, the little girl had lashed out, biting hard enough to draw blood before he managed to escape. Slowly, the memories of the prior night seemed to come back to her as her eyes went wide and she began to frantically look around the cave as if searching for something. She seemed not to find what she was looking for, however, as tears quickly weld up in her eyes and she began to wail; the sound of a deep grief unbefitting of such a small girl filled the cave. Merry had cried for close to 20 minutes before seeming to run out of energy and falling asleep once more. When she awoke an hour later, her eyes were dead and cold, glazed over with a look Mark knew all too well. Alex hesitated for a moment, the memory of a child’s sharp teeth still fresh in his mind, then moving slowly towards her, he carefully propping the small girl up before checking her wounds and changing her bandages. Merry had simply sat there in silence, not seeming to have the energy to resist, her eyes staring into nothing. And there she had sat since. Tsutsuji had sat on the girl’s shoulder since she’d woken the second time gently stroking the small girl’s hair as she whispered words of comfort into her ear, worry and sadness marring the tiny Guide's face. Yet even that did not seem to invoke a response in the little girl. Mark sat down next to Alex with a sigh, both staring at the two girls across from them, deep in thought. Alex spoke after a moment of silence, his voice low “So. What now?”“Still too weak to be moved. She’ll need 1-2 more days to be up and walking. That’s if she wants to”“No, I mean where do we go from here? I remember helping take care of my sister, but that was a few years ago….”“What do you mean ‘where’? You said the girl’s parents were headed to Whitewood. We bring her there and leave her with the authorities. I’m sure someone there can find any family or friends.”“So you are just going to abandon her?! With what she’s been through, we can’t ju-““Do we have any other choice?! I’m no nurturer, and what about you; don’t you have some journey or another? You gonna lug around some kid you barely know?!” Mark countered in a loud whisper tinged with anger, but Alex could see in his eyes sparks of frustration and something else. Mark cooled down after a moment, then looking back to find Tsutsuji staring at him frowning at his volume, he spoke in a cold resolved voice, “We’ve done what we can for her. What she needs now are support and stability, and that’s not something we can give her….” Alex opened his mouth to give a rebuttal but went silent, unable to refute Mark’s words. His own journey was far too dangerous; there is no way he would force a young girl not even old enough for her baptism, to follow after him. As for Mark, he was even less involved than he was, just a stranger passing by. It would not be unreasonable to say Mark had already done more than most people would have, to ask anything else would unfair. Yet Alex couldn’t help but look at the small girl across from him; eyes that should be bright and smiling with the light of youth, were instead clouded and dead to the world. Alex could feel his hands begin to tremble in grief and rage. It was his fault. If he’d paid more attention. If he’d insisted on continuing. If he’d not been tied down. If…. If only he’d….been stronger. He spoke after a moment, his voice trembling slightly, but his eyes burning with a strong desire, “I-I’ll think of something” Mark simply glanced at the young man out of the corner of his eye, before giving a sound between a laugh and humph and standing up. He gave Alex a pat on the shoulder and walked towards the back of the cave. He spoke, not bothering to turn back around. “Don’t try and be a hero, Kid. You’ll only get yourself hurt. I’m going to sleep, wake me for night-watch.”___________________________________________________________________ ~~~ Later that Night ~~~ Mark shot up from his bedding gasping for breath. His eyes were wide in fear and his body was soaked in sweat. He slowly covered face with both his hand, massaging his eyes and temples as he tried to calm his racing heart. “Bad Dream?” A voice sounded from near the cave entrance. Mark looked over to see Alex sitting on a large rock near the cave entrance, the dim moonlight barely outlining his figure. Mark didn’t answer and simply stood from his bedding and stretched out, before walking over to the dead ashes of the nearby firepit. Alex called out again, “It’s still a bit before its time to switch. Get some more rest.” Mark, still ignoring the young man started to work on getting the fire pit lit again. He’d only had breakfast and some scraps earlier in the day and planned on making a light meal. Alex simply sighed and slid off the rock, giving a light yawn as he walked towards his own bedding. As Alex prepared to lay down, Mark asked in a quiet voice, “How is she?” Alex looked first over his shoulder at Mark, then turned his eyes to Merry, now sleeping soundlessly on her side. Tsutsuji lay nearby in an unladylike position as she snored softly. Near the young girl lay a cold untouched bowl of porridge. He frowned slightly before turning back to his bed, “Tsutsuji tried. But she just sat there all night before falling asleep.” Mark gave a sigh before putting the small pot on top of the now burning small fire. Alex turned back around and said in a tired voice, “Wake me up early and I’ll make breakfast while you rest. We’ll start to get the Carriage ready for travel in the afternoon.” Before laying down on his bedding. Mark simply gave a grunt as a reply, before turning his attention back to the small pot of stew that was slowing taking form. As time passed, the thin stew began to boil; the stock, dried meat and small amount of vegetables rolling around in the pot. The smell of stew slowly filling the cave. Tasting it every few minutes and making adjustments accordingly, the stew was finally finished. Mark scooped a few ladles full into a bowl and brought it close to his nose, giving a satisfied smile as he deeply inhaled the aroma. Mark raised an eyebrow as he heard a slight growling sound from across the cave. He looked over his shoulder and saw the outline of a small girl in the firelight. Merry simply sat there on her bedding, not looking at anything in particular. She did not even seem to notice when her stomach gave another low rumble. Mark looked over at the girl in silence for a moment, before letting out a sigh and grabbing another small bowl. Pouring a small amount of broth into the bowl, he gave it a light swirl to cool it before standing and walking over to where the young girl sat. He sat the small bowl down in front of her without saying a word before turning around and walking back to the firepit. Merry slowly looked down at the bowl of broth before returning her gaze back to nothing, not bothering to even reach for it. The night passed in silence, only broken by the light growls of the young girl’s stomach every few minutes. Mark simply stared out the cave entrance as if he could not hear. After a time, the dwindling light of the fire reflected off of something in the corner of the cave. Mark, catching the glitter out of the corner of his eye, saw something he’d forgotten about. There on a small cargo box sat a large leather bound book, and a small letter sitting on its cover. Mark stood silently and walked over to the book, staring down at it for a moment as the words of the one called Elaos echoed in his head, “…the book was meant to be a gift from her Father, Thomas. I’d ask that you hand it and the letter to her once she’s recovered….” He held the book in his hands and gently brushed away the dust from the old brown leather cover. Though they were foreign to him, he found that he could still make out the meaning of the characters pressed with gold leaf, ‘Journal of the Traveler’; it seemed the System’s translation function even worked for the written language. Mark finally seemed to come to some conclusion and turned around, a low growl sounding in his chest. He walked slowly towards the still motionless girl, the items firmly in his hand, before laying them down on her lap and walking away. He walked back over to the firepit and pretended to slowly stir the stew, not caring what she did with them, though he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. In the dim firelight, Merry simply looked at the two items on her lap apathetically, though a small spark of curiosity lit in her dull eyes as she tilted her head. She slowly reached out her hand and grabbed the small letter attached to the books cover. Mark was not sure if she could read, but he figured there would be no point in delivering it if she could not, so it should have been fine. The small girl slowly unfolded the letter as her eyes fell on the words written on it. A few moments passed in silence before a change could be seen. Slowly but surely tears began to leak from the corner of eyes, as her small nose crinkled and her hands began to shake. As the first tears began to fall onto the small letter, Mark could hear a soft sobbing fill the cave. It was still filled with deep grief and sorrow, but it was no longer the loud wailing of despair from before. Merry slowly lowered the tear marked letter and gently stroked the large book in front of her before pulling it into a heavy embrace, her face buried in its leather cover as the dam broke and her body shook with heavy sobs. Mark simply sat in silence, watching the cave entrance and gently poking the fire every so often with a stick. After some time, the sobbing stopped. Mark looked over his shoulder stealthily, to see the young girl still sitting there hugging the large book, though her shoulders had stopped shaking. Mark simply gave a sigh and stood from the fire, head out the cave entrance to answer nature’s call. Returning a few moment later, Mark looked over to see Merry laying down once more, eyes closed but refusing to let go of the book in her grasp. Mark walked slowly and emotionlessly back to the firepit, returning his eyes to the cave entrance as he kept watch. However, he didn’t miss the small empty bowl laying near the girls bedding. As Mark looked out into the dark night, unseen by him; two figures in the cave, one a tiny girl with wings and the other a young man laying across the way, exchanged a small smile.

[Author’s Note: Woot! Chapter 15, and almost done with the first volume! Once this volume is finished, I’ll be doing a bit of rewrite. nothing major, but reformatting some chapters, maybe combining some shorter ones at the start, making everything neat and presentable. I’ll post the Link once it’s up, If you’ve been following and reading this, make sure to check it out and spread the word! Again, this is the last of my Backlog, so it might be awhile before the next update. But the Gears are already turning! Thanks for Reading and be sure to leave feedback!] EDIT: Thanks to Chiisutofupuru from RoyalRoadL for helping with Edits and suggestions for this one! _________________________________   Chapter 15: The Monster and the Ghost ​     Mark’s heart clenched in his chest, and a chill spread through his body, banishing the heat from the earlier run. He was, had been, a soldier; he understood what an Embassy represented. Swaying on his feet, his vision blurring, Mark felt his legs had turn to jelly. As Mark collapsed, Jonathan rushed over and caught him, leaning him up againt the nearby building. The older man looked Mark over once and gripped his wrist, holding two fingers to it for a moment before giving a sigh,   “You overused your Sigil. I’m surprised you can still move.” Mark struggled to nod his head in understanding. That would explain the glaring red “Warning” in the small window that’d popped up in his sight. ┌~~~~~~~~~~＜Status＞~~~~~~~~~~~Name: Mark FloydActive Sigil: SurvivorSigil Level: 4HP: 412/550 (Status: stress fracture: right tibia.)MP: 8/150 [!!WARNING!!]-------------------------------------------------------------- Survivor’s Will put a greater strain on him than he’d first thought, and now that it had deactivated, he was feeling the rebound from pushing himself too far. Even with the increase in level since the last time he’d checked, just this short run had almost wrung him dry. He leaned up against the wall for a moment, taking in deep, ragged breaths as his body repaired itself. One of the guards nearby handed him a canteen and a green candy the size of a marble. Mark looked at the small object, then tossed it into his mouth, followed by a long swig from the canteen. As the water hit the candy, it dissolved, sending a cool minty chill flowing down his throat. The chill spread through his body, the dull aches and creaking bones fading with each passing second. The MP on the window ticked up over the next few seconds, 18/150, 38/150, 88/150, before stopping at 108/150. It seemed the small candy had been a rapid energy recovering medicine. While its effect on a normal guard or soldier whose Sigil level averaged 10, would have been minor, Mark’s racing heart slowed and strength returned to his legs. His MP reached a stable level, the flashing warning vanished and Healing Factor took effect. His HP raised a point every few seconds. At the current speed, He would be in perfect health in only 12 minutes. Mark could understand the importance, the power, of “Sigils” in this world. He took a moment to catch his breath, then used the wall to support himself as he stood, legs still shaking. Jonathan turned to one soldier next to him and whispered something too quiet for Mark to hear. The man nodded and dashed down the back alleyway, heading toward the direction of the Fort. After a few moments, a group marched towards them, Alex leading several armed guards. Alex raised his hand, and the group halted behind him. He stared at Jonathan and Mark, eyes wide as they moved back and forth. The shock plain on his face, he asked to Mark in a low voice, “Mark, are you all right? Selah said you-” “I’m fine, just a little tired and sore. We have bigger problems at the moment.” Mark recounted the events of the last hour. By the time he’d finished, Alex had gone from shock to panic to anger. Even in the dim moonlight, the young man trembled, his hands clenched and a dark fire burned in his eyes. His voice shook as he stared at the dimly lit embassy. “We should have killed them when we had the chance. We shouldn’t have lowered our guard before we knew what they were up too.” “It’s too late, we‘re running out of time. Where are the others?” “Ms. Selah and Lady Caroline rushed to the workshop for something, Sir Matthew and the Duchess are back at the Fort sending out orders to the rest of the city. Tsutsuji….” Alex’s voice faded as his gaze rose to the sky. Mark couldn’t see anything in the dark night, but it was hard to miss the seething mass of fury that radiated through the link. Like a fire, it originated from some distant spot in the sky. The rough man frowned, but nodded his head. With the little guide’s eyes on them, at least they didn’t have to fear the other party escaping. Jonathan spoke up after a minute, addressing them both, "Whatever the case, it's best we regroup and plan our next step. The girl should be safe for now; they want something from her. Otherwise, why go through the trouble of taking her?" Mark balled his hands, a deep grumble sounding from his chest. He wanted to rush right in; climb over the walls and take her back this instant. But he understood that a move like that would only make things worse. His eyes flashed, and he slammed his fist into the nearby brick wall, the stone cracked loud in the silent night. The two standing next to him jumped in surprise, but when they looked, Mark's eyes were clearer and calmer. Mark stood up straight and walked with striding steps towards the fortress, not even bothering to look back at them or the embassy. The two men watched Mark walk off before nodding to each other and motioning for their respective squads. The groups gathered and made their way back to the fortress. ------------------------------------------------------------- Merry's brain throbbed and pounded against her skull. Her ears ringing, she tried to raise her arm to her head but couldn't move. Strange voices echoed in the room……………………. "Half? What do you mean, half?" "Don't take that tone with me, Human. You heard what I said, the inscription is only half complete." The shortest figure held up a small wooden rod in one hand, the other gripping an old weathered piece of parchment. "Then what are we supposed to do? It's useless without the other half." "That is what the girl is for. They already know we‘re here, time is limited. Just keep in mind, she's not one of your 'dolls'. If she dies before we learn anything useful…." "Do you take me for a fool? I know that. For now, throw her with the rest, I have to make preparations." The small figure looked up at the tall figure for a moment, then walked over and untied the ropes that bound her. Merry's eyes flashed with hope, only for her heart to sink as she found she couldn't make her body move. The small figure picked up her limp form and walked towards the back of the room. Hidden in the shadows, was a large holding cell, the smell of blood and waste mixing with the damp and stale air of an underground room. The small figure opened the cell door and threw the girl in without another word, then shut the door behind him and walked away. As he disappeared, chains clanked against iron deeper in the cell. The little girl's heart beat faster, as something stirred in the back of the cell, its body covered in a multitude of chains and shackles. As the thing turned her way, it paused, as if examining her. Merry’s breath seized up, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the shadowed figure. In the next moment, the figure lunged towards her, the rattling of the chains echoed through the room. The figure stopped only a few feet from Merry’s position, the little girl still unable to move, or even scream. The chains that restricted it pulled tight against the far wall, and the shadows stirred. Two pale white hands reached out to her, fingers stretched much longer than they should, small ring like shackles attached to each in several places. As the figure strained against the confines, it moaned in pain and backed away again. As time went on, weeping filled the cell. ------------------------------------------------------------ Selah paced back and forth, the sound of grinding teeth the only thing accompanying the ticking of the grandfather clock in the room. Six figures sat around a small table nearby, the tension building with each passing minute. A soldier walked through the large double doors after a moment, carrying a thick binder which he placed in front of one man. Grace gave the man a nod, then turned to Jonathan, speaking in a low voice, “Start from the beginning. What have our agents been able to find?” “Not much. We’ve been watching the Darksand embassy for close to a year now, ever since the reports of unusual activite around the area. But with no real evidence, we had no way of launching a proper investigation. All we know is that someone on the inside has been making deals with some of the local syndicates. It was only before the attacks on the trade route started that the dealings stopped.” “You didn’t find that suspicious?” “We did, but once the attacks started, we no longer had the resources to continue the investigation. It wasn’t until Mr. Floyd and Sir Lūceō gave their story I connected the dots.” “So what is the connection between this and that? Are you saying the embassy was supplying the Goblins? Why? Do we have enough to even move on?” “……” Grace slammed her fist into the table, leaving a small indent, her voice flaring up as she asked, half to herself, “What is going on in this City? Why is it we are just hearing of this? Why did nobody see these attacks coming? Has my Watch so deteriorated to where it can’t even keep a few Goblins out?!” Jonathan paled, but otherwise kept his calm, replying in a steady voice, “That’s the strange thing about it. Everything has disappeared; the syndicates they were working for have vanished, the goods never left the embassy, even the merchants who supplied the goods seem like they never even existed. Someone has scrubbed their trail, not leaving a single eyelash behind. There is something going on here, something bigger than just disrupting trade.” Selah stopped her frantic pacing and yelled out, eyes burning, “What then? We wait?” Grace sighed and her gaze dropped as she leaned back into the chair, rubbing her forehead. She spoke out in a dull, tired voice, “There is nothing else we can do. I’ve already sent a message to the Capital requesting authorization to move, but…” “But nothing! Every moment we waste here, Merry is-” “You don’t think I realize that!” Grace shot up from her seat, glaring at her younger sister, voice trembling. “This goes beyond what we can see! You think I don’t want to drop everything and rush in this instant? There are powers at play here that we don’t know and don’t understand. One wrong move and it would mean more than the safety of a little girl!” Selah returned her sister’s burning glare, the latter calming her heavy breathing before taking on a calm and cold tone, “Before I am your sister, I am the Duchess of Whitewood. For now, it ties my hands.” The two stared at each other for a long moment, when the sound of a chair being pushed back, broke their gaze. Mark stood from the table with a swift motion, his face blank and unreadable. He turned and walked out of the room, not bothering to say a word. Alex watched him for a moment, a struggle playing on his face, before he too stood and followed him. The room watched in silence, though unseen by the rest, a small smirk spread on Grace’s lips. ---------------------------------------------------------- Mark stood in his room, moving about in a rush as he gathered up his supplies and equipment. A voice called out to him from the doorway, low and serious, “Mark, what are you doing?” Mark didn’t bother to turn around as he continued to prepare, though the answer he gave was flat and resolved, “What I need to.” “Grace is right Mark, we can’t act hastily in this matter. One wrong move and it could mean far more trouble. It would even mean War!” Alex raised his voice as he stepped through the doorway, his hands shaking in frustration. He knew how the others felt; even he wanted to rush over, kick the gate down and drag the bastards out. But without evidence to support them… “You’re forgetting. I’m not involved with this.” “What do you mean?” “They’ve said it several times already. I’m a passerby, a stranger on the road. I have no connection to you all.” Alex stood there with his mouth agape, eyes wide. He was right. Mark was only a stranger, a passerby who got dragged into the mess. He was even a Wanderer, he had no connection to any power or people in this world. Even if the other party wanted to bring up some grievance, there would be no one for it stick to but Mark himself. Alex stayed silent, unable to retort, before turning and walking out the door, his brow creased and a deep frown on his face. Mark paused for a moment then returned to what he was doing. About ten minutes later, Mark left his room and headed down the hallway. After a few steps, the door opposite his room opened and a young man in full gear stepped out. Mark raised an eyebrow and asked in a sarcastic voice, “What happened to being careful?” “You’ve forgotten…” Alex replied, smirking at the man as he mimicked his words, “I’m a Hero of Grandeur. I have the authority to go where I need.” Well, to be honest, it was more complicated than that, but at this point Alex didn’t care. He was tired of inaction. If he couldn’t do what he needed to, how could he call himself a Hero? He might come to regret his choice later, but that was a burden for him to bear alone. Mark stared at the young man for a long moment before returning the smirk and shrugging his shoulders. Eyes still on Alex, Mark called out in a loud voice, “And what about you?” There was a silent pause, and the figure of a young woman stepped out from around the corner, shoulder length blood red hair tied back and wearing light leather armor. She looked at the two in silence, before speaking in a low flat voice, “I’m not a Whitewood, not officially. What I do or don‘t do, is my matter.” Mark looked over his shoulder and gave the woman a thoughtful gaze, eyes focused and mouth dipping in a slight frown. He gave a sigh after a moment, and turned around, walking down the hallway and past the woman without another word. Alex followed behind, and as his eyes met Selah’s, they gave each other a nod and followed behind Mark. As they made their way to the Fort exit, Alex asked Mark, “So, what’s the plan?” “If you want to find a Rat, the first place to look is the Rat’s nest.” With those words, Mark turned and headed towards the residential district. ------------------------------------------------ “L-Look man! I r-really don’t know, ok! let me go, please.” Another heavy fist landed in the ragged man’s gut. Causing him to gag and collapse to the ground. Mark bent down and lifted the man by the collar, staring him in the eye as he spoke in a low, threatening voice, “They all just vanished overnight? You expect me to believe that?” “I-I’m telling the truth, the higher-ups disappeared, didn’t tell us anything. Some others thought they ran, but w-we don’t know for sure.” “Then who were you working for?” “I don’t know, I swear! We were just in charge of moving the good, no questions asked. Please, don’t kill me!” Mark raised his fist again, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Alex look down and said in a calm voice, “Enough Mark. He knows nothing else.” Mark frowned, but lowered his fist and dropped the shaking man. The man crawled away a few feet before standing and running out of the alleyway as fast as he could. Alex watched the man leave, then asked in a low voice, “Do you have to be so rough? They may be criminals, but most of these people are just down on their luck.” “Yes. I do. Punks like them only understand violence. If you don’t use enough force, they are just as likely to give you false info out of spite. Let’s go, we still have time before sunset.” The two walked out of the alleyway and met with a hooded figure standing watch to one side. The figure called out in a frustrated voice, “This is a waste of time. That was the fifth one so far, and not one of them knew a thing we didn’t already know. So what now?” Mark stared at the distant setting sun in silence. They were running out of time, and they‘d made little progress. As the three were lost in thought, a voice rang out, only a few feet away from Mark, “I might be of help in that regards…” Mark twisted around, sending a spinning sidekick towards that direction. As the kick swept through empty air, Mark saw a faint shadow step away, though the image faded from his mind as soon as it popped up. Again, the voice called out, not too far away, “Hey now buddy, no need to for aggression. I’ve been watching you for a while, I think we can help each other out.” Mark took a step back and once more struck out behind him, this time spinning around with a back fist aiming at the figure’s head. Again, the figure seemed to blur in his mind, and the strike passed through empty air. In the next moment, Mark felt the cold sting of metal against his throat, and the voice spoke, this time a tinge of annoyance lacing the cold voice, “Enough. If I didn’t need you, you lot would already be dead. How about we all calm down and have a little chat?” Mark looked over his shoulders, a cold glint in his eyes, but otherwise calm, as he gave a nod. The figure smiled and withdrew his dagger, stepping away a few feet, close enough to chat, but not within striking distance. Mark got a good look at the stranger; a young man, only 18 or 19 years old, his short hair was pitch black, neatly trimmed and slicked back with some form of oil, giving an air of refinement. If it wasn’t for the plain dark clothes, he wore and the cold gleam in his black eyes, you might mistake him for one of the young gentlemen walking the streets of the central island. His face and eyes had the distinct shape one might find in those of Asian descent back in his own world; though the sharp jawline and square body shape common to this area suggested that whatever blood these features represented in this world, was diluted. As the young man twirled his dagger and re-sheathed it with practiced hands, Mark focused his mind on the young man and activated Examine, ┌~~~~~~~~~~＜Status＞~~~~~~~~~~~Name: Archer <~Ghost~> <~5th Shadow-rat Syndicate Head~>Race: HumanAge: 19 Active Sigil: Shadow-WalkerSigil Level: 11HP: 265MP: 955 STR: 50 (15 + 5 + 5 + 25)END: 20 (10 + 5 + 5)WILL: 140 (20 + 120)DEX: 80 (20 + 60) ACTIVE SKILLS: [Vanish] -??? -??? -??? -???PASSIVE SKILLS: [Hide Presence] -??? -??? -??? -??? -??? -??? -???UNIQUE SKILLS: -???----------------------------------------------------------------- Another headache had appeared. As Mark looked at the screen, a thought popped in his head, and he focused on a certain word. To his surprise, the status screen closed, and another replaced it. ---------------------------------Shadow-walkerType: Mind, InheritanceDescription: The Shadow-Walker Sigil causes its host brain to emit strong brainwave pattern that interferes with another’s ability to perceive or detect their presence. Rather than creating an illusion or controlling the target, a Shadow-Walker can “blend into the background”. They give off the natural impression they are or always have been where they are supposed to be. Someone influenced by a Shadow-Walker might confuse or misidentify the host for someone else, fail to notice their actions, or ignore them all together, as if they were a piece of the environment. These characteristic have led many Shadow -Walkers to take up lucrative careers as thieves, spies and assassins. But they are also highly valued in many Armies and Adventurer groups as Scouts.--------------------------------- Mark squinted his eyes, deep in thought as he stared at the screen. Selah spoke up, pulling down the hood and giving the young man a dark glare as she spoke in a low threatening tone, “Ghost. What are you doing here? I’d thought all the Syndicate higher ups had vanished?” “Aye, that they did little Princess. But they didn’t just vanish. They were ‘removed’.” “Removed?” “Yes, it seems someone isn’t taking any chances with this one. As soon as our last deal was done, people began vanishing. I’m all that’s left.” “And why is that? How did you get away?” At Selah’s question, the young man shrugged his shoulders, a cheeky grin spreading on his face as he lifted his nose high and spoke, “Come on now, little Princess. How long has your sister been trying to get her hands around me? What chance does someone else have?” Mark cut off their banter before it could go on, turning to Archer and speaking in a low warning voice, “Fine, fair enough. What did you want to speak about?” The young man lowered his arms and looked at Mark with eyes filled with a cold light, his voice serious and deadly. “I want the same thing you want. Answers. They took something from me, something very important. I want it back.” “What does that have to do with us? Why bother approaching us?” “Because I need your help to do so. It’s in a place I‘m not able not get at.” “Let me guess. The Embassy.” “Correct, my good Chum!” “With your ability, why not just go get it yourself? You could just walk in and out.” Archer’s eyes went wide in surprise at first, but a smirk soon spread on his face and he said with a chuckle, “Impressive, you could see through me with just a few glances. It’s not that simple. A Shadow-Walker’s abilities aren’t absolute, there are ways to counter it. Otherwise, every King in the world would be a paranoid bundle of nerves.” The young man gave a laugh at his own joke before speaking again. “Getting in. That’s the easy part. But getting out? That’s where you lot come in. So, what do you say?” As he spoke, Archer gave a bright smile worthy of any great con-man.

My editing Website is currently down, so there might not be a Chapter today, Sorry. Figures it happens on the last on on my Backlog! Bwhahahaha! No telling when it will be up, but I will be checking regularly throughout the day. At the very least, I might be able to get someone to manually edit it by tomorrow. Till then! Good luck! and have a good day!  While I'm here though, I might as well say; be sure to leave Feedback and suggestions about the Novel! the Next chapter is the last in my backlog, so I'll be able to start working on the chapter after, in a week or so. No promises on release times, It honestly depends on how my brain is functioning at that time, but I am going to TRY and aim for at least One chapter every other Week. But there might be bonus chapters in between, if I am really up to writing that week. And as always, THANKS FOR READING! - A Frustrated Puppy.

(Author's Notes: Since someone pointed out a big plot hole in some future content, Mark is 30 now. Sorry about the Mix up, Lets pretend this did not happen.) Chapter 8: Crossroads (Part 1) Time passed and as the road improved the group made steady progress along the highway. Despite spending two more nights traveling, they’d yet to see another living soul. Alex frowned to himself as he watched the abandoned highway. They were nearing a major intersection that divided into the north and south; by all accounts, the road should be bustling with caravans and adventures as they went on their way. Alex looked over at Mark; the older man’s eyes were sharp and focused as he kept watch over the surrounding area, it seemed he’d noticed as well. Alex spoke, his voice almost a whisper as he stopped the carriage near the intersection, “This isn’t right. What is going on here?” Mark looked out into the trees off the side of the road and squinted he eyes are he attempted to see past the dark shadows they cast. He couldn’t see anything, but he felt a chill run down his back as he watched the tree branches sway in the light wind. His instincts were screaming at him to leave, yet he could not tell where the feeling was coming from. Mark looked towards the back of the carriage and made eye contact with Tsutsuji. The little Guide sat cross legged near Merry as the child slept in the back, a contemplating look on her face. He turned back and Alex spoke, “Let’s get out of here. The quicker we make it to town, the quicker we can find out what’s going on.” Alex nodded before flicking the reins. The carriage shook slightly as it started up again, the quickly started on its way past the intersection and towards Whitewood. Shortly after the carriage passed by, there was movement from either end of the intersection heading towards the north and south. A few moments passed and close to a dozen short figures stepped out from the deep shadows; the cloaks they wore patched with green and brown and covered in branches, leaves, and other such things. The tallest of the newcomers was no more than 5’3, and as he walked towards the road leading to Whitewood, the others quickly moved out of the way. He stared after the long gone carriage for a moment, as a wide mouth evil grin slip his face in two, thin needle like teeth visible from under the heavy hood. ___________________ ~~~~ At the Carriage ~~~~ Mark rubbed his tired eyes; as they got farther from the intersection, he could feel the sense of danger lessening yet he couldn’t help but sigh. Ever since he’d come to this world he could feel his fatigue building up. It did not help that the little girl had made him read with her for the past few nights. He looked back at the peacefully sleeping girl and frowned a little. When he turned his eyes back towards the road, they went wide in shock. As they came around the bend, the distant dark brown and greens of the forest were replaced by rows and rows of large white objects. At first glance, Mark was not sure what he was looking at. It appeared as though he’d stepped into a field of rough marble pillars, streaked with dark veins. He could not help but stare, mouth agape when he realized what they were. Trees. Rows of neatly organized trees, roughly 4 meters tall. The branches at their top were crossed and woven together as they stretched towards the sky, reminding Mark of the Dragon’s Blood Trees he’d seen once while on deployment. From the branches of several trees, dark, blood red flowers hung down, similar to a Wisteria, swaying gently in the wind. “Wow, Pretty.” Mark looked down at the sudden voice to find Tsutsuji laying on Merry’s head as the two peaked out of the back. While Tsutsuji’s eyes were sparkling as her mouth hung open, Merry watched in silence; though there was excitement her eyes, there was a shadow of sadness as well. Mark turned back around and nodded his head. He focused his mind on one of the large trees and activated Examine; --------------------------------------------------Whitewood TreeIndex Entry: The namesake of the Western Trade City, Whitewood, as well as one of its major exports. The Whitewood tree has been cultivated for centuries and is said to have been the result of experiments carried out by the Ancients. Whitewood is extremely durable and almost as hard as steel as well being extremely beautiful, made famous around the world. The slight metallic properties of the wood even allow it to be beaten into shape to some extent, allowing weapons and armor to be ‘forged’ from it. The fruit of this tree is considered a delicacy among the wealthy, and its sap and flowers have extensive use as medicine. All of this results in the price of even a single Whitewood tree being astronomical, and a large portion of the city Whitewood’s wealth is owed to this plant.-------------------------------------------------- Mark raised an eyebrow as he read through the text. While he hadn’t expected the trees to be normal, he had to admit he was surprised. He was shaken from his thoughts a moment later, as Merry tugged on his sleeve and pointed down the road. Though still some distance away, Mark could make out the figure of people walking around a barrier in the road. He turned to Alex, only to the young man frown. As they neared the barricade, a large rough looking man standing a little over 6 feet walked forward. He was an older man somewhere between his late 40s or early 50s given the streaks of white that marred his short brown beard and cropped hair. The man stopped in the middle of the road and called out to them. “Halt! State your names and origin!” Alex stopped the carriage some distance away before standing on the seat and pulling a scroll case from under his coat. He held it up so that the large black and gold seal could be seen, before speaking in a loud voice. “I am Alexander Lūceō of Grandeur. I am correct in assuming that you are Duchess Whitewood’s men?” At Alex’s words, the group behind the large man broke out in the sound of chatter. The Large man raised his hand to silence the commotion before carefully walked towards the carriage, his hand never leaving the hilt of the long sword at his waist. The man gave Mark a suspicious glance as he reached up and took the scroll case. He looked over the seal in detail, before popping the end of the case open and withdrawing a thick parchment. He unfurled the parchment and read its contents, his brow furrowing as he did. He finally rolled the parchment up and placed it back into the scroll case. Handing the case back to Alex, the man turned towards the men standing on the road and called out in a loud voice, “Move the barricade!” Before turning back to Alex and motioning for them to follow. Alex gave a sigh of relief, then taking up the reins, he drove the carriage slowly behind the large Man. As they passed the barricade they arrived in a small military style camp. Several soldiers approached the carriage leading it to the side so that it could go through inspection. At first, the soldiers were surprised when they found the small injured girl resting in the back, but after Alex had explained the events of the last week, their looks of suspicion turned into pity. As for Tsutsuji, while Mark could hear the odd whisper from the surrounding men, he was surprised at how calm they were, given Alex’s initial reaction. The group now waited as the camp medic examined Merry in a nearby tent, Tsutsuji remaining with her. As they waited, the Large man who introduced himself as Jonathan, motioned the two men towards the largest tent in the middle of the camp. Entering in, they found contained only a small cot and dresser taking up one corner while most of the floor space was taken up by a large desk in the back and a long table sitting in the middle. Both the desk and the table were filled with paperwork and several soldiers bustled around as they worked. Jonathan led them towards the back and motioned for them to sit down, before taking a seat behind it. After a moment of moving papers around, Jonathan had Alex recount the events leading up to this point in detail. Mark, for his part, simply sat quietly with his arms crossed, content to be ignored. Alex proceeded to tell their story, omitting or changing some details in light of Mark’s situation. Jonathan’s frown depend as he listened to the story, as he began to grumble in frustration, “Forest Goblins, on the Trade road? Well, at least it is starting to make some sense now.” Alex tilted his head and asked in a questioning tone, “You already had some information?” Jonathan sighed and leaned forward before shaking his head. “Some, but not much. Since about ten days ago there have been several reports of attacks by bandits along the route. Any convoys that left the City would be ambushed from the shadows and forced back. The strange thing was, the attackers would never show themselves; normal bandits would approach and demand a toll or goods, no reason to fight if you can intimidate the other side into giving up. But whoever was behind the recent string of attacks would do so without warning, firing bows from the shadows or attacking at night. Those that survived could not give a proper description. Eventually, the mercenaries and adventurers stopped taking the escort jobs and the caravans were stranded.” Alex looked down as he leaned back in contemplation. If that was true, then it would explain why they hadn’t seen anyone along the roads. More so if it was happening at the other ends of the highway as well. But something still didn’t sit right with Him. Why were Forest Goblins, a race that should not have any foothold in this area, attacking the trade route? And if they were, then….. “...Barring the first attack, why did we not see them again? They had nearly a week to finish the job, but they never did.” “That is what I would like to know. What makes this instance different?” “Could the first fight have scared them off?” “Unlikely. Even given the fact that you managed to kill a good number, an injured man and a random passerby should not have posed much of a challenge if they had gathered reinforcements. It’s possible that their attention was drawn elsewhere and you simply got lucky. Or it may be…” “…They’d finished what they were there to do.” Mark spoke out for the first time since sitting down. Jonathan gave Mark a silent gaze before nodding his head. “Yes. It’s possible that yours was simply the last one before they completed their objective or they had done so in-between then and now. Whatever the case, we’ll not know until we send out a scouting party. As for you lot, you are free to head on to Whitewood as soon as the inspection is done.” Jonathan shifted through the papers on his desk as he spoke, before pulling out one and handing it to Alex. Alex looked down to find it was a gate pass for their clearance into the city. At that time, a small voice called from the front of the tent, “Hey, we’re back!” The three men looked over to see Tsutsuji laying on top of Merry’s head, as the little guide called out, ignoring the glances from the surrounding soldiers. Merry was wearing a clean new dress and bandages; the dirt and grime from the road had been wash clean and her shoulder length chestnut hair was still slightly wet. The little girl seems slightly nervous from the stares of the soldiers, as she clung to the leg of the older female medic who walked beside her, the woman holding Merry’s ever present book in her other arm. The Medic gave the watching soldiers a threatening glare as they broke out in a cold sweat and quickly turned back to their work. The three ladies made their way to the back of the tent and met with the waiting men. Jonathan looked at the medic with a gentle smile and asked, “Thank you, Sam. I hope she was not much trouble?” Samantha looked down at Merry with a smile and patted the side of her head, “It was fine, we just had a little girl talk. She’s a very smart young lady.” Jonathan looked up at Samantha and gave her a wide grin. The little girl reminded him of their own daughter when she was her age; he could just imagine his Wife and Chief Medical Officer chatting the girl’s ear off. Samantha bent down to look a Merry and handed her the book with a smile. The little girl latched onto the book and quickly moved to a nearby corner, sitting down with Tsutsuji as she opened it up. Samantha watched the girl for a moment, before standing and turning back to her Husband with professional eyes. Jonathan met her eyes and asked in a low tone, “So, how was she?” “Better than I imagine she was before, but she’s still in rough shape. Her bruising has started to lessen and the internal damage was minor for the most part, though her shoulder will still take a few days to heal. I guess we should be grateful for the healing ability of a young body, though it's thanks in part to the fact that she was strong, to begin with. I say all of this, but unfortunately her eye….” She slowly turned around to look at Merry reading her book, a sad look crossing the Medic’s face as her voice trailed off. Mark could guess what she wanted to say; He’d seen similar wounds during his time; they never ended on a happy note. Samantha turned back and sighed, speaking in a sad voice, “Honestly, I’d want her to stay her for at least another week. She’s fine now, but without adequate rest, there could be complications.” “Unfortunately, I can’t allow that. Given the current situation, there is no telling what may happen. It’s best to send her off to town for the time being. We can check up on her later if you wish. I’ll send someone ahead to inform the Duchess of this matter as well as the new Information. Anyway, the inspections should be finished by now. I do hope you forgive the inconvenience, it’s simply regulation.” As he finished speaking, Jonathan stood and walked around his desk, gesturing for the group to follow him out. Merry and Tsutsuji, seeing the group move, closed the book and quickly followed. At the tent entrance, Samantha parted from the rest; she first said her goodbyes to the men then bent down and wrapped Merry in a long embrace, before patting Tsutsuji on the head. Jonathan leant in and gave her a light peck on the cheek as she passed. The soldiers working on their paper work began to boo and jeer at their commander as he did; the burning glare from Samantha quickly silenced their heckling, though her face had turned a bright red before she exited the tent and headed back towards the medic tents. Jonathan watched her go, then turned back to his guests and led them to the Inspection area. By the time they arrived, the inspection team had finished their work and was prepping the Carriage for departure. Seeing Jonathan walk up, a nearby soldier quickly headed in their direction, handing him a clipboard with several pieces of parchment attached. He flipped through the information before stopping on a certain page. Jonathan looked at the page for a long while, muttering to himself in a voice Mark was barely able to make out, “So it was there after all. Is there a connection? Or just coincidence?” Shaking his head as if to clear a fog, he motioned for the nearby Quartermaster and pointed to a few items on the list, then turned to Alex. “Speak to my Quartermaster before you head off. We’re short on supplies since the caravans stopped coming, so we’ll buy what you have at a premium. Just don’t tell me, Boss.” He finished with a chuckle before saying his goodbyes, patting Merry gently on the head and heading back to the command tent. Alex walked over to the Quartermaster and began to discuss their trade, while Mark brought Merry to the Carriage, Tsutsuji leisurely hovering after them. Mark lifted the little girl into the back and sat her in her spot. He frowned as the new bandage covering one side of her head caught his eye as it peeked out from under her hair. He did not know if she fully understood what it meant for her yet, but he still could not help but feel his shoulders sag, as if under some immense weight. Turning around and leaving the girls to their play, Mark caught sight of Alex as he walked back towards them, a large grin on his face. The Quartermaster had not bought everything, but now only a few small boxes sat inside the carriage. Mark raised an eye at the three bags in Alex’s hands; peering inside, he found each contained a jumble of strange coins. The largest bag contained a large number of small gold coins, slightly larger than a US Nickel, but twice as thick, making Mark’s eyes bulge. As a man who grew up in the era of credit cards and paper bills, He’d rarely seen real gold if it was not in the form of jewelry. He did not know how his modern understanding of gold translated to this world, but he could recognize that this was a huge amount of money. Alex discreetly took this bad and stashed it under the Driver’s Box, in the same hidden compartment that had held the Apothecary’s Kit and Merry’s book. The next back was slightly larger than a grapefruit and contained 50/50 split of large and small silver coins; the small silver coins were the same size as the gold coins, while the larger silver was between a US Quarter and US Half Dollar in size, again twice as thick, but the edges had a slight round bulge to then, as if they were cut from the center of a sphere. This bag, Alex split roughly in two and handed one-half to Mark, who followed Alex in tucking it securely away on their person. The third bag was a small purse like pouch filled with a mix of large and small strange azure colored coins, the same size and shape as the silver ones. On closer inspection though, he realized that they were in fact oxidized bronze coins. This one he again split and handed one-half to Mark. Mark would later learn that it had become customary to split funds among party members when entering a new town, that way if one person happened to be targeted by a pickpocket or the like, then they would not lose everything. Mark pulled out one of the smaller coins and activated Examine. --------------------------------------------------Trade Weight (Large Bronze, 10w)Index Entry: Standard Currency used by Traders throughout the world. Issued by the Global Trade Initiative. They are double stamped with a complex scale symbol, causing their edges to bulge and round.6 standard denominationsSmall bronze -- Large bronze -- Small Silver -- Large Silver -- Small Gold -- Large Gold.Non-Standard denominations include high-value bank notes and regional coinage. Global trade Initiative was established by allied countries on all 4 Continents to standardize international trade. Trade Weights follow strict regulation and are accepted in most countries.Their use has become so prevalent by the common man, many countries have discontinued the stamping of their own coins.-------------------------------------------------- Examining each in turn, he saw that the value of each coin was as follows, 1 weight = 1 Small Bronze10-W = 1 Large Bronze100-W = 1 Small Silver1,000-W = 1 Larger Silver Using those number, he could infer that the small gold coins were worth 10,000w and the yet to appear Large Gold was 100,000w. While He still did not know what that value implied, Mark felt that his initial assumption was correct. Hiding the bags one more, Mark and Alex began the final preparations for their departure, then headed back on the road to Whitewood. (Author’s Note: Mark will figure it out later along the way, but for the reader’s sake; 1 small Bronze is valued roughly $0.10 USD, so 1 Large Bronze is $1.00 USD, 1 Small Silver is $10.00 USD etc)___________________________________________ Roughly 30 minutes later, the carriage approached the City walls. To Mark’s surprise, what he saw was not the classical rough stone or brick walks one would expect from an Otherworld setting; what met him was dark Grey, almost black slabs that to his surprise, appeared to be made of some kind of concrete. Alex gave a laugh as he saw Mark gawking at the strange sight, “Ugly, aren’t they? Not many people know, but Whitewood, before it was Whitewood, was a Grandeur Fortress built to keep Malignant hoards out of the South Continent. Not particularly sure how it’s done, but the walls are made with the Ancient’s technology and have stood longer than the oldest Whitewood tree in the Grove.” Mark simply nodded his head as he looked at the massive 15-meter tall walls. The Carriage approached the city gates, and Alex called out to the surprised Gate Guards. Since the traffic had stopped some time ago, and combined with the pass from Jonathan, the gates were quickly opened and Alex drove into the City, Whitewood spreading scenically out in front of them.

[Author's Notes: Two more Chapters before releases start to slow down, bwhahahahah! But hey, maybe that will be an excuse for me to actually start working on it more.] ============================================================================================== Chapter 13: Memories ​   The group parted ways with Caroline near the forge area, the woman wrapping Merry in a long hug before finally letting her go. The ever-present icy look in her eyes thawed slightly as she watched the little girl walked down the hall towards the exit. As the others walked away, Selah turned to Caroline and asked, “Are you coming to dinner tonight?” Her Mother had a bad habit of locking herself in the forge for extended periods of time, sometimes for days. Caroline thought for a moment and nodded her head in silence, then reached up and patted her Daughter on the shoulder, before she entered the forge and closed the door. Selah sagged her shoulders and gave a deep sigh, then quickly followed after the others. A short while later, they were piling back into the passenger carriage at the carriage station and moving on their way. The next destination was the residential district to the east. They headed south first, then arrived at the main trade street that ran through the middle of the city, before turning northeast as it branched off from the main road. As they did, they passed a convoy of half a dozen wagons coming from the east. The Wagons were covered, but as they passed, Mark could see through the slit, large iron cages and dozens of people stuffed inside. Mark furrowed his brow as he watched the wagons pass by, a scowl forming on his face. Selah looked out the window, curious as to what had caught Mark’s eye. As she saw the wagons driving off into the distance, frowned and spoke in a low voice, half to herself, “…the Prisoner transports are becoming more frequent now these days. I’ve heard that a large bandit group has set up shop in the Relic Pass to the northeast.” From the information Mark had gathered, it seemed that several countries of the Southern Continent practiced a form of debt bondage; instead of locking their criminals away in a jail cell, anything greater than some minor offenses such as drunkenness or petty theft could have you branded as a criminal and sold into servitude. The criminal would then be sold at a set price according to their crime and ability, once they’ve paid off their “debt”, the brand would disappear and they would be freed. Of course, having criminals act as servants carried a certain risk, so the vast majority were either sold off to large companies to work in the mines or in logging and farm work. None the less, Mark couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the concept. He understood the reasoning behind it, but as a man with modern sensibilities, he felt that the cons outweighed the pros of the system. The convoy soon passed them by and the carriage was once again quiet. Tsutsuji and Merry sat to one side reading the strange book Merry had picked up in the Vault, Tsutsuji pointing one thing or another out every so often, while Alex hummed to himself softly, wiping a small wax block and clean cloth on the bronze shield. Selah and Mark sat across from each other in awkward silence, not bothering to look at each other. Mark folded his arms and leaned back into his seat, again closing his eyes, attempting to make up for lost sleep. After a short while, Mark could feel his consciousness fade, and he dreamed. ------------------------------------- Mark ran through the dark alleyway, panting heavily as he stripped the large pack off his back and leaned against the wall. He slid down the wall as he tried to catch his breath, a bloody trail following him down. The sound of gunfire still sounded in the far distance. A moment later, two others entered the alleyway from the same direction he’d come, one was a short but densely build black man in his mid-30s, the other was a younger white man in his early-20s. Mark raised his sidearm, but let out a breath of relief as he caught sight of their uniforms. The two men seemed startled to see Mark but quickly approached. The young man, seeing that Mark was injured, knelt down and opened the kit he carried at his side, moving to treat Mark’s bloody shoulder. The older man stood near the entranceway, his eyes giving off a sharp light as he watched the surroundings. He called out in a low voice, “Good to see you made it out Mark.” “Any idea what the hell is going on? This isn’t what we were told.” Mark grunted a bit as the young man tied the bandages tight around his shoulder, as he spoke. The mission was supposed to be a simple one. A quick trek through the forest, secure the chemical factory and get out. Two full platoons had been dispatched to clear the area out, and Mark’s squad was one of the first to arrive. But almost as soon as they’d neared the compound, they were ambushed. The “small” factory they had been told about turned out to be the size of a small village with nearly 200 combatants in the area. Outnumbered 3 to 1, the squad was scattered instantly. The black man shook his head, a dark look crossing his eyes, “No, not a clue. When they split us up, they did something to jam communications as well, I’ve not been able to get ahold of anyone else. Other than you and Jacob, Ron and two of his are the only ones I’ve seen. We agreed to head towards the rendezvous point and request reinforcements.” Mark nodded in agreement. They were far too outnumbered and had too little information to continue the operation. The combatant’s equipment wasn’t great, but they had somehow managed to jam their radio and other communication devices, preventing them from contacting the others or requesting assistance. The only thing they could do at this point was to head to the rendezvous point to the south and grab as many people as they could on the way. After the young man finished his work, he helped Mark stand and the three nodded to each other, taking up their positions, the older black man leading the way, Mark in the middle and the younger white man in the back, before heading out of the alleyway and down the abandoned street. They ran for a short while and neared a large concrete storage building, hugging its wall as they moved around the corner. As the older man passed one of the doorways, the door suddenly opened and two men with older style rifles rushed out, one aiming at the man’s back and the other at Mark. The combatant aiming at him moved to fire, but Mark was a second faster, and with consecutive bangs, put two rounds into his chest. The older man in front, hearing Mark’s gunfire, dropped to one knee on instinct as a bullet flew just over his head. He quickly drew his sidearm and turned, firing at the second combatant, who crumbled on the spot. The older man breathed heavily for a moment, sweat on his forehead, then gave Mark a wide grin and held his thumb up. After searching the bodies, then moving them into the shadow of the doorway, a faint sound caught Mark’s ear. He looked over to the two, and seeing that they had heard it was well, they readied themselves and quietly entered the dark building. As they walked further in, the sound became clearer, and Mark recognized it as the sound of several voices weeping. The voices were coming from a nearby room, locked on the outside with a heavy slide lock. The three approached and Mark gave them a look, before quickly sliding the bolt out and opening the door. The two other men rushed in, rifles at the ready, Mark following right behind. The room was dark as night, with no visible furniture or fixtures in place; the sound of weeping came from the shadows in the far back. As they approached carefully, Mark raised his flashlight. A small group of huddled figures entered his sight, giving out shrieks of fright as the light landed on them. He could tell after looking closer than it was a small group of children, the youngest just a few years old with the oldest being roughly 10. As he watched the young group cower in the corner, Mark could feel his blood run cold. Every one of the children was pale as death as if they’d never seen daylight in their life. The pale grey clothes they wore were worn and stained with dried blood. But what stood out most to the three, was the black ugly veins that ran under the children’s skin, seeming to crawl out along their limbs. Some of the children seemed almost normal, the dark veins barely visible under the pale skin, while others were as black as night, covering a large portion of their body. One child even had the darkness reaching up and covering one of her eyes, the white no longer visible as she stared lifelessly at the three. Mark could feel his heart beating faster and he reached out instinctively, a mixture of confusion, fear, and anger raging in his mind, “What the hell is this?” ------------------------------------------------------- Mark awoke with a jump as the carriage hit a bump in the road. He yawned and stretched out as much as he could in the small space. He rubbed his temples trying to ease the slight pounding in his head, as he pushed away from the remnants of memory he thought long buried, lingering in his head. He looked out the window to see that they had just begun crossing over a large bridge. While the bridge wasn’t as ornate as the one connecting the central island, it was still a sight to behold, made of a combination of Whitewood timber and cold steel. Selah began to chat away about the history and construction of the City’s bridges. They entered into the residential district shortly after crossing the bridge. The Residential district was surprisingly neat and clean, the streets were relatively free from the normal filth and grime that one would expect to see in another town. Selah explained that one of the first things her Sister had done after their Father’s retirement was to improve the city’s overall living conditions. Not that her Father had ignored it mind you, but he was much more carefree than his overly strict and orderly Daughter. Mark could see a distinct pattern as they made their way through the district; those homes closer to the manufacturing district and farther away from the central island tended to look more run down and poor, while those close to the entertainment district and Central Island were obviously built with richer occupants in mind, and small parks and greenery were more common. It seemed that even in a different world, Money talked. The trip through the residential district took about two hours, including a short stop at a small Park that was apparently a favorite of Merry’s while in town. The group moved on to the entertainment district shortly before noon and stopped at another carriage station near the middle of the district. From here, Selah switched to her tour guide mode and led the group through the streets, pointing out to the various theaters or music halls. Mark smirked a little as he watched the young woman chatter on; for someone who was so against it at first, she seemed to be rather enjoying herself now. After walking for a short while, they turned onto a busy street filled with various food stalls and displays. It reminded Mark of those street fairs you see every so often in smaller towns. The atmosphere was light as cheerful, more so now that the Western trade route had reopened. The People walking around were a mix of residents and travelers, with the odd Adventurer type mixed in every so often. Merry’s eyes lit up at the sight; she swiftly grabbed onto Mark’s hand and dragged him into the crowd, Tsutsuji following quickly behind. Selah frowned slightly, then ran after then, leaving Alex behind on the side of the road. The young man simply dropped his shoulders and sighed, then followed them before he lost sight. He didn’t like crowds. The group spent the next hour moving between stalls, Mark pulled out a few bronze weights every now and again and handing them to Merry as the girl enjoyed the few game stalls scattered around. After a while, Merry caught a scent in the air and she looked over to see a food stall selling what appeared to be some kind of fried dough on a stick. The little girl looked up at Mark with pleading eyes, but he shook his head, “No. We’ll be eating soon. You’ll just make yourself full.” Merry turned her eyes down, a sad look on her face. A small silver weight was suddenly placed in her hand as she pouted. She looked up to see Selah kneeling down, a bright smile on her face. Merry gripped the coin and smiled, before running off to the stall. Mark watched her back with a frown. Selah stood up and gave Mark an angry look, then spoke in a low voice “What the hell is your problem? If you’ve got to walk around with a Rain cloud over your head all the time, then don’t let it rain on Merry as well.” Mark looked at the angry woman and furrowed his brow, speaking in a calm voice, “That girl’s smarter than you give her credit for. If you keep treating her like a child…” “She IS a child! With what she’s been through, why can’t you just let her be one for a while?” “She needs support, but you can’t just hold her up and never let her learn to walk on her own.” “You don’t think I already know that?” Selah clinched her shaking hands as she spoke the last line, her eyes wandering off with a sad look. When she looked back at Mark, they were cold, her voice calm and distant, “Besides. She’s not your Kid. You’re just a passerby, the matter doesn’t involve you.” She then turned around and walked toward the returning Merry, the small girl holding several sticks of fried dough in her hands. Merry smiled up at the woman before passing her one of the sticks. Selah smiled and gently petted the little girl as she took it. Merry saw Mark standing by the side and quickly walked over, though her bright smile dimmed slightly as she noticed the strange atmosphere. Mark looked down at the girl as she shyly held out one of the sticks; Selah was right if truth be told, he was just a passerby, a stranger who happened along at the right time. He didn’t have a real relationship with the little girl in the end, and soon they would part ways and go about their lives. Mark gave a deep sigh, before grabbing the stick and turning around, walking back towards the street exit. The little girl simply smiled and followed in his shadow. A little while later they decided to stop at one of the many restaurants lining the main road for lunch. The one they had decided on was an open-air Café style restaurant near the district center. It wasn’t top quality, but it was decent and there was no need to wait for a table. As the group ordered, they chatted lightly about the day. When the food came, the group quickly ate. Mark looked at Merry sitting across from him with a frown. The girl had barely touched the food on her plate and feeling Mark’s glare, her face went red in embarrassment. Selah glared back at Mark as though it were his fault. -------------------------------------- After lunch, the group moved on, visiting several famous shops and venues in the district. By the time they decided to head back to the carriage station, the sun was close to setting. The group walked through the thinning streets at a leisurely pace, Merry skipped cheerfully along as she held Selah’s hand, humming one of the songs they’d heard during an outdoor performance earlier. Mark and Alex walked towards the back, carrying several large packages while Tsutsuji napped on Mark’s shoulder. They arrived at the carriage station and packed everything away, before heading back towards the Fortress. As they rode back, Mark’s thoughts returned to Selah’s words from earlier. He didn’t really know what had been wrong with him the past few days; He’d been unable to sleep and felt irritated at the slightest thing, his body felt weight down and sluggish. Maybe…Maybe it was time he thought about moving on. The girl was safe, he had no connection to Alex, and no real goal or responsibilities in this new world. He could travel around, see what was out there. As he thought about his future, the carriage rolled to a stop in the Fortress courtyard. Matthew was once again there to meet them, though he’d changed out of his plain clothes and now wore a more elegant suit. Barring the extra fat around the waist, Mark had to admit that the Man gave off a certain noble air went he wanted to. Matthew approached the group and lifted up the small Merry into a hug, meeting her bright smile with his own wide grin, “It looks like you had fun today Little One, I’m glad. Now come, come, we’ve prepared a meal to welcome you and thank our new friends.” Matthew ushered the group into the Fortress, beaming the whole way as he carried the little girl in. Selah stayed behind for a moment and ordered the servants to unload the packages. As they walked through the hallway, Matthew turned to Mark and asked in a cheerful voice, “So, how did you like the city? Whitewood has always been a place where the West and East meet. Grace especially has worked tirelessly to make the city a beacon of not only Trade but culture; I dare to say we’d not lose out to any capital on the southern continent!” “It's impressive, I’ll give you that. Even some of the larger cities of my old world can’t compare.” “Hoho! Thank you for the honor; to say that our city is even as great as those of another world, I can rub it in the noses of some of those old foxes at court.” Matthew stroked the head of the small girl in his arms, then asked in a serious tone after a short pause. “So Mark. What now? Have you decided what you are going to do in this new world of yours?” “... No. Not really. I don’t have any end goals in mind, so I’ve thought about doing some traveling.” “Have you thought about settling in town for a little while? It will take some time to prepare for a long journey and Whitewood would welcome you with open arms. It’s the least we can do.” Mark thought for a bit, and Merry stared at him, her eyes sparkling. He finally shook his head with a sigh, before answering, “No, I think its best if I move on as soon as I can. I’ve never been comfortable in one place. I'm used to traveling quickly, so I don’t need to prepare much.” “… I see. When do you plan on leaving?” “Tomorrow, if possible. The day after at the latest.” “…....” As he gave his answer, Merry’s eyes seemed to dull, and she turned her face away, leading her small head up against Matthew’s chest. The large man gave the girl a sad smile and gently patted her head, then spoke out once more in a cheerful voice, “Well then, we need to make tonight one to remember, don’t we?! Dinner will begin shortly, take this time to clean up.” Matthew parted with the men near their rooms and walked away with the small girl still clinging to him. He watched from his doorway for a moment until they were out of sight, before sighing and turning around. Mark’s heart gave a jump as he did, almost bumping into Tsutsuji as she flew at eye level only a few inches from his face. The little Guide just stared at Mark, not saying a word; though her face was blank, Mark could feel a mixture of disappointment, frustration and a little sadness flow through their link. After a long moment of silence, Tsutsuji flew away down the hall, following after Matthew. Mark just gave a sigh and walked into his room, closing the door softly. ----------------------------------------- Mark walked out about two hours later, hair still slightly wet, though combed back neatly, his beard trimmed short and the clothes he first wore clean and fresh for the first time in a long time. He met Alex in the Hallway, the young man wearing some form of ceremonial military uniform. It was not as gaudy as some he’d seen, but it was obviously designed to impress. If he’d not known better, he'd never suspected that the nervous, green young man he’d spent the last week and a half with, to be this sharply dress and confident officer type in front of him. The two gave a quick nod to each other and followed after the nearby servant. After a short walk, they entered a dining hall. Though it was more of a private venue than a large hall designed to entertain a large number of people, the room was elegantly arranged and the gentle light from the candles and strange lighting devices gave it a refined and welcoming atmosphere. Matthew sat at one side of a large round table, speaking to a beautiful young lady in a sky blue one-piece dress sitting by his side. Mark questioned who it was as first, but when she turned to look at him, he realized that it was Caroline; even though the feeling she gave off was completely different, there was no mistaking that icy glare. Mark and Alex swiftly took their seats and gave a greeting to the pair, lightly chatting as they waited on the others to arrive. Some time passed, and the large double doors to one side of the room opened and a group walked in. Grace walked in the front, caring a refined air as she glided along the ground in a pure white party gown. Her gentle smile and the golden light that bounced off her hair as she moved to sit next to her Mother gave the illusion of a holy aura surrounding her. Selah followed in behind her wearing a dark green high-low dress, her blood red hair pulled up into a short bun, giving her the appearance of a budding rose. Mark found his eyes glued to the sight as she gracefully approached, not losing out to her sister at all. Though as if she felt his eyes on her, the wild rose showed her thorns, giving Mark a scowl before sitting down next to the Duchess. From her shadow, a small girl stepped out and quickly sat down beside her. Merry’s hair had been trimmed and combed straight, the chestnut brown hair hanging slightly past her shoulders, several fresh red Whitewood flowers woven in. Mark found the dark blue one piece the girl wore a little to mature for her age, but he shoved the thought to the back of his mind; it was a different world, after all, he didn’t know the customs for such things. In place of the bandages, the left side of her head was covered by a neat dark leather eyepatch, embroidered with gold leaf and the image of sprawling vines and blooming flowers like the ones in her hair. As Merry caught sight of Mark’s gaze, she quickly lowered her eyes, blushing slightly. Feeling like he was forgetting something, a black shadow suddenly shot through the doorway. Tsutsuji swiftly flew through the air, gasping for breath as she stood on the edge of the table, her hair slightly messy from the wind. After a moment to catch her breath, she coughed and straightened up, attempting to give off an air of refinement as she walked across the table towards her prepared space near Merry. As she passed Mark, she gave a haughty laugh and asked, “Well now, are you surprised at This Lady’s elegance yet? Have you finally understood?” “I understand that ‘This Lady’ may wish to re-pin her dress…” Mark didn’t know where she’d gotten the small black slit dress, but somewhere along the line, the front had become tangled in a very unladylike manner. Tsutsuji looked down and went beet red, before quickly fixing her dress. Mark simply smirked in amusement, causing the little Guide to reach down and throw one of her small stilettos at him, then walked off towards her seat. Matthew gave a nervous laugh before standing and speaking in a loud voice, “Now that we are all here, I think it is time we get started! Please enjoy, and let’s make this a night we all remember.” The surrounding people gave a light cheer and the servants began to move, placing food and drink in front of each person around the table. As the night went on, the group made light talk. Alex spoke of his travels so far, though he’d begun not too long ago. Matthew talked loudly about various trade deals and gossip from around the west and south continents. Caroline amused herself by telling Mark and Alex embarrassing stories about her Daughters, sparking a small war of words with the youngest. Grace never lost her refined air as she quietly listened to the banter around her, giving a short reply every so often. Tsutsuji sat next to Merry, chatting her ear off about something or another, though the small girl kept her eyes down most of the time, only ever nodding or shaking her head when someone addressed her. The Dinner went on like this for a while, and Mark was surprised at how warm and welcoming the atmosphere was, a lot different than how many ‘noble’ gatherings were portrayed in the stories of his world. Instead, it was nothing more than a small family gathered around the dinner table with a few friends, happily chatting about their day. Matthew’s eye caught something in the middle of one of his stories and he grinned, waving someone forward from the doorway. Mark turned to see a group of servants carrying in several earthen jugs. They placed one and a small shot glass like cup down in front of each of the Adults, minus Selah, and walked away.

[Author’s Notes: WARRING, INFO DUMP AHEAD. The Following Interlude is Mark going through the system Tutorial and some World building. While you can skip it and not miss any real Story, I highly recommend reading it so that other information makes more scenes later on. I am not totally sure I want to keep with this format of chunks of Information given like this at one time, or spread out sparsely as time goes on. Please leave your Feedback! ]________________________________________________________________________________________________ Interlude 1: Ways of the World - Part 1 ​ Mark poked around the remains of the dead fire in front of him, trying to find a few still living embers he could use to relight the fire pit and start breakfast. He gave a tired sigh after a moment of fruitless poking, before standing and stretching out his arms. Looking around for anything that he could use to start a fire with, Mark’s eyes landed on the small figure of Tsutsuji as she huddled in a ball not far from where Merry slept. She had stopped sobbing a while ago but she has refused to answer him, or even lift her head, since. Mark smirked as a lightbulb went off in his head. He looked down at the tiny Guide and spoke in a questioning manner, “Hey, Bug. That Crazy Guy mentioned ‘Magic’ right? Do you know how to use it? Light the fire and we’ll get started on Breakfast”. Tsutsuji looked up at Mark’s words her face red as she yelled out in a high voice, “I am not a Bug! And you will be respectful when you speak of Master! Refer to him as Lord, or Lord Elaos! Besides that, of course, I know magic…” She gave a humph as she turned her eyes away and lifted her nose, answering again in a mocking voice, “…..and who do you think I am? I am not your servant!” Mark gave a light chuckle and shrugged his shoulders as if he did not care, and said “Well fine then. Tell me how to do it and I’ll do it myself” Tsutsuji looked up at Mark for a moment before bursting into laughter, “Hahahahaha, and how are you going to do that? You don’t even have the Fire Magic skill!” Mark simply looked down at the tiny girl and lifted an eyebrow, before asking, “Skill?” Tsutsuji went silent, then suddenly burst into an even greater fit of laughter than before, holding her stomach as she rolled along the cave floor. “Bwahahahhm You do- You don’t even know what a S-Skill is?! Hahahhaha, I can’t st-. Help. Dying. Bwahahahahha” Mark could feel his head start to ache as his mouth would not stop twitching. He gave a sudden flick of his wrist, as a thin metallic object flashed in the light, slamming into the ground next to the tiny girl. Tsutsuji bumped into the object as she was rolling around, then with cold sweat on her face, she looked up at the form of her Naginata embedded deeply into the hard stone floor. Mark spoke out in the next moment using a cold, annoyed voice. “And whose fault is that little Ms. Guide? You forget I am not from around here, so how about you start doing your Job?” Tsutsuji instantly quieted and scrambled into a sitting position, her face flushed with embarrassment and fear. She avoided eye contact with Mark as she looked at the embedded Naginata, then spoke in a low trembling voice. “Y-ya, let’s do that. I-initiating Guided tutorial system, WS-t001: Basics.” As Tsutsuji spoke, a familiar Window popped into existence in Mark’s eyes,_____________│EXAMINE│--------------------│STATUS│--------------------│INVENTORY│---------------------│INDEX│--------------------- Tsutsuji gestured to the screen in an attempted professional manner. “This is the ‘Main Menu’ of the System. While not all functions are available at the moment, the Four you see are the ‘default’ settings. In the basic lesson, we will go over the function of each. First, we will start with the ‘Examine’ function. Examine is a function that System Users can use to pull up information stored in the ‘Collective Index’, the data storage space of the Sigils and Magi. The Collective Index is the total sum of all the data collected by the Sigils over the eons, and the Examine function lets you tap into a small part of that information.Now, give it a try. Simply focus on a target and select Examine in your mind”. Mark followed the instructions and focused on a small rock nearby. As he did so, a small window popped into existence near it. --------------------------------------------------Small Shale RockDescription: A common mineral found near rivers and streams. Processed Shale is one of the major exports of the Greater Southern Planes.Market Price: 1w/oz-------------------------------------------------- Mark stared at the little window in interest and started to examine other objects around him. --------------------------------------------------Star MossDescription: A bright yellow moss that can be found growing in dark environments that have access to star and moonlight, such as cave entrances or Tree hollows. On nights of a new moon, Star Moss will glow brightly. Some theorize that this light is used to attract flying insects, which it traps with a sticky substance. It then uses this prey to supplement the lost Moonlight.Market Price: 10w/oz-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------Rockhound Merchant BagDescription: High-Quality leather backpack made from Rockhound leather. It’s strong, elastic and durable nature makes it one of the best on the Market, able to store and transport nearly anything.Market Price: 10,000w-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------~~~~~~~~~~＜Status＞~~~~~~~~~~~Name: Guide No.77239 <Tsutsuji>Race: Magi Spirit <Guide>Birthplace: GrandeurAge: NO!Bio: “I am not a Bug!”--------------------------------------------------Mark could not help but raise an eyebrow at the last one. Tsutsuji looked up at Mark and stuck her tongue out before answering his unasked question, “As you can see, even other people are not exempt from Examine’s power. However, the information that is available for viewing is limited to what that person is consciously willing to divulge. Keep in mind, however, while only System Users are able to directly use the Examine function there ARE Items that can mimic its effects in the world, such as the famous ‘Mirror of Truth’. Some skills may be able to gather more information, but the people who use such a method are rarely ‘pleasant’. As well as this, information that is no longer available, for whatever reason, will not be able to be brought up. If there is no record of an event or the Item has never been recorded by a Sigil then examine will be of no use past basic information. While we are on the topic try using Examine on yourself. Alternately, you can select the ‘status’ option in the main menu.” Mark followed the instructions and attempted to focus on himself before using Examine. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the large screen that popped into existence. ┌~~~~~~~~~~＜Status＞~~~~~~~~~~~Name: Mark FloydRace: HumanAge: 30Active Sigil: Survivor Sigil Level: 2HP: 312/350 (Status: slight internal injuries, sleep deprivation).MP: 30/50 STR: 15END: 40 (30 + 10)WILL: 10DEX: 22 (20 +2) ACTIVE SKILLS: [Survivor’s Will (lvl 2)] PASSIVE SKILLS: [Healing Factor (lvl 2)] – [Military Survival (lvl 10 ~MAX~)] – [Kajukenbo (2nd degree)] – [MCMAP (1st degree)] – [Footwork (lvl 4)] – [Thrown Weapons (lvl 6)] – [Long Weapons (lvl 6)] – [Swordmenship (lvl 1)] UNIQUE SKILLS: [Ember] – [From the Ashes]----------------------------------------------------------------- As Mark stared at the Window in shock, Tsutsuji continued on with her explanation. “The screen that you see is your personal ‘Status’. In essence, it is a digital representation of your body created from the information gathered by your Sigil. The numbers you see are simply benchmarks by the way. They are only used as rough outline about a person’s physical condition. Assuming that you beat someone, simply because you have higher Stats, is a good way to get yourself kill. Your Sigil level is an important number to pay attention to. Not only does the Sigil level indicate how well you have adapted to its use, but the level of ‘Authorization’ you have when giving commands to the Magi. Thus the higher your level, the more varied and more powerful the Skills you will have access to. By the way, the average level for a normal adult male your age is 6-8, with most Soldiers pressing level 10. It’s safe to say that you quite lacking, hehehehe. As well as increase the skills you have available, Sigils will help to supplement the body by boosting related parameters. Someone who’s Sigil is based on production may find an increase to their DEX or someone with a combat Sigil may find their STR or WILL be increased. This effect will strengthen as the Sigil’s level increases. Next, comes skills. You can see that they are broken down into 3 sections. First is the Active skills. Active skills are ‘Programs’ installed into your Sigil that allows you to perform actions that would normally be far above the limitations of reality. These include Magic, ‘Qi’ abilities or special Functions of your Sigil. Keep in mind that in order to activate an Active skill you have both the ‘knowledge’ and the ‘energy’. If you have the energy but not the ‘knowledge’, then the energy used will greatly increase and power will greatly decrease. If you have the ‘knowledge’ but not the energy, you will burn your life force to make up the deficit. Passive skills are a bit different. They take two forms. Trained and Mutation. Trained skills are skills that you acquire through your own hard work. Once your effort is recognized by your Sigil, you will acquire the corresponding passive skill. The benefit of this skill is that the Sigil will assist you during related activities, automatically correcting your small mistakes and nuances as your proficiency increases. Mutations, on the other hand, are different. Mutations are the result of your Internal Magi changing your body on a fundamental level as the result of some form of stimuli. Mutations mostly come from your Sigil itself; as your Sigil’s level grows it will automatically trigger these mutations to better adapt your body to the new found power. Examples of this is someone with a Warrior Sigil whose muscles become denser and compact, allowing for strength far exceeding the limits of a human. Or an Archer Sigil changing someone’s eyes to be able to see miles away. Though rare, Mutations can also come from outside stimuli, such as a Treasures or Inheritance. Lastly, we have unique skills. These are a skill that is encoded into your very Soul. Not everyone has a unique skill, and no two unique skills are the same. Most people are born with their unique skill, however, some can be passed down to an Inheritor, either through will or blood, and others can be granted by a higher power. But no matter their source, every unique skill is mysterious and powerful. “ Mark had sat through the entire Lecture in silent contemplation, staring at the open screen. Tsutsuji lifted her nose up with a boastful smile as if to say ‘praise my brilliant knowledge’, but after a moment of silence looked at Mark with puffed up cheeks, “Well?!” Ignoring the little Guide’s outburst, Mark spoke in a low voice, “Most of it I can make out, but there are a few things I do not know about. What is [Survivor’s Will]? And the unique skills are too vague, I can’t make them out….” Tsutsuji simply looked at Mark in shock, as If questioning if he was serious, before speaking, “What are you talking about? Didn’t we just go over how to use Examine? Just focus on the skill and select the command. Good grief, maybe you ARE sleep deprived.” Mark raised his brow in wonder at the simple answer. Maybe this System was more useful than he had first given it credit. Mark turned his focus back to the Status window, ignoring the tiny girl’s complaints as he focused on a few elements and used Examine. --------------------------------------------------Survivor’s WillSkill Type: Active, SigilCost: VariableDescription: the basic Active skill of the Survivor Sigil allows the user to quickly, but only temporally adapt their body to a great degree, in order to overcome an obstacle. A Host who finds themselves underwater may grow Gills. Or if they are surrounded by Fire, their skill will harden and thicken to become fireproof.Survivor’s Will is not foolproof, however; the longer and more complex the change to the user’s body, the more energy will be consumed. Lower level Hosts may even find that they are not able to adapt quick enough, or that their Change is not adequate. Hosts are advised to use Survivor’s Will sparingly and with great discretion, or the dangers could far outweigh the benefits.-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------Healing FactorSkill Type: Passive, Sigil MutationDescription: Your body’s ability to heal and react to damage has greatly increased thanks to the influence of the Survivor Sigil. Even if you were to lose a limb, it will grow back given enough time and energy. However, the RATE at which recovery takes place is based on your Sigil level.Level Effect: Level 2 – Host is able to recover from small lacerations and minor blunt force trauma in a few hours. Heavy and internal damage will take 1-3 days to recover. Lost Limbs will regrow in a Month.-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------EmberSkill Type: Unique Skill, BlessingDescription:??? ??? ??????? ????? ????“The Ember does not choose to light the Flames. It is its Nature”.-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------From the AshesSkill Type: Unique Skill, Passive MutationDescription: The blood of the Survivor courses through your veins. When injuries heal, your body will grow stronger in proportion to the severity. Your body will automatically adapt over time to hostile environments and Stimuli.“What doesn’t kill you, only makes you Stronger”.Current Adaptations:- Microbial resistance (lvl 1): Your body has become resistant to the microbes of another world. Slightly increases resistance to infection and contamination.- Rough Living (lvl 4): Your rough life style has made you able to sleep and recover nearly anywhere. The earth is your bed and the sky your blanket- Presence Detection (lvl 2): Your senses have been slightly sharpened, allow you to detect the presence of others from a short distance away.- Chemical Resistance (lvl 5 [MAX]): Someone has tinkered with your body in a way that it will automatically expel any harmful substance.“Just in case – a Friend”-------------------------------------------------- Mark could not help but feel a little giddy as he looked at the information provided. The Healing Factor had been mentioned by the stranger, the man Tsutsuji named Elaos. While Survivor’s Will was….interesting, the Skill “Ember” was still a mystery, though he could roughly guess where it came from. From the Ashes, however, drew his attention the most. Not only was the effect insane, it seemed to be broken down into several sub-skills. He did not have anything to compare it to, so he was not sure if this was the norm for a Unique Skill, but Mark could see why Tsutsuji had called them “mysterious and powerful”. Tsutsuji herself had gone into shock when she’d seen the description and had yet to have the presence of mind to close her gaping mouth. Mark took advantage of her silence and asked, “So what now?" Tsutsuji was silent for a moment, before closing her mouth and shaking her head, then spoke in a slightly less enthusiastic voice, “The next Option is the Inventory. Like the others, simply select it from the Menu, or bring it to mind.” Mark gave a simple nod then opened the Option. His Status Window closed, only to be replaced by a nostalgic Character Screen from the only RPG he’d played when he was a kid. The bulk of the Window was taken up by a 3D panning image of himself. To either side of the image were several “slots”, marked by obvious symbols. To the left, a helm, chest, legs, gloves, and boots. To the right, 2 rings, a necklace, and 2 earrings. At the bottom was 3 slots, one marked with a Sword, one with a Shield, and box with a swirl in it. It was a Classic setup you could find in any cookie cutter RPG in the past 20 years, and Mark was slightly annoyed by this fact. He was not quite sure what he was expecting, but he had the urge to yell at someone “do your job properly!” Other than then the gloves and helm, the left side slots were occupied by his current clothes, and the Weapon slot showed the old rusty sword, Legend. Everything else was empty. The lower half of the Screen was grayed out, and when Mark focused on it, a cold mechanical voice sounded in his Head, “NO SPATIAL STONES DETECTED, INVENTORY MANAGEMENT IS CURRENTLY DISABLED” Tsutsuji spoke again as if to answer the voice, “In order to use all of the functions of the Inventory, you need to carry a ‘Spatial Stone’. Think of them as an item box in web novels, or a Bag in an RPG. They are not rare in this world, and many people will choose to make them into items and jewelry, or even sow them into clothes. However, they are far more expensive than other methods, so most people will just bring a good bag or chest to carry their belongings.” Mark chose to ignore why she knew those terms, and instead looked down at the little girl “Ok, fine. Where do I get a Spatial Stone?”“You buy them”“…….”“………..”“……………”“………..*sweat*” A few moments later, a small round pitch black marble fell from the under Tsutsuji’s shell as Mark dangled her helplessly by the feet. Mark reached down and picked up the marble and looked at it carefully. It was a strange thing, blacker than black. It almost reminded Mark of a black hole, sucking in all the light around it. Tsutsuji looked up at Mark with filled eyes and cried out in indignation, “Thief! Tyrant! Bandit! Who taught you to steal from sweet little girls!?” Tsutsuji gave a shriek as Mark suddenly let go of her feet and she fell head first towards the ground, only just managing to extend her wings and right herself before hitting, before collapsing on the ground with a frustrated scream. The Character screen’s bottom half lit up as Mark held onto the spatial stone. The bottom screen appeared to be an open chest when several items laying inside. He found that he could sort and shift these items around by moving them with his finger. In all, the Stone seemed to contain several bundles of herbs, a full camping set, and a brown Leather Armor set similar to Tsutsuji’s, minus the plating. Mark played around with it for a bit, before attempting to drag the leather gloves up to the Glove slots, only to find that he could not move them past the top of the Chest. He furrowed his brow in frustration, before turning back to Tsutsuji and asking. “Hey. How do I remove the items?” Tsutsuji in response, simply lay where she was and gave a humph before turning her head away, “I have nothing to say to someone who steals from children!”“Really? Was it yours? I’m sure you would have made great use out of a male armor, 100 times your size. Yes?” Tsutsuji feel cold sweat on the back of her neck at Mark’s response, but not losing a beat, she sat up and spoke slightly faster than normal, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Anyway, equipment can be equipped by focuses on the item and saying ‘Equip’. You can remove them and equip them directly, but the Inventory system will make automatic size and build adjustments when using it. It’s also faster. Don’t worry about other people seeing it, there is a type of Equipment magic that is fairly popular, so as long as you do not open your mouth, people will not find it so strange.As for removing items, simply ‘pull’ the item from the window, and it will be extracted from the spatial stone. Same for putting items in, just touch them to the screen and they will be automatically stored.” Mark nodded in understanding and organized the item box. Focusing on the armor, Mark quickly equipped each piece. He was slightly surprised when the dim light covered his body and his old dirty clothes were replaced by a snug set of rugged leather armor. Just as Tsutsuji said, the System had automatically adjusted the armor to fit him perfectly; he could not find a single place that was ill fitted or uncomfortable, he even felt he’d be able to sleep in he needed to. He next tried taking out several of the supplies stored in the inventory. Mark played around with this for a while, before storing everything back, as well as the money purse, some Star Moss scrapings and a few odd and ends found around the cave. As he was finishing up, Mark’s attention was drawn to movement across the cave. He watched as Alex gave a yawn and stretched himself out, slowly pushing himself up and standing in the morning light. Alex began to slowly put away his bedding, still dreary eyed when he caught sight of Mark. Alex froze instantly, his mouth gaping wide at Mark’s appearance. Specifically, he was looking at Mark’s new armor. Tsutsuji, seeing the young man awake for the first time, opened her shell and quickly flew over to Mark, landing on his shoulder. Her eye’s glaring suspiciously at Alex, she bent down and whispered into Mark’s ear, “Hey, who’s that?”“Alex”“Alex?”“Alex” After the banter, Tsutsuji stood straight and crossed her arms, nodding to herself as if confirming something. Alex, on the other hand, still stood in shock at the two, his eyes darting back and forth between Mark and the tiny girl on his shoulder. His mouth was opened wide as strange grunting sounds came out, like he was struggling to say something, but could not put it to words, and his hand rose trembling, pointing at the two. Alex’s eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground. Mark could only give a deep sigh as he held his shaking head. Tsutsuji on the other hand fell to her back and burst into rolling laughter.

[Author's Note: This is a story I started working on a while back, but got hit by some writer's block, so I'm starting to try getting back into it. I can't promise how often releases will be, but I'll be doing my best. I might also be Rewriting the first few chapters sometime later and Ironing out the flow and such. Each Chapter will be roughly 3-4k words, though I might break Those down into smaller chapters, depending on Reader feedback, so please tell me what you think! Also, if anyone is interested in helping edit it some what, I'd really appreciate it. I go over every chapter several times, but I don't always see everything. If you'd like to help, contacting me on NUF would be the best way to get a hold of me. With that being said, I hope you enjoy the story! Be sure to leave lots of Feedback and tell me what you think or where it could be improved!] https://forum.novelupdates.com/members/osamaru.28106/ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prologue: The End of one Story, and the Beginning of Another.​ The man lay on his side in the faintly lit sewer tunnel as the light sound of water dripping filled the air, eyes dull and unfocused as the water slowly began to pool under his head. Empty pill bottles and beer cans lay scattered around him; some still wet while others so old and dry it was like they’d been there longer than he had. His clothes were rank with the filth of the sewers around him, but upon closer inspection, one would see a careful and thoughtful neatness to them; even in their ruined state, the man had not allowed them to become disordered. If not for the slight tremor of his eyes as they watched each drop fall, one could mistake his sunken cheeks, fish white eyes and pale skin for that of a dead man. He did not care though; he had long lost that ability. The water continued, one drop at a time, as the man watched, each drop seemed to come slower and slower, the ringing of each drop growing louder and louder until the last drop, stretching out into eternity, the sound of it hitting the puddle akin to the sound of the world shattering, and then darkness. The man lay in the shallow puddle, his eyes no longer following the slow drip of the water above. A silhouette blocked off the light from the nearby sewer grate exit. The silhouette approached reviling the form of an olive skinned middle aged man in clean street clothes and a baseball hat. He looked completely unremarkable – just another face in the crowd you wouldn’t notice. His eyes were the exception, they glowed with a gentle light, flickering with “something” indescribable. The man slowly approached the fish-eyed man with heavy footsteps that echoed down the chamber. The newcomer squatted down on his haunches looked at the man and with a deep sorrow in his voice he said. “It is by the flame that gold and slag are separated, but when the flame dies, all that results are ashes.” The newcomer reached out and closed the fish-eyed man’s eyes with deliberate slowness, and stood up letting out a tired sigh. The newcomer was silent for a moment and closed his eyes as if in prayer, before turning around and walking back towards the tunnel entrance. He spoke in a low voice with a smile, “But while there is still even a single ember burning, there is hope for the Flame to be rekindled." The newcomer left the dim light of the sewer and stepped back into the sunlight. He began to whistle a soft tune and walked leisurely up a hill and down the nearby road. A small raccoon hiding in a nearby bush popped its head out as the newcomer walked away. Deeming it safe, the small animal briskly ran towards the entrance of the tunnel hoping to find a stash or scraps. To its surprise though, there in the dark tunnel sat a small pile of nuts and fruit as fresh as if they had been just picked. The small raccoon ran to the pile and began to fill its stomach chattering excitedly, not minding the otherwise empty tunnel.

Chapter 1: Embers among Ashes Mark awoke with his eyes crusty and head pounding, the loud roaring of his hangover refusing to let him sleep any longer. He fumbled his hand around awkwardly looking for even a small amount of alcohol to quell the fierce storm in his head. His eyes hurt and he refused to open them until he could muster the strength to face another day of existence. Mark opened his eyes after some time, unable to find anything. He pushed himself into a sitting position and glanced around at the empty floor, before furrowing his brow in anger and frustration. He’d chosen this sewer tunnel because it was far out of the normal roaming territory of the cities common vagrants and junkies; he thought he’d not have to worry about having any uninvited guests. He figured it was his own fault for underestimating their nose; he should be happy he was still wearing clothes. Drawing his legs to his chest and leaning up against the rough wall, Mark laid his head on his knees and massaged his temples, desperately trying to ease his pounding head. After several moments of silence, the constant roaring began to die down. To his confusion, however, though the pain subsided the sound never fully dissipated. Dry, bloodshot eyes squinting in the dim light, Mark lifted his head and looked at his surroundings. “Huh? What the Hell?” Instead of the dull gray colored filth encrusted cement wall of the sewer tunnel, across from him was a dark, rough stone wall covered in brightly colored lichen. The stone walls were slightly damp from the spray of the small stream that ran under it and the soft rumbling sound he heard was the sound of the water as it flowed rapidly out of the cave mouth. Mark took only a moment to recognize that he was not where he was when he passed out, He got up despite his back and legs protesting the exertion and with practiced hands, Mark began to pat himself down. He lifted his shirt to look for blood. Not seeing any noticeable wounds or stitches, Mark let out a sigh of relief and thought to himself that it’s not like organ thieves would get much for his anyway. Mark calmed his racing heart before looking around the area. The cave he was in was small and damp from the stream that flowed out of a small crack in the back wall. It was not particularly large or deep, but the markings and old ashes scattered around indicated that it had been used more than once as a camping site. He poked around the area to see if there was anything useful left behind. Mark felt a small shifting weight in his pocket. He pulled out a small outdated flip-phone, his wallet and the old silver pocket watch that never left his side. Why would someone take his pills and booze, dragged him God knows how far away to some cave, and yet forget to take his valuables as well? Not that he was complaining. He stuffed his wallet back into his pocket. Mark took a moment to stare at the silver pocket watch, taking a moment to admire the engraving on the back, “For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity". A small, mocking smirk formed on his mouth, Mark shook his head and silently slid the watch into his pocket again. He flipped the phone open, Mark grumbled in frustration; no signal. Stupid cheap pay as you go plans. Mark placed the phone back into his pocket alongside his wallet and watch, then stretched himself out, grimacing as his body creaked and groaned in protest. He was not the spring chicken he once was. Not that the excess booze and pills did any favors. Moving towards the small stream, Mark approached a relatively calm portion and stared into the water. The water was clear enough that he could see the man staring back up at him; skin pale and loose, deep purple bags under bloodshot listless eyes topped by a head of shaggy unkempt coal black hair and a ragged beard a finger's length long. If one looked closely, they would be able to see the remnants of a relatively handsome man. Mark never thought he’d been handsome enough to be popular, but he’d gotten the odd shy smile from the ladies in his youth. But years of neglect and drug abuse had wiped most of that away. Mark harrumphed to his own thoughts and spoke to the reflection “What are you looking at?” Without waiting for a reply, he reached down and cupped a hand of the cold water and splashed his face. After washing his face, Mark took the opportunity to remove his outer shirt and started to wipe down his body in the clean water. The filth washed away as he shivered in the cold water, but at least it wasn’t biting cold like shelter showers. As he reached over the water to scoop out more, something caught his eye beneath the dark smudges on his chest. Mark gently touched the area above his left pec – right above where his heart would be. There, barely the size of a palm, was a black tattoo, reminiscent of the tribal tattoos that were popular a few years back. He scooped out more water and cleaned more, wondering if maybe it was just a smudge. The rest of his chest cleaned easily enough, but the tattoo remained. Mark squinted at the unfamiliar image and traced along its surprisingly complex pattern. Mark rubbed his eyes with more water to clear his vision, and then looked again. At first glance, it appeared to be a fireball or some kind of meteor, but looking at it in detail he could tell that it was a small glowing egg, wrapped in thin threads of fire. As he breathed, the tattoo expanded and contracted, giving it the illusion of flickering embers and dancing flames. Each line that made up the egg and the flames themselves were infinitely complex, formed from dozens and dozens of tiny lines and symbols to the point that Mark questioned how long it had taken to make. Scooting back from the stream, Mark shook his head, trying to clear the last remnants of his hangover and reconstruct what had happened last night; why was he in this Cave? Who had brought him here? Who had put this tattoo on him, and why? But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with a good answer. Mark sat there in thought, the shadows in the cave began to grow slightly darker. Looking up, he saw through the cave entrance the red sky of a setting Sun. It looked like he would be spending the night here once more. ~~~ Several hours later ~~~ Mark sat down near the small fire in the back of the Cave, the smoke escaping from a small man-made hole in the ceiling. In the fire sat a few larger stones, slowly starting to turn hot. With practiced hands, Mark maneuvered a pair of sticks and picked the stones from the fire, before quickly maneuvering them into a shallow stone depression filled with water from the stream. As the stones hit the water, the water began to hiss and boil. After repeating this a few times, Mark waited a short while for the water to cool, before bending down and greedily drinking the remaining water. It was a slow and inefficient method, but it was better than going thirsty or contracting God knows what from the water. His years in the military had left him with a wide range of survival and combat skills, so he didn't fear death like some city boy without his modern comforts for just one night, but that did not stop him for cursing whoever had taken his beer bottles. Mark sat back up and leaned up against the damp stone wall, enjoying the contrast of the cool stone and the blazing flame. As he watched the flickering flames dwindle, their gentle dance and the soft sounds of the night seeming to cast a spell on his eyelids and they grew slowly heavier. A shrill scream pierced the night and snapped Mark’s eyes open from his slumber. What was happening?

Interlude 2: To my second Love… ​ Merry lay on the small bed, unable to make herself sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced around the dim moonlit room. It was a familiar room to her, the same one that her parents had used when they visited Uncle Matthew. She had loved it here in Whitewood; the sights and sounds of the bustling city, the smells of the various food stalls lining the roads, even watching Aunt Caroline and big sister Adrea go about their work. But now, the dark room just seemed cold to her. And lonely. She gently shifted to her side, careful to not wake Tsutsuji who was sleeping on the pillow beside her and stared out the window. After a moment of restless silence, she slipped out of bed and walked to the small table sitting near the window, the hard wood floor cold beneath her feet. She grunted a little as she pulled the heavy chair out, her heart pounding as it screeched in protest. She glanced over at Tsutsuji nervously; the tiny guide just scratched herself and slept on, mumbling in her sleep. Merry gave a sigh then sat down at the table, pulling closed the large book that sat on top. The little girl stared at the book with warm eyes, gently tracing the words on its cover, before opening it. Instead of turning to the marked page, Merry opened to the front and lifted a small pouch attached to the cover. She carefully drew out a small folded letter, staring at it with sad eyes as the moonlight dimly reflected off of it. She slowly opened the letter, careful not to tear it. The creases on the paper were worn and several parts were smudged from tears, but Merry had read letter enough that she could recite it from her heart. Even still, she held the worn paper as if it was a treasure, and carefully read each word by the dim moonlight, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~To my Second Love, As I write this letter, I am looking over at you gently sleeping in your Mother’s arms and I think to myself what did someone like me ever do to be blessed with the two greatest women in this world? You are only a little thing now, and I must admit, it makes me terrified some times. You must be so ashamed to have such a coward as a Father. Such a fragile thing, I can’t help think that you’ll break or I’ll make you cry. But when I see that pure smile light your face, it’s like all the worries in the world disappear, clouds vanish from the sky and the stars shine just a little brighter than before. I wonder, how many years will pass before you see these words? What kind of woman will you become? Will you be as kind and brave as your Mother? Will you stand up tall and be able to lift your head up high? What will you do when you finally step out on your own? What kind of person will the man who steals your heart be? What will my grandchildren look like? When your hair is gray and your back crooked, will you still remember the things this foolish Father taught you? So many questions go through my mind every time I look into your eyes. When I think about what life has in store for you, I sometimes find myself overflowing with happiness and expectations. Other time, I’m terrified and weep at the sorrows you will have to endure. But no matter what crosses my mind, I will always remember that you are my Daughter, my second love; you may only be a tiny sapling right now but it will not be long before you grow into a mighty oak, unwavering even in the fiercest gale that life throws at you. So, my sweet little girl, I ask only this of you. Live on. Through was ever may come. Live on. In both the good times and dark times, never give up, keep pressing forward and never lose sight of the things that will come after the pain. The Night will never last forever, one day the Sun will break over the horizon and a new Day will come. Till then, live on. With all the love within me,Signed, your foolish Father. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Merry struggled to silence her sobs as her hands shook, a few fresh tears adding themselves to the stains on the letter. After a long moment, Merry finally managed to calm herself down. She took a deep breath and carefully refolded the letter and returned it to the book cover. She closed the book and leaned back in her chair, looking out the nearby window with tears in her eyes. Merry knew that the others only thought of her as a child, that they tried to keep her ignorant, thinking to protect her from the truth. She may be young, but she was not stupid. She heard the whispered words and saw the looks of pity from the adults. She was not stupid, while she pretended not to hear, she understood the words they said. Merry’s eyes took on a dark look, a flame burning deep in their depths. As she looked out over the dark cityscape, a thought began to form. They were out there somewhere. Lurking in the shadows. Thinking no one could see them, thinking no one could touch them. But they were wrong. After a short while, Merry slid off of the chair and gently slipped into bed. She closed her eyes once more; as she slipped away into sleep, the gears began to turn in the back of her mind.

Chapter 14: Scars and Shadows​   Matthew stood and spoke in a cheerful tone, “I hope you don’t mind, but I decided to splurge a little tonight. With the Western Trade route open once more, I’ve pulled a little something special out of my collection. I hope that you enjoy!” Mark raised an eyebrow as he looked at the small earthen jug in front of him. Watching the others gently pull off the wax seal on top, he followed after them. The room quickly filled with a cool refreshing aroma, like stepping into an old pine forest, mixed with the distinct smell of strong alcohol. Mark’s heart began to beat rapidly in his chest as his throat dried instantly like he’d swallowed a cotton-ball. He tried to swallow, but couldn’t seem to produce any saliva, as the sound of a roaring beast awoke in his mind. Mark could feel cold sweat crawling down his back as he reached out with shaking hands and grabbed onto the jugs handle, pouring a small amount of the dark amber liquid into his cup. He raised it slowly, inhaling the strong woody aroma before tossing the contents into his mouth. Mark let out a low moan of pleasure as its icy chill and fiery intensity hit the back of his throat. He sat there for a moment, eyes closed as he enjoyed the complex flavor, before quickly filling his cup up again and downing it in one motion. By the third, however, Mark felt a little strange. Or rather, it was what he wasn’t feeling. With a frown, he looked down at the small jug and moved to pour another cup, when a light small voice called out in warning, “Mark…” Mark moved as if he didn’t hear the voice of the small Guide across from him. He poured the fourth glass and threw it into his mouth, quickly followed by a fifth. “Mark!” Tsutsuji yelled out in a loud voice. By the sixth glass, Mark’s hand was visibly trembling; he slammed the glass on the table, his breathing heavy, heart still racing, sweat dripping from his forehead. He looked up to see Tsutsuji looking at him, a look of deep concern on her face. Looking around, he saw that the table had gone silent, the people around him giving him looks of pity or disgust. He looked over to the side to see Merry staring wide-eyed at him, fear shining in her eyes. As Mark looked into those eyes, he felt something snap in his mind, and he swiftly stood, speaking in a low flat voice, “Excuse Me…” “Mark! Wait!” Mark turned and quickly made his way out of the Dining Hall, Tsutsuji rising and following behind. The remaining people at the table sat in silence for a moment, before Selah’s face went red in anger. She slammed her hands on the table and rose as if to follow, “That Bastard, What is his deal!” “Selah! Sit down.” “But Father!” “Sit!” Selah gave a grumble but obeyed her Father. Matthew looked out the way Mark had left, a small light of understanding flashing in his eyes, as he spoke in a low, sad voice, “It’s not something that you’re capable of helping with. Leave it to Lady Tsutsuji….” --------------------- Mark rushed through the fort Hallway, the sound of a roaring beast chasing him as he tried to escape. His heart wouldn’t stop racing nor his body shaking. The servants he passed gave him a strange look as he made his way towards the Fort entrance, passing through and entering into the cold, dark night. He didn’t know where he was going, but he felt like he needed to run, to get away as quickly as possible. And so he ran. He ran and he ran through the cold night, the roaring of the beast chasing him always just a few steps behind. An unknown time later he collapsed on the side of a road, gasping for breath. He didn’t know where he was anymore, but by the sounds coming from the few nearby buildings, he assumed he was in the entertainment district. Mark struggled to stand, his legs weak with fatigue as he looked towards the source of the sounds. In the distance, a large building was lit up bright, the sounds of laughter and rough singing pouring out. Every so often, one or two people would come stumbling out of the establishment. Mark looked on for a long while, the familiar thurst screaming at him. His throat felt dry as a desert as he watched the people move around in the light. As he stepped forward, he felt the shifting of weight at his side. He reached down to pull out a small pouch, its contents clanking loudly in the silent night. He stared at the pouch in a daze, eyes drawn back and forth between it and the tavern. Mark pushed the annoying voice screaming at him, to the back of his mind, then with stiff footsteps, slowly walked towards the light. --------------------------------- Tsutsuji flew through the dark night, high above the city, scanning for any sign of Mark. After some time, a response came through their Link. She followed the link for a while and entered a dark alleyway in the entertainment district. Though the nearby building was bustling with the late night city life, the alley was quiet and gloomy. Tsutsuji finally stopped in front of the figure of a sitting man. His head hung down against his chest, back up against the wall. Several bottles lay around him and a small leather pouch lay empty to one side. The man simply sat there unmoving, quiet as the dead. Tsutsuji hovered in front of him for a long time, before speaking in a low, soft voice, “Mark…” The little guide had to swiftly dodge as a bottle was thrown in her direction, shattering up against the opposite wall. Mark spoke in a flat, emotionless voice, “Go away.” “Mark. It wasn’t your fault.” “What do you know?!” Mark screamed out in a fury, his teeth bared as he looked at the little Guide, his voice cracking and raw. “I know everything Mark, that’s my Job” “Shut up.” “I know about what you did.” “Shut up!” “What you tried to do.” “SHUT UP!” “About the labs, and the…” “SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!” Mark reached out and grabbed the little Guide before she could move, squeezing her tight between his hands. He looked at her with crazed eyes, “You know nothing! You have no idea what it’s like, every day, every waking moment, seeing those eyes, hearing those voices. Who do you think you are?” Tsutsuji grimaced in pain as Mark’s grip tightened, His hands shaking and eyes glazing over. She spoke in a choked voice, struggling to breathe, “You can’t go on like this Mark. You can’t just keep running away.” Mark froze at her words. His hands slowly loosened and Tsutsuji fell to the ground, gasping for breath. He leaned up against the wall, his eyes dead and lightless as he gave a light chuckle and spoke in the same flat voice, “No, I suppose I can’t, can I? You and your ‘master’ took that option away from me. Not like I have any other choice though.” “You can fight it, Mark! You can face it head on.” “And how am I supposed to do that!” Mark’s voice flared once more, before dulling, “I tried fighting back, I tried pushing on alone after everything else failed and everyone else gave up. And look where that got me.” “You’re not alone, Mark…” Tsutsuji stood after catching her breath, and slowly floated up to Mark’s eye level, speaking in a low, soft voice, “… Not anymore. That’s what I’m here for. We’re Partners. We’re supposed to support each other, bare one another's burdens. So let me support you, Mark. When you can’t go any farther, when you’ve lost your way, I’ll be there right by your side. So just lean on me and keep walking.” Tsutsuji drew closer as she spoke, and gently lay her forehead against his. Slowly, she opened their Link as far as it would go, and a wave of intense emotions flooded into her soul. Sadness, grief, guilt, desperation, anger, hatred; as the raging storm of Darkness pounded against her mind, tears began to well up in her eyes. Through the darkness, she slowly pushed forward a thin thread of light and wrapped it around Mark’s heart. Through the thread, she sent her own heart; she sent the memories of the short time they’d spent, both good and bad, of the faces of the people they’d met along the way, and bright smile of a little girl. A single spark may not be able to light the entire night, but when it is the only light left, even an ember is as bright as the sun. That night, in the dark Alleyway, not a sound could be heard as two figures sat silently clinging to each other, to a thin thread of light, tears staining their face. ----------------------------------- The first Skyshard was already starting to dip beneath the horizon when Mark finally made his way to the Fortress gates, the tiny figure of Tsutsuji sleeping soundly in his arms. The night Guards seemed to have been expecting him, as he was swiftly let through. His body ached slightly, but Mark felt lighter than he had in a while, as he made his way through the Fortress and to his room. As he turned into the hallway, a thin figure was lit by the dim moonlight filtering in through the window at the end. The figure leaned up against the wall opposite his room, arms crossed as they stared at the open door. The figure turned to look at Mark and said in a familiar voice, “Didn’t expect you to actually show your face again…” Mark stopped for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust to the low light, as Selah pushed herself away from the wall and gave him a dark glare. Marked walked forward, Selah stopped in front of him, looking into his eyes for a moment before swiftly raising her hand and slapping Mark hard. His head jerked to the side and small stars popped in his vision. When his sight cleared, Mark’s gaze landed past the open door of his room. On his bed, slept a small figure in a light dress, her short chestnut hair sticking to her tear-streaked face as she clung to a large book. Every so often, she would shake slightly in her sleep and another tear would fall from the corner of her eye. “She’s been there all night. Waiting for you...” Selah spoke in a soft, sad voice, her eyes following Mark’s line of sight. Mark walked in and slowly approached the sleeping girl. As he reached down and gently wiped the fresh tear from her eye, the girl stirred, gripping the large book in her arms tighter. Mark smiled and, careful not to wake her, lifted the small girl from the bed, before walking out the room, and began to head towards the girl's, Selah following closely behind. Along the way, Tsutsuji awoke and seeing the little girl sleeping soundly beside her, she gave a soft smile, then flew out of Marks' arm, landing on his opposite shoulder. She reached down and began to slowly pet the girl as they walked. Shortly after, they arrived in front of the girl’s bedroom. They pushed open the Door and walked in. Mark then lay the small girl down on the bed before turning around and walking out. Selah watched Merry for a moment from the doorway, noticing a small smile had formed on the girl’s sleeping face. She gave a light sigh and pulled the door closed. Selah quickened her pace and caught up to Mark, pulling on his shoulder to stop him. Mark turned around and looked at the young woman with a questioning glance. Selah simply stared at Mark for a long moment, as if not sure what she wanted to say. Her eyes fell on the large handprint on the side of his face, still slightly swollen and red. Tsutsuji seemed to see it as well, as she gave a cheeky grin and chuckled lightly. Mark glared at the small Guide before flicking her in the forehead, sending her tumbling off his shoulder with a squeal. Watching the two, Selah sunk her shoulders, in resignation, then turned her eyes to Mark, a fire burning in them as she spoke in a serious voice, “I’ll be honest. I don’t like you. You’re rude, gloomy and uncivilized.” “…..” “But for whatever reason, that girl has attached herself to you.” “……..” Selah took a step forward, grabbing onto his shirt and balling it as she pulled him in close. Mark’s eyes were drawn to her soft ruby lips, though he jumped slightly when ‘someone’ pinched the back of his neck, managing to meet her eyes, “So I’ll give you this warning, only once. If you hurt her again, I’ll…” “AHhAHHAHHhhAhAHAH!” Selah’s cold, serious voice was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a loud scream from behind. The two turn around to see a young maid sitting on the floor, swiftly backing away from an open door. Merry’s Door. Selah and Mark’s eyes met for a split second before they rushed over as fast as they could. Mark’s heart stopped as he looked in the doorway. Standing on the open windowsill, was a short figure, their face cloaked in the darkness of the night and a large hood. Under the figures arm, a young girl wiggled and struggled against the rope that bound her. Around the figure's neck, the girl's travel bag hung. The clouds rolled away suddenly, and a dim moonlight flooded the room. Mark could only stare in shock as he looked at an ugly, malformed face; large black eyes and long pointed ears, dark molted green skin appearing blue in the moonlight. The wind blew the cloak open gently to reveal the figure's other arm, just a stub about the elbow. As its eyes met Mark, they lit up in delight, a wide, vile grin splitting it face from side to side. Mark’s eyes went wide, and he rushed into the room, but the instant before he grabbed the forest goblin, it took a step back and fell out of the window, giving a light mocking chuckle as it did. Mark watched in horror as the thing fell over 6 stories and landed with a light thud, as though it had jump only a few feet. After landing, the Forest goblin looked up at Mark and gave another full-faced grin, before rushing off at high speeds, Merry still held tightly under his arm. Selah stood beside Mark in shock, unable to process what just happened. When she came too, she found Mark attempting to climb out of the window himself. In a Panic, she grabbed onto His jacket; what was he trying to do? Forest Goblins were designed for the treetops, they could fall from massive heights, but a Human would break every bone in their body at even half this. She struggled with him for a moment, but he finally managed to slip out of the jacket and leaped from the window. Selah screamed as she watched the man plummet to the ground, but was unable to pull her eyes away. Mark didn’t know why he leaped, but his instincts were screaming at him that if he didn’t, it would be far too late. As the ground neared, Mark felt something click in his head, and a burning warmth began to spread out from his chest. As if it was something he’d done all his life, Mark activated Survivor’s Will; in an instant, he could feel his body change. His legs grew 4 inches, the muscles becoming thicker and more elastic, the bones of his body took on a flexible, rubbery nature as his internal organs shifted in a certain pattern. In the next moment, Mark touched down. He could feel the immense force of his impact surge through his body, and his legs compressed like a spring. Time seemed to stand still, as the force then rebounded, Mark angling himself forward as he sped away at an unimaginable speed, using each new step like a springboard to propel himself forward. Selah could only stare from the far window in shock, mouth agape as she watched him race in the direction the Goblin had gone. She stood there motionless, till a hand on her shoulder roused her. She turned around to see her Father staring at her with serious eyes. Nearby, Alex was issuing orders to the guards while her Mother and Sister comforted the weeping maid who lay on the ground. Tsutsuji lay on the table, panting heavily as sweat ran down her face; the little Guide had apparently informed the others as soon as she realized what was happening. With one more look out the Window, Selah turned around and spoke to her Father. ---------------------------------------- Mark ran through the dark streets for the second time that night, though his heart was racing for a different reason. He was currently running faster than he’d ever had in his life, though he could feel the immense drain on his energy as he struggled to maintain Survivor’s Will. Still, he pressed on, every so often catching glimpse of a fleeing shadow as it ran along the rooftops. After close to a 10-minute chase, the Goblin finally stopped atop a high wall surrounding a large estate. It looked back the way it came, a slight surprise crossing its eyes as it saw Mark not too far behind it. The surprise quickly turned to humor, however, as the Goblin grinned again and leaped beyond the wall. Mark stopped at the side of the Wall, finding it far too high for him to jump over or climb by hand. His eyes landed on the area that the Goblin had stopped on. The goblin had leaped from a nearby building that protruded out slightly; while it was far too far for a normal person to make the jump, Mark figured with his sigil modified body, he might be able to just make it. Mark made his way over to the building and swiftly began to scale it. However, before he could get very far, someone grabbed onto his leg and pulled him down. Mark twisted violently, striking out to land a vicious blow to his target’s face with his elbow. The blow was stopped midway, as a familiar voice called out, “Easy there Mark. Take a deep breath.” Mark calmed down slightly, turning around to see an unexpected face. Jonathan. The old Captain who they’d met the other day was now dressed in dark clothing, several other similarly dressed people standing behind him. Mark looked at the man and spoke in a flutter, “We have to hurry and get over there, there are Forest Goblins in the city! They took…” “I know, we saw. We’ve been watching this location for a while now, but we didn’t think they’d make a move so soon.” “Then what are we doing standing here? We have to hurry and…” “I’m afraid that it’s not that simple, Mark.” “What are you talking about?” Jonathan didn’t answer, he simply pointed towards a large sign that hung over a gate connected to the Estate wall. Mark’s heart sunk to the bottom of his chest; as the moonlight lit the sign, two words were visible, “Darksand Embassy”.

Chapter 9: Crossroads (Part 2) ​ Mark looked up at the huge 20 Meter Main Gate towering as it opened up in front of him. Alex had mentioned, when they first caught sight of the city walls, that the Main Gates at each end of the city was made of several pieces of solid Whitewood. The huge gates had originally been stone and metal, but were replaced close to 150 years ago, and time had yet to leave even a mark on them since. Mark had to admit, the almost black walls contracted with the blindingly white gates made for an awe inspiring sight. As they passed through the gates, the sight that caught Mark’s eyes next stole his breath away. The West gate was raised on a small hill and from it, he could see that the city spread out for close to 5-6 miles. While it was not anywhere close to a “large” city in Mark’s eyes, the densely packed building spreading out like a carpet and the bustling sounds of city life made him feel like he’d stepped into a tiny modern day metropolis. Mark had to admit to himself, it was beyond his expectations. Especially when it came to the atmosphere of the city; when one thinks of fantasy story, they tend to imagine swords and magic, a Castles and medieval life, but the city in front of Mark seemed more like a part of Victorian Boston had been cut out and plopped down. The streets were clean and paved, tall light post lining most of the wide major streets, the buildings were brick and mortar and some as tall as 5 stories, and where ever you looked you could see people going about their way. Near the middle of the city was a small island, roughly a square mile in size, surrounded by a moat a quarter of a mile wide. The moat was bridged by two large bridges on the west and east side and split into two wide canals stretching to the north and south. These canals were themselves spanned by four smaller bridges, two to the north and two to the south. On the Island sat dozens of elegant estates, packed onto the island and surrounding a large fortress sitting in the middle. According to Alex, the city was broken into 5 main districts; The Trade district in the South-West, the Entertainment and Worker’s District in the South-East, the Residential District and the Slums in the North-East, the Manufacturing District North-West, and finally the wealthy Upper-Class District taking up the central island. [Author’s Note: I’ll have a crude map of Whitewood in this post, to help. Not great at city design, sue me. ROFL] Their own destination was the Entertainment District. With that in mind, they cut south through the Trader’s district along the main trade route and towards the southern crossing bridges. The Trader’s district had inns and lodging for traders come from the West, they were far more expensive than those found in the Entertainment district, and as the only money they had on them did not belong to them, they agreed to be as conservative as they could. Jonathan had mentioned that he would send someone to help with Merry’s situation, so they would be staying at an Inn near the North West corner of the District that was recommended by him until. Mark took in the sounds and sights of the City as they drove the carriage through the wide streets. He started to notice something strange as they drove on, however; every so often they would pass by a street vendor or store front and be given a quizzical glance, or a passerby would stare up at Mark and Alex with a strange frown as if seeing something they were not expecting. Mark gave Alex a nudge in the side as the weird looks continued to increase. The young man simply nodded while keeping his eyes on road, before speaking in a low whisper, “Ya, I noticed. Any clue what’s going on?” “Not a one…” “Are they just surprised to see a merchant wagon, what with the attacks?” “No, they should still be getting supplies from the East. This feels different, hostile almost.” As they spoke, Mark noticed a young man, no more than 15-16 years old, standing off to the side of the road. The young man wore loose high-quality closes and carried a large stack of paper in his arms. The boy seemed unaware his simple eyeglass frames resting on his nose were slowly slid down his face, his eyes wide in shock as he watched the carriage drive by. Mark looked back at the boy with a raised eyebrow as they passed; the boy quickly shook his head and readjusted his glasses. The boy then quickly walked to another similarly dressed youth nearby and began to too hastily discuss something. After a moment, the boy passed off his burden to his companion and dashed through the crowds, towards a large building further down the road. Some distance behind them, Mark could see a crowd gathering, as if following the carriage. Mark could feel his frown deepen as he watched the boy. He turned to Alex and spoke softly, “Something’s going on. I don’t know what we’ve done to stir them up, but if it comes to it, we may need to run”. Alex nodded his head while Mark turned around to the back and woke the napping Tsutsuji, informing her of the matter. Despite her half closed in sleep eyes and tired scowl, Mark could feel a sharp readiness coming through his link with Tsutsuji. The tiny Guide had developed a deep bond with the little girl over the last week; the bug may get on his nerves for the most part, but Mark knew he could trust Merry with her when push came to shove. They drew near to the large building after a few moment, their trailing crowd growing larger as now even random passersby had noticed the strange atmosphere. There was a sudden commotion shortly before passing by the large building; the sound of shouting and muffled arguments before the large sliding doors of the building gave a creak and burst open, torn off their frame as if hit by a huge force. Alex was forced to quickly stop the carriage while the surrounding crowd gave a sudden yell and backed away. A large older man walked from the small cloud of wood dust near where the doors had been. The man was even taller than Jonathan; no less than 6’7, he was a huge mass of muscle and fat. His face was contorted in rage, eyes bulging and his face a deep red, in stark contrast to his short gray bread and balding head. In his hand held he held a huge war mace. The weapon was just as massive as its owner; Mark would have believed it if someone told him the large man was simply swinging around one of the lamp posts on the side of the street. Though what really made Mark break out into a cold sweat, was that the fact that this man was holding the mace with one hand like it was a common stick. Mark’s heart froze in his chest as his eye’s made contact with the large angry man. The large man looked at Mark and Alex, breathing heavily as his gaze flicked back and forth between them and the carriage. Warning signals immediately screamed to life in Mark's brain, but just as he opened his mouth to tell the frozen Alex to run, the large man gave a massive roar that seemed to shake the air. He then raised the huge mace and charged straight at them with a speed that should not have been possible for a man his size. Mark was barely out of his seat when he saw the shadow of the huge mace descending on them. Someone in the crowd gave a scream of terror when a small shadow suddenly shot from the back of the Carriage. Tsutsuji appeared in a flash before them, hovering in the air as she extended her hand out as if to catch the descending mace. Mark felt his heart leap into his throat as he watched, but in the next moment, his eyes went wide. The instant before the Mace made contact, a thin translucent barrier spread out from Tsutsuji’s palm. It appeared no thicker than a hair, but when the mace made contact, it rebounded with enough force to push the huge man off his feet. The barrier rippled with a rainbow of colors like a soap bubble as it gave a strange wobbling sound, before shattering with the sound of glass. As the barrier burst, Mark felt a wave of intense fatigue wash over him, like he’d just ran 10 miles with no rest. He collapsed back into his seat, not even have the energy to support himself anymore as he gasped for breath. In the same instant, the large man was thrown to the grown, his mace crashing heavily into the road, leaving a crater of broken pavement as it shook the ground. He simply sat there, eyes wide in amazement and disbelief as he looked at the tiny Guide hovering in the Air. Tsutsuji simply looked down at him, arms crossed as she frowned. ______________________________________________ ~~~ A few moments later ~~~ Mark watched the strange scene from atop the Driver’s box, still too weak to move much. On the ground near the Carriage, the large man now knelt down, his head as far forward as his large stomach would allow. Alex stood in front of him as he tried to calm down a fuming Tsutsuji flying around the large man. She had been “lecturing” him for the past for moments, the crowd silently gawking, till finally seeming to lose steam she puffed out her cheeks and yelled at the large kneeling man, “Seriously, what were you thinking?! Just suddenly attacking people, is this how Whitewood treats its guests?” The man answered back in a deep, thundering voice, not even lifting his head, “N-no, My Holiness, this was my mistake. They tried to stop me, but I let my anger control me!” “Mistake? That is what you are going to tell the Grandeur Investigative Unit when it’s reported you attacked not only a Hero but a Spirit as well? That you just made a mistake?” “Wait, Tsutsuji, there is no need to go that far, at least hear him out.” Alex quickly interceded, stepping in front of a fuming Tsutsuji. At the mention of Grandeur Investigative Unit, the large man looked up, his face pale as death as his eyes lit up in panic. The crowd surrounding them burst into commotion. Mark raised an eye at the unfamiliar term. Focusing on it in his mind, a small window popped up in his vision, --------------------------------------------------Grandeur Investigative UnitIndex Entry: Special Unit formed by Grandeur as a countermeasure against Non-malignant threats. The unit is deployed when there claims that may disrupt normal operations such as; Rouge Heroes, Pixie and Devil sightings or obstruction of Hero or Guardian duties.The GIU’s influence is enough to quarantine entire Countries and arrest Kings.-------------------------------------------------- Grandeur. There was that term again. He vaguely remembered seeing it Tsutsuji’s status, and Alex had mentioned it as well, but he’d assumed it was just some town somewhere. Once more focused on the unknown word. The first window closed and another replaced it, --------------------------------------------------Land of Origin, Grandeur of the TearfallIndex Entry: The largest collection of Wisp Pools in the World. Legend holds that this location is where the Tear of Elaos fell, and Magi were born. Grandeur also refers to the Organization based here. Grandeur has existed for thousands of years in response to the Malignant threat. They are also responsible for the training and deployment of Heroes and Spirits throughout the world. Contrary to popular belief, Grandeur holds only very loose ties to the Grand Church of Elaos, and rarely steps into the global political stage; their entire existence and focus are solely on defending against Malignants and miasma. Though that has not stopped many from growing nervous about the organization’s influence and power, there are very few brave or crazy enough to speak out publicly such concerns.-------------------------------------------------- Mark furrowed his brow in deep thought. He could begin to see why the people would be terrified at the tiny Guide’s threat. Mark looked once more over at Tsutsuji, inspecting her with new eyes. Though he was not completely convinced that she had the power to carry out her threat, the crowd seemed to think she did. As the crowd grew restless, the large man quickly bellowed out, “No! Please, the blame is on my head alone! When it was reported strangers had driven Thomas’ carriage into town, I lost myself. I’d thought you’d come to sell it off, or some such thing!” Alex’s eyes went wide in shock as the man spoke, “You knew Thomas?” “Yes, Yes! Thomas was a regular in town; he would often travel between Whitewood and the Western Continent, his prices are always fair and he is a good natured Man, there are many people in the Trade district who know him by face” [Well, that would explain the stares.] Mark thought as he started to regain some strength. Tsutsuji gave an angry grunt and quickly flew around Alex and stopped In front of the large man’s face, jamming her finger into his large nose, “FOOL! And why would Bandits drive their spoils directly into town?” “That i-is… I mean… I’m Sorry! As I said, it was my mistake alone, I beg you!” The large man’s pale face went beat red, then he slammed his head back to the ground. Alex quickly pulled Tsutsuji away, before placing his arms under the man’s and urging him to stand, speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the crowd, “We understand, we understand, please stand up. There is no reason to take this any further than it has already.” The large man quickly stood up, a look of relief flooding his face, as an audible sigh swept the crowd. The large man faced three and gave a deep bow that made it seem it would almost topple over again, before speaking in a much lighter voice, “Thank you! Truly. Let me apologize and reintroduce myself. I am Matthew, Merchant current head of the Trader’s Guild. Again, let me thank you for your mercy and kindness.” Mark could not help but chuckle a bit in his heart at the man’s reaction. Tsutsuji and Alex’s Good Cop/Bad Cop routine was so spot on he thought he was back home watching a show. As Alex spoke to Matthew, beginning to retell their tale, Mark heard a noise from behind. Turning around, he saw the small figure of a girl huddled up against one of the boxes, shivering. It seemed she had awoken from the commotion. Reaching out his hand to the terrified girl, Mark gently tapped her shoulder. She gave a slight squeal and looked up at him. Mark gestured for her to move forward when she met his eyes. Still trembling slightly, the girl crawled forward and leaned out of the Carriage. When she saw the large man talking to Mark, her eyes went wide as she gave a strange sound, as if trying to say something. Matthew noticed the sound and looked their way. He froze for a moment in shock, before given a loud bellow and rushing forward, “Merry!” The young girl quickly scrambled out of the back onto the driver’s box, and as the man neared, she leaped from it and into his arms, her loud sobs slightly muffled as Matthew held her close to his chest. Matthew simply rocked the crying girl in his arms, speaking in a soft comforting tone as tears fell from down his cheeks, “Shuuu, it’s all right now little one. It’s over now.” After a moment, Matthew pulled the young girl from his chest and looked down at her condition. His eyes filled with pain as he noticed the bandages and bruises. His next word came out choked as if he was trying to hold back a thousand, “Oh, Merry….” __________________________________________ ~~~ About an Hour later, Trader’s Guild Headquarters, Guildmaster’s Office. ~~~ Mark, Alex, and Matthew sat around a large desk while Tsutsuji and Merry sat quietly reading on a nearby cushioned window seat. Several cups of tea sat untouched on the desk, as Mark and Alex recounted their travel so far; the mentioned the initial ambush and Merry’s recovery over the next few days, followed by their travels and the crossroad, before meeting Jonathan at the Military camp. As Matthew listened, his complexion became darker and placing his head between his hands, he massaged his temples, speaking out in a serious voice, “This does not make any sense. There are no Forest Goblin tribes anywhere near the main trade highway. And even if there were, the Kingdom does inspections every two months. If they’d been there before, we’d have known long in advance. If I recalled, the attacks even started shortly after the last inspection. What is going on?” Alex looked down at his cooling tea in contemplation and said half to himself, “So we have Goblins who should not be there, pointless attacks and an unknown objective that may or may not already be complete. Are they even still in the area? Why go through all of this trouble?” “And who’s behind it….” Matthew and Alex both looked at Mark with a questioning gaze. Matthew thought for a moment and spoke out half as a question and half as a statement, “They are not working alone?” “Unlikely. I don’t know much about Forest Goblins, but they don’t seem bright enough to pull off something like this. This was not some random plan out of boredom or desire. It was carefully planned and organized. You’ve already touched on the biggest clue so far. How did they know when the Inspection was over?” Alex tilted his head in confusion, before asking, “Couldn’t they have simply gone off of previous inspections? Or watched and waited for them to leave?” “No…” Matthew sat straight up, his face paling as he understood what was being said. “….The Inspection time and length is randomized every time, to prevent bandits from abusing the schedule. As well as that, the Inspection is a thorough sweep of the trade route; even if they’d waited, there would have been traces to detect.” Alex sat in shocked silence as the weight of the words sank in. Was someone working with the Goblins? Why? Who? Alex shook his head and asked, slightly queasy at the notion, “So what, is it someone on the inside? Or an outside influence?” Matthew thought for a moment and spoke. “It’s possible that the information was leaked from the Inside, but it’s impossible to tell from what level; were they informed of the time and came after? Or were they already here, but ignored by the Inspection team? If so, why? It’s also possible they outside help to conceal themselves; foreign powers destabilizing trade, greedy merchants taking out competitors? Even…Devils.” After a moment of dark silence, Matthew stood up and gave a sigh, speaking in a resolved voice, “For now, it’s too early to tell; too many questions, not enough answers. I’m going to have to report this to the Duchess. For now, I would like to invite you all to stay in the Headquarter; we have a few rooms that are used for special guests, they are far better than you’ll find at some Inn. Besides…..” As his voice trailed off, Matthew glanced over at the small figure of Merry, silently reading in the fading light, his saw voice too low to reach her from across the room, “Thomas was….a good man. I’m proud to have called him a close friend. For something like this to happen….” Mark could hear the sharp cracking of bones and he looked over and saw blood slowly dripped from the big man’s shaking clenched fist. The large man finished his words in a cold voice, a fire burning brightly in his eyes as he looked over at the little girl. “... You don’t have what it take to hide from me…” In some unknown place, a dark figure cloaked in shadows, broken out in a cold sweat. ________________________________________________________________________________________MAP OF WHITEWOOD

(Author's Note: This one might be a little rougher than the last ones. I can't find if this is the edited version or not. BWHAHAA! So if you find anything that looks funky, go ahead and speak up.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 5: A Bug in the System ​ Mark squinted as the soft light of morning streamed through the cave entrance. He leaned his head up against the cold cave wall and slowly closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. His eyes suddenly opened at the sound of the young girl not far away quietly whimpering in her sleep. He stood with stiff movements and slowly walked to her side, frowning slightly as he watched Merry toss in her sleep. Mark slowly bent down and sat on his haunches, his eyes softening slightly as he reached out to gently pat the small girl’s head. As he did so, Merry’s hand shot out as quick as lightning, her small delicate fingers latching onto Mark’s rough weathered right hand. Mark was shocked to find that despite the fiery fever that raged in her head, the young girl’s hands were as cold as death. His eyes showed a struggle as he debated whether to pull the young girl off or not, but as he watched Merry begin to shiver and groan in her sleep, his frown deepened. Mark gave a resigned sigh and gave the young girl’s hand a gentle squeeze, before slowly sitting down beside her. A few moments passed before Merry stopped her shivering and shortly after, her cries stopped as well, her breathing easing into a soft gentle rhythm. Mark reached over and laid his free hand on the girl’s forehead; His lips turned up slightly as he felt the fever loosen its grip slightly. His right hand still trapped in the girl’s grip he looked over his shoulder towards Alex, only to find the young man passed out on his bedding; He’d just spent most of the night treating Merry’s wounds it was not surprising to be so tired. Mark figured he'd have to stand watch then. Mark shook his head slightly in resignation, before turning his thoughts inward and towards the meeting with the Stranger just a few short hours ago. He had to admit, he did not understand most of what the Stranger had said, but from what he had he knew that he did not like it. He’d spent all his life following the orders of others; a soldier did not think, he only went where he was sent and did what he was told. And despite all of his struggles to change that fate the only thing that resulted was being thrown away, tossed out like a broken tool. Mark’s back bent forward as though a heavy weight pressed on his shoulder and his thoughts grew darker. As he brooded on his predicament, there was a sudden chime in his head, and a mechanical voice spoke in neutral voice, SYSTEM TUTORIAL PROGRAM INITIATED, WOULD HOST LIKE TO CONTINUE? Mark sat in silent shock for a moment before straightening his back and staring at the simple YES/NO window that had popped into his vision. He’d been so overwhelmed with the young girl’s condition that he’d forgotten about the Stranger’s other “Gift”. While he was reluctant to use anything that man gave him, Mark was not stupid; He recognized that his greatest weakness at the moment was a lack of knowledge. He knew that if he wasn’t going to just hide out in this cave for the rest of his life He needed to understand where he was. Mark stared at the options in deep contemplation, before ultimately selecting YES. CONFIRMED, ASSIGNING SYSTEM ASSISTANT TO HOST. PLEASE STAND BY. As the cold mechanical voice sounded in his head, the small Window flashed once before disappearing. Mark watched in amazement as the morning sunlight began to swirl around the cave, slowly condensing into a small pool In front of him, like water being drawn into a drain. The small pool of light flickered for a moment, before finally stabilizing into a ball of pure light, the size of a Tennis ball. Mark stretched out his free hand and gently poked the little ball of Light, feeling a soft give like it was made of cotton. It quivered slightly like gelatin before returning to its original shape and gave a high pitched hum as if in aggravation. Mark gave a small smirk as he reached out and again poked the little ball of light with his free hand, shoving it a little farther away this time. The little ball of Light flew a few feet away, before stopping in midair and reversing its direction, before quickly flying in Marks direction. It stopped slightly before his face and quivered angrily as if it was trying to tell Mark something. Mark’s smirk only grew larger as he reached up once more. The ball of Light, seeing Mark’s action, backed away hastily. It stopped a few feet out of his reach and began to quiver and hum even louder, before beginning to fly around the cave as if looking for something. The little ball of Light suddenly stopped near a patch of hanging vines in the front of the Cave. It gave a reluctant hum before it dashed into the vines. The Vines began to shake and stir for a moment before something flew out of it at high speeds, followed shortly by the small ball of Light. The small ball of light quickly dashed towards the flying creature, like a Hawk hunting its prey; the two’s extremely high speeds and quick turns prevented Mark from catching a glimpse of the creature's form. The ball of light slowly began to catch up with the flying creature before finally striking it, sending it crashing into the ground nearby. Mark, having watched the entire confrontation in silence, was able to make out the shape of the flying creature. There laying near the back wall was a massive beetle. Mark could only stare at the creature in shock; it was huge, slightly bigger than the Titan Beetles on Earth but its shape and bulk were closer to that of a Rhinoceros Beetle. Its Shell was a vibrant dark green and it glistened in the morning light in a way that would put any gem to shame. The most striking feature of the beetle, however, was the huge “horn” on its head; easily 4-5 inch long, Mark could tell from a glance that it was hard as iron and insanely sharp, like a small dagger growing from the beetle’s head. Mark found himself breaking out in cold sweat as he thought about that “horn” and the speed at which the Beetle had been flying. He did not know what this thing was, but he instantly knew that it was dangerous. Very dangerous. Mark watched as the beetle gave a slight jerk and righted itself, standing on its thin legs and turning around in circles as if looking for something. The Beetle’s tiny eyes fell on Mark and it gave an aggravated clicking sound as though to vent its frustrations. Mark’s eyes went wide as he saw the jewel like shell raise up and the beetle spread its wings, its thorax raising in the air as it wings began to beat and the beetle readied itself to charge. The beetle never got the chance, however; the moment before it launched itself at Mark, the small ball of Light slammed into the beetle, sending it tumbling a few feet away. Mark raised an eyebrow as he watched the small ball of Light and the strange beetle roll around on the ground, the beetle desperately trying to separate itself while the ball of Light slowly began to surround it. The little ball of Light wrapped around the beetle like an amoeba devouring its prey and beetle’s struggle began to weaken, before finally ceasing altogether. The ball of light finally enveloped the beetle entirely and began to pulse slowly up and down, as if breathing. With each rise and fall, the ball of light seemed to shrink tighter and tighter around the beetle’s form, before dissolving into its body entirely. After a moment, all that was left was the motionless body of the beetle. Mark watched on with bated breath, when suddenly the small beetle gave a jerk, its body twitching several times. Mark looked around in a panic, searching for anything he could use as a shield or weapon when a tiny high pitched yawn reached his ears. Mark’s eyes went wide in shock as he looked over and saw something strange. Where the beetle should have been, now stood a small “person”, only slightly bigger than the Beetle, pushing itself up from its knees. The small person looked around the cave in a daze, its eye’s slightly dreary as though just waking from a dream, before landing on Mark. The small person stared in silence at Mark for a moment before its eyes went wide in anger and it jumped into the air, the large green shell on its back opening wide as the thin wings gave a light hum. The small person flew towards Mark face at a speed he could barely follow, though even if he could Mark was in such shock that he had not even reacted. “You! You, You, YOU! Where do you think you get off poking this Young Lady?!” As the small person spoke, it thrust out its small hand and poked Mark in nose several times, each time moving slightly closer. This close, Mark could finally the small person’s face. He could only stare in silence as he looked at the small person in front of his eyes; although her face was bright red in anger and her cheeks were puffed out with air, he could still make out the profile of a young girl, no more than 11-12 years old. Her face was striking but not overly so, more cute than beautiful. Her snow white skin stood in stark contrast to her long black hair that reached slightly past her shoulders. Her eyes, though round in anger at the moment, where a vibrant emerald. On her body, she wore a jet black set of leather Armor like one might see in a medieval reenactment; the chest, arms, legs and other places plated on top with a bright green metallic substance that glistened in the light. Though currently raised as thin transparent wings beat rapidly in flight, her back was covered in a huge Green shell, apparently made of the same stuff as the plating on her Armor. Strapped to one side of the shell, was a long Naginata tipped with the Beetle’s Horn. Though to Mark, this blade would have been nothing more than a Fruit Knife, he could not help but shiver as it gave off a cold light in the morning sun. The tiny Girl, frustrated at Mark’s inattention, dropped her arms to her side before huffing and bending forward to stare him in the eye, her own still cold with anger as she spoke, “Well?!” Mark, blinking in surprise, shook his head as if to dispel an illusion. He looked back at the tiny girl flying in front of his nose, the shock and fear in his eyes replaced by confusion. He tilted his head and lifted his free hand out as if to poke her and spoke with a low voice, “What are you?” Mark felt a sting from his finger as a sudden flash of light swept past him, before he yelped and quickly pulled his finger back. He looked down at his finger but saw no visible wound until a thin line of red slowly formed. The tiny flying girl looked at Mark with cold eyes before speaking in a neutral tone, “I told you. Do not think you can touch me, Human”. Mark could feel his blood run cold as he looked at the tiny Naginata she held in her Hands. She was fast. Stupidly fast. Mark had specialized in hand-to-hand combat while in the military, and while he would not go so far as to say he was the best, he had absolute confidence in his eyes. Yet he’d barely been able to see her movement, otherwise, he’d have lost the finger entirely. Mark had no doubt in his mind that the blade would have passed through his bone like it was air, the blade was that sharp. The tiny flying girl placed her weapon back on her shell, before crossing her arms and looking down nose at Mark, before sneering in a proud voice, “But since you ask Human, This Young Lady will tell you! Rejoice, for you stand in the presence of The Great Manifestation of Nature! The Queen of Earth and Wind! Master of the Land! The Great Magi Spirit, Tsutsuji!” Mark stared in silence at the young girl who called herself Tsutsuji, as a light wind blew through the cave entrance, kicking up a bit of dust, before grabbing his stomach then bending over and letting out a light laugh, not being able to hold it in any longer. “Hahahahhahahaha” The tiny girl, Tsutsuji, looked down at Mark in a rage, her face growing redder in a combination of embarrassment and anger, as she yelled in a high pitched voice, “What? Why are you laughing at this Great One?! Do you not know who I am! You should be in Reverence! REVERENCE!” Mark barely managed to calm himself down, as he looked up at Tsutsuji with a slight smile. He did not know who or what a Magi Spirit was, but Tsutsuji was the name of a flower from Earth. A Subspecies of the Azalea which meant temperance and fragility in the language of flowers, the Tsutsuji also held the meaning of patient and modesty. Maybe who ever had named the little girl has wished that she would grow into these same Virtues. Or maybe they just had a taste for irony. Mark did not care either way, but he had to admit, the little girl did not seem as nearly as threatening as she had just a moment ago. He looked up at Tsutsuji with a slight smirk before speaking in a questioning voice, “Ok little bug Tsutsuji, where did you come from? Why are you here now?” Tsutsuji’s face went another shade darker as a vein started to throb on her head. She suddenly drew her Naginata again and began to swing it wildly at Mark’s face. Mark was able to easily dodge each swing with a grin; though Tsutsuji was blindingly fast, her small size coupled with her blind rage causing her to drop all pretense of technique, made it as dangerous as if she were swinging a twig. Tsutsuji in her rage, billowed out as she swung again and again “B-bug!? Bug! Whose fault do you think it is that I am stuck in this Vessel! If you had let me be, I could have taken my time, but NoOoOoO! You just had to go and touch this Young Lady with your grubby fingers!” Mark simply gave a chuckle as he dodged each swing. Mark’s eyes suddenly flashed as Tsutsuji began to tire, then with a quick hand he grabbed at her feet and pull her down a few inches. Tsutsuji caught off guard, gave a squeal and stopped swinging as she was pulled down. Mark took the opening and plucked small Naginata from her hands, hanging the young girl upside down by her feet. Mark raised the tiny girl to eye level while spinning the small Naginata around his fingers like a knife, and gave her a mocking grin. Tsutsuji could only flail her arms and wings helplessly as she dangled by her feet, then with tears welling up in her eyes, she spoke in a soft pleading voice. “S-stop! Give it back, give it back now! Where do you get off attacking this Young Lady like this!?” Mark simply looked down and spoke in a haughty voice, “Now, what makes you think someone in your position should be making demands? Besides, I distinctly remember you attacking me first.” Mark’s grin widened as Tsutsuji’s face blush and she turned her head away as if to say ‘I don’t know what you are talking about’. Mark leaned closer to the girl’s face, their noses almost touching as he spoke in a flat serious voice, the grin wiped from his face, “I’ll ask you one more time. Who are you, and where did you come from”. Tsutsuji gulped down as the tiny Naginata in Mark’s hand stopped spinning and pointed straight at the young girl’s throat. ________________________________________ A short while later, Mark sat with his legs and arms crossed as he stared down at the tiny girl in front of him. Tsutsuji sat there in a practiced seiza position silently looking at the ground, not wanting to meet Mark’s eyes. Mark could not help but close his eyes and gently rub his temples. According to the girl, she was a “Spirit of the Magi”, a fundamental force of Nature in this world. In simple terms, she was a “Will” born from the collective intentions of the Magi. Specifically, she was a subspecies of Magi Spirit call a “Guide”. Guides acted as the voice of the Magi, directing and instructing other beings on the Magi’s will. Guide’s duties varied from Guide to Guide, but each was critical to the natural flow and order the world. Mark could not help but feel that if the other Guides were similar to the one in front of him, then this world’s average blood pressure must be very high. Tsutsuji’s presently assigned duty was to act as Mark's instructor and assistant in the System tutorial, answering any questions and concerns that he may have. Mark let out a low moan thinking about the whole thing and began to genuinely regret selecting YES, as he nursed his growing headache. Mark opened one eye as he looked down at the little Guide as she mumbled something under her breath, eyes still on the ground. He sighed heavily as he spoke to her in an impatient voice, “What? What is it, speak up and stop mumbling.” Tsutsuji looked up at Mark, though her eyes almost at tears as she looked away, unwilling to meet his eye, she spoke in a slightly louder voice, “I-I have a message for y-you” Quickly reaching into the space between her back and shell, she pulled out a ‘large’ white marble cube flecked with gold, about half the size of her head. She placed the cube on the ground, and it gave a slight shake before quickly breaking down into a fine glistening sand. The sand mixed with the surrounding stone and dirt as though it had a mind of its own, quickly forming into the shape of a person, roughly the size of Tsutsuji. The Earthen person suddenly moved on its own, reaching out to tap the Air, as if fiddling with something that Mark could not see, then it spoke in a loud voice. Mark frowned deeply as he listened; the voice was instantly recognizable as the voice of the Stranger. [“Hello? This thing working? Blasted contraption, why did I ever program these things in. Mark if you are seeing this message, then the Tutorial program has been activated and you’ve made contact with Tsutsuji. First off, let me apologize for her behavior. She can be a little fireball, so be careful not get burned”.] Tsutsuji’s eyes went wide and her face turned cherry red as the earthen stranger spoke, and she called out small squeak, “H-hey!” The Earthen Stranger continued on with a wide grin. [“First off, I wanted to explain a little about The System, what its purpose is, and the nature of this World. As you are already aware, this is not your World. Or rather, it is better to say this is what your World COULD have been. One pivoting point of this World is the existence called Magi. When the world was still young, it was very similar to your own. However, a long time ago a certain event led to the destruction of the Lesser King, what you call the “Moon”. The Moon’s function in nature was not just to light up the Night sky, it played an important role in the natural order of the World. Its influence moved Land and Sea, called the Tides and the Wind. Its pull even affected the growth and direction that Life would take over the Eons. With its destruction and the splitting of the Skyshards, while the moon’s influence was not erased, it was greatly weakened. A Great Stone can support a Great burden, but when that Stone is broken into gravel, then that support is no longer stable. With the weakening of the Moon’s influence, the World was thrown into chaos and destruction. There was a need to replace that lost influence, to bring Order back from Chaos. Thus, the Magi were born. The Magi, in terms you would understand, are something similar to Organic Nanobots; microscopic bio-machines designed to “mimic” the influence and power that was lost. Alone, a single Magi cannot do much, but just as the trillions of cells make up your body, the countless Magi scattered through the World have the power to influence and reshape reality. Thus, they have become a cornerstone of the World, bringing order and become a fundamental law of Nature. You might ask yourself, ‘Ok, so what? What does that have to do with me?’ Well, it is first necessary to understand how the Magi work before you can understand the System. I am sure by now, you’ve noticed your new Ink? Yes?”….] Mark’s eyes went wide at the Earthen Stranger’s words, and he quickly patted his chest and pulled on the top of his Shirt, looking down at the strange markings over his Heart. Mark’s furrowed his eyebrows as he lowered his arms and looked back at the Earthen Stranger. The Earthen Stranger simply continued on, […..“That Is call a ‘Sigil’. While not quite the same, you could liken it to a 'Genetic Super Computer'. Every intelligent, sentient organism in this World is born with a ‘Sigil’. They are an indispensable part of life. And most importantly, the Sigil authorizes one to give 'Commands' to the Magi. These 'commands' take many forms. Abilities, Mutations….Magic. They are all a result of the Magi’s power to shape the world. Of course, there are limitation and stipulations involved, we can’t have people simply changing the nature of the World on a whim. First off, Magi require 'Power' to perform their functions. Magi in nature, draw their energy collectively, and because they are 'maintaining' the status quo, the energy required is minimal. If a Sigil gives a 'Command' to the Magi, however, it must first provide the energy needed. And the farther this command deviated from the established natural order, the greater the demand.This energy takes the form of the Host’s Metabolic Power (MP), literally the chemical energy stored in your body. The greater the amount of energy stored, the greater the changes that can be made. Secondly, the 'Commands' that can be given are pre-constructed; whether it be through a 'Skill' or a 'Spell', The Magi will only follow preset 'programs' recorded in the Sigil. Don’t be discouraged though, there are as many different programs in existence as there are stars in the Sky. It’s simply a matter of discovering them. This is simply to prevent those who do not know better from tinkering in matters they cannot understand, think of it as a fail-safe. Now, the System is a very ‘Special’ program that I’ve created just for you and others like you, to help you *coughandthereaderscough* better assimilate to this new world. If anything, you can think of the System as this world’s very own ‘Internet’; it is a program that Links together every Sigil and Magi into one huge interconnected network. This allows you to pull out information that you would otherwise not even know you don’t know. By the way, it is also the reason you are able to communicate with the people of this World, your Sigil automatically translates the words spoken in your head and sends the meaning of the words you speak through the System and to the other parties Sigil, translating for them as well. That being said, however, the System is not almighty. Just like the Internet of Earth does not have everything, certain information will not be available to you. Specifically, anything that is not in the ‘database’, the collective Sigil information storage, as well as personal information that the Person is not willing to provide, such as their bank pin or body measurements. Though if this information is publicly open or something that can be inferred, you may get lucky. Certain Skills may also allow you to catch a glimpse at this personal information, however, these are an exception to the rule. Lastly, I wanted to talk about your own Sigil. As a human of Earth, you were not born with a Sigil, so think of this one as another gift. The name of your Sigil is 'Survivor'. While it is not unique, it is still very special. It embodies my desire for you to grow and survive in this new world, to bring change and stir things up. In its most basic form, you can think of it as a 'healing factor'; any damage that you take will cause your body to rapidly recover and at the same time become stronger than it was before.There are other functions and secrets to it as well, but where would the fun be if I told you all that from the get-go? For now, you simply need to do what you wish and go where your feet take you. Be warned though, while you are now much harder to kill than you were before, you are not immortal; losing a limb or two is fine, but serious damage will still debilitate you for some time, and any attack that could kill you instantly will not be recoverable. Survivor also follows the laws of the Magi, if you run out of energy you will be no harder to kill than any other normal man.Remember Mark, I’ll be watching you. Make things interesting for me, if you can”] With a smile and a wave of the hand, the Earthen Stranger collapsed back into a pile of sand. Mark looked down at the pile and sighed deeply, his mind going over the information again and again. Tsutsuji gave a sigh herself, as she stood and brushed off the dust on her legs, then with a quiet voice, still not willing to look Mark in the eye, she said, “W-well now that, that is over, do you have questions or…..” Before Tsutsuji could finish her words, however, the little pile of sand sprang back to form, and the Earthen Stranger spoke again. [“Oh! That reminds me! I have one more thing to mention. I am afraid that I’m going to have to put Tsutsuji on probation for a little while. She’s been warned before to curve her temper. I’d like to ask Mark to watch after her for a bit until other arrangements can be made. Take care of her well, and sorry for the trouble!”] The two stared in shock at the Earthen Stranger, as he simply held his palms together and made a slight bow to Mark, before snapping his fingers. Tsutsuji gave a small squeak as a tiny grain of light flew out of her chest and towards Mark, passing through his clothes and hitting the Sigil on his chest. Mark’s eyes widened in surprise as he felt the Sigil grow slightly warm and pulse with light under his clothes. He was suddenly aware of some form of link between Himself and the tiny Guide girl; while it could not be called reading her mind exactly, it was as if he was infinitely aware of her, able to perceive her intentions and her emotions; her confusion and anger and fear and doubt all wrapped in one. Tsutsuji as well seemed to become aware of the connection, and as she stared at Mark with wide eyes, she turned to the Earthen Stranger and pleaded as tears began to well up, “Wait! Please, Master No! Anyone but Him!” Mark spoke at the same time, “Wait a moment, I never agreed to th…” The Earthen Stranger started to quiver as he hastily spoke, [“Whoops, went over time. Sorry, this is just a Recording, I can’t answer you. Well, have a good day!!”] Before collapsing again into a pile of sand. Tsutsuji, in shock, fell to her knees, both palms on the cold stone ground as she gave out a loud cry, “Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” Mark too cursed out at the pile of sand, “Wait, don’t just pretend like you are a recording! Come back here you Son of a ------!” Mark’s mouth slammed shut of its own volition before he could utter the last word, leaving the only sounds in the cave the flowing of the small stream, the snoring of the two who’s slept through the commotion and gentle sobbing of a tiny girl as she lay in a puddle of tears.

Chapter 10: Crossroads (Part 3) ​ Mark awoke to heavy banging on his room door; He jerked up into a sitting position momentarily confused at his location. He looked around the unfamiliar room in a daze as the events of the past day slowly made their way from the depths of his memory. That’s right, they had spent the night at the Trader’s Guild Headquarters as guests of Matthew. The loud banging sounded again, as a feminine voice called out; “Sir Mark, are you awake?” Mark quickly rose from the bed and approached the door, opening it wide as the person on the other side raised their hand to knock for the third time. The door swung open and Mark looked at the young lady on the other side. He didn’t remember her name, but he recognized the office worker looking lady as one of the secretaries working in the guild. His eyes were still half closed as he asked in a tired voice, “Yes? What is it?” The Office Lady seemed to have frozen in place, her hand raised and her mouth agape. She stood there for a moment wide eyed as her face and ears quickly turned a deep shade of red. Mark looked down at her quizzically, before following her eyes. It was then he realized he’d yet to get dressed; he was now standing in the doorway wearing nothing but an old pair of boxers. He gave a light chuckle before grabbing the door handle and pulling it shut, speaking out as he did, “Sorry, one moment.” “Y-yes….” Mark opened the door once more after getting dressed; he now wore a pair of dark brown trousers, similar to khakis, and a light gray button up shirt. Matthew had provided them the night before; Mark couldn't identify the fabric used, but it was light and airy with a cottony feel, though softer. The young Office Lady, seeing that Mark was decent, stood straight and tried to present herself in a professional manner, though her face was still red, “Ahem, well, yes. I am here to inform you that you have been summoned to the Whitewood Fortress, by order of the Duchess. Mr. Matthew has already gone on ahead and has ordered us to prepare a carriage. Breakfast will be served in the Staff mess hall in ten minutes, after which you will head directly to the Fortress.” The young Office Lady delivered her message in a monotone voice before quickly retreating away from the door and walking stiff legged down the hall. Mark watched the lady leave with a smirk before closing his door. Five minutes later, Mark opened the door, this time wearing his jacket and a thin cloak. Alex was just exiting his own room across the hallway, and the two met up with Merry and a still half asleep Tsutsuji at the stairwell. The group then proceeded down to the mess hall and ate a light breakfast. While Mark found the meal of small amount of bread, cheese, and ham to be a little light, Alex had a look of ecstasy as he ate, like a man who’d just finished a long fast. Tsutsuji gently moved Merry down the bench as they watched, giving the ravenous man a complex look. After everyone had finished their meal, they were quickly ushered into a waiting passenger carriage and made their way to the large central island. Mark looked out of the carriage window as they drove through the streets, taking in the sights of the early morning bustle. He’d never really liked crowded cities like this, but he had to admit, Whitewood had its charm in its own way. After roughly 30 minutes, the carriage crossed over a large ornate bridge, stopping at both ends as their paper work was verified. The atmosphere on the central island was completely different than on the other side of the bridge. Instead of tall, tightly packed buildings, the large estates were spaced reasonably far from each other, and while the Trade district was a noisy urban center, the lush greenery and quiet murmur of the well-dressed people as they walked the streets made it feel more like a city park rather than a residential area. The vast number of people walking the streets seemed to be servants, dressing in a similar manner to each other, though a young lady in a light dress escorted by well-groomed young man could be seen every now and again. The traffic on the road was far lighter as well, with the majority being elegant passenger carriages like their own; though every now and again, a supply or merchant wagon would stop at one of the large estates. Ten minutes later they approached the massive stone Fortress sitting in the middle of the Island. Made of the same near black concrete material as the walls, its rough lines, and functionalist design stood in stark contrast to the ornate elegance of the estates they had passed. It was obvious from a glance that this building was created with the mindset of functionality first; though some lighter stone and stone trimming here and there spoke of someone’s attempts as easing the Fort’s rough appearance. After going through another round of checks at the Fort entrance, the group was ushered into the open courtyard. They left the Carriage to find Matthew waiting close by. He approached them with a large grin, the extra fat on his body slightly wobbling as he picked Merry up in a tight embrace, “Welcome! Welcome! I trust that the ride was not too rough? Thank you for taking the time to come here. Let us hurry, the Duchess will be with us shortly.” Matthew’s grin widened as he motioned for the group to follow him, taking the small girl’s hand as he did so and led her along. Passing through a set of large double doors that seemed to be a smaller version of the city’s gates, the group entered into the Dark Fortress. Contrary to its outward appearance, the Grand Entryway of the Fortress was elegantly decorated in green and white marble; a few small round gardens in the corners and live plants as well as a few small Whitewood trees, combined with the tastefully designed benches and tables around the area, gave the entryway a surreal feel. “Ah! Mr. Lūceō, Mr. Floyd. Thank you for paying a visit to me today. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Duchess Grace Whitewood.” From the back of the room came a sweet chiming voice. Mark look to see a young woman gracefully descending a gold inlay-ed marble staircase at the back. He couldn't help but stare as he watched the woman approach; she was shockingly beautiful, standing roughly 5ft tall, her skin was white as snow without the slightest blemish, her face vibrant enough to make even a model back on Earth jealous. Her eyes were a deep azure, and her long blond hair shined with a golden light as the sunlight from the entryway skylights hit it. The simple white dress she wore proved to be both elegant and professional while still highlighting the woman’s charms. But what surprised Mark the most, was that this woman introducing herself as the Duchess appeared to be no more than 20 years old. Mark realized he’d forgotten to breathe when he felt a small pitch on the side of his leg. He gave a small jump, then looked over to see Merry standing next to him, looking away as if uninterested. Alex seemed to be entranced as well, but shaking his head as if to clear it, he gave a practiced bow and spoke with a slight stutter, “T-Thank you. It is an honor to finally meet you. I have heard much about your work. For you to even come greet us in person…” “No, no, it is fine. It is always a pleasure to meet Father’s guests.” “F-Father?” Alex spoke in a confused tone, question marks floating about his head, when Matthew gave out a deep bellied laugh, a wide mischievous grin splitting his face as if he’d played a great joke, “Hahaha, Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Matthew Whitewood. Merchant, Trade’s Guild Head, and former Duke of Whitewood. Grace is my Daughter and the acting Duchess.” Alex stared at the huge man, mouth agape before his face went pale and he bowed deeply. “I’m Sorry for n-not recognizing your grace! I have heard all about your stories Grand War-priest Sir!” “Hahaha, calm down boy, calm down. I’ve been retired from the Adventuring game for close to 60 years now, and I’ve not been a Duke in over 20. Besides, I was pretty rude myself during our first meeting, if I recall, Hahahaha.” Matthew’s grin turned into an open mouth laugh as he held his sides at the young man’s reaction. Grace Whitewood, however, took on a cold look as she eyed her Father, anger visible on her face, “Yes. I heard all about the ‘Incident’ yesterday. What were you thinking Father? Attacking random travelers and in broad daylight no less. Do you understand how much damage control I’ve had to do since then?” Matthew gave his Daughter an apologetic look, laughing nervously as cold sweat wet his neck, “Yes, sweetie, have I not already apologized? It’s all water under the bridge now. That look of yours is getting more and more like your Mother’s every day…” The Duchess narrowed her eyes at her Father before giving a humph and turning her head away. Her eyes fell on a certain young girl as she did so. The Duchess seemed to glide across the floor as she approached, kneeling down and wrapping the young girl in a warm embrace, her eyes almost tearing up. After a moment she separated, holding the young girl by the shoulders as she scanned her up and down. Her voice sounded raw and weary as she spoke in a soft voice, “Oh Merry, look at you.” The Duchess pulled the young girl in again into a long embrace, before finally standing as she tried to compose herself. Seeming to remember Alex and Mark’s presence, the Duchess blushed a little and coughed into her hand, “Well, now if you would follow me. We have a lot to discuss.” Alex who had been pretending to be admiring plants gave a small bow and followed after. Mark, for his part, had remained standing at attention through the whole scene, being unfamiliar with this world’s etiquette and customs for such situations. Mark followed in Alex’s footsteps shortly after; Matthew, Merry, and Tsutsuji bringing up the rear. _________________ They followed behind the Duchess for a short while, before arriving in front of a set of double doors. The nearby guards open the doors to reveal a spacious and tastefully decorated personal office space. A large desk similar to the one Jonathan had in his tent made up the center piece of the room. In front of it were a small table and several large soft looking leather couches. A large bronze statue of a dragon stood on one side of the room, a two massive white Axe grasped in its claws. The Axes were easily the size of Merry, and their clean white blades were carved with an elegant pattern of climbing vines and blooming Roses and Whitewood flowers. Mark found himself drawn to the weapon’s beautiful design and a small window popped up in his vision, --------------------------------------------------Judge and Jury Quality: EngravedOrigin: Mythforge Workshop, WhitewoodStatus: SealedQuarks: ???Index Entry: Personal weapons of Grace Whitewood. These oversized War-Axes accompanied Grace during her travels as an Adventure in her younger days. The blades are carved from solid Whitewood, and the handle is Black Iron. The blood that splattered the floral design of these blades as she danced on the battlefield, earned Grace the handle of “Blood Rose”.-------------------------------------------------- Mark felt a cold shiver go down his spine as he looked at the window. What could he say? Like Father Like Daughter. Mark made a note in his heart never to cross this seemingly fragile young woman. The Duchess walked forward and motioned for the group to sit on the couches surrounding the center table. Matthew and the Duchess sat on one side, Mark and Alex on the other. Merry stood for a moment, looking back and forth, before finally walking over to Mark and crawling into his lap. Mark simply frowned down at the little girl, before lifting her up and placing her on the couch beside him, as the young girl puffed her cheeks. Matthew and the Duchess raised an eye but otherwise said nothing. Tsutsuji simply flew over and gently landed on Mark's shoulder. A nearby maid began to lay out a few cups and snacks and the group exchanged pleasantries for a moment, before getting down to business. The Duchess looked at Alex and Mark with serious eyes, before asking, “I have heard the reports from both Father and Jonathan, but if you do not mind, I would like to hear it one more time, in your own words. Do not leave anything out, no matter how insignificant it may seem.” Mark and Alex exchanged a glance before launching into their story once more, careful to not leave anything out. When it came time for Mark to share his own story, he saw no reason to hide his situation, though on Tsutsuji’s advice he had left out his connection and meeting to Elaos; instead, he had simply awoken in the cave, unsure where he was. Matthew and the Duchess gave Mark an analyzing look as if reevaluating him when the Duchess spoke in a low voice, “So, you are claiming to be a ‘Wanderer’?” “Wanderer?” “That is the term used for people like you, those few who ‘wander’ or slip through the cracks between worlds. They are not unheard of, but they are not as common as being able to randomly meet one on the streets. I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for the Magi Spirit, I would not even consider you were telling the truth. Though I have never heard of a Guide taking a Wanderer as a Partner.” “See Mark! You should start taking better care of me!” Mark, in response to Tsutsuji’s nose in the air boasting, simply lifted his hand and flicked the small guide on the forehead, sending her tumbling off his shoulder and onto Merry’s lap, the spirit giving a small shriek as she fell. At the show, the people around them had varying responses. Alex placed his head in his palm and gave an embarrassed sigh, while Matthew when pale as a ghost, and Merry gave a startled jump, before hiding her face in the cover of her book. The Duchess stared in shock for a moment before bringing her hand to her mouth and giving a light chuckle. Tsutsuji stared reproachfully up at Mark before turning her head away with a humph, settling instead for Merry’s lap. Alex gave a cough, and spoke, turning their attention to him, “That about sums up the whole story. So the question is. What now?” The Duchess folded her arms and leaned back into the couch, deep in thought, as Matthew spoke in a low voice, “The problem is, we still do not have enough information at the moment. Our agents have been gathering what they can, but whoever was behind this incident knows how to cover their tracks well.” The Duchess spoke, furrowing her brow in frustration, “I feel like we are still missing some part of the puzzle…” She gave a sigh before sitting back up and spoke in a resigned voice, “But truthfully, this is our problem. I thank you for your cooperation and information, but these matters are for Whitewood to handle now. For now, there is one more matter that needs resolving…” As she spoke, five pairs of eyes landed on the young girl sitting next to Mark, as she hid behind her book. Matthew was the first to speak after a moment of silence, “Honestly, I am very grateful for what you two did. Thomas and Martha were dear friends, and Whitewood as a whole owes them a lot. You did more than most people would now these days, if there is anything I can do for you, please say so.” “Yes, I agree. I watched her grow up, Merry is like a sister to me. Please if you have any requests, I will do all that is in my power to fulfill it.” The Duchess crossed her arms and nodded in agreement with her Father. Alex went beat red as he quickly dismissed their claims, “No, No. I simply did my duty given the situation. I don’t need anything as compensation. If anything, Mark played a bigger role than me; if he’d not shown up when he did, I don’t know if I’d even made it out myself.” Mark for his part, remained silent as if in thought, neither dismissing nor accepting the offer. Matthew and the Duchess grinned at each other before Matthew gave a slight chuckle and spoke, “You underrate yourself, young Hero. They were strangers to you, you could have run at any time and abandoned them to their fate. But you chose to stick around. That kind of action is not something to simply dismiss. As for Mark….” The group's attention was suddenly drawn to a loud commotion from the office door, as several arguing voices could be heard. Mark suddenly had a bad feeling, when there was a large impact on the doors and they were forcefully thrown open with a loud bang. In the doorway, now stood a thin Woman, her face filled with rage as her hands gripped a huge hammer. Behind her, several guards struggled to restrain her, though their efforts seem to have little effect. Her face was a deep red, almost as red as the short blood red hair on her head, and her eyes were filled with a deep anger as they scanned the room. Then her eyes landed on Mark as he sat on the couch. The woman gave a loud bellow as she locked her eyes on him, raising her large hammer high above her head. As the hammer descended, Mark couldn't help but think that this felt oddly familiar… ______________ Mark looked down at the kneeling woman in front of him; her face was still red, though out of embracement rather than rage, as she refused to meet his eyes, opting instead to pet the little girl that sat in her lap. He glanced around the room at the group as they took in the scene. The Guards in the background were cleaning up the mess, struggling to lift the large hammer than had been blasted away, even with 2 people. Alex seemed almost numb at this point, simply letting out a tired sigh, while Matthew shook as he held his sides, barely able to contain his laughter. The Duchess who seemed overly calm, sipped her tea, though her red ears betrayed her embarrassment. Tsutsuji rambled on in a rage, venting herself in a nonsensical manner as she scolded the kneeling woman, and Merry simply sat on the Woman’s lap as she petted her, looking slightly confused. Matthew took a moment to gather himself, before standing and coughing into his hand, calling the groups attention to himself, “Well now, I presume introductions are in order. Mark, Alex, Tsutsuji, let me introduce my youngest Daughter, Selah Whitewood.” Another Daughter? Mark reaffirmed his earlier conjecture; Like Father like Daughter. If you could say one thing about the Whitewoods, they were…Interesting. None the less, Selah seemed to be a bit more prideful than her Father, as she simply humphed and turned her head away at her Father’s introduction. “Selah, this is Guide Tsutsuji, Alexander Lūceō, and Mark Floyd. They are my guests as well as Merry’s benefactors.” Matthew continued, introducing the three of them. Mark looked at the cold woman, slightly shocked at how different she was from her sister. The clothes Selah wore were thick and rough, comprising of a simple trouser and shirt combo, still slightly dirty as she had rushed over from whatever she was doing without bothering to change. She wore a thick leather apron over her clothes, several tools visible in the many pockets lining the outside. She was quite a bit taller than her older sister, standing a little shorter than Mark who was 5’11. Her face was exceptionally beautiful, just like her sister’s, though in a different way; If Grace was a still, moonlit pond, then Selah was a wild crackling fire. On her arms and hands were several tiny scars and burn marks. Compared to her sister’s snow white complexion, Selah’s was several magnitudes darker; not quite a full tan, but showing that she spent a good bit of time in the sun. Her blood red hair was cut slightly shorter than Merry’s and in a similar style, though he was not sure who was imitating who. What drew Mark’s attention the most, however, was what peaked out from the short red hair. A pair of slightly pointing ears that would seem to fit in any Tolkien story. Mark was somewhat amazed as he thought to himself, [An Elf, really?] Mark couldn't help but feel the strangeness in the thought, and be reminded once more, he was not in the world he once knew. After a moment of silence, the Duchess gave a sigh and set her tea down, before addressing her younger sister, “Selah, what are you doing here?” “I-I had heard the Trader’s talking. They said that Uncle Thomas’s carriage had been attacked.” “So you thought you would barge in on an official meeting and attack my guests?” “No, But… “But nothing. I’ve already had to deal with Father’s mess. Is Mother the only one in this family who does not enjoy giving me more work?!” As she spoke, the Duchess’ grip on the table steadily increased. Mark could hear Alex swallow nervously as he watched the hard Whitewood table slightly bent inward under the force. “Now Grace, it was an honest mistake. Let your sister off for now. What matters now is that Merry is safe.” The Duchess gave a resigned sigh and released her grip on the table, gently massaging her temples as she spoke, “Yes, I know. Fine, we’ll drop this matter. For now, I feel tired so I am going to take a rest. We will finish up this matter at another time. Mr. Floyd, Mr. Lūceō, your Holiness, I invite you to stay here at the Fortress for the time being. Take some time to relax, or take a look around the city; Whitewood has a lot to offer.” Matthew rubbed his chin as he thought about his Daughter’s words, before giving a smile and speaking, “Selah, how about you show them around town? Think of it as a way to make up for your actions. You can even visit the Workshop; I am sure Caroline would love to see Merry.” “Wha-? No! That’s…“ “… A great idea. Selah, as the Duchess of Whitewood, I am assigning you to act as a guide for our Guests. Show them what the Whitewood life is all about.” At her Sister’s words, Selah could only grumble silently and look down at the ground, before reluctantly agreeing. Mark and Alex simply exchanged a look, Mark raising a questioning eye and Alex shrugging his shoulders in resignation.

[Author's Notes: Mark finally meets the one who brought him here! This is more of a World building chapter than an Action one like last time, I'm also trying to correct my excessive use of passive tense. so forgive me if I ramble on. But Chapters this focused will be rare, so forgive me. Please remember to leave your comments and suggestions!]_______________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 4: Answers birthing Questions ​ ~~~ Several Hours after the Ambush ~~~ Mark sat in the shallow cave, poking the small fire with a stick to stir the flames. His eyes swept the area, landing on the figure of a small girl sleeping on a thin cloth bundle. Her chest raggedly rose up and down as her face contorted in fear, unseen nightmares tormenting her dreams. Mark could only stare helplessly, lost in thought before the sound of footsteps drew his attention. A young man, stripped of the armor he had been wearing just hours before, walked into the light of the fire from the nearby entrance, a dirty shovel in his hand. The young man leaned the shovel up against the wall and spoke to Mark in a hushed voice, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. “It’s done. I can’t say it is respectable, but at least we will not have to worry about their bodies being eaten by some stray beast.” The young man sat down heavily some distance away from the fire, his body sagging as if released from some immense pressure. A moment of silence passed before the young man asked Mark in a solemn voice, looking towards the young girl. “How is she?” Mark did not speak immediately. He simply looked into the flames with a contemplating look. He spoke after a moment, his voice low and without feeling, “It’s infected. Whatever it is, it’s spreading fast. Might not last the night” The young man’s eyes grew wide with anger and he quickly stood up before speaking in a half whisper half shout. “What the hell is your problem!? Are we going to just do nothing?! You're speaking like it’s none of your concern, but why did you bother saving us if you are just going to let her die?!” The Hero was not sure what to think when he’s first met the strangely dressed man on the roadside. On one hand, his sudden and inexplicable appearance and strange fighting style sent a red flag off in the Hero’s mind. On the other, he had put his life on the line for complete strangers. The Hero was left with a strange mixed feeling of gratitude, suspicion, and frustration. Mark looked up at the young man and spoke in the same half shout half whisper, the fire reflecting in his eyes. “And what do you expect me to do!?” The Hero opened his mouth as in rebuttal, but before he could Mark looked back at the fire and spoke, this time in a cold soft tone, “We’ve already gone through the carriage, there's nothing left we can use. And if you're right, the nearest town is still a day’s ride away.” The Hero felt as if a cold wind blew through his mind. He slowly closed his mouth and leaned against the cool stone wall. He slowly sank to the floor as his legs lost the power to support him, before laying his head silently on his knees as his body began to shake faintly in the firelight. Mark stood up with a grunt after several minutes of silence before reaching down to grab his discarded coat. The young Hero did not even bother to look up at Mark as he passed by and walked into the cool night. Mark stood there at the boundary of the campfire and the darkness of the night, looking up into the night sky. While the stars and constellations he was familiar with, winked back down at him, something else drew his focus. Instead of the bright and shining Moon hanging in the night sky, there were three distinct chunks of rock spanning half the sky from the east to the west, and dozens of smaller less visible fragments floating between them. It was as if someone what taken a bat to a crystal globe and left the piece in the sky. Mark was not as shocked as the first time he’d seen the sight several hours ago, he briefly questioned if this was really a dream or not. Or a pill induced nightmare at the very least. He finally lowered his gaze after several moments and began to walk down the dimly lit pathway. Mark arrived at the stone bridge a few moments later, taking only a moment to scan the area for danger before walking towards the opposite side of the road. He shifted around the dense bushes for a few moments, before a bright yellow flower caught his eye in the ‘moonlight’. He bent down to inspect the flower before giving a slight nod and swiftly began to extract the plant, roots and all. Mark was years out of practice, yet he was sure he remembered that Pot Marigold could be processed into a basic tincture. The equipment pulled from the carriage was basic, but at the very least it might buy some time. Mark slowly brushing the dirt off of the plant, careful not to damage it. He looked down at the small flower, deep in thought when a familiar sound suddenly came from his pocket. Mark slowly pulled the old phone from his pocket and flipped it open with shaking hands. A bright LED display flashed a two-word message at him as the phone continued to ring. Unknown Number. Mark could only stare at the phone in shock and confusion before an unfamiliar voice called out from behind him, “Are you going to answer that?” Mark made a sudden tuck and roll motion to his left, grabbing a large rock as he did so. With a practiced throw, he sent the stone flying towards the unseen voice. Mark corrected his roll and entered a combat ready stance as he heard the sound of a heavy impact, stone on flesh. His eyes went wide in shock and his mouth hung open, however, when he looked in the direction of the toss. Leaning up against a nearby tree stood a calm man in clean and casual looking clothes, his outstretched hand gripping the large stone. The stranger held to his head a new model smartphone, glowing bright in the dim nightlight. As he pulled the smartphone away, he pressed a button and the ringing of Mark’s phone stopped. The stranger then pushed himself away from the tree and put the smartphone way, before beginning to leisurely toss stone in the air. He spoke in a soft voice though it was strangely clear to Mark’s ears even from that distance. “You always had a knack for the Curveball, Mark. It’s good to see you’ve not lost your touch”. Mark raised his eyebrow in confusion at the stranger’s overly familiar tone. He did not lower his guard as he spoke to the Stranger in a questioning tone, “Do I know you?” The Stranger looked at Mark with a strange look in his eyes, then spoke in a small voice, “No. but I know you, Sergeant Floyd. Sergeant Mark Floyd, 3rd Battalion, 338th Regiment, 157th Infantry Brigade. Second son of Debra and Samuel Floyd. 31 this October” The Stranger spoke as if reading off a list, watching Mark’s jaw fall open. The stranger paused for a moment before speaking again, a mysterious smile forming. “5’11, 182lb. Favorite color is dark green and favorite drink is mint tea in scotch. Should I go on?” Mark’s mouth slowly closed as he stared daggers at the stranger in front of him. His voice trembled slightly as he tried to speak out in a threatening manner, “Who the hell are you?! Did Max send you after me? I told him before that I’m not going to work for him, I don’t care how much he’s paying”. The stranger tossed the stone away and looked at Mark with a smirk before speaking is a serious tone, “I’m not with the Black Dogs, Mark. They can’t reach you here anyway” As the Stranger spoke, he pointed up towards the sky. Mark’s eyes followed the motion and his eyes landed on the strange splintered moon. Mark felt his blood go cold and his body shiver as he watched the shards drift slowly through the sky. The Strangers clothes and phone, coupled with him seeming to know Mark, had made Mark forget for a moment that he wherever he was, it wasn't the world he knew. Mark forcefully quelled his shaking body before lowering his gaze and asking in a quiet voice. “Who are you?” The Stranger looked back at Mark as a large grin forming on his face, as if he had been waiting for that question all along. He paused for a moment before answering in a calm but questioning tone, as if not fully sure how to word it himself, “A Watcher? A Guide? A Messenger? What you chose to call me is not important. What is, is that I have a request for you, Sergeant. One last Mission.” Mark raised an eyebrow at the Stranger’s words. Who did he think he was trying to play himself off as? God? “I’ve been called that, yes. But as I said, that is not important at the moment.” Mark’s eyes widened in surprise at the Stranger’s answer to his unspoken question. Mark felt his body stiffen as he took several steps back and tightened his guard. The Stranger gave a light chuckle before speaking again in a light tone. “As I said, should you choose to accept it, I have one last mission for you, Sergeant. Ha, I've always wanted to use that line.” Mark squinted his eyes in suspicion, choosing to ignore the Stranger’s choice in words before he answered in a cold voice, “I Refuse, I stopped following Orders a long time ago. I’m not some puppet dancing on your strings just so you can keep your hands clean. I don’t care who you are, do your dirty work yourself.” The stranger hung his head and gave a sigh of resignation before lifting his head and spoke in a calm voice, “You’re no fun. In all seriousness Mark, you misunderstand. I say ‘mission’ however I do not really require you to ‘do’ anything. Your simple presence is enough.” Mark tilted his head in confusion as the Stranger spoke on “The mission that I have for you, is simply to be yourself. To live in this world as you. Move as you wish, do what you feel needs doing. Learn. Grow. Become better than you were yesterday, aim for more than you will be tomorrow. And frankly speaking Mark, you are already ‘here’. There is no going back, no refusing even if you wanted it.” Mark asked the stranger in a low voice even more confused than a few moments ago, “And where IS ‘here’ exactly?” The stranger looked sadly up into the sky his eyes focusing on the shattered moon slowly floating by. He thought for a moment before speaking, “A Shadow? A Choice? A Possibility made Reality. This world is but one of infinite other like it, each the result of choices and outcomes, Cause and Effect. A collection of ‘What could have been’ sleeping in the shadow of ‘what is’.” The Stranger looked back down at Mark with a gentle but tired smile before continuing, “But do not misunderstand. This world is just as ‘real’ as your home; its people laugh and live, they bleed and cry just as any others. The only difference is that this world is ‘sterile’. It no longer has the ability to birth new worlds. It simply exists, sleeping alongside its sisters” Mark did not think himself a stupid man by any means, yet as the Stranger spoke Mark’s heart began to beat rapidly and his head hurt. Mark did not fully understand what was said, but the implications of the Stranger’s words felt like a blow to his psyche. Mark spoke with a trembling voice, his hands dropping powerlessly to his side. “W-what does this have to do with me? Why drag me all the way here if you don’t even need me to do anything?” The stranger spoke in a low voice as eyes began to fill with a deep sorrow, “This World is dying Mark. It is no longer making choices, no longer growing or moving forward. It has grown cold and still, apathetic and content. With Apathy comes Stagnation and with Stagnation comes Rot. If a branch is sick, it must be pruned from the whole before the entire vine is infected. If a limb is festering and the rot cannot be removed, then it is better for the limb to be cut off than for the body as a whole to die. The Flame could burn away the Rot, but this World has lost its Flame. Its Passion has dwindled into smoldering embers and ashes. But as long as even a single ember remains, hope is not lost. As long as there is one spark left, no matter how flickering and frail it may be, the Flame can be rekindled!” The Stranger, as he spoke, became more passionate and joyful, moving from a somber tone to one filled with hope, spreading his arms out in excitement. “THAT is why I called you here Mark THAT is all I ask. Be a spark! An Ember to rekindle a smoldering Flame!” The stranger paused for a moment as if to calm himself, he lowered his arms and spoke again in a low sad tone, “Or else I will have no other choice but to sever this withering branch, and cast it away.” Mark massaged his aching head then spoke to the Stranger in a dull, uninterested tone, “I Refuse.” The Stranger simply smiled gently and spoke, “As I said Mark, it’s not something you can really refuse. All I ask that you go about your way. The very act of you being who you were made to be, is all that is needed”. Mark’s eyes flared as he threw an arm out in anger, he spoke in a voice near shouting, “And What if I don’t want to! What’s stopping me from gallivanting off into the woods, never to be seen again?!” The Stranger laughed lighting and shook his head before speaking, “You misunderstand Mark. It is not the Ember’s will to light the kindling that it lands on. That's its Nature. No matter where you go. No matter what you do, your very presence will bring change.” Mark’s mouth closed tight at the Stranger’s words, eyes still full of defiance and reluctance. The Stranger’s face suddenly lighted and he clapped, causing Mark to jump slightly. The Stranger spoke again, this time his voice taking on a light and friendly tone, “Well, enough of the heavy stuff! Let’s move on to business! I have a gift for you Mark! Think of it as a reward for saving little Merry. Simply say ‘System Menu’.” Mark started at the stranger with a confused look, slightly off put by the sudden change in tone as he asked in questioning tone, “System Menu?” Mark jumped suddenly in surprise as a small gray window popped up in the corner of his eye. [What the F---!!!] Before Mark could finish his words, his mouth slammed forcibly shut. The stranger looked at Mark with warning eyes as he spoke, “Language Mark. Anyway, I understand that coming to a new world may be confusing and overwhelming at first. More so when the culture, history and common sense differ greatly from what you are used to. So to help you in your travels, I whipped up a little gift for you. For now, let’s call it ‘The System’ [Patent pending]. Think of it as a “New World Wizard”, designed to fill in the gaps of information that you would otherwise be missing. It’s not perfect; it won’t provide information that you would otherwise not be able to access, such as someone's bank pin, a history of which there is no longer any record, or certain private personal information, but other than that as long as it is something that you would have had the ability to learn, then the System will cut out the grunt work for you. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!! I’ve decided to throw in a few extra functions I thought might be fun. If you look at the Menu in front of you, you will see several buttons.” _____________│EXAMINE│--------------------│STATUS│--------------------│INVENTORY│---------------------│INDEX│--------------------- Mark could only stare in shock and a doubting eyebrow at the nostalgic menu floating in his vision. Mark gave the Stranger a look that questioned if the man in front of him was really sane, then asked, “Seriously?” The Stranger simply smiled back with a wide-tooth grin and shrugged his shoulders before speaking, “Why not? I heard it's hip with the Kids nowadays, so I thought I would give it a go. I have to say, it turned out better than I thought. Now, the Main menu here is simply for organizational purposes, simply think about which one you wish to access and it will open. You can bring up any individual menu by simply speaking its name as well, though do so later, we don't have much time left. The Examine option is the main function of the System I had mentioned earlier. Simply focus on the target and select examine in your mind, and it will bring up the requested info.” Mark smirked at the Strangers words, he focused his gaze on Stranger and stealthily selected the option, only for a mechanical voice to sound in his head, “WARNING, HOST DOES NOT HAVE PROPER AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM THIS FUNCTION” The Stranger gave a deep bellied laugh as he wiped a tear from his eye, before pulling a dull rusty sword from the Air and tossed it to Mark, “Better luck next time. Here, try this instead. I recommend keeping it around, think of it as a good luck charm”. Mark squinted his eyes suspicion as he skillfully caught the blade by the handle. He raised a questioning brow as he recognized the dull rusty blade he’d used against the creature, the Forest Goblin, as the young man from before had called it. Focusing on the Sword, Mark’s eyes widened in shock at the screen that popped up from the blade. _________________LegendQuality: ???Origin: ???Status: DamagedQuarks: ???Index Entry: This old rusty blade has seen more and been farther than you will ever hope to. It has traveled the world, being passed down age through age. It has been wielded by great and mighty Heroes and common peasant soldiers. It has been used to slay dragons and skin pigs. Its very essence is a Legend, a physical manifestation of History. Just don’t nick yourself, you don’t want to know what those stains are._________________ Mark once more looked up at the stranger, a queer look in his eyes, questioning the man’s sanity, before shaking his head and tying its sheath to his belt. Mark knew next to nothing about wielding a sword like this, but it was obviously not normal. It would not hurt to keep it around for now. The Stranger looked at Mark with a laugh and spoke, “Time’s almost up, but I have one more ‘gift’ for you” The stranger pointed to the Carriage nearby and crooked his finger as if to beckon something. With a shake, the bottom of the driver seat came loose, and a small compartment was exposed. Mark, curious, approached the carriage with slow steps. Inside was a small wooden box, a large book, a folded letter, and a small satchel. Mark opened the small Box only to find what he assumed was a rudimentary first aid kit; inside were several small brown glass bottles and thin gauze like cloth. He opened a secondary draw to find several neatly organized bundles of herbs and a long blue stalk of a plant he’d never seen before. Mark lifted the strange stalk into the air, amazed at how fresh it appeared to be despite obviously being harvested long ago. He found the most striking feature of the herb to be its several small but transparent berries crowning its top. The skin of the berries was filled with light blue liquid that glowed slightly in the moonlight. Though they appeared fragile at first glance, their skin was thick and rubbery refusing to burst even when Mark gave them a good squeeze between his fingers. Mark, engrossed in the strange plant, jumped slightly as the Stranger called from behind, his voice filled with a sadness. “The Box was Merry’s Mother, Martha’s Apothecary kit. She loved to experiment and cultivate new herbs and understand how they worked. Take it to Alexander, he should be able to use what is there for Merry. The Book was meant to be a gift from her Father, Thomas. I’d ask that you hand it and the letter to her once she’s recovered. The gold in the satchel, you can keep. It was intended to be used as emergency funds in case something happened, but it will be only a small fraction of Merry’s…inheritance. Thomas would have wanted you to have it, as a way of saying Thanks for stepping in when you did. For now, Mark, remember my words well. The world may be cold and dark, but as long as there is even a single person still willing to move forward, one flame left burning, the dark will never overcome that Light.” Mark, a frown forming on his lips as he turned to face the Stranger, only to find the road empty. He gave a sigh of resignation before grabbing the parcels and walking back towards the shadowed pathway by the stream. Mark arrived at the small cave several minutes later, pausing for a moment as he let his eyes adjust to the light. Alexander, the young man who he had rescued alongside Merry, looked up at Mark with dull eyes, and spoke, his voice listless and dry, “What? Did you forget something?” Mark looked down at the young man with questioning eyes, before looking over at the fire. He noticed that the flames had barely dwindled compared to when he had first left the cave, despite spending what felt like the whole night on the roadside. He raised an eyebrow before lightly tossing the small apothecary kit to Alex, not bothering to say anything as he walked over to the fire and lead against the cold stone wall, his mind weary from the encounter. Alex raised a questioning eye, before turning his attention to the small box. His hands began to shake as he peered at its contents, eyes growing in shock as he yelled towards Mark, forgetting to even adjust his volume, “God’s Tear?! Where in the hell did you even…No, no, now’s not the times” Alex quickly stood and rushed over to Merry’s side. He kneeled down beside the girl, hands trembling slightly as he removed her bandages. Alex gagged a little as a stagnate rotting smell filled the air. He looked down at the poor girl, his heart twisting in pain as he looked at her condition. When the Forest Goblin had struck her the left socket had caved in, crushing the eye and leaving a massive gaping wound for the festering rot to invade. Even now he could see the poison spreading outward from the wound. Alex worked quickly as he did his best to clean out as much of the pus and rotting flesh as he could; God’s Tear was powerful even in its raw form, but he didn't have the equipment to properly process it. The more he could physically do, the greater the girl's chances. Mark watched on in silence, no visible emotion on his face. Alex was satisfied with his work after a short time, then finally lifted out the blue stalked plant from the box. He cut off the berry cluster with a small pair of scissors before wrapping them in a piece of the thin gauze like cloth, then muttering a short prayer, he squeezed with all his strength. Alex’s hands shook for a moment before there was the sound of a soft pop and the cloth gave slightly. Mark watched at a light blue liquid slowly seeped from the end of the cloth and began to fall drip by drip towards the girl’s wound. As the drops fell they seemed to ignite in the air, forming a bright blue flame which landed on the girl’s face. As each small flame landed, the surrounding flesh ignited in a similar bright blue fire. Mark stared in wonder as Merry seems unharmed by this strange flame. To the contrary, where ever the flame touched, the rot and pus seemed to burn away into nothing, leaving clean, raw flesh in its wake. Alex heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the flames move slowly under the girl’s skin, eating away even at the hidden rot in her veins. This strain of God’s Tear must have been extremely potent for it to be so powerful even unprocessed; his heart grew icy at the thought how much it must have cost. Alex saw that after a few moments, the blue flames began to die out, leaving only a slight afterglow under her skin. Merry’s breath began to calm and soften as even that glow began to fade, her pained face slowly loosing into a relaxed deep sleep. Alex gave a deep laugh as he fell backward onto the ground that slowly turned into tears of relief. He pulled himself together after a moment and began to work once more. He knew that the biggest danger was over, but the girl still had a major injury. He felt relieved, however, that the remaining common herbs in the apothecary’s kit where enough to concoct a few useful salves he knew of. Alex worked feverishly preparing and dressing the girl’s wound, before finally finishing shortly before Dawn. He stood on shaking legs as he finished his work, pinching them as he attempted to return the blood flow. He looked over to the opposing wall as he did so and saw Mark sitting there in the same position when he had started. Mark’s eyes were blood shot and there were noticeable dark bags under his eyes, but as Alex walked over to his sleeping bag, he did not miss the gentle smile that rested on Mark’s face as he stared at the sleeping little girl.

Chapter 7: A Journey of a Thousand Miles… Mark yawned as he watched the morning sun slowly peak over the trees outside of the cave entrance. Two days and two nights had passed since Merry had awoken. Today would be the third day, and with the girl’s strength returning enough for her to walk on her own, it would be the day they finally left this small cave. They would have left the day before but a sudden rain had prevented them from transporting the rest of the cargo back to the Carriage. They could have simply left it all in the cave, but given the situation Mark, Alex, and Tsutsuji, agreed that it would be best to bring it along and sell off what they could in Whitewood, as Merry’s parents had attended; the resulting funds would be used as traveling funds and other expenses for Merry, where even she ended up. Mark had been hesitant at first but according to Alex, strict laws and regulations in regards to the inheritance of orphans would at least minimize the risk of the small girl becoming a victim. Merry herself had steadily improved over that time; though her eyes still seemed dull most of the time and he’d yet to hear her speak, every so often he’d catch a small spark still burning, refusing to give into the hand life had dealt her. Even now as she slowly walked back and forth from one wall to the other, Tsutsuji gently guiding her along the way, she did not seem to mind or even notice the scuffed knees and blood mixed mud on her legs from her falls. Mark watched silently out of the corner of his eyes as he packed up the remaining supplies into his Inventory and stood, turning towards Alex who’d just walked in from checking on the carriage, before speaking, “That’s the rest of it. How’s the carriage?” “There’s some damage, but it should at least make it to Whitewood. I’m more worried about the Horses.” They’d found the Horses on the second morning; Alex’s own had been long gone, but thankfully the still attached harnesses had prevented the two horses pulling the carriage from going far. The stress from the attack and then spending a day and night harnessed together in an unknown forest had not left them in great shape, however. Alex had spent most of the following day on the road hoping that they might be able to catch someone heading to Whitewood for assistance, but to no luck. For now, the plan was to take it slow and hope that they either were able to make it or met someone on the way. Mark turned to the young girls and spoke as he waited by the exit, “It’s time to go.” Tsutsuji and Merry turned to look at him, before finishing their lap. Merry bent down and reached towards a large leather book resting on a cloth near the wall. She gently warped the book in the cloth and threw the bundle over her should with a heavy grunt, before moving slowly towards the exit. Merry was short of breath by the time she reached where Mark and Alex stood; either the book was heavier than it looked or the girl was pushing herself. Mark did not care which, but with a sigh, he reached down to pluck the bundle from her shoulder. Merry clung to the bundle with all her strength, however, giving panicked grunts as she struggled to move away from Mark’s grasp. Mark furrowed his brow and frowned before releasing his grip and walked out of the cave, heading down the path. Merry gave a light squeak as she stumbled back a few feet after losing the resistance holding her. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath before walking down the path herself. The four walked on towards the carriage with Mark taking the lead; Alex followed a bit farther back stopping to look over his shoulder worriedly every so often, and Tsutsuji hovered close to Merry as she trailed far behind. They would stop every so often to allow Merry to catch her breath, and when the walk that should have taken five minutes began to run ten without even hitting the half way point, Alex heard a deep, frustrated grumbling from ahead. Mark turned around and walked back towards the small girl, a storm-cloud brewing on his face as he reached down and lifted Merry into his arm, ignoring her cries of protest, before continuing down the path at a brisk pace. Tsutsuji for her part could not help but point and laugh as she watched the man being continually whacked in the head by the small girl with her bundle the whole way. They arrived at the carriage a few moments later, Mark a little worse for wear but otherwise silent as he set Merry into her prepare space in the back of the carriage. Merry, not abandoning her assault till Mark was out of range, looked around the familiar carriage with sad, tired eyes before burying her face in her bundle and slowly laying down. Tsutsuji, who has flown after them, immediately flew to the top of the carriage and sat down. Alex was the last to arrive and began preparing the horses as Mark added the last of the Cargo to the back, before jumping into the driver’s box. Alex jumped up and sat beside Mark, before nervously grabbing the reins and speaking, “Hehe, I-it’s been a few years since I’ve done this. Are you sure you don’t know how to drive?” Mark simply raise an eyebrow before leaning back against the seat, folding his arms and closing his eyes. With Tsutsuji taking the first watch, he decided to take this opportunity to get a little rest; lucky the subskill “Rough Living” ensured he could rest properly even on the constantly moving and shaking seat. Thus they set off towards Whitewood. ___________________________________ ~~~ Sunset ~~~ Alex looked up at the setting sun in the distance, giving a deep sigh he stretched out on top of the large boulder they had parked the carriage against. They’d traveled all day, but between the still wet and muddy roads and the frequent stops to allow the horses to rest, he estimated it would still take 2-3 days before they reached Whitewood. It may have been different if they had met someone on the way, but strangely enough, they had not seen a single other people so far. Even given the distance, the highway was still a major trade route, linking Whitewood to the Great Sea of Trees and the Western Continent. Something was not right, but he wouldn’t be able to find out until they reached the town. Looking over at their small camp area, Alex could see Mark stirring a pot of stew as it boiled over the fire. He was starting to question if stew and porridge were the only things the strange man could make. Not that road rations were much better, but he’d began to dream of a good hot meal from an inn the past few night. He feared he’d wake one morning to find he was missing some bedding if they didn’t reach town soon. Tsutsuji snored lightly as she hung herself over a tree branch while Merry sat nearby. The young girl had her book open, engrossed in the words as she read by firelight, wiggling around every so often in an attempt to better catch the light. She inched closer to the fire, a small frown forming as she seemed unable to get the perfect angle. A small spark jumped from the fire as she neared a little to close, landing on the open pages and quickly igniting their edges. Merry gave a small squeak in panic but before she could respond, a large rough hand slammed down on the embers, smothering them before they could do much damage. Mark looked down at the young girl with a frown and spoke in an apathetic voice, “Don’t read in this light, you’ll hurt your eyes. Put the book away and get ready. Food is almost done” Merry simply looked up at Mark with a scowl, but quickly averted her eyes and closed the book under Mark’s own unwavering gaze. She held the book close, retreating some ways away, before sitting down on the cool ground. As time passed, she would alternate between looking down at her book in longing and giving Mark a nasty scowl behind his back. She instantly looked away, however, when Marked looked over his shoulder as to check on her. He gave a deep hum of contemplation when he noticed the girl’s behavior, before giving a sigh and turning back to the pot. Mark spoke out a few moments later to call them in for dinner. Alex slid from his perch and headed for the campfire. Tsutsuji gave a gasp as she was startled from her sleep, tumbling from the branch she lay on. She gave a squeal as she fell, but managed right herself in the air before she hit the ground. Merry simply frowned as she attempted to pretend she did not hear, though her rumbling stomach won in the end, as she slowly scooted forward. After the meal, Tsutsuji helped Alex change Merry’s bandages while Mark sat nearby looking into empty space, though his eye’s moved back and forth as if searching for something. After a few moments, he seemed to find what he was looking for and pulled out a small metal rod from thin air. Mark pulled down a small lever attached to the side and began to wind it around and around. He pressed a small button on the side after a few moments, and a bright beam of light shot out of one of the ends. Mark pressed the button again and the light disappeared. He looked down at the small hand-cracked LED flashlight in thought. It had been one of the few items he had in his jacket pocket when he’d crossed over, along with an outdoor utility knife, a pen, and some spare change. When he’d went off on his...excursions, he’d found the small flashlight convenient for whatever dark hole he found himself in. He gave a slight grunt as he stood and walked over to the young girl who was presently giving him an ugly look, as she leaned up against the tree Tsutsuji had been sleeping on. He clicked the flashlight on and simply tossed it at the girl’s feet, before walking away. Alex watched as he stopped near the boulder and leaned up against it, closing his eyes. Alex turned around and looked back at Merry as she held the flashlight with curious eyes, blinking quickly as she turned her head away from the blinding beam that she waved past her face. Alex too was curious at the strange object he’d never seen before. He knew a few Artifacts could produce similar lights, but he’d never heard of one so bright or compact. Tsutsuji simply laughed as she watched the little girl fumble around with it, before flying down and plucking it from her hands. She flew over to a nearby hole in the tree and wedged the flashlight’s butt into it. Merry’s surroundings were suddenly bathed in light as she stared up in delight a rare smile forming on her face. She quickly grabbed her book and nestled herself under the light, turning the pages to a slightly burnt page, before being lost in her own world. Alex found himself smiling warmly as he watched the sight. The little girl reminded him a lot of his own sister back home; maybe that is why he felt such a burning desire to help her. If it was ever possible, he wished in his heart that the two could meet some day, maybe become friends. As Alex day dreamed of Home and those who he’d left behind, the sunset quietly turned to a dark blue night sky. Mark woke from his light sleep by a gentle rustling. Looking up into the night sky, he saw that the First Skyshard had almost reached its zenith and the Third just barely peeking over the Horizon. He looked around the camp to see Tsutsuji once more asleep on her tree limb and Merry sitting under the tree, still lost in the book. Alex sat facing away from the fire, staring out into the darkness as he kept watch. << (Author’s Notes: in case you forgot, The Skyshards are the three largest fragments of the shattered Moon, taking up a bit more than a third of the night sky. The Second Skyshard would be about the position of our present Moon in the night sky, with the First appearing before it, and the Third after.) >> Mark’s attention was drawn to Merry as she fidgeted in her spot, a look of frustration furrowing her small face. Seeming to sense his gaze, she looked up and gave him a frown, before turning back to her book. He looked back up at Mark after a few more minutes of fidgeting, seeming to contemplate something. She paused briefly, then coming to a decision she stood and reached for the Flashlight wedged in the tree. Merry briskly walked over to Mark and lay the book in front of him, not bothering to say anything as she held the light to the page and pointed to a passage. Mark raised an eyebrow, before turning his eyes to the page. He suddenly found himself in shock at what he saw. He was not sure what he was expecting, as he’d never bothered to peak at the book’s content, but this was a surprise none the less. Though a relatively large page, it was packed tight with small and neatly organized words. Reading the passage that the little girl had been pointing at, he found it to be a detail explanation about the workings of a complex clockwork device found in some ruins, the small diagram beside it marking each piece. Inferring what Merry was requesting, Mark gave a sigh and read the passage out loud, explaining the part where she seemed to have gotten stuck. Merry simply frowned down at the book in thought, before nodding her head and picking it up, quickly returning to her spot beneath the tree. Mark followed the small girl with his eyes, then shook his head and gave a small laugh. He closed his eyes once more and leaned his head up against the cool stone, but it was not 10 minutes later when a small poke roused him from his almost-sleep. Opening an eye, Mark saw the figure of the small girl, once more standing beside him as she pointed at another passage. He gave a sigh before looking down at the passage and again read it for the girl before she retreated once more to her tree. This repeated several more times in the next hour before Mark finally gave an aggravated growl and grabbed the girl by the collar before she could retreat. Plopping the girl down beside him, he grumbled out between half closed eyes, “Sit.” Merry, giving a small sequel in fright, complied, though a few moments later she was tugging on Mark’s sleeve while pointing to yet another passage. Thus Mark sat there as the night waned on, answering the questions the little girl ask. He had to admit, while the Book was written in the form of a personal journal, the Author had a way with words and he found himself silently reading along. Most of it was a record of the Unnamed Author’s experiences as he traveled the world, though it was sprinkled with some pretty advanced terminology and detailed descriptions of such-and-such ruin, or some uncovered Artifact. Mark soon found himself engrossed in the book as he explained to the little girl what a certain word meant or why something was read this or that way. Mark eventually stumbled across a passage that instantly drew his eye. He slowly read the Author’s words as he contemplated their meaning; ---“In my journeys, I have observed nearly every culture, creed and belief system the world and while I would hesitate in calling myself even fluent in my understanding, a peculiar similarity in all of them have come to my attention. In all of the myths I have come across, there are key points which all of seem to agree upon. While I doubt one could call this the ‘truth’ in its entirety, I have come to the conclusion that each of these accounts is a retelling of the same event, even if with their own bias twist. An event that may lead to the understanding of one of the greatest mysteries of this World. The Origin of the Skyshards, the Sentinel Tower, and the Magi. I advise you to take the following with a grain of salt, however, this may very well be the foundation of our very world. In the Beginning, the Lord/High God/King of the gods, formed the ‘people’ (the people here varying from culture to culture) from the clay of the earth, breathing into them the breath of Life. He then set them in the center of the world, commanding them to go and spread far and wide, learn and grow. And so the ‘people’ did. They spread outwards from the center of their new world, working the land and creating marvelous things. However, as the years waned on, the oldest of them grew tired and weary of their life. They had seen all there was to see in the world, been to every corner and tasted every fruit. Not content with what they had been given, the Elders turned their eyes to the shining Throne of God/Godstone/The Lesser King high in the skies above. Banning the ‘people’ together, the Elders constructed a massive tower in the center of the world. The plan was for them to build all the way to the great celestial body from which their God watched over them, and make their plea directly to their Maker. And so the eons passed, till finally, the great Tower was complete and the ‘people’ stepped foot on the Godstone for the first time. Only to find….Nothing. The Great Throne they believed to be the home of their Maker, lay empty and barren. Believing themselves to have been abandoned, the ‘people’ raged with all of their might, and in their anger, the Great Throne shattered. With a mighty roaring, the force of the Shattering caused the Tower to crumble underneath them. For 3 days and 3 nights, great Stars and pieces of the Tower rained on the land, bringing destruction and death in their wake. Even when the Falling had ceased, the World was thrown into chaos. Great storms the like of which had never been seen raged across the world. The very land heaved and twisted underneath their feet, before spewing out seas of hot molten rock. The dead festered where they lay, bringing sickness and death to the few survivors. When all seemed lost, the Lord/High God/King of the gods felt pity for those small people, shedding a single tear which fell on the land. And with that tear fell also the Divine Lights, the Magi. With their strange power, the Magi quelled the storms and soothed the earth, bringing order back from chaos. And the world…was silent”.--- Mark was silent for a long time, as he thought the words written in the book, and about his own experiences the past few day. He was about to turn the page when the flashlight suddenly began to dim and lose power. It was then that the sound of gentle snoring reached his ears. He looked over to his side to see the young girl fast asleep, her head resting up against his arm. Mark gave a sigh before standing slowly, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. He then carried her to the prepared bedding and lay her softly down. Merry gave a small whimper as he did, groping for something in her sleep. Mark lay the large book in her arms as he stood and walked back to the boulder. The last thing he saw before he sat down and closed his eyes, was the young girl clinging tightly to the large book, a small smile on her lips.

With the thoughts of feeling inadequate going through her, Perdita wanted to at least attempt to change her ways. She wanted to be good enough for the Dragon King, she wanted him to be proud of her. Frowning to her thoughts, Perdita kept these thoughts locked away in her heart. If she were lucky and does have the chance to be with this man at some point, perhaps working hard to become someone that he could be proud of was going to be the hardest to work at. Wouldn’t that mean that she would have to put the past behind her and no longer be so scared and skittish? That would take a while to overcome…She thought.   Sighing to her own self-confidence, Perdita looked up, to see that man across from her was staring at her again. “Did you ever meet her? My Phoenix?” He suddenly asked. Perdita didn’t want to lie to him, nor did she want to state who she was either. Perdita instead stated something that probably didn’t mean anything, it was just something other than lying or admitting the truth, “You know of her last death, and that it seems being reborn doesn’t happen straight away either.” Duke interrupted her then, “Yes! Yes, I know that…Have you ever met her though? Dammit…What am I saying, how would you have known that you’ve met her!?”   Seeing the man get deflated, to his ‘obvious’ thinking of her not having ‘met’ his Phoenix, Perdita was silently relieved to not having to answer him anymore. It didn’t take long though, for Duke to speak again, “What else…Is there anything else?” Perdita nodded, “Mmm, do you know much else?” “I know of the times when she was enslaved! I have dealt with those still alive and even families of those of some that weren’t!” Perdita widened her eyes…He…He got revenge for her? Really? The Mosquito King was still a vivid picture in her mind, along with that of Zonic, and she felt emotional at thinking of their deaths or them going through what she had. Even families? Is that how far the Dragon King had gone? Biting her lip, Perdita looked away and fought against crying. She couldn’t believe that he’d gone to such lengths because of what had happened to her. “I don’t know of who she was when she was not enslaved…There wasn’t anything found prior to the enslavement and we couldn’t pick up on anything either, all the leads were well covered up!” Duke stated.   Swallowing, Perdita turned back and pointed on the map, where she had been reborn the second time. “A baby was found here, no one claimed her.” “…Here? When?” Duke asked, looking intently back at Perdita, after quickly looking at the map. Frowning, Perdita tried to remember the year and put her hand up to her head. “It’s fine, just tell me what you know.” Duke stated, not wanting her to get more of a headache again…And not wanting her to lose track… Perdita nodded slightly, and then said, “It is said that a husband and wife, who couldn’t have children, looked after a little girl that was named as Sally.” “Sally? What’s the last name?” Duke asked, going to his books. “Woodlock.” Again, Duke searched his books and widened his eyes to information about this ‘Sally’. It didn’t state anything about a creature, but that she had died at the age of eighteen…Just like ‘Kendra’ had! …The mother and father were written down and where they had worked, even their deaths and creatures were there but...Again, just like Kendra, it was a similar type of information! That they had no creature and that they had died at age of eighteen!   Duke sat down, looking at the new information and inwardly sighed to his poor Phoenix. Even though she had been able to obtain parents, she was not in a family that could look after her very well and made her work from a young age…Again, his Phoenix had to work! Banging a hand on the table, Duke then put his other hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. Dammit! When was there ever any type of happiness in her life? Looking at the information on Sally once again, he noticed that she had gotten married. He may have seen it before but now he took that news in and wondered…He wondered if she maybe had this small type of happiness. Feeling pain in his heart, Duke frowned and knew that the Phoenix might not had a choice, or that even if she did want to marry, perhaps she deserved a short time of happiness, so…He really shouldn’t get upset that his Phoenix got married… …It didn’t stop him from feeling jealous though as a pain went through him at the thought of his phoenix being happy with another that wasn’t him.   “She was…Married?” He asked, clearing his throat halfway through his question. Perdita eyed the Dragon King and wondered what his thoughts were. Back then, she still had not known about the Dragon King, had she done something very wrong to him? “Yes, she was a maid for the miss that married someone and went with her to the husband’s residence. I didn’t find much information on how she ended up marrying the husband…” Perdita looked away from the Dragon King, unsure. There probably wouldn’t be much upon Sally’s married life, so it probably wasn’t lying, but…She felt like this was a sore subject for the Dragon King and didn’t know how to continue it…Besides, it was still a sore subject for her as well, as the husband had been one of those that had abandoned her. She had let him in, opened a small part of her heart for him, only to be abandoned… If they didn’t talk about him, Perdita would be glad…   The Dragon King then looked up the husband, knowing already of his name and creature, from looking up Sally. Seeing that the husband had married another woman, besides that of Sally and the ‘miss’, Duke frowned. “He married again afterwards, I wonder why…” Perdita raised her eyebrows at the man who seemed deep in thought and was glad that he didn’t give up on the Phoenix completely, even after knowing that she had married. Could there really be a chance between them, even though now he knew nearly everything that happened to her? A faint hope, that had already started to ignite inside her, made her feel warm. This man was really good, so good that perhaps she didn’t deserve him. Biting her lips, Perdita stopped herself from crying. “It states that she had gotten pregnant, lost the child and then became a barren woman…”   Biting her lip, Perdita closed her eyes to the memory. Back then, she had still felt like things were good between her and her new husband, not even realizing what was to come. It was weird…That becoming barren had happened once again, and now that she thinks back, she wondered why she hadn’t been able to heal that broken part of her in either times that she had gone ‘barren’. Was it because the second time was done when she had not yet pulled out her creature yet? But, if it were that, then why couldn’t she had healed herself in the first life? Now that she thought about it, Perdita frowned and really wondered why she could even not die of starvation or dehydration but not be able to heal her own womb… And if she couldn’t heal her own womb…What if… With quivering lips, Perdita just thought that this was yet another reason that she shouldn’t be with the Dragon King… A noise jumped her out of her thoughts! Duke had hit the table again, “I think I get it! The husband left her alone after that and moved on, thinking that she was useless! Bloody bastard!”   Perdita opened her eyes at the hit on the table and blinked a few times. He was getting mad at her husband? Because he had abandoned her? With soft, gentle eyes, Perdita stared at the Dragon King and felt a strange feeling go through her. Before she could stop herself, she asked, “Are you not mad at her for marrying another man? For…Getting pregnant and…”Widening her eyes and looking away, she finally stopped speaking and pinched herself, making herself flinch to the small pain. Duke looked at the girl, seeing her flinch and wished that she would calm down. It didn’t matter if it was a personal question or not, she didn’t have to act like she’ll die over every little thing she does! “Maybe this was her only happiness in this life…How could I hate her for hoping for something good? I just…” Duke stopped and knew what he wished for.   He wanted the Phoenix all to himself, just like the girl in front of him. And…It wasn’t like the Phoenix and he had met, they hadn’t even had one conversation between them! If there was a time over the many years gone that he had grown fond of a woman and not had the Phoenix in his life, would she get mad? Mmm, Duke thought, in all these years, there’d only been one woman anyway… Staring at Perdita, with eyes that felt like they swallowed everything in, Perdita was only able to look for a second, before turning away again. “Do you think she would get mad at me, if I were to be…With someone else?” Duke asked with little confidence. If the girl would state yes, he felt like he had no right, even though he still had not personally met up with the Phoenix as of yet. Even if he slightly wished to help this girl mature and help her cultivate and then…Perhaps go beyond friendship when she was ready to…Would his Phoenix hate him for it?   Perdita was caught off guard with the Dragon King’s question and really didn’t know how to respond to it. “I…I don’t know. Perhaps…Perhaps since she had gone through so much, she probably doesn’t think like she deserves you.” Frowning, Duke breathed out and lowered his gaze, “She’s my Phoenix, if deserving one another comes into considering, it is probably I that doesn’t deserve her…” Perdita again gained a soft and gentle look, as she looked up at him, “I don’t think so, she might not know much about you at all, but I doubt she feels that you are in any way wrong for her.” “But I had not been able to protect her!” Duke stated, yet that soft and gentle gaze didn’t make his statement as harsh as he wanted it to sound… He was losing himself to her eyes, those beautiful eyes that only showed him that his Phoenix could forgive him, after not being there and protecting her, she gave him hope that his Phoenix will be able to forgive him!   “Is that what the Dragon King is supposed to do? Is he only to be with the Phoenix to protect her?” Perdita moved her eyes from his and mumbled under her breath, “I thought it was supposed to be more then that…” Duke let out a small laugh, then said, “Of course it’s more then that! I am yearning for her, my dragon is yearning for her! It hurts me that she has had to endure so much, and I have not been able to comfort her. I just worry…That the more she goes through, the harder it may be to gain a part of her heart. I feel…” Duke stopped, then looked away. He couldn’t tell the girl the intimate thought of how he felt like he belonged in the Phoenix’s heart… Perdita let out a small laugh, smiling for the first time, “She isn’t a cold-hearted person!” Duke, lost within that smile, blinked a few times and felt his heart thumping… He stared at the face longer, wishing that smile would return, for it had been…So beautiful…So wonderful! It had made him feel great!   Perdita saw the Dragon King once again go into a type of daze and shook her head, “No matter what she goes through, I don’t think she could blame you for anything! Just…Just tell her how much you’ve worked on finding her and how you gotten some type of revenge for her and she’ll…She’ll probably…” Duke finally snapped out of it and interrupted the girl, “She’ll probably what? Is the reason why you are able to gain so much information because of how you are able to put yourself in her shoes? How do you know who she is!? Do you know what it’s like to live two life’s and become enslaved? Do you know what she’s been through!?” Perdita closed her mouth and lowered her head, yes…Yes, she knows! Should she tell him? Tell this man that she was the Phoenix!? A certain part of her was gaining the courage, liking this man and his pure need and want to protect her. The courage really was becoming stronger and stronger!   Silence continued in the room, as Duke was trying to overcome the fact that his Phoenix had to go through so much and Perdita watched him. Having stated out loud upon the Phoenix’s problems, Duke felt them all realistically and again felt at such a loss upon how to find her again and what to do when he found her! Perdita saw the Duke frown, then started to loss that courage that she had just started to gain… Was he really so unhappy with how I had lived? Does he really care this much?   A strange type of want to hang onto this feeling clung to her and Perdita desperately tried to tell herself that it could not mean what she thinks… It really was too early to trust this man, but it seems…She already was…She was already wanting to believe that even though they had not met probably, as Phoenix and Dragon, that he wanted her and needed her. She really wanted to believe it! Yet…She was still quite reluctant, just because of all that she had gone through…What if he was lying…After all, how could he be so loyal after so many years!? After what she had seen, in more than one life, it was that men weren’t loyal…Their had been only two loyal males, out of all the ones she could remember, and that was her first and second father…Every other male had more then one wife and saw them all, they didn’t have any particular care for any of the children and didn’t treat women particularly well… Perdita then stopped for a moment and remembered the wolf can once again, knowing that…She was wrong…There were more loyal men out there, perhaps she had just been shown the worst of them a lot more… Was he…Was he one of them?   It wouldn’t be the first time that she was lied to…It wouldn’t be the first time that she was played with either. If this man really cared about her, not wanting to use her for her tears or feathers, not wanting to use her for her aura or blood, wouldn’t that be a miracle? “I wish she had known about me earlier…Maybe then…” Duke sighed, wishing to know if his Phoenix had really tried to find him, even though they hadn’t met at that time. He’d first seen her when she had died in her second life, upon a tree…If only he had been able to fly to her sooner, or see her sooner, so that she knew how to get in contact with him or something… But of course, it was not something that he could help, whether he liked it or not… ‘Sally’ becoming a mistress was also something he couldn’t have helped! Now that the shock had gone, even some nice words spoken to him by a lovely girl about him, it was hard to contain his anger!   He wasn’t particularly mad with his Phoenix, he was mad about what he had heard about! Some news from Questro nearly didn’t get to him because of facts behind it! They didn’t want him to know how many times that the Phoenix could have possibly been intimate with another. And yes, upon finding out that the master did let her be with another, after she had become barren in that life too, he remembered raging quite heavily and burning down half of the palace! God knows how many men had been with his Phoenix! He wanted to kill every single one of them! Did anyone ever thought, while taking anything from his Phoenix, that he, the Dragon King, was going to get revenge! How much guts do people have!?   It was really something that Duke shook his head about because he will forever do what he can for his Phoenix! “So, is this basically it then? This was what I have missed? How certain are you that she was this Sally?” Duke asked, after clearing his throat. Getting the parchment from him, Perdita looked over the burnt writing and saw that it stated quick easy facts about her previous life. She started work at a young age, after moving into the capital, from outside. Then it stated that she ended up as a maid for Carly and that she had gone into the house of Carly’s husband, ending up as another wife for him… Perdita frowned and hated that she had let that man coax her over! That the man in front of her was so much more!   Comparing one from the other, now she just saw flaw after flaw with Malic and seeing how great the Dragon King was! The amount of real and sincere worry completely showed with the Dragon King but…That man Malic had gotten over her so quickly! The Dragon King looks like he feels inadequate for her, whereas Malic demanded more and more and then got upset if she held back…Like it was her that was not good enough for him! So different! Perdita almost felt like she was the biggest loser and that she should have known better! Slamming down the parchment, Perdita got up and picked up her bag. “Wait, where are you going!?” Duke stated, getting up, clearly not ready for her to leave the room in the slightest!   Perdita stopped and turned to him, “I just need to…Do some personal business…” Since seeing such a personal matter had been brought up, that she wasn’t quite ready to state as truth, Perdita needed some time to calm down. Especially now that she feels even more worse for this person right in front of her. She really doesn’t deserve his constant looking for her, she didn’t deserve his sweet words of want for her love… It was hard because…She was so close to crying. Crying for herself because of how much she felt like a loser and crying for this man who still seemed like he was not giving up on his Phoenix. Perhaps she will feel better after a cry and come back like nothing was wrong. She could then easily say that the information was about the same as her own… A voice stopped her though…

“Your Excellency, it cannot be delayed, and we are all asking that you return.” Sharlae said, not in the least worried about her heavy breathing. She knew that any type of aphrodisiac does not help this man to get close to her…She knows because she had tried all of them a long time ago! This man was hers yet had never been hers completely! For so many years, she had tried to get him, yet nothing, nothing has worked! The problem was, nothing may work if he stays here, where she could feel where the curse was as well…Which was why she came so fast and so directly to this point! Having flown nonstop over all the land from the castle to here, it was no wonder that her breathing had still not gone back to normal yet! If they met up… It was something she had to stop!   What she hadn’t expected though, was that the King of Kings ignored her completely and even started to walk towards where the curse was located. No! “Your Excellency! We are in dire need of your help back at the castle!” Sharlae stated, unable to keep a bit of her uneasiness out of her voice. But, the straight back of the man continued on without her. Dammit! Sharlae, even though her flying off earlier towards where the Dragon King was heading, might set off some questions, Sharlae was unable to let it go! She will act as though she was to make everything and everyone ready for an audience with the Dragon King, but instead be more searching for the Phoenix, that was there somewhere. Luckily, since she was the one that placed the curse upon the person, she will be able to find the person easier than that of the Dragon King, whom seems to have no idea!   Quickly, Sharlae made haste down the mountain, flying down as her golden winged serpent creature and flew right into the biggest place, that she thought would be of the leader there. Briefly stating that the Dragon King is on his way here, Sharlae did not care to supply more information and simply went straight towards where the curse seemed to be…To finally find a girl of about sixteen years of age, packing up her things. Well, well, isn’t that fortunate! Not only is the girl packing to leave but…Her creature… The curse, no wonder it was easy to find her! Her creature could come out! It had to be stopped! Yet, Sharlae couldn’t let this chance go anyway. Enslaving her would only take a moment and then she can continue on her way from here and she will then also have the power over her to keep her away from the Dragon King. Without further ado, Sharlae went straight up to the girl and placed her hand upon her head and then chest, bringing forth the Phoenix…And enslaved it within seconds!   ***   I fell down into a heap, my knees hitting the ground with a thump. Pain entered my head and I just knew, even though the last few seconds seemed very much like a blur, I just knew that I had been enslaved once again. Trying to clear my head, I looked around, trying to ignore the person who is clicking their tongue in my direction. Grabbing a short dagger, I turn it around, so that I could dive it into my heart, but it was taken away from me. “Oh no, little one. Now that I’ve enslaved you, it’ll be a lot easier to keep you away…Now, don’t bother packing anything more, just take what you have and leave!” A familiar feeling came over me, after she had said those words and now…I was no longer able to take my own life. I remember this feeling well and it was even used against me before, as it gave me tears…I had gotten as far as putting a knife to my heart, even having it go into my skin but had never been able to go beyond that. The master would always stop it before it goes further, not only that, but the pain from disobeying the orders would only get more and more intense with the closer I had gotten… And now…It’s all happened again… I can’t end my life… …It all happened so quickly!   “To think he’s wasted so many resources on someone like you…” I looked up to see the woman in front of me and found that she was really beautiful. She had golden blonde hair and golden eyes. Her flowing dress was tight against her body and it was a pure white color that made her look dashing as it went with her blonde hair and white pearl necklace and earrings. Her figure was of a woman, a woman that was desirable and beautiful…One that I wasn’t. The clothes I had on where daggy and old. My hair had been brushed and put up into a ponytail in a rough, quick way and I felt completely out of place. “Leave, quick! Go far from here!” With the order placed inside me, I did not even have the care to disobey. I was too upset and too stunned to think of anything else besides obeying my new master…   Putting the backpack on, even though I had not packed everything, I quickly put on shoes and walked out…Only to see that the pack was rushing around madly. What was going on? Feeling myself get pushed, I nearly fell to the ground. “Go!” Turning away from the pack, I took a step and closed my eyes as my feet kept moving. …Why? Why can’t I just… “Who’s this?” “Oh…Her? Ah, she is one of my loyal subordinates, Your Excellency.” The masculine voice made me want to holt my steps, but I felt the extra need to continue, because my master was urging me onwards. “What…Does she do?” His voice…Was nice… “…Your Excellency, I had already told the pack leader that you have arrived, perhaps it would be a good time to meet him.” “Speak!” “Yes, ah…I know all this time…You have not been able to find the Phoenix…Since it is so important to you, I have been secretly trying to find her myself and present her to you as soon as possible…She has been helping me try to find the Phoenix for you, Your Excellency. I told her…” With those words, even with the urging of my new master, I stopped walking and turned around.   I didn’t know what I was to expect, but…The man a few meters away from me…Was not it… He stared into me, making me hurriedly look down. My heart…Please calm down… I clenched my hand and stayed silent. …Could he be…The Dragon King? They were just talking about finding his Phoenix, was it…This man? Hearing him walk towards me, my breathing got caught into my throat and I closed my eyes tightly. “Your Excellency? She…She was going to met up with me later.” “Did your discoveries led you here? I felt her, for just a moment, but it’s gone now. Is she here? Did you see her?” I shook my head. Not having any answer myself, my head shaking was because I was ordered too. “Then…What have you found that has led you here?” “Oh, Your Excellency, I told her to meet me here, when I was coming to find you...If there was something at all that would help you, I will be sure to tell you everything! I am, after all, someone that wants you to be happy.” The other woman’s words made me want to cry. If only…If only I had left earlier… If I had left earlier, I wouldn’t have been enslaved and I wouldn’t have seen the Dragon King!   With the short moment that I saw him, it was etched to my memory. His stance, his intense gaze, his short hair and tanned face… My Phoenix, I could feel it want to scratch itself out, making me heat up. My whole body got slightly red and I could not help but silently ask for help as my cheeks flamed. This wasn’t fair! …This really wasn’t fair! “Come…I want to speak with you about my Phoenix. Sharlae, ask for a place where I can be alone for a meeting.” “Your Excellency, I…” “Do it! You, follow me!” It was weird, as I was looking down, but I automatically knew when he was speaking to me. It wasn’t like a master’s calling. It led through me, through my heart, my soul, my Phoenix. It sent a roar through me, making me even hotter than I already was… I wanted it to stop because I was scared this was another type of enslavement! Not one person had me flaring up like this…Ever! Not one person could be itched into my mind so easily!   With no choice but to follow the Dragon King, yet no choice but to ‘come up with an excuse to leave’, pain enveloped my head and I took a deep breath to control it. Looking at the woman, who looked at me with piercing, scary eyes, I bit my lip, “I can’t…” “Follow!” Seeing that the man…The man with an intense gaze, turn to me, I was suddenly hit with an idea. If he is the Dragon King…Can’t he save me? I should be able to fight my master and be able to speak of being enslaved… Yet, my heated legs seemed to have a life of their own before I could come up with a decision, and I found myself stepping forwards, step by step and before I knew it, I was already making my way past the place I had stayed. “Don’t you dare!” Feeling an urge to stop and a hand upon my arm, I looked at the woman who had spoken in a very low voice. Seeing her seethe and pull her arm away, she widened her eyes to the redness of her hand… “Are you coming?” Turning back to the man, I found that I did what I did before and that my legs had a mind of their own.   ‘Don’t you dare tell him anything! If I have to end your life…I will!’ I heard in my head. Following after the man that had a nice voice and made me feel very heated, I watched silently as he asked where he could go to have a meeting and asked to be left alone. The pack looked at me strangely but only said that dinner will be ready a little later. Leaving us alone, inside the biggest place, I stood to the side, just inside the door, and continued to fight the pain in my head. My master was truly nasty, eyeing everything that was going on, continuously speaking of orders and I was unable to completely concentrate. “I’m speaking to you!” Looking up, I see the man frowning and pointing to a chair across from him. Nodding, I take up the seat quietly and try to stay calm…But, it was not easy. I was completely conflicted in my head. I liked the idea of letting out information, just so that my master would kill me. Then again, I was also wanting help to stop the enslavement…But… Looking at the man, briefly, I wondered if I could trust him…He’s supposed to be my other half…But…   “What is it that you know about my Phoenix?” He asked in such a dreamy voice that I was suddenly able to concentrate. “Brendon Ball.” I voiced out, not even sure why I so willing gave him any kind of information about myself. ‘My Phoenix?’ Hearing that twice now, with his dreamy voice, I was trying not to let the strange elated feeling flow into me too much. Does he care about me that much? “Brendon Ball? Who is that?” Looking away, trying to collect myself…And that of my soul, heart and Phoenix, I swallowed and nodded, “Brendon Ball had a heron creature, he…He and a maid, who had a falcon creature…” I stopped. Can I really state that they were my real parents? Should I?   “Are you telling me that this Brendon Ball and the maid are…Her parents?” Looking up to the voice, feeling it’s happiness wash over and through me, I absently nodded back at him. Cringing, I put a hand to my head and fought to the pain of my master. She really was a lot stronger than any other I’ve had…But, at the same time, wasn’t the Dragon King just as strong or stronger? Would he be able to do something? Even if it was to help kill me or something! The pain…The pain was nearly unbearable… ‘Get out of there, I demand you!’ But I could still fight her this much! If there was a time to have a change in this circumstance, it had to be now! So…I was not going to leave until I either told him that I was enslaved or until my new master just kills me through ordering me to kill myself!   “…Are you unwell?” Seeing a hand come into my sight, I automatically retract away from it, falling off the chair in the process. Still in a state of shock that a male is trying to touch me, and not just I but my master pushing me away from it, I was then stuck against a wall, after falling off the chair. “It’s ok…Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” Seeing him come around the table and come closer, I sink further into the wall and cuddle myself into a corner, with nowhere else to go. The Mosquito King came into my mind and Zonic… Memories of them grabbing and pulling and I clenched my eyes shut. Please don’t hurt me…   “Why are you like this? I might be the Dragon King, but I didn’t think that I was known for hurting people.” His words didn’t make sense to me and I shook my head, not saying anything in return. “I won’t touch you. But please tell me what you know…Please.” Slowly opening my eyes and seeing his desperate look, I fall into another type of shock. Is he desperate because… I didn’t want to think further, because…I was scared. I was scared that if I let myself think that he cared for me that… No… Even if he did care for me, even in the smallest measurement, I can’t do it. I can’t do it! I was not ready! Taking a deep breath, I stare back at him, wishing that his face didn’t get itched into my memory. “I just get headaches sometimes…And I’m…Not good with people…” Seeing him frown and then stand up, I still did not move from my place. “Why aren’t you good with people? Why do you get headaches?” He sounded upset, making me frown in return. “I get them a lot, it’s normal.”   I didn’t lie, fighting back my masters had always given me headaches and I had been enslaved that long, that to me getting headaches was normal. I hoped he did not ask too much more. I was still unsure on what to say yet…Especially when I found that I was too scared of him still. He could be my savior, I tell myself, but he could also be someone else that could either abandon me, hurt me or use me. I didn’t understand the link between us, I didn’t think it was real, even though I had already felt it, before I had died in my last life. Just…Too much has happened, and I can’t just simply trust him, having only met him this once! “It’s not normal to have headaches, perhaps I should call a doctor for you?” “No!” I said firmly, “No doctor!” Seeing him put his hands up and sigh, he sat back down and pointed to the chair, “Do you want to continue?” I stare at the chair and shake my head. Hearing him sigh, I found him getting up, fixing up the chair and sitting back down, “Then don’t mind me for a moment.” Unable to stop my curiosity and surprise, I watch from the floor as the Dragon King pulls some books out of nowhere and uses some type of magic that I’ve never seen before!   ***   Dammit! What am I to do!? What do I do!? Sharlae paced around to the side, outside of where her man was. She had been concentrating endlessly upon her slave, making sure nothing happens but something else needed to be planned as fast as possible! The girl isn’t eighteen but now that I’ve pulled her creature out and enslaved her, if she is touched, her man will know who she is straight away! Dammit! Not stopping her pacing, Sharlae places her hand up to her chin and wonders what to do in this predicament. Perhaps she shouldn’t have enslaved her before and had just told her to go! If her creature didn’t get pulled out in that short space of time, it could have worked! What an idiot! Why had I been so keen to enslave her, when I could just threaten her to leave as soon as possible! But…If she hadn’t had enslaved her, she couldn’t be able to do as she’s doing now and inflict orders, because if she had been found earlier, without being enslaved… This was a mess!   Should I ‘kill her off’? It wouldn’t take much to do so. As soon as she’s out of the Dragon King’s presence, I could get her to run off the cliff or something. Leave a note…But… What about poison? Dammit, no, that’s right, the only way to kill her is a knife to the heart! Yet, do I even want her died now? If she’s enslaved by me, stays away from the Dragon King and lives a long life, that would give me more years to take him completely. It’s already taken this long and eighteen…No, fifteen years, is not long enough! Dammit! What’s going on now? What are they talking about? Sharlae focuses upon her slave and finds the Dragon King doing his own thing and she quickly tells the girl to make up an excuse and get out of there…And seeing that she does actually try to do so but the Dragon King doesn’t let her go, Sharlae stamps her feet in frustration!   Why is the Dragon King so keen not to let her out of his sight! Does he know!? Stopping her pacing, she widens her eyes to the concept and seriously worries that the Dragon King already has an idea or knows entirely that the Phoenix is in fact right in front of him! This can’t go on! I have to get her out of there!

While a certain immortal is pacing, the Dragon King continues to use his powers to find this ‘Brendon Ball’. He was strangely not worried that not only was a girl in the same room with him, but that she had gone very quiet. In the corner of his eyes, he could still see her, and he had liked how curious she had been to when he had started to use his powers. She might be holding a guard up, to state ‘don’t touch me’, but her eyes shined with a certain childish charm, that made him want to look longer at her. All these years he was surrounded by those whom were adult and mature, and then alone, but it had been a very long time that he felt that an innocent’s eyes were very beautiful. Obviously, she had some type of past trauma, yet she looked like she was not going to let anyone help her overcome it…That she wanted to be strong to overcome just about anything all by herself…Which only made him like her even more!   With just these few moments that he had to spent with her, he noticed all these things like they somehow dragged his eyes to see, his memory to keep and his heart to thump like it only had before when he finally had seen his Phoenix for the first time… She really was a treasure! His dragon sense was keen on obtaining this little girl and keeping her near him for some reason. Even just the thought of that made him let out a rare smile and found himself letting a future of going to her after a hard day’s work. He could bask in her innocence and spend some time to get her to trust him. He could show her his powers and perhaps even see what kind of powers that she would possess, for when her own creature comes out. She can’t even be more then sixteen, maybe fifteen, yet why did he want to put her in a cave and watch out for intruders!? Every action she had done had seemed to bring out his curiosity and he hadn’t questioned these many things since…Well he couldn’t remember!   Her walk was almost like she had nowhere to go. Her bowed head looked discouraged and scared. Her scent was really nice and then the fact that she knew something about his Phoenix, made him even more protective and he didn’t want her out of his sight! He felt the urge to connect to another, even if it wasn’t for any other relation besides obtaining some type of treasure. He wanted to give her somewhere to go, yet still lock her up in a cave…It was…Really strange… The fact that she was also scared of him, made him frown. He didn’t want that, yet he didn’t know why… But even though he knew he didn’t want her to be scared, he didn’t know how to change that! Then, he wondered how she could be so discouraged, when she was in his presence…When she had something that he wanted! Was there really something to be scared about? Was there really something that would make her feel like she was in the wrong if she told me about my Phoenix? But why? …She can’t be scared of making me happy and getting gifts for it? That’s…That would be Stupid…   Seeing a bird fly in and land upon her shoulder, Duke raised his eyebrows in interest. “Pet…He’s a pet!” With her sudden voice, louder than he’d ever heard it, Duke looked at the bird and narrowed his eyes. His Phoenix would attract birds like this, was her creature another type of bird perhaps? Seeing her coo and look awkward as she patted the bird, whom didn’t move to the finger touching its feathers, Duke sighed in his heart. He’s best to get back to what he was doing! Wasn’t he closer to finding out more about his Phoenix? What if what he could learn from this girl directly brings him to her!? How could he waste time watching this girl and being so…Attracted… Shaking his head in a bit of anger, Duke started to realize that even he was going too far! The only female that he should feel any type of feeling for, should be his Phoenix! And he had to get back into finding her!   He felt like he had taken one deep step closer to finding his Phoenix, just by having met this girl! And who would he be if he didn’t make the most of it!? Even though he had only gotten two facts out of her, that was still something that he had not known beforehand! All he had to do is see if it was true or not, if it were, then this girl…She would lead him to his Phoenix! Perhaps, he thought, that was why I like her so much! Upon manually finding this person, ‘Brendon Ball’, with a heron creature, Duke smiled and stopped himself from looking directly at the girl that he now wanted to know the name of. Forgetting for a moment that he had found the name ‘Brendon Ball’, Duke found his curiosity get the better of him and he looked up, to see her surprised, and so he then looked down in a hurry. He was mad at himself…Because he had no idea why he was so nervous! Clearing his throat, he finally asked, “What is your name?” Hearing mumbles, even with a keener sense of hearing, the Dragon King was upset that he could not understand what she had said, “Stop mumbling!” “Perdita!”   Looking down, back at the book with references to past ‘heron’ creature people. The Dragon King secretly smiled. At least she hadn’t stopped talking to him! The small bit of anger that she held in her voice didn’t make him feel bad either…Because she wasn’t as edgy as she was when she first came in. Perhaps getting her angry will make her feel better…But… He sincerely didn’t want to make her angry…Due to this thought, he wondered what it was like to see her smiling instead. Would she look just as beautiful as her innocence? Blinking rapidly, Duke nearly slapped himself out of his thoughts. Again, he was taken away by her and completely forgot what he had thought just moments ago about his Phoenix!   As much as he thought this girl as a treasure, it would never change his thoughts upon who was first! He was loyal, as he had always been and…Well, this was the first time that he had any type of thoughts that really did make him worry about his loyalty! Why…Why is she so… Shaking his head, Duke did not want to think further upon his question…He had to find his Phoenix! Putting a hand upon a new sheet of parchment, then another hand over a few books, the Dragon King closed his eyes and let lightning travel through the books and write down anything that had to do with this name of ‘Brendon Ball’. In no time, a few names and creatures were written down, just like that of an address. Slowly smiling, the Dragon King looked up and said, “Brendon Ball lived in Questro! He also can fit the age of being my Phoenix’s father!” With a bit more dragon magic, servants were brought up too, with their creatures, and Duke found that Perdita had been right! A maid, that had a falcon creature, had indeed worked at Brendon Ball’s residence!   Again, he searched for children that had been born in a specific time to his calculations, of knowing when he personally knew when his Phoenix had turned eighteen through his connection to her and according to the rainbow that showed itself as well. Duke waited until the new notes were written in slight, weak fire upon the parchment, that was slowly getting full of his Phoenix’s first life. Sadly…Only one child was born in that time, and it had the status of commoner…Dying early…Otherwise, there was nothing… But…Upon looking upon the children’s names, the Dragon King lost his smile and frowned. “But it doesn’t state here that he had more than three children…Tell me, is there anything else you know!?” Perdita nodded, then said, “Ed…Na!” She put a hand to her head then and Duke got up in a fit of worry. What was wrong with her!? “Are you alright!?”   Putting out a hand to her, Duke saw her flinch and he retracted it. Hearing a wince, he frowned and sighed…This…Was really setting his nerves alight! He’d never worried so much over anything else, except his Phoenix…It almost felt like he was waking up from some deep slumber… She…Was really something… And with that, Duke could not let her go! He had to make sure that she was healthy! She had to be healthy…For him to find his Phoenix, she must not die! “Someone come! Get a doctor!” That sweet voice came to him then, making his eardrums feel soothed, “No, no. It’s ok, I’m fine. Please don’t do that!” Duke scoffed, “You are unwell! Of course, a doctor must come and heal you!” “But…” “No buts!” Duke stated, frowning at her. Does she want to be in pain? How stupid!   Duke wasn’t going to let it go! Going as far as walking out to call upon someone to get a doctor directly, there was one person in particular that was not happy! With a rush, a couple of people came in and a particular woman was one of them! She was fretting so much that she had clammy hands! Breathing slowly, she knew she had to stop the Phoenix from showing itself to the doctor, so she just…Just had to stop the Phoenix from showing that it was there… How do I do that!? If there was anyone who knew how powerful the Phoenix was, it was her! She had tried so many different things, for none of them to work!   Having to shut down any link to the body…It would be very taxing! Even if she were immortal! And it wasn’t because she was weak, no it was because the Phoenix was just too strong! Getting as close as she could to the girl, Sharlae then went into a standing meditation, ready for when the doctor went to take her pulse. There was no way that she would stand there and do nothing! If His Excellency found that the girl was the Phoenix, especially when he sees that she herself has enslaved her… …She just couldn’t let that happen! Even if it could only work for a short time, she had to try and cage up the bird and not let it link itself to the body!   “Please don’t…” The girl stated, backing up to the wall once again. She had gotten off the chair and gone back to the corner to where she was before, not willing to be touched. There was only four people in the room, but it was enough to bring back some memories of those who had wanted her tears, who had wanted her feathers and had wanted her body! “Perdita, headaches aren’t normal, especially the ones that you’re getting. Please…Let the doctor treat you!” Duke was getting more and more nervous and worried. What had she gone through to become like this? Yet, while he was questioning this, there was one person that realized that the Dragon King was being especially mannered and worried about the girl. The King of King’s wasn’t known for his politeness, he gave out orders and didn’t speak much but…This was obviously different!   Having no idea that he was being somewhat different to normal times, Duke was more worried about the girl and how she was acting. Noticing that she was holding her bag tightly to her chest and her eyes were watching closely to all that was surrounding her, Duke frowned and wished that he was wrong…That there wasn’t a past as bad as he thinks there is! But, with her acting like this, he found himself severely upset that there was a past that she wasn’t protected from, that she had been hurt…That she… He wanted to sit by her, to hold her hand for some unexplained reason but she was so…Well, at the moment, she looked particularly pitiful and scared… Sighing in his heart, he still nodded at the doctor to check her and the doctor stepped forward, making the girl shrink further into the corner.   A different type of battle was happening to Sharlae, it wasn’t a battle of taking a person’s pulse, nor a battle of overcoming nightmares, it was a battle of inner strength! As soon as the doctor stood closer to the girl, she quickly got her mind of her man and determinedly went through her ‘master and servant’ link to the girl’s inner creature and immediately went to work! A golden cage had come to the creature inside of the girl’s body and as it shut firmly around the Phoenix, it made the girl suddenly scream out, arching herself and making herself fall completely onto the floor from her sitting position. “Help her, dammit!” “Don’t touch me!” Perdita stated, through clenched teeth and a hoarse voice. Duke blinked, frowning and stood back. He felt extreme pain flowing through him as she had stated this and did not want her mad. As it was, he was seriously doubting that she would stay with him, just as a friend…This…This was becoming so…Difficult!   The doctor went to take the pulse and closed his eyes, looking like he was concentrating. Not just fingers connected to the wrist of the girl, but that of a bit of green and light did as well, making people actually see the pulse through the light. The person to his right was concentrating harder though, as she tried often to utter a word to her weakening, golden cage. A Phoenix squawk wasn’t heard from the cage, and it wasn’t just any squawk, it was an angry one! Using claws of her golden winged serpent, to keep the cage shut and then wings to help through wind, the cage cluttered and clanked as the Phoenix pushed and shuffled against it. A beak found the claws of the golden winged serpent and bit down hard on it, even though it wasn’t of real material but the Phoenix itself wasn’t just an ordinary creature and was able to hold onto this ethereal type of matter. Sharlae wanted to scream to the Phoenix’s bite, she wanted to let it all go and fix her wounds! Her creature was a part of herself and she felt pain having been inflicted. Even though she knew that not much would harm her, that even if she did get an injury, she wouldn’t die…But the Phoenix being able to hurt her to this extend, made Sharlae very angry!   The doctor had not pulled back just yet, from taking the girl’s pulse, and so Sharlae had to urge herself to continue! Clamping down the lock on the cage, Sharlae was not even aware that sweat had gathered upon her brow and that her nails were digging into her hands. She hadn’t felt like this since she had tried to do something to the Phoenix all those years ago! The doctor finally finished with his diagnosis and took his hand away from the girl, leaving no green or light behind, as some thought he would. At the same time, Sharlae did the same and released the Phoenix from the golden cage, by no longer using the ‘master and servant’ link… In an instant, the Phoenix escaped the cage, becoming free once again, and Sharlae felt like she could collapse…She had used a lot of her power for just that small moment and really wanted to kick the Phoenix around because of it! In return, Perdita was breathing really heavily and finally relaxed from her tensed up posture. Duke clenched his hands to the girl looking pathetically into a distance, not showing any reaction, and found his heart stir… Why did it look like the girl went through an attack just by getting her pulse taken!? Why was she sweating all of a sudden? Why was she getting flushed cheeks? Even…Even her hands were slightly trembling!   “My Lord…” The doctor was interrupted by the fourth person, who had also come into the room, who said, “You’re bleeding.” All except the girl, turned their heads to Sharlae, and raised their eyebrows, “Why are you bleeding?” Sharlae held her bleeding nose and put her head up, which still didn’t help but expose her own flushed cheeks, “Your Excellency…I think both her and I need to be quarantined…” She had troubles thinking of this, as a headache was forming and she felt extremely hot, but luckily, she was angry and it helped thinking of the Phoenix to this extent that she really did try to get the girl away from His Excellency! With a frown, Duke shook his head, “Go and collect yourself!” He wasn’t stupid, Sharlae was an Immortal and she wouldn’t die from just some trifling headache! Then yet, maybe Sharlae was the one that had made this girl sick! This made Duke extremely vexed! “Your…” Duke interrupted Sharlae, “Just go!”   How could he let an Immortal, with a potential sickness, stay close to a mortal…One that he was…Still…Wanted… Looking at the doctor, Duke held himself back again from wanting to be closer to the girl. “What is it?” The doctor walked to the table, that Duke had just been sitting at, and stated, “She has a temperature and headaches, with no other symptoms it seems. Her oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are fine and there weren’t any poisons in her immune system. There was no bad scent in her body, in fact…Her scent was rather nice and relieving…So, I am quite convinced that her body should be fine. With the medicine that I prescribe, it won’t affect her if she is ill with something else but…My Lord, if there are any other symptoms, you must tell me, so that I can help her if she has another illness.” With such strong headaches, the doctor was not sure if this could only be just a mere high temperature. If her creature was out, it would be easier to understand but at the moment, for a normal person, the pain of the headaches didn’t make sense to him, after all, he was more of a doctor to people who had awakened their inner creatures. The doctor looked back at the girl, after he got a piece of parchment, and sighed, “A patient that doesn’t trust the doctor is not easy to diagnose and I entrust you to make sure that if there is another problem, to tell me so that I can help her further.”   (Interesting aren’t they, Sea Slugs. Some things that I wrote about the doc here is something that I had read up on the Sea Slugs ?)

The young miss, I ended up finding out, was pregnant to Zonic! I had accompanied her nearly all the time and had no idea when the intimacy would have happened, but that was how it was! And strangely, I wasn’t as surprised as I thought I would be… This was what Carly always seemed to do and I knew that she knew that Zonic had wanted me, so I really did worry what she would do to get his attention…But I had never thought that Carly would go as far as to get into that man’s bed! Did she want attention that much that she would loss something so valuable!? Did she not know that her own husband knows that she wasn’t clean? But then again, why did he marry her, especially if he already knew!? When her husband told me this, he was also at a loss…He didn’t seem to want to divorce Carly, because then I would also then leave…And for the first time, I felt like he did feel something for me, that no other man had. Of course, I had never felt right about him, but I was starting to question his actions since I had first met him. He had not forced himself onto me, he was just…Irritating… It was a lot different to the Mosquito King, who did whatever he had wished with me… No…This man was… I did not change my mind though, well not straight away. But, neither did he. He showered me with affection and honestly, I had no idea on how to deal with it because it simply had never happened before! I was always so busy trying to live my life, and this was strange and new. He made me feel like…There was more to life…     When the young miss was heavily pregnant, and we were of the age of seventeen, that was when I had felt like I had softened to the man’s antics and had become his concubine. I was not ready, I knew, but with his continuous show of affection, even when I told him to stop, he was getting slightly mad at me and I…I didn’t want the only man who treated me this way to go away…So… I had been scared, completely, but after all these months, he had been soft, starting with touches and then kisses, to finally getting me into his bed. I knew that as soon as I let him touch me, that he would want more…I knew that as soon as I let him kiss me, that he would want more…Why did I let him keep going? But it had been a hell of a lot different to the Mosquito King, but I still felt like I wasn’t all there and had been pushed into this occasion. Having to experience intimacy on this level, in a different way, did not help me though. I still acted somewhat uninterested to my new husband, not sure on what to do! I felt different, yes, but I also felt scared. Scared that this man will become another Mosquito King, or scared that he’ll abandon me… He coaxed me over very gently all the time but on the next day, it was like I had completely reverted back to my scared state…Making him unhappy that he had to coax me all over again…   It wasn’t long after the young miss’s child was born, that I had become pregnant. But it was at this time that things went slowly downhill and reverts back to another terrible past that I hated… The beginning was when the young miss had the chance to make me abort the child and again, no longer be able to have children. After that, I was then put upon a pedestal of never being good enough for my husband. He was upset, making Carly get punished…But nothing could be done now that his future child was gone. He had gotten so angry that he had done what I had been scared of the entire time that he had tried to coax me to become his wife… He abandoned me… Just like that, a few months went by before my eighteenth birthday and I was completely neglected! With no self-esteem, I did not leave my room. With myself lower then Carly, I did not even dare to think I had any type of right! Not only that, I felt like I was no longer a woman! Depression easily sat inside of my heart and for a while I would just daze out into space… The man that I had put a certain amount of faith in, more then I had thought, had left me for another woman and ended up starting a family with her instead. In quick succession, she moved into his own room and she roamed freely, making me envy her, yet unable to bring myself to do anything about it.   By this time, the young miss was unable to leave her quarters, so nothing happened to the new concubine of my husband…Because…I wasn’t going to touch her…No. I had already too many dark things happen to me, and I didn’t want to cause that type of sadness or whatnot to another. Besides…My depression had helped me completely give up on becoming someone like Carly…I just wanted to run away… So, instead, I had decided to cultivate and be strong! I was going to leave here the first chance I had and live a life away from everyone that knew me! I had considered using my Phoenix feathers to get money, to use my tears to help people and using my wings to get me to places that would be far away from anyone that would want to hurt me!   And upon my eighteenth birthday, when it was time to bring forth my creature, I saw a change in not only how quickly I brought out my creature, but also that of the way it looked…I was not completely golden anymore… I had now gained a green color and even some white that didn’t go well with the gold and green…But, there also seemed to be a purple color as well! It was…A very strange change and made me feel like there was definitely something I didn’t know about the Phoenix that I probably should find out! Such a thrilling change brought slight happiness to me and I was able to gain enough confidence to do as I had planned and leave. I had said goodbye to Daxton and Sheila, packed what I needed, not even taking personal items of this life with me, and had written a note. The note wasn’t for anyone specific, but I felt like I needed to leave something behind…And two days later I was just about to attempt to fly away!     …I didn’t get far… It wasn’t because of the same rainbow that had lasted two days again, this time, it was because of the man that I thought was gentle and sweet had given me away! Before my eighteenth, I found out later, I was bought by Zonic, the greedy eyed person that I had thought I would never see again… To my utter distraught, I was enslaved, but they had never thought that they would have enslaved a Phoenix! Before I knew it, I was watching a greedy man rub his hands together and think desperately upon a place to hid me…And that place ended up being in the palace… Since I was enslaved, yet such a magnificent ‘object’ to the Cockroach King, my master had been accepted to live in the deepest part of the palace, as long as I could be used whenever the King wanted me. It was…Tedious…   I had only just got used to living as a normal person, having a somewhat normal life…But now I remembered every bad thing that had happened to me while the first time I had been enslaved! I glared often at the people who wanted to push me around, not afraid of death, but they didn’t seem to care. No, I found out, after I had cooled down, that glaring only made my position worse! I didn’t even realize until later, how much more impressive the palace was compared to every other place I had seen so far in Dura. I didn’t even care too much about how much less workers and people their where in the palace compared to the palace in Torte. Hell, I was so far gone into my hatred that I never realized how many others that were unhappy…Being enslaved once again was a nightmare! It was something that, as much as I tried, I could never forget! I again thought I was a curse, or that my creature was a curse! That I wanted to die over and over again, and that I wished I had done it myself before I had turned eighteen!   Again, I was used as a test subject, enduring a lot of pain and agony…Again, I was hating humans and their greed, seeing how little help I got and how many bad people there were! My blood was used, my feathers were used and most of all…My tears. With all the money that had been received by selling some feathers in the black market, I received nothing. With all the weakness I got from being drained of blood, I only received a sleep that entangled me in nightmares! With all the tears that came out, because of having to endure something so desperately scary to me, I only got more and more scared and believed humans, all of them, were enemies! They were all my enemies and I hated every single one of them! I remember going a bit crazy and wanting to kill everyone. If I fought the connection from my so-called master, I might be able to do it! All I’d have to do is endure through the pain of disobeying him but as long as I never got caught, I’d kill everyone on my way out! I wished I knew what other powers the Phoenix had, in the way of attacking, as I wanted use it! But, not only did I lose my enthusiasm to fight back, I also didn’t know what to use to attack anyone. I had never been able to get that far into finding out what else the Phoenix could do, and I was hardly able to fly…Especially when my feathers kept getting plucked. They might grow back but… I lost my will, along with my fight, just cursing everyone in my head… There was no one that was willing to help me out of my misery, there was no good people around at all! The small amount of trust that I might have obtained, having been reborn and starting anew, had completely obliterated and shattered!   Zonic forced himself onto me multiple times and I was unable to get away! For a decade, this new life went on, making me loss more and more fight in me and wishing wholeheartedly that someone would have come along to kill me! I went back into hating humans to my very core! Their cruelty was amazing! Just because of who my creature was, they felt like doing this was ok! Did they not know how much I’d love to get revenge!? With each crank that they pulled at my arms or legs to make me cry, with each arm or leg that had gotten cut off without even any type of pain reliever, did they think I would not inherit some type of hate, some type of injustice!? I was certain that, for any future life, I had already helped them out enough and that I would become selfish! I was never going to help humans if I had the choice!   Nightmares…Nightmares still existed in me today, waking me up with my heart pounding and sweat covering my entire body. No, it was unlikely that I will never forget what has happened to me! Did they not know that I remember this and get reborn!? I hated it, I hated it so much that I wished I had never come into being, that I was never born, never conceived! Never existed! How could anyone tolerate this! Why, why was I the Phoenix!? Why is the Phoenix something that can be enslaved!? And that…Is a question that I continued to ask to this day! Why am I able to be enslaved? And…Why can’t I be killed to become nothing? Not ash, but nothing!   Then…With being taken and used for my tears by unknown people, it was then that I was killed and finally saw the dragon briefly for the first time, before disappearing into ash…To come to this third life… Of course, my previous lives did hold more in them, but I am unable to think more about them. I most likely forget some good memories because the bad ones are too significant. The bad memories are the ones that stuck and were the ones that changed my life…   ***   Remembering this now, I did start to question myself… I might not be eighteen yet, but, if I were to bring my Phoenix out, wouldn’t this just happen once again? I stopped my training, that I had come out alone for today, and bowed my head, letting my hands drop to my sides. This mountain, where it was isolated…Was much like my heart. Even though I was not enslaved, I still felt constricted. I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t do that…I was stuck. I didn’t know the best cause of action to take, even though I wanted to live a life and experience things that normal people experienced. I wanted to see fireworks and try candies in the marketplace. I wanted to see a play and watch some creature battles. I wanted to have money of my own and spend it on something useless, just to make me feel like I had something to my name. Yet, I couldn’t do all of this because I was the Phoenix and I was able to be enslaved.   Defeated, I did not continue my training and simply decided that I will not bring my creature out. How could I forget how I had felt while being enslaved? How could I forget the pain and intolerable hatred for people running continuously through me!? No…I was no longer going to train…I was not going to bring out my creature… In fact, if there was any time that my creature comes out, I decided that I would end my life straight away, before I was to get enslaved. Both times, being enslaved had happened quickly, so I will have to act quickly too. But, could my creature come out anyway? I don’t have anything to help bring it out and another person helping me only haunts me. What if they enslave me, what if they use me, what if they abandon me… I would not live through another time that I would be enslaved and used. I just couldn’t bare it… I can’t just die and that would be the end of it, no, I am reborn over and over again! Even if I just end my life’s before I turn eighteen, or fifteen now that I can take my creature out early, it just seems like such a waste but again…I am trapped to feel and think this way… And I was certain that I never wanted to endure another enslavement!   With that decision made, I then realized that even if I didn’t bring my creature out, living my days without it, it still did not mean that my creature may not be known… There were…Other obvious ways that seemed to stand out to me and I was worried that it would stand out to others too… So, if I stayed here much longer, there might be a chance that people might find out that I was the legendary Phoenix and they might use me like everyone else has… Having turned sixteen a month ago, I guessed that it was time to leave. Perhaps I could find a good place somewhere, where the birds can come, and no one will find out. Where my aura won’t be needed, because I just won’t talk to anyone…Perhaps…On the small chance, take a small trip into a nice town and see the markets, watch the fireworks and creature battles but then return back into seclusion… Yes, isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? Be on my own, away from humans…At least then they won’t hurt me, they won’t abandon me or use me… I…Now have also decided to leave the Nature’s Call Clan…   ***   “My King! My King!” Duke moved his eyes from staring at a spot in front of him, to see Sharlae come running towards him. “My King! I…” “Why are you here?” Duke asked firmly. He remembers specifically stating that he was going to be alone… “Ah!” He notices that she’s out of breath and narrows his eyes impatiently. Being King was a tedious job, he had to have helpers and even women hanging around…But, in the last few years, he had not had to worry about it at all! Even though he had not found his Phoenix yet, it had been a nice retreat. He did not have to talk about his ‘single’ life, nor the fact that he had no heir. He didn’t have people ganging up on him, making him feel edgy to those whom are volunteering to work in the castle…He was also glad to not worry about this woman!   He had forgotten what it was like to be alone and free, to fly wherever and do whatever he wanted. Most of the time was spent watching and waiting, finding clues, however small they were, upon his Phoenix but…The sky was his, this mountain…For a short time, had been his. Now everything was destroyed! Already, he wanted to be left alone again and do things his way. He wanted his own life back! They will just have to deal with not having him around! Honestly, he didn’t particularly want to return to his castle…At least not before he found his Phoenix… “I have news, Your Excellency.” “Save it, I left people in charge and already know of most problems. If it is something that needs me, it can wait! Now return, I am busy.”   Looking back to the space before him, Duke felt a part of him feel odd…Just as he had moments before. The smell that was left behind here…The aura… It was…Interesting… A dragon part of himself felt like he had found the remnants of a treasure. A strange feeling of wanting to obtain this treasure and hide it away from anyone else, made him feel weird. He heard about the ideas behind dragons in folk tales and how much they liked treasure, but this was the first time that he had actually felt like he’d found something resembling what he had read. He felt a strange desire to pick up this aura and take it away with him, yet…How was one to pick up an aura? A smell? For the first time in a long time, Duke was stomped to his creature…

Over these last fifteen years, I have come to know, or perhaps force myself to think, that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As, right here, in this wolf clan, I was able to know what it’s like to be cared for again. I was able to see what it was like to just live a normal life, where siblings didn’t fight me and that father figures did not ignore me…That I wasn’t being used and abused, that I wasn’t treading on egg shells because I knew how easily I could get scolded or beaten. I was someone worthy to these people, I was someone that was welcomed and kept an eye on, not because they didn’t trust me, but to make sure that I was eating enough and was warm enough…It was nice… I had grown to think that there were very little good people on this planet. That having been to two countries and been treated the way I had, I really did wonder if there would be people out there like Edna, who could balance out the bad people. Hopefully good people that could uphold justice and help people like me, whom have been abused…They would need to be quite powerful though, I suppose, as the Mosquito Clan seemed to be something that would be hard to fight against…Perhaps…Perhaps, I was just in a bad country…Or two…And that other countries do have good people. And hence, why I wanted to try to believe that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That, I hoped there was good people elsewhere, people like Edna… To my other two lives, only Edna had given me this type of affection and to be honest, I was still scared to accept this from this wolf clan so easily.   I know it had been sixteen years since I had last been enslaved…But I was worried…That when this nice and warm wolf clan would find out that I was the most wanted Phoenix, would they change into greedy, scary people and… So, the only thing I had decided about my future, is that I was leaning towards getting away from this place, before I brought out my creature…If I was going to pull out my creature in the first place. Because…Most of the time…That was when the trouble really started for me…Was when the phoenix became known that it was my creature…Leading me to think, why? Why should I pull out my creature? Would I not be able to live without it? Living without that power would mean that I could be bullied easily, but it would be worth it, right? Being bullied isn’t the same as being enslaved…But then, it still doesn’t mean I still couldn’t be enslaved… This type of questioning always started to drive me insane and so, I tried not to think of it so much because I would be a lot happier…But… Then, I started to think that I should be strong enough to get away and be free, even if I brought out the phoenix, making me very complexed and torn to what to decide on… I wasn’t sure if my decision included not wanting to corrupt this clan or because it was because I still did not trust them completely…But I still thought that I should leave them, even if I don’t pull my creature out…   I do feel that sometimes I question impossible questions without answers though, unable to stop myself. Questions such as, why hadn’t my father killed me back then, instead of freeing me? Why did he live there in Torte, where he could have moved to a better place? Why do I not feel the bond between that…Dragon…Now, as I had before? …I vividly remember his roar, his wings flapping and how I had felt as soon as I had seen him, even after all this time…Yet, why wasn’t our bond there right now? Was it because I had not reached in to get my creature out yet? I was severely questioning whether I should pull the phoenix out or not, even though it was starting to become exceedingly obvious of what creature I had… Obviously, I had an alpha like aura, is what my new family states…Apparently, I am hard to tell what to do, that my presence gains attention just like their alpha leader does…And that I seem to make others want to bow to me if I am upset or angry…Well, it wasn’t just bow, some have wanted to appease me, not knowing why, and I guess that could be a part of the phoenix, since it’s happened before… It seemed obvious as well, that I had a bird creature, which is seen because of the birds that are constantly coming to me. But even though it was obvious, even though I was different, I still wished and hoped that I could live without a master…Live a normal life, perhaps learn what it’s like to have a family of my own and treat them differently as I had been treated in the past.   …In Nature’s Call Clan, where they had an alpha leader and some elders, but lives were not controlled…They lived happily and had families and were together…It made me believe that there was a way that even I, whom had lived poorly in families, will have a chance to obtain it! That, I, whom had even killed my own mother upon birth, could have a family of my own and that I would be able to cherish each one of them as I’d hope they’d cherish me in return. I could be the mother, someone who cooked food and set the table, making clothes and cleaning the children. Then I could have a husband that would be charming and strong! He could cut wood for winter and use his stern voice to discipline the children if I was having trouble. The children would have a swing and animals, so they could play outside, perhaps even play with some friends. I wouldn’t need a big house, just a nice, cosy and warm house, something that I could call home and be proud of. We wouldn’t need to be rich, I’ll bring up my children to accept what they have and be grateful! They need to respect their elders and do their chores, just like…Just like I had… It was a dream, that somehow started a while ago, that I wasn’t able to stop…Just a normal family, living their normal lives…   Even though I wanted a normal life, I feel that I still won’t be able to be just like Nature’s Call Clan. I just had this feeling that my life wasn’t my own, even now… …That my dream will only ever be just that…A Dream… The connection between the dragon and I might not be there, but that feeling of not being complete was…I felt…Incomplete, unfinished… I knew that I should search out…The dragon…That I will have to eventually leave this place… The people here were questioning who I was from the start, but I felt like I had become part of their family. It was strange that they might be questioning me, yet still letting me do as I wished, making me feel like that my creature was acting out, even though they didn’t officially know that I was the phoenix. As soon as I could, I stopped people from touching me and did not apply myself to any of their training. Many of the wolf pups learnt from a young age to become strong physically and since here they were all wolfs creatures, the wolf pups already knew their creature and did as they were told, trusting their elders in knowing what to learn for cultivating their creature, making me able to use this very reason to not train with them.   …I envied them… Not once in my life had I known what I was trying to do with my creature. What type of cultivation method should I imply? What should I do to make myself stronger? And…How they were all the same, that they had this close connection to one another, that I felt like I’ll never have…Yes, I envied them… I had never seen this type of closeness before…The mosquito's weren’t packed so tightly to one another and the cockroaches might stick together as a team, but it was evident that they were all in whatever they were doing for themselves… The wolf clan was different. They seemed to care easily for one another and showed it often. They had also wanted to add me into many things, yet I spent a lot of time on my own and looking up at the sky. I felt bad…That I knew I had to leave them one day and…I already found myself too close to them. I just know that if I let them too close to me, that I will feel a lose as to what I had and still feel for Edna. Sometimes, it’s hard to stay clear from them, especially the cute and innocent young ones, but I always remember at the last second that…That I couldn’t bare to feel hopelessly alone like I had before… So, I kept a distance, reminding myself that being alone was something I should get used to…Being alone was something that I probably was used too already though, I just didn’t want to admit it…   I didn’t completely trust others yet, but I felt different to when I did upon death and being reborn once again. Here, in this clan, I felt like there could be a chance in the future that I could rely on others once again. I still held back though, probably because I was scared... It wasn’t just the first life that I had started to gain trust issues, but also the second. People tended to change and that was what scared me the most. That once I would trust them and lean myself into them, they would abandon me or become someone that would torture or use me… Many times now, I wanted to be entirely part of the clan and learn with them, yet I always held back and found friends within nature instead. The birds…They seemed to come to me freely, going on top of my head and onto my shoulders, like I was their master. I let them do as they pleased, only telling them to not poo on me.     From a lot earlier on, I knew this was different to my first and second lives, that it was like I was already in Creature Realm and that I should already be careful upon what I need to do. I had not turned eighteen yet, so I was still happily biding my time and coming to a decision…Especially since I feel like I won’t be able to help but become the Phoenix once again. In fact, I think a big reason upon why I couldn’t feel the dragon, was because I was not eighteen yet, as well as not bringing my creature out…But it was strange, because my creature was quite strong, and I felt like it was already out! I wasn’t sure what was happening to me, but was it something good or bad? Should I continue to do as what others do and pull out my phoenix upon age and continue to train? Having trained little and on my own, I knew I was already ready for Creature Realm, having cultivated Physical Realm completely. It hadn’t been hard, and I don’t know why that is, but once a month I would venture further into the bush, past quite a number of normal beasts and arrive upon a desolate place that I could train… I also felt…That if I grabbed at my creature from within myself, I would probably be able to release it…Even now, even though I was only ‘fifteen’… Thinking back, I know my second life cultivation was easier than my first, so…Perhaps my third life is easier again…Who knows? But I surely didn’t know or understand! What scared me though, was what would happen once I would pull out my phoenix…It scared me a lot… Because…That is when it will become obvious that the phoenix was ready to be enslaved once again… And that was how I saw the phoenix. The glorious, legendary creature of the phoenix, was known to me as something that was rendered into enslavement…   ***   That’s right, I remember my first enslavement well. He was the Mosquito King, a ravager, a sadist…A completely black hearted, blood sucker… Upon having been enslaved, I had felt like my entire existence had changed. I grew to want things that my own master did and knew that it was wrong. There was a stage there, just before I was enslaved, that I had felt something strange, but it disappeared or went to what felt to be faraway. Then, after a while, I vaguely remember a roar at one stage too…Which I guess was the dragon…Now that I think about it. Well, considering it sounded similar to the dragon’s roar that I heard sixteen years ago, I wonder if I am right… I couldn’t stop the connection to my new master at all, yet, I found out after a while that I could dull the wants and desires of my master, in which helped. Losing a sense of self was completely not what anyone would want in life, in my opinion. I wasn’t someone that simply just gave up, yet when days, weeks and then months went by, my determination to be released hardly existed. At first, I could fight back very slightly, but when I was able to dull the connection to my master, I tried explicitly hard to fight everything with my entire being, but it came to no use each and every time! Over the course of those weeks, traveling into months and then years, I ended up not fighting back at all and I detested humans very much! I felt that my life was cursed, that the phoenix was a curse…That I did not belong or deserve to be where I was and that I was probably never going to trust another human again in this lifetime! But before I knew it, and was trying hard against this connection, I was already in a deeply hidden area with no escape…I guessed it was probably because of that roar of the dragon, that I had been hidden so well…   Before I dulled the wants and desires, I had already been tested in so many different ways, that I nearly already hadn’t cared anymore for fighting back… Being plucked and not having any idea on what they did with my feathers, being beating for tears, over someone that was nearly dead…The master had made me use my aura to do many things, from that of demanding people to do as they are told in loyalty or to making others bend their knees to him. Then…The worst of it was my blood… My blood had indeed been the Mosquito King’s major asset. Not only was he able to cultivate better, having drank my blood, but even a child that was conceived after taking my blood, was stronger than any of his other children. That was not all, the child ended up being my half-sister’s child… Juliet ended up becoming some type of concubine or consort to the Mosquito King and had continued to torment my life, on every rare chance that she had got to see me. Since she conceived such a child, she was doted upon extremely well and had gotten away with treating me poorly…   I had found out back then, at some point when Juliet was in the same palace as I, that the Mosquito King ended up paying something to have me, simply because my step mother wouldn’t leave him alone…Actually, I also suspect that they had used me to get Juliet into the palace as well…But, I am not sure if this is truth or not… Juliet having conceived a child for him, then letting him enslave the phoenix, the step mother required hush money and money on the side as extra…In which the Mosquito King did end up paying, apparently. After I found this out, I felt like I had never owned my life… After Edna had died, I became a maid, then became another worker at my father’s house, then became enslaved…And all my family had done, was ask for money… Had not one of them truly cared and tried to free me from this pain? Now, to myself asking questions back then, I think I must have been quite dumb. I was still so innocent and naïve, wanting to wish for the best circumstance…Yet, hadn’t I known what they were like already back then!? Why had I felt like that I could have had some hope that I could be freed? Such a fool!   Then, upon how my father ended up being seen as a nomad and somebody known as going crazy… I had found out that my father had been kicked out of his own household and his son had taken over. Being a fox creature, my father’s own son had schemed against him and had taken the house under his own command…I also think, now, that my half brother wasn’t the only one that did this…I expect that his mother was also a part of this plan. Lynx, and most likely his mother, had not wanted to share such benefits from the King, and knowing that our father wanted to help me, he was kicked out and suddenly had the reputation of being crazy. Since my identity had to be kept a secret, there was nothing else that they could do, unless they directly killed my father, well, that’s what I think they thought…But honestly, they were nasty…All of them were nasty…I am sure that they had even tried to kill my father, but I have no evidence or was never told anything to support this idea… I didn’t know of my father much until he came to see me though, and that wasn’t long before my first life was over, otherwise, I hadn’t known and still wouldn’t be able to do anything about him losing his residence, even if I had known. After all, I was enslaved and was unable to live a free live…I wouldn’t have been of any help…But, would I have helped him? Back then, he had ignored me, making me feel like I was a hindrance and that he didn’t love me. Would I have helped him, if I could?

I cringe when I think to those years in my former lives now. My blood, my features, my aura and tears. Being beaten, being scared and frightened. Then there was more, they found out how far they could go with wounding me, and still be able to live. They also ravaged my body, taking my innocence at the same time of sucking my blood. The Mosquito King found that particular exercise to be extremely satisfying and forcibly raped me many times, just to satisfy his want to get the best tasting blood that he’s ever tasted. I was his favorite, even before Juliet, but I was also hard to kill, so they did not stop Juliet from hurting me. In fact, Juliet was the reason why I did not bare any of the children that I could have for the Mosquito King. To a strange degree, I don’t know how I could have acted to the children that I could have had. They were forced upon, yet…I wanted someone to love and someone that would love me in return…Perhaps I might have thought that if I had a child, I would be treated better and that I could slowly get rid of the hate that had formed and grow to love the child…I don’t know… It was sickening, yet heartbreaking… Yet, I had only been three months pregnant, with the Mosquito King really happy to find out how a child of the phoenix would be like, when Juliet had forced the abortion and made it so that I could no longer have children. …I still don’t know if it was a good or bad thing…But I do know that it didn’t travel beyond this life as I was able to bare children once again after being reborn… That hate, yet tiny bit of hope, was dashed into nothing and even now I try not to think about it…As it wasn’t the first time it happened. Now, I have a lot of hatred towards any other females that would be with the potential father of my future children…Not once, but twice, other females from the man who had forced a pregnancy onto me, had ended my future of baring anymore children for that life. Perhaps it was better, yes, but to another degree, perhaps it was worse…I guess I’ll never find out because those two lives are obviously over…   The subject of my potential children was quite an emotional topic for me, and I didn’t know how to explain my feelings about it…So I will continue not to think about it. The endless tests and the endless brutal assaults in my first life continued until my father came along, and that was the start of the end of my first life. After my father had spoken to me, telling me of what I had done to my mother and a few other things, I felt like things had changed slightly then before. I had started to believe wholeheartedly that I, or my creature, was cursed, but then I had started to think that I did actually deserve this type of existence because of what I had done to my mother…Yet, I still somewhat hated my creature… And then my father had poisoned the Mosquito King… I had then been summoned to heal him then, my master and the one that treated me harshly the most. But since I was no longer enslaved, I choose not to, even though I was threatened with a knife to my heart, by one of the King’s bodyguards. I had wondered for quite some time why someone else had not just enslaved me and made me do it, but after a few years, I think I figured out why they hadn’t done that. I guess it was because the Mosquito King had demanded that no other was to enslave the phoenix… Luckily though, I came to realize that if my master is severely hurt, I came to know that the connection can be broken! Perhaps it was because there was not a future for him within the day or something, but the connection was broken before he had died and I hoped that this fact would help me in my second life, but it hadn’t…   Yes, back then, even with a knife to my throat I was a lot tougher then I had used to be, and no tears were forming at all for them to use for the Mosquito King! The problem was, I should have known that they wouldn’t have just let me go…No, since I didn’t do as asked, I was stabbed in the heart. The last words I remember hearing of the Mosquito King before I quickly left before I died was, was, ‘If I can’t have you, then no one will!’ After that, he had coughed up blood in a strange manner and laughed, in which was something I was used to and not. He was someone greedy, that was for sure, but coughing up his most precious blood made me feel weird, but I had no time to think of it back then. And so, I was bleeding through the heart, quickly gathering what I could to make a nest, not understanding why I felt like I had to do it… It was not even far away from the Mosquito King, whom had died shortly after I flew away, and I rummaged around to a close by tree with a few strange items. Then…I was ash…Slowly flying around for three years… The first time this happened to me, I was completely shocked and stunned, not knowing in the slightest on how I should be thinking… But, when it happened the second time, I was not worried and was more thinking about that dragon. Strangely, there are times when I felt like I was nothing, when I had been ash, and it was something that I had welcomed…   It was around this time that the dragon had felt his heart ache to the connection he just gained, to be lost once again. It was when he started to realize that his most precious phoenix may indeed be something that could be enslaved…   ***   My second enslavement was something that I knew would probably happen but didn’t want to accept that I couldn’t be strong enough to fight against it. The start of my second life was different to that of my first. I ended up with a new name of Sally, but still preferring that of my original name of Kendra…Even though that life was now gone. Later, I realized why I liked Kendra so much and it was because my father, whom had given his life for my freedom, had given me that name…I never wanted to forget what my first father had done for me and so, I was going to change my name at some point in that life…But I never had gotten to chance to do so. It took me a few years to get over my last life, so even though I was taken into a poor family, I was still grateful that I was no longer owned by someone else. But…I kept to myself a lot, always worried that I might get hurt. I didn’t sleep well in my younger years and I was frightened often if someone was to touch me. I really was…A mixed up ball of problems…   With all these problems, and keeping to myself, it seemed to work to my advantage though. I was thought of as ‘mature’ for my age and someone that obviously wanted to stay out of trouble. Even though in my second life, I was still ‘serving’, by becoming a maid, I was looked upon relatively well, even though inside I did not get better for nearly two decades… In fact, living the life of a maid, in comparison to being enslaved, was nothing. I welcomed that life willingly and did as I was told in pure gratitude! Not in gratitude to my new ‘master’s’ but in gratitude that I still felt more free then I had when I was enslaved. Learning a number of things from my previous life, I grew up not depending on anybody. My second father back then had been someone that never got close to me, but he did work extremely hard. My mother seemed to work just as hard, but I never let her close when she wanted to be closer to me. I just couldn’t bare it back then… Remembering what Juliet had done to me, I was even glad that I had no siblings as well…Well, actually they knew that I wasn’t their child anyway, so they did try to have someone blood related to have, but ended up leaving whatever they had to me, simply because they had no other choice. What they had though, was a very small amount of belongings that any rich person would be disgusted with…   ***   In the land of Dura, which was where my second life was, I was reborn outside of the capital of Sirest. But being on top of the land didn’t last very long though, as for the rest of my life, I will not see the sky… My second father took me in just a few hours after I had become a baby once again. He was unable to find anyone close by that had lost an infant child, only taking me in after he had searched a decent amount of people in the area. After bringing me back into his house, his wife had wanted to bring me up and over a couple of days my second father was talked into adopting me just to make his wife happy. They had been trying to have a child now for two decades, but it seemed that the only child that they may ever obtain was…Me… I was still hurting and scared from my last life but having these two people want to take me in slowly changed some of my hatred into something else and I was able to finally relax. My new parents were called Daxton and Sheila and they were already getting old, making me help them a lot from a young age. I was not one to feel no gratitude for them taking me in, so I did as much as I could and tried to be like many other kids and treat them like my real parents…But found that I was not able to do this.   Edna’s face would come to me often, my father’s face… I couldn’t just act unruly and want attention just like any other child because I was fearful that if I did and we had a close bond… For the life of me, I was more grateful then anything yet, when my new mother wanted me to act spoiled, instead of thankful, I just could not do as she asked…I don’t know if I regret acting that way now, but back then I just wasn’t ready to let them into my heart just in case my heart would break more later. I die and get reborn, I can be enslaved…It was certain that I would have to move on from my new parents, and that scared me into distancing myself from creating a bond with them the most… I kept myself inside my own little bubble and did not communicate very much at all with them. It wasn’t their fault and I wished I could have told them that…No, it was because I had been still dealing with the hatred that had been burning my soul into shreds…   ***   A few years later, me and my new family had moved into the capital, to get better jobs… The problem was, earning money in Dura was very hard to do. That was because the Cockroach King was greedy… So, we were actually very poor, and I had to work from the young age of six. But…There was one thing that I definitely noticed in Dura, that was different to that of Questro, and that was that there were more servants! The mosquitoes had done a lot of things for themselves, but in Dura, it seems there was a lot more then just cockroach creatures. It was just…A lot less populated… I had first done work with my second mother as a maid, then ended up next to a young miss at the age of nine. The young miss happened to be in the top five of the richest families, her name was Carly and I never found out what creature she had. She was the same age as me, yet of course, we had many differences. She was doted upon well, never really having to do work and did mostly whatever she wanted to. She didn’t treat her friends very well and wanted what they had, for some reason…If they had a toy, she wanted it, yet never played with it. If her friends talked to someone, she talked to them, trying to get more of that person’s attention…I could never work her out. Why did she want so much, when she already had so much to begin with?   I wasn’t Carly’s main maid, but I was happy not to be. I wanted to stay out of trouble as much as possible! I learnt from other maid’s faults and did the best I could with what I had. Besides…It wasn’t the first time that I had to act this way because...Back when I had found my father, I had been working then too… But that had been a new life, so I tried very hard not to think of the previous life when my second life was still just beginning. Becoming such a good maid, only getting into trouble when the young miss was in a bad mood, I was noticed by a few gentlemen over the years…And that was when trouble had started coming to me, before I had even reached to get my creature out… One gentleman was an uncle of the King of Dura. Since all his assets had mostly been taken and all he had to do was live in the palace, he didn’t seem to be much of a threat to the King and it must have played a part to his unruly ways. Just in a few times of meeting this uncle of the King, named Zonic, I already did not like the men and tried very hard not to let him near me. It was also because of this man that I started to realize that beauty is a problem. In my first life, I was practically always dirty and rarely was dressed up, so I had forgotten what beauty could do to a man. But, Zonic reminded me very much of the Mosquito King, whom had dressed me up a few times, only to destroy the clothing to get to what was underneath! There was another gentleman that also seemed to try and get my attention, and his name was Malic. Malic wasn’t rich, but his parents were but he was different to Zonic by not using money to gain my attention… Malic claimed to have nothing, and he worked hard as some type of farmer, but being underground I did not know much of what he grew…   The young miss started to dislike me, since two gentlemen seemed to like me and not her. I didn’t particularly like either of the gentlemen, as one was extremely greedy, having eyes that I remember well upon the Mosquito King…And the other I was simply unable to figure out! I wished that Carly would not think that I cared about these two men, but she really started to show her dislike towards me in her eyes and the way she ordered me around… I could only oblige her and show her that I was loyal…But it never seemed to go back to what it was like before growing up and meeting these two gentlemen and I ended up spending less and less time around her, as she made me go and do other taxing jobs instead. As it ended up, the greedy gentlemen was not able to touch me, but…The young miss ended up marrying the other gentleman, taking me along with her to his own small estate.   I really hadn’t known at first how the marriage had come to be so quickly. The young miss, I was sure, was greedy and I was sure that Malic and his small estate would not be ‘good enough’ for her. It seems, when I finally found out why they had married, that it was something to do with the families of the two and so maybe even Carly had no right to object it…What I did see, over the time I got there and lived there though, was that Malic’s small estate did get more and more grand over the years and I guess it was because he had married Carly…I wished I could have seen it earlier, but by the time I thought of this later…It was already too late and I had done some things that I wish I hadn’t done… The small estate, when we had arrived, was already able to be well lit with lights everywhere, yet the place where we would actually sleep was really only big enough for us…Which made me wonder if this man wanted a family, because it looks more like a bachelor’s place… It had started off fine, as I tried to stay out of trouble, but as time went on, the new husband of the young miss continued to pester me and only got more and more courage as the time went on. After a while, he simply told me that the reason he married Carly, was because of me and I was mortified! To my utter idiocy…I somewhat believed this to be true and that was why I was mortified! I was a maid and I did not show any type of affection for him, yet he was not leaving me alone! The strange thing was, the young miss seemed to forget about me when she found that she was pregnant and I really wanted her to tell her husband to go back to her, instead of annoying me! But…Things didn’t go as planned and I had to realize, yet again, that people did some irrational and crazy things!   ***

With his job nearly completed, the doctor’s hand turned into that of some sort of part of a sea slug and lightened algae was written down on the paper, providing words to make up his medicine for the girl. That wasn’t the only strange, creature thing that happened, as colors went up the arm of the doctor and his face even showed a color, as though it had shot all the way up his arm and then his neck… Through this, Duke realized what kind of doctor he was and didn’t think that he would find one of them here! A Sea Slug was more known for poisons! No wonder the doctor was able to state that the girl had not been poisoned!   Duke looked at the doctor in contemplation, “I thought this place was made nearly entirely of the wolf creatures.” The doctor smirked, “I am but a traveler, My Lord. I have only been here for two months and was going to move on in another month.” Duke eyed the doctor and smirked, “Looking for more plants?” Nodding, the doctor shook his hand and it became normal once again, then he took a bottle from his side and drank quite a decent amount of water. “Very well.” Duke turned to the girl and did not have the heart to intrude on her space of attempting to try to calm her down…Instead, he spoke to the other in the room, “Food. Bring some food…” “Yes, My…Lord?” The person stated, unsure upon who this person was, but still wanted to follow the doctor and how he had pronounced this person. “Go then!” Duke stated, becoming impatient. Perhaps the girl will feel better after she has eaten…     As he waited for food to arrive, Duke couldn’t figure out anything about the girl that was slowly looking better. Her flushed cheeks had slowly disappeared, and her trembling hands no longer trembled but…Her distant look had not been broken. He didn’t even know how rude he was being, as he watched those eyelashes of hers and any other slight movement elsewhere, like her ears and mouth. Knowing that he knew nothing of the girl and that it was weird to feel so…Attracted to her, he tried to look away, but had found himself staring at her all over again… After another short time, his eyes found her bag and he picked it up, not seeing any type of difference in the girl from doing so. Not wanting to impede upon her personal business, Duke sat there, with the bag on his lap, wondering if it was alright to peek into it.   He wanted to know more about her and preferred she speak but…Since she didn’t speak and was looking out to what looked so far from where they were currently, Duke slowly opened the bag. He didn’t scrummage through it, just peeked in with his eyes and as much as he wanted to put a hand in there and take everything out, he stopped himself. Seeing some clothes, then a book, with nothing else in sight, but knowing there was more underneath, Duke closed the bag and put it back down. The book, he wondered, could it be a diary? The clothes were like the ones she was wearing now, looking like she could hike in them…Perhaps, he thought, this is all she carried on the way here from Questro…   Does she eat on the way? Does she have any money? Since Sharlae was in charge of her, is all she does is say a name and she gets given whatever she needs? Briefly, he finally wondered about Sharlae and how she had sent someone to find his Phoenix. Out of everything that she’d ever done, this was probably the nicest thing… Perhaps he was too hard on her… It was just, his dragon sense didn’t like her. Whether it was because he knew she wasn’t the Phoenix, or of his intuition to know that Sharlae wasn’t a woman he generally like anyway, he didn’t know.   Remembering that Sharlae had just been sick, and was practically thrown out from the room, Duke sighed and thought that he should at least give his thanks for supplying him with someone whom had found something about his Phoenix. But…Does she know much more? When will this girl jump out of her trance!? Sighing, Duke sat there…Just like the girl…In his own trance as he stared at her once again… What was it about her… A minute later, food came and was set up on top of the table. Calling the girl didn’t work but as soon as he got into some small distance of her, she flinched and finally looked up at him. “Food, come and eat!” Duke stated, relieved and upset at the same time. Relieved that she was out of her trance but upset because he wanted the chance to touch her. He wanted to know why he was attracted to her, why he wanted to put her into a cave…Why he felt like she was a treasure! He also felt that if he could only touch her, perhaps see what that was like, maybe questions might be answered. If only he could but…If she flinched like this every time, he just couldn’t bare to do something without her consent…Yet, this was the first time that he willingly wanted to touch the opposite sex…   Watching the girl sitting across from him again and slowly begin to eat silently, Duke put some of the food into his own mouth as well but wasn’t tasting it at all. She was only about fifteen…He thought. Fifteen…Give or take, so she wouldn’t have a creature yet. Perhaps I could help her with the Physical Realm, to get her ready for Creature Realm. Three years is plenty of time to get her ready to pull out her creature, and I could help her with it… She coughed, getting his attention once again and then she had a drink. Unable to keep his gaze away, he watched her every move and didn’t realize how uncomfortable he was making her. Perdita looked up and gazed right back at him. All this time she was trying to handle the new situation. Right now, though, she really wondered what this man was thinking about! Taking in her eyes…Duke felt like he lost his soul…   He had been stuck on Immortal Realm for so long yet…He felt some type of loosening on the seal upon obtaining the Ascension Realm…It wasn’t anything big, but it was noticeable, and Duke blinked to this sudden realization. He had taken a very long time to find out that Ascension Realm wasn’t something that one could do on their own, no…Ascension Realm was merging, accepting, becoming one with another. It was like all the Realms added up but doing it twice and with someone else. Connecting through Physical Realm together, knowing each other strengths and be able to sync to the other by knowing how much to rely on each other for certain things. Then, connecting through Creature Realm, where both creatures accept the other, where both creatures also know their gifts and talents and are also able to sync together. Then, with Mental Mind Realm, a bond is made through both minds, and minds of that of the creatures as well, where even speaking out loud may not have to be used. It is said, in quite an old book, that Mental Mind Realm can be quite a challenge because of a person’s mind is known to be complex. And then, there was Immortal Realm, where all the previous Realms are connected and the bond and link between the two people are everlasting…   Duke had seen the implications of Ascension Realm almost straight away, as someone else may be completely different to him, but…Here he was, feeling a slight change, as it was a chance to advance up to Ascension Realm with someone other than his Phoenix… He wasn’t sure how they had just connected, but they had! Was it because he and his dragon wanted to hide her away, was it because he liked staring at her? Was it possible, that she too felt a connection? Could she feel anything, even if she wasn’t in Creature Realm, yet alone Mental Mind Realm or Immortal Realm? How could this be possible!? Mixed feelings went through him then. He had been waiting for such a long time…Yet he knew, still, that he was very loyal to his Phoenix…Was it wrong for him to feel like he wanted to advance further? But…Wouldn’t that mean that he was betraying his Phoenix? Not only did Duke feel like he’s lost his soul to this girl’s eyes, but he was lost in spirit as well…What should he do!? The loosening of the seal was like type of acknowledgement that this girl…This girl could bring him to Ascension Realm, and he could help her make it there as well… In all his years, this girl had been the only one to loosen the seal…   As Duke stared in a complete daze at Perdita, Perdita cleared her throat and looked away. “Do you want to know more about your Phoenix?” Duke blinked and took a breath, not having a clue upon how much time went by, “…Yes, tell me!” His words were a bit strict, as he remembered about his Phoenix, yet doing what he was doing woke him up. “Edna. Edna had a dolphin creature and she went with your Phoenix when she was born, to another place.” Duke nodded, it would make more sense if the newly born Phoenix had been taken away. Going to his books, he put a hand over them and searched for this ‘Edna’, finding her in no time because he also knew of her creature, as well as knowing that she had a connection with Brendon Ball. So, in no time, this ‘Edna’ was in front of him and he not only noticed that her death had not been written down, but also that she had left Brendon Ball’s residence at a good trusting time to when his Phoenix was first born. “You’re right, tell me what happened to this Edna. Where is the place that this Edna went?”   Duke got out a map and spread it out over the table, moving the food to the side and nearly knocking it over the edge. He heard a startled gasp and looked at Perdita, who was looking at the food nearly falling, and he fixed it up, so that it wouldn’t fall. Is she like this always? Suddenly, he wanted to talk to anyone that knew of this girl and see if they would be able to tell him what was going on with her. It was clear that she has gone through some trauma, just by the way she acted…Perhaps Sharlae had been treating her wrong… “Here.” Duke looked down and saw her finger right near water, away from the royal palace in Questro. He pointed too, at the same spot, and looked up at her, “Here?” The girl nodded, “Edna went there with your Phoenix.” Duke wanted to believe it. Not only because the girl spoke like she was stating fact but…Because she was the one that said it… Perhaps that was the reason on the seal loosening, Duke thought, as he could feel himself trusting her now completely.   Duke nodded, “Are you sure? Do you know what happened to Edna? Did she have any children?” Perdita looked back up to him and shook her head and Duke had the want to pat her, whether it was to because she had done a good job or whether it was because he just wanted to touch her again, he didn’t know. “Then, do you know anything else?” Duke asked, he hoped she knew, he hoped that he had a reason to keep her by his side. “Edna…Died. She is buried there.” The girl looked unexplainably saddened, making Duke narrow his eyes, “If she died, what happened to my Phoenix?” Perdita looked up and frowned, “What would you have done?” Duke raised his eyebrows, “What do you mean?” Perdita sighed and pointed back to the capital, “If I were in the same position, I’d go and find my father!” Widening his eyes in realization, Duke looked at her finger on the map and nodded, “She went back? She had no one? So, she went back? How do you know?” Perdita let out a small smile and looked away, “I found traces upon a girl that was taken to work at a residence. A girl was taken around that time and then she had run away later, look up a name of Kendra.”   “Kendra?” Duke asked, going to his books once again and doing what he had just done with ‘Edna’. After a short moment, Duke frowned and looked back at the girl, “There are missing facts about this Kendra!” Looking back down, to what was written from the search of Kendra, all he got was that she had worked at the Ball’s residence until she was eighteen…And then there was nothing… Nothing was stated upon where she was born, when she was born and why she had only come to the Ball’s residence when she was already a teenager. “As I said, she left to go back home but on the way there, she got taken to work at another house. She then ran away, to arrive at the Ball’s residence.” Duke frowned and finally realized that if this was truth…His Phoenix had already been getting abused before she had become a teenager! Working!? His Phoenix had…To work…At an age earlier then thirteen!?   But…Even so, even if his Phoenix was this Kendra, then what happened to her when she… Duke widened his eyes, to see that she was eighteen and realized that must have been the time that she had gotten enslaved! Looking up to Perdita, she then nodded. “The Mosquito King.” Yes, Duke thought, I remember! The link between his Phoenix and himself had only lasted for a short amount of time and the one that had enslaved her had been the Mosquito King. Duke sat back down in a huff and put his head in his hands, “I never thought that she’d already gone through so much before she had gotten her creature out. Then, after she got her creature out, she went through so much and I wouldn’t know how to approach her…” Perdita looked at the Dragon King and didn’t know how to feel…   If she didn’t have a master, if she didn’t have such a horrible couple of lives, would she openly state who she is now? This man was obviously unhappy and had wanted to help his Phoenix, yet, she had no idea on how he could help her when she had so little likeness towards people in general. If he had a way to break an enslavement, that would be nice, but who has the power to do that? She thought. And, even if he has the power to break an enslavement, would he have enough power to do it for a Phoenix? Hang on…She thought… Wasn’t there something about the lightning, all that time ago? When she had died the first time, it had been about two years after being enslaved once again that she had heard that lightning was cutting off connections between a master and slave…So…Is that what she should look for then? Lightning?   It all seemed useless to Perdita and she sighed. How was she going to call forth lightning!? Well, she could at least look into it, then…Perhaps…Perhaps after she knows she can be strong enough on her own, and perhaps like people again, she could come back to this man… Would he wait? Would he wait for me to do that? She wondered, looking at the Dragon King for a short moment, before looking away. He’d already waited for so long… Now, it was only now that he was finding out more about his Phoenix’s first life, and, it’s the Phoenix telling him, how ironic…   This was really strange…She was telling him about her life, yet she had no courage to state that she was indeed the Phoenix, which might help, or make things worse. The woman that had enslaved her was vicious and powerful enough to cage up the Phoenix…If she were to do something that the woman didn’t want her to do…It probably did not look like a good ending. Even though she doesn’t die, unless it was a knife to the heart, there are more horrible things that Perdita was scared off…And that was torture… Pain, she hated pain… Remembering the torture that she had gone through, Perdita shivered. How could she willingly put herself to the chance of having that happen to her again?   It might be stupid to not say anything but…Perdita didn’t know if she trusted him anyway. She didn’t want to trust anyone…There had only been a few people in her life’s that had treated her well and much much more who hadn’t…It was much easier if she didn’t trust anyone and didn’t expect anything, because then if someone was to fail her, she wouldn’t be so surprised. She learnt that lesson enough times already! All she knew…Was that she wanted to fill in some gaps of the Phoenix for the Dragon King…Perhaps help him see how much she’s endured and well…He wanted to know so badly and perhaps that helped her make her want to tell him! She didn’t know if she wanted him to feel sorry for her, perhaps it was so though, because she did feel like complaining to him for some reason… Beyond that though, Perdita didn’t know…After she fills in some gaps on his Phoenix for him, will he not want her anymore?   Perhaps she was just waiting for it…Waiting for him to give up or get disgusted…Especially since she had been with other men and had worked so much. She still had the mentality of a slave, even though she did much of what she had pleased in this lifetime, but she still did whatever was asked of her, without ever saying ‘no’ or thinking that she shouldn’t. It’s just that, this wolf clan doesn’t ask her to do too much, which is why she hadn’t felt like such a slave recently. Perdita was sure that the Dragon King, an Alpha, would not appreciate his other half to feel like this, so…How could she even consider that being by his side right now was going to be ok?

Having trapped the Phoenix and spending all her powers, Sharlae had gone into sleep again not long after, but that was enough for the Phoenix to once again take back over her body and run away. Not having the courage to kill the man that she had woken up next too, Perdita could only hope that even though she didn’t remember what had happened, that nothing really did happen… Using her Phoenix, even though she knew to keep herself a secret, Perdita flew high and far, not wanting to ever return. She didn’t know which master was worse…They were all terrible! Having done something so…Personal with someone else…Perdita no longer wanted to think that something happened at all…She no longer wanted it to be real!   Of course, she knew after a while that a bond wasn’t created, as the two creatures weren’t obviously connected as well as her husband and herself, but it was still…Too personal! She felt completely intruded upon and dirty! This time, it wasn’t someone else that prevented her to give birth, it was herself! Perdita took certain birth control on her own accord, just in case…Then…After that was done, she was able to forget! With the link broken, the distance that were between master and slave seemed to make things tolerable for the Phoenix, as she had tried to stay away…But it hadn’t been enough.   ***   Lasting nearly a year, the Phoenix was then caught by Sharlae’s subordinates and once again detained. Actually, she had used the same trick a second time, of continuously giving the undeserving Phoenix pain through their link and sending thugs to her that she had to focus to stop them from taking her… All in good time, the link was better for Sharlae to take better control over it once again. On the other hand, Perdita had tried to live another normal part of her life, wanting to be free! She had found a few other things that she had never tried before, like that of dancing and poetry, but funnily enough seemed to deter away from both of them and went back to her flute. Her flute became a nice release as she played it when she missed her nest.   She hadn’t returned to her nest because she was trying to stay away from her master. The problem was, her master kept following her and so she could never stay in one place for too long. Perdita hated how she couldn’t live a life and was lonely but what alternative did she have… She didn’t want to meet the Dragon King because she was now married and was yet to reach Immortal Realm. There were not even books in other towns and capital cities that had helped her, even though she was now in another place. No, it was the longest few months that she has had in a long time, and she knew that all her heart wasn’t in it at all. Perhaps if she was happier, she might have done better at trying dancing or pottery but…   Upon being suddenly captured and put completely in the dark, Perdita found that it was her husband who ended up being the one to have personally caught her. While he led the way, not touching her yet watching her like a hawk, she followed him to what she thought was another type of hell. Again, she was confined… But she never thought that the one to attempt to make her feel a tiny bit better about her situation would be her husband…Of all people… Not being told anything but confined and never able to live a small locked in home, Perdita ended up playing her flute often…Only to have her husband play his harmonica alongside her.   As much as she didn’t like her husband, she couldn’t help but feel less lonely when he was around… She saw him looking at her in pity sometimes, sometimes in sadness, then…Sometimes in that way that a man looks at a woman… But… It was finally time to show the Dragon King that Perdita was not someone whom he could have. He will no longer have a need to ask where she is or be able to touch her! Then, again, Sharlae could attempt to gain his heart! Using any tool necessary for the undeserving Phoenix to give in and do as commanded, Sharlae finally got what she wanted, not even sure why the Phoenix was feeling normal once again through the link. She hadn’t given up!? Yet…She was doing as she was told…   Whatever it was, it comes to now, where the Phoenix has the scent of her husband on her and nearly meeting up with the Dragon King… As Sharlae went to inform the Dragon King, Perdita was still thinking of her future and what she had achieved, thinking that was all she had left now and that kept her from going into the dark, where her thoughts might make her depressed. Having been tortured and abused, having a voice in her head stating her worthlessness, Perdita finally came to a solution to end this. She will just do as commanded of her and use this desperate situation to become even more stronger! So, she thought about how she had done her hobbies, how she was still certain to get to Immortal Realm and how she was going to do as she was told…For now!   As Perdita stopped in the meeting area that she was told to go, she stood there, repeating things in her head. She will not think about him. Even though he invaded her dreams. She will not tell him that she is the Phoenix, even as much as she wanted too! No, this time, she was giving the voice in her head a chance! She was stepping aside! She was not quite ready yet anyway to gain the Dragon King’s heart…So, she will give her master a chance! After all…It was too late now anyway… She was married to another man… Not hating the man that had been with her and chasing after her, she still thought of him as someone that was of her master’s. Seeing him once again, after running away, she thought of him as greedy. He had been forceful before, and upset that she had run away from him now, yet…   If he was so terribly bad, why had he said sorry? He had been good after being with her again, not forcing her as to what Sharlae had wanted. Sharlae had taken over her once again but Perdita still wasn’t sure what happened in that time…As she noticed that their creatures were still not bonded. But, as much as she wanted to be in denial, she knew that something had happened… It had felt so desperately wrong waking up next to him with nothing but their naked bodies against one another! Perdita had nearly come to a point of killing him, now…She probably won’t…As…He would often just hug her, knowing that it was the scent that Sharlae wanted on her. And these hugs did not happen while being naked… …Perdita was sure that she probably won’t be with him after today. There was no love, at least she did not love him, and she did not think he loved her, so why should they be together? If she were to leave him, perhaps he will find someone else to love and she…She’ll continue her life as before…   “Perdita?” Looking up at the man approaching her, she quickly moved back before she was to be touched by him. She knew the rules…She knew how much torture her master can give her… The Dragon King cannot touch her! That was a rule! It was understandable though, with one touch, he would know…Well, unless her master cages her Phoenix up instead… Silence overcame them and Perdita shifted from one foot to another. It was hard. She wanted to look at him, take him into her eyes and refresh her dreams. She wanted to ask him how he was, what he’s been doing. Tell him what she has been doing and that she… But all she could do was not look at him and feel awkward.   “Perdita? Is it…” Looking up to the man for a moment, she saw the Dragon King narrow his eyes, “It’s true?” Nodding, because she guessed it was because he obviously found out she was with another, Perdita could not do anything more. ‘Tell him more! Tell him that you love your husband and you’re pregnant!’ Sharlae’s voice invaded her. Right now, that voice sounded like it was laughing at her…It sounded victorious… Clenching her jaw, Perdita took another step back and quickly asked, “What do you want?” “I…I…” The King of Kings was stuttering… …If only I could just tell him! Would he understand that I wasn’t in Immortal Realm yet? Would he accept me?   “I’m sorry. Perhaps…Do you…Know anything else of my Phoenix?” The Dragon King asked. He was mortified…He had been thinking of the girl in front of him for so long yet…She was not giving any kind of interest to him. Was he…Did he… ‘Tell him about your husband, dammit!’ Sharlae yelled in Perdita’s head. Perdita clenched her hands and took a deep breath, “I stopped looking for the Phoenix when I went back home.” She was telling the Dragon King what she was supposed to say. “I left home early, I ended up as a thief and learned how to lie so easily, Your Excellency. I really don’t know why you’re looking for me!” Unable to stay any longer, Perdita started to walk away. She couldn’t bare lying to him, she couldn’t bare…His hurt eyes and face, as though he really had been looking forward to seeing her just now…She couldn’t bare it!   Seeing her like this, taking in her clenched hands and sorry figure, he didn’t know what to say or do. She says one thing but acts completely… “…Wait…” He found himself saying. Perdita turned around and sighed, not looking at him in the eyes. She wanted this to be over, so that she could forget. Well, no…Not forget. She didn’t want to forget that she was treating the Dragon King badly because, she wanted to make it up to him in the future. But… This was…Not what she wanted as a meeting after so long with the Dragon King! Seeing his figure walk closer to her, she met her eyes with his and forgot everything. A sudden flash happened, making the Dragon King blink, yet he continued to stare at her. Weren’t her eyes brown? Or were they green? …Or yellow…   Perdita felt like there was something calling for her, something that she had to do. What…What did she want to do with the man’s face? Why did she want to see his dragon all of a sudden? As seconds ticked by, Perdita continued to stare, feeling like that man can fulfil something for her and her for him…And the Dragon King was feeling the exact same way. Was she always this pretty? The scent…The scent drove the eyes of the Dragon King to become misty and he finally snapped out of his stare. He was too late… He had searched many times, only to find her now and taken by another.   Perdita’s eyesight went white, feeling her Phoenix getting trapped in and by the time she came back to her senses, she found the Dragon King mockingly laughing at her, “It is of no loss.” Putting a hand to her heart, Perdita hunched over. Why does she feel like something just broke…Or something was breaking into pieces… His laughter, his gaze…His words… What…What had happened? “Don’t play anymore games with me and be gone. There is no longer any reason for us to meet in the future!” With that, Perdita looked up, to see the Dragon King walking away. …What happened? Clenching her clothes in her hand, Perdita tried to calm down. She hated it when this happens! It had only happened with this new master of hers, but it seems obvious that the new master takes over her body at times like these…When her eyesight turns white and a different type of present happens… What had transpired? Why was he so…Angry and distant?   Duke did not look back once. He felt utterly ridiculous, feeling like she was a woman that he could had spent a lifetime with! ‘Did you think that the way I acted wasn’t an act? Haha, you pathetic fool!’ Clenching his hands, Duke saw that face to be absolutely malicious and crazy. …She had hidden it well! ‘Come on then. I might only have one scent on me right now, but…It probably was just a few weeks ago that it wasn’t this scent on me because there was another’s! Do you want to try it?’ Seeing her flirt like that, smirking at him like she was some wanton girl at a brothel, Duke couldn’t believe that she was any type of girl that he would like. ‘I only acted like you wanted me too! Since you want me to stay, can I sit on your throne for a day? How about you be my slave, uh?’ Shaking his head, Duke went to his quarters and went to the balcony, looking out into the distance.   It was a huge balcony, as it had to be. This is where he would land and where he would take flight from. …If he was no longer looking for Perdita, then that was good! He will obviously stay true to his Phoenix and when he finds her, he will love her even more now! But a great sense of loss went through him to the girl he had thought she was. At first, when she had met him just now, when they were staring at each other…It was almost like she was a completely different person… Letting a big sigh in resignation, the Dragon King still hates how things had ended up. He had been so happy to hear from Sharlae that Perdita was here! He had raced to go and see her and found her to be so brilliantly beautiful that he had not been able to speak for a whole minute!   Anger welled up inside of him and his instincts took over. Changing to his dragon, he raced to where he was minutes ago and found the girl not far from that spot, breathing heavily and sitting against the tree. Changing back to his human form, he stands there, not sure if he wants to go up to her or not. At the moment…She looked as though she was enduring through a lot of pain, with her forehead furrowed so deeply and her eyes tightly shut. She even had some sweat start to trickle down the sides of her face… “Perdita?” A gasp left her, and her eyes shot opened. “Perdita…” Walking closer towards her, the Dragon King reached out, wanting to make sure…Wanting this one moment…   What he never expected, was that when he touched her, he did not see anything. She was hotter than he expected, but there was no creature. Taking another step closer to her, seeing her surprised eyes stare at him in return, he put a thumb to her forehead, wondering what kind of pain she had gone through just now. Slowly wiping down her sweat that had gathered, he then put his other hand to the other side of her face. Trailing down a thumb, towards her nose and towards her lips, he rubbed her lips lightly and once again stared at her. Her eyes…This close, her eyes looked like the color of cyan. They had changed, he was sure of it!   But right now, his mind, his dragon, his sense of self started to slowly dwindle into nothing as he felt her presence in his embrace. It was like a dream, to have her in his arms. From the girl he had met years ago, she seemed a bit different. She didn’t flinch, like he sort of expected her too, no, she…Her eyes bore into his, kidnapping his entire soul! Putting a hand around her waist, pulling her into his embrace, he lightly kissed her lips, feeling like he had been right all along. This girl, she was someone that he could be with…He could feel it!   Perdita was stunned, so stunned that she forgot the pain. Those lips upon hers flowed an electricity straight through her and she felt like it would have had more of an effect if her phoenix was not caged up right now. But what she did feel, was that the power that her master had on her, was now weakened…Making her realize that the Dragon King was still kissing her. Those soft lips of his were so different to any other. They were searching, wanting and she felt…That they both needed each other… Putting her hands around his neck, she kissed him back, feeling like she had to have this chance to be with him!   Her Phoenix was still caged, maybe her phoenix can fight back with the Dragon King kissing her like this! Yet, it was like a connection that she could not work on right now…As another connection seemed to be opening up. Time stood still, whereas Perdita with her caged Phoenix and the Dragon King with his need, did not stop. Light kisses led to slightly harder kisses and touching. Desire ran through them both, like an endless torrent…Like…They were making up for lost time! He stroked her face, stroked her back, massaging her slightly. Kissing her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, he turned her head, kissing her earlobes, finding it so right to do so. Perdita didn’t care anymore that it seemed that everything else seemed to have disappeared and it was only her and the Dragon King. She fell into his hold nicely, walking back with him like he had told her, and she had her back against a tree in moments.

Edna and I used to play games often, whether or not she knew that was the best way to coax a child, I will never know. But that was what made me happy in those days. I remember her elderly voice scolding me in a way to make me feel bad because I knew I would be missing out on something good. She would make me do some chores as well, nagging me to do as I’m told because I should pay my way, or I might have to sleep outside in the dark! She had disciplined me, making sure that I could read and write the basics, but she was unable to teach me beyond that. She had taught me how to embroider and how to act like a young lady, making me obtain a few memories of her hitting my bottom in a matter of discipline, due to my mistakes. She told me her old stories of growing up and how lucky I was. That even though my father had brought me out of his residence, it wasn’t like he didn’t love me. That I was still a daughter of a person that had money, just not as much as a ‘nobleman’ had. She had also told me more about my father, from when he had been young. Back then, I didn’t particularly feel lucky, I was too young and naive to trust her words completely…But really, I had been, I had been really lucky! It took me awhile to remember her words after she left, but I finally agreed with her and wished that I was just as lucky one more time. To have someone to teach me and look after me with a loving look…Just one more time…   Edna hadn’t gotten her creature until she was fourty years old, but she felt completely happy that she had been able to obtain it after so long. Her dolphin creature helped her become more compassionate and loyal, as my father had taken her in from when he was but a child and she had no thoughts to abandon him because of it. Her loyalty followed her into death…Leaving me alone with the one loving upbringing that I shall never forget! With the memories and stories, from being with Edna, I really wondered where my sweet, innocent and fun part of myself had gone. I had been happy…And the world had been small, just the little hut and a close by town was the world I knew of back then, so much easier then now…Now I knew about two countries and their capitals…And biggest of all, I knew how people could treat one another…With or without creatures! Yes…My world back then might have been smaller, but it was a lot better!   Edna and I had traveled so long to get to this hut near the sea, but luckily, back then, I was but a small, infant child…But, never did I realize how far I was away from my father’s residence. I thought about it in my second life and came to realize why my father only saw so little of me while I had been there. Thinking back, I unknowingly smiled and thanked Edna once again for giving me an upbringing like that… The first things that I had learnt about, was being respectful and making sure I knew that minimal in life is free, that I should work hard for what I want… She really did dote upon me and made sure that I wasn’t too dirty and that I always ate and slept comfortably, well as comfortably as possible, given the place we stayed was just a small hut. I found out later though, that the house was not hers but that of my fathers, and that…I had to find my own way back home because she was not able to come due to death of old age. For the small, eight-year-old me, I still don’t think I could have acted any other way. I had nudged Edna’s unmoving body many, many times and I had cried and stayed by her still, cold figure for a whole day and night before moving. I hadn’t wanted to accept her gone from my life, I hadn’t wanted to accept anything else because I had been happy, and I never knew how much I had relied upon her, making me feel even worse upon her death. Had I been too naughty? Should I had washed the clothes like I was asked to that morning? Maybe, I should have cooked with her more…I could have done more then make her soup while she had been sick in bed… I remember asking her…To wake up and tell me what I could do for her to stay…I said I would do anything, that all she had to do was wake up and tell me. I was going to do it straight away, she wouldn’t have to say it twice. I would be really good…I would be the best, well behaved girl that she’d ever seen… But…She never woke up…     I had been my father’s fourth child, and he hated that he was unable to see me more then once a year. Since his maid and himself were different creatures, they could not communicate over long distances, which would have been helpful in this case, but unavoidable. If Edna had perhaps been a heron, like that of my father, they would have been able to talk telepathically to one another. But the only other way to have communicated through their minds, is if he had enslaved Edna, but he had never enslaved anyone and knew it was against the Dragon King’s law. Actually, my father was quite lazy and was a loner, he preferred to stay away from trouble, so this was probably a big reason why he sent me away, instead of bringing me into his household…It might have been too much drama and worries for him. Nonetheless, I don’t hate him for his decision, even though I didn’t see him very often. Every time he came, he could only stay one day, before he had to travel away and after Edna had died, I really had no idea when my father would return next…If it had been only a month away, it may have been ok to wait for him, but it wasn’t…I think it was about three months or so before he was to come back to see me and I did not have enough food to last that long.   So, with Edna’s last words for me to take anything worth something, so that I could afford to return back to my father, I had to follow them and try to do exactly that. With a note of my father’s name, address and even a map for me to follow, then everything else fit inside a homemade bag that was nearly too heavy to carry on my back, I had been ready to go…My heart though, it wasn’t ready…Not at all… My whole life surrounded the woman that took me hours upon hours to bury in the back, near the water. I knew for my future that I must leave, yet…I just felt like my life was out of my hands, my weak hands… With tears in my eyes, I left the hut and the woman that was my family… But…I never knew, that from this moment on, my life would turn completely upside down.   I had known of caring, love, the gentle touch, respect and the small sweetness in life…To become aware of how inadequate I really was…To become aware of the complete opposite of what I already knew about life… Right from the beginning, I was already not feeling very good, as I knew I was homeless and weak, being a little girl. I was scared of the dark and would not travel at night, so the trip back towards the capital was long and tedious. I was not welcomed by other customers at a tavern to eat and I was looked upon strangely when I went to an inn to sleep…I lost most of what I had to get me to the capital without even realizing, just because my bag had a rip in it. I had to backtrack for two hours and by the time I was back heading towards the capital, I was dirty, smelly and it was getting close to dark time, having me want to cry for Edna over and over again. They weren’t the only things…I had also gotten lost, losing another day or two of travel. I also got completely scared of a…Pig… …To my defense…It was a really big pig… Then the usual of having to stop at intervals, because my back was hurting from what I was carrying, only made my journey longer. I was unable to get a carriage after leaving the first town, as they didn’t want to be at fault for a little girl to ‘run away’ from home. I also didn’t know how to ride a horse on my own, making walking my only option…     …I had not made it after all, as the capital was in the far distance, but I had nothing left to take me there. Even if I walked the rest of the way with what I had, the capital was still a small spec and I knew it was too far away for me to survive… I had been shown how money was used prior to this journey but had never tried to cut prices or negotiate and I lost everything due to greedy people scamming me. After growing up, even going through that trial, I realized how lucky I was…I had been a small girl, not knowing much and easily scared…A lot more could have happened to me! So…I was very lucky! I had been in a town or two over from the capital and I already needed to get myself some more money somehow, just so that I could eat and possibly change my clothes. Not having any kind of know how to obtain my own food, as I was unable to hunt, and clothes, even though I could sew, it didn’t mean I had the equipment on me to make my own clothes…I really was lost to how my future was heading, seeing that I had gotten hungrier and sicker by the day.   ***   One day, as I was coughing and trying to rest, someone did see me and took me in. I didn’t have much strength to fight them as they tugged me away, but I did state that I was on my way to the capital, to seek out my father. I remembered that my words seemed to be misheard or weren’t taken seriously and before I knew it, I was a maid working for whoever took me…But, I had a bed with shelter and food on a table… Edna told me that I shouldn’t take things for granted and I indeed was thankful for the food and bed…It’s just, I had to work hard, and a lot, and I was not used to it at all! I was shown then, that back when I was living in the hut, I was indeed what Edna had said! I was lucky! Doing the small number of chores, to ‘pay my way’, wasn’t like being a maid at all! Becoming a maid, I didn’t get to play, I found that out rather quickly when I got into trouble for even wanting to use the swings! As a maid, I was working many jobs, having to do another job after already done two or three…That in itself had scared me as well! And half of these jobs, I had never done before! Edna only made me do two jobs, at most, before letting me play for hours, then perhaps getting me to do some more jobs before bed…It was so different! And because it was so different, I was scolded and even beaten quite a few times to put me ‘in order’…   For quite a few months, I was there as a maid, working from sun up to sun down and it took me that long to get over the soreness of doing it. My hands had started to go red, then they had started to bleed, now they were harder then they used to be, but I didn’t like it… My sickness had taken me a month to get over, the longest time that it took for any sickness I had prior to then! My muscles took weeks before they would stop hurting! My curiosity got me into trouble and I also had gotten hit for talking back, when I just wanted to ask if I could sit down… I missed Edna a lot! I missed someone who cared, someone who played with me. I didn’t like getting yelled at or told to continuously do jobs! It wasn’t fair! Edna…Why…Why did you leave me all alone?   I started to get really upset with myself, because I was grateful, yes, but I still wanted to continue to the capital to seek out my father. And…I really started to hate it there! The problem was, I wasn’t getting paid much at all. Due to having to use money on the way to get here, I was sure that what I was earning then, was not enough! So, all I could do, was continuing to work and save up my money, so that one day I could leave and find my father. For three and a half years, that was what I did and then finally, I asked to leave. …I had not been too informed upon who I was working for, as the person who took me wasn’t one of the family, but one of the head workers there. They had ‘scouted’ me and just put me onto the register of workers, whether I wanted to work there or not. But, going up to them, stating my leave, they had been completely astonished and had beaten me until I was bruised and battered! What had I done wrong? I had done what I was told, in thanks for food and a bed, now I just wanted to go…So, why was this person beating me as though I had wronged him!? What do they mean by stating that they own me? I never had seen that piece of paper before! …Have they completely misunderstood me?   I found out then that I was not just a maid, but a slave! Apparently, I had signed a slave contract with them, but I never understood back then…Well, at that time, I still didn’t after they showed it to me! I had told them what I was doing and where I was going and when they put the piece of paper before me, I thought it was them stating that they understood or something! To be honest, even now, I think those people were nasty for using a girl’s intellect like that! Of course, I didn’t know what I was doing! It’s no wonder that they got away with it! Is it really so easy to get a slave? How many children have been played into this type of trap!?   Again, at that time, that didn’t make sense to me because I hadn’t thought I was being owned all this time. I was pretty sure what it had meant, so I shook my head and had stated that I was not owned and that I was going to go see my father…But that only made me receive more beatings and now that I think back to my innocent self, I shake my head to my own naivety. I had always thought that I was there ‘paying my way’ and getting some extra cash to help me continue to the capital…But suddenly, my world turned around and I had to seriously consider how to get away from this…Place… I didn’t know until later that I was already slowly closing myself off to others at the age of twelve…Because I became known to what falsehood and distrust was…What even bullying was, it really was no wonder how I somewhat grew up so quickly in such a small amount of time! Back then, I found it easier to lapse into a shadow, so that it looked like I was doing as I was told…But discreetly wanting to come up with ideas upon when and how to get out of there! For the first time, I was keeping a secret and didn’t tell anyone of my decision and through knowing this, it seemed to have made me feel even lonelier then I already was… I missed Edna so much that it was nearly unbearable! Often, I soundlessly let a few tears fall from my cheeks as I would lay in bed, just wishing or taking myself back to the days that Edna was alive…In my heart, I was crying out to her so loud, yet…I never uttered that out loud. I was different on the surface…I was…Stronger now… Back then, I never realized until later, that I had already created a shell for myself, hiding within it. Hiding someone innocent and sweet, someone that felt wronged and preferred to smile and play. She buried herself deeper and deeper as all these years has passed…   ***   I ended up running away and returning back to the capital a year later. It hadn’t been an easy feat, even remembering my predicament now in the present. Seeing that cultivation was something that could be done, my desire to become strong enough to leave, seemed to become my top priority and so I tried a few different ways…As I had no teacher to show me… I had ended up cultivating by pictures in my spare time and found that I was able to run faster and harder, if I put my mind to it. Pictures of not only that of remembering of what I’ve seen others do while I had been working but using my imagination and that of my pure natural instinct to bring me to a point where I felt different inside myself. I would meditate, do push ups and sit ups, then I would spend extra effort into running more from job to job and going faster and faster. Since I had been doing these jobs for some time now, I found that this was actually not too hard to do and easily found myself able to push my limit to reach further and do more…   When I had reached a point in my physical body, where it was a lot more durable, I tried to find the best time to run away, knowing that if I just did it at any time, I would be caught… No, I had to find a way where they won’t look for me for a while and hopefully, I would be far enough away that they won’t reach me. For two months, after I finally felt strong enough, I had to patiently wait, yet it was a hard thing to do! I was excited to leave, yet knew if I did things stupidly, I would be beaten, so I just had to be patient! And my patience had proven to have gotten me out! Of course, I had arranged it when the family that I rarely saw was going away to the capital or festival. Meaning, less people that were going to be at the residence! Finally, the freedom I wanted was given to me! I ran…I ran so fast and far that even I was exhilarated! It was a nice feeling after all that time of being ‘owned’ and unable to do as I wanted…And, for the shortest time, my shell had come free…

The planet of Seal was quite large and had many people that could cultivate. There were natural and normal beasts, as well as herbs and flowers. There were people who couldn’t cultivate as well as the potential insane type people who either cultivated too much or had cultivated the wrong way. There were flying equipment’s and special elemental techniques. There were many different jobs and some of them required unique cultivators to do them. Most towns were above land, but some palaces were below, and some people stayed as their creature all the time, and some didn’t change to their creature at all… It seemed that in the last millennium, cultivators matched themselves with others, to what their inner creatures were, as it became obvious that it was more effective to create children with better foundations to help with cultivation. It wasn’t as easy as seeing it and knowing, as one doesn’t know the others creature unless they touch, or it is showcased. Even hearing rumours could be wrong and it is often the case that people don’t listen to rumours because of all the times that they had been wrong. Then, after knowing if the creature was one that could match your own, it might not match the status that one would want to have, such as an Alpha, a dominating type of creature, didn’t particularly want to be with an omega, a submissive type creature, much preferring a higher status instead.   The best that people could cultivate, before the time of match making, was the 'Creature Realm', but now people have been able to advance to the Mental Mind Realm, that goes beyond it and gets people excited because they would be one step closer to the 'Immortal Realm' and 'Ascension Realm'. When one turns eighteen and is cultivated from the first realm called 'Physical Realm', then one can enter into the ‘Creature realm’. This Creature Realm has many different ways to cultivate afterwards, depending on what creature that you become. If one were that of a lion creature, cultivating strength and leadership would be the normal way to go, as the lion creatures were already kings in a country. If one were a dung beetle, then they may choice otherwise… But also depending upon what your choice to learn with the 'Creature Realm' that benefits mostly your creature and status, you can advance towards the Mental Mind Realm faster. Cultivation in Seal, if one were to look up the basics, was based upon a person's body in the first part, their creature in the second part, their mind in the third, then for the fourth part they have to combine them so that they could become immortal…For the last part, the Ascension Realm, it is not well known how one is get there, but people know that it is a Realm which made immortal people as strong as God’s…There was a difference between that of an Immortal and God. An immortal may never die and they have powers, but it wouldn’t be enough to eradicate a whole planet…The difference was indeed quite large…   It wasn't an easy road, as it wasn't just running and being fit that would make you pass the Physical Realm, it was getting your body to be quick, agile, flexible, hearing, sight, taste... The problem was, the only time one could advance after that, is becoming the age of eighteen, making a child not able to know what their creature is and could only guess with what creatures their parents are...It is unknown why this is how it is, but once the creature is then identified, that is when you can reach new peaks and how far or good you may marry or get a job in. Sadly, just like the will of the jungle, with which creature you are, it may give you a good job or you may not marry well...It is said to be luck...Some think of it as destiny...But...Was it luck to be bullied when you should have had a lion as your creature, when your father was one, but end up having a hyena as a creature instead, because of your mother? The strong did prey upon the weak and fairness had only gradually come forth five hundred years ago, when the dragon had taken his place to become the King of Kings. It was not an easy task, to put a line down that had never existed before, and still, that line that was there as law to not prey upon the weak in a predatory way, was still being stepped over. It could be said that nature was really running its course and did as it did in the bush lands, outback or deserts...As the normal animals lived that way as well. But, as humans who could cultivate, the Dragon King did not find honour in people killing others just because they were more powerful. He did not see a point in making the weaker masses want to stick together and perhaps in time want to find revenge, as it had already been done at least once before, many years ago. And since the Dragon King had reached the Immortal Realm, he was by far the strongest cultivator in the world and was able to scare people just by looking at them, helping him achieve his goals. Stories and whispers had been heard about this Dragon King, yet, it had been a long time since he has come into the public eye. It wasn’t even sure if he was still alive, up there on his mountain palace. Five hundred years ago, it was told that the Dragon King was waiting for his Phoenix, but the knowledge had not been renewed and people had slowly thought of it as a myth, as the time continued to go by.   Sadly, there were still those who had the power to defy these new laws and they would do it in secret. Those who had courage, would also cross this line in secret and thus, 42 years ago, when a Phoenix became known to have come onto the planet of Seal, the Phoenix disappeared not long after coming of age, already becoming enslaved with a master… Previously, enslavement didn’t use to involve too much cultivation. Being able to enslave someone was only because one had cultivated through their creature, such as apes, dogs and wolves who had a great self-control…But, since cultivators were able to cultivate into the Mental Mind Realm now, enslavement had become a lot more used. It was a simple procedure of hypnotizing and replacing a person’s wants and desires with their master’s, giving them a connection as well. Using the enslavement technique from the mental Mind Realm also let a cultivator be able to take someone more powerful as well, in which case made it a lot more popular. Since their creature may have a slave, and themselves as well, two slaves could be loyal, and things would be a lot easier for them. They don’t have to pay their slaves, and only had to give them what they really need to survive and there was no need to worry about them running when one could call them. If their slave didn’t come to them, it was most likely because they couldn’t, not because they won’t. Yet, there have been cases that ‘slaves’ had run away from the creatures lesser strengthened type of enslavement technique…   It wasn’t unheard of, that someone’s life would disappear suddenly, because it did happen at least twice a month…But for the Dragon King, he had lost his connection as soon as the master obtained the Phoenix in their power. He had an idea upon where she had been and immediately flew towards her. Yet, he had not been fast enough and by the time he was scouring the capital, that the connection had led him too, the connection was snapped clean off and as far as he was aware, it was because the Phoenix had perished. Sadness had travelled through him at that time, as he released a frightening roar, making close by people become aware of him once again. Through the Dragon King’s sudden appearance, more appropriate measures were taken to secure the Phoenix and she had been hidden away even more thoroughly. But, through this, it was obvious that not only was the Dragon King still very much alive, but that perhaps his Phoenix has really come! …For years he had thought of her as dead, or in the process of being reborn, only to be suddenly once again become aware of their connection for a very short time, before it disappeared once again! From this…He became aware that perhaps she had not perished after all and searched upon what could have happened… Enslavement was still something around because it was something that happened everywhere. The Dragon King had tried to abolish it, but since so many people did not approve, he decided to do things his way and slowly, secretly, destroy such connections using his main power of lightning.   The Dragon King’s lightning was the most impressive power that few had seen and were aware of. If a storm is upon someone whom he had investigated, that he knew had someone enslaved, he would use that storm then to cover his cultivated lightning and break that connection without anyone knowing the wiser. His lightning was definitely powerful enough to cancel a master and slave agreement and even slightly harmed both parties, making that particular idea become something that neither of them can no longer do anymore…The master will no longer be able to enslave, and the slave will no longer be able to have a master. The Dragon King was no fool though, he would not randomly strike anyone because it could potentially kill those who don’t have a contract and he was also trying to be discrete… Yet, there were so many connections and so many people who knew how to do this type of cultivation technique, that he would never get on top of it all! He was strong yes, but with the billions of people upon the planet and using his lightning to break every connection, it would take another five hundred years to reach the conclusion of no one doing enslavement ever again…He had to find another way! A much faster method! …Especially if…His beloved Phoenix was in this predicament! It was uncertain, but after getting information and a few months of looking into the issue, it seemed that her enslavement was the most valid answer…Which only led the Dragon King to believe that the Phoenix might be an Omega, or not as powerful as he had originally thought…   It wasn’t like he knew a great deal about his Phoenix, he just felt her missing presence all the years that he’d been alive. From the very point of knowing his creature was a dragon, he cultivated to find this information in secret. By the time he became immortal, his main objective was always to find his other half. Yet, it didn’t tell him the type of person that the Phoenix was. It didn’t tell him how long it would take to find her, or if she was as perfect for him as he feels she would be… Even though he had started to think that the Phoenix may not be as powerful and perhaps even an Omega, it did not change his mind one bit. His dragon creature was still very obsessed and so was he… Getting to know her could happen after she is safely in his arms, and if she needed saving before then…Well, his ego seemed happy to show her his power! Yes, there was no mistaking the inner personality that he has hidden, due to so many years of enduring loneliness. His excitement to meet her was even a little scary. His dragon wanted to pounce and run around her at least a hundred thousand times to make up for all the years they’d been without her! But, at least he had gotten some news and ideas on what could be happening and since it seemed like she could be enslaved, he will continued to search for her and use the storms to disconnect master’s and servant’s.   It was after all, another step closer to his goal of having her by his side. He wasn’t waiting for her anymore, he was positive she was real and here on this planet…Now…He just had to find her…Wherever she is…   ***   In the country of ‘Questro’, the King there had personally seen the rainbow show itself in the bright daylight, with absolutely no cloud cover. He, a mosquito creature, was a survivor and his descendants had told him a long time ago about a rumour of a Phoenix and what the Phoenix may be able to do. There were quite a number of things listed, which half of them had been made up, yet, many people were sure that some things on the list was something that the Phoenix could do! Healing with tears, any type of sickness…The feathers of a Phoenix was used for more then one thing, but the most rewarding one was putting the feathers into weapons or equipment that could enhance it two-fold and personalising it to a specific person, so that no one else could touch it. Her presence sends out the feeling of calm serenity and just a look upon the Phoenix can bring a man down in the dumps, hope for a new future… What this King was more intrigued about, was apparently the blood of a Phoenix was special and unique, especially to creatures such as his own! He wanted to see what her blood could do! …The list dragged on, and since it had been so long since a Phoenix was on the planet Seal, tests would have to be done to see which ideas on the list were real or not. At first, it was not thought of at all, that the Phoenix had finally shown itself, as it had been centuries since the knowledge that the Dragon King wanting his soul mate had been let out. But, seeing a rainbow so brightly lit in the sky, and to those who saw it, they knew it meant something! They just weren’t sure of what it was…As, it wasn’t a common occurrence to see half a rainbow, without any cloud cover or rain…It definitely had to mean something! …This first half rainbow signified the Phoenix’s first birth, it went over much land, possibly a quarter of the planet, and so…The exact location of a little girl being born, could possibly be anywhere!   ***   I was told a number of things from my first father ‘Brendon’, before he was killed. If I wasn’t told something, I have thought about it a few times and filled in the gaps myself. I could be wrong, yet, what does it matter…Wasn’t it in the past? Now that I was reborn once again, just like the second time, I became a small infant that had no mother or father. …Last time, I was scattered all the way into a whole other country! This time…Was much the same… I had been first born in Questro, and in my second life, I had gone to Dura…Now, it seemed I had gone all the way to Ceptily… I was on the outskirts, near the border, in a bush, and I was still quite depressed to my situation. For eighteen years, I had to figure out what I was going to do with my life… I knew my weakness, of that being easily taken by a master and knew that was not a life I wish to obtain…No…I wanted a chance…A chance to live a life properly, fully…   The problem was, I was learning…Learning that tears and begging did not help…Much the same as fear. I had grown to hate humans very much to how they had treated me and was completely aware now of how cruel they could be. At first, yes, I did cry and beg, but it brought me nothing but the continuation of them not caring and using me and my creature. So, in my second life, since I had died before, I wasn’t as afraid as I used to be. Many people fear death, yet, it was something I didn’t have to fear, and it made me slightly stronger. So, instead of crying and begging, I would glare at those who treated me with cruelty and even though it got me into more trouble, what was there to be afraid of? Wouldn’t it be better to be killed and be able to restart my life? But again, I had been wrong, because torture became worse after that and so I had to stop glaring and endure…But I no longer cried as much as I used to. I was determined, even since nearing the end of my first life, that I wanted change, that I didn’t want a master and I had come to a decision…It’s just… The Dragon I saw in my last seconds of my previous life popped into my head and I really did wonder on what to do. I felt it in my heart, that he was my destiny, but how was I to find him!? It really was a predicament, as before I saw that Dragon, I was fully intending on breaking my cultivation base and becoming a waste…But…Now… I needed time to think of what I was going to do and how I was going to do it! Luckily, I had eighteen years to figure it out!   Not letting out the smallest of whimpers to my state of being an infant, I stayed where I was, knowing that I probably wouldn’t die of hunger…All I needed to do was cry…And crying could be a curse, making me all better again from the beatings I used to obtain. My master’s hated that the most about me and so they would beat me again and again, just because I would heal myself at the same time. The longest I was taking a beating for, was sixteen hours, and the reason why it stopped, was because the master was too tired to continue… It wasn’t like I didn’t feel the effects of starving, as my belly would grumble, and I’d have a dire need to want to eat. So, I’d figured out that there was only one thing would start the phase that I would have to do to combust into ash and be reborn once again, and that was a knife to the heart. Well, it wasn’t just a knife, a sword would suffice, or anything with teeth…Damage to my heart seemed to be the only thing that would start the process of the Phoenix dying… I had been through quite an amount of ways where a normal human’s life would end, yet mine had not. Being beaten so dreadfully bad that I was unable to move…It was healed… Slitting my wrists, having been unable to handle the tragic experience at the time, it had healed. It really was a curse, because after the dreadful times of wishing that I had a human life, but staying alive because of my creature…I felt like another type of death did take me. My wants and desires…My life in general, my fears…It all felt wrong…

I had been thirteen, nearly fourteen, when I finally found the address of my father, from following the map and a very crumbled up piece of paper… I finally smiled in relief. Sadly, I had found out back then, that I could have run away earlier from the last place, because I had some money left over, but how was I to know back then that the smaller trip back to the capital wouldn’t cost as much as the longer trip? I had felt a bit stupid after I finally thought about it, but I couldn’t turn back time to run away earlier! As it was, running at that time was a great opportunity and I can’t remember a time like that of a month or two beforehand…So, who knows, even if I knew I could leave earlier, I might have stayed till when I originally left anyway… I wish, to all my stupidity, that I could kick myself hard in the bottom though, like Edna used to do to me…But, my bottom would be pretty sore…Well, that and I couldn’t hit myself in the bottom… I sighed, I used to laugh at my jokes, as they were the only things that entertained me and kept me from going insane…It had only been recently, now that I’m with a clan of wolves, that I could start letting myself laugh at myself once again…   Nonetheless, I had indeed made it to the address, only to be told that it wasn’t the residence of my father, ‘Brendon Ball’. I had tried to talk to the strange woman that had come to the door and stated my full name, stating that I had come from a long distance. I even asked them if they knew my father and where he had gone, but the lady who came before me, and the steward who opened the door, simply stated, “That person, is not here! Move along and don’t come back!” They then shut the door in my face, and I remember abruptly falling to the floor and starting to cry. Having nothing and no one…What could I have done? Back then, I had already felt like I’d lived a life time and just wanted to find my family! How could they leave me at the doorstep without giving me some kind of information!? I knocked on the door then, stating that I had no where else to go, that this was the only thing I had of my father and that they had to help me! Anything, any type of news would have been enough, but they continued to ignore me! Was he in the capital still? Did he move outside? Was my father even still alive? Surely, they must be able to know something! Yet…No one was moved to the crying pleas of my younger self all those years ago… It was only just the beginning of me realizing that people could be harsh, that they could be nasty to a point that would make an innocent think that they are undeserving and are nothing but trash!   ***   By the time I had finally got the strength to move on, because I was threatened to be forced to be sold, I sniffed and held back more tears and got up unsteadily from the ground. Turning, having felt like I had no strength, I ended up bumping into someone and just fell down again, having not stabilized myself enough. “Kendra?” Hearing my name, I found a new spark for life and I instantly turned into the little girl I had forgotten about for some time. “Daddy?” In no time at all, my father swooped me into his arms, as he had kneeled upon the ground, and hugged me tight. He had told me later, that seeing me there, at his residence at that time, had made him feel like he had just seen a miracle! He had desperately tried to search for me, having spent an extra two months away from his work and home, but had never seen me. After he came back home, he had employed two people to search, who were still searching for his long-lost daughter even then…   “I tried looking for you but never found you! Where were you!? Why did you not come here earlier?” My father spouted many questions to me, and I suddenly felt glad that I had come all this way! His voice showed me his attention, his hands, that were tightly holding me, showed me his feelings…It had been awhile that I had felt that special… I had cried and hugged him back, I think I was really happy to see him like this…Caring for me so openly… “I ran out of money to return, I’m sorry Daddy, but look, I’m here, I made it! Isn’t that good!?” My father immediately took me in and tried to do what was best for me…I grew to realize this later…But, for me back then, I didn’t know why he ended up completely ignoring me… Straight away, two ladies had been completely against me to stay within my father’s residence, even when my father admitted fully that I was his child. …My life…I had thought briefly that it had finally gotten better. Having lost Edna, I had not felt happy until I saw my father, but that happiness was shattered almost instantly…     Not only because my existence was kept as somewhat a secret, but being there at all, seemed to be too much for both of my father’s wives and they had uttered that I could not stay…Especially because my father had not told them about me…For as far as they had been aware, I had died along with my mother that day I had first been born… After a long drilling few hours of women that I didn’t know, fighting with my father and I standing to the side, the women seemed to have come to a conclusion… Not having any idea when I was young, I found out later that they demanded that my father ignore me and that I was to take the place as a worker, instead of having the status of his daughter… It was their bargaining chip, apparently, for me to stay there and stay alive. And since my father no longer had his nanny to help me, and no one else that he trusted to keep me safe, he had no other choice but to comply. At least, he had said, if I was in his residence, he could keep an eye on me as much as possible…I suppose it took me years to realize that he had watched me a lot. He had wanted to interfere and do something many times, but since I was still alive and not in a life and death situation, he could only clench his hands and endure, just as I had too… I don’t want to think much of what happened, as it is not good memories. But I do know that I was far from being happy. I was far from being treated with respect and that of my father’s daughter, and to a certain degree, my younger self got confused through this. No longer was I something that made my father smile…No longer was I something that seemed to matter to anybody… It was like…I had never left that place that had taken me by force to work… …I lost my self-confidence and really did start to think that I deserved to be treated that way, accepting my fate. My half-brother’s and sisters didn’t play with me and I had no one to talk to, making me start to talk to myself in mumbles…   I found out that I was the youngest of four children, my elder brother was born from the first wife, his name was Lynx. Since the first wife’s creature, who wasn’t very strong, was a fox, it seemed that my elder brother had also become one. He hadn’t known until a year before I came into the house, and that made him five years older then I. My next eldest sibling was the daughter of the second wife, who’s creature was a bear, but the daughter had become a heron creature, like that of my father. My eldest half sister’s name was Juliet and she was aged sixteen when I had arrived at my father’s place. My other elder half sister was the daughter from the first wife, and she ended up being a fox, when her creature came out of her at aged eighteen, taking over her mother like her elder blood brother…Her name was Siena…And she always was getting me into trouble! Already I had been reduced to that of someone that did chores for the Ball family, even though I was part of the family. I woke up earlier and went to bed after dinner, completely exhausted…It really was like I had never left that place beforehand and come to search for my father…Except, it was worse! Siena always found fault with my work, making me have to repeat a job countless times and then give me even more work to do so that sometimes I would miss my dinner and only have a couple of hours sleep, before I would wake again to work the next day. On the other hand, Lynx ignored me, and Juliet said nasty things to me. My younger self asked what she had done wrong, as she thought she would be gaining a family, but no hope sprouted from the first day that I had arrived. …It really was…Horrible…   ***   Over the next couple of years, before I turned eighteen, I at least was able to learn more reading and other things in secret, such as cultivation, but I can’t remember much other good things… I remember the little place I stayed, later finding out that it had been remade from when my mother had stayed there, so I had tried to keep that in my mind. But…My eyes and ears heard and saw many things… At that time, I was still new to the way of this way of life and had no idea, but now…Now I believe that living in a place that has people that want to scorn you and make life hard for you is not living the life that I want now. I never want to be in the position again where I am part of the family by blood, but never recognized in public. I never again want to feel like family could actually be my enemies and that I would be better off without them… With my siblings detesting me and making my life hard, I had tried to ignore them to the best of my capabilities but whatever I did never seemed to be enough or let me off from the continuous ways...   With each punishment, I decided that my siblings weren’t nice people. With each drop of blood, that escaped from my overworked hands or other wounds, I decided that my siblings were bad, shameless people. With each stagger and limp, I decided that I might have been better instead to have never come and know my family…That my gratitude for even living, was slowly dwindling into nothing…Then, with each day, week, year, I decided to finally put my emotions into cultivation instead. …Without even a teacher, I cultivated my emotions and found myself ready to enter Creature Realm by the time I was fifteen, unable to do anything more until I was eighteen. Having given up a long time ago, to be friends with my half siblings, I had tried to feel lucky, just like Edna had shown me, but it was becoming harder and harder everyday and all I became grateful for…Was that I had a roof over my head and had food to eat… It really was a lonely time in my life, making me retreat a lot into my shell…Making me also believe that perhaps this isn’t my family anymore…That they are just people, people that took me in and I work for them for food and a place to stay. It was when I finally turned eighteen…That I believed I could stay there in my father’s residence and would be able to obtain a much better life…Because I wanted to believe that my creature would help with that… I had waited so long to become strong, and had a lot of hope that life could have changed… What I never expected, was that my creature was something that brought even more disaster to my already terrible life!   ***   When one comes of the age of eighteen, and has cultivated the Physical Realm, then to graduate to the next level on their birthday, it is normal to ‘Break oneself apart’. In this painful process, one has to keep their physical state with their body as much as possible. The ‘Creature Realm’ is to bring forth the creature that has been residing inside of you, yet no one is able to contact and know of which creature it is until you let them out. In order to accomplish this, many ways have been used, yet all of them seem to inflict pain. Some do it while running, as to help prevent losing any type of physical strength, while others tend to meditate, take pills or use a family member to help ‘pull’ out the creature that is inside. I did not have any family member willing to help me achieve this process, nor did I not really know how to do it, since I was unable to use any of the family books. My father still ignored me, yet I felt his eyes upon me sometimes. My siblings continued to make things hard upon me, but I had already gone to the point of never asking them for help over anything anyway. So…When I felt that it was time to bring my creature out, all I could do is screech in agony and try to feel what I’m supposed to do naturally or instinctively.   I had tensed up my body, I still remember it plain as day…I had lost a bit of my physical strength, the first time that I had pulled out my creature… It had hurt so much that to this day, I cringe and heave in a long breath. In the end, I had taken five days to finally bring out my creature…Five days… Averagely, I takes up to two days, but I heard even three days wasn’t really rare, just uncommon…But for me, someone who had no idea on what they were doing, had to endure agonizing pain for five days, without any help and no food or water. Having started when I was working, I didn’t even feel that I was dragged to my house and left alone for much of this time…I was too heavily drawn to the pain and trying to get this process over and done with! Having reached inside my body, burning myself in the process, I made many blunders, simply because I was too scared and afraid! I should have tried not to think of the pain and just did it! The second time I had taken my creature out, it had been a lot easier and I finished within the day. But the first time…It was something that I could never forget! What had surprised me, all that time ago, was when I pulled my creature out…The house I was in, burnt into ashes, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a whole new world…   Each time one finds their creature, the accomplishment is different. If one is a fox, they are covered with tails and they slowly disappear to finally state the finish of the change when there is only one tail left. If one person has the creature of a mosquito, blood is formed out the person’s body, like it had hatched out of it or something, and then the finish of the change is when the blood has been taken into the mosquito. If one were not able to actually become one with their creature, the creature would then take nearly half of the person’s physical body to be able to start growing beside them. Then, as they continue to break apart from one another, the person can watch as their creature starts to grow from a tiny little spec, into a larger one that could end up as big as a puppy… If one is the rare and grand Phoenix…A rainbow goes across the sky, not knowing where it starts and ends because it is so big, and fire comes out of nowhere. This rainbow, in this time, had started on the third day of my painful change, lasting until my creature had finally finished appearing on the fifth day. Also, the Phoenix will be engulfed in the flames and when the change is complete, the rainbow will disappear, and the flames extinguish. …And that was what I saw… I had immediately flapped my wings, seeing them as a unique golden color, and looked at my bird like feet with claws. At this moment, I was only small because I had not cultivated my creature at all, but I was still the size of a swan. Being this size, upon just finish changing to my creature for the first time, was the start of the talk that began going around. But what really amazed and astonished many others…Was that my creature was the legendary Phoenix! Before my creature surfaced, I thought life was already hard and I was really hoping life would be easier upon cultivation to ‘Creature Realm’ but…Never did I realize how absolutely wrong I was!   My father, I found out later, had people to try to keep this news of the Phoenix from spreading, in order to protect me, but it was of no use. For how much money he earns, he was only able to obtain a few that would do his biding and it simply wasn’t enough! The wives took a strange turn to promote my creature, but my siblings only showed more hatred to the golden bird looking creature in the distance from their house. As the siblings hated and envied me, my step mothers already tried to come up with plans to use me and my creature to their greatest capabilities and even had the rare moment of coming together as one, to speak of this together. But…Before preparations could be made to even think of who they could marry me off too and how much money they would get in return… …Nothing would have changed the next outcome, and that’s because of the rainbow… The rainbow had alerted a particular man and that man was the Mosquito King…And as he got closer, he sniffed my blood and was determined to get this creature under him! He had waited eighteen years! The time had finally come! …And surprisingly, enslaving me up as a servant and making me his master…Had worked! Suddenly…I had a master… Far away, a connection was then broken, and a particular lone dragon was unable to know what had happened…   ***

“Wait, before you go, quick, tell me where Edna’s body is.” Duke stated, pointing at the map. If they weren’t to continue this information, at least he could get some type of plan for later. The girl gave him the impression that something was wrong, but he couldn’t pin down what it was that seemed to upset her… If she didn’t speak much after returning, he’ll hold off from talking of his Phoenix for a little while. …Actually, the idea of knowing more about this girl was a great idea anyway. Then, when the girl is sleeping, he could then go check out Edna’s place of burial.   Seeing that it had nothing to do with Malic, Perdita took a moment and then nodded. Her tears seemed to immediately be pulled back into her ducks like they weren’t threatening to tipple over just moments ago. Walking to the map, she looked for where she had stayed with Edna and pointed. “I’d prefer it if you came with me.” Duke stated, wanting a yes. He didn’t want her out of his sight. She still looked…Emotional… God knows for what reason though! Was it because she can put herself into his Phoenix’s shoes that much that she can feel whatever his Phoenix would be feeling? If that were the case…He couldn’t blame her. Even he is upset to what his Phoenix had gone through! Nonetheless, he wasn’t the best at putting himself in other’s shoes, but he wished he could figure out what the girl was thinking and feeling…   “No. I was not going to return to Questro.” Perdita stated firmly. There were two countries that she wished to completely stay away from at the moment, and that was Questro and Dura. Even if she went to Edna’s burial sight… Oh… Feeling bad, Perdita wondered if maybe she should go. She could give Edna flowers, perhaps tell her a bit of how much she still had meaning in her life… Duke sighed and then said, “Are you sure it’s there?” Perdita frowned and did a circle around the area, thinking it was there somewhere, “Edna will be buried near the sea, near a hut like place, that is where your Phoenix was after she was born.”   Was she going? Could she really go with him to see one of the very few people that had treated her sincerely? But…What if she gets stuck there again? What if someone touches…Right…It’s probably best she just stay away from everyone… That was when Perdita remembered that she was enslaved once again. How could she forget!? This…Man… Frowning, Perdita nodded, sure that there was probably no way that her master would let her go! So, there was no more reason to think about it!   After that, she left, truly going to do personal business. Her bag had tissues in it, but now…Now, she wasn’t sure if she needed them, she was just sad… Duke had a faint feeling that he should wait, because he was certain that if she came back, to see that he wasn’t here, she probably would be on her way…To wherever she was going… And he wanted her to stay! Even if…If she were to just be with him a little longer, that…That would be nice… So…Even though he knew now upon an idea of where this ‘Edna’ was located, he could only take the chance of continuing to spend more time with the girl…He wanted to be there for when she came back and then he was going to ask her to stay a while longer! Thinking further, Duke remembered that the girl was the subordinate of Sharlae, so all he had to do was ask Sharlae to make her stay…     To the Dragon King’s wants…Or even desires…Things did not turn out the way he wanted them too. Now that Sharlae had awoken, having been too exhausted to have stayed awake before, she was seeing that the girl wasn’t with the Dragon King and immediately told her to disappear from this place! Perdita had only just finished doing her personal business, before pain and an order came over a link. A cruel laughter echoed in her head, with an arrogant voice. The voice was so strong and firm, so full of determination… Hearing that she did not deserve the Dragon King, that she was a failure, and would only bring him down, made Perdita give a small smile of pity towards herself.   She somewhat agreed with the voice in her head and made a determination look of her own, feeling strange because of it. Clenching her fists, she suddenly felt a new degree of want go through her entire being…A want to show how wrong this voice was! Knowing that she rarely fought back unless she had no other option, this feeling was new to her. It was something that she had never done before…She wanted to be stronger, not just in body but in soul. She wanted to be able to handle her past and be able to show that she wasn’t a weakling! She was excited and had a goal and already, she felt like she was alive! Thanks to the voice and how the voice was wanting her to quit, she now clearly wanted to fight back and become someone better! She wanted…She wanted something…   The problem was, this want could only minimize for now as she knew she needed time to prove this! And proving this, she will do it! She didn’t particularly know how right now, especially with her new master, but she will find out then how to do this first and then do it! Then, she could possibly laugh at the voice in return…Or something… Perdita wasn’t sure what she would do once she had more courage, but that is what she pictured first. Picturing a confident and strong future self, seemed to also give her even more excitement! Not surprised to the outcome, of being told to leave, Perdita did not think much more and just did as she was ordered too. If she thought to much about it, she knew that she felt like she was missing something or leaving something behind. And since she still felt somewhat overwhelmed with what had happened that day, which included her creature coming out and being yet under another enslavement, she wasn’t quite ready to try the line between her and her new master yet.   Squeezing her eyes shut, knowing that this master was more powerful then the others, Perdita could only do as she was told…There was nothing else… She couldn’t dream about another type of path, where she could slowly feel the presence of the Dragon King and let her heart have a taste of what it seems to want, no…For what it was worth, it had been a nice, short interlude…But it was over now…Well, until she became stronger at least. Not feeling worthy of him for the moment, she was determined for that to disappear! She was going to work hard to be someone that she was proud of, that he could be proud of, and show that she was then worthy!   She had told the Dragon King enough for now, she also didn’t have the courage to go against her new master yet, so…Why shouldn’t she follow orders? Wouldn’t she be tortured if she didn’t? Since she knew this place, having lived here for fifteen years, Perdita didn’t take long to take a route out of the area and go towards a big town, on purposely staying away from the capital though. This was the start of Perdita’s strength as she found that she wanted something. She was already willing to work hard, knowing that she might stumble along the way. So, leaving now, was just the beginning!     But, while Perdita had decided to leave, the Dragon King was getting antsy and started pacing around the room. After some time, he started to really wonder if Perdita was running away…Could it be? Frowning, as he really could have been well on his way to Questro to check on Edna’s corpse by now, the Dragon King wondered how everything suddenly changed! Just for some time with a girl, he had stopped his research on his Phoenix! Not even Sharlae had ever interfered as much as a certain girl had! Sitting down in a huff, the Dragon King could only conclude that the girl was a very good investigator! And also, a very good distraction! How did she know so much! She looked so young yet found so much information! Of course, he can’t take everything for certain, but he felt…He felt…   Why did he feel like what she stated was fact? That what she said was real and the truth! He wanted to believe her, yet, at the same time he didn’t. How can a fifteen-year-old know so much and how did she get this information!? Thinking of ways that information could be obtained, Duke suddenly had a strange thought… Was she one of those girls that worked in brothels? There was one place in Questro that they had obtained an interesting bit of information and that was from a brothel. The information they inquired about from there were only stories when they came, since it had been so long since the stories may had happened for real, but the stories led to truth and evidence and Duke frowned.   A sudden picture of the young girl looking very much like Perdita, working in a brothel, vexed him terribly! His outrage made him slam his fist on the table and shut his eyes to the horror of the thought. That girl…If that girl was in that line of work… Breathing heavily all of a sudden, he realized that it seemed to be something that he couldn’t handle! He didn’t want that kind of life for her! He wanted to see her smile, instead of shivering to an outstretched hand. He wanted her to feel comfortable, instead of flinching to something close to falling of a table. There was just no way that he could let her continue that kind of life!   Taking a deep breath, Duke then narrowed his eyes. If the young girl were one of those brothel girls…Wouldn’t that mean that Sharlae was the one that demanded her to do it!? Getting up all of a sudden, unable to do nothing, Duke immediately made his way towards what a person pointed out as where Sharlae had been taken to and walked straight into the room where she was staying. “Who is the girl?” Duke asked straight away. Sharlae, having been surprised that Duke came to her at all, lost her smile upon Duke’s question. “The girl?” “The one working for you, the one I’m talking to!”   Sharlae thought quickly… Why would the Duke ask this question? Was it because she told him something about the Phoenix? Dammit…That means…I have to show to him that she could be lying! “I found her when she was a thief…She had tried to steal something from me and acted out as though her whole family had died instead of giving it back when I caught her. I nearly believed her too, until someone yelled out that she was a scammer! After that, I found a use for her to use her skills to find information.”   …A thief? Duke was stunned. Completely stunned. ‘Acted out’? For a moment, Duke just stood there paralyzed. What if…What she said was all fake? What if… He didn’t want to believe it! His head didn’t want to believe because of all the facts that he had found but also…His heart…His heart felt pain to think that all that time spent with her was…   “Tell her to speak with me, now!” He stated, he couldn’t help but show anger in his voice! But he was…He was angry because he didn’t want it to be true! He wanted to see her, see her innocence, and know that she hadn’t lied, he wanted to fight about the fact that the girl had changed from her younger days! Sharlae frowned, she knew now that she had to make it out as the girl left on her own accord, even if it did look questionable. If her man saw that the girl rushed to leave… Sharlae had been silent for a moment, before finally saying, “…She begged me to leave. I wondered why she wanted to leave so quickly, but…Now…What did she say to you, Your Excellency?”   Duke’s anger was now showing, and he clenched his fists to his utter dismay. It can’t be true! Breathing heavily, he found that the girl wanting to leave so quickly was…He was angry! Dammit! As much as he wished that things were different, the blunt way that the girl seemed to want to leave so quickly wasn’t a good sign! He…Did she not feel anything in their short time together? Was he the only one that was attracted to her, the only one that felt like his world had slightly changed just by having met her? A sadness that he never thought possible leaked into him and he just knew that it was all because of Perdita…   Was it really an act? Had she acted that way on purpose? Perhaps her… Remembering what she had said about his Phoenix and how she had smiled…Was it really all fake? Dammit! Sharlae lowered her head and smirked. It looks like she had done well enough to make him think badly of that undeserving Phoenix! She would be surprised if he asks to see her again and the Dragon King will once again not be able to meet his Phoenix! That should mean that she needed to keep her slave alive as long as possible! She needed this current life of hers to make this man hers!   Seeing the man of her desire suddenly walk out in a huff, Sharlae smiled even wider. After he lets off some anger, she should go and see him and make him happy somehow. She had tried to make him happy previously, which had obviously come to nothing, but now she felt like she was able to try again and perhaps steer him away from whatever he might think of the stupid girl and think of herself instead in a helpful, grateful way. Yes! It was my time to shine now! And it was a perfect time to clutch this godly man of hers!     On the other hand, Duke changed into his dragon, not long after leaving Sharlae, and flew straight towards Questro. He wanted to see this dead person… If there was someone buried there, would that mean that the girl, Perdita, was telling the truth? But, could it mean that she was making it up and perhaps already knew that someone was buried there? With no time to lose, Duke fastened his pace and desperately wished he knew if the girl had been acting at all in his presence. He remembers everything about her, since seeing her the first time, and it felt like she was innocent and scared…But what if that was all an act!?   Her getting scared of being touched, her headaches, her timid personality… Her smile… How was that all an act!? He felt like it was all real, that the girl was being who she truly was! Dammit! Not knowing how much time passed, Duke hovered above the big lake in Questro, to search for this hut that the girl was talking about and stopped when he really did see a hut looking house. Not wanting to wreck the area around the hut, Duke landed quite a distance away and changed back to human form, running towards it. He just felt like that if he digs up a corpse, the girl still might have been true to him…That she hadn’t acted at all!   Within no time at all, he could see the obvious grave that was slightly higher than the other ground around it. Walking around it for a moment, he frowned only for a short moment, before letting out a slight smile. The grave had not been touched in a very long time! If the grave had been tampered with, there wouldn’t be grass growing on it! With this thought, Duke felt like there was some hope and used his dragon claws to start digging into the dirt. It hadn’t mattered to be careful or not because he soon found bones as it seems that the grave wasn’t that deep. Only now, did he think of whom may have buried this corpse and he frowned. Did his Phoenix do all this all by herself? It would explain why the grave was not very deep… Doing this, all by herself…   Finally, seeing a skull, there was complete evidence that the whole of a body had indeed been buried! Looking up, around the grave, there wasn’t anything there to state who it was, making him unhappy. This Edna had died so long ago that even if he went to the town, they probably wouldn’t know who she was… But…He did find bones…So…Could he trust her words? Putting a hand to his head, Duke swallowed and didn’t know what to think. His heart was breaking into two… He wanted nothing but the best for his Phoenix, which is why he would rather what the girl said to be wrong, but on the other hand, he wanted the girl to have said the truth because…Because he didn’t want to hear lies from the first female that really caught his attention…   On one side, he still unconditionally loved his Phoenix, wanting her with him…On the other hand he was desperate to be close to Perdita, even for friendship… If they could be friends, he could hold back from more…Just taking in her scent, helping her and making her happy would be enough… With this decision made, he flew back, after reburying the bones, wanting to get Sharlae to directly bring back Perdita. Surely, she fled so quickly from him because she was just a bit frightened, it wasn’t anything else. Surely, she didn’t hate him and didn’t lie to him. And perhaps her hands no longer steal, that she has chosen a path that was different to her last… Duke was positive that the girl was just scared to get into trouble now! Probably because Sharlae… …Could it be possible that Sharlae had lied?

Sixty years ago...   "...Then we will no longer need a wedding! Completely dissolve this issue as soon as possible!" "Your Excellency, we have not even found the Phoenix, how are we to do that for at least eighteen years? Perhaps, if you married and had an heir..." "No! Even if it takes a hundred years, I will not give up! I will not marry another, and you know that I was forced into this in the first place! My statement is final, and I will wait for my beloved Phoenix to come of age, so that I can find her!" "Your Excellency..." "Enough! This conversation is over!" With a great dominant air, one left without a glance back to the one left behind... This person looked to the side and a very beautiful looking, young lady sighed and tried to keep her appearance from showing her utter disbelief to her bad luck! The wedding to bring herself closer to the man she loves and can’t live without, had only been two months away! His royal Highness, the King of Kings, the strongest person alive...Was going to become her husband, and that thought was all she needed for her to consider her next step. Unable to stay and chat with her father, she disappeared...To find a way to get rid of this 'Phoenix'!     With six Capital towns, and six countries, a search would take a long time to find this Phoenix...With little towns numbering into the hundreds that were outside of the capitals, searching a country for a little girl being born around two days, was actually extremely taxing! In eighteen years, two signs only lasted for two days, before it had completely disappeared and the Phoenix bond that she had with her Dragon...Also disappeared... A search has never stopped, but for the time the Phoenix had been taken in by a master, she had indeed fallen into the depths of hell, finding out just how wanted she was...Her creature, when she had cultivated to the 'Creature Realm'...Was the much desired Phoenix! And from that day, she knew what fear was!     Present day...   I, was unable to act and fight back, for I was demanded not to, because of my master. So, when I was taken by someone else, I was unable to defend myself in any type of way. Again, as usual, it was to use my tears, to heal someone that I hadn't met...At the same time, they had plucked almost all my feathers for good measure. I shivered to their harsh ways...But...I was used this type of abuse. Used to feeling the cold and forcefully taken to do as someone I don't even know, wishes for me to do. Having gotten away, yet feeling confined because of the summoning of my master, I felt completely defeated... The highest tree had been quite a distance away from the capital and I am no longer able to fly any further, nor was I able to turn back into human. They had wanted to silence me for being taken, as the master I had now was quite powerful and, as it was, I was already being detained and used in silence. How they had found out who had me, I don’t know…How they had captured me…Well, if one gets people on the inside, it becomes a lot easier…But, I tried to tell them that my Master will find out, before they did all this, but they never listened to me. My feathers and tears weren’t mine, and master will know if they are being used. It was only a matter of time, but…They seemed to be in dire straights and I had to oblige to them, no matter what…   Nonetheless, they had indeed done the right thing...Probably also knowing I would be reborn as well, so they probably didn't even feel bad... ...Stabbed in the heart was precisely something that would put me to death earlier than normal…And…I was now far away, having been thrown here over a long distance by a rock golem…Their evidence to have taken me was only that of the person that she had healed, had suddenly gotten better...The feathers were no doubt locked into a vault or space ring and now I was far from that place, as the rock golem had been quite large and strong... It was such a fate, and ironic at that, that I, as a Phoenix, couldn't seem to live beyond the age of thirty. In my two lives so far, I knew that my death was premature and that I had not completed some goal that I don't even know of yet. It was a strange thing, to have your mind always preoccupied with something, yet unable to accomplish it because you simply didn’t have a clue upon what it was... Breaking a stick and attaching it to a few others, I continued to make a crude nest...It was something I didn't understand, but something I did anyway...It also showed me that...I was going to die, for the second time...   Feeling myself climb into a bigger lot of flames, I laid down, no longer able to move, it was...Going to be over soon... Just as I was going to go to sleep, before combusting into nothing but ash, I heard a large noise and a roar that made the earth tremble. Looking out towards the far horizon, I felt my heart flutter and ache, all at the same time. I knew straight away, that the dragon...It was what I was searching for...All this time... Hearing him, seeing him and feeling him within myself…Everything finally clicked! My very existence was for this dragon! His roar was desolate, yet to me, it was heavenly. He was desperate and raced his big black and red wings to me and I continued to watch, elated that I finally found the reason for my existence...But...Just as the dragon could even pin point my exact location, I felt nothingness scatter and my sight was quite unfocused or black... As my ashes floated, going with the wind from high up in the tree, I felt the dragon roar once more in deep pain and sorrow. I wanted to help him...I never wanted to help anyone so much, but now...I had wanted to help this sad dragon...But it was too late… I was now ash, floating away in very small particles and I could not think of anything else, until I was reborn...

Escalating Problems!   “Come on then, do whatever you want with me!” The ‘golden’ male stated, laughing once again. Sharlae could sense Nathanial not to far away and decided that since she had no other option, she’ll attack this man to get him away. With speed as such of a golden winged serpent, Sharlae race towards the ‘golden’ man, condensing air as she went. The ‘golden’ man turned into a frog, watching her seriously. He knew that this woman was the immortal golden serpent, so he must take proper precautions against her. He would most likely die if he went offensively, so he could only be defensive and try to run, run in the direction of the Golden Tribe! First…He had to make sure that she would follow him though…Because, for some reason, she was very unwilling to follow him! Was it because she felt like she would receive nothing from the Golden Tribe, considering she was already at Immortal Realm? Whatever the reason, the ‘golden’ man had to find out!   Sharlae raced towards the frog and flapped her wings with so much strength that the trees in front of them were all cut down, showing the beach behind them. It hadn’t been enough though, as the frog had just jumped over her wind, ready to land even closer to her. Ready to dive at the frog with her mouth wide opened, yet ready to use her tail as the main offensive, Sharlae saw the frog jump over her, taking her by surprise! Nathanial… He was starting at them, with a foot behind him like he’s ready to back away… He’d only come because he saw to his left a lot of trees suddenly break down and practically fly off for a bit before loudly falling over…So, was this her power then? Was she going crazy because of her newfound freedom?   In just mere moments, the frog jumped towards Nathanial and turned human, taking Nathanial into his hold easily, “Ah, I remember you!” “Don’t touch him!” Sharlae yelled, extremely angry. “I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to come up and talk to me, then attack me so savagely! Must be because I was getting closer to your lover! Am I right!?” “Get your hands off of him!” Sharlae stated, taking a step closer to Nathanial. “Uh, I suggest you stop!” The ‘golden’ man had made one of his hands turn to his frog and went only center meters away from Nathanial’s skin. “Stop!” Sharlae stated, unable to stop the sound of desperation from her voice being heard. But…Why… If Nathanial died, then she’d be free…Why was she so desperate!?   “Ah, can I help you?” Nathanial asked, worried as all hell. With the serpent beast so scared like this, it reached to the depths of his core and found what was going on to be somewhat scary. “Oh, I’m sure you can! Now follow me!” The ‘golden’ man stated, taking Nathanial with him and seeing the serpent beast defeatedly following. “Stay there! I’ll go with him.” Nathanial stated. Sharlae stopped and widened her eyes in complete shock… Oh no! “No, she comes with us!” The ‘golden’ man said. “No! She obviously didn’t want to go with you, so I’ll go with you!” Nathanial stated. If what the serpent beast told him before was true, and he’d be used as a hostage or killed, then things would be scary but…How could he let her go when he had never seen her like this before?   “Come here or I’ll touch him! I swear it!” The ‘golden’ man stated angrily. Sharlae didn’t know what to do, she was ordered to stay where she was but if she were to tell Nathanial to stop his order, the ‘golden’ man would obviously know that she was being enslaved! What to do!? “Fine!” Came the ‘golden’ man’s voice, before she could figure out what she should do! Sharlae put up a hand, still unable to move her legs, and saw with wide eyes as the frog hand touch Nathanial on his arm, even letting him go afterwards.   Sharlae could only stand there as she watched Nathanial look at his arm, seeing the obvious slight red mark turn even more red. Looking at the ‘golden man’, Sharlae didn’t see him leave, but…She wanted to tend to Nathanial so desperately that she was really considering upon telling Nathanial to release his last order of her. What if he suddenly faints and she can’t do anything!? “Nathanial…” She started to speak, but Nathanial looked at her with confusion. His voice was small as he said, “What’s going on?” Sharlae clenched her hands and her jaw, “Tell me to come to you!”   The ‘golden’ man frowned, watching very seriously upon what was going on as he saw the other man say what the ‘golden’ winged serpent had told him to say. With widened eyes, the ‘golden’ man watched as Sharlae raced to the man and then rushed to attend to the poison that seemed to slowly spread across the man’s arm. “I think…” Seeing the man stop talking, then suddenly fall down to his knees, the ‘golden’ man watched more intensely, wondering if he should perhaps get his antidote ready or not. Some people ended up getting extremely mad if their loved ones died in front of them, wanting revenge, so…   “I’ll give him the antidote as soon as we get to the Golden Tribe, so I suggest you hurry and bring him along!” The ‘golden’ man stated. Sharlae quickly picked up Nathanial, who had now no control over his body. “Take me there! Now!” Sharlae yelled, coming up to be beside the ‘golden’ man. “Very well!” As they went on their way, Nathanial groaned, and as time went on, he even started to breath harder and started to yell out to the poison inside his body. “Hurry!” Sharlae stated in even more desperation then before.   As a frog leaped ahead, Sharlae also sprang into action with her wings and followed, and in no time at all, ended up to a secluded little island that held a cave entrance that seemed to show the rest of the cave disappearing into water. Racing after the jumping frog, not worrying about anything else but Nathanial, Sharlae didn’t even react to seeing and feeling other golden types around her as she went. She was being surrounded but… It didn’t matter! When they came across a place that had a decent amount of sandy surface, the ‘golden’ man stopped and returned to his human form. Sharlae put down Nathanial and looked up at him, “The antidote!” “Put him into the cell and I’ll do it…While you speak to the leader!”   Sharlae took in a deep, angry breath and once again picked up Nathanial, seeing the cell to the side, half in the water. Feeling like she had no choice, she went there, seeing Nathanial becoming more and more painful and even delirious as the time went on and watched as the ‘golden’ man went into the cage, closed it after she got out, and then locked it after him. “Through the next entrance is the leader.” Sharlae was going to watch the ‘golden’ man give Nathanial the antidote but saw that nothing was happening as he stared at her with what she thought was the greatest courage she had seen in a long time. “If you don’t go, I won’t give him the antidote!” Clenching her hands, Sharlae finally turned and continued through the cave, hoping that the ‘golden’ man kept to his words!   Stepping through the next entrance, Sharlae did not show any type of interest in who was before her. “Speak!” She stated, wanting to get the matter over and done with! “You’ve come!” Said a voice. Sharlae was not in the mood to play hide and seek, nor waste time on pleasantries! “What do you want!?” A person’s hand came out of a dark spot and picked up a cup, and it disappeared again. “Are you in a hurry?” Sharlae tried to calm herself down, as she might be in Immortal Realm but now they had Nathanial as a hostage, she couldn’t just do whatever she wanted to…   With Sharlae not speaking, the person finally came out and stood before her, looking at her with interested eyes. “It’s my pleasure to meet you.” Narrowing her eyes at the man in front of her, Sharlae watched as he took a sip from the cup and he walked to set upon the chair that looked like a leader’s chair. “Tell me about yourself, golden friend.” With the easy way the man spoke, Sharlae breathed out, sure that this person did not yet know who she was or that she was enslaved by the person that they now held hostage. “There isn’t any need, I have no want to join your tribe. Please let me and that of my…Friend go!”   The leader looked at her in a pout, “Has my subordinate been that disrespectful to you?” Sharlae frowned, she could see through his words. Obviously, they wanted her to stay, but…She had no intention of staying! “Yes, he was very disrespectful!” The leader laughed, seeing her so openly admit it, “I see. I will punish him for you then. Come, come and eat, you must be hungry!” A table was to the side, yet Sharlae did not feel hungry, “I wish to leave.” Silence entered that area of the cave and she saw the leader frown, “We do not often come across others that are of the golden line, dear. Please, I’d ever like so much for you to change your mind!” “Master, she is the Golden Winged Serpent…” Turning, she saw the ‘golden’ man walking in lazily, looking at her again with interested eyes. “Did you give him the antidote!?” Sharlae asked. “Yes, so he won’t die.” The man said.   “Demetri, did you say…Golden winged serpent?” The leader finally said. “Yes, master.” “My lord…She has finally returned!” The leader said, dropping the cup in his hands. Sharlae frowned, “I have not returned! I will take the man that you poisoned and leave, never to return!” “…But, my dear…” The leader started. Interrupting the leader with a glare, Sharlae said, “I don’t care of your tribe! I will bring it to ashes if something is to happen to that man, now I will take my leave!” The leader swallowed and watched the woman leave… “Master, you’re just going to let her go?” Demetri asked, quite astonished. The leader looked at him, “What, you think I have enough power to make her stay!?”   Demetri remembered once again of the golden winged serpents’ power and sighed. With her acting this way, he was sure that she had been holding back so…He felt like he had done the right thing by supplying the antidote! “I can’t believe it.” The leader muttered. “Tell me how you met her…Tell me everything!” As much as the leader felt like he had no power over the immortal, he still wanted to know all about her! He would even give up the leadership of the tribe to her! He would become her loyal servant and he…Would help her in any way possible for her to do what the Golden Tribe had always wanted to do! Of course, though, being the Golden Rat that he is, he had his own hidden agenda as well…     Sharlae raced out, after getting Nathanial, and flew quite a distance away, even though they had to somewhat return to the area to finish Nathanial’s messenger job. Bringing Nathanial to a lush bush area, in between the beach and another type of bush land, Sharlae looked over Nathanial and saw that he had a high fever. Cursing, she quickly flew around, to find some type of pool for him, taking him even further away from where they were supposed to be heading.   With Nathanial mumbling words that didn’t make sense to her, Sharlae took his clothes off and placed him into the small water hole. Taking off her clothes as well, she went in and used one piece of cloth to wipe him down. His body was so hot, so the cooler water did give him some type of awareness, but it hadn’t lasted long. “Beast.” …They all called her beast, or serpent beast… “My name is Sharlae.”   She stopped to this sudden sentence from herself… Why had she told him her name? Her name had been sacred once, as she had been a close subordinate of the Dragon King and also the only Immortal female, now…It was just an ordinary name. Did she want to hear some type of reverence from him as he said her name? Did she want him to say it, thinking her as someone powerful now? She wasn’t sure what she wanted from having told this one master her name… From all the masters that she had been with, only the first and second ones had known her name but had rarely used it. Now…Now she had told someone and even felt glad, glad that someone knew it, glad that perhaps someone may call her that, even if it’s just once… “Sharlae…” A strange sensation passed through her at hearing him say her name. It had been so long and with him, the one that had ignored her the most of her master’s, it was him that had called her name…   “Sharlae” …This man…Was repeating it now. Over and over again, Nathanial repeated her name and made her feel more and more enthralled by it. Was it because it had been so long? Why…Why was hearing him say her name making her feel so delighted? “…Can you hear me? Nathanial?” Sharlae had just wet the cloth again and wiped his forehead. “Sharlae.” “Nathanial?” She asked, wiping his neck now. Nothing else seemed to happen as she tried to wake him up or get some other type of reaction from him. She pinched him, even made his head go under the water, but he had only gone silent for a short time before he started to call her name once again. He didn’t even drink water properly at the moment! He was quite slack, giving her the realization that he was lethargic, hardly moving much of his body but…His mouth kept moving…   “Ok, I’m here, Sharlae’s here.” She said in irritation. She wasn’t particularly mad at him, it was just hard hearing her name over and over again from a man that was in such a state…As she liked hearing her name but wished instead that he was saying it to her when sober. Of course, she buried those thoughts deep down inside her…As she wasn’t used to carrying around such thoughts! Having a man hold so much power over her, just because of her name, scared her. Yet, she couldn’t deny it at the same time. How do I act to such a situation? Sharlae was really at a lose to this type of development!   Sitting next to him, as she went to wet the cloth again, she was suddenly pulled on top of him and after he spoke her name once again, his lips were on hers. Absolutely dumbfounded to this sudden action, Sharlae didn’t even respond to being completely in his hold. …Did the poison have some type of aphrodisiac? With the sudden feel of this man’s hands going up her bare side, Sharlae heard herself moan… His lips and hands were doing crazy things to her, making it hard for her to push away! This man…Why did he have to act like this when he wasn’t himself!? She knew, without a doubt, that he would probably not continue this if he were sober but as she tried to get away from him, he just held her to him tighter, making her lose a lot of her own resolve…   In that moment, Sharlae kissed him back, forgetting completely about the cloth that was now floating away. She had desired this man for a while now and finally, he now desired her. Knowing of his fever, she still felt like it was a nice change to be had, one that she wanted to take advantage of! She told herself that she deserved this, after all the work she had put in, that she had every right to take advantage of him in this situation because…It would probably never happen again! What she didn’t question though, was that this master was the only one that had made her want to be this intimate, that she wanted to do this act on her own accord! With his hands over her skin like that…So gentle, she just couldn’t say no to this chance! She knew he wasn’t in his right mind but if it was the only chance that she had to be held by someone and feel so desired and sweet… She felt wanted…It had been so long since she had felt wanted! Not wanted as a tool, not wanted as a pawn or forced help…Wanted through other means…   He kept wanting to kiss her and touch her, like all the boundaries between them had been broken down and it made Sharlae feel like a whole new experience was to be had. Every master that had demanded her body had been rough and used her but Nathanial… “Nathanial…” That’s right, he was caring, she knew that. He was going to openly become the hostage for that golden man, putting himself in danger just for her sake…   Kissing his neck and hearing his groan, Sharlae knew that this man was also stubborn in wanting her. She knew it in his body’s reaction, just like now, that he wanted her and that had always made her feel good. He had never taken advantage of her body…As even now, while he kisses her shoulder, it was like he was waiting to see what she would let him do, trying not to cross some line… Even in the state he was right now, feverish and probably not even fully aware, he was not forcing himself on her…No, he didn’t act like a ‘master’ with her, he rarely has…He treats her as someone nearly equal to him, only upset with her for valid reasons and not because he could be cruel to her and get away with it, and…She liked that…She liked that he had accepted her as not someone he had enslaved but someone… Well, she didn’t know, he may had ignored her a lot, but she felt like it was more because of what she had done when he had set her free, not because he was acting like a master…

Questionable Freedom!   In Sharlae’s time, she had been the only one to have made it to Immortal Realm, and with this she watched as the ‘golden’ strand did slowly loss it’s members due to old age, so…That was another reason she had left the Golden Tribe…Besides that of knowing of the Dragon King… Not having said anything, the male human stepped closer to her, just about ready to touch her, most likely to see where she had cultivated to, but she moved to miss that outstretched hand. “What? Afraid? I won’t poison you, I promise!” The man stated, smirking once again. Sharlae smirked back, “I’m not afraid!” “What…What’s going on?” Sharlae started to panic at Nathanial’s sleepy voice coming from behind her. In that small moment of panic, the male in front of her touched her and she heard his sharp intake of breath. “It’s you! The serpent beast!”   In just mere moments, Sharlae brought out her golden wings and flapped them rapidly towards the man in front of her and focused upon picking Nathanial up by going between his legs and flapped her wings once again to fly away. She didn’t really know what she was doing but she had a feeling that the man back there would most certainly bring her back by force, meaning…He would most likely use Nathanial as a hostage or even kill him! Her body worked before she did and soon, she found herself in the air, flying back towards the path where they should have been on instead of having gone the wrong way.   “Hey! What’s going on!?” Nathanial yelled, somewhat not able to get over the fact that the serpent beast was just flying him somewhere, away... This was the first time that she had flown him…She’d done it before with her previous master’s because ordered too but… Wait, it wasn’t the time to think about this! “My bag was left behind…” He grumbled, holding onto the serpent flesh that went between his legs… Nathanial swallowed. Sharlae looked back, to see the man left behind indeed pick up the bag but her eyesight was blurry and was getting worse as she flew further and further away. The Golden Tribe must now be in Rosna! She had completely forgotten about them! The last time she had been with them, they had been in Prodeaneah! …Doing this ‘job’ of Nathanial’s might prove to be troublesome!   “Put me down!” With Nathanial’s order, Sharlae couldn’t help but nearly release him completely right then and there and directly flew towards the ground, so that he wouldn’t die just from falling. Turning back completely to her human self, Sharlae looked from the direction they had come from and stared. Would they follow? Yes…They would! To have a ‘golden’ strand creature in Immortal Realm, it was too big of a reason to let it go! “Let’s go!” Sharlae stated, taking Nathanial’s hand and walking on the path back towards the coyote territory. “Stop it!” Nathanial stated, getting his hand back from her.   After a breath or two, Nathanial frowned, “Now, tell me what is going on?” Sharlae could only speak up, being ordered to, “Have you heard of the Golden Tribe?” Nathanial shook his head after a moment’s thought. Sharlae sighed, looking back from where they had come from again, “Since they have seen me and now know who I am, they will most definitely want me to meet with their Alpha Leader!” How comical, she thought now that she said it, if anyone would be the leader, it should be her! Already, the Golden Tribe’s leader was beneath her! Seeing Sharlae so…Concerned…So serious, Nathanial didn’t know what to say, while rubbing his eyes and slightly yawning. …He had never heard of them before…   “Don’t you get it! If you are with me, preventing me from going to see their leader, they will either take you as a hostage or kill you! We need to go back! If we go back, they might lose us! They didn’t know your creature and even so, you give of a smell of a boar, they might think that we are just travelers and not part of the coyote pack!” Nathanial could see that Sharlae was serious but…If he were to return, without doing what he left to do… He couldn’t really go back, as how should he explain what the serpent beast is saying to his own leader! Then…What is he to do?   Nathanial scratched his head to the drama unfolding before him…He just couldn’t seem to take it in so quickly and had to think more about it, so as the seconds ticked by he was starting become more and more awake, seeing the seriousness of the situation… “Come on!” Sharlae stated again, grabbing his hand and continuing towards the coyote boundary. Nathanial shook his head, perhaps…Perhaps… “You go and…And see the leader or something, I still have to deliver the reports.” He said, getting his hand back again. He might be more awake now, but this was the only conclusion he had come up with in the space of just a minute or two! “And I need my bag…” He added dumbly.   Sharlae turned and stood directly before him, “…You are releasing me? You want me to go!?” For some reason…This really angered her! In mere moments, Nathanial sought out the enslavement contract from inside him and used much of his power to change the engraving of it, so that the serpent beast did not have a length restriction from the master involved in the contract. Opening his eyes, Nathanial frowned to his slight headache and looked at Sharlae, “The restriction is taken away, you can go.” Sharlae was…Mortified!   So easily, he has let her go!? She could see that that was the only restriction taken away but…So easily! Fine! With no further ado, Sharlae turned into her Golden Winged Serpent creature and flew away, leaving Nathanial alone. What was I wanting anyway!? Why does it anger me so much!? Sharlae thought herself as stupid as she flew further away, yet…She looked back. Sighing, she flew to what seemed like the halfway point in between that of the ‘golden’ human male and Nathanial. For some reason, she still…She felt like she still had to keep an eye on that idiot of a man that went the wrong way!   Sharlae had only been in the middle for one or two minutes before she grumbled and put a hand through her hair. His bag! What a pain! Troublesome man! Even though she was cursing a particular man, she was flying once again, closer to the ‘golden’ person and a particular man’s bag. “So troublesome!” In such frustration, Sharlae was sudden when she attacked the ‘golden’ man and picked up the bag, not caring much of what her attitude might bring to her later…Because she was just so angry! “Hey, come back!”     Nathanial didn’t know what to do at first. It was still night-time after all! He had awoken now, so does that mean he should keep going then? Putting a hand to his head, shaking it, he sighed. She was gone. Had I done the right thing? Now that he was more awake, Nathanial really did question why he had released the restriction upon the serpent beast! Was it to keep myself safe? It had to be…   After a few minutes, Nathanial was starting to get angry. He was awake, so he didn’t want to sleep, especially when someone nearly came up behind him as he slept last time…But it was still dark, so he couldn’t really keep going, could he? Not having any other option, Nathanial found a tree close by and sat against it, only having the option of waiting until it was no longer dark to continue along what seemed like a path road. He had gotten lost once before, even though he shouldn’t, but…Perhaps he had been side-tracked… Snuggling up to his legs, because of the cool breeze, Nathanial sighed. Things had changed, he knew it. And…With now remembering the serpent beast in front and defending him like that, where he didn’t get to see much of the other person, Nathanial wondered if… Was she protecting him? With a loud noise, something impacted with his head and then fell to the ground!   Seeing his bag in front of him, Nathanial looked up, but couldn’t see anything. It must have been her! Yet, why did she have to drop it right on top of me like that!? Touching his head, to the pain that was still there because of his bag, Nathanial groaned. Protecting me? No, it was more like trying to kill me! But…He had gotten his bag back… His fresh water was in there, among other things, so… As much as he was frustrated with her, for dropping the bag on his head, he was grateful. “Thank you.” He said softly, getting out a pair of clothes and bundling them up for a pillow. It’s a shame that the blanket was left behind but…He didn’t have the courage to ask for that as well.     It was still a couple of hours before the sun was to come up, but the time went by quite quick as…Nathanial was lost in his thoughts towards a particular serpent beast. At first, he was frustrated and complaining but…As time passed, he felt like something had changed in her. She wasn’t teasing him so much anymore and it was strange. Why would she suddenly stop teasing him? Was she…Completely finished with caring now? Did she not care at all anymore? Or…Or did she have some sort of respect for me all of a sudden? Nathanial was at a complete loss when it came to the serpent beast!   His father and mother had been killed by her, yet he put it passed him as much as possible as he found out that he would be the serpent beast’s new master. He told himself that she had been told to do it as a command, that she had no choice! After letting her go free for a time, he had changed into completely ignoring her because…She hadn’t been worth it! Having to grow up and mature quickly, and worry about other things, he simply didn’t have the time to continue to hate her and just dismissed her completely instead. People bullying him and keeping his feelings from going astray was hard at first, but he got used to it. He was…After all, a boar.   Remembering when he still hadn’t gotten his creature yet, Nathanial had hoped that he had a coyote creature but to his utter surprise, he had taken after his father. Upon eighteen, he finally questions about the reason why his mother had gotten with his father. Why…Why had a coyote creature been with a boar creature? Wanting to secretly find out what happened between his father and mother, Nathanial had even gone as far as going to his father’s family, only to find out that his family had not seen him often at all since well before his death… Apparently male boars did tend to venture out on their own… Having only stayed briefly with the boars, considering him being an outsider and all, Nathanial did see a few things that only made things harder to understand…   His understanding of the boars and how sociable they were when in a sounder, started to open Nathanial’s eyes upon the real discrimination that he had already endured through. The coyotes had made a big deal about his creature but was it the only thing that they were discriminating against? Boars seemed to have a nice nature, that didn’t go around war or fighting. They were somewhat strong though and perhaps that was the problem? Yet, how could a female with the creature of a coyote, fall for a male with the creature of a boar? It wasn’t unheard of, but it was rarer in Ceptily to not be with someone with the same creature. The lions got with the lions, the wolves got with the wolves and the coyotes got with the coyotes… Nathanial knew that in other countries it was pretty common but here, he hadn’t seen it and so…   There were too many ideas upon why this had happened and why it had been such a big issue. And that was why Nathanial thought that there might have been something else behind it as well… Perhaps his mother had not done what she was supposed to do and on top of that had a child with someone outside of the coyote pack? His mother was the Alpha Master’s own daughter and so, it would be understandable that being with a boar would be enough for them to be mad about but…Why so much bullying when I was the grandchild of the Alpha Master…And that thought had driven Nathanial to think that there was something else to the meaning of her death… He had only been small and does not remember how things worked back then but now, now that it was a bit too late, Nathanial could only sigh to the real reason why his mother and father died in front of him. The coyotes had tamed him with his loyalty and used him to be the next master of the serpent beast! He had only found out the truth two years ago, at the age of twenty-three, one year after the serpent beast had killed someone after he had given her freedom…That the truth was that the coyotes were being sneaky and sly with her and themselves…   Since he had taken the roll, he looks back now to see that the coyotes seemed to have calmed down about the serpent beast, simply because none of them were the master of her. They might still tease him about things, like his creature, but when it comes to be the master of the serpent beast, none of them say a word about it. And…It was all because they had brought him up that way! They had killed his mother and father to bring him in to be easily seen as someone lower than them, then they had him live with them to gain their loyalty. They hadn’t been the best of people to live with but, the Alpha Master had given him special treatment over the years, probably because his mother was the Alpha Master’s daughter, and so…He was loyal…   Closing his tired eyes for a moment, Nathanial blanked his mind out. There was no reason to worry over this now. He was accepted into the pack and it really was his home, what’s the point of further questioning it? …Seeing more and more of the area being lit up by the slowly rising sun, Nathanial got up and packed everything away. It might be early but…The sooner he gets his job done, the better, and…He was awake now and…Wanting to change his thoughts… On his way, to an unknown area, Nathanial still seemed to get lost but kept an eye out this time. Well, it helped that a certain serpent beast wasn’t there to distract him!   On the other hand, Sharlae watched the back of Nathanial with intent eyes. The ‘golden’ man had not chased after him, as he was still on the other side of her, so she could continue this way. She knew that Nathanial had not traveled much in his life, so she kept thinking he’d get so totally lost that she’d have to go and save him! But…As hours went by, she saw that Nathanial was doing just fine without her. With the restriction being taken away, she could fly away, she could go anywhere but…There’d always be a string between them and if Nathanial wanted to, he could feel her and sort of know what she’s doing. And…For some reason, she just couldn’t go out and do what she did last time…   Now that she was somewhat free again, Sharlae felt like she should take a different path. A path where she wouldn’t kill someone, as to not be so constricted once again! So, she had not gone after this ‘golden’ man, only keeping him at a distance, yet…Why wasn’t she flying far away and still watching the back of the man with a boar creature!? Instinctively, her creature should be scared of a boar like his, yet…He had never come across as someone she wasn’t afraid of. He was gentle and compassionate and what irritated her the most was his obvious loyalty to a creature that wasn’t his own!   It was something she continued to not understand, not fathom to reason with! Why? Why was he so hard-headed!? He had a boar creature yet stayed with the coyotes, looking after the coyote’s children…It didn’t make sense! Shaking her head and grunting out her displeasure, Sharlae sighed. Even feeling this way, she still felt like, at the very least, she will make sure that her master gets to the Crocodile King! After he gets there, he can find his own way back and she can fly free. Perhaps she’ll get a decent piece of clothing or…   Her eyes saw the ‘golden’ man move…Heading straight towards Nathanial… Was the Golden Tribe closer to Nathanial? She had been slowly making her way towards the sea, it now being in the far distance but…Did the ‘golden’ man see that she was getting close and decided to just wait for her there? Flapping her wings, Sharlae flew to continue to be in between the ‘golden’ man and Nathanial but…The distance was slowly closing in!   How could it be such a coincidence!? Seeing the ‘golden’ male go closer and closer to Nathanial, Sharlae could not help but end up having no choice but to show herself. She flew to be further away from Nathanial, hoping to, at one stage, lead the ‘golden’ man away from him, then appeared behind the ‘golden’ man, “Stop!” “Stop what?” The ‘golden’ male stated, after turning human from his frog creature. “Go another way.” Was all Sharlae stated. The ‘golden’ male raised his eyebrows and smirked, “And…If I say no…” Sharlae narrowed her eyes and glared at him, “I will make you!” All she got was a laugh and so she frowned, “I mean it!”

As Perdita got dressed, she saw Cain look at her every now and again and she wondered what was going on. They had been awkward for ages… They had rarely been comfortable in each other presence…And she still didn’t completely trust him! Seeing him like this, she wondered what it was… “Here, wash your face and eat…I’ll go and…Come back later!” Hearing his sigh in defeat, Perdita watched him leave, before attempting to wash her face. Cain came back in no time, by now Perdita was dressed and had even done her hair. But he left soon after, showing her an upset look and Perdita wished he wouldn’t act this way. The first thing she did was to grab the water but as soon as she picked it up, the cup’s contents went into flames, totally shocking her! Dropping the cup on instinct, the contents dripped onto the floor and became vapor. …What was going on?   After a moment of seeing that nothing else happened, Perdita picked up the cup and saw that nothing else was wrong with it, it was just empty now… Putting it down, she ate what was on her plate and didn’t do anything else. She didn’t want to bump into Cain again and she didn’t want to see her master. Widening her eyes, she looked at the window and saw that it was as she left it last… They were indeed back where she was when she got caught and she had slowly tried to open the window in the time that she was here. Listening out to see if anyone was coming, Perdita stood up and went to the window, wanting to continue to open up the window.   Her strength was not as great as some, even though she was the Phoenix. So, because of someone as tough as an ant creature, she was spending a lot of effort here…And she was getting thirsty! Hearing noises, she quickly stopped and went quickly to the other side of the room, not even bothering to sit down. “Finished?” Perdita nodded at Cain after he had come in, and then said, “More water.” Cain nodded, and smiled, “So you drank it all and want more aye! Thata girl!” With his look, that now looked relieved, Perdita frowned again. Was there something in the water?   With another cup of water, that didn’t seem to disappear into vapor this time, Perdita quickly drank it and asked for more. Cain smiled at her, took her into his arms, making Perdita panic, and he attempted to kiss her. She had gotten used to turning off her heated skin while here but now she wanted to bring it back! From all the torture that she had received from having not turned off her heated skin, Perdita flinched to that and to Cain being so close to her. With a strange sound, Perdita put her hands out to push him away and jump out of his arms.   In one word, Perdita knew what she felt…Repulsed. Before…She had been able to tolerate it, but now, she couldn’t… “Perdy, Come on, we’ve been through this…” Cain stated. Looking at him in cowardice, Perdita tried to act as before, “I’m still not really ready…” Seeing Cain take in a long breath, she worried about what he was about to do but he didn’t end up doing as she thought he would. “Okay, we have the rest of our lives together! Take your time!” Perdita stared at Cain in a stunned silence… He really thinks I’ll come around? He really thinks that they’ll…   After that, Perdita got another drink of water and then was locked back up again alone in that room. Cain wasn’t there all the time, which was somewhat normal. But he was ordered to spend every night with her by their master. It was because Sharlae wanted her idea to become real! She hadn’t wanted Perdita to meet with the Dragon King until she was really pregnant…But she had already held up the Dragon King for so long and she couldn’t wait any longer. It seems nothing had changed, even though she had already seen the Dragon King but…Now she couldn’t wait to get out of here!   Perdita, just like every other time, was acting as if asleep but when Cain came in and started to touch her, she couldn’t help but flinch. Not right! Far from right! If anyone was going to touch her, or try and take her clothes off, it was going to be the Dragon King…Duke… Remembering how he wanted her to say his name, she sighed.   “Mmm, you like that?” Feeling a hand groping her, Perdita jumped away and curled up. Hearing another defeated sigh, then arms going around her from the back, Perdita stiffened, just like every other night, but didn’t move him away. Before now it was to put his scent on her, like the master ordered. So, to a strange degree, Cain was helping her by not forcing her into anything more intimate…Which was really going against their master. But…She knew…She knew if she pushed him away, questions were going to be asked and she wasn’t ready for that…As far as Cain knew, she didn’t remember being intimate with the Dragon King and it would be better left that way! All she needed was time, to get that window opened and then to fly away!     The next couple of days were quiet. Perdita did not get any type of orders from her master and Cain was not constantly badgering her. When he was around, she did play her flute, losing herself to memories of being with the Dragon King, being with Duke. Her music had changed, it used to be so sad, showing that of loneliness…Now it was still somewhat sad, but it was showing longing. She didn’t know it, but Cain knew and saw the difference… He had never thought that he would marry one day, he never thought that of all the women he’d marry, it would be the Phoenix. At first, their marriage was like it wasn’t…Like they weren’t married. He had been burnt by her before, and so he did not touch her, but having found out then that she was the Phoenix.   Cain understood why he had to marry this woman, but he took a while to understand why she stood out more and more to him…As he married her not to understand her…But because he was ordered too. As the time went on though, he had liked watching her from a distance, seeing who she really was that way, and found her to be quite an interesting woman. She wasn’t lively, like many others, but she was stunningly beautiful when she was talking to the birds. She was also very pleasant company, having felt a nice, satisfied feeling overcome him sometimes while watching her. It had made him wonder several times that if they weren’t in the current circumstance, where she was forced to marry him and under the enslavement of his master, if things could be different… He had been told a few things about what the Phoenix could do, and he didn’t want to take it to heart, about feeling content in her presence but…It seemed to have slowly overtaken him.   His life was filled with having a master and doing the master’s will. Cain never thought much more to life until he had met Perdita. Suddenly he was a husband and the master didn’t like his wife! He didn’t like that he had to keep this secret and that he was forced to take this woman as often as possible but…Over time, he seemed to just want to try and make her life easier for her. Upon her flying away, after such a thing had forcefully happened between them, he had been mad, upset, angry but…He was now fully aware that he was now responsible for the woman.   Over chasing her down, Cain had seen her learning pottery… He didn’t understand… Pottery, dancing, why? Why was she doing that when she was supposed to run away? Upon her being discovered by someone, Cain had been able to quickly leave a big trace that Perdita would find as evidence someone was after her and watched her leave. …Why did he do that?   The question stuck in his mind and he couldn’t help but admit the obvious…That he was helping her, his wife. He wanted to watch her longer, that was all there was to it… But it didn’t take long to see that she was being followed by more and more, from two to four, and Perdita would be captured soon! Scared that she would be hurt, not wanting to see her tortured, Cain had captured her himself then. It seemed…He just couldn’t bare to have her be wronged anymore. That innocence about her, he…He felt it to be refreshing and he would hate to see that destroyed because, suddenly, his master’s want for someone and doing this because of it, seemed no longer acceptable to him.   Knowing what their master wanted, Cain no longer wanted to touch Perdita like that again unless she wanted it too. And because of that, Cain took chances of lying to his master, stating that he had been with Perdita intimately, when in fact he had not. Lying to the master would not be good if ever found out, but Cain found himself determined. He just…Didn’t want Perdita to be tortured anymore, as it was, he hadn’t been able to save her from being tortured because she wasn’t turning off her heat. He at least could save her from some torture…He felt like he had too. It felt like if he didn’t, he would also be in pain. And it was at that time that he first thought of leaving his master’s command and taking Perdita away. He didn’t know how the link between Perdita and his master would go but he did know that the Phoenix is able to fight it! If they could run, Perdita should be able to be free…Well, free enough. He will stop any thugs coming to get her, so that the link wouldn’t grow weak…Would that be enough? Would she trust him then?   Sadly, he wanted her, all of her, but he was going to have to wait. He wanted her to trust him, which is what he never has asked of anyone before besides that of his master. For quite some time, he had to sit down and wonder how to get someone’s trust and wonder what action to take and for some reason, he could not seem to come up with anything. He killed, he searched, he did his biding…Anything else seemed to elude him in knowledge and he felt idiotic because of it. He had long time been teased as someone that was not smart, but now it seems he understood his subordinates…He was a basic, simple minded person and this idea of them running away was the best that he could come up with.   And so…The best he could think of for that time, was that he would take her into his arms and give this ‘scent’ to Perdita that his master kept talking about. He was content with this much but…He was glad. Glad that she was not forced, glad that she was not tortured anymore. He needed to get her out of here! This was not a place for his wife, he could feel it…See it. As much as he wished he could connect to her, to her creature, it was entirely impossible but…He still felt selfish on wanting his wife by his side.   After they had returned, Cain knew that his master was gaining strength from having taken over the Phoenix and having had to trap the Phoenix in a cage, and Cain had been making plans! Just a little longer, he thought. His tunnels will be done soon, they’d escape, and he would try and make her happy. Yes, this is what he’s been doing in times that he thought that no one was watching. He had been making holes in the ground, and then a hole that would lead them elsewhere. He knew about these kinds of things at least! He knew how to lose someone, get away from places and bring someone from outside and into the palace. That is something he could do! Just a little longer…     When she was on her own, Perdita continued to try to open the window, not able to wait to get away! It was about a week after seeing Duke and that she had returned here, that she had to stop what she was doing around the window, because she heard that someone was coming. Jumping on the bed, she quickly curled up, looking away from the door. And just as she thought, someone did come into the room!   “Ah, did you miss me?” Widening her eyes, Perdita then quickly tightly shut her eyes to the woman’s scary voice. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on! My man is in my ear, asking for you! He’s already told me not to come back without you! Again!” Clenching her hands into fists under the blanket, Perdita refused to open her eyes. “I’d like to know when you two connected! All you shared was a kiss! Puh! How disgusting! He really must be new to mating and whatnot to think that a kiss was ‘connecting’!” Hearing her laugh at him, made Perdita upset. She thought this woman liked Duke, if so, then why was she insulting him? He hadn’t acted new when he had been with her. Although he might have been a bit clumsy, but he was still great…Great, that is, to her…   Sharlae sighed and wished there was another way she could do this… She knew that if she kills Perdita, she would have less time to make that man hers… Perdita finally opened her eyes, to see her master smile, and say, “Stay still now!” With a quick motion, Sharlae went to put the dagger into Perdita’s heart but Perdita used a lot of her strength against her link with her master, to move out of the way. That order was strong, so strong that Perdita felt like she was moving a very slow pace. Stumbling out of the bed, she slowly went towards the window and started to breath heavily. Even though she hadn’t really done much, this entire time was used to go against her master’s orders, and it had already made her slightly exhausted! “Oh, I’m done with you trying to fight me, you bitch!” With another stab, Sharlae got Perdita’s side but missed her heart. Perdita laid down, groaning to the pain and holding onto her waist…   “Why can’t you just die!?” Sharlae yelled, before again stabbing at Perdita, whom just couldn’t move fast enough, considering that she was still fighting the link that was telling her to stay still. Closing her eyes shut, Perdita felt a great weight fall on top of her, then the bottom of the floor gave out, making her fall and then there was darkness. When she was about to let out a sniffle, Perdita heard noises from above her. “What…Are you an idiot!” “No…She is my wife!”   Cain… “Get out of my way!” Sharlae yelled. “No! Run Perdy!” With his hand being stabbed into by the knife, Cain exerted his last strength into showing Perdita the way out of there, closing off the extra tunnels. The problem was, it left him defenseless and he sadly smiled to the ground beneath him. Sharlae was laughing at him then, “Haha, I’m her master, do you think she can run away from me!? You fool!” Perdita felt a way to go and followed it but was unable to run due to the stab in her waist, it wasn’t healed yet! She stumbled through the area slowly, because it was so dark, but suddenly heard a thump on the floor from the direction she had come from. …Cain? “Stupid man! Never did I take you as a fool to die for a stupid wrench!”   Perhaps…Cain was not a bad man after all… At the moment though, it was still quite unbelievable that another had died for her. Not just her father, but now Cain… But…What was in that water, then? Shaking her head to her thoughts, Perdita then heard the ground smash opened and she looked behind her, to see dust come her way. Dammit! Changing into her Phoenix, a small Phoenix, she flew. She wasn’t very fast but as soon as she healed her wound, she went faster and followed the dark tunnel to wherever it was going. When there was a strange look to the dirt, Perdita changed to human and dug upwards, to find that it was like a lid and climbed out of the tunnel, quickly covering it back up with a flap of her wings and her claws afterwards. Without further ado, Perdita flew directly towards her nest…Never leaving that area in this life again.   ***   Perdita felt like she had to build a nest…But she’d already made it…Which confused her. She felt like she had to write everything down somehow…Why, she had no idea. So, to make herself feel better, she combined her feathers, her blood and tears into ice and made six ice block towers that went around her nest, that went to her height, and started to write about her life’s. A dragon essence filled her core, igniting her resolve like she felt like she knew what she was doing but still didn’t understand it at all…   On the inside of the ice blocks, she wrote her first life. She wrote about how she had feared, how she had been tested and been used and abused. On the outside of the ice blocks, she wrote down her second life. Her second life sounded better than that of her first, possibly because she felt like she didn’t fear as much or that she’d been through it before. But she didn’t leave anything out… She wrote down that she had indeed married and had indeed lost her second child. She had written about being abandoned yet again and how she would glare at her captors.   Writing down her emotions and how she dealt with them, she finally finished her two lives in just one month after she had returned. With hardly a wink of sleep, Perdita felt the urge to nest even more now and felt like she had when she was just about to perish… She hadn’t been stabbed in the heart, so this didn’t make sense but…Perdita looked at the ice blocks and had a feeling. The feeling seemed to mean that if she were to write down her third life…She might just disappear… Walking to the last ice block at the end of her second life, she then finished the part of meeting her beloved dragon for the first time and finally was understanding something…

The Golden Tribe!   Another job that was on the table was ‘Surveillance’, which was also something that rarely left this job table. Obviously, the coyotes had natural enemies and the creatures of coyotes could not get along with the creatures of wolves. The surveillance job was obviously going down the trails on their land and keeping an eye out for their enemies or competitors. Most of the time the surveillance was done by a few Beta’s and warriors within the pack, because of the chance of getting into a fight. Cougars and bears weren’t as close to their borders as the wolf pack, so they didn’t go searching for trouble with them but that didn’t mean that no enemies were close by. Where they were living, seemed to be more of a grassland with a side that had a rocky mountain, that held one cave. The cave was where the coyote Alpha Master always stayed and then outside of that they had built homes for the rest of the pack.   The wolf pack that was to the west, for the most part they had stayed to their own territory but…There was also a fight every now and again. It could be a lone wolf that just wanted to show their strength of their creature or that of someone looking for trouble! They didn’t get along well but since the wolf pack had a lot more area then they did, it was a reason why the wolf pack didn’t attack them more then now. Nathanial knew that the Coyote pack wanted more land, but they were currently stuck as no better option was available at present.   They had been so small, many years ago. Yet, when the Dragon King had chosen them to be the ones that would enslave the serpent beast, they had been able to obtain more land and so, being as big as they are now was already pretty good. It was like a protection for them, back then, to be the masters of the serpent beast but…As time goes by, things are forgotten and so, with them still gaining numbers, they couldn’t stop some of their acquired land from being taken away by the wolf clan.   Nathanial doesn’t know the implications of it but he was sure that if they had just let the serpent beast come out, the wolves might think twice upon trying to take land from them…Unless…The coyotes were keeping the serpent beast a secret… It was already somewhat understandable to Nathanial that the serpent beast was indeed something that was a mystery as…Not only has the serpent beast’s name vanished but that of where she is. Whether it was because of the Dragon King that had told them to keep it quiet, which doesn’t completely fit what happened years ago with gaining land, or that of the coyote’s Alpha master’s own decisions, it seems to continue to be secretive. Then…Why was he being told to do a job that would take the serpent beast outside of these closed doors? Were they that confident that the serpent beast will not be found out or was it that they didn’t care if she were found out? Whatever the case, Nathanial didn’t question it, he was after all loyal to the coyotes and will do what as what is asked of him.   There was one thing to be proud of though, and that was they were still better off than the bobcats to their south. The bobcat families weren’t much for gathering together as one, so they were scattered, but they were somewhat protected and weren’t easily targeted. The bobcat families had been around for a long time and had specific means to obtain reasons to never be the target for a war between them and coyotes. The job that Nathanial had trouble with in the past, was indeed surveillance over the bobcats. He had never thought that much would get in his way, as he was part coyote due to his mother, but he had indeed gotten into trouble! Was it because his creature was that of a boar instead of coyote? It was also a question with the serpent beast as well as he remembered her as a bit unwilling to deal with ‘those dirty creatures!’   Because Nathanial had not wanted to order the serpent beast around, not wanting much to do with her after she had killed someone just a year before that, he had almost been killed, left for dead… The serpent beast had not done anything to help him until he ordered her too and then afterwards…Even though he had been grateful for the help, he felt like he had asked for too much and hated that the serpent beast had teased him about nearly losing his life. She had been right though…He had ordered her to help because he had no other option, in which made him look weak. With these memories coming to him, Nathanial did not want to do a ‘surveillance’ job!   There were a couple of other jobs, like that of messenger to the countries King and to other packs that weren’t our enemies. These messengers were only that of any updates that the pack may have, perhaps asking for something or telling that of secrets. Nathanial became intrigued with the idea upon becoming a messenger, as he rarely ever left the coyote pack and it would be nice to have a trip away. He wasn’t complaining, he loved the children that he looked after, but…He did want a break and go see something that perhaps he hadn’t seen before.   Now that he had chosen what type of job that he wanted to do, Nathanial looked at the two ‘messenger’ jobs there and didn’t know which one to take. One took him to the capital, the other took him into another country all together! Both were completely far away from here and for an instant, Nathanial was a bit worried. He didn’t know his way around either of those places! Taking a breath in, Nathanial decided on the job in the capital, so then at least he didn’t have to leave the country!   Turning, with his job in hand, Nathanial somewhat bowed, “Alpha Master, I will be going to the capital.” The Alpha Master narrowed his eyes and frowned, “No, choose the other one!” Nathanial looked at the Alpha Master blankly and before he knew it, he was being yelled at! “Do the other one! What are you waiting for!?” An Alpha aura spurted out, knocking Nathanial out of his shock and making him do as asked. He put the capital messenger job down and then picked up the other that would take him out of the country.   He had not really wished to go so far away… And…Why was the Alpha Master so determined for him not to go to the capital? There has to be some sort of secret, some sort of reason why…In fact, in all this time, Nathanial had not once gone to the capital. Was the Alpha Master really stopping him from going there for a reason? If that was the case, then why?   They were currently in the country of Ceptily and the long-time rulers were those with the lion creatures. The rulers may lead extravagant lifestyles, but it didn’t mean that they weren’t bad rulers. The Lion King was commendable at being a leader and had been a King for near fifty years now. So…What could be wrong that he couldn’t go to the capital? Nathanial could only guess upon why because he had no idea upon the real reason…Unless…Was it because of the serpent beast? Maybe, when he comes back, he should discreetly find out if any other masters of the serpent beast had not gone to the capital too…   “Then I will be gone for some time then, Alpha Master.” Nathanial stated, before leaving the front of the cave. The serpent beast followed after and said nothing, but Nathanial wondered if she were questioning things as he was. There was just too much going on in just one meeting with the Alpha Master that he could only shake his head and sigh. He will just do as he was told! Going back to his place, that was a good ten minutes or so walk from the cave, Nathanial quickly dropped by a posting area to get a map beforehand. He needed to know the best routes to get to the other country of Rosna.   Rosna was to their south west, whereas Questro was to their south east. The lion creatures didn’t have any type of want to invade upon the lands of Rosna, simply because half of it was water. Normally, water isn’t part of a country, as it would be a sea instead, but with Rosna, and all the people that lived there with aquatic animals, some of the sea was part of the country. But that was practically all he knew about this country of Rosna, so Nathanial knew very little upon where he was going. His job was to state the matters of affairs of Ceptily, mainly that of the coyote pack, which Nathanial took that as Rosna and Ceptily were either Allies or on peace terms. Not being able to read the letter, Nathanial wondered if every pack or heard or family did this for Rosna as well…   Not knowing much of Rosna, Nathanial was sure that Ceptily was trying to keep on good terms, so that there would be no need for war. It was strange how these circumstances can take place because Nathanial looked up to the mighty Lion creatures, yet they still seemed afraid, so it was just…Weird… I guess it’s understandable though, Nathanial thought, the lions wouldn’t be able to attack in water… Probably most of Rosna’s population was in the water and who knows what kind of dangers were in it!   Grabbing the rest of his stuff, that he’d need upon this trip, Nathanial then left his house, sighing once, before walking towards where he had to go. He had no idea how long he’d be gone… There would probably be a quicker way to get there, as he could order the serpent beast to fly him there with her golden wings, but…Nathanial had too much pride to do that! He still felt strange upon their relationship, even though she was the same as she ever was again. …If only she had not tried to lure him into seduction, he would feel better, but now he felt like he was abnormal!   After an hour walk, Nathanial was now climbing through more lush land because he was getting closer and closer to the water’s edge and out of the coyote’s land, but Nathanial was already starting to get lost. He didn’t want to admit it, but it seemed obvious that he had lost the original path that would lead him to the borders of Rosna. The path had not been the best but…Where had he lost it!? Wouldn’t it be terrible if he had lost his way so soon!? Especially when he had a boar creature who were pretty good at following trails! Determined to look as though he knew where he was going, Nathanial continued to what he thought would lead him towards Rosna…He was just taking a more indirect route!   You could say that Nathanial took the long and harder route, having to move many long leaves or get soft dirt under his shoes where he would slip. It wasn’t for another four hours, where the sun was nearly gone, that Nathanial stopped and decided to camp for the night. There didn’t seem to be fresh water, so Nathanial could only sip at what he had with him, hoping to find fresh water the next day. Then, there really wasn’t a good place to sleep, as the dirt was soft, but again, he didn’t want to admit his failure of being unable to follow the path!   It was all too obvious to Sharlae though! She was really starting to get to know this man and knew that he was tough headed. Sharlae didn’t know why she didn’t tease him about this though. It was almost habit to tease him about anything yet…Ever since trying to seduce him, she had kept her mouth shut. What seemed even more annoying, was that up in the trees would be a safer place to sleep yet, Nathanial was determined to sleep on the ground, making her frown.     What was it… What was it that was keeping her up? Looking at the sleeping figure of Nathanial, not seeing too much through the night, Sharlae observed the space around her and felt like the best thing to do right now was to keep an eye out. The problem was, she wasn’t like some who had creatures that had good eyesight. That was probably her only downfall and with that, she intended to use heat as something to help her out.   She had been able to grow her eyesight to be better than what it was upon being younger than eighteen, so that seeing ‘heat’ in her eyesight could be seen a few meters away now, instead of that of one meter away. Normally, the dark didn’t scare her, but she would be sleeping. She was not really one of the serpents that was active at night, like some others, and so…This was a rare moment for her! Why was she so…Why was she staying up!? It wasn’t like she was afraid, she was in the Immortal Realm after all! But then, why was she…Still awake and watching over the area like a…Guard…   Shaking her head, Sharlae tried not to think of what she was doing was guarding. Why would she guard this man!? It was so ridiculous to her that she rolled her eyes and got into a more comfortable spot. Who cares if someone or something comes to hurt Nathanial, perhaps she’ll have some free time on her hands and even try to run away from anyone who’d want to enslave her again! Yes, Sharlae thought, closing her eyes. She’ll sleep and… A noise entered her ears then and so…She spent an hour watching a particular spot, all tensed up.   The noise had only been a toad or frog but…It seemed certain that this frog or toad was not just a normal creature! Sharlae eyed this frog or toad for a long time and felt some type of connection to it, to some regard, and that made her worried. The fact that she felt a connection, meant that this frog or toad could be as bad as being poisonous…That’s if she is thinking of a possible possibility… So…Why was it here, still on Ceptily lands? Obviously, it should be a creature from Rosna or Questro, as Ceptily didn’t have frog or toad creatures… They still had a few hours before the border… Was it a scout then? Was its job to infiltrate and report back or…Worse?   If a creature acts ‘normal’, like that of having no human being a part of it, Sharlae thought that it would be alright but…There are certain giveaways to knowing the difference between a plain creature and a human’s creature…And that was nature and the sound of nature, which indeed was something Sharlae could see clearly, simply because she had been around for such a long time. Nature had a very simple temperament, when compared against them. A human with a creature has intelligence, they have a reason for acting that might lead to that of being against what is known as ‘nature’. Nature will obviously do what is best to survive and reproduce, them being practically the biggest parts of their lives so, naturally, the frog or toad would jump away at the slightest thing that she may do, where as a human’s creature may not…   The other being sound, was that the sound this frog or toad was making was not that of a normal creature. Of course, it wasn’t easily for someone young to know this, but for Sharlae, she knew what a normal frog and toad sound sounded like, and for this specific ‘animal’, it was being slightly too quiet! Her ears were really quite normal but with her creature being about to hear sound vibrations as well, Sharlae was sure that this frog or toad was trying to be as silent as possible…Which would not be normal for any creature that isn’t connected to a human! So…This frog or toad…Was a human’s creature and it was indeed on Ceptily’s lands!   After an hour of continuously watching this frog or toad, it really did jump closer, scaring Sharlae. In just moments, it was just a meter away from Nathanial and Sharlae jumped in front of it, “What do you want!?” The small frog changed into human form and raised it’s eyebrows, “I thought correct. You were indeed staring at me, weren’t you!” Sharlae narrowed her eyes at the male human before her, not daring enough to get any closer. And…This person didn’t seem at all worried that they had been caught! The human in front of her chuckled, “This golden thread of ours is interesting indeed.” With a swallow and widened eyes, Sharlae watched the human even more eagerly. “Join us! I’m sure that our Golden Tribe will take you in!” The human stated, looking at her with a smirk.   This wasn’t good! It really had been the Golden Tribe! They really did still exist! Sharlae got over her astonishment quickly, remembering that the Golden Tribe had even existed before she did, and she had already had a slight inclination of thinking that the connection between them might have been the ‘golden’ connection. “Perhaps another time.” The male human, pouted, “It has been awhile seen we have seen another ‘golden’ around…You know we can help you reach to Immortals Realm!” Sharlae wanted to scoff, because she already knew this! How does this person think she got to Immortals Realm in the first place! Oh…That’s right, he wouldn’t know.   The human in front of her wouldn’t know what creature she was, he just knew that she was a part of the rare ‘golden’ strand of creatures. In fact, it was known that the besides that of the Dragon and Phoenix having a connection, the next best connection was that between that of the ‘golden’ connection. There were still boundaries, like that of not knowing what creature another ‘golden’ one was without touching them or being told, but…The connection was undeniably pretty strong compared to many others out there! Apparently, every creature had the rare chance to become a part of the ‘golden’ strand, but it was very rare. And…This ‘Golden Tribe’ was indeed a tribe that would help any ‘golden’ strand creature to cultivate into the Immortal Realm. It was a simple idea, to which Sharlae herself followed for a while, and that was for the Golden Tribe to become the strongest Tribe and leaders on the planet!

With a conflicted face, showing the traces of tears willing up in her eyes, Perdita started on her third life on the sides of the blocks…She randomized how she wrote her third life, whether it was to hide it a bit from the dragon king or to take longer in writing it, she didn’t know. She wrote down that she had her creature out at fifteen, and that her Phoenix was caged by her master, by the name of Sharlae. She wrote down about meeting her beloved dragon for the first time and how much of a blessing she thought it was. She wrote down that she wanted to become stronger and used the voice telling her that she was not worthy to become worthy! She didn’t want to lie to him, that she wanted to learn things and try things and not be abandoned any longer… She wrote down everything!   Upon the last sentence being written…Perdita felt some of her break away, seeing her ash flying off… So…She was right… Dropping the feather, that she was writing with, the name Duke had the e drop down further then it should have, then she fell to the floor and crawled as quickly as she could to her nest. Transforming to her Phoenix, though slowly becoming ash, she still saw that her feathers had become more colorful now. So vibrant and full. Yet, soon, it all started to disappear to the plain sight of grey ash. Before all of her scattered away, the last word, and first word since being back, was… “Duke…”   ***   Sharlae was stunned. Suddenly it just snapped! What did that mean? Because it can’t be… Looking up, still stunned, she felt glad that the Dragon King wasn’t looking at her but suddenly looking out the window. “Finally!” With no time to speak further to others in the room, Duke raced out, going towards the link of his Phoenix. Not long after he left though, the link disappeared, making him stop. He thought his Phoenix had just taken out her creature, so she should be living…Not…Disappearing! Quickly, he raced to where he felt the link last and flew around the area. …What stood out was… Landing on the cold, hard ice, Duke took in the sight and didn’t have a good feeling.   Slowly seeing the nest, he saw feathers and some other smelling things, then to finally see that the ice blocks around it had words on it. Did she…Die then? Was she again enslaved? Duke picked up a feather and widened his eyes… No… She’s free… Standing up, holding onto the beautiful Phoenix feather, Duke could feel her ashes slowly moving around… He could feel her… …Immortal Realm! She had made it to the Immortal Realm!   Putting the feather to his face, Duke let out a small laugh. He’d completely forgotten about his Phoenix… He had only been thinking and wanting Perdita… …How cruel! Suddenly, he felt a bit refreshed thinking about his Phoenix as…The last two months were hell! Sharlae did not tell him anything and he couldn’t kill her either! He had even attacked her two times last week in a fit of anger! But…She, an immortal that doesn’t die, always came back and always stated that Perdita had died…   He hadn’t believed it but…He had never found Perdita when searching for her again! Sleep wasn’t something he could easily get now because his dragon and he yearned for Perdita. Food wasn’t good, where he was…It wasn’t with her! They missed her, her presence, her eyes, her looks, her touch… Where had she gone then!? But now…Now with where he was and feeling his Phoenix…Perhaps it was time again to be with who he was supposed to be with. Especially now that the feather could help him be linked to her. Looking at the feather, it seemed like it was magically prepared just for this moment and…His dragon roared inside of him, telling him that his essence was faint, but it was there. Had they helped her then, somehow?   It was obvious wasn’t it, but how? When? The only one that he had consciously… Perdita… Did Perdita give the Phoenix what they had given her? …What was going on? Sighing, never letting go of the feather, Duke finally started to read what was on the ice blocks that circled the nest. Reading upon the inside, it seemed a big…Long story and Duke tried to figure out where it started from and came to realize that everything written…Was what Perdita had said!   And it was so…Detailed… Perdita knew about Edna, Perdita knew about the little hut… The writings even talking about the father, making Duke even more sure that whatever Perdita had stated about his Phoenix, was the truth! Perdita hadn’t lied after all! He was…So glad… He had thought the worst of her, for a time, but now…Forgiveness was already there, like it was nothing…In fact, he felt like he had nothing to forgive her for. Wait…Then, if she hadn’t lied, then why had Sharlae said that she was a liar? And…Why was he thinking of Perdita right now, when… His Phoenix’s story was here, he was very interested in it yet…All he was doing was thinking of Perdita…   Duke felt terrible! He needed to, at least for now, read this and think of his Phoenix, for her…Perhaps afterwards he could try to come to terms with Perdita with something but right now, he needed to be loyal to his soulmate, his destined mate…His other half! Taking a deep breath, Duke tried to put away his thoughts of Perdita for now… His dragon and he had spent so long looking for the Phoenix and now, now she was here, not long ago. His Phoenix had even made it to Immortal Realm, yes… Nodding to himself, he was proud, so proud of his Phoenix! Now, he should think of his Phoenix first. He had a direct link to her now, so…   Starting to read the outside of the ice blocks, finding where it started and continuing on, Duke was then completely informed. Now he knew what she had gone through and it was really surprising on how Perdita had gotten so many of the facts right! She was indeed a baby in the middle of nowhere, then became a maid and did marry someone. But what he hadn’t gotten from Perdita, were the thoughts and feelings that his Phoenix that she had written down. She wrote down too that she had seen him, had seen him flying towards her just as she had turned to ash. Duke remembers that day, as he had been too late. He had not known how she came to that state then, but now he knows. He knows that she had been kidnapped and she had fought her master, so that she could make a nest. My poor Phoenix, he thought. He wished that he could have protected her, so that no one would hurt her…   When reading the side of the ice blocks, Duke started to get a strange feeling overwhelm him. ‘It was one or the other, with a master that was in the Immortal Realm. Tell me what I should have done? So, I choose to marry, at least then I can try to keep my body innocent and not have something that could depress me. I didn’t want to lose my faith on getting stronger, I didn’t want to dive straight into the ‘slave’ type of thinking again and get depressed. Forgive me.’ Shaking his head, Duke moved to another block and tried to make sense of it. ‘The wolves have a sweet way of life, and I want to remember that. They do everything together as a pack and I couldn’t help but want to be a part of it. I heard that the Nature’s Call Clan isn’t the only one…’ Duke widened his eyes, he knew that name!   Upon reading further, Duke quickly read the rest and tried to find the next block that continued the story. ‘I was really about to leave, but it had happened so fast! A woman takes my creature out and enslaved it straight away! I really couldn’t do anything! Looking back, I doubt I could have fended her off or ran away from her and that gives me this feeling she already knew where I was and who I was! After she enslaved me, it wasn’t long after that Duke came and asked all these questions…I was still very confused and conflicted at the time. I still didn’t trust people because of my previous life’s…’ Duke stopped reading, finding himself on the ice a moment later, having fallen down.   ‘Duke came’ ‘asked me all these questions’ The memory invaded him about asking a particular person questions. Breathing heavier, Duke closed his eyes and remembered those days, over a decade ago. How he had seen her for the first time, how she had looked and flinched and had… Right, so she had just been taken and enslaved once again…The reason she had those headaches? The reason that she left? The reason why she…The doctor had even touched her. Did…Did the Phoenix get caged or something so that when the doctor touched her, he wouldn’t know? Was it all because her new master had done all that? Her new master had given her headaches to…Hurt her? The reason she left…   Then…Duke finally become fully aware that… He…He had been right all along… Perdita had been his Phoenix… Looking at the ice blocks, his heart ached so much that he put a hand to his heart. He heard a lot of what happened to her already but these, these feelings of hers were crazy. She really felt so much and now, upon meeting him the first time, she didn’t know what to do… As much as he wished that she had told him straight away that she was the Phoenix, he could understand why she didn’t. After all, she hadn’t really known him and she had also not been treated very well but…If she had, he knew that he would stop the enslavement straight away! To that thought, he suddenly felt like he understood why the master had kept Perdita away from him and why Perdita had all those headaches…The master was probably telling her not to tell him that she was the Phoenix…   Putting a hand to his head, Duke lowered it in defeat. No wonder I was taken so much by her, he thought. No wonder I wanted to live the rest of my life with her, he thought…It was never her life, it was mine! I wanted to be with her for the rest of my existence! I hadn’t wanted her to die and I would have done all I could to get her into Immortal Realm! Duke grabbed at his hair, mad at himself. Breathing heavily, he continued to read and fill in the gaps on what was in his mind and finally understood…He understood everything. His poor Phoenix… All those times that he had even disliked her was because she hadn’t been herself! All the times he had questioned her, she had been defensive and worried that she wasn’t worthy! Holding the feather firmly in his hand, not having let go of it once this whole time, Duke finally understood why they couldn’t connect that time, why he had wanted her so much!   Looking at what looked like the last written thing by his Phoenix, his Perdita, Duke lovingly touched it with his finger… ‘Forever yours, my dragon, my man, my mate, my Duke.’ “Forever is a long time, Perdita…” Duke stated. He wasn’t sure if he was asking if that was ok and he could be with her that long, or willingly stating that as a promise to her…Or both… Not even caring if he ever makes it to Ascension Realm anymore, Duke just wanted his Phoenix back! Standing up once again, Duke smiles and looks at the feather in his hands. “I’m coming, Sweetheart!” Not a second had gone before Duke was following the feather and where it would lead him too. But of course, at this moment, the Phoenix was still ashes…   ***   Sharlae had been trying to find the Dragon King for months, when the Phoenix suddenly was felt once again, well it was more so the curse that she had given the Phoenix that she felt. Reborn! The Phoenix had been reborn! Quickly flying off towards her curse, where the Phoenix would be, Sharlae wondered how this life of the undeserving Phoenix would be like. If she was a baby…Then wouldn’t she be able to do whatever she wants? While Sharlae was flying, she raised her eyebrows in thought and wondered if the Phoenix remembers their prior lives? Trying to remember what Perdita had acted like and said, Sharlae wasn’t even sure. Well, it would be great if she doesn’t remember me! Sharlae thought. As it would be a lot easier!   Perhaps she could get the Phoenix on her side and even somehow get her hating the Dragon King! How could that work though? What would she have to do to get her to hate her own destined mate? These thoughts kept her company as she got closer and tried to find where exactly the curse was, it really wasn’t that hard as you got closer and closer though…And as she got closer and closer, Sharlae got more and more excited… If she couldn’t enslave the creature, it wouldn’t be so bad. She could bring up the Phoenix as her own and even use her as a weapon to get her man to do whatever she pleases! Her future seemed to be a lot more brighter in her eyes now, then it did a month or two ago! All she had to do now was find that undeserving thing!     Sharlae thought that it was pure luck! She was so lucky to come across the undeserving Phoenix so quickly! Rushing up to the area, she found a little, colorful Phoenix jumping like that a baby would…And with nobody else around! “Oh…So…Not desirable!” Sharlae stated and then laughed. So what if the creature was already out, it would save her from having to pull it out herself later! It was pure luck that she had come here, like it was fated that the Phoenix would always be beneath her, always be her slave! She wasn’t too sure if she could enslave the Phoenix so early, as she hadn’t been sure if the creature would even come out so quickly after being reborn…But enslaving the Phoenix was probably a better idea anyway, at least then she would have more control over the damned thing!   Whispering a chant, a link was made, and the Phoenix was then enslaved, making Sharlae laugh wickedly. What stopped her from continuing to laugh though, was that the Phoenix grew and flared up, showing fire everywhere in the near vicinity. A golden glow was seen around the Phoenix, making Sharlae quite surprised. She was able to do a golden type glow as well but not as grand as this and thinking that made her angry that the Phoenix was trying to copy her! What’s going on!? Sharlae thought, ready to take full control over the Phoenix. After a large chirp, or whatever it was, Sharlae watched as the Phoenix sent fire balls up to the sky. Sharlae felt like she was being mocked by the Phoenix, as she couldn’t do fire balls, as her power was mostly upon using air. Yet… Only thinking now that this behavior of the Phoenix was just plain strange, Sharlae sighed and went to order the Phoenix to stop, but…   Clouds rushed to form above her, and thunder was heard, making Sharlae widen her eyes and remember the lightning strike that had happened to her, that had nearly made her lose the link between her and Phoenix once before. Narrowing her eyes at the Phoenix, she sneered, “So it was you who struck me with lightning!” Vexed, Sharlae raced up towards the Phoenix, producing her fangs and ready to poison! Whether she forgot that the Phoenix could heal herself or that she didn’t know that the Phoenix was now in Immortal Realm, Sharlae was not thinking straight. All she wanted to do was make the undeserving Phoenix pay! Pay with her life, pay with her blood, her tears! Sharlae wanted her gone forever! And to never return!   The Phoenix flew, which made Sharlae just change completely into her Golden Winged Serpent creature and follow the Phoenix in the sky. Continuing to follow the Phoenix, Sharlae suddenly saw the Phoenix get struck by lightning and then she stopped, wanting to laugh, until… Pain surged through her then and her mind got boggled. The link between her and the Phoenix seemed to crack and break within moments and Sharlae felt herself unable to stop from trembling. This was different to last time when she had gotten struck by lightning… Last time she was able to handle the link but this time, the lightning had struck the Phoenix and not her…Making things happen without her being able to stop it in the slightest!   The serpent let out hissing noises and wiggled about crazily, while the Phoenix screeched once and tried to be calm as it was falling to the ground. A roar sounded out across the land and out of the clouds raced a dragon, whom quickly picked up the Phoenix gently into his claws and carefully went the rest of the way to the ground. “Your…Your Excellency!” Sharlae stuttered through the pain, clenching her teeth. “I…The…The Phoenix got struck by lightning, I was trying to save her!”   Changing to human form, both the Phoenix and Dragon were now holding hands and walking determinedly towards Sharlae, whom was now a bit of a wreck on the ground and also in human form. With a handout, the Phoenix throw out a fire ball, and with one of his hands out too, Duke gave the fire ball lightning…To entrap Sharlae! “What…What are you doing!?” Sharlae yelled, unable to get out of the fire and lightning trap. If she moved in the slightest, she would be zapped, and pain would flow through her entire body. The heat from the fire was driving her creature into more of a frenzy, like it could hardly breath! Duke nodded to a scared looking fellow to the side, and he did some type of spell, to which took a couple of minutes. In those minutes, Duke turned to Perdita and took her into his arms, “Are you ok?” Perdita nodded, “Mmm.” He hadn’t liked the idea of Perdita being bait but at least then they would have caught Sharlae in the act! It was done!

I was sure that I was supposed to achieve something faster, achieve something without so much mishaps, so much hate. Yes…I was trying to hide it and was really scared of letting it out…That I…Was full of hatred… But, at this moment, where I was free and did not have a master, I was taking in this small amount of happiness before it might disappear, to possibly some wolves or bears teeth to end it. If they bite me in the heart, again, I would be combusting and be flown away to start again…Again… The strange thing about becoming ash, was the blurry figments that I could see. With little bits and pieces of seeing what was going on outside, I was able to see that three years went by from dying the first time, before I was finally reborn once again. This second time, I was ash for a year, before finally becoming the infant that I am now. A whole year… With the little segments of information that I was able to obtain, I still didn’t know what natural beasts or cultivators may be here in Ceptily, as I’ve also never ventured far in my life…In fact, seeing the sky was a very big thing for me and I really was sucking in the glory of being reborn and having a new life! It really sucked though, because I was so weak in this state, so I was unable to turn around or just walk around to relish even more of my freedom…No, I was stuck here and no doubt, shortly, something will come soon!     An hour later, I heard noises and a growl. Some animals either flew away or pounced, I wasn’t sure if they were natural or cultivators though and then the noises got bigger and bigger and I knew something, or someone, was coming towards me… Just as I thought that I was going to have to turn into ash again, so quickly after being revived, I was then picked up by someone naked and they cooed at me in confusion, “Hey, little one…What are you doing here?” Before now, I was never able to know what others were before I cultivated myself…But strangely, I already knew this man had a wolf creature and had obviously shifted, as he was now naked. Yes, some creatures weren’t able to be dressed upon shifting back from their creature… But…Nakedness wasn’t really a problem here, it was more so that the man’s brown eyes reminded me of… I looked at this man and sighed in my heart…There was less than five people who had tried to ever help me, one of them was my father…Who must have loved me because he had eventually died for me…That was my father Brendon… As I was taken in by this wolf creature and man, who had the same eyes as my father, I accepted this new life…With hope that I can break apart my hate or continue to lock it up inside myself… I grew up among a small wolf clan, I did see questionable eyes to how I ended up in the bush and why it felt like I acted beyond my years, so, I had to be careful. Acting as close as I could to the age I was, I slowly grew up and finally had a less stressful upbringing then that of my first and second life’s.   ***   My father was a heron creature, and he already had his family before he accidentally touched a maid, finding her to be a falcon creature. Both of the creatures had yearned for each other since that first touch and my father had let things go with the flow, having told me that he had never wanted to coax a woman so desperately in his life! My mother’s name was Ripley and she had wavy brown hair like my own. He told me that my eyes are hers, as they had a golden tint to my yellow iris’s. She had been smaller then me though, as I was up to my father’s shoulder and my mother was up to his higher chest. But, just like the falcon, she had led a solitary life and used her predatory instincts to survive her servant’s life. With her hearing and easy, quick escape methods, it was told that my mother stayed out of trouble and was hardly ever seen…Even though she worked at my father’s residence… He had distant eyes when he told me this story and I was at the stage back then of finally believing him to be true, but now at the present day, it felt like a very long time ago… Since he was a heron creature, his loyalty to one wife had already been destroyed because he already had a second wife, and then he was desperate for a maid. Of course, the maid was not only a surprise to my father, but that of his first and second wives. Luckily, they did not find out about the maid until after the deed had been done and that my mother was already pregnant with me. He had smiled, telling me it had taken two days to woe my mother over, but then he had frowned… I really hadn’t been interested in the intimacy of his story, but he told me anyway… Stating that it was a strange type of sex, that he had never done prior to my mother, he wondered if it was because I was the Phoenix, yet none of us had any answers to that… Telling me that it was great, but also painful, I could only sigh now to my own memories, because to me…Sex had always been painful and never great…It wasn’t something I wanted to remember like he did…   My father’s creature had not let him finish until my mother’s had been completely ready…And by that, it meant that they were so hot that drops and drops of sweat had made the bed, which completely drenched it as though it had been in the rain. Not until both him and her were nearly suffocating into heat and dehydration, was he able to finish and accomplish his goal. He told me, even through my blushing features, that even though it was painful, he still wanted to continue it, and that feeling had only stopped upon finding my mother pregnant. He laughed about all the excuses he had to make to disappearing back then for many hours at a time. Not only was it seen that he had not worked for an entire day, but he had not let anyone into his bed chambers as well. Not only were his other wives worried, but so were the servants whom had prepared food or staying close by, as nothing had gone in or out of that one room for so long! He shook his head to the predicament, as he had to change his own bed around before he could let anyone in! My mother was escorted out through a back entrance to rest, as she was thoroughly exhausted! And, since such an occurrence took place a couple of times, and how rare and strange it was, both the maid and my father had been silent about it. It wasn’t until my mother had been four months pregnant, unable to hide it anymore, that my father sighed and said he had to take her in as a wife. He looked in the distance then, his thoughts far from being beside me…   I hadn’t spoken much to my father in the whole time that he had come to met me. In fact, it was worrying that someone would come, because I still had a master and we were hidden in a cave. At this time in my first life, I was being hidden by the Mosquito King himself and his palace resided underground…My cave was a desolate cave that was only able to be entered by the King himself and no one else. He…He had treated me the worst in my first life…Yet… I wondered how my father had found me there, even in this present day…The underground palace was filled with royal mosquito people and there were so many of them that they didn’t need the other population to come and help by being servants or guards. I did happen to hear that this was normal there, so when I had gone to the country of Dura, I had been surprised to how they had lived there, thinking that it was strange… My father though, he was even sure that no one was to come and that he wasn’t going to leave until he told me about my story and how special I was. I remembered being a bit worried about his presence, but…He still did speak what he wanted to, before he left…   …He knew it right from the beginning, because of the completely rare way that not only how I was conceived but because his creature and my mother’s creature yearned for each other, until the pregnancy finally happened. Cravings of burning hot food and that of colored food…My father told me that since I am the Phoenix, burning hot food seems to make sense, yet the colored food… My mother would have a food of different colors every day, for at least a month, and that was the only reason my father was able to work out what she was doing, yet, never understood why. It didn’t matter what the food was, just as long as she had the color. Whether it be green lettuce or green celery…It just had to be green. Chillies or capsicum, as long as it was red… My mother apparently drank more then twice the amount of water that his other wives drank, always saying that she was hot and bothered. There were the times that my father said he couldn’t even touch her because he would get burnt! Another unexplainable event back then, was birds of all kinds would slowly creep towards my mother and look as though they were bowing! Not only his creature, but other creatures that were close by my mother, would unintentionally want to bow as well! Then, another thing that had surprised him, was the way that my mother had made a nest for herself before giving birth. Fire…She had wanted fire, fragrant herbs and spices, including cinnamon and myrrh. My father showed me his excitement while telling me this, and I doubt he was less excited years ago upon this really happening! He even told me that he was faithful to my mother from the time that he first touched her. He was not a faithful creature, or person, not bothering to really love one at a time, yet, he was unable to be with another since my mother! Even when he did get burnt, he still wanted to touch her. Even when she ate weird things and the weird fact that creatures came to prostate themselves to her, he was the loyalist he’s ever been to a woman!   …But what he told me, really didn’t help me at the time. I wasn’t special…Well, I had not felt special at all. I felt like a lap rat, a person that had no rights to anything, even to think properly. I knew things were a little different to me then to other enslaved people, as I was able to fight the connection and desires more, but I was still unable to break the connection completely. I was also unable to completely eradicate their desires from my head! After telling me his story, my father got up and kissed me on my forehead, telling me to be strong and to never give up hope. He told me that I will be reborn and that I must always take care of myself…And then he was gone… Not long after, I heard he had died in the attempt to killing my master, the Mosquito King. His attempt might have looked half hearted or even crazy, but I was never able to forget that my father had tried his hardest to obtain my freedom once again! With blood being something found as a weakness to the King, that is what my father had used. He contaminated the blood of which the Mosquito King drank and from then on, the King was poisoned and even though my father died in the process, it was a few days after that, that my connection had been cut! Through all this, no one ever knew, that particular man was the one who helped bring me into this world. He was a ‘nomad who went crazy’, but he was the first person that had put their own life on the line to try and help me…And it had made me very sad!   That was the strongest memory that I had on my first life…Not only because of my father’s actions, but that he was the reason that I became free from my second master. Of course, it had not helped me, because I also died in the process, but I had died free… I did remember what happened to me after a year that I was first born, but I had to be told that of the burning house and killing three people upon my birth…Including that of my own mother… This had made me undoubtedly sad, as right from the start, I was a murderer…I had even killed my own birth mother and will never get the chance to met her, to have her grow old with me by her side and for her to teach me right from wrong…It was also like a stain upon my heart…Someone who deserved every bit of bad luck given to her… Perhaps, my hatred is kept at bay because of what I did to my mother. Perhaps, I feel like I deserve this type of existence… Yet, at the same time, if I had a choice, I could honestly state that I wish I hadn’t burned down the house and killed those people! But it was done! She was gone, and I had spent years figuring out that I needed to accept this and move on as best as I could from it. So, from my second life, it might still be a stain upon my life, but I choose to believe that I don’t deserve more of what I have lived through. You could probably say that my first agonizing life, was for justice of my mother’s death. But, now that I was in my third life, I needed…Yes, I needed to live for me! I can’t continue to believe that I’m bad luck and that I was a murderer from the beginning. What I want to believe now, was that I had paid for my crime of accidentally and unknowingly killing three people, and I was going to start a fresh…   Sadly, the only motherly love I have received, was from an elderly woman for eight years, in both lives…And there’s just so much bad things that happened afterwards, to always think that time as gratitude all this time. I feel blessed, yet, I feel like maybe I could have been better not knowing a devoted type of love before, because I had not felt it since… I know what it’s like to be ignorant, and I wished now that I was ignorant of that love, so that I could have survived better when I had been taken by force to never see the light of day for months at a time. If I never knew what I was missing out on… No, I suppose, since I have overcome that now…Again…That it is probably good that I knew how to be fun and compassionate. Otherwise, I may have never become the person I am now…Perhaps I might have taken a whole other path that was…A lot different to this one… …I was taken away by my father’s own, old nanny. Back then, I had no idea how close to death she was already, but it was only a couple of years before she had died, and I was fending for myself for the first time. …She had been such a lovely old lady… Taken away in secret, as though I was never born, I was to grow up in the old lady’s humble house that was near the sea. My father had told me that he was glad to protect me, that he was worried about me staying there in his residence and being brought up with bullying and abandonment. That, making me live far away, it was the best that he could do at the time… His nanny’s name was Edna and she had a dolphin creature. She told me that she was actually really happy to live away from my father and the capital, because she much preferred to stay closer to the sea.   The Mosquito capital, named Torte, was bordering the sea but the sea was outside of the city gates and was very much guarded by many of the mosquito people. So, for Edna and I to live near the sea, we had to travel quite a number of days before we weren’t going to be a hindrance to the mosquito clan and King. Because the Mosquito King was like this, taking possession of most of the water and being one known to suck the blood out of young maidens, he was not a likeable King by many and the capital was the second lowest population on the planet of Seal. At least half of the population they had in Questro, was that of their own creatures of mosquito’s, making it also a place hard to obtain and take over, if one was to go to war with them. Most of the cultivated powers that they used had to do with their blood or the blood of their enemies, making them quite a tough foe, yet, they also had their weaknesses, just like everyone else. Once, they had been flooded and lost a substantial amount of population, only to have gained numbers once again fifty years ago and the other weakness was the obvious thought of through their strength, which was blood. Poison was still the best-known strategy to defeat them, yet who would take the risk of poisoning their own blood? So…For quite a long period of time, the mosquito clan has resided and stayed here in their capital, not ever being completely exterminated.   Even though the mosquito clan and Mosquito King had their problems, there was still one capital in Dura that had less population, and that was because of yet another resilient and old type of creature that people possessed…And that was cockroaches… The capital in Dura was called Sirest and the Cockroach King had claimed any type of good thing for him, leaving the rest of the population to have to endure with even less than that of any other country, making many people try to leave in the prospect of finding a better future. What the cockroaches were good at, was team work and they would always come out in flocks, making one unable to get away… My life there had been…The worst. It wasn’t just the Palace that was under the earth, it was the entire capital…For much of my life in Dura, I spent very little time being out in the open… But, not particularly wanting to think of that particular life, I focused once again on Edna…Remembering my time with her was a lot better than…

Sharlae had fought with all her might to be free of the fire and lightning but she had never had in mind of what her future would hold from now on… She thought everything would be fine when the fire and lightning had disappeared but no…She was mortified to find out that she was now enslaved! For the life of her and her power, she could not fight it! What was going on!? She was in the Immortal Realm, why could she not fight this enslavement!? Her ‘master’ wasn’t even in Immortal Realm, they weren’t as strong as she was!   What Sharlae may find out soon enough, is that her enslavement curse was doubled in power. She will not be able to fight any master, and that was what her punishment would be! Enslaved by a band of coyotes, Sharlae found her life being stripped away from her in a matter of days. She had to follow…Away from the castle, the place she had called her home. She had to do as commanded, getting food in such a disgusting way! Using her powers to catch prey and then her beautiful hands to strip away it’s fur, it completely enraged her!   No, she could not vent her rage, she could not go against her master’s will. She held it all inside of her and blamed it all on the undeserving Phoenix! If the Phoenix had not been around, had not even been born…Then she would be with her man the dragon King! This was not her life! All the time that her first master was in control of her, he had not spoken a word to her that wasn’t a command, then…He was finally going to die! She couldn’t wait!   …Never…Never did she think that this was all prepared… The one that she loved, the one that she admired most, was the one that stated that she must always be enslaved! If there was a chance that the master could die, then another is to take their place… And just like this, her life filled her up with never ending rage and fierce glares and commands. She clenched her jaws, her hands and toes till there was nothing else but stress in her bones, her sweat gathering pools at her feet… It was hell!   Her whole life was swapped from being known and well looked upon, to that of a slave and not taken seriously. She was with one of her worst enemies and they were always stealthy and horrible to her! They had even started calling her ‘Serpent beast’, no longer calling her by her name… She deserved so much more! Yet…For the first time in so long, after having three masters…She felt like it was horrible to live forever… But what was she to do? Her man was now gone, she was not known anymore, as she looked terrible and wasn’t able to do anything about it. She was…No longer the person she used to be… Vengeance filled her core and if she could, she would snap at her masters, but at the end of the day, she could only blame the Phoenix more and more for having done this to her! She was hit, used, abused and even her body had become something of a toy…     Time went passed slowly for this Golden Winged Serpent and soon she will meet a master that will make her question everything…From that of blaming, to that of what love really is…Yet…The aloof, strong hearted man seems to never take her seriously, even when she finally falls in love with him! And her first real regret in life…Is that she wished she had fought with all her might against the order of killing his parents… After so long of being without him, without the only person that had given her a sense of self and showing her that she could really be happy after so much terrible things had happened to her, she found an instinct take after her… Not being in control of her Golden Winged Serpent, Sharlae found herself being taken to a strange area that she never knew existed on the planet of Seal…   It was a pool of magma… Hot… It was so hot… Flabbergasted, she saw herself fly right into it and screamed to find herself burning. Her creature used a golden glow and Sharlae felt slight relief from the pain but only to see herself turn slowly into ash… But the pain was too much and she found herself falling unconscious…   After so many years, a Dragon had been born…And now, after another five hundred years…A Phoenix was being born but… Sharlae remembered everything! She remembered that it was the dragon that had sent her into enslavement! She remembered her love, that wasn’t the dragon… She remembered how much she hated the Phoenix, how much she despised something so undeserving… And now, she was that very Phoenix…   (As you see, this is also a prologue into volume two and three)

Back To the Pack!   Nathanial didn’t want to open his eyes just yet. Having awoken yet felt weird at first, he just laid there, but now…Remembering a bit of what had happened in his latest memories, he didn’t know what to do. The memories were mostly blurry upon getting poisoned. He couldn’t even see them properly but, there was a point that was somewhat clear, and he could hardly stop from getting mad at himself. With his conscious becoming more alert upon being in the water when that had happened, he had somewhat awoken while that woman was on top of him.   That woman…Sharlae…Sharlae was her name. He had been entranced at first, seeing her naked body right before him, thinking that he was dreaming. With what they were doing becoming more and more real, Nathanial remembered that he could have stopped it if he wanted to. He could have…But…He didn’t. The way that she had looked at him, telling him that she was there. The way that she was enjoying him and showing such a desirable…He had absolutely no heart to stop their love making. And by the time he had made that decision, he had let things run it’s course like a complete idiot! Luckily, he remembers falling into oblivion afterwards, losing conscious once again but…He still remembers her and that time as plain as day!   Was it that she had been tempting him for a while? A man can probably only tolerate so much seduction before he gives in… Was it that she looked so utterly beautiful naked and with the moonlight on her skin? So beautiful that he felt like it really could have been a dream…He knows it isn’t, because he had pinched himself and further found a glorious feeling that was only oh so real! Yes…Nathanial remembers well… He had never been with another and…It really was… Does it happen every time? That creatures can connect so easily!? So quickly? Not having any idea why his boar had suddenly come out, he had been completely dazed at more then one thing at a time! And that was that of her wings, her on top of him, his own rising feelings and his hair growing. He remembered feeling excited and happy but…Was that him consenting to letting his boar connect, by feeling that…Open? It seemed slightly unfair! As…How could he had said no!? But…   Was it because he had wanted her more then he originally thought? His creature connecting to hers had astounded him very much but…He couldn’t believe that he had no regrets. Was he…Using his creature to never forget that time? Was he using his creature as one link that he may be able to use to stay close to her, while he could feel better to shut her out any other way? …What was he doing!? Did he even love her? Did he think they had some type of future!? Why, why had he let it happen!? Why had he not taken her off of him and walked away? But…Not only does he remember not having much strength then but, he…Well, he didn’t have the strength! He had…Wanted her… It really was as simple as that! He, a man that had been seduced, and even felt similarities between them, had given into the temptation…   Just for a moment more, he inwardly sighs at what they had done and then breaths deeply as he locks those memories away. He was a master to the enslaved golden winged serpent. He was also someone that had detested her for killing someone when he had let her go free. She had also killed his parents… They could not have this type of relationship…However much he liked the idea of it… Opening his eyes, determined to go back to things as they were before, he blankly looked at the woman before him. “You’re awake!” Seeing her so openly excited, Nathanial tried harder to forget. He let out a noise, not quite yet trusting his voice and tried to sit up.   “How are you feeling?” Suddenly, she was right before him, her hands already on his forehead and Nathanial looked at her, images clinging to his mind. If she keeps acting like this, he might not be able to forget that time together! He already wanted to grab her hand and pull her on top of him, to kiss her like they had and… Swallowing, seeing that she was now away from him, Nathanial took this moment to say, “What’s going on?” Feeling bad when he saw her being upset for a short moment, she finally said, “You were poisoned.”   Watching her look away and get a wet cloth, Nathanial let out another noise, “I know he touched me, my arm started to go red.” He continued to watch her as she put the cloth on his forehead, noticing that she wasn’t looking at him directly, “I got the antidote and brought you here.” Nathanial didn’t know that part, he could have only guessed through blurry images but even then, he was sure that he had lost consciousness at some point. “Oh…” As much as he liked to act like he used to, to which he would take the cloth from her and do it himself, Nathanial stared at her, letting her do it.   He knew it then…He knew that he was probably already too late… As much as she was a killer, someone that didn’t understand what it was like to stand in another’s shoes, he liked her… Why? Why her? She was selfish, she was annoying and intolerable…Above all things, she was a monster! She had killed someone within three days of freedom and had cursed the legendary Phoenix! How dare he like her!? Was he insane!? Yet… He knew it, she was a very passionate woman. To have liked the Dragon King for so long…She held to her convictions, most likely fighting with everything she had. If she was someone to use her abilities for good, instead of bad, what a woman she would be! “What? Do you remember…Anything else?”   With her question, Nathanial blinked, his mind blank of thoughts but full of images. He watched as Sharlae sighed and even to him, he thought she pouted, making her look quite adorable to him. Actually, she has always had a sweet side, she just didn’t show it very often. Most of the time she was working at teasing him and pushing him, never giving that much of a break to show this side of her. He wasn’t blind, he had seen some things that she did that were a lot more pleasant to see. In fact, the sweetest she has been was when she was trying to seduce him. She pouted often and stared into nothing, showing faces to show her curiosity or constant confusion.   Was it then that he saw that she was passionate? That with whatever she did, she put in a lot of work? He also remembers some stories of what she had done to previous masters…She had fought. She has been trying…All this time…Trying hard to get away from enslavement, trying hard to get someone to be with her and trying hard to…Seduce him… Remembering how she danced and played music, Nathanial wondered how he had endured all that time! Honestly, if he let his feelings of wanting her show, he will be in deep trouble! Nathanial let out a small chuckle, “It looks like I’ve made things difficult for you.”   Sharlae sat better, looking down, “It’s nothing…” With gentle eyes, and hands that wanted to reach out to her but stayed still, Nathanial already wanted to tell her that he remembered a bit after that. What would happen if he told her? Would they have a relationship then? But…He shouldn’t…He shouldn’t do that… Yet, why does he want to so badly!?   Liking how she had wanted to protect him, he wanted to see it again. Just like how she had been excited upon him waking up, looking after him. Taking him to safety… All these things she was doing, having never done them in his knowledge, Nathanial felt like he was proud of her. She was changing… Then, suddenly, she stood up and sighed, throwing down the cloth to me. “Give the message to me and I’ll deliver it, you still need to rest.” With the sudden change, Nathanial just looked at her. “Where is it?” She moved her outstretched fingers, making Nathanial easily get distracted. He really needed to stop thinking about anything sexual to do with her! Just those fingers alone and what they had done the previous night had started to set him on fire!   “Oh…” Getting out the message, that was his job, Nathanial looked up and she had taken it from him by then. “I’ll be back.” With that, she was off. Now that she was out of sight, Nathanial cringed when he sat up further and sighed. That poison was…Scary… Before he had falling unconscious, he remembers that he lost all feeling in his legs…Now, he was only able to move his toes but felt like walking would be too hard. His arms felt heavy and he was still tired. Unable to do much else, except exert most of his energy to do his personal deeds, by crawling elsewhere, and have a drink, Nathanial then laid back down where he was before… How did he have so much energy in that pool!? Now he felt like he was dying! Sadly, since thinking of the pool, his dreams entered the recent past of holding a certain someone close to him.   ***   It had already been nearly a day and Nathanial had not seen Sharlae. He slept for most of it but upon wakening and finding food, she must have stopped by but just left again. Not having changed the enslavement, to where she had to be close again, Nathanial wondered if she was on purposely staying away now. His creature did try to explain things to him, but Nathanial thought best not to listen for the moment. He had yet to get back to normal, like their intimacy hadn’t happened, before he could take on whatever his creature would tell him… He could probably change the rules again, so that she’d have to come, but he decided against it. It was probably better that they stay apart, because then…   After the first day, Nathanial finally was able to walk, and he started walking back towards what he thought was home but had to stop at frequent intervals. The poison had done so much damage before the antidote was given to him and he felt so weak that he was starting to get angry. …But that was all he could do, and so he grudgingly continued… Yet…With each passing hour, he wondered what she was doing. What Sharlae was doing…   Will she stay away now? What if she never shows herself in front of him again? He could easily find out through his creature, and he was tempted to do that but…He, seeing himself ask these questions, he still needed this time to get back to normal… If he didn’t revert back, wouldn’t the Band of coyotes know that something had changed between them? Thinking of what could happen if a change of relationship is seen by others, Nathanial couldn’t think much beyond that. He didn’t want more teasing, to both he and the serpent…Sharlae… They had enough troubles as it was!   Again, on the next day, she had left some food and water for him, but had not shown herself before him in any other way. He didn’t want to look like he was complaining but, deep inside, he was… Nathanial sort of missed that serpent beast. Looking at her seemed to be something he wanted to do now but now that he knew that, he can’t do it…It was strange… Even contemplating telling her that he knew what happened between them was thought of, just to get her to come back to him but…He was never awake when she left him food or water! Then, as he thought of ‘missing her’ he had to slap himself to remind himself that he couldn’t act this way! They were master and servant! She was a monster, a killing monster! It was best if he reverted back into ignoring her again, as though nothing ever happened!     Finally, upon the fourth day, Nathanial didn’t have that far to go and was feeling a lot better. Because he had walked so slow and stopped often, he had taken so long to get back, but now, now that his job was nearly done, he felt a strange sense of relief go through him and he nearly fainted then and there. Suddenly, he remembered his bed, his life, the children and felt like he really could handle everything again… Perhaps, even if he secretly misses her, things will go back to normal, just because he was back home…   ***   One more night out, Nathanial made it back to the pack the next day, reporting to the Alpha that he had finished his duty, only to be stopped and questioned before he left. ‘Why had it taken you so long?’ ‘Why is the serpent beast not right next to you?’ Nathanial stated that he had been poisoned but did not go into detail upon why he was poisoned. Then, he told Alpha Master that since the serpent beast had helped him, he gave her a bit of freedom as a reward… The Alpha Master looked at him with quizzical eyes but did not go into more detail and let him go.   He was told to go back to his normal job the next day and Nathanial felt relief as he entered into his little home. Too tired to clean himself, he made his way to his bed and flopped down upon it. He was a little too big for this bed but at this moment, he was very grateful for it! Having to sleep on the hard ground all this time, Nathanial didn’t take long before he was asleep, even in his uncomfortable state!   Within just a minute of soft, relaxed breathing coming from Nathanial, Sharlae appeared beside his bed, sighing. Picking up his feet and pulling the blanket out from beneath him, she moved him to be completely on the bed. Taking off his shoes and putting them near the door, she then proceeded to take his clothes off and wipe him down. She had heard numerous things from her creature, and just as she thought, Nathanial will most likely continue to not accept what was going on between them, even worrying about what the other coyotes might do if they knew… To her, it was nothing. Who cared if they knew, she would make it so that it didn’t matter…But it seems that it mattered for some reason to Nathanial so…What could she do?   After wiping him down, she then wiped herself down too. Having followed him, keeping an eye on him all this time, she was just as dirty as he was, perhaps more so. Hunting and cooking weren’t really her specialty these days, but with Nathanial being like he was, Sharlae put her best effort into it, hoping that it was edible for him. Remembering feeling delighted upon seeing him eat her food, Sharlae smiled. She smiled a lot lately, just because…Well, because of him. The stubborn, silly man was really growing on her or perhaps, he had been growing on her for a while now…   Seeing him try so hard to get back, seeing him try so hard to keep away his thoughts… After putting the cloth and bucket away, Sharlae pulled the blanket up and got in herself, hugging him and feeling better than she has since they were last in each other’s arms. It wasn’t like they couldn’t be apart, it was more like if you weren’t together, there was a feeling of missing something. It wasn’t painful, it wasn’t a forced type of feeling either, it was more so a desire, like that of a dream to be a dancer or singer. She desired to be next to him but stayed away so that he can come to terms with things, mainly their relationship. Feeling his arms wrap around her, Sharlae smiled. Just like her, he would feel the same, wouldn’t he?   ***   In the next week, things were different but strangely very similar at the same time. She didn’t pester him upon talking about their relationship but did make sure that he ate, had clean clothes and was warm enough. That was indeed one difference, again, something they didn’t talk of though. He simply silently ate what she gave him and said one word of thanks when he realized that she had cleaned his clothes…But… The fact they had not spoken of their relationship did still weigh on both of their shoulders. Nathanial, to his utter disbelief, could not bring up her sleeping in the same bed, so that it could stop! If he brought it up, they would most likely have to talk about their relationship…So…He simply let it be…   Waking to find her in his arms was great, he couldn’t deny it! He didn’t want to stop it yet, he really was already falling way too fast! This wasn’t a game to him at all and he didn’t want to play with his feelings for her but every night she would simply just jump in, whether he glared at her or not! By the fourth day, Nathanial gave up and took her into his arms and then he could feel it…Their creatures were happy… Just this small acceptance of letting her sleep in his arms had been joy and made him speechless… It seems, they will from now on sleep on the same bed…   Sharlae did not always accompany Nathanial to his day job, as she would be either cleaning his clothes or taking it easy in a tree nearby. It seemed, anything to do with Nathanial now was much more seen by her! Whatever the people said, she heard it! Whenever the people looked at Nathanial, whether it be a nasty look or one of complete impatience, or them unable to tolerate just the look of him…She saw them… She wished to do something about it, about these stupid people that had no idea how brilliant that man was but…Nathanial already knew of the people doing things like this and will continue to ignore them. And so…Sharlae was thrown into a world where she was stopped from doing whatever she wanted…

Spontaneous Decision!   Having to take that next step for him, knowing that it wasn’t only her unable to wait any longer, she placed herself on top of him. Both of them let out noises…Noises that didn’t seem to go quieter… In no time at all, both of them felt hotter, as sweat started to form as they both moved in the water, making small splashes. “Sharlae.” The feverish man said. Looking at him, his eyes half opened, Sharlae gave him a light kiss, “I’m here.”   Not in…Ever, never had Sharlae found herself so desired, with his look like that, his voice like that…His obvious want for her. And in return, she also desired this man, this man that still was gentle with her, kissing her like she was a treasure, well at least that was how she felt at this moment. At first, they touched each other like passionate lovers, kissing skin and slowly moving but…As time continued, passion turned more into more and more desire, making them move faster. As he kissed her neck, Sharlae arched her back, moaning, then crying out as she reached her climax. It really had taken her by surprise, as she had never climaxed before! Feeling the man’s hands keep her moving, she trembled and fell into his embrace, as he tightly held her and groaned into her neck.   Nathanial acted strangely after this instant, nearly coming to a halt in their intimacy, but then groaned out and took her mouth and kissing her and pushing her face into his, like he wanted to eat her up completely! Having slowed down but then holding her tightly once again, Sharlae pulled back from the kiss, breathing heavily like him, and saw him gaze at her so strongly that she felt her already red cheeks start to burn. Right now, she felt like she was the center of his attention, of his knowledge, of his universe…Like she was the reason for his being alive and she started to tremble even more, feeling like their creatures could actually connect at this sudden point.   Could it really be possible? A boar and a serpent? Her wings came out all by themselves and she could feel her serpent nearly crying over wanting his boar to connect to her serpent. Seeing fur start to form over his body, his hair growing slightly longer, Sharlae could feel their creatures want to connect too. Never having experienced this, Sharlae was shocked. So shocked that the sudden tightened of his hands on her waist made her tremble even more, feeling herself climb into a more intense type of climax that she never knew existed! Yelling out his name, Sharlae felt her serpent feel completely content.   Shortly after, he brought up his legs and then let them down in a huff and Sharlae let out a smile. She embraced his fur, combing her hands through it and soon finding it disappearing…But, their creatures were still linked… Her serpent wings disappeared, and an overwhelming feeling made her smile. She felt…Happy. A boar…Her creature linked to a boar…It was almost funny! It was strange though, how much she adored his creature now. Whereas before she didn’t give it too much attention at all, it being somewhat a scary thought to her but now, she thought his creature was quite magnificent… Rubbing her face against him, she felt his hands loosen themselves but not move away from her waist.   Attaching her arms as well, to the hot man, Sharlae became silent as she listened to his heart. She didn’t know how long past, but his heart slowed, and it sounded like he had fallen into a deep sleep. Not wanting to move, Sharlae lost her slight happiness, wondering what all this meant. Will he even remember this? Will he go into denial? It sort of sounded useless to go into denial though, with their creatures now linked! But…He was a silly man after all, she thought. She found herself saddened to the idea of him completely forgetting this…Yet, she had a feeling that he may try and do it!   With her serpent telling her that his creature was sleeping soundly, Sharlae couldn’t wait to get constant updates upon the new link and was already excited. This was a new life, like she had been reborn, and now…She felt like she was here to be with him, to be with his creature. She wanted to make them happy and couldn’t believe that she felt such dedication towards that type of thing, when usually she used to be so… Right…She was selfish… He really had changed her… So then, should she act like nothing had happened so that he will feel better or more comfortable? But…She had never been so close to someone before. She had never wanted to defend and protect someone so much! This was all so new and she was scared for the first time…Both her and her creature did not want to ever lose him!   Scared for two reasons… One reason was because she felt this way to begin with, that life all of a sudden had taken some strange, new twist, even though she had been around for a long period of time and thought she had already experienced just about everything there was! The second reason she was scared was because she didn’t want to let it go just after she obtained him this way. She wanted to be this close with him again, she wanted him to say her name and touch her with his gentle hands. She wanted more…And she felt there would be no doubt no more after this day…At least not realistically, however much she may dream about it! Kissing the man’s chest, Sharlae even felt a bit unhappy that this moment together had not lasted longer. …It was such a short time to encase it into her heart. What if he never says her name again? What if never touches her again?   If they go back to the way there were before, at least it wouldn’t be like they were enemies but…Now that she had a taste of what it was like to be his woman, she felt like she couldn’t be happy unless she obtained it properly, through his acceptance… With this strange thought, she was suddenly remembering somewhat feeling this way with the Dragon King and frowned. She had lived so long around the Dragon King and he had not accepted her or her creature once… What if this will be the same? What if Nathanial won’t live long and never accepts her and then…Now that their creatures had linked…She’ll go through even more pain and suffering!? Was it worth it? Why, why would she let herself be opened to this pain!? Why did she let her creature link to his!?   Sharlae felt anxious at the thought, and the more she thought about Nathanial leaving her someday made her more and more frantic. As much as she wanted Nathanial to be comfortable within this…New relationship of theirs, she can’t help but want to be slightly different. She wanted to get more, wanted to even help him make it to Immortal Realm so that they could live forever together. She wanted to take him away from here and just live for themselves! Wouldn’t that be nice? To be together, just the two of them… Then… Her enslavement made her lose her smile. What if…I will still be enslaved? Right…   Even though our creatures may have linked, it wasn’t like I was going to be set free…It wasn’t like he’ll accept this, she suddenly thought. Tightly holding onto Nathanial, Sharlae felt desperate. This connection, this want to be with him was new and nice, and she didn’t particularly just want to get rid of it so easily! Perhaps, she was still selfish and didn’t want to let it go! Her predicament led to think that nothing might change, so wasn’t it selfish of her to want it in the first place? Perhaps she was just thinking up excuses… In normal circumstances, with creatures linked like this, they would marry. For a moment, Sharlae lost herself in a dream. Her and Nathanial together, a home of their own making, children to keep them company…Marriage, which was something that she had never done before.   With this sweet image in her mind, Sharlae let out a sob and rubbed her forehead against his chest. Please…Please just…Let me accept this! Let me at least try to coax you over…Let me try to soothe our creatures. Don’t…Please don’t dismiss it! Don’t dismiss it until there is no longer any chance left at all! Looking at Nathanial’s sleeping face, Sharlae gave him a light kiss and caressed his cheek with her hand. In all her existence, Sharlae finally felt what she thought was determination. Determination to get this silly man to accept her and her creature, to get him to be with her more than they are currently. Determined to be more then just a slave and master, as…If it can’t be lovers, perhaps friends? Friends was still better then what they were just yesterday… Nonetheless, whatever could be obtained…She was determined to obtain it!   It really was so different… What she had thought as love for the Dragon King, perhaps it wasn’t after all. She had wanted him because she thought he deserved her but… With Nathanial, it felt completely the opposite! She wished and hoped and already wants to do anything possible for him to accept her! She wanted his trust and faith in her and wanted to know on how to obtain it…To which she never really cared for before! Now, she finally sees the difference! Before she felt like she deserved it, no matter what, perhaps she even demanded people to care for her this way but…To actually want someone’s respect and to have their trust was…Well, perhaps this was why the Dragon King and Nathanial were different…She wanted to work hard, where as before, she…Well, to what she felt like she could do now for Nathanial, to before on how she did things for the Dragon King, it was so different!   And because of thinking that, Sharlae suddenly fell directly out of love with the Dragon King…Well, she didn’t even call it love anymore…She probably had never cared too much about him, she had just wanted him…It was understandable, she told herself, the Dragon King was after all powerful and strong, it was no wonder why she had felt like she had deserved him! …All that was left now, was a pained past. The past with the Dragon King, and all these years of forced enslavement because of him, has indeed left a scar on her heart but…At the moment, with the man in front of her, she felt like she could endure the deep pain that may never go away.   So…How does someone gain trust and faith in another? She’d surely like to know… Honestly, being so unprepared to suddenly live for another was shocking to Sharlae… She never knew that little things could matter so much, and she only thought this because it has mattered to her…In fact, a reason to how she is learning a little bit was because of how much of the little things that Nathanial had done for her that had made her feel good…After thinking of how she had felt, then she wondered then about how Nathanial would feel or had felt when she had done this, or done that… Finally, she felt like her wings were stretched out, like she had grown some kind of extra power that she never realized that she had! The world took on a whole new way of life and all this time…It was probably always there but she had just never opened her eyes up to it! The fact that she now wanted Nathanial to think well of her, she was opened to this new way…This way of thinking of others, well…In her case, it was just thinking of one other person, not all of them, but it still felt like a huge step in a completely different direction! Snuggling into Nathanial’s chest and shoulder, Sharlae had never felt so content in her life. Perhaps…It was always this person, that could give her what she wanted most. Not a status, nor a powerful Dragon… Perhaps…All this time, she had been searching…For Nathanial…   She had obviously gone down a road that led her to become the person she was now… She led a life that helped her reach Immortal Realm. She had connections and grew with people around her pampering her. She had become someone that felt like her life was really hers, as in the way that she had the power to give herself whatever she wanted but… Upon a certain punishment, it seemed that she really didn’t have enough power to do whatever she wanted… Sharlae went into deep thought all of a sudden. Did I reach Immortal Realm to live a long life so that… Wait, just like Nathanial had stated earlier…I had never been intended for the Dragon King like the Phoenix had been…And now, finally, I believe it. All that time that I felt like there was no other path, I now feel like…   No…It can’t be! Until now, she felt like she had gone the way that she had been brought up to act and think. She simply could not have gone on many other paths that would lead to a much of a different life! She would have continued to go after and stay with the Dragon King, even if she had not cursed the Phoenix! But why!? Obviously, she had not loved him, but why had she been so fixated upon the Dragon King being hers!? It simply didn’t make sense!   Then, perhaps without the curse, she may have done something else to hurt the Phoenix, and she would have still been here, while the Dragon King and his Phoenix left to transcend, and therefore… Would she have been walking around aimlessly until now, if it wasn’t for being enslaved? Or would she have taken over the Dragon King’s job, because…Right… Sharlae nodded, she probably would have done that! Squeezing her eyes shut, Sharlae tried to wonder upon what other paths she would have been on, yet it was not easy. What the biggest question of all though, was…Would she still have met Nathanial if she had gone down another path?   The coyotes, to her and her creature, were like an enemy, so she probably wouldn’t have come to Ceptily. The boars are practically an enemy to her too but… Wait, the Golden Tribe, perhaps she would have gone back to them, and maybe with Nathanial doing a Rosna messenger mission…Maybe she could have met him then…But, wait, Nathanial may not have survived the mission he did before that! That’s right, he asked me to help bring him out of trouble, if I hadn’t been there at that point… Does that mean that Nathanial would have died by now if she had taken another path? Yet, that wouldn’t be the only change, as maybe his father and mother wouldn’t have died or he may not have had that job…Among a whole lot of other things, perhaps he may have even died much earlier to brutal bullying or something! …Just the idea of him not making it this far alive put shivers down her spine!   So glad…She was so glad that he was here with her right now! …If there was no other path, even though she had been enslaved till now… Really…Was she thinking that it was worth it? All that enslavement, all that forced rules and regulations on her? How poorly they had treated and disrespected her and her power! How they had used her, used her body and powers…How they tormented her so that she could not rage out her anger to them continuously taunting her with words and actions… Could it be really worth being forgotten about and being called ‘Serpent beast’? Sharlae sighed, perhaps it wasn’t completely a hundred percent worth it just yet but…At the moment she felt like it was a lot more tolerable, a lot easier to continue to endure… Well, at least she knew she had probably helped him survive so that she could be with him now…So, helping him was something that she probably would never regret.   How, how would I have met him before, if I had not been enslaved, so that he could have survived? Yes, for some reason, she couldn’t let the feeling of meeting Nathanial go! Shaking her head and opening her eyes, Sharlae stayed still, as she thought she might have just woken Nathanial up, but he seemed to stay still and quiet… With such coincidences, she still couldn’t seem to shake off the idea of fate hanging around both Nathanial and herself. This man was the only person that had been able to get her to want to make a change to her arrogant personality. Other people had forced her to change, forced her to only sink further into her hatred…But, Nathanial had…Made her start to think of other paths.   She wasn’t as mad at the Dragon King enslaving her anymore as, not only had she been able to meet Nathanial this way, but Nathanial told her that perhaps there was a reason why she was enslaved to begin with… Was it really because I had no idea what I had done to the Phoenix? She thought. Now that she had finally sprouted some extra feelings, in the way of feeling what others may be able to feel, she finally understood that she may have done something wrong, as…If she were the Phoenix and Nathanial the Dragon King…She’d hate it if they were forced to be separated! And so, putting herself in a similar situation to the Phoenix, she finally understood! And so, perhaps her enslavement wasn’t because it was the only thing that could hold her, so…Does that mean there is more to learn? What is it?   Was it because she should pay more attention to others? At least with Nathanial it was willingly done but the idea of thinking of others seemed to irritate her, as just thinking of Nathanial was so new and she didn’t want to go as far as only thinking of everyone else…Because then what about her? Perhaps, perhaps she shouldn’t demand everyone to respect her? Is that what she had been like before? She…She had been in Immortal Realm, so…Maybe she shouldn’t have thought everyone should respect her with no other reason…Yet, she was powerful, strong, why wouldn’t they respect her!? So then, she wondered, what could I had done differently? What would have the people had respected better then the me back then? …It was so long ago… Well, she will think of this some more but for now she was tired and really did want to sleep in his arms, not knowing when it may happen again… So…As much as it didn’t seem right, for her to have waited so long for Nathanial, it did feel right in another way…Because, simply being in his arms and falling asleep like this in the middle of nowhere, felt like…Heaven…   ***

A new Strategy!   Sharlae put an angry finger to his chest, feeling slight pain because of it, “You know nothing!” Again, Nathanial swiped away her finger and both of them glared at each other. After a small time, Nathanial looked down at the ground and then back up at her. She took a step back to his eyes, seeing pity within them, “Stop it!” It wasn’t the first time that she had seen that. No… He had looked at her like this a couple of times, earlier in their enslavement! “I said stop it! How dare you look at me like that!” She yelled. “I feel sorry…” Sharlae interrupted him, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Stop it! No!” Shaking her head quickly, she covered her ears.   Sharlae felt like crying all of a sudden. Her life felt like it was falling apart. Her existence was…Shattering… Why was this one man making things hard for her!? Looking back to see that same look in his eyes, Sharlae angry pushed at him, “I told you to stop!” Because she had attacked her master, pain shot through her body and Sharlae coughed up some blood. Falling to the floor, Sharlae breathed heavily for a moment and didn’t have the energy to do anything else. Silence filled the area and she didn’t know what to do. She felt like she must have been missing something, but what…What could she have done differently!? Why did she feel so…So empty?   Hanging her head low and not moving, Sharlae didn’t know what was wrong with her. Feeling arms wrap around her then, Sharlae was shocked. What? She was suddenly completely embraced into a warm hug and it shocked Sharlae so much that she couldn’t speak or move. How long had it been? When was she last embraced like this? Warmth spread through the areas that another person was touching and Sharlae again felt like she could cry… …It had been so long…   “Perhaps…The person who never understood…Was you.” When she heard her master’s words, Sharlae stiffened up and pushed him away, feeling pain again. “Who…Who are you to think you know!? I was the only female that ever made it to Immortal Realm! I was by his side for so long, yet you see what he has done to me! If there is someone who didn’t understand, it was him!” Sharlae breathed heavily and glared at Nathanial, only to see that look again, making her lash out at him. He stopped her, by grabbing her arms and pinned her down on the ground. She coughed up blood, spitting it out to the side and closed her eyes.   “Did you place yourself in his shoes!? Did you understand him at all!? Have you ever thought of what it would make him feel if someone by his side had been the one to curse the Phoenix! Have you thought of that at all!?” Sharlae opened her eyes and stared at this angry man on top of her. He’d never been this angry before. He was always so…Aloof… She liked it…Liked that she had gotten such a reaction out of him but…He was scolding her! “Let me go!” She stated angrily. Suddenly, his face was so close to hers that she went terribly still and quiet.   This man wasn’t the most handsomest man that she had met, no, but…He had a charm through his eyes and aura that he put around him that made him feel handsome. She knew that he was strong willed, he was sweet and could be charming if he wanted to be. He had been sweet to one particular girl, but that girl hadn’t wanted much to do with him, but she had seen it. He was one of those man that would only take one partner, instead of a few like others. He really was…Extremely similar to the Dragon King…   Sharlae lost herself for a moment and closed the distance between them, touching his lips with hers. So similar that it was uncanny. So similar that she felt like she was in his presence… Wanting more, Sharlae lightly placed her tongue onto his lips, before kissing again and found her hands free. Putting her arms around the man’s neck, Sharlae held onto him, feeling him want to push her back. She endured through the small pain of touching her master, hardly feeling it at all, because she felt like she was in a dream.   With the sudden loss of his lips from hers, Sharlae stared at the man in front of her in a daze and didn’t speak a word. Seeing him also at a loss for words, even a slight red tinge across his cheeks, Sharlae thought it was really cute. Putting a finger to his cheek, Sharlae felt his hands tighten where they were holding onto her arms. “Stop…” He said. Sharlae placed her thumb over his lips and whispered, “You can have me…” Actually, it was the first time that she had given a chance for her master to take her. All other times it was practically an order but…This time…It wasn’t… Startled, Sharlae came to see that…She wanted this man…Perhaps in more ways than one!   Being forced away from her master, Sharlae looked up to see him with his back towards her. “Oh…” She stated, getting up, “It would be your first time wouldn’t it? Are you shy?” Starting to walk up to him, she sees him suddenly walk away, closer to where his little home was and felt like…Well, she wasn’t ready to stop… Perhaps she had too many masters that lusted over her once in a while but…She thought she should be able to seduce this master… Catching up to him, Sharlae slightly smiled. She felt like she had just found something fun to do and wanted to achieve it straight away!     Upon this new idea of hers, she had never thought it would be so fun. Having yelled at each other, ignoring each other, bullying each other…This was different! Much different! Sharlae was adamant of giving this man a chance to bed her, yet he was so very adamant of not touching her like that! She found it really funny though because after he would fall asleep, she would go into his bed and he really would cuddle her all night. Upon waking up, he would disappear in a flash and she could only giggle upon he ignoring upon what had happened. When he was looking after the children, he was trying to act normal, but she was sure that he was showing more anger then normal…She was sure of it!   Upon bathing, she would exert more energy to help him clean, even though he didn’t want her near him at this time! She had never cared at those times, but now…Now she found a new way to torment him and she had to admit that she was enjoying it! Those slightly red cheeks of his seemed to build some type of fire within her and she found the days go by strangely faster and happier than…Well, they were going by so differently…It was so weird. Yet, she honestly thought that he would be seduced by now! What was she doing wrong!?   She bathed herself a lot better now, wearing little clothing to bed but…He never took the simple clothing off her. She wore her hair down, seeing no reaction, then wore her hair up, seeing again no reaction. What did he like best? She danced for him, played music for him but…She was running out ideas! And this was what she did when her master was working in the day, she was trying to come up with ideas upon what she could do with her master that evening. A game? They had never played a game before! Then…Where was she going to get a game from? She had been around for a long time and knew of some games but…She couldn’t remember the last time that she had played any of them!   Having an interest in the children, Sharlae suddenly thought that they might know about a game. Watching them with intense eyes, Sharlae wondered if the game that the children were playing would be something that Nathanial would play. Wasn’t it a child’s game though? They were just playing with different color pencils, doing some type of drawing together… Frowning, Sharlae moved her head, to see it better, only to have no idea upon what type of game it was… She was never too close to children before, she never cared for them but suddenly, with their smiling faces, she wondered if that game was fun or not.     Nathanial felt insecure. He could see it, from the look on that face of hers, that she was coming up with another plan! He had been able to handle everything with ease for most of his life…Right up until these last few months. He shouldn’t have spoken to her, looked at her… Why…Why had he done that when he knew what she was like!? She had been given the chance to have a life, but it had only taken her three days to have killed someone, making him feel utterly terrible for giving her that chance.   That person losing their life was his fault! That person died because he let her go! She…The serpent beast, had killed my parents but…He knew it had been an order…So, after he found that out, he tried to understand her point of view, her reasonings…He really did! Knowing that she had been enslaved for a long time, he thought that perhaps some freedom would show that she had changed… Having become the serpent beasts master, Nathanial wanted to give a chance to it because it seemed pitiful. He saw how others treated it, her… He found that he felt similar to her…   They both were being bullied, they both were placed in circumstances that they couldn’t change! Yet…She was also so very cold hearted... He was just unable to trust her at all! So…As much as she tried to lure him, he just couldn’t let go of how she had killed someone during her freedom. He couldn’t let go that she didn’t think of others and how they could feel to her actions…He couldn’t let go that she had no idea upon why people got upset with her!   The problem was, he was a man and yes, he was tempted. She was a pretty sight after all. She was also someone that seemed to have a talent in seduction! He wanted to touch her, already dreaming about that kiss that they had shared! He wanted more but, his conscious doesn’t let him! He’d much prefer to have cold baths and not touch her simply because he felt slightly disturbed in thinking of how he would potentially feel if he ever laid a hand on her! She was not someone he would want in a partner! She was a monster! Something that only cared for itself! And if he let her get to him, he already knew that he would be betraying himself and so, he simply could only ignore her seducing methods…     …As much as Sharlae worked hard at tempting Nathanial, there was just no clear headway! She wanted to think that she had gotten somewhere every morning as that man clearly held her to him but upon him waking up…The headway she thought she was getting seemed to disappear completely! It really was unbelievable… After a few weeks on trying to seduce the man that was her master, Sharlae couldn’t help but lose her courage. She just simply didn’t understand! How was nothing working!?   Did her master only want a male? Did her master only look like he was a man and didn’t have anything down there? Sharlae investigated and watched upon Nathanial’s attitude towards his own sex and did not see anything that showed that he was that type of person. Next, she went as far as feeling the man up, taking his clothes off in the middle of the night to make sure that the thing between his legs was real! He was a man… …Then what was she doing wrong!?   “I can’t believe you!” Sharlae turned away from him and shrugged, “I just thought that…You weren’t…” “What…A man!? Are you crazy!?” Nathanial shrieked out, holding his bed blanket to him like a little girl. Sharlae frowned as she looked out the window and rested her head on top of her hand. I just don’t get it, she thought. “Get out! Get out now!” He yelled but Sharlae didn’t move. She really was out of ideas… What should she do now? The idea of going to bed with this man seemed to change her whole view of the days going by…It had been somewhat…Fun… But now, now she felt like she was only half a woman!   Should she try to sleep with someone else? If she slept with someone else, seducing them…Would that make her feel better? If she did that, then wouldn’t the problem be with her master then? But then, what was wrong with him to not want her!? In anger, Sharlae slammed her fist down on the window shelf and got up. She angrily looked at Nathanial and spouted out, “You aren’t even a man!” Stomping out the door, she huffed and sat down. She would prefer to walk away, run away, but she couldn’t because of the enslavement!   She felt so embarrassed! Before, when she had been with the Dragon King, she had saved herself for him…For all those years! Now…What was she doing!? Did her body being played with by her master’s beforehand make her to be such a person…She might as well work in a brothel! Putting hands through her hair, Sharlae shook her head. I give up, she thought. Whatever it was, her master seemed someone that she couldn’t seduce. So what if she couldn’t seduce him!? She wasn’t a wanton woman! Never will she lay a hand on him again!   ***   Nathanial couldn’t believe the sudden change in the serpent beast. He had been so angry that he had wanted to really…Pinch or…Slap that woman’s butt but…She suddenly turned into her old self again. It was too strange! With her constant loitering around him, he…Must have gotten used to it! Now she rarely said a word or looked at him! What, is she going to seduce and walk without…Without…   What a problem this was! Upon waking to find the serpent beast laying on her own in the corner, not on his bed, Nathanial put his hands to his eyes. He was tired… Why was he awake in the middle of the night!? Turning to his side, Nathanial felt irritated just having looked to see where she was! Just go to sleep, you idiot! He stated quietly to himself. Yet, as the nights went by…Nathanial found himself alarmingly lost for sleep… He was making mistakes after mistakes and he could only sleep when he was truly exhausted and yet…All she did was…Nothing…     “Nathanial, this is really…” “I’m sorry, I will make up for it, I promise…” Nathanial stated, lowering his head in shame. Having made that many mistakes, Nathanial had not only talked to one type of Beta leader, but now three! This time…It was their Alpha Master! “It has come this far…You must once again prove yourself. Pick a task that are there for us to do and don’t come back until it’s done!” The Alpha Master stated. Nathanial inwardly cringed and looked over at the side, to see a few pieces of parchment that would hold jobs. These jobs weren’t easy, they were mostly done by those that were warriors in the pack…Why…Why did he have to do this again!? …The last time he had done a job, he had almost lost his life…   “Serpent beast!” Nathanial had started to walk over to the jobs when his Alpha Master called out to his slave. What was going on? “Alpha Master.” Seeing the serpent beast remain calm and collected, not looking at anyone, seemed to make Nathanial more angrier and he went on his way to pick a job. “…Nothing…Keep to your Master!” What was all that about? She had to keep by my side! It was part of the enslavement! Why…Why would the Alpha Master state such a thing?   As much as Nathanial tried to work out what the Alpha Master meant by talking to the serpent beast, he couldn’t understand it. It doesn’t matter, he tried to tell himself, all he had to do was a job and not make mistakes again! Deep in his mind he knew that something had changed though, he wasn’t sure of what it was, but it felt like times had changed and he felt out of place now… Focus! Taking a breath and stopping himself from thinking more into it, Nathanial focused upon the jobs on the table.   The jobs mostly entitled that of being sneaky, which was something Coyotes were good at, but there were some big jobs that meant more work upon being clever as well. ‘Food substance’, this job was obviously in obtaining food for the pack. This job could be done alone, if it wasn’t for going for large prey. Since they were human, with creatures, most of the time they didn’t have to actually hunt for their food. But…The pack was not too small anymore, and this job was always here, with other jobs, as food was something used often daily. A coyote, known for being sneaky, could possibly steal food from others or steal it from the markets. We didn’t have all that much money within the pack and the job was here to state that the food that would come back on completion would obviously be free and with no one coming to them in anger of having something stolen from them.   A long time ago, Nathanial had to get food, but he had ended up buying it with money. It had been a bonus to not have anyone come to the pack angrily, but it was not something that a coyote did, which only implied more bullying upon his return. He had the creature of a boar, not that of a coyote. He rarely acted like a coyote, but it was in his blood, he could do it if he put his mind to it, it just wasn’t natural… Should he get some food? Did he have enough money or was he really going to steal it or hunt for it? Thinking that it shouldn’t be a job that he would lose his life for, Nathanial came to the conclusion that he would do this job if there was nothing else that would be easier.

Complete Freedom!   Already growing to become someone that wanted the best for someone else was strange to Sharlae, like cooking and cleaning but…When it came to keeping her mouth shut and not teaching people a lesson, so to not anger or upset Nathanial, it was hard! Being reminded of her life from a long time ago, where she did not tolerate one inch of people misbehaving, she didn’t know how to handle holding herself back! Clenching her hands only worked for a day or two, so it ended up that the tree she stayed it started to be punched, so that she would try to get rid of her anger before she did something she would regret!   As much as she still wanted their connection, not regretting it in the least, Sharlae took a while before she could get over some changes because of it. For her anger to subside, Sharlae ended up having scratches and bruises on her hands for a while and Nathanial, at first, had not said a word about it…But, seeing that the bruises and scratches did not fade but would in fact steadily get worse, he could no longer let it go and on a particular day, about three weeks after returning from Rosna, he finally pulled Sharlae over to the bed and kneeled down in front of her.   “Why are your hands like this?” He simply asked her. Sharlae looked down and pulled her hands away. Seeing her pouting, Nathanial shook his head, “Let me tend to them.” “It’s ok.” Sharlae sighed, she knew that tending to them wouldn’t help, as she will only punch the tree again tomorrow. It was already a dull ache now that she was getting used to… “No, a master should tend to his servant’s injuries…Now give them to me!” His words stunned her into shock. Feeling hurt to his words, Sharlae swallowed down her pain and looked away from him.   Nathanial wiped at her hand but lost his mind to the sudden connection through his creature. She was hurting… He had gotten used to treating her like he normally did but perhaps…He had gone too far this time. Wanting to apologise, wanting to soothe her, he looked up…To see her lightly smiling at him and then whisper, “If you want to apologize, then can you…Pretend, for a little while…Mmm?” Nathanial frowned, “Pretend what?” Sharlae took a deep breath, gaining her courage, “Just for today…Pretend that we…” Looking at Nathanial, seeing him not quite understand, she dived in and touched her lips to his. “Please…”   Clinging to his body almost directly after, Sharlae could nearly cry to how great it felt. Feeling his hands hold her tightly, kissing her back now, Sharlae felt like she had just won the world! To her it didn’t happen soon enough but to him, Nathanial…He was surprised to how quickly his hands and his desires responded to her! Nathanial, still holding her tight, pulled back slightly and nodded, “Alright, for a while, I will pretend.” So silly, Sharlae stated, now climbing onto his lap and digging her fingers through his hair. Her creature was now telling her that his creature was really happy right now too! She didn’t understand…They obviously both wanted this yet look at the time that they had wasted by not doing it! Yet, it wasn’t long before her thoughts were foggy and clouded…Only yearning seemed to fit the description that she felt…   Within no time, Nathanial lost himself to her. All this time that he had stayed away, he told himself not to bother or care about her…Continuously… If pretending was what he was being asked of right now…He had, all this time, pretended! Now…Kissing her neck and feeling her flesh in his hands around her waist…Now he felt like he was real… Showing her his passion and desire was as easy as breathing. Speaking her name and touching her was a hidden dream! How could he have trouble ‘pretending’!?   At this time, it was just after dinner and normally they would have their baths and go to bed, as Nathanial didn’t really use his light upon the dark nights. On this night though, it was different, they had just had their dinner, Nathanial spending that time to talk himself into looking after her hands and then this… ‘Pretending’ lasted right until just before dawn, where entangled but wiped down bodies laid together in exhaustion. To both of them, and their creatures, it was the best night in their lives… Sharlae had lightly teased Nathanial, giggling when he then took control and Nathanial didn’t hold back from showing her how much he desired her and just like that, Sharlae felt like a greedy, little kid and took as much as she could get!   Nathanial had told himself that he would work it out the next day. He told himself that he needed to make the best of this night and so…They were of similar minds. Both of them showed a part of themselves that they hadn’t showed to anyone before. Both of them showed an inner desire for the other that they wanted to hide, letting the other know only at this time through their touch, through their moans and breathing… It was only now, now that they weren’t poisoned or half awake. They were both sober, they were both knowing truthfully what was going on and both of them knew as well, that it felt so perfect. To Sharlae who had only been forced, except that of the time with Nathanial when he had been poisoned, she only saw now that there was a different way of being this intimate where she could enjoy herself and fall into a pit of pleasure that she didn’t want to get out of!   And…Nathanial really didn’t want it to end… Living was an experience. Working, watching people, dealing with being teased and being different but…This other development with Sharlae was as big as living! It was on another level all on its own! Nathanial felt like his attention was halved, his knowledge was halved, his life was even not as full as before! No…It seemed that this relationship, even though he didn’t dare to admit it, was very special to him! He didn’t know when it became as such, whether it was gradual or sudden, but he just knew of what it was now and…And that was why he made the best of the previous night…Because he simply didn’t know when it would happen again!     Upon waking, it was so tempting to kiss the woman beside him. She looked so damned desirable! With their creatures already linked, Nathanial couldn’t even believe that he now even wanted to link their human halves together… Yes, last night, he had wanted to bite her! Now that he was awake, that he should be more in his right mind, he still couldn’t deny it. If only they were in different circumstances… If he wasn’t her master, and she not his slave…If they wouldn’t get into trouble by the pack, teased… Hell, he might even be killed! So…If there is something that should never be done…It was marking her.   Nathanial hugged her tighter than, knowing that he was going to go without. Even if they were able to work things out, in some weird degree, he will never be able to have her completely…Well, unless he ran away. Would he do that though? It was too soon! At the moment, even though she somehow became someone very special to him, it was too soon just to run away with her! She could change back to that killer easily and…Would I even like her then? Right… It was time to wake up…In more ways than one! Even though…Even though he didn’t really want to, he wanted to stay stuck in a fantasy of naked bodies with her but…Realistically…   ***   Sadly, for both of them, this was how it worked out for the next few months. He refused to acknowledge her as more than her ‘servant’ status, especially in front of people…But upon Sharlae begging, which came more and more often, Nathanial would let himself go, loving her without restriction for a while. While they ‘pretended’, they smiled a lot, held hands a lot and even laughed. Instead of the occasionally angry stroll that he used to take, where she used to tease him and wanting him to snap, the stroll now was playful and sometimes they even had their creatures out to enjoy in the fun too. Just for a few hours, they talked with no boundaries, where Nathanial even went as far as telling her why he could still revert back when not ‘pretending’.   Sharlae might still be upset upon Nathanial saying some things but it seemed like they had grown a lot closer and it was still worth it. Anything was worth it…And it was amazing to Sharlae just how easily she could smile now. With just a look at him, she felt herself blushing, and with one of his smiles she would instantly smile in return, sometimes she didn’t even know it! Sharlae obviously had many stories to tell, to which Nathanial listened to and knew that even though it was her, it was her past and hoped that she had changed just a little bit since then…In her past…It seemed she didn’t remember the weather or the name of places but what caught Nathanial’s attention the most…Was that she didn’t care for others and their feelings very much at all…To the point of not even knowing and saying her stories like there was no problem at all! Only once Nathanial had stopped her and asked her how she would feel if she had been the other person. It was only once, and it seemed enough for Sharlae to understand that for a lot of her existence she had not thought much of others at all.   Nathanial didn’t want her to become someone she was not though, so he did not become persistent and told himself that he already knew she was like this…That perhaps a reason why he did like her so much was because she was indeed pretty great. She was powerful, she was also a rare golden creature, she also used to be on a very important circle of people that helped the world become a better place… In fact, now that he thought about it, he was a bit jealous of this part of her! He didn’t have much to boast upon in his life but she…She could boast, and it was not something that he wanted to take away from her… What made him fonder of her though, was that she was telling the truth, speaking of her bad times, where she was really nasty, and he then would tell her that he’s proud of her growth.   After that, they would play, either with words or actions. Once she had stated that she was much older than him and how he had ‘disrespected’ his elders, even giving him specific times upon his bad manners! Nathanial had let her get ‘angry’ at him but really, he was still happy. Her happiness did many things to him, turning him into someone that he wasn’t quite used to…Like that of having more trust. He wanted to trust her! He wanted her to be happy, yet before…Well, he didn’t trust many people entirely, it was just the trust he thought he should have for fellow members but he saw it now…Saw how this ‘old’ yet still maturing Golden winged serpent was growing along with him and only felt like everything was okay! He found he didn’t have all that much faith and trust in his members but why didn’t it matter so much anymore?   It really was hard to question his happiness. He thought that if he was loyal and just endured through the taunts of the band of coyotes, he could still find happiness within but…He found that he was wrong. His happiness was simply being with her…That was all. Why, something so easily taken away, was his happiness? The Alpha Master would surely do something if he knew! Yet…As these months past, Nathanial was becoming obvious to his loyalty changing, simply because he adored Sharlae more and more and he really wanted to start his own family… Finding a mate and starting a family was basically instinct, it was natural and…He’d found his mate…   Nathanial had always wanted a family, yet he never knew till now that he wanted his family to be closer than that of where he’s been residing all this time. Now, for some reason, his idea of family didn’t feel complete when he thought of the band of coyotes… And since…Since he couldn’t help it, already starting to want a child, he knew he will have to come to a conclusion sooner rather than later! And, of course, it wasn’t like Sharlae didn’t already know this. She had done her best in not forcing Nathanial into anything and it seems it was only time that was needed before she was going to be fully accepted by him. She was so extremely excited! Not just because Nathanial has already considered her as his mate, but also because…   Knowing that Nathanial was thinking of family, Sharlae was giddy. She didn’t know that she would fall so hard for him, even while she had waited so long. In a way, him taking so long to accept her, even was something she fell for! It really was getting ridiculous! It was like, their love had to travel this path, for her to get the most out of it! Cuddling up to her man, Sharlae smiled, while playing with his hands. They had just played and were now about an hour walk away from their humble, small house. She wished to bring up how long it will be before they move away but held herself back. It was alright, whatever decision he makes, it will be alright…   Nathanial kissed her head and then laid down on the grass. Laying down with him, Sharlae put a leg and arm over him. “Sharlae…” Looking up at Nathanial, she saw him serious, and so she said, “Yes?” “I…” Seeing him stop, Sharlae frowned and tried to see if her creature knew what he was going to say. “What would you do if you were no longer enslaved?” Looking back to Nathanial again, Sharlae raised her eyebrows. Was this one of those times that they could finally talk? Was this a time I could show him that I was no longer the person that I used to be?   Sharlae had already tried to show him that she had changed, that she was smitten by him and just wanted to be with him…But was he still doubtful? Taking a deep breath and getting on top of him, bending down to be right in front of his face, Sharlae smiled. “I already feel like I’m not enslaved…” Nathanial gently looked at her, moving a piece of her hair behind her ears. “If I put my trust in you?” Her heart started to beat faster, seeing this big step forward! “I will do my best not to fail you…” “Your best?” Nathanial lowered his hand to his side and frowned. Sharlae also frowned, really…What an idiot! “I love you…Nathanial.” She simply stated, her heart getting even faster now…   Looking down at Nathanial’s chest, Sharlae suddenly became aware of why she had trouble saying that all this time. What if he doesn’t love her back! Well, through her creature, he probably does but… Suddenly, she was scared. Creatures didn’t know everything about their humans! In her moment of panic, she suddenly became aware of him sitting up and kissing her deeply. With his hands holding her tightly to himself and his mouth taking control over hers, it took a moment for Sharlae to register his sudden actions. Kissing him back, she put her hands around his neck and once again, quite a number of times now, wished that he would bite her and see that she was telling the truth! She wanted it all, she wanted to be connected to him in every way possible!   As they parted, breathing heavily, Nathanial kissed to her neck and surprised her to the sudden pain. It felt like days passed, as he licked up some blood and kissed her neck after biting her. No further action or speech was required and Sharlae excitedly dived to his neck and did the same, biting him and feeling him like he was inside her mind. His feelings crashed into her and she finally found all her waiting was worth it! Tears flooded her eyes as she licked his blood… He loved her…Just as she did him! Crying into his shoulder, Nathanial rocked her and smiled…   He knew it had been a risk, but it had been worth it. He had wanted to trust her, had wanted to be with her wholeheartedly and now… Her sobs got even louder, as she heard his will and Nathanial held her tighter. “Sweet Sharlae…” As she cried, and he held her, Nathanial finally stopped fighting himself. No longer would he deny her, no longer would he stop himself! They are going to leave, so that he could be with her! Without further thought, Nathanial went deep into his mind and brought out the enslavement contract.   With the contract in his hands, like it was bound to him and like it had come to him after all this time…Like destiny, he then burnt it… It wasn’t your ordinary contract, it wasn’t your ordinary piece of parchment either. The contract had the previous Dragon Kings blood and it was made up of one of his dragon scales…It was not something that could be burnt with normal flames and yet… A rumble went through the earth when the contract started to disappear, and Nathanial could feel a part of himself suddenly disappear…   Only a second or two went by for Nathanial to feel this way but that part of himself was now completely gone and forgotten about. The rumble stopped when the contract was gone completely and Nathanial really did wonder if it was destiny that the contract ended up in his hands, where he and his loyalty to the coyotes was enough to dispel it. Or was it because he was a boar? Was it because of his cultivation? Perhaps it wasn’t just one factor that gave him the ability to dispel the contract, perhaps it was more but…It didn’t mater anymore because…Sharlae was now free…

Five Years after the Dragon King saw his Phoenix combust into ash   “Your Excellency, we, your humble helpers, are all in agreement that you must have an heir! We have done as you said and waited, yet…” “Speak further and you will lose a limb, humble helper…” Silence overwhelmed the area… A dozen men were on their knees in front of one man, a strong immortal that had the aura of a King. Only being one man, he dominated the room as though there were many, and his threat did more than bring silence to the room as the kneeling men in front of him also started to sweat… The men, who called themselves humble helpers, were people that helped the King of Kings bring order to the countries yet had not been given a real status. They wished that they could be called ‘ministers’ or ‘governors’, but the Dragon King did not permit it. Since he had made his rule, these humble helpers had come to help yet all this time they had not gained what some of them truly desire, leaving many of them in the past to leave. It was good in a way, as the Dragon King found who was loyal to the people and who wasn’t. But, till this day, he believes that he will not give these people any kind of status to think that they held any type of power. He’d lived a long life and he did not care to much for people fighting over each other and that of a monarch…He’d much prefer to not have the power exist in the first place!   Because they all believed in the Dragon King and wanting to help him flourish, they were all in agreement for one reason of gaining an heir, yet it seemed they still did not have the complete courage to continue this conversation… At first, because the golden maiden had wanted to marry this King, they had suggested marriage. They had known back then that the Dragon King was in fact immortal and didn’t need to be hasty on this subject, yet they had been able to process this marriage…For it to only to fail. As the time had gone by, the golden maiden had wanted them all to approach the King of Kings like it was an advantage that he had an heir. If they state that it would be good for the people, it was a reason that they could use to appease the golden maiden. She had obviously made it to Immortal Realm as well, being able to live so long and give them more reason that she belonged with the King of Kings…So, they have tried now for years to get them together, only for them to always fail…   The men here had their families tell them that the golden maiden had come to the King of Kings a few centuries ago and since she has been the only one known to them to have come this far in cultivation, how could they suggest otherwise! She was beautiful and compassionate, she was strong and had the aura of a beta. Even though she was not an alpha aura, it was overlooked because she was immortal and accepted into the palace…Yet, they do not know the reason why she could reside within the inner palace, as none of the helpers had ever been. Was it because her and the Dragon King already had a relationship? But if they had a relationship, why couldn’t they tell anyone? And so, the rumors had already gone around, yet the Dragon King does not give out any type of response. Instead, he had other reasons that he kept the golden maiden, named Sharlae, close by. Knowing of the creature that she held, he wished he could depend upon it, yet he was not entirely confident to trust her. Having an indifferent attitude towards any type of romance, the Dragon King did not let on that he was ever interested, but he did let Sharlae stay close to him…So he could keep an eye on her! The problem was, she was using her ‘position in the inner palace’, making things difficult! He has thought about making her leave, yet, he also didn’t want her out there and doing whatever she pleased! …She was immortal and that meant, he was the only one that could stop her if she were to do anything wrong, so, until he could find any type of grounds to detain her or somehow try to kill her, he would keep her close by instead. Yet…She had not done anything wrong, except talk his helpers into making him marry! And so, to this day, the King of Kings could only keep an eye on the other immortal, while these little helpers seem to have come under her command!   The one that had spoken for the rest of them had opened and closed his mouth a few times but did not utter another word…What was he to do!? The lovely, golden maiden was waiting! She had said that if she were to become the Queen of Queens, she will implant a new system for them where they could hold some power and authority…Which was a big reason why nearly every helper was insistent upon the King of Kings to marry her! If only she were to rise as the Dragon King’s wife, then they will be bathed and riches and power! But…They were still unable to get the King of King’s to even speak of the subject! The humble helper wished dearly for these matters to occur himself, where the Dragon King would have an heir, but the idea of having more power and riches made him want to go that step further! Yet…That step further was such a big leap! Especially if one of his limbs could be taken away! He could not even bring up the idea of the Dragon King having more then one wife, as another way to approach the subject…It was an idea that they had used once already, which ended up being enough for the King to get engaged to the golden maiden all those years ago, but now…Now it was a completely different story! The Dragon King had come utterly loyal to his phoenix and the idea of him having more then one wife seemed to be something they could no longer use!   “Your Excellency…” Was all he could say, unable to state more in fear in unknowing how to bring up the subject. Could he instead state that a Queen is needed? But…They had already done that! His answer was that the phoenix will be Queen as soon as possible then! Could he state that females where lining up from each country to meet him, even though the King of Kings was hardly seen? That even the King’s of the countries that they ruled were waiting for the Dragon King to finally have his own harem? It had started to look extremely comical, having other King’s laugh at his lack of women! Yet, he was the strongest of them all! But, if he opened his gates to women, he’d have a harem of a thousand in probably just a month, yet…They are unable to bring up the women that would want to be with His Excellency because the golden maiden didn’t want other women in the palace! So…What were they to use then!?   “If you are so eager, then I will go out and search for her personally once again. I have spent these years tending to crucial matters and have already thought of this particular idea. In just a few months, I will search for my phoenix!” Looking up at the King of King’s, the ‘humble helper’ was unable to say another word. It seems that the Dragon King was adamant and was even personally going out to find his phoenix now…The golden maiden will have to forgive him… Perhaps, in due time, the Dragon King will return empty handed and then they could bring up this conversation again, but until then, there was nothing that he could do! “Then, Your Excellency, I hope you will obtain what you desire, so that we can celebrate her upon your return.” “Could I accompany you, My King?” Turning, the ‘humble helper’ saw the golden maiden and couldn’t help but feel bad for not being able to achieve what both of them had wanted. “No, I will leave on my own. It is also a good time to personally see how each country is doing.”     Years went by, forming a change to the Questro country and their King. With the Dragon King finding out that his phoenix had once been there, he took his revenge in bringing back order into Torte and personally dealing with quite a few of the people living there! It was truly the fastest time that a country had come back to being in order, from the Dragon King being the King of Kings! Normally in the past, he had not left his castle to personally come to the countries, but since he was personally there and being his dominate, alpha self, everything was done very quickly! Especially since he found that he was absolutely angry and dissatisfied, so he didn’t tolerate any more misbehaving, disloyalty or greedy people! He truly became a tyrant, not long after he flew into Questro, and that didn’t seem to disappear for a while… Not just a few were imprisoned and tortured for information, but a few people were killed in finding witnesses, or other evidence, to state that some of them had tortured his phoenix! Feathers were found, uncurable sickness being cured and old blood, that was different to everyone else’s, was found to support much of these claims to punish many of those in the Mosquito Clan!   Laws were put in place and old laws were renewed and retold to the whole country! Written pages, that continuously spoke what was written on them in the Dragon King’s personal voice, flew out everywhere, stating that it was forbidden to enslave others, and the Dragon King demanded his humble helpers to rally this information through speech in the whole country of Questro! Through having more and more people helping and even a few people giving information of those that were enslaving others, quite a number of people were packed inside one area one day and a storm had suddenly approached them. They had thought that they were all going to die, and some of them did, being beheaded right in front of them…But, some were strangely hit by lightening and everyone scattered away from those who were shocked into being unconscious and a bit hurt… What was more alarming…Was that those people could no longer enslave anyone or no longer become enslaved by another. This fact becoming known to others, really did change a few people’s perspectives and decided to let their slaves go, whereas a few instead went further into hiding, not wanting to let go of their slaves…   Being in Questro did indeed take quite some time away from the search for his phoenix, but could he have really let Questro go? No! There was not a chance of letting off anyone who had hurt his phoenix! The problem was, when he had gone to Dura, he found even more recent evidence that his phoenix had been there as well! In Questro, it seemed the evidence could be found back as late as forty years ago, one even stating forty-five years ago! Here in Dura, the most recent evidence found was the knife that had been found from where the phoenix had combusted and became ash! Rage was filling him up more and more, making him uneasy and unsure on what he will do with his phoenix once he found her…Would she be completely scared now? Will she not let him touch her at all, even to hold her hand? Will she automatically think he would attack her from the start? Will she let him in, let herself love him at all!? Would it be too much to ask her to be with him? Never did he feel so restless and unsure of himself!   The Dragon King had never had to coax a woman! Before the phoenix rainbow and connection had come to him, he had not cared about women and had cultivated like his life had depended on it. That strange feeling went through him right up until he had reached the Immortal Realm, and then it had disappeared, yet he had not cared for women much and just got stuck into looking after the countries, taking in two at a time to bringing back order… On the rare occasion, he did find Sharlae to be quite a beautiful woman and lusted after her, but he had not gone ahead and put those lustful thoughts into reality…Especially when she started to take over the helpers inside the castle! He was a man though and did like looking at woman, just never had the urge to fulfil anything and would be able to continue his work quickly enough to not indulge in slight fantasy… Upon knowing about his phoenix, was something that came to him upon reaching this ‘Immortal Realm’ and he has felt that if he were to cultivate into ‘Ascension Realm’, he would need her…But…That was not his only goal and finding his phoenix. No, he…Felt like he needed her…And in this regard, he felt like his phoenix may have also prevented him from indulging into his fantasies…Even when she had not even been born…     Doing similar things in Dura, to what he had done in Questro, took more time away, yet he made it very clear to everyone that he was not someone to be reckoned with! More people died, more enslavement came to an end and a new King was put in place. His helpers were yet again demanded to help, and the Dragon King longed more and more for his phoenix. With finding out such a past had happened, the Dragon King felt his heart become torn. If the phoenix would try to hide herself away from him, he could probably understand! He knew now that she had been tormented so much that he wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to seclude herself from everybody! With the lives that she seemed to have had, the Dragon King was losing his self confidence and wished he could find a way to see her! But what would he do when he saw her? Say sorry because he had not done his job properly? He had six countries to look after and he had selected two countries to work on at a time…Wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t paid too much attention to these two countries? …He was very worried that he had lost his phoenix before he’d even found her! But, to find her is a must! He needed her!     Upon the golden maiden finding out that the very slight connection that she had with the phoenix, was close by the Dragon’s last known area that he was heading to, she was unable to hold herself back and directly flew towards the Dragon. If she could deter him from where the phoenix was, all would be fine, yet, if she wasn’t able to stop the Dragon from going towards where the phoenix was…Other measures will have to take place! The Dragon King was hers and hers alone! She had already cultivated into Immortal Realm, while the legendary phoenix is said to have never reached into Mental Mind Realm! Contempt and mirth filled the golden maiden’s eyes and she couldn’t help but think that the phoenix was a lot more useless then she had originally thought! Perhaps she might have gone too far and hadn’t needed to curse her in the first place! Even if the Dragon King had a connection to her, what does that matter when the phoenix is useless! Yet…The golden maiden did not care to undo her curse in the slightest…No, she thought, the phoenix can continue going through hell and never be found!   ***   I was now fifteen, having stayed with the wolf clan this entire time. Actually, it had been a while now that I thought of my previous lives and all the sorrow that they had brought to me. Being sad over what I had already endured, didn’t seem right with the life I had now. It was like I had a whole new beginning now and I really did want to make the most of it…Especially with being able to see the sky… Just like the start of my second life, I suppose, I was taking advantage of what I had, yet not taking it for granted. I liked that I wasn’t enslaved the most, then being able to see the sky. After that, I liked being part of a family and even living differently to the other lives that I’ve had. I wanted to make the best of everything, even though we lived in the bush and didn’t have riches to be able to buy whatever we wanted. Actually, I liked this type of life style, were we were hunting for our own food and banded together as one, not caring for politics in the capital, that was in the far distance. It was slightly soothing to me and I have been relishing it all in, even wanting time to slow down so that I did not have to seriously start thinking about what I was going to do in the not so far off future… The new beginning also gave me a new name, except this time, I took the name in, in a way of hope. It was just a day or two after finding me that they had named me Perdita, and because of the meaning of it, I liked it. They told me that it was just a name, expressing what they had seen for the first time, and I completely agreed with them…I was lost…I didn’t have a home, I didn’t know how I should be feeling…I was…Lost… To a strange degree, this new name did have a special meaning to me, just like Kendra did, and that name stuck, they had called me that so many times that I had gotten used to it very quickly!

Duke suddenly felt like Sharlae lying was a huge possibility! He knew her personality and it could be very possible! She must already see…That I like Perdita and… The fact that he already knew that Sharlae liked him made him get a headache. …Was it really that simple? That Sharlae demanded Perdita to leave just because he obviously liked her? If Sharlae lied to him though, how was he to search for Perdita? Sharlae…It seems she would not let him near Perdita, yet… As he flew, he looked around, knowing that the planet was huge because he had been searching for his Phoenix for many years and still could not find her…Perdita could be just as hard to find! What could he do if Sharlae did not bring Perdita back?   He wasn’t going to beg her, as he was sure that she will blackmail him with something she wants for him to get what he wants…He was not going to lower himself to that to her, especially if she is lying to him, no…He will just have to secretly search for Perdita instead. He hoped though, very much, that he’d be able to find her soon. She was obviously not in Immortal Realm, so her time may be short, and he didn’t want to miss his chance of spending his time with her. Live had been long, so long that he was excited for the idea of being with someone. Someone that will smile at him like that again…Someone that made him, and his dragon, feel something, someone that made him want to touch another, teach another and make them happy…     With the Dragon King’s return to Nature’s Call Clan, Sharlae immediately asked where he had gone, as it had been hours since he had left. “Never mind that, tell that girl…Perdita, to return!” Duke ordered, secretly wondering what Sharlae’s response was. He intensely stared at her to see her reaction. He wanted to know if it really was possible that the one that was lying…Was her! Sharlae frowned and wondered what was going on, why hadn’t he gotten over her already!? “Now!” Clenching her fists, Sharlae nodded and then quickly flew away. What was she going to do!? Flying to the link, that would take her to her enemy, Sharlae continued to think of a plan that would stop the Dragon King from wanting the presence of his Phoenix and found herself smiling. That was it, she had to make Perdita unavailable! What could she come up with!?   Stopping and going to the ground, Sharlae paced the area, not caring of the few people around. Perdita was only fifteen, so it wasn’t like I could say that she was married…Sharlae thought. What if I told Perdita to state that she was betrothed? That she was now going back to her home, because of her age, because she was being filial? Pacing faster, Sharlae wanted a perfect reason, one that didn’t leave any holes for the Dragon King to think it was okay to see her. It would be good too if she got the Dragon King to dislike Perdita as well. She would much prefer the Dragon King to hate her instead, but dislike seemed a more realistic goal… …What to do?   She couldn’t let her man touch Perdita, then he would know that she was the Phoenix. So…It was probably better to not let them meet at all… But what kind of story could she create that would be plausible? …Could I just say that she disappeared, but she can state where she ‘was’? As long as she doesn’t state where she really was, then it wouldn’t matter if the Dragon King wanted to look for her. Seeing that Ceptily was the country that the undeserving Phoenix was in, she could state any of the others? ‘I think she’s still looking for your Phoenix, perhaps she found a lead that led her away from Questro and Dura.’ Rolling her eyes, Sharlae was not happy with that idea at all, it still opened the fact that the undeserving Phoenix could be in Ceptily… Yet, how could she make it out as though she had no idea what was going on and that the undeserving Phoenix was a real nasty piece of work on top of that? Sharlae continued to pace and figure out a solution to her problem…     Perdita was feeling freedom once again. She had felt it being young in the Nature’s Call Clan, but as she grew older, she started to fell suffocated…Now, now she was seeing what it was like to do what she wished to do! What was she going to do though!? The thought of not going into the capital to live was still there, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t at least go there every now and again on an outing, which would be nice. No, she wanted to find a nice home, away from everyone, especially people who would treat her badly. But where would that be?   Seeing people that weren’t half naked here, because of the weather, she wondered if she would stand out by not having the right attire. It was strange that she could walk for six hours and come to a noticeably colder area… She wasn’t the only one with shorts on but there were more people wearing winter weather clothing and it felt strange to her. She was used to wolves and their heat, as well as her own. In fact, she felt quite at ease with the wolves but…Now that she thought about it… It wasn’t all that much colder here than in Nature’s Call Clan, it was because she had stayed with wolves! Wolves must be creatures that felt the extra warmth, just like hers did! Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier!? Letting out a small laugh to her silliness, Perdita breathed out a deep breath and closed her eyes. …This was nice.   It was strangely ironic that her creature was out, but her master wasn’t exactly one to be too nasty to her. There was no torture, well unless you add the order and laughter in her head. There was no plucking, stealing of her blood and forced sex. There was no testing, nor that of hitting her until she cried…What she has had to do so far was to get away from the Dragon King… Thinking of the Dragon King now, Perdita frowned. Looking down, holding her bag tighter to her, she felt insecure. She wanted the best for him, so she understood why Sharlae was like she was…It was obvious now…   Telling her that he won’t love her and that she was nothing, Perdita could see that Sharlae liked the Dragon King. She didn’t blame her really, the Dragon King was quite a man. The idea though, of someone else being with him, did give her pain, but she did not think that she had any right to interfere. What she felt, which was strange to her though, was that she just had this possessiveness about him. She questioned this feeling, as she really didn’t know the man, but inwardly she felt that he was hers. She felt that just as much as he was hers, she was his as well. It didn’t make much sense, which was why she could only try to force the feeling back and not get attached to it too much.   Knowing now that the Dragon King had spent so much effort on her, perhaps it was time for him to be with someone. With that thought, Perdita bit her lips and nodded. She will exert her strength now to become someone that the Dragon King would be proud off! If she can go back to being the Alpha that she was born to be, rise up to the Immortal Realm and show him that she was now strong enough, perhaps she may deserve him then. If…If he was with someone, then…Perhaps she will wait for him to be ready. The idea of him being with another, even after she fixes herself up, and she will, made her upset. What if she took too long? What if she was not as good as the partner he would be with?   Swallowing her insecurities, Perdita smiled slightly and tried not to think about it. The future was still so far away…So far that Perdita was astonished that she was looking that far ahead! Never…Never had she looked that far ahead in any of her life’s! Perhaps, she thought, that man means more to me than I thought… She knew that he had not been with anyone for a long time, which did make her feel good in a way, but sad in another. She knew what it was like to be lonely and she didn’t want him to be lonely forever, as she did honestly wish for his happiness. If he happens to be happy when she is stronger in the future than… So what if she did fix herself, it wasn’t all for the Dragon King anyway…She needed to do it for her as well! Now, with a more determined smiled, Perdita kept traveling north.   To make a home, was her first plan. A home that she wanted to stay in for more than just weeks or months, but perhaps years. A home she can relax in and feel comfortable in. Then, she was going to make sure that she had what she needed and find out how to get what she needed, like that of books to teach her how to reach Immortal Realm and food, clothes… She had even thought of taking up a few hobbies, just to try them out. Of course, she needed money for that, but she was sure that if she plucked one of her feathers out or cried, she’d be able to get something for it. But…Was that such a good plan though? What if people found out who she was and tried to take her? What if, just selling one feather led this freedom to end and she was going to lead another tragic life?   Knowing that she had very little money on her, Perdita was worried about how she was going to live. She didn’t want to work, she had done enough of that, but the only thing she had was really her feathers, blood and tears… It really was a predicament! Nonetheless, this predicament didn’t deter her away from her new goal, her excitement… She will live a life, a real life! Yes, this was her plan, to seclude herself, grow in herself and be able to become independent. And it felt extremely good to have a plan, a plan that she had come up with all on her own… So good!   ***   Ten years had passed, and Perdita had a very different enslavement then all the rest. There had even been a time when she fought to free herself, feeling the connection between them completely weaken. For so long, Perdita had fought to free herself from her master but…She had lost in the end and… Well, there were times when her head would really hurt, making her faint to the pain afterwards… It seems that her master had hated her for doing that and at random times would suddenly make her feel so much pain that she would nearly scream. Perdita had nearly pulled out her hair many times and found it so unbearable that for two days afterwards she had stayed in her nest, unable to move…   But…Perdita had finally started her life and after a while of enduring through the astronomical pain, she was able to continue living once again. In this time, she had made her home in the middle of the arctic and unlivable area, and so she had not had to worry about people intruding upon her nest. Whenever she had gone to the capital to get items, she has gained courage each and every time and people no longer worried her. Her courage had slowly come to her as she realized that nothing bad happened each time that she went out. Well, not as bad as rape, testing and plucking. Once she had someone steal what she had bought but she got it back from the help of the officers that handle that type of thing, making her trusting issues better instead of worse.   The first time that she gained some courage, was when she finally found a way to get money! She had not been able to do anything for so long, that she really was scrummaging through trash to get her feed, when she had enough and decided to reach for the skies… And that she did! With the freedom that she had now, even though at the time she was homeless and hungry, she had come up with an idea of not giving away her feathers, tears or blood as they were. Instead, she came up with an idea of putting a few tears into some water, stating that the water was a healing water. It had rained, leaving a small water hole and she had put a few tears in and that was it…She sold a few cups of water and got some money! This idea had not worked well at the start, as it was a small water hole that didn’t even have a fountain to it. But that seemed to have helped with getting people to drink it because it was obvious that the water would disappear. Perdita would laugh at them in her head when they only had a drink because what if it was true and they were too late to try it later, because when the waterhole was dried up then they would have obviously missed out!   When the third person gave it a go, they had come back and let people know and then, within the week, people were swarming the dried-up water hole, complaining and hoping to get some of the ‘healing water’… The miraculous events that had happened because of this certain water were bringing over story tellers. Parrots were seen flying around and even an old storyteller, that had a tortoise creature, had come to add this story to his collection. This old man was known throughout all of Ceptily and many people preferred his stories to a few others as he seemed to add to the suspense just because he told the story slowly.   The whole idea of healing water was new in Ceptily. Once in Questro, it had been done but that had not lasted long, but here, in the wide opened spaces of the country, people started to stop by this one place that never used to hold anything of interest. There wasn’t any food growing around, a main road was close by and then behind it were trees leading into a bush land… It held no inns, no entertainment and the closest person living around the area was a good half hour walk away… Suddenly, with the ‘healing water’, this land became desired and ended up becoming a populated place in the future. …All because people knew that the ‘healing water’ that once was here, had indeed worked!   The third person that had helped spread the word of the healing water was indeed someone that had problems. They were already sixty years old and could not break through the last barrier to get into the Mental Mind Realm. Having been stuck for so long, they had been a wanderer for the last few years, taking in all the different type of leaves from other countries. His skin looked so old that people thought him as one that would die at any time. But with his caterpillar creature in a fat, cocoon stage, it seems the ‘healing water’ helped his creature turn into the butterfly that was needed to go into the Mental Mind Realm. It was purely by having nothing to lose, that this man gave the ‘healing water’ a go and found that his skin changed almost straight away! His mind took a day to change from that of a hungry, green eater, to that of a butterfly that was relatively common. But…There weren’t many butterflies left now and so his relatively common butterfly, that he could now show off, was awed upon by many who saw it. Being so excited, he had told everyone that he had passed when fluttering around!     Perdita had long left the water hole with her money, so she had no idea that people had set houses up to live there, to do what she had done, thinking that when the water hole returns, they would be able to sell ‘healing water’, just like that of a dirty, homeless girl did! Perdita did not repeat her ‘healing water’ episode until she had a feed and got some better clothes for herself. After she was ready again, to get more money to then set up her nest, for when she found where to have it, she did it different this time and supplied bottles of healing water to a medical place. They had tried it out and one of them had heard of the ‘healing water’ before and so they had bought the healing water, giving Perdita enough money to last at least two years! It was…So exciting! Seeing that she had gone from poor, hungry and homeless, to independent and finding a solution on her own. So…She was very happy with herself!   She had tried sewing, but she was not very good at it. She had tried to knit, draw, paint, play sports and…For the most part, she wasn’t very good at it… If she practiced a bit more in her music, she felt she could become better, especially with the flute…But everything else seemed to be something that she didn’t have a talent for. But now that she had actually tried these things, Perdita felt like she had absolutely no regrets and even smiled about it. She was happy. Happy that she couldn’t sew because, after so long, and seeing others do it, she can now say that she’s actually tried it! It had taken her more then two lives to try these things and finally, it was known to her what it was like! She liked music very much though, and it was also one more reason that she would visit towns and the capital of Ceptily…To see musicals. Most of the musicals were of people with bird creatures but there was a very interesting piece once that she could not forget. It was of quite a number of people with all different creatures and she would have never thought they could all made such a sound together! The low growl of the tigers, the low hoots of owls, then the bats that continuously played in the background…It was something that Perdita would try to remember often, making her smile.

It had only been in the last four years that Perdita had finally felt ready to strive for more knowledge on learning to become Immortal. She had noticed that her feathers had changed yet again, to show more colors, but no books had anything much about them. When she had last perished, she had the extra colors of green, white and yellow. Now she had purple and red as well. Since the colors had been added, and not something that she was already born with, Perdita thought it means something, but the problem was finding out what that actual meaning was! And that was why it was taking so long! Because she had no idea upon how to proceed!   There didn’t seem to be any books that had information for the Phoenix Creature at all! She had looked up some of the colours though but only two colors seemed to have meaning, while the others didn’t have much of a clarification. The strangest thing did happen though, upon understanding the two colors that she did read upon, which was that she reached into the Mental Mind Realm without even realizing it! All she was doing was putting her past into what the colors meant and wondered if that was why her feathers had changed… Awakening, was a ‘reason’ behind the green color, not the only one though, but when Perdita had seen this, she not only was reminded of when she was born and reborn but even when she made her decision to become strong in this life too… Then, Clarity, seemed to be a ‘reason’ behind a yellow color, which sent her thoughts into the same time this life when she had decided to be strong… But…How can reminiscing put someone into the next Realm? Perdita did not understand…   What came clear to her though, was once she did go into the Mental Mind Realm, she was able to focus and clear her head better. And what was said about the other colors and the ones she already knew about put her into an extra type of confusion because she suddenly felt like she understood but didn’t at the same time. She knows now why she had gained purple and red, it was because of inspiration and courage but…Is this…What she was supposed to do? Look up definitions of colors and understand them? It sounded like it was wrong yet…She felt it to be right and could only accept those colors. Obviously though, it wasn’t enough to get her to the Immortal Realm, so more work was needed, but what work?   Then she looked up bird creatures, to see if there could be a bird meditation that she could use but it looked like none of them were suited for her Phoenix. What was even worse, was that she couldn’t let anyone know what she was looking for either! She knew it should be kept a secret, upon what her creature was, but she was more worried that people would treat her badly if they found out. So, not telling anyone what she was looking for was more out of fear then secrecy. To Perdita, not being able to start on the journey to reach Immortal Realm was a bit of a letdown for a while…   She felt that if she knew this earlier, perhaps she would be finding ways out by now, but she was only now just seeing that there was nothing about the Phoenix in books! …Were there perhaps other things that would hold information then? Was there a type of ring that she needed? Was there a type of jewellery? It was all just guess, all of it! Even a book about a Golden Serpent going into the Immortal Realm was not helpful to her at all! She had tried some of the techniques but none of them had worked! But…Right now… She couldn’t think more because…She was on her way to the Dragon King.   Her master had called, and she was ‘obeying’… Granted she had made her master wait long enough, it had been a year or so since she was first ordered to come to here, but Perdita didn’t have more courage to make her master wait longer then she already had…As it was, she had been threatened and yes…Something drastic had occurred…So now, this was her last option, at least for now, while she was still weaker than her master. If only she had already reached that of being immortal. Yet, she was just reaching into Mental Mind Realm and that, she believed, only happened by chance… She couldn’t rely on her luck further, she had to do as she was told before something would stop her from continuing the path that she had chosen.   She didn’t want to go backwards! She didn’t want to go back to hating everyone and being scared all the time! This…Was not going to be easy though, she was going to lie to the man that invades her dreams. She was going to lie to him, to his face, to save herself. Was she still so weak? She was already able to do so much more, like fight her strongest master off and cloud the link between them, but how could she still get so petrified that she felt like she had no other choice but do as her master commands?   ***   The Dragon King had seen that Sharlae obviously didn’t want to tell him where Perdita was when they had been still in Nature’s Call Clan. In fact, the Dragon King was wondering, in the smallest degree, if Perdita might have been his Phoenix in the first place. At first, he had been excited. All he had to do was touch her and he’d know. The problem was, after years had gone by, with Sharlae never bringing Perdita up in conversation, nor Perdita coming to them in any degree, the Dragon King was getting more and more angrier. If Perdita was indeed his Phoenix…Would she act as she had? If Perdita was his Phoenix, why would she run away? If Sharlae was lying, what had she said to his Phoenix to make her run? It was…Confusing and conflicting.   Duke wasn’t really someone that knew how to step in other people’s shoes, but he really did wonder why Perdita would run away from him if she really were his Phoenix! That was why, he was not sure… If she were the Phoenix, why would she not say anything!? If she were the Phoenix… And that was how Duke was able to think of enslavement once again…Yet… If she were really enslaved, somehow, who then would be her master?   It sounded extremely bad when he thought the master to be Sharlae for a moment, but if she thought as he did, when liking someone, how could she possibly do such a thing to him!? The weird thing was, Sharlae stood out the most… She could be the master, but then, she had not really left his side much to go and become the master of the Phoenix. His Phoenix could be coming of age now to bring out her creature and…Sharlae was close by… In the chance of him leaving her, to search for Perdita on his own, she may have had time then, but she had really tried to be nice to him and it was so questionable, that it was giving him headaches! Striking her with his lightning might break the connection but…He had never had the chance to strike at someone in Immortal Realm before…So, he wasn’t even sure if the enslavement would even be broken if he did that.   On the strange chance, there was one time when he was with Sharlae and there was a storm, Duke had used that opportunity to strike at her with his lightning bolt. She had been unconscious for so long after that, that Duke really did wonder if she had any type of enslavement at all! Being Immortal didn’t mean that she didn’t feel pain anymore, it just means undying…And so, the Dragon King had felt terrible afterwards because he felt like if she had not been Immortal, she probably would have died! Of course, not to the Dragon King’s knowledge, Sharlae had exerted all her energy to keep that link that she had with the Phoenix, seeing that it had mostly been destroyed! In the time that she had been ‘sleeping’, she had been extremely busy inside her mind. For a whole month, the pull from the Phoenix had not given her any leeway at all. The Phoenix was indeed an Alpha and Sharlae felt how strong the pull was to be freed…   What was enslavement though, really!? Of course, she wasn’t going to give her consent to let the Phoenix go! So, all the time that she was not waking, she worked and worked, until finally she was connected better once again to the Phoenix. After that happened, Sharlae had been incredibly angry with the Phoenix and had gotten her revenge! For weeks…Months…Sharlae would strike at their link many times, forcing pain upon her slave and laughing at her! She had been a good master and not done much, leaving her be! She felt like she hadn’t deserved such a fight and nearly losing! Oh, it was very refreshing! Whenever she was upset, she would strike at the undeserving Phoenix, then forgetting about her afterwards…She was nothing after all!   Sadly, Sharlae might have felt like she had no conscience, but the Dragon King did. He thought continuously about Perdita and his Phoenix, his Phoenix and Perdita…To which none of them had been found! All the questions he had, with no answers! Was Perdita the Phoenix? Where were they both? Perdita’s age interfered with him, thinking it was her, and as a matter of fact, he had not really felt the Phoenix for a long time as well, making him all confused. With all these thoughts and ponders, Duke wasn’t sure if she was the Phoenix or not. But…What was worse, was that he couldn’t find out because she was no longer someone he could just touch and find out! He couldn’t help her get her creature out either, if she needed the help still…   ***   It was two years ago, unable to hold out any longer, that the Dragon King had gone to Sharlae once more. If Perdita wasn’t the Phoenix, then she still was the subordinate of Sharlae. And since so long had passed, where Sharlae could have been lying, the Dragon King was no longer able to just watch anymore. He needed…More! In fact, he wanted more within the first few weeks but had decided to watch Sharlae more closely instead. He had searched for Perdita, many times, but to no avail…His work had piled up, but he would still be able to feel loss…Feel that he was incomplete, all this time…   With his order, to get Perdita to come to him, Sharlae had flown off, accepting his order but of course…She was wondering what to do. As weeks went by, as she dilly dallied around, pretending to search for Perdita, while instead finding ‘worries’ in cities that she fixed. She hoped that the Dragon King would just forget and so she went back after a few months, only to have the Dragon King demand Perdita’s return or to have her to never return instead! That had done it! The Dragon King had valued Perdita over herself and so she made sure that she wasn’t followed and flew towards her link to the undeserving Phoenix.   It was utterly maddening to have had to demand her slave to come to her, as she couldn’t go to her, because of her cold-blooded creature! How dare she go somewhere that I couldn’t! But what she didn’t really think could happen, really was happening… The Phoenix was getting too strong for her to always manage! For a whole week, she was completely ignored! Every time she called to her slave, there was absolutely no response and Sharlae even wondered if her order was getting to the undeserving Phoenix at all! Really, Sharlae was really considering killing this nuisance! She was sure that becoming reborn takes a little while, but… It wasn’t really enough time! Yet, wouldn’t it be better if she just returned to His Excellency and stated that the girl died instead?   What about letting them meet but have it so that the Dragon King couldn’t touch her anyway? Sharlae thought. Perhaps a skin disease…No…That probably wouldn’t work with the Phoenix’s real powers and well, even if it were a tattoo or painted onto her skin, would the Dragon King even care? Sharlae wasn’t sure about the Dragon King, but she was sure that the Phoenix could probably heal herself, so that idea was not a good one! Especially when she remembered that the Phoenix body was hotter than normal. If she were to get someone to touch Perdita…Yeah, it sounded stupid…Not only would they know that she was the Phoenix, but the Phoenix would not let anyone touch her.   But…Sharlae remembered back to the past and wondered if she could control the Phoenix’s heat like that of the last masters. It was obvious that the Phoenix had been tested on and touched before, perhaps she had some influence there! After a good moment though, Sharlae shook her head, it still wouldn’t matter! If it’s not her that had to paint or tattoo her skin, then it was nobody! Sharlae didn’t practically want to do that, so she continued to think of ideas. …What about having clothes that covered her whole skin? Maybe I could make Perdita state that she got her creature and it was a cold blooded one, like mine, and wear gloves, the whole works! Sharlae thought.   Married? Oh, Sharlae thought, what about forcing Perdita to state she was married and even pregnant! Hell, forcing her to marry wasn’t beyond anything! Get her some bastard and make sure that she’s ‘taken’! Sharlae was sure that the Dragon King was someone that was one to smell someone’s scent…All she had to do was get the undeserving Phoenix with a man, before she is to see the Dragon King, and he would know! …Why would the Dragon King touch another’s woman? Why would he bring harm to a harmless woman who was ‘pregnant’? Yet…Sharlae knew, the link was weaker now, how was she able to accomplish all this? Being hit by a lightning bolt had really been horrible luck! If she had not been Immortal, having to use her powers to fight the Phoenix, she would have lost the enslavement! There was no doubt about that! Then the Phoenix would be known to her man and he would most likely fly straight to her! Thank goodness it didn’t work!   After that two weeks, it was another two weeks that Sharlae was using their link to give her slave pain until she finally relented and opened up the link for her to give orders through. The problem was, even with the link not so ‘clouded’ anymore, Sharlae experienced problems! The Phoenix did not come! Having used up a lot of her strength, to give the Phoenix pain, and still unable to bring her to her, Sharlae could only come to the conclusion that she had to come up with something that the Phoenix will not refuse her for! Going around the towns close by to the unlivable arctic area, Sharlae picked up a few thugs, with creatures that could handle the harshest of weather conditions, and after gathering them all up and telling them what to do and what they’ll get, sent them towards the Phoenix!   Sharlae watched upon her link, seeing the Phoenix fighting the thugs. Now she saw that the Phoenix was in the Mental Mind Realm and that she had indeed some control over their link, as when she was fighting, Sharlae saw that she could gain more control. And so, with this, Sharlae sent more thugs, gaining more and more control over their link, until finally, she demanded the Phoenix to come to her! Smiling, Sharlae saw the Phoenix come towards her unwillingly and thought she looked great! She had lost weight, had bags under her eyes and looked like she was just about ready to give up… Using the link, Sharlae led the Phoenix towards a place that would marry her off and finally, the Phoenix showed more of a fight!   “No!” Sharlae smirked at the undeserving Phoenix, hating that the years that had gone by did not show on the girl’s body. She still looked exactly the same as how she last saw her in the flesh! “Choose!” Ah, how refreshing! Watching the Phoenix bite her lips, then walk defeatedly into the place that had a man waiting for her, instead of going the other direction, where even more men were waiting for her, Sharlae trotted in after her. The proceedings of a marriage took place and she could feel how terrible the Phoenix felt through their link. It wasn’t until then that Sharlae found that the undeserving Phoenix had feelings for the Dragon King and felt like she had done the right thing!   If it had been any other plan, it may not have worked because of the Phoenix’s feelings! Sharlae was happy! She had saved herself the terrible possibility of the Phoenix fighting her and telling the Dragon King of who she was and of her feelings towards him. Now…Now she was married and had no right to be touched by another! The man that she had chosen to be the Phoenix’s husband was a subordinate of hers that will keep a secret. His life was on the line and he knew it but didn’t know of the actually secret yet. In fact, he didn’t know of the secret for some time!     Perdita, even knowing she was married now, continued to fight for her own right…She did not want the marriage to become real! Sadly though, Sharlae, as well as a husband that not only had Sharlae on his back but was now a husband that wanted his wife, was also making things hard for Perdita. After a week went by, giving pain upon the undeserving Phoenix and a husband whom was getting more and more courage, Sharlae put the Phoenix in another predicament of choosing one or another… Again, it was just a whole heap of men, or her husband… Feeling the depression setting into the Phoenix, Sharlae finally forced herself to control her and finally a time was then made for the Phoenix to finalize her marriage… But, Sharlae can only go so far when it comes to consummating a marriage by mind control…And that meant that a bond, or otherwise known of becoming mates, was not formed between the husband and wife, and their creatures…

Rage within!   “Boar-Ring!” Sharlae said, looking at her master. It was a common thing that she said these days… Ever since being able to be enslaved, she had been enslaved by coyotes, this time though it was a boar creature that had become her master. Seeing that Nathanial completely ignored her, like usual, Sharlae sighed. “Aren’t you going to be late to do your job!?” She said, seeing that the sun had risen a while ago now. Seeing Nathanial get up and leave, not speaking a word to her, Sharlae got up to. If she was more than ten meters away from her master, she would be hurt and well, there was no other option but to just follow after, as that was implemented into her enslavement contract.   Over so many years, her life has gone to nothing. Her name wasn’t even known! She was called the ‘Serpent Beast’ that did whatever she was told. From one master, she had tried to run, making this ten-meter radius added into her enslavement contract. With another master, she had tried to hurt them back, which added on another rule to her enslavement contract that she could not touch her master. She had tried to curse, which only gave her another rule of not speaking… This master though had been different, and she wished that she had taken the chance, when she had it, to become free.   Nathanial didn’t want anything to do with her because of the past. She had been ordered to kill his parents after all but…She really did stuff herself up! He had taken all the rules off the enslavement contract and let her do as she pleased but she had killed someone, making her have to come back to Nathanial’s side. After that, he had scolded her once, had spoken of what she had done and how she could be such a beast but since then…He had ignored her. It had been three years since then and Nathanial was what you would call a nanny for little Omega children. She knew that by rights he should be something else, over everything that he had gone through, but this man never seemed to complain to the coyote Alpha Master.   He was a Beta, which was good enough to be in a main group of the coyotes, but no, his father had been a boar and he had inherited his father’s creature. He had been bullied for god knows how long but Sharlae couldn’t remember much of him until he was her actual master. To get a job that took care of the little Omega children, while the mother’s and father’s where out doing something else, made her pity him. What was it that made him accept this so easily? Why didn’t he just leave? She knew that the boar was loyal and all but why can’t he be loyal to someone else!?   Whatever! Sharlae sat down close to Nathanial and watched as the last ‘Nanny’ told him about any of the children. This nanny had the night watch and so her job was much easier than Nathanial’s. The children would sleep most of the time, only to be awake for Nathanial to make sure that the children don’t get into trouble. Of course, sometimes they were lucky and only had one or two to worry about, but it was at least one or two all of the time. The children did not interest Sharlae whatsoever, what she disliked though, was that sometimes even those little, cheap, Omega things were the ones bullying her master…   Nathanial was soft to the kids, even when they were nasty, and Sharlae could barely stand it. Sometimes she thinks he is talking to her, when he speaks to the children but…She can never be sure, he was so…Apathetic when it came to her… It was only her that was ignored! How had she come to this!? She was at the mercy of her Serpent creature’s enemies and enslaved to them! Hadn’t the Dragon King done well! Oh…Didn’t she hate him! She wished she could get revenge, she wished it wholeheartedly but no…He was gone… He had been gone for at least a century now…Gone with the undeserving Phoenix… To leave her here still able to be enslaved.   How did she deserve this!? The Phoenix had lived three lives enslaved, she on the other hand was living well more than three lives being enslaved! This wasn’t fair! This wasn’t what she ever thought would be her life! She should be bowed to and respected! Didn’t they care that I was obviously in Immortal Realm? She asked this for the thousandth time. Didn’t they notice at all that I am much more special than they are!?   Over so much time, her hatred was still there but at least it wasn’t all that she had. She had never thought that something else would cause her to feel anything else but after being free a few years ago, and then only to come back to rules and enslavement again…Sharlae had started to question some other things. There was one particular thing that was starting to stand out right now and that was how much was this person going to endure before he was to change? It was intriguing, giving her something to look forward too. He seemed to have forgiven the coyote pack for killing his parents as he is so loyal to them still…Yet, Sharlae was sure that he was hiding something! When will this man snap!? She could hardly wait!   Every now and again she would try to drive him closer to snapping, by teasing him or continuously bringing up his weakness of being a boar…The only boar in the band of coyotes. But never…Not once does he look as though any of it gets to him! Well, not unless you add on the occasional discrete getaways that he might do, otherwise, there’s nothing! …Which only made her more intrigued! “You remind me of someone, you know.” Sharlae stated, looking through the window. She rarely spoke of her past and she was never asked about it, but today, today she couldn’t stop herself! Why was it that she was ignored by everyone now? She wasn’t invisible, she was there, but the children, these little, Omega things treated her like air too! It made her so…Angry!   “The beast is talkative today, Nathanial. Should we get her to do something?” Sharlae glared at the child that was looking directly at her and saw them flinch and walk away. “Perhaps you should try not speaking for a while and understand? Mmm?” Her master stated, yet not looking in her direction. Sharlae scoffed and looked away, “The Dragon King, he was calm like you. He rarely showed that anything got to him.” “You knew the Dragon King!?” One of the children stated, but Sharlae looked at Nathaniel, and for the first time in a long time, he looked directly back at her. “I felt sorry for the Dragon King, he waited five hundred years for his undeserving Phoenix yet never got angry about it!” Nathaniel frowned and looked away, “They were destined mates.” “So what!?” Sharlae yelled.   “Serpent Beast, we know that you are lying, so stop talking now!” One of the children said haughtily. Again, Sharlae scoffed and glared at the child, “Oh? Lying? Let me tell you, I was beside him for a long time, you little brat!” “I don’t believe you!” The child stated, yet did not show any more courage, even taking a small step away from Sharlae. “I don’t care if you don’t believe me! I was just stating…” Sharlae then looked at Nathaniel. “…I was just stating that he’s similar…That’s all…” “Haha, how could a boar creature come close to the Dragon King!? That sounds stupid!” The child stated, again finding some courage. Sharlae sighed and looked out the window, “Yeah…I suppose it does…”   No longer feeling the urge to chat, Sharlae went quiet and the rest of the day went by like normal. Upon following her master back to where he slept, which was away from everyone else, Sharlae watched him bathe, eat and then get into his cramped bed. She did have the chance to clean herself, but it wasn’t like the rest of them. To them, she was a slave and didn’t deserve more then a small bowl of water! Her bed wasn’t like that of others either, she just had the floor and a small blanket, that’s it…No soft mattress or even enough room for her to spread her body in stretching, no…It was cramped and…It made her angry all the time! Her style of living, she knew how bad it was because of how she used to live!   “Stop looking at me.” Sharlae raised her eyebrows and couldn’t believe that he had finally said something to her. Twice, twice in one day, he had spoken to her. “Who would want to look at you!?” “You are only lying to yourself now.” Was all he said, still facing away from her, bundled up in his blankets. “To have so much courage!” Sharlae yelled out and looked away angrily. She was the Golden Winged Serpent! She was in the Immortal Realm! How dare people treat her like this!   “If you’re so angry all the time, you’ll never find something to make you happy.” Sharlae looked over at the bulge in the bed and scoffed, “So what? If something bad happens to someone, don’t they have a right to want revenge?” Seeing the person on the bed turn around and look directly at her, Sharlae blinked… “I learnt some time ago that revenge is just emotions. It doesn’t help with a future or a present time of living, it’s just…How you feel…” Looking back at her master, Sharlae shook her head, “Even if revenge was taken against me, to make me become this, isn’t there a time where it should stop!? Why!? Why have I come to this!?” “Do you think you deserve something? Something good or something bad?” He asked.   Sharlae smirked, “I had done enough to deserve the Dragon King, yet he never looked at me! From the moment I got to the Immortal Realm, I was the only one that he deserved!” “Obviously, if you deserve something or not, it was not the right answer. If it was, wouldn’t you be with him now?” Stopping, Sharlae stared at her master and sighed. “The Phoenix…She ruined everything! I hate her!” “The Phoenix…I believe that she is long gone from Seal now. Don’t you think she would laugh at you or not even remember your name and here you are loathing her…” Narrowing her eyes, Sharlae took a step closer to her master, “She’d remember me! I was the one that cursed her after all!” Seeing Nathanial widen his eyes, Sharlae smirked and put a handout to touch his face, to which he moved away from. “You really are a bad person!”   Watching him turn over, Sharlae stopped smirking and sat down, looking through the window. Why had he suddenly talked to me? She wondered. It was…So strange yet…She liked being seen and heard for a change. Being ignored so much had been intolerable! She should be their master, not the other way around! Yet, after so long of being ignored and treated like a slave…It was finally nice to have a normal conversation once again. Putting her head on her legs, Sharlae slowly fell to sleep, not realizing that this new change had only lasted this long because…It was back to normal in the morning. She was once again…Ignored…   ***   Another two months went by and Sharlae started to get irritated once again. She watched and watched as her master was given the heavy burdens and that he still continued to get bullied by the young and old. He never changed though! He was always so loyal and never showing that any of it hurt him! How could he act like that!? She simply didn’t get it!   “You really irritate me!” She stated, not for the first time and she doubted it would be the last! There was no response from Nathanial, only making her more vexed and so she stopped him from walking and put a finger to his chest, feeling slight pain due to touching her master, “You are stupid, like you agree to what everyone says! Don’t you have any pride!?” Nathanial swiped at her hand, then went to walk around her but she stopped him once again. “Aren’t you angry that they treat you this way!? Aren’t you feeling worthless!?” “Stop it!” He growled. “Oh…Have I stepped on some sort of weakness, uh!?” She stated back, letting him pass. Again, he ignored her and Sharlae smiled. Was he ready to snap now?   Normally, her master would eat, bathe and then go to bed, but tonight was different. She frowned as she saw him walk through the woods and rushed up to him, “You…You are feeling it aren’t you!?” “Shut up!” He yelled, running off. Sharlae raced up to be beside him, and then smiled, “It seems tonight might be a bit of fun for a change!” Never did she see him do anything else when he seemed like he was unable to handle something. On the rare occasion, Nathanial did go elsewhere, acting like a coyote, instead of that of a boar. He’d be sneaky and steal something, yet his boar would seem to make a show later, as he would give whatever he had stolen to someone who needed it.   This was the only time that Sharlae thought that her master was showing that he was having problems. He did not tell anyone that he did this, keeping it a secret all this time, but how funny would it be when they found out!? She went forward, following her master with happiness and even helped him by blowing air at something to become a distraction, as Nathanial got away with what he had stolen. It wasn’t even anything big, to which Sharlae always thought was a loss of a good opportunity! Small things that weren’t treasures, like that either food or something that wasn’t as special as something beside it…It was always something that wouldn’t be as bad if it suddenly disappeared!   Upon finding himself not being followed, Nathanial leaned against a tree and sat down. He covered his ears and closed his eyes. “I think it’s time, dearest master, that your so-called stupid band of coyotes knows of what you do every now and again.” Sharlae only taunted him by saying this but knew it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. This is somewhat of what coyotes do, so their response to a respect wouldn’t even be that bad…It was more so what they could tease him with. It would be something along the lines of him acting and wanting to be a coyote, even though he was a boar…Yes, they would tease him a great deal because of this! Looking at her master, in this state, Sharlae could see how they could potentially tease him of being a wannabe coyote and wondered if that would make him finally snap!   Bending down, to what looked like a little boy in front of her for a moment, Sharlae stared at him. “Are you finally breaking, master?” “Don’t!” Was all he said. “Don’t what? Tell them? Call you master?” Sharlae moved her head to the side. “Don’t what?” “Don’t make things that I can’t change, something that I can’t accept!” He yelled at her suddenly. Sharlae saw his eyes flash and she was silent for a moment. Things that he can’t change… Things that she can’t change…Like that of the undeserving Phoenix being the Dragon King’s destined mate… Right…That was something she hadn’t been able to change and something she hadn’t accepted… Is he saying that she should have just accepted it?   No way! Why!? Why should she accept it!? She had power to change things! “Weak! Pathetic!” She said through clenched teeth. Watching him as he suddenly got up and looked calm once again, he looked right at her and said, “No, you are weak and pathetic. I was stupid to let your words get to me!” What!? Sharlae laughed, she hadn’t laughed in ages! She was weak and pathetic?   “That’s right…You! You are the one that selfishly thinks that things should go your way! Did you not say you cursed the Phoenix? Then…You deserve to be cursed in return!” His words only made her shake her head and laugh a bit more, “Yet, you are the one that doesn’t think revenge is something worth of obtaining! You speak such nonsense!” “It’s not done in revenge, you idiot!” He yelled at her. Sharlae blinked at him and frowned, “If it’s not revenge, then what is it!?” He smirked at her and wiped at his sweat, “You figure it out!” Then he walked off, leaving her there.   Upon feeling pain, because she wasn’t within ten meters of her master, Sharlae had no choice but to run and catch up to her master but…She was stomped. She thought this man was smarter…She thought that he would be someone that would make sense! But now…Now he just came across as stupid! If the Dragon King had made her to become enslaved, if it wasn’t for revenge, then what was it? Obviously, the Dragon King would find it hard to kill her and enslaving her was what she had done to the Phoenix so…All she could come up with, was that this was revenge… “I think you’ve gone crazy, master.” Sharlae stated, sure of herself. “I think your definition of crazy differs to mine, serpent beast!” He stated, still walking.   “Well,” Sharlae stated, “My definition of crazy is you not understanding and coming up with useless words just to go against me.” Nathanial stopped and stared at her, shaking his head, “I meant what I said.” Sharlae smirked and got closer to him, “Hence my definition. You probably don’t even have a reason, you just told me to figure it out because you have no idea!” He narrowed his eyes at her, “If there’s anyone that has no idea, it’s you!” Sharlae laughed, “I beg to differ, master. I have been alive more then you and really…You’re just a fledgling, a little child…” Nathanial interrupted her, “That makes your situation look worse, serpent beast. It’s probably best if you stopped talking! You’re only coming across as more of an idiot!”

Prior to Sharlae coming to see the phoenix, Duke had been there. Seeing his precious Phoenix hide behind a tree, Duke said, “Perdita…” Over the silence, Duke slowly walked to the tree where his Phoenix was and when he turned around it, he heard her soft voice say, “You know?” Duke lovingly looked at her then, nodding, “If only you knew that my lightning would free you from enslavement…” Seeing her look surprised, Duke took her into his arms then and hugged her tight. “I’m sorry for letting you down, Sweetheart. Forgive me…” Perdita nearly cried, hugging him back, “It wasn’t your fault!”   In the next few minutes, they hurriedly come up with a plan to get Sharlae. Duke was ever so happy into giving his Phoenix a dragon robe to wear, so that she wouldn’t be naked, but Perdita showed a rare smile, teasingly saying that she couldn’t wear it. Thinking that she looked good in his own dragon scaled clothes, he made Perdita promise to wear it later, as he felt overwhelmed with how perfect she was being covered in his scent and his dragon scales. Perdita shooed him off after that, but not before he took her lips in hers. It had been like a tease…A thrill…A future promise…   Of course, first Perdita needed to be alone. So that Sharlae would come. Then, Perdita was sure that Sharlae would then try to enslave her, even though she had just been reborn. It was also another reason why Perdita was frolicking around in her Phoenix creature, so that Sharlae would enslave her and fall for the trap. Afterwards, they wanted the thunderclouds to strike at the Phoenix, to break the enslavement and finally set the Phoenix free from any future and present enslavement. But now…Now it was Sharlae’s turn!   Being Immortal, the Dragon King could not come up with ideas to permanently destroy Sharlae as of yet. But at least they can make her go through what she had made the Phoenix go through! The Dragon King had not put two and two together until a few days after following the Phoenix’s ashes. He then remembered that Sharlae had acted like she knew where the Phoenix was and got worried that it’ll happen again! After trying to come up with ideas on what to do about Sharlae, it hit him like a ton of bricks…That the reason why Sharlae knows where the Phoenix is…Is because she had done the curse! The one that had made his Phoenix be able to be enslaved, was none other than Sharlae! …She was despicable! And the worst part about it was that Sharlae was an Immortal!   “Stop it! I’m not your enemy!” Sharlae yelled but no one attempted to help her. No, there was no one there on her side… She was…Alone… Alone and looking at the man that she held dear being with another woman. It hurt her eyes, as she fiercely glared at the undeserving Phoenix… Duke looked at Perdita and was worried, she was looking back at Sharlae with a fierce, angry look. “Sweetheart?” Perdita lost her glare and smiled weakly at him, “Cain helped me, I was…Just…” Watching her look up to Sharlae again, Duke felt an anger…Could it be possible be that she liked that man that she had married?   Thinking back to the ice blocks though, he didn’t see her write too much down in the way of feelings for that man, unless it was dislike or gratefulness… Feeling hands to his face, Duke looked at Perdita, who was now looking at him, and she smiled, “He was a process I needed to go through. My father was blood related, whereas Cain wasn’t. I was able to understand then how far someone that isn’t a part of your family can go. So…I was not sure what type of feeling I am to have right now. Should I hate Sharlae for killing him when he was setting me free or…” “Hate her! She cursed you!” Duke stated straight away, even though he didn’t directly answer what she had asked. Perdita took a moment, caressing her dragon’s cheek. “Maybe she did curse me but, considering now that I know how I made it to Immortal Realm, do you think I would have come here this quickly if she hadn’t cursed me?”   “I would have found you earlier and helped you!” Duke stated, holding her hand with his. It was so good to have her beside him again! Perdita got closer to Duke and smiled, “Mmm, I am able to defend myself now, she will be punished…Don’t be so angry…” Duke bent down, kissing the beautiful Phoenix in his arms and picked her up. “I’m not angry…I have you now!” He stated, showing a sexy smile. He had lived long enough, too long, and now that he had his Phoenix by his side, he was willing to forego many things and just be happy! After all, he had spent so much time feeling incomplete and now that he felt complete, he wanted to make the best of it! Perdita put her arms around his neck and her eyes sparkled. “Uh…” Duke stated, a little bewildered. “What is it?” Perdita asked. Duke stared at her eyes a bit longer, before saying, “I guess I saw right, your eyes change colour. The colours of the rainbow…It’s…”   Perdita saw how Duke loses himself in her eyes and suddenly felt enlightened. She closed her eyes then, to stop him from losing himself further. Feeling him cuddle her closer to him, she smiled and opened her eyes again…She wasn’t ready to start the journey of ascending yet… She still wanted to learn more about this place! She wanted to experience more and have a life that she wanted to have. Besides…For it not to be as difficult…They should connect…All the way… Blushing to her thoughts, Duke found it absolutely adorable and flew to his castle with her in his arms. They could deal with Sharlae later…He had a much better idea to occupy his time!   Laying down the most precious treasure he’s ever had onto his bed, Duke couldn’t help but already be excited! It wouldn’t be the first time for them, but he knew it felt great! Perdita saw how happy Duke was and laughed. “…What?” Duke asked. He was just about ready to kiss those lips that he’s been craving for so long. Perdita stopped laughing and sat up, making Duke sit back, watching her like a hawk.   Pulling her hair back behind her, she took Duke’s left hand and third finger from the thumb. Instincts poured into him from his dragon and Duke dived in, sucking slightly upon her neck, taking in the Phoenix’s blood, whilst Perdita sucked from his finger. After blood was then merged into them, both Perdita and Duke were engulfed by fire, wings coming out of their backs. Both creatures and humans were ready to complete the mating so that they were forever be bonded to each other. Duke didn’t need any more than a smile to press himself into his beloved Phoenix. And just as both had thought last time…This time was a hell of a lot more intense! Fire and thunder, lightning and nearly a whole castle getting destroyed…And days before the Dragon King and his Phoenix were seen next!   ***   Before taking the next step of ascending, Duke was not at all upset to stay just because the Phoenix was not finished on this world yet. He doted upon her extremely well, coming up with ideas and exciting places to go. It was now an extra goal in his life, to make his beloved Phoenix smile. Perdita, on the other hand, did her own things to dote upon her dragon. Of course, he was one to want to be intimate with his Phoenix often but in other ways as well. She would find him if he was busy, and just sit there doing something simple, so that he knew that he was not alone or didn’t have to look around the whole planet to find her…He appreciated that most of all but…Of course that was also known as a distraction…   Both Perdita and Duke grew to know one another as the time moved on. They rarely got into a dilemma where they were furious with the other, which helped a lot when they were both pretty new with this type of relationship. They had never been someone that was so special to the other and unable to live without them. They weren’t being used or wanted just because of their body or wanted selfishly. They were learning to love each other and yes, it wasn’t all perfect but because of this, they felt it to be perfect. They were able to learn that a relationship was worth it and had no regrets, even if they did the same thing all the time, or if they started to get bored. They learnt that there maybe one or two things that didn’t really appeal to them about the other and had to learn how to deal with that…But of course, it wasn’t that big of a deal to stop their relationship…   To a certain degree, they might have started their relationship because of the bond between them but it came to a point that both of them knew the other and nearly even understood the other without any speech between them, either through their link or through their mouths. It could be the bond between them but…Perdita was always very happy just being beside the man that had the biggest impact on her life. And Duke could not even bare the idea of being alone again, always making sure that Perdita was happy so that she wouldn’t leave him. Keeping and remembering these important facts also helped them become a loving pair that did not make a big deal out of small things. They realized that talking things out was a needed asset to a relationship and they also came to know pretty early that people can misunderstand very easily.   Misunderstanding was something that could be found quickly, because they could feel how the other was feeling through their link, but sometimes they realized that they could have said something better as it had hurt their loved one’s feelings and they hadn’t meant to. Both of them enjoyed making up though, smiling so freely and openly to one another after something that they had fixed was a relief to both of them. They found out that they were quite a selfish pair though, no longer wanting to mix themselves with too many others. They trusted the other completely so easily and that seemed to help their relationship become completely stable a lot quicker. Everything else was something that they didn’t mind learning over time as they knew they had a long time to be with each other… There was one thing that they didn’t question over all this time though, and that was the love that they had for each other. They knew it in their bones how much the other loved them and so with all the learning curves that they endured from the start, they knew that as long as they remembered how much the other meant to them, that things can be sorted out…   Duke liked it when she used her flame powers, so that he could call down his thunder! Being able to use lightning nearly anytime made him quickly get rid of most enslavements on the planet, leaving a specific type of creature alone. With his lightning, the Phoenix then sent down tears with the rain, to help heal the people who had been hit by lightning, so that they wouldn’t die. After that, enslaving creatures become somewhat rare. It also became something that couldn’t be done by those who got struck by lightning, but it didn’t mean that the idea of it wasn’t passed down to the new generations…   He liked the fact that Perdita was able to forgive him and how often she says, and he feels that she’s happy. Secretly, he also likes her making things for him…Even though he knows she’s not very good at sewing or knitting. He also liked her playing music for him, and only him! He often watches her in a daze as she plays her flute, which was now playing quite a happy tune, much more than a sad tune. They flew often, spreading their wings and even scaring people with their shadows or their haste from going from one place to another. They enjoyed their freedom, their intimacy and their togetherness…Fulfilling what they hadn’t been able to do prior to finally being with one another. They even got married, even though it wasn’t needed because they were already bonded with one another fully but…After having a child, watching them grow up and living a life with them, it came to a time that Perdita was content to leave…   Being a mother was a blessing that Perdita was glad to have enjoyed. She was scared while she had been pregnant, scared that she would loss the child and then never be able to have another…But, there were no problems, well not ones beyond that of a normal pregnancy. Duke and herself had doted upon their child with love and tenderness, being extremely happy with what they called their miracle. It was a little girl and she had a bit of a lazy nature when it came to cultivation, so she had not gotten her creature until she was twenty-one. Their daughter had indeed liked someone early, but Perdita and Duke were glad that they waited to let their daughter take the next steps as the person who their daughter set their sites on had a change of heart, or…They hadn’t really loved her to begin with. It wasn’t like he was a nasty person, it was more so that he found someone more dear to him and could only break someone’s heart because of it.   Their daughter was known as Hundrea and her creature was a whelp…Well, it was a whelp to begin with but could turn into a dragonkin if cultivated properly. Hundrea’s creature was that of one that would be by her side, not something that she could turn into, and that seemed to have made her upset. She had wanted to fly like mother and father, but she couldn’t now. Perdita and Duke could only console her so much, before they started to see that their daughter was a bit of a brat and stated that she should love her creature no matter what!   It took until Hundrea was thirty to break out of her own box and start thinking of others more. She did not become someone that took over her father’s work, and Duke made some decisions to give back the countries their own power, before he was to leave with his beloved Phoenix. Upon Hundrea’s fiftieth birthday, Perdita and Duke gave their love and told their daughter how proud they were of her. Hundrea had been mad at first, knowing for quite some time now that her parents were leaving her but at this time, she finally accepted it and wished her parents a great future.   After this time of experiencing enough, Perdita finally asked if Duke was ready. He simply stated that he was ready whenever she was… She was his home and he was not going to leave it! If she was ready, then he’d do whatever he needed to be ready too! She wasn’t going to go anywhere without him! Even with so many years being with her now, a lifetime, it still wasn’t enough! He couldn’t wait to spend eternity with her! Taking her beloved dragon’s face in her hands she let him get lost in her eyes…The rainbow started to show itself behind her, taking the colors from her eyes with it. Finally, the Phoenix creature came out, flapping its wings and a full circle rainbow showed behind it. The dragon was surprised to see lightning in the swirl inside the rainbow and never knew how that came to be as he had been lost in those eyes of his Phoenix…   The swirl showed a picture, but it was like it was in water and it was the Phoenix’s very tears that showed this picture, then…Her feathers, with all those magnificent colors were on the outside of the rainbow on top of dragon scales, making it look like an artwork that would be priceless! Again, both Duke and the Dragon had no idea how this had happened, but it seems that they had helped this portal come to be. Looking at his Phoenix, Duke didn’t seem to care anymore about it. His Phoenix can do whatever she wants, he is just happy that whatever she did seemed to have worked, which would obviously make her happy and that was all that mattered. With just a look from the Phoenix, Duke understand and changed into his dragon, following her through the rainbow…   The planet Seal no longer had a Dragon looking for his Phoenix…Until perhaps someone gains that creature unexpectedly that is…But the Phoenix…Her rebirth may not be for another five or so hundred years minimum and then, she would have to experience many different things to climb up to a point where she can help her dragon ascend. For each colour attained on her feathers was an experience, an experience that she has accepted as part of her life. After obtaining the colours of the rainbow and a few extras, she is then able to teleport her dragon and herself into another dimension and ascend…Of course, one can’t do this without the other and…Is that all they need to do to ascend? Or…Is there more to it?

Duke took in Perdita’s new scent, his scent, wanting to flush her with his completely. He wanted to be the one that she thought about, that she wanted to spend time with. He wanted to be the one in her heart! Never had he used his time stop technique on anything before now! But while she was like her old self, the one he liked and while he couldn’t keep his hands off her, he applied this technique just once. Just once, he’d like to kiss her… If it was going to be the only time, then he was going to make it a big, long kiss! He wanted to imprint her lips onto his and imprint his lips onto hers…So that no other lips would fit!   Hearing Perdita moan below him, Duke felt a bit of courage to place a hand inside her clothes, groaning himself to her soft flesh. He felt the sparks between them, wondering what kind of creature she really would have to have this kind of contact between the two of them. His dragon obviously liked her very much, he thought, as he claimed her lips once again. Putting his hands down to her rear, he lifted her up and placed himself inside her opened legs. Never did he feel so great! Never had he had a female in his arms like this and made him go so insane with want for her! He needed her, as it was, his dragon was going absolutely wild!   Wings came out of his back, wanting to fly but he held himself back, not wanting to hurt the woman in his arms. That’s right…He thought, she was a woman… Perdita felt overwhelmed, especially feeling slight wind around her now. When the Dragon King went to kiss her neck, making her sigh, she saw the dragon’s wings slightly moving and she smiled at them. Putting out a hand, the wing came to her, as though being beckoned and she patted it without a second thought.   A connection wanted to be made, she could feel it but…She knew that with her Phoenix caged up, it was understandable why the connection couldn’t be continued and linked together. “Perdita…” Hearing the man holding her tight say her name so passionately, Perdita turned to him and nestled herself into his neck. “Perdita…” Feeling his arms roam her body, Perdita moaned. His voice, his hands, his wings…They were enveloping her in some type of passionate ring, and she was even seeing the Dragon King start to gain some scales where her hands or body were touching.   Hot… She felt herself start to become extremely hot all over. Seeing her Phoenix still caged, as when the time had seemed to stop, she didn’t know how this was happening… “Perdita…” Feeling his hands on her breasts, Perdita gasped, and she felt his dragon claws nearly dig into her skin. “Why…Are you making me do this?” Breathing slightly heavier than normal, Perdita looked at the Dragon King’s hand turn back to human, as he took it away from her skin, and she didn’t seem to understand.   Duke looked at Perdita in confusion but those eyes of hers, misty and full of desire, seemed to blow his mind! With her body having done something to make his dragon scales appear, it seems his clothes had been burnt and so now he was practically naked. Maybe…He tried to think, taking her lips, her skin, her hands, her entire body as his…Maybe she’s some magma creature? Before his body turned back into his dragon, he drove himself inside her, hearing her yelp out through these strangely, overwhelming feelings and stopped. What was it about this girl? He could hardly remember going to this extent just moments ago! Never had he had such an urge to fulfil! Hot…He was so hot!   Feeling her clinging to him now, he was unable to do anything except follow his instincts and move along with both her and his wings wanting to flap. Wind filled the area and he found himself slightly off the ground but…He didn’t care… All he knew was that he was connected…He was connected to the first woman he deemed suitable for him. She might not be in Creature Realm yet, but she was suitable. She might be crazy sometimes and even have lied and become a thief but…She was definitely suitable! He had no want to let her go! And just like him, Perdita also felt that she was not just being lifted off the ground physically but being lifted into another state of mind.   Her Phoenix may not be there, but she felt like she was experiencing a small amount of what this should be like! She wanted to spread her own wings and be free. She wanted to be connected to the dragon completely! She also knew that something was coming, that something in time… Time for what, she didn’t know, but this was also her instincts and her secret wants. She, all this time of hiding it, she let her feelings for the Dragon King show. Gently stroking him on his face, pushing herself into him and cling to him with her legs. She wanted to show him in actions to what she had been wanting to tell him! My Dragon, My dragon! Yes, this man, this creature, they were hers! With that thought, she knew there was yet another process she could do…To merge their bloods… She could accomplish that right now…That would merge them together at least in one aspect… How did she know that?   “Perdita…” With his voice, Perdita arched back and yelled out, as he held her close and the next process everything else surrounding them suddenly disappeared. It wasn’t just because Perdita was completely overwhelmed with what she had been feeling, no, it was because the wings of the dragon had seemed to be excited and had used its lightning power… The immediate area was damaged, as the lightning bolt had struck the ground, making a circle of what looked to be touched by a plague! What was more extraordinary was that this small ‘damaged’ area might look like it was struck by a plague now but later becomes a very special place to grow a specific herb.   Wind slowed down and Perdita found that the Dragon King was back on the ground again. Just like her, he was quite stunned… Holding her, they were both silent to the quick…Sudden…Activity that they had just done… How in the world had this happened!? Both of them were at a loss yet knowing…Knowing that even at this moment…They were still very much connected! “You can’t back out now, sweetheart.” Duke stated, kissing her on the forehead, finally accepting what had transpired. Of course, he accepted it and she was his now!   Perdita looked up at the man, trying to not cling so much to him so that she wasn’t so close and stared. Feeling his hand to her face, he put his forehead against hers and sighed. So…She thought, was this the end then? Was he going to…Go again? Feeling his arm around her waist and him pushing into her again, she finally understood that there will never ever be another man for her…It was him or no one…   Looking down, she gasped. “Like I said, sweetheart, you can’t back out now.” Duke stated once again, lifting her face to hers and kissing her lips. He knew he should stop his powers and start time back up again but… He couldn’t help it, he was worried. He had her in his arms, he was still inside her, yet he felt worried… Can she see that they belong together now? And he was worried that Perdita will transform once again into that person that didn’t make sense…   …A magma type creature that might have two personalities? Kissing her eyes, nose and forehead, Duke held her tighter, and whispered. “I don’t want to let you go.” Perdita put a hand up to his face and sighed. Perhaps she could tell him now, perhaps he’ll look after her and keep her safe? Duke leaned into her hand and pushed himself her into again. It was a first time for him, but he knew what they’d done. He wasn’t stupid…He had made love to another man’s woman and…He knew that they had the potential to connect completely to one another…He could feel it! It’s just, if she turned into that other snide woman… It really was too late anyway…He thought.   Whether he wanted to or not, his dragon and he had mated with this woman. Feeling his powers slowly dwindle down, Duke smiled, kissing her again. He still had enough time! Hearing a moan from the woman clinging to him, wings started to flap slowly once again, and he let his instincts take over. How could once be enough? How could one day be enough? This woman was now his and his only! Having been a first the previous time, Duke was able to show a different side of himself this time. Making sure that there was absolutely no more scent of another man on this woman, Duke then found himself wanting to hear her moan his name. …And Perdita was only happy to do so!   They might not have been able to connect their creatures, or their human bodies together completely but another connection was made. No, this connection isn’t for what this intimate type of action is for in the human reproduction, as the dragon could sense that it was not time to do such a thing to his new partner. The connection made was more of a balance. The dragon inside of Duke sensed a certain type of magic within Perdita and drove himself to try and open that up for her. What it would do once it was opened, he did not know but he was certain that there was a way, soon, that his partner will be able to reach to Immortal Realm a little earlier now. In fact, he was certain that with this little bit of help, that his partner’s creature will come out very quickly after they were finished. So, as much as not only the dragon but Duke wanted to impregnate this girl, for many reasons, it was not to be so. Instead, they will find out how much they helped Perdita later…     Letting time go back to normal, Duke saw Perdita suddenly fall down unconscious. “Perdita!” When he went to touch her, she was searing hot and his dragon nearly even got burnt! His dragon was immune to fire…What was going on? “Your…Your Excellency…” Duke turned, to see a man…For some reason he immediately wanted to kill him! With wide eyes, he watched as the man darted to the girl and threw a blanket over her. “I beg you…She’s my wife…Please…” Duke felt himself start to fill with anger, he was so boiling mad that he didn’t know what to do with himself. “Then divorce!” Duke ordered. The man held Perdita firmly and shook his head, “I will not.”   Duke took a step before him, wanting to take his woman back but the man darting away from him. “She’s mine!” Duke stated, openly using his possessiveness against the other man. “I’m sorry, Your Excellency but I prefer you to forget what you just did to somebody else’s wife! She is mine! The Phoenix is yours!” With that, the man then darted a few more steps away, looking back skittishly briefly before disappearing around a corner. He was sweating profusely because of the Alpha order given to him that he tried with all his might to go against. If he had been an Alpha it wouldn’t had been too much effort but he was a Beta, and nearly exhausted already by going against the order. Watching him like a hawk, Duke didn’t know what to do. Because…He was right… She was taken! And his Phoenix may be out there waiting for him! But… He just couldn’t give her back! They had not even connected fully yet! He knew there was something missing within their intimate time together and that was because her creature had not come out yet.   What they had done was not all he wanted, he wanted all of her, he wanted to become successfully proper mates! He wanted her everything! He thought thinking this would make him feel terrible because of the Phoenix but it didn’t. He didn’t feel guilty at all…He knew that if he became mates with Perdita, it would last her lifetime, until her death. But that would also mean that he would not be able to mate with the Phoenix until after Perdita’s death. But that didn’t seem to matter at the moment…He wanted his woman back…He wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. He…Didn’t want to be alone anymore… She was…Practically perfect. He could deal with the fact that sometimes she turned into a crazy person, he could deal with the fact of her past but…On the other hand, she was so beautiful, and they connected more than any other female he had ever met. Connected already to a point now where he had given her his seed, to which he had not given to anyone else before! And that was enough to chase her down!   With that thought, he just knew he had to bring Perdita back to his side! Changing into his dragon, he flew to where the man left and found a dirt mould. Growling, the dragon flew down and begin to dig but…The hole stretched out and turned…They were gone… A whine excited the dragon’s mouth and then a huge roar sounded out over the half of the planet… To this roar, Perdita woke up in the dark… “Don’t be scared…” The voice was from the dark and Perdita felt around to only find what felt like dirt…And she was naked… “What’s going on!?” “…You don’t remember?” The man asked, hiding his burnt hands…Even though he was in the dark. Perdita stopped and frowned. A heat flew through her and she felt different but somewhat familiar…Sort of uncomfortable… But…She suddenly wanted to turn into the Phoenix and fly! Fly to a particular direction…   “…You really don’t remember?” The man asked again, and Perdita knew that it was her husband. Slowly, she moved a hand of hers and touched her lower half, feeling like a distant memory flew back into her mind. Time had stopped and… Widening her eyes, Perdita moved her hand away and put the blanket over her better. “…I know you’re awake. Do you remember or not?” The man asked impatiently. Perdita didn’t know what the best answer would be…Lately this man had been ok, but she still didn’t really like him. Shaking her head, Perdita took a breath in and hugged herself. For a moment another glimpse of that man’s saying her name so passionately came to her and she closed her eyes in remembrance. So beautiful…   She had never had an experience like that! If a mate is found, creatures connect along with the human part of themselves and a big bond is formed between them. Thinking back to it now, her Phoenix had been trapped, so they couldn’t connect but…Just by the touch of his dragon, she knew the dragon wanted it. The dragon may have been hard and trying not to look huge, but he was like a sweetheart to her, she could feel his care for her already. And that man… Wow… “Hey!” Looking towards the voice, Perdita found that it was closer than before. “Didn’t you hear me? The time you are the first to initiate and you forget? This is really unfair!” The man sounded upset.   “I’m sorry.” Perdita stated, frowning to what he said. So…My husband doesn’t want me thinking it was the Dragon King… “Can you turn down your heat, I’ll take you back.” Her husband said. “Cain, I can walk.” Perdita stated, getting to her knees. “With what we just did, can you really?” The man stated, now closer. Perdita didn’t want another touching her…She was already the dragon’s…The Dragon King’s woman. Cain and she had not connected in such a way ever and she will never respond to any other male…Only him…That man that had called her name out so longingly, passionately… “Come on!” The man picked her up and Perdita heard him growl and let her go, “Turn off your heat, dammit!” Shakily, Perdita stood up and swallowed…Perhaps he might be right… “Ok…”   Cain picked her up and Perdita tried to put the blanket between his skin and hers…But it still felt wrong. She wanted his hands to be the Dragon King’s, just like his scent and his breath… So wrong! …Wrong… Clenching her fists, Perdita fought to close her eyes. How could she sleep in this type of situation! But…Her dragon…Her man had taken a lot of energy out of her and soon she could no longer hold on…Her head slowly fell onto Cain’s shoulder and her hand fell to her lap. Cain pulled her hand to his neck again, but it was no use, she was dead asleep! A sigh could be heard, as Cain traveled through one of his mole holes towards his master…   ***   Perdita frowned, feeling wrong. “What’s that for? Mmm?” Hearing Cain’s voice, Perdita opened her eyes and blinked, then moved back. Cain tried to get her closer to him on the bed, but Perdita ended up falling off the bed, in her attempt to quickly get away from him. “Calm down!” The angry voice made Perdita flinch and stop. Slowly, she pulled a blanket over her and pulled her legs up. “For crying out loud!” Seeing Cain sigh and put some clothes on, to then throw her some clothes, Perdita inwardly sighed but then…She saw his burnt hands.   “You’re hurt.” Was all she stated, having an idea of why his hands were like that. “Mmm, don’t worry.” He said, putting a hand through his hair and looking away from her. Seeing him flinch and bring his hand back down, it was clear that he had tried to look like it was nothing, but it was obviously painful. Biting her lip, Perdita felt like she should heal him, considering it was most likely her that had hurt him. Letting out a couple of tears, to undo the inflicted damage on another, Perdita put a finger on each of them and said, “Come…Come here, let me heal you.” Seeing Cain look at her gently, Perdita nodded at him and put her fingers that held the tears on his outstretched hands and watched as the hands got better. “…Thank you.” She heard Cain state, staring at her. Perdita nodded, then looked away. She only healed him because she had been the one that had hurt him, that was all…

“We aren’t you’re slaves!” Xavior’s response to Anonym’s careless question of them tagging along with them, was different to Elementress who was keen to tag along. “Who said that!” Anonym said, looking away. “I don’t agree!” Xavior stated. Switch only looked on, not giving Anonym any kind of a helping hand. A day had passed, and they had met up once again and Switch had ignored Anonym this long. Anonym had apologized in a half-hearted way and Switch couldn’t help but want more in return! He wouldn’t always be mad with her, he just wanted more!   Anonym was getting angrier and angrier as the time went by! She felt like she was scrummaging around like a hyena for Freedom Elixir, because Switch wasn’t paying any attention to her, so she hadn’t been able to drink very much in the last day! She hated apologizing, as she thinks that she shouldn’t have to! She shouldn’t have to ask for permission for anything! So, if she wanted to snort in Switch’s face, while a dragon, she felt like she had every right to do so! But…She didn’t like it…Didn’t like that he wasn’t talking to her and ignoring her! He was her favorite! He gave her Freedom Elixir and helped looked after Alex and… Sighing, she remembered when Switch nearly died and bit her lip… Why did love have to be a part of this relationship, she wondered! It’d be so much easier if I didn’t love him! So, she was angry because she knew that Switch would win and get her to apologize properly! Not only that but these new slaves of hers were talking back to her like she wasn’t their master! Well! Let’s see who has the last word!   They had been invited to Xavior’s and Elementress’s castle, leaving the last remaining survivors of humans and Shifters to themselves back upon the land. Anonym had gotten over the castle relatively quickly, as she had ‘castles’ of her own a few times before but…It did hold special things that even made her greedy! But, the most important thing right now was…To get the immortals on her side! Anonym used her boy to irritate both Elementress and Xavior into giving up to her, but Switch interceded, by taking Alex away, so then Anonym used strength and wit to see if that would change their minds! Elementress conceded quickly but Xavior fought her day and night, making Anonym somewhat exhausted by the third day! She wasn’t using all her strength, as she didn’t have to! She was immune to Xavior’s magic now, so whatever he did never harmed her, but he was a real tricky man and she seemed to lose to him in other ways. There was an obvious difference between them, as she might be the General, but Xavior was the strategist and it pissed Anonym off!   Anonym wanted to punch Xavior in the head and then throw him out of the castle, so she could watch him as he fell to the ground! She couldn’t win in chess, she didn’t have the patience to find treasure and he was way too damned stubborn! She didn’t particularly like stubborn people! On the fourth day, Switch relented and said, “Stop playing around Xavior.” Anonym didn’t understand…What was it that Xavior was playing at? Xavior rolled his eyes and stated, “Fine, fine! I concede!” There hadn’t been much he could do, since Elementress had already given in…So, all this time he was doing exactly what Switch had just said…He was playing with Anonym. And to him, he had been having quite a lot of fun. Finally, he accepted the fact that they would be better with others like themselves and was in a bit of denial on how much extra fun it was! Seeing her loss in chess and getting all angry, had satisfied him enough to give in for now!   Anonym, who had no idea, had never thought that she had already gained two more friends. To her, they weren’t really friends, they were like Timothy, whom hangs around and was someone that she can give an order to. Easily, Anonym smiled and got over it! Her work was complete, she had recruited two new people with power! Switch, on the other hand, could only shake his head to Anonym getting played and that she still had no idea about it. He wasn’t able to help it any longer though, and that night he decided to ‘punish’ Anonym, making her realize that she should never get her man upset again! Well, she could if she dared!   On these types of rare occasions, Switch took charge and lead Anonym in a different type of happiness in bed… Getting taken by Switch, even though she wasn’t the one in charge, Anonym feel into ecstasy and yielded once again. Not letting Anonym off easily, Switch put themselves off limits to anyone else and even let Alex stay with Elementress and the dragons, leaving no one for Anonym to call out to for help! Well, it was more so that Alex doesn’t see such a mature scene… But it really wasn’t a problem, the dragons liked the castle on the outside, as it seemed like one big treasure to them, and Alex was making Elementress run around like crazy as he looked at everything in the castle! So, with Switch having taken Anonym away, they were now on their own for the first time in a few days… Breathing heavily, and her body a bit sore from Switch’s continuous ‘punishment’ of thrusting into her, Anonym really had no care to call out for help anyway…But…She had an idea on what he was doing! She felt the difference! Just as much as Switch, she wanted this type of reunion between them. It wasn’t like every other time, as though it could be counted as routine and feeling good for a few minutes, this was different. Not only was it them making up but… Secretly, Anonym wondered how long Switch would have lasted before this was going to happen! Yet, in all these thoughts, Anonym was still able to loss herself to Switch, yelling out his name in the process!   Switch wasn’t mad at her anymore and he was looking so sexy, being the man and taking charge, that Anonym took in this so called ‘punishment’ gladly! …Switch smirked at Anonym’s complete acceptance and kissed her lips tenderly, breathing heavily himself. Taking charge like this had given him one chance to bring apart his unyielding beloved for a short time…To make a brother or sister for his son! Anonym will have to deal with it when she finds out! So, in fact, Anonym’s real punishment was…No more Freedom Elixir! Well, not until she gives birth! And this fact, was completely missed by Anonym, she already knew what Switch was doing…But didn’t think of the effects of it! She all but forgotten what to do and what not to do while pregnant! The last time she had been pregnant with Alex, she had been completely filled with revenge and had worked hard to increase her strength, so the time without Freedom Elixir had felt short…And at that time, Switch had missed out on seeing her pregnant with Alex, so he was not going to miss out again! With her so called specific cultivation, this would be all that was needed, and Switch kissed Anonym once again, feeling like he had won some type of conquest! Perhaps they agreed on two things that night…One thing being that both of them wanted a little girl…     Within the next day, several dragons and a few people disappeared, only leaving behind the humans and Shifters that had been at war just a week ago and had belonged on the planet originally. There were only a couple thousand humans left, but luckily for Shifters, they had a good ten thousand left. Again, just like on the other continent, the humans and Shifters separated to once again grow and live out the rest of their lives in harmony…Not wanting to go to war again anytime soon! After a few years, Alarick took the survivors from his pack back to where he used to live and continued his ways. He once again became a leader, but this time he had his strange but lovable Luna by his side. Before returning back home, his family had already grown and was already going to grow again…They might have had a hundred upon leaving to fight for the war, losing a few in the battlefield, but now their numbers had actually risen upon the migration, instead of fallen! Quite a number of Shifters liked Alarick and respected him as an Alpha and wanted to join his family and of course, under a few questions and hearing certain answers, Alarick had accepted about sixty percent of them!   Rieka loved her life. She finally felt accepted and grew to see that living in the pack that she was in, was completely worth it! For all the times that she had been lonely and had to fight to survive, she now felt loved and knew what love was. Beside Alarick, and her new babies, she grew to love each and everyone of her pack members. She knew how to play with all of the pups, just by being herself! She also let Asuna take over the Luna responsibilities and continued to think of strange ways that made Alarick fall in love with her more then he thought possible! As for Asuna, she finally got to spend a life with her mate and also being able to relax from being worried that she and Rieka will be used as a sacrifice once again. Not only did she trust Alarick and Mingan in protecting her, but there was no evidence to support the idea that a white wolf could do such a thing as become a curse or a cleanse for somebody… Since Alarick, whom had fearlessly fought the humans inside the shield and had bitten one of the wizards, Shifters felt like even if there were evidence to claim Rieka’s ability to state that she could cleanse or curse, they would have to think very deeply upon doing such a thing as sacrificing her, simply because of Alarick being her mate…   But, at least for now, the world of Altervale was now completely alone. The castle still stayed invisible, no one knowing that was were two immortals spent a lot of their days… Later, when this floating castle is found, it becomes an extremely exciting event! They find treasures beyond believe and then games that sometimes were even life threatening. But, through all this, no one could speak of why it was there in the first place… And…The Shifters still remained, even after many more generations… A wizard and shaman had left behind their legacy, but now followed a new type of dream. They could finally strive to get some revenge for their fallen friends from their original galaxy, and perhaps even gain a chance of growing with their powers through their new comrades. Xavior had already wanted to learn from Switch but is not sure how to bring it up…On the other hand, Anonym comes up with crazy ideas that Elementress wants to try and make them a reality…Yet, it is not one sided! Anonym confronts both Elementress and Xavior to try and make her pets into ‘Shifters’ like that of the wolves on Altervale! And…Anonym orders them to tell them every last detail upon how they had become an immortal! Not only that, but the little boy Alex had more to dote upon him now and he welcomed the extra two into their entourage of universal travelers!   THE END   (The next time Elementress, Xavior, Anonym and Switch will appear is in ‘Spirituous, Earth beyond Condemnation’. I’m not sure which volume they will be in but it’s either 2 or 3.)

Asuna POV   Little one, open your eyes and look! Seeing no response, I sighed. Rieka had hidden herself so much that I was unable to change back from being a wolf. This was the most amount of time that I had been in control in both lives and I was starting to get sick of the little one acting like this! Aren’t you stronger then this! Why are you acting so differently now!? Again, I got no response… “Please, please can I talk to Rieka?” I humphed at Alarick, looking at me with desperate eyes. I want you to talk to Rieka, she’s just…Not coming out! As much as I loved speaking with his wolf, I knew that Rieka needed her mate. We needed to complete our bond, we needed to mate! It was even the perfect time for it! It was still a full moon, the last day of it… With our bond still so very weak…Both us wolves and Alarick were scared that the bond will completely disappear…We were scared that if we don’t do something soon, we might lose our chance! Look, little one, your mate wishes to speak with you, come out… …I don’t care… Breathing out in defeat, I vaguely feel her thoughts upon wanting to go back to having a heart of ice and live in the depths of winter. She had left her home in the north only to feel like she’s regretted it…   This is silly behavior little one! Didn’t you always want to live for now, look with your eyes and see that your mate is desperate to speak with you right at this very moment! Seeing the very guarded and hidden little being peak out and see through my eyes at our mate, she did not speak a word. “Please…Rieka. I know you’re there. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you, I will forever make up for that, but please…Come out!” I felt my heart ache for the two wolf and man, who desperately wanted to connect with us once again. While the little one continues like this, we didn’t particular feel much of that bond between us…So, she needed to come out! Little one, I have watched you for a long time now. You survived a lot on your own, becoming your own best friend and didn’t depend on anyone. I know I have not spoken much with you, but I will change and speak with you! I am at fault, not you! I am the one that should have said that you weren’t broken, that you weren’t stupid and that you are beautiful just the way you are! The poor little thing…   I felt my mate touch us again then and saw Rieka flinch. I knew she felt that slight tingle and probably even smelt that blanket smell that she likes so much… Feeling our mates’ arms around us, I spoke to Mingan, I know both of you are eager, but I don’t know how long it will take to bring Rieka out. Silence overcame us then, as I felt slightly more at ease at having our mates’ arms around our wolf body. Upon waking up to find Alarick close by, I was ecstatic, I was absolutely happy. Of course, I questioned why I was suddenly in a different place, but the answer didn’t matter as I felt safe and in the right place… Still healing, even better now with Alarick’s help, we are nearly better once again… I have no idea about the time that had gone by, but I am aware now that it seems the Shifters had come all together and that Alarick is highly seen as one of the leaders or commanders for the new pack that has already been formed. Not sure on what specifically has happened in the last couple of days, but I know now that time was of the essence and that Alarick may be fighting soon…Which meant that if we wanted him at his best and have more of a chance on surviving, Rieka needed to come out!   Little one, weren’t you always so jealous of others that were laughing and smiling? Why make it so hard for yourself to obtain that!? Have you forgotten what it feels like to be with our one and only!? Don’t you remember how happy you were!? Seeing Rieka finally come out of hiding, but still not take over, the tingles grew slightly stronger than before. Just as I thought, Rieka needs to come out! I wasn’t sure beforehand, but both our mate and I now know of this fact! It sort of hurt my feelings, that her and I weren’t completely at one, but…I was reincarnated after all…Perhaps, because of that, Rieka had the most rights to be known as Alarick’s destined partner and I didn’t. …Nonetheless, I have already happily fallen for Mingan and hope that Rieka will finish this connection for us. “Rieka, please come out and be with me. I’m a mess without you!’ Like myself, it looked like our mate was going to help me bring her back out. How about you gain back the blanket that you want so desperately!?   Suddenly, I was pushed back…Seeing myself see through the eyes of what Rieka was seeing…Finally! Tingles, smells and the link was suddenly so much more powerful, yet at the same time weak, and I sighed with relief. It was still there! Before, I was sad because of the chance of Mingan and Alarick not taking us as their mate anymore, but it’s alright now! They have not only made it obvious that they want us very much, but the connection between us was now back to as it was before…Now, all that there was left, was to strengthen it! Feeling Mingan agree with me, I felt myself grow jittery…It would be the first time that I would be officially mated… …I couldn’t wait! Seeing the little one snuggle desperately into her blanket, I couldn’t help but let out a happy laugh. Good girl! Now let’s spend the rest of our lives with our mate!     Rieka POV   My blanket! “Rieka!” I rolled around, hearing my blanket groan and I suddenly felt like that I was perhaps being too rough. “My love, at least shift to human if you’re going to roll on top of me.” Oh… Shifting into human, I laid on top of my blanket and clung to him…Now remembering how I had felt with him those times, when I had thought that I was dreaming. It was real, this feeling, this want and desire…It had never been a dream… Feeling arms around me, I couldn’t help but feel the complete opposite to what I had felt the last couple of days. I had been empty and scared, upset and sad…Now…Now I felt full! I felt wanted and safe… Yet, was this really not a dream? Can I really have this? Granted, I didn’t want to be upset, just as Asuna said, but…What if I go all happy and it disappears all over again!?   Opening my eyes, feeling to have been the one that was now on the bottom, I see him put his hand to my face and give me a look that made me feel like crying. “Rieka…” My blanket… His touch to my face was gentle and I touched his face too. I had pictured his face many times, yet nothing was compared to touching it and seeing it in front of me like this! His eyes told me things and I felt like he was taking my breath away once again, like he had some time ago … Finally, his lips upon my own made me remember even more then before and I tried to take in whatever he was giving me. As I became lost to his lips, I was getting lost to his touch and smell as well. My body burned to where he touched me and I let out a noise, unable to know why. His smell drove me nearly insane as I clung onto him even more then I already was and when we finally parted from the kiss, that again took my breath away, my mind was completely blank… I wasn’t thinking anything, I was feeling…Feeling for more, feeling great and feeling wanted…   “Rieka? Can I mark you?” Remembering something like this previously, I felt even more emotions go through me, again making me want to cry! Did he really want me? Did he… Asuna wondered why I was waiting so long in saying ‘yes’ in return, after waiting for so long…I feel that desperate need from her, even though it wasn’t very strong, and I couldn’t help but feel even more heat rise up within me. That’s right…Why would I say ‘no’? Having lived alone, I had been dealing with it fine but…I know that the future that I would have with my mate would be different to what I previously had at other packs and when I was with the humans. I felt different, I felt like I wouldn’t be chased out and used, that I wouldn’t be bullied and abused…This was…Different. And…How could I? To me, he was the most handsome man, one that I wanted to touch and for him to touch me! Hell, if it doesn’t work, perhaps I’ll leave…Later…Much later… Surely this mate bond thing won’t be too hard. Perhaps it may even be great! Wouldn’t that be nice, to be loved and wanted, being looked at like he’s looking at me now. To be touched all the time, like he’s touching me now… I want more!   Finally my mind started to work again and I really did cry…I was scared that my questions and emotions may be too much but… “My love, please be with me forever. Let me protect you, stand by my side, be the mother of my pups…” Feeling his gentle hand caress my face, wiping away a tear, I blinked to his statement… Isn’t that like what the dream made me want? To be with him, by his side…To have him mark me? Before I could change my mind, knowing how much I desperately wanted to be with him, to be able to laugh and smile like everyone else, I nodded and eagerly took his lips with mine! His hands drove over my skin, making me feel even more crazy then I did before! Already I felt somewhat hot, but now I felt even more hot! Not only that…I wanted him to touch me more! My blanket! That’s right, he’s completely mine! And before I knew it…I felt pain in my neck, making me groan and hold onto him tighter.

Alarick POV   I got my mate out of the holy sheets and since she didn’t seem to mind her naked body being seen, I eagerly took it all in. But it didn’t last long…As soon as she was out, she shifted into her beautiful, white wolf and I pouted. I had seen a few marks on her luscious body and had automatically wanted to kiss them. I wanted to put my hands all over her, but now… Seeing her looking up at me, I said, “Stay with me. No running away!” She licked my finger, that I had pointed at her with, and I let out a chuckle…Dam, she was just… Shifting to my wolf, I snuggled into her, not really wanting to leave. I was in heaven just minutes before and I felt like I could have locked us up in here for days! No…Days wouldn’t have been enough, weeks…Hell…I don’t even think weeks were enough! Letting out a little huff, I ventured out and devoted a whole eye on her all the time, and my nose…Like hell I was ganna let her go now. She was mine! The problem was…We haven’t got any kind of mind link at the moment. I want her to be initiated as soon as possible, and luckily there was going to be a bonfire tomorrow night. I had been somewhat traditional, because the wolf was somewhat traditional. And that would not only mean a full moon initiation, but also waiting until she was ready for not only marking her but fully consummating our bond.   The full moon initiation is hardly in effect anymore, only a few packs on the planet still recognizing the old ways. But, since I had made my decision to live closer to being like wolves and as a tight family kind of pack, we have taken in that tradition once again. Especially since she was going to be the Luna, I wanted it to be special. I know my mother had been initiated by a full moon as well, wearing white and had made some kind of speech and then taking the vow. So, her new daughter will do the same! Then, finalizing the bond between mates, is now often done straight away, not waiting until their mate goes into heat. Marking my mate…Boy I couldn’t wait! I was so keen that I had even forgotten about the neck collar! Sometimes it could take up to a month for a newly marked mate to go into heat, so I wanted to mark her as soon as possible! Even though I had waited all this time for her, I felt like I couldn’t wait anymore! She was right here! I could slam all tradition in the ass and just take her but…Man! I could only sigh and see this as a good thing. Sabassa had told me a while ago, that the tradition is there for a reason and I really do understand…Something about connecting other ways, before the bond is completed. It’s a time to see everything else about their mate and find the want to wait and spend the rest of their lives together. Blah, I can’t remember any other words…But, I’ll wait. Dammit, I’ll bloody wait! I felt it though, the want, the desire… I know I said I would wait…But it won’t be easy, I can tell ya that!   Leading my lovely mate outside, I saw Radolph breath in and stare at the white wolf beside me. I growled, then felt a head bump into me. She rubbed herself against me and looked at Radolph like she was shy. Radolph coughed and then nodded, “Ok! I’ll just…” I saw him put his hands to his shorts and went in between my mate and Radolph, blocking their vision from each other. Wanting her to get used to people being somewhat naked, I still felt like she wasn’t quite ready…Considering her first expression of what happened when I had been naked in front of her. Not only that…For some reason I didn’t like the idea of her seeing other males in the nude…I mean it was normal, yet, I felt a fierce type of feeling go through me just thinking about it… But she seemed fine and I gave her a tiny push with my head, before the three of us went for the run.   I didn’t want to do anything different to what I usually did, so we just checked the boundaries and I kept my mind opened to the enforcers I came across along the way. Every now and again, I’d see a glimpse of Harou, before he disappeared out of my sight. I felt so good, knowing that he was there, even though right now I’d prefer it if it was just the two of us. My lovely mate seemed to trot around like this was nothing, and it made me wonder if she knew we were actually working right now. She looked around and even on the occasion licked me. It was weird, because she’d lick me anywhere and I was already riled up. And then, when I would give her my complete attention, she would be looking around once again. She was a bloody tease! Argh… We took, twice as long to do my natural boundary run then normal, all because I would lose concentration! I also knew I wasn’t the only one, a few Shifters we past stared at her and I wanted to growl at them! To a certain degree, I could see her being so beautiful is going to be a problem!   When we finally returned back to the pack, I arranged for a dress for the initiation the next day. I then made sure that everything was ready for tomorrow, like the wood and rocks, and make sure that the area was clean. The pack used to be a lot dirtier, but nowadays I didn’t have to worry so much about rubbish, so the area was fine already. And, all this time, my mate would follow me pretty closely in her wolf form, even though I had shifted to human form. I had a strange thought, that perhaps she had a little more self confidence while she was a wolf… Having heard her talking before we went for a run, only hurt my heart. For a person unable to speak properly, really did question what kind of background she had. Being bullied like that at a school, and at such a young age, made me think better of my own situation. At least I had parents, well even though my father wasn’t really that great, but I had a doting mother…Whereas she hadn’t. My mate had no one. I patted the white wolf beside me and she banged her head into me, making me fall to the ground. I laughed as she put herself right on top of me and licked my face. I hugged her wolf and nuzzled into her, feeling the silver hurt me, making me flinch back. Right, when is that person going to get here? As I continued to pat her, I tried to mind link Radolph, but it looked like he was in his human form. Guess, I had to find him then…   I pushed the white wolf off me and then attempted to tickle her, making her give out strange, gruff noises. I wanted to do this to her in her human form, but, even in wolf form, she seems to be laughing. Tackling her body with mine, I was just so full of feelings for her, I couldn’t hold em at bay! Then I heard a low growl and little nips in my waist and I jumped! The white wolf let out more gruff noises and I looked at her and laughed, she was just tickling me back! So…This was what it was like? That missing part of yourself, that half of yourself, your destined one, being together with you? How quickly do I feel that she had already become a big part of my life!? I loved having her attention, I loved that she wanted even my sheets all over her! My heart somehow was already swelling to an unimaginable weight, that I felt like I might pop! I put a hand through my head, and suddenly felt embarrassed… She was stealing my manliness from me and making me all cheesy! I felt her rub against me once again and I smiled down at her. “Let’s see if that collar can come off yet!” Then I ran, looking back and seeing her chase after me. It was like she was playing a game every second of the day and we took twice as long to get to Radolph…   “Boss! L…Luna!” Radolph stuttered when I found him. I was then suddenly pushed over by a beautiful white wolf. After she licked my ear, she got off me and looked at Radolph closely. I watched as she sat down and look at me…Was she waiting? “Boss?” Oh yeah, time to be manly again! “Have we heard word from The Misty Ice Pack?” I asked. “The scout came back, stating that they are talking about it and will send the person who can take it off, if they end up agreeing to do so.” Radolph said. I frowned, “Why wouldn’t they?” Radolph looked at the white wolf, then back at me, “The scout said that when he brought up the wolf being completely white, things changed.” “How did the scout know she was white!” I asked, worried that they weren’t going to take the neck collar off now. Radolph sighed, “I accidentally told him boss, I’m still stunned! She’s really pretty!” “Hey!” “Sorry boss. But, what would it mean, because apparently, they had no objections at first…Now they are thinking twice, knowing that she’s a white wolf…” I frowned again, could she be…In danger? But, if they are stating they wouldn’t come, isn’t that just staying away from her? It was a tad bit confusing and I shook my head. Perhaps I need to write them a letter…

 ** When Alarick left his mate, to go to the border in the west. **   Unknown POV   Is everything understood? The voice in my head asked firmly. Yes Alpha, detain The Snowvalley’s Alpha for as long as possible, even if I use the evidence to do so. I answered back his orders, knowing that this was important. Right, oh and Carlos, let me know when he and his pack are ready to move out. Yes Alpha, I answered, knowing that my leader had put in some thought to this. I just…Didn’t know how to feel about it. Elder Knull seemed to have become someone always by my Alpha’s side recently once again, and I knew he wasn’t always one to be trusted! …It’ll be his weakest moment, yet our most strongest moment. After the blessing is complete, there is nothing left to stop us from claiming his pack through a fight! For a split second, I was completely shocked…Did he just say ‘claim’? …Yes, Alpha… I could only think that Elder Knull had come up with this idea as well, being one to be selfish and greedy, even though he wasn’t even the Alpha of our pack...He was always in the Alpha’s ears, whether it be the previous Alpha or the present one…And when he was whispering things, strange events occurred, events that had to be covered up! I will be on my way as soon as the ceremony is complete! …Understood…   What do I do? My best friend may be taking this too far…Yet…He is someone that I can not go against either. The last time I questioned Elder Knull, I had lost one of my pups, with my mate’s life held in their hands as well. It had been twenty years since then, and I had gained the trust of my friend back…But… I couldn’t help but think of what was going on. That…Someone’s mate was going to be killed, being used as a sacrifice…And I was the one stopping the two from finding each other…I was going to be the one that ‘traps’ this pair from never seeing each other again and both of them may end up dying to my leader… Shifting to my human form, I waited at the border, hardening my heart… If only… I became distracted when a huge rumble came over the earth… Switching back to be a wolf and connecting myself to others, I came to see that the pack were questioning what was going on…But they weren’t scared… What I did see though, was that two of the members were getting ready to attack a woman with white hair…     Alarick POV   “War?” Okay, I have to admit, I did not expect that. Perhaps this was pretty important. Maybe that describes why I felt that rumble earlier, uh? Maybe the war has already started… “Yes, our spy in the human network had found and decoded that the humans are going to join in the north in six days’ time, then go after us together as one. I am not sure who they are going for first, but I know they are planning to start the attack a few days after they join together. It is said that the war has already started on the other continent and I am here, on Alpha’s orders, to ask if you are willing to join forces and act as one against them.” Already started? A week? I must have showed a strange expression, as the Beta continued, “We have evidence to support our theory and will be willing to show you if you are willing to join forces. We are in the process of sending people to other places as we speak, to do exactly what I am doing right now.” I blinked, I knew the humans didn’t like us and had done a few things that had resulted in death to Shifters…But war? And so soon? Didn’t this take preparation? I had been so busy getting my pack back together that I hadn’t put too much thought into war! We weren’t ready at all!   I still didn’t know how to reply to what the Beta said, when I got an incoming voice in my head, Luna has been attacked…I am currently…Going against a professional and can’t get to her…They were travelling… Then his line was cut off… That was…Harou! Knowing I won’t be able to see anything from here, I still looked in the direction that my mate should still be in and frowned. It hadn’t been that long since I left her side…Why!? Why is my mate being attacked? And while I am here!? Our bond was weak and even if I focused entirely on it…I still felt like I wasn’t sure if she was scared or hurt…I just sort of knew that she was still alive…   “…Alpha Alarick, I have come to invite all the members of your pack, to stay with us. We are sure, for defensive procedures, that we all would have a better chance of surviving in The Misty Ice Pack then you do, by yourselves here.” I turned back to the Beta, having troubles paying attention to him. Most of my focus was upon my mate and not knowing what was going on! I desperately wanted to just go to her! If I leave now…How long would it take to get there? What would I do if I get there and find that she’s gone! Linking myself to someone close by, I told them to check it out and get on my mates’ scent. Not only were they closer then I was, but I should finish up here before I go to her. So…Turning back to this Beta, I asked if he could repeat himself. I knew that this was most definitely important, if it was real…But…My sweet, lovely mate… The cut off, last message that I’ll ever receive from Harou, rang and repeated itself into my head. Having one of my family members also cut off from me, I couldn’t help but go silent in pain for his loss. I loved all of my members, they were all my family! And not only Harou, but my lovely mate as well…She was supposed to be initiated tonight, she was…I was going to mark her, and we were going to be…   ‘Luna has been attacked’, ‘Luna has been attacked’… “Alpha Alarick! We must act now, a day…No, an hour too late and we may not be able to survive, are you willing to see the evidence…So that we can join forces and fight together!?” I could hardly hear his words…Or make sense of them, I felt like my wolf was a bit strange too, but even he didn’t even know what was really going on. This… “Radolph! Get a few men and race to the southern border, I got a message saying that the Luna was under attack!” Putting a hand to my forehead, I knew, right now, I couldn’t go. My pack was indeed my family…Yet…It was so difficult to make this choice! The best I could do is send more people and stop wasting time! I have to pay attention dammit! I hoped that Harou…But, if he was lying, then why was he dead!? I shook my head and heard the Beta trying to get my attention again. “Alpha Alarick, please say that you will join forces with us, and we will show you this evidence immediately and I also suggest that the pack is to move as soon as possible!”   Taking a deep breath, I finally thought about joining forces and really…Didn’t want to! I had some strange feelings about The Misty Ice Pack lately and I really didn’t like the idea of joining forces! But…They say they have facts and evidence… “If you have brought this so-called evidence and I see it’s truth, I will gladly join forces, but our packs are to remain the same.” That’s all I could do. I know it was putting the pack on the line, but if it wasn’t true, I felt like I was saving them! “Very well, Zenic, get the evidence! Please just wait a short moment, Alpha Alarick.” I took another deep breath, already thinking of my mate once again. I heard a howl or two from my pack, as they also felt another link break, but…My mate wasn’t even initiated yet… Was she ok? Why did something happen to her down there!? Had I not taken enough precautions with four bodyguards? I and my wolf both, couldn’t seize our worries. We were infatuated, mesmerized and completely devoted already to our mate…What if something happened to her!? Having sent Radolph, and the few others, didn’t seem to be enough to calm both of us down, and even though it had only been ten or twenty minutes, I sent a few more enforcers to go to the southern border for news to bring back, leaving me with just a few Shifters left for not only my protection but the borders protection. Sadly, right now, I wasn’t too sure if we would win a fight if The Misty Ice Pack wanted to fight us. They only had the Beta here with me, but I could smell quite a few surrounding the area outside of our borders. Putting a hand through my hair, I was becoming totally frustrated and I had to focus on breathing slower to calm myself down.   “Beta…” The Beta interrupted the Shifter running with a bag coming towards us, “Yes, bring it here. Show Alpha Alarick as soon as possible.” I watched, as the Shifter put down the bag and brought out a USB stick and plugged it into a camera, then handed the camera straight to me. I was observant, but it didn’t seem to matter. This ‘Zenic’ seemed normal and didn’t show any kind of ill intent towards me…What bugged me, was the ‘Beta’…He didn’t seem right, but I didn’t know what was wrong about him! It really shit me off!

Alarick POV   Changing out of wolf form, I left my mate there and knew I had a few things to do as I got dressed. I kissed her and walked out, planning to give her a bodyguard first thing. My pal, Harou, was a quiet shifter, and reliable. He had done a few scouts and even brought in a human or two a few years ago. He was like a Shifter Assassin! Even I, the manly Alpha, thought he was cool! But he was now going to be a protector, specifically for my own mate. Calling out to him and having said this now, I watched as the quiet man went to stay closer to my house. Since we had halted our contact as much as possible with the Humans, we had older homes that even needed repair. But, for the most part, the biggest residence was still able to contain a lot of my family. It was a three-story house that only used to have the main family in it, but after my father had gone, I let others stay there instead. Otherwise, there were a few homes and then over the last couple of years we had even made our own huts. Strangely, the huts got used more then some of the empty houses. The huts were made mostly of mud and straw, making it smell and look natural, but the most interesting fact was, the new pups slept better in the huts, a lot better than the man-made homes. That theory was really just an accident, purely because I wanted to give it a shot of making our own homes. Then, some of the younger pups would end up in there every now and again, surprising a lot of the adults. They had let their wolves take them there upon wanting to sleep and that was all there was to it. And that’s how we found out that sleeping on dirt or grass, seemed to help us sleep better. So, we have three huts now and they are opened to whomever wants them…Unless they are already occupied.   My intention at the moment, when it comes to living in this pack, was to have more huts and not worry too much about the deteriorating man-made houses. The pack funds were bulging with money, because of my father’s efforts and selling off jewellery that we didn’t need, yet, I don’t really care much for money…I saw what it did to not only just my father, but my sister as well. My mother, being Luna and staying within the pack most of the time, was able to see what was happening because she hadn’t interfered much into the financial part of things. But even though I didn’t care much for money, I also knew that it still came in handy, making me realize that I will always have to have funds coming in! As it is, the water pipes had a problem a month ago, vexing me into already wanting to turn them off! But, seriously! Getting pipes fixed was that much money…Just rip my balls off while you’re at it! It made me become more serious about our water problem, and I really wanted it organized! Taking the hot springs close to the sea, and above The Strikers Den, is something I felt I had to do. Even though, just recently, I had moved my boundary back away from it…My plans, though, had not changed! I will take those hot springs!   When the water pipes were going to be stopped and then not used anymore, I had wanted the hot springs to bathe, but, luckily, we already had a well for normal water. Sadly though, they weren’t completely ready yet, to depend on the well and hot springs, so the water pipes had to be fixed for now. “Boss.” I turned to see Due, a female who was competing in the spar, “Due, how are ya?” “I’m great! I’ve got a whole new trick to show you!” Due said, showing a big smile to me. “Was it about the turn that I showed you last month?” I asked, remembering a move I had shown to the ladies. It wasn’t easy, I guess I wanted to see if anyone could learn it. “I did it! But…I can’t seem to do it again…” Due grumbled upon finishing her sentence. I laughed and shook my head, “I won’t give my secret away yet, after the spar I’ll tell you why you might not be able to do it.” Due moved her body from side to side in dismay, she had been one of the young ladies that had turned eighteen recently. She was really unhappy to not have found herself the mate of the Alpha. Since she was sixteen, she had wanted to be by his side…To be Luna! “No need to get upset. Keep practicing.” I said, shaking my head to her trying to flirt with me, even when she wanted to look as though she wasn’t. I had normally just nodded, but now, I felt like I was just missing my mate more and more. I stopped suddenly, blinking with wide eyes…I’m whipped!   Shaking my head, to get out of my thoughts, I tried to focus. I had been doing alright…I mean she was right here! In my pack! How could I already miss her! This is ridiculous! Walking into a house, that we now call the elders den, I found Raulin and Sabassa. Raulin had been here from beginning to end, whereas Sabassa hadn’t. “Boss.” A few chorused as I leisurely sat down and got comfortable. “How’s the water in the north coming along?” I asked. “It’s not working, what we do…Isn’t enough.” Raulin stated. I raised my eyebrows at him, “I’m not doing it their way, it’s our way or nothing!” “It would be simpler…” “No!” I said, determinedly. I wasn’t going to outlaw Human and human technology, and then change my mind! “Fine! Then we probably won’t be able to melt the ice and have it drinkable.” Raulin said, defeated. I sighed, “The scouts?” “Found nothing! There’s nothing else!” I put a hand through my hair and put my feet up on the table, “It’s not a problem.” “I have an idea.” Sabassa said. She had been initiated into the pack at least a year ago and was one of the oldest wolves that I had met! She was also a great supporter to me wanting the pack to be closer to nature. “Sabassa.” I said, enticing her to continue. “I remember when I was young, that more wells, meant more water.” I laughed, I had suggested more wells earlier, yet Raulin had to make a big deal about drinking the ice…Now, he was complaining! “Then…” “Boss…” Sabassa said, interrupting me, “Sorry…Could I be so bold to say that we have the well closer to the source?” I looked at her and started to nod. “Yeah, I don’t care if they aren’t in the heart of the pack, just as long as they are in our boundaries.” Sabassa smiled and said, “Then I can start?” “Sure, grab a few of the teen pups to help you out.” I said. Bout fuckin time! We’d been onto this for ages! Today was my lucky day!   Once Sabassa left, Raulin spoke once again, “Sorry boss, I honestly thought it would have been better and easier.” I put my hands under my head and sigh, “We all make mistakes, but at least we know now. Don’t worry about it gramps.” “…I heard you found her.” Raulin said. I look at him and smiled, “Yeah, she’s here.” “…To be so close to the spar?” He said, a little dismayed. “The spar will go on as planned.” I said, not at all worried. Even though I’d found my mate, why should the spar stop? Honestly, I wanted to see the girls fight anyway! We had a few fighters teaching the pups and all, but I needed them to show their strengths anyway. If they were good, I’d consider putting them as enforcers or something, at least until they found their mates. Hopefully some of them learnt a thing or two while sparring! “So, you will keep an eye out for a better Luna?” Raulin simply stated. I growled, this old man was getting on my nerves once again, “My other half will always be my other half! I will not change her status! The spar is continuing for the beta female position. I can’t possibly handle it if Randolph doesn’t mate soon!” Raulin sighed and went silent. He may have been here since the beginning, but that was only because he wasn’t the smartest of Shifters. Actually, a big reason I let him stay, was because he wasn’t all that bright. He was old though, so all I could do is let him be an elder. We did have our differences, but he was pretty dam loyal, I’ll give him that! “Then how about letting your mate be entered into the spar?” His words made me growl again and I got up, startling him. He wasn’t as scared of me as he was when I had first awoken the Alpha within me, as I had never actually hurt him. Without speaking another word, I started to leave, when I found Sully timidly holding papers just inside the door.   “Sully?” I asked, walking up to him. He had come into the pack when he found his mate here. I had never found out why he was so timid, but he never posed any kind of threat the entire time he’d been here. His mate, Duko, was an old pal of mine and I was really happy for them. But, boy did I not understand them. One was huge, being an enforcer, and one was like a scared little bunny…Yeah, still don’t get it! Sully lifted up the papers to me and I played with his blonde hair while I took it. I had tried a few times to have him not scared of me, but after a while, nothing had changed. Seriously, I wasn’t that bad! Yeah…I’ve killed a few Shifters and yell my ass off sometimes but come on…Like me! You damned little bunny! Duko told me a while ago that that was just the way he was, so I just had to make sure he knows that he can relax in my company. Still, I’m glad it wasn’t just me, as I did notice he was like that to everyone, but…Sigh. “Hey! Stop touching my mate!” Duko yelled, running up to me. I put my hand up and away from Sully, the little rabbit. “All good, he just gave me papers, see!?” Duko was one of the most possessive people I’d met. I wasn’t too sure if it was because Sully looked and acted weak, or because that was just how Duko was. I knew from ages ago, that Alpha’s were very protective, but seeing Duko like this, made me question things. Then, I found out, that Duko had Alpha blood in him from a few generations back. It wasn’t as strong as mine, but it was there…That…Possessiveness… Thinking about it now, I guess I would be annoyed if someone touched my mate too. I even let out a slight growl just thinking about it…And hearing that tiny little growl, startled me! Putting my hand to my forehead and shaking it, I was at a loss! Sully only smiled his biggest smiles at Duko and went to him easily. But this was nothing special…As I’d seen it heaps of times…   Looking at the papers, as they walked away, I realized that a few more things have broken down. Since we no longer had electricity, we had gotten rid of many things that required electricity to work. We had one generator, that the last computer would connect to and left-over phones, but otherwise we had been living with candles that we made ourselves or just dealt with the dark. Our sleeping hours had drastically changed, as we seemed to sleep earlier and wake early now because of this. But we were running out of candles and one of the fires that heated up hot water, was running out of wood, among a few other things… As I walked back towards my house, I got someone to go out to get more wood and then got someone to find out what materials we needed to make more candles. Luckily, we didn’t totally depend on them, as sometimes we would have a bonfire in the middle of our pack and even sleep out there all together, near the fire. To be honest, I prefer the bonfires and wouldn’t even mind having an extra one a week. I want the pack to stay close together and sleeping all in the same area had grown a few bonds that I never thought would happen. The pups loved it the most, as they trotted to many of the adults, and through that, the adults would drink and yap about anything… With this in mind, I got a few more people to go get even more wood, as I wondered what day to put this extra bonfire on… So, the candles that we still had would last for at least another week or two, but I was one of those people that never wanted to get into a predicament of having nothing left! It was indeed a busy life, now that things had changed to this extent. So much had to be done! Walking into my room, I had food that I’d picked up quickly from the kitchen and put it down on my own crafted desk and couldn’t help but smile at the mess! I found my mate almost entirely covered by the sheets from the bed and her tail was wagging around happily. Little grunting noises were heard, and I could only smile to her amusing act. She was just…So damned adorable!

Alarick POV   I saw Beta Carlos shift to his wolf and growl at me, trying to keep me away from his Alpha, but it had no affect on me, this Alpha! I could already feel him tremble just to my aura! He was nothing! Power within myself burst forth and I felt the pride over myself once again. All those times that I had to survive since young and then having to always keep it up afterwards with others wanting to take my pack, I was absolutely ready to show them what I was good for! Mingan and I were elated and couldn’t wait to let lose upon our feelings of anguish and rage over what had happened recently. Again, I was back to being strong and full of vigor…The number one Alpha! An Alpha wanting justice for my mate! Immediately, I went into combat with Carlos and through my anger rising, I quickly had him pinned down and ripped off one of his wolf forelegs! Then I rushed ahead to get to the Alpha but found others from The Misty Ice Pack that had shifted to their wolves and went towards me. Through a scurry of fur and growls, I let myself fight to the bitter end with these mongrels and did not care to kill a few in my way! It had been at least a week since I had fought last, but I fell into a rhythm like I always had, using my teeth, my legs and strength as where I had learnt. My wolf was just as determined as I to get our revenge for our mate and so we fell into sync and worked as one, as we fought our way through those who stood in our way!   Another Shifter lost a leg, another got my claws into their necks and another got their sides spilling out to my gash to their side. I bit into a neck, then another neck and I was even pinned down at some point to then use my aura and my quick reflexes to quickly get up at the earliest opportunity… Through this, blood spilt everywhere, and I knew that I had also gotten some bites in return. I had a gash on one of my legs and my eye was just millimeters from being clawed into! But…I felt my pack transform and fight along with me, their Alpha, and a full-blown bloodbath started between us and The Misty Ice Pack! Our bond against theirs, our fighters against theirs! My family’s fighters’ thoughts aligned with mine, as they too wanted justice! They also fought bravely and showed others that we weren’t a pack to be trifled with! We were strong, resilient and worked well as a team! And wow was I proud of them! My family was something else!   It became clear then, how our numbers did not compete with theirs…What we had though, was determination! Each and every one of us wanted to get revenge for my lost mate and the pain that I had gone through to her loss! We were family and even though Rieka had not been initiated into the pack or even mated with me, everyone had easily found out that we were destined to be with each other, making her part of our family! We packed together and my enforcers took the lead, leaving other fighters to help along the side. We used our connection and our training to continue forwards very slowly, but our numbers were just not enough against this other pack! Becoming encircled and trapped, each one of us could only growl at those growling at us. “Hang on! Geez, war hasn’t even officially started on this continent yet and if you fight each other, who’s going to fight the humans! We need to win dammit! Xavior will not care if there’s little of you left! Come on, stop it!” It was hard to make sense of the words coming from the outsider, the new being in the room, but I did hear them… No one relented, yet no advance was made, and the growling stopped…   I did not take my eyes off Alpha Avan, and the new being came into my sight, showing herself next to him. “I don’t blame you for wanting to kill him and to be honest, I don’t want him to be the leader here. So…Everyone else back off! This fight is just between these two!” My eyes went from Alpha Avan, to the strange, new being, and I didn’t know what to do next. Was she helping me? “Back off!” I saw the woman yell and put out her hand, seeing wind push at others around both me and Alpha Avan. “I might not have a lot of nature energy right now, but I still have enough to kill each and everyone of you! So back off!” I saw her humph and put her hands to her chest… Was she…Pouting? To a strange degree, she reminded me a bit of Rieka…Which only made me remember that poor looking, white wolf that was hurt…My rage instantly returned once again… “It’s just between these two!” Then, suddenly, she lowered the earth around Alpha Avan and took a few steps away herself, leaving quite a few metres in all directions that was free…With only Alpha Avan and I in the middle… Seeing the strange woman nod at me, I choose to think of this later, while letting myself feel that hate and revenge once again fill me up and I dived straight towards Alpha Avan!   A black wolf emerged in front of me and I moved away from his jaws, so that he wouldn’t bite me in the neck, he then jumped towards me again and as I dodged, he still got hold of my tail and I pulled myself out of his hold, making me whine to the loss of skin. This bastard! He puts in a lot of strength and pounces! As I just thought this, he had circled me a bit and then did the same thing again, jumping into my location and I narrowed my eyes, rolling to the floor and put my wolf feet out to retaliate. Having clawed a bit of his insides, I still felt like this wasn’t a very good idea, when he was trying desperately to get to my neck. Pushing with my feet, I growled out as he instead hooked his jaw onto one of my legs and so I took in his neck fur in my mouth. Pulling on it hard, I felt him whine and let go of my leg, getting off me and I quickly turned, and watched him.   We were silent, as we circled each other and I just knew that he might be waiting for something, waiting for me to be distracted…I “Alpha!” I heard, and there it was, he pounced, and I raced to go under him and wanked at one of his hind legs, that was still in the air, and pulled with all my strength to get him back down to the floor. With a big noise, a huge wolf fell to the floor and then I dragged him around, taking in a few kicks from his other hind leg to my face. Bastard! I was so angry, so bloody angry! Putting a paw down over the other wolfs private parts, I heard him whine and struggle against me, then I put myself over his body and yanked at his foot, that was still in my mouth, away from his body and a noise vibrated out… A deep whine entered my ears and I felt a slight release to my anger. But wasn’t this nothing to what my poor mate would have gone through? If only I knew her circumstances, so that I could do exactly the same to him, but all I knew is that she had died, or come that close to death that our connection had completely broken! That’s right, doesn’t he have a mate too?   Letting go of the leg in my mouth, I saw it go limp and immediately fall to the floor. It looked like Alpha Avan was unable to use it now, so…If I wanted to show him how it felt to lose a mate, now was going to be it but… When I searched for this mate of his, she looked completely scared and was crying, making me lose that idea completely. Dammit! Looking back at the ‘dog’ that gave me rage, I saw him backing off away from me and unable to use one of his legs. Seeing him shift into human and fall to the ground, with his arms up in surrender, I growled. How could I let him go!? “I was wrong! I was wrong!” His pleas didn’t do much for me and I took a step forward, only to hear another come forth and bend down next to him, “Alpha Avan, this is a great time to kill him and take his pack!” In the next moment, a wind blew the old man with a white beard away and I saw that the new being had her hand out. Looking back at Alpha Avan, I wondered what he was going to do… I had heard that whisper and wondered if this elder was someone that he should also kill! “No.” Hearing the great Alpha of The Misty Ice Pack say this, I stopped in my tracks. He looked back at me and nodded, “I’m not stupid, this woman here is powerful, and I can see how loyal his family is. They wouldn’t recognize me as their leader…”   You’re damned right! I guess he isn’t stupid! Staying vigilant, I stood still, watching him like a hawk. My family’s ideas greatly differed to his and they would want this type of person to be either killed or imprisoned! I guess this Alpha Avan is seeing things realistically…Not only that, we weren’t the only packs here! And then there’s that strange new being that has a power that seems to control the earth and wind! I waited for what he would say next, as he stared back at me, and he nodded again, “I got the idea to sacrifice your mate from him! If you are still angry, I will give him to you!” I growled… How long will this go on for? Blaming one person, then another… Who was it that put my beloved mate in the position of being nearly killed!? He then spoke again, lowering his neck to me, “I am willing to admit defeat, willing to have you lead, just please, don’t kill me!” What a coward! Growling again, I took another step forward and he put his hands out, “Please don’t! I didn’t even think of what the pure, white wolf was! I heard everything from him! He’s the father of her, he should be the one that should get killed!” “Alpha!” The old man’s voice spoke out in fury, and I turned to him in complete displeasure. He…Is her father? My poor, lovely, beautiful mate, has this shameless bastard as a father? Without further delay, I raced towards the old man and aimed for his head, wanting to rip it straight off his shoulders!

Alarick POV   I took the camera and watched the screen, seeing that whoever took this, was trying to be as discrete as much as possible. It looked like they were hiding inside of the building, using vents or something else to get around and without being seen. As the camera made its way to a room that was empty, voices could be heard from the next room…Then, when a cupboard was slightly opened, the camera saw the people that were talking in that next room. I watched with more vigour from then onwards…I needed to keep my eyes and ears opened to what I was about to see and didn’t want the small chance that this could all be a lie instead of the truth… But… The one with the camera had done well, they knew this would be shown to other Shifters and they showed that the people who they had taped had in fact all been humans, instead of Shifters, as they had discretely showed silver being used against them and nothing happening. Not only that…But…An army of people, guns and other weapons…Maps, ideas, even a leader…   It was real! There was no way that this information was fake, especially when the town of Vanin was clear through seeing outside of this ‘warehouse’ type building, so the known location was something even I knew about. The maps also stated where we were all situated and even a Shifter that had been clearly beaten, by showing bruises, had also been taped being scared and talking a little about one particular pack, namely ‘The Striker Den’. Having clearly named our weaknesses and those silver bullets and wolfsbane also been seen from the camera, it cleared most of my doubts… Even if it was a hoax, I had known a small amount of the humans already planning something through my own spies…I just didn’t think war would be upon us so soon! “We would have come sooner, but we had to make copies to show this to other packs on this continent. Like I have just told you earlier, we would like to band together as one, just as we had in the last war, so that we have the biggest chance of surviving! Please, Alpha Alarick, tell your people and let us join together at The Misty Ice Pack!”   Letting out a defeated sigh, I gave back the camera and bit my thumb to show my sincerity of a future alliance, putting out my hand then to show the first action of joining forces. The Beta nodded, not giving much else but to do the same, to show the same amount of trust…At least all the trust that we could get at that moment, especially since he was just a Beta and not another Alpha… I knew this would be a long process as we would band together, we would break up the pack that I had strived so hard to obtain, yet…For survival, we needed to start gathering together as one… At the moment, all we had done was agree to come together, but terms will have to be set so that I will be able to continue to protect my pack as much as possible…And the first step would be to do as said and go to The Misty Ice Pack area, simply because it is better defended and more Shifters there to keep my pack safe… The process will take time, but time really wasn’t on our side and I knew that I had to be careful in the coming days, so I won’t rush to a stupid conclusion and waste what I had been doing for most of my life… I will protect my pack! I will survive! And I will make sure that other Shifters will not be our enemies! Well, that is what I hoped as I knew new rules and regulations will be set and that our pack way of life will be different and might cause a ruckus…Which we can’t afford right now!   After our shake, Alarick dropped his hand limply, and stated, “I will inform my pack and get them to help each other and we will leave as one…As we are one…” The Beta showed no disrespect to what I said, but I also felt no disrespect from him either…On the other hand, I didn’t know how much respect I had for him and his pack though… I’m not doing this to bow down to you strange lot of Shifters…I’m doing this to protect my family! Agitated, I felt like some stress had lifted upon the Beta turning and feeling that some hidden Shifters had taken down their guard… Frowning, I see that they really wanted to dominate what was going on and noticed that they didn’t have any intention to leave until my pack and I were leaving our land… It seemed that I had no choice but to comply anyway, as if I hadn’t… What made my mood worse, was that they shouldn’t have to force the issue…Obviously, I knew now that there was a war that probably will happen soon yet, they still had people here that seemed ready to beat me up if I didn’t do what I just did! Suss! This was all so very suss! I didn’t like it and I felt extremely insulted! If only… Sighing, I couldn’t help but be a little out of it because of my mate…If I wasn’t so worried about her, I would have been a lot angrier! Both my wolf and I were seriously displeased! I was just about ready to be the man I’ve always been and tell them that I am an Alpha and will not be rushed…But…   A sudden force of unbearable pain went through me then and I fell to the ground in complete agony… What… Yelling out, I felt something snap and I lost complete composure as I unknowingly changed into my wolf… Hearing a deafening, sorrow filled howl, I was completely stunned to find that it had come from me. Asuna! As my wolf spoke of Asuna, I had thoughts on Rieka, and sadness crept into me before I even figured out what it meant. Heart wrenching pain took over me and my wolf, and we laid their panting and growling… What was going on!? Why…Why do I feel like… I didn’t want to continue that line of thought, but it was hard not to when I was experiencing such pain…Why is it that I feel like she had died? What was going on!?   Linking myself to each one of my family, trying to find any type of information on what was going on, I continued to want to think that something else had happened…That there was no way that this feeling would mean what I thought it meant! I felt bad when I wanted to think that someone else in the pack was in trouble, but I couldn’t believe that it was my very own mate…I couldn’t! I hadn’t been with her enough! It can’t be her! Besides, our link is weak so it wouldn’t cause me this much pain, it has to be someone else! Yet, seeing a links that hadn’t come undone, due to someone else in the pack dying, I continued to concentrate and only found one strange thing that didn’t make sense…And that was, one of my family members were currently to the south of The Misty Ice Pack… Why…Why was someone there? But they weren’t hurt, no, the only ones that had perished, were the ones from earlier when my mate had been kidnapped…No one had died since…No one…The pain of them…Hadn’t been this strong! But I didn’t want to believe it! I don’t want to believe it! Over such a small time, my mate was already so precious to me! How could she just leave me!? But there was just one link that would describe the reason why I felt such heart wrenching pain… No! I won’t believe it! But I found my eyesight continue to go more and more hazy and my growls had now turned into whimpering…   With only one option left, I force myself to find Rieka’s link and push myself to find where it is…I knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to know her location, or talk to her through it, because it was so weak…Yet…This time, it was like it had completely disappeared… I couldn’t find it! Rieka! There was nothing! “Alpha Alarick! Can you hear me!?” No…I can’t believe it! I tried over and over again, to feel the link between Rieka and I, but never found it! “Alpha Alarick!” I vaguely saw the Beta of The Misty Ice Pack come into my view and I dazedly just stared at him. “We have to move now! Do you want your pack to die!?” Move…Die? I have no idea on what your talking about…My mate…My mate! I can’t find my mate!   “Alpha…” The Beta came close to me and whispered quietly into my wolf ears, “Alpha, I have orders to fight you if you don’t do as we ask. Please don’t make me fight you!” An alpha feeling once again took over me in my dazed state and I found myself getting up slowly upon all my wolf legs. It looked like Mingan has taken over, as I found myself having been pushed back easily due to my current inability to think properly…Well, both of us were unable to think properly but my wolf seemed able to hold onto more sanity then I… We both felt like crap, we were both thinking badly and unable to hold onto to our emotions very well…It’s just Mingan was able to do something, where as I wasn’t able too. My wolf nodded at the Beta and I found that we were running back to the pack, while Mingan was giving orders in his deeply and more authority voice. While I…I was still stuck in a trance. He tried to calm me down but gave up as he felt insecure himself. We were…A complete mess!   ***

Humans were beside themselves with not just fear but complete astonishment! They really had seen dragons a couple of days ago! Their eyes really hadn’t lied! The magnificence of seeing that they were real and breathing the fire that dragons were known for, really made the humans stunned to stand there and do nothing but watch! It was such a pretty sight, seeing fire directed at them but be stopped and have it flow around the shield a bit more as it reflects from it… Within moments, several dragons were blasting fire towards the humans and Switch’s shield rang out it’s worries, hurting a few ear drums and knocking realism back into some of the stunned humans. “You said I could use my magic through your shield, right?” Xavior asked once more, putting out his hand. Switch nodded, trying not to get distracted by his squirming son, who desperately wanted to ‘ride’ and be a part of the attack. Alex’s little squealing seem to interrupt one of the dragon’s and it flew around a bit, making a few see it and wondering what it was going to do… “Very well!” Xavior’s magic reached out through the shield and went directly for the invisible dragon and within no time, a magical hand was formed to grab at a ‘wing’ and pulled it down, leaving a big amount of earth spray up and make the area outside of the shield dusty…Yet, inside the shield it was still really clear and more and more humans couldn’t help but think that they were surrounded by crazy powerful people that seemed to be doing most of the work! Should they do something to help? Yet, even if some of them asked this question, no shots had been fired since the dragons came into their sight…   Anonym shifted out of her dragon but stayed invisible, thinking of what to do next. She didn’t really need to heal herself too much, for a fall like that with something as big as she had been, she only got a few bruises on her side. Seeing that an obvious shield had been placed, the next option was to get rid of it! There was no time like now to see how far she had gone with her strength! Running towards the shield, Anonym put out her hand and punched right into it, maximizing her strength, and in the last moment became visible to use even more strength to hit the shield with… With all the looks that the shield received upon seeing a crack in it, made Anonym let out a laugh, unable to stop herself from getting an ego. “Idiot!” Switch stated, wanting to stop her from getting hit by Xavior, but before he knew it, Anonym had been magically pushed back and then put into a magic bubble.   Right as Xavior was feeling quite proud of himself, stopping what he thought was the biggest trouble against them, earth inside of the shield opened up and wolves ran out, dashing towards the closest humans, bringing them down easily! The humans were still completely flabbergasted with what was going on, that they had absolutely no time to defend against the oncoming wolves that came out of the earth! “Dammit!” Xavior stated, not wanting to let Anonym go… If he lets her go, even though she’s on the outside of the shield, she was still a difficult target to recapture again! But, how was he supposed to control what’s going on inside of the shield! Elementress was obviously using her last trick against them! Xavior let out a huff, thinking that she probably didn’t come up with anything new!   Fire continued to descend upon the shield from above and wolves continued to come from the ground inside the shield, making it look like the humans were all but forfeiting their lives! Switch banged his staff down on the ground, to use and enhance gravity magically and everyone but he and Xavior fell to the floor, including the wolves. Xavior, in a moment of astonishment, looked over at Switch and felt extremely inferior to him! The magic was so extreme and concentrated that Xavior wondered how long Switch could handle not only using a shield continuously but also continuously providing some kind of magic to make it hard for others to stand! But this moment didn’t last very long, as Anonym scribed herself to be immune to Xavior’s magic and again rammed her fist straight into the shield. Xavior tried to catch her again, but nothing worked! He tried to contain her, to push her away, to make her turn into something else…But nothing… What was going on!?   Anonym punched the wall again, to see it crack all over and threaten to fall apart! Switch gave out a chuckle and tapped his staff on the ground to have Anonym have the same gravity problem as to what was going on inside of the shield. He really did wonder if it’ll work though, because it was obvious to him already that she had scribed herself to be immune to magic, but had she been specific? In all the time he’d known her, she seemed to make things hard for herself on purpose and just as he thought…She had only scribed herself to be immune against Xavior’s magic… Falling to the floor, Anonym used all her strength to get up and fight the huge amount of weight upon her body. If I can’t fight someone as strong as I am…She thought, I might as well forfeit getting my revenge! With a large cry, Anonym put all her strength into one more punch and the shield slowly shattered into pieces, disappearing into nothing…   Switch tapped his staff, applying another shield and raised his eyebrows at Anonym. This shield was different, not only was it again solid, but it also had fire ambers surrounding it this time…If Anonym wanted to punch the shield again, it would be obvious that she would get burnt! Letting out a small grunt, Anonym looked back at Switch and let out a deep breath. All this was just something she could use as training! Wasn’t it about time she had something strong to go against!? Switch rarely sparred with her! She wanted to take this advantage to the max! She wanted as much training as she could possibly get! Turning into a dragon, that was unable to fly because of the gravity, she let out her fire and blasted it upon the shield. In turn, the other dragons hovering around continued their onslaught, even though another shield had replaced the last one…But, upon the shield shattering just moments ago, fire had indeed made it through and scorched a few areas before another shield went back up! A few people got burnt to cinders, others were still on fire and running around like headless chickens…Even two wolves had caught on fire, rolling around on the ground to stop it from burning them more…It was…A mess!   The problem was, Switch and Anonym seemed to be in their own little world right about now, only worrying about each other, so the humans and wolves seemed to only have Xavior and Elementress to continue the real war that was still going on! …Xavior personally had been teleporting his way towards the earth hole, killing a couple of Shifters on the way, and found Elementress mumbling to herself… Xavior frowned and instead of killing yet another Shifter, he put a hand out to Elementress, to use magic to bind her tongue and fingers, but found that he was too late! All of a sudden, a vicious wind came from the middle of the humans, inside of the shield, and forced each person to fly towards the shield! If there wasn’t any gravity problems, the wind would have been astronomical but the people were blown to what seemed to be in slow motion and Xavior found that it shouldn’t be a problem…Except, the Shifter that he hadn’t killed, bit him on the leg!   “Dammit!” Xavior stated, focusing his magic upon the wolf and a hand pushed upon it incredibly hard, to make the Shifter look like he got completely squashed from beneath it! Xavior frowned though, seeing earth had helped the wolf, leaving it hurt but not dead… Elementress quickly sighed with relief, glad to have saved the mate of her creation and quickly went into her next part of the plan…Which was repeating what she had done last time… Putting forth both her hands upon the ground, Elementress coughed up some blood and forced herself to use up everything she had left to win! Screaming filled the area then and Xavior looked around, to again see those damned spikes! Spikes going through the humans was Elementress’s last attack on the other continent and Xavior was getting incredibly angry now, that he had not thought to defend against them once again!   Looking at his woman, who fell completely to the ground and was breathing heavily, Xavior smiled. She was out of nature energy… Switch, finally seeing that many humans had died, he wondered if they should still continue to fight… The war was practically over now, why bother to continue it!? Besides, not only were they just visitors but that this war had nothing to do with them! Alex, Presley and Timothy were here, just like the last time, but Switch was definitely going to leave them out of the next battle! The squirming Alex had nearly gotten out of his arms twice now and was looking everywhere with eager eyes, making Switch feel frustrated in his heart! Honestly, how can such a little one be so overly keen to join in on something so gruesome as this! He’s too much like his mother! This war was different to their last! Alex had been directly involved in the last one and Switch had felt like he had a heart attack because of it! Looking after both his woman and his son, was extremely taxing! Teleporting himself, and Alex, to be beside the dragon that was outside of the shield, Switch said, “I think it’s over.” The big dragon let out a roar and looked at Switch. Tapping his staff on the ground, the shield disappeared, and the gravity went back to normal. Before anything else was done, Anonym snorted directly onto Switch… Smelly mucus nearly went all over him and Alex! Switch took a deep breath, before opening his eyes. “Anonym!”   Anonym shifted back to being human and bit her lip, “Ah! Before I knew it…I couldn’t stop it…Sorry!” Crying entered their ears then and Alex looked particularly cute while he was trying not to touch any of this mucus. His cries opened his mouth, so he started to cry with his mouth shut and eyes closed, holding his hands out from his body. “Oh baby, I’m sorry!” Anonym said, walking to them. Switch grabbed her and then teleported to the beach, making them all immediately wet! Letting Anonym take Alex, Switch cleaned himself, staying quiet. She had not done this since they last were in Bracabra! Hearing Alex get quieter and quieter, Switch also got cleaner and cleaner, glaring at Anonym every now and again. “I told you I was sorry!” Anonym said, washing Alex’s hair with one hand, she also wondered why he just doesn’t click his fingers to clean them all up…It had become so much of a habit of relying upon Switch to have her fed and cleaned, that Anonym did not rush to clean the yucky mucus away. She was sure that at any moment, he would clean all of them and the job would be done…   She possibly will never know that Switch wanted her to feel bad for as long as possible, by cleaning himself the long way in front of her! And, on the other hand, Switch may never know that Anonym thought he was just an idiot for not thinking of doing things the easy way… Switch let out a sigh and then put his head under the water, washing his own hair. Under the water, he let out a mischievous smirk and couldn’t wait to ‘punish’ her! Anonym sighed and looked at her son, “What!?” Alex didn’t say anything, still having his arms out, away from his body, and just looking at her like she was the devil! “Don’t look at me like that!” Dunking her boy into the water, Alex took a few breaths and put his hands out to hold onto her like a crab, it looks like he didn’t particularly like getting dunked like that!   “Give him to me.” Switch said, wishing Anonym would take more care after their son. Anonym saw that Switch had finally talked to her, and smiled, “He’s nearly clean!” Giving him the boy, Anonym suddenly saw that they disappeared…Without her… …I see…I guess he’s mad at me, uh!? Getting shivers down her spine, Anonym suddenly became aware that she might be on the bad side of Switch at the moment. She didn’t like it when he was mad…He was scary! Anonym looked around, wondering upon what she should say when she found him. Was it, sorry for blowing mucus on him? Was he mad because of that? “Ah! If it’s because he lost the war, that isn’t my fault!” Anonym played with the water, then became a bit depressed. Was that really a war? It can’t be right? That was short, it was fast and… Letting out a humph, Anonym shifted into a bird and flew back towards the battlefield…

Asuna POV   Asuna…What’s going on? I’m starting to think this isn’t a dream… Oh, honey…It’s not… Rieka, you must not open your eyes! I knew if she opened her eyes, she’d probably scream or something. She was already somewhat of a crazy being, I was really not sure what she would do actually… Why not? Please Rieka…You will feel pain in your wrists, then your hair will be cut… Suddenly, I could see, as Rieka had frighteningly opened her eyes and looked around. “Quick, finish it up, she’s awake.” “She’s mostly done, hang on.” I told you to close your eyes! Seeing Rieka kick one person and then another, she suddenly shifted into our wolf form and I wondered if I could get excited if we were able to get away. Could we do it?   “Quick get her!” I could see Rieka becoming serious and her instincts were taking over. She had lived a long time as a wolf, never shifting back to being human, so I really wanted to believe that she can get out of this…But… There was like twenty of them, five already shifted to their wolf forms… I didn’t want to be cruel, but I honestly didn’t have the confidence that Rieka seemed to have. I know she could take on a few, but…So many… There was no chance to get away, even if I let her become stronger! With a wolf charging straight towards her, I watched as Rieka bent her head down and growled, before digging her claws down deep into the ground and pouncing on top of the incoming wolf. As the wolf went to bite her, Rieka had done what they hadn’t expected and pounced of his body to go further away from where they had tried to tie her up. But, two wolves came towards her then from that direction, so Rieka turned left and found another two wolves. Charging towards the two wolves, she ‘looked’ like she lost balance, falling to her side, but instead, she skidded in towards one of the wolf’s necks and bit down hard, shaking her head to stop the prey from doing anything she didn’t want it to do. Just as she was letting go of the wolf’s neck in her mouth, she was pushed by the other wolf and she shook her head quickly and regained her bearings to continue to fight. She raced towards a direction, which she had no idea which direction it was, and went to look like she would jump over a wolf, instead she rolled to the side and suddenly went another direction, stopping suddenly to see the edge of a cliff. I widened my eyes and couldn’t believe the sense of dejavu! My memories of the past invaded me so much, that Rieka was seeing them as well. I couldn’t help it, as soon I had awakened, until now and saw that cliff, the nightmare of my sacrifice had started! After seeing the cliff, the bites, the hair cutting, the knife… A howl stopped me, and I found that Rieka was the one howling, as a wolf went for her front legs and two men jumped on her. Then…An Alpha was speaking…The Alpha tone was loud and clear! “Shift!”   I knew Rieka didn’t have Alpha blood in her, but even though I had previously, it wasn’t enough…Rieka had no choice but to comply…And then found herself quickly being tied up once again. This time her feet was tied at the same time as her hands, with more people helping. Her naked body was not covered this time, as the dress went into tatters when she had shifted just moments ago. Blood was on her face and on a bit of her naked body, but if one looked closer, you could see some old scars that hadn’t completely healed because they were made with silver. Closing my eyes for a moment, I told myself that this was the outcome I was expecting right? Calming myself down, I opened my eyes and felt Rieka start to laugh hysterically. Her thoughts of my memories, and now sure that she wasn’t dreaming and only to see that she was going to die, sent her into an inner sadness, that she didn’t want to show. All this time, she had been too scared to accept such happiness, and that was why she had called it a dream. To be honest, I felt it to be ironic, because it had seemed silly to me at first, but now…As she laughed, to hold in her sorrow, I was sorta glad that she had made the best of her ‘dream’, while she could… But…Now that she had to accept it as reality, she found that there was no point…Death was the end…And it was imminent… I felt her pain run through me and I wanted to crawl up into a ball just like her. Now it wasn’t just me that knew of our sad fate…The little one now knew as well…And we were both filled with grievances, our hearts and souls were a mess of sorrow… Tears from the little one’s eyes flowed down, and I did not have a clue on how to comfort her…Nor myself. There was no escape, and I really needed to hold myself together! I needed to!   “Add silver shackles, I don’t want her to get free.” “I…Re…Member you…” I heard Rieka’s dead voice say. The old man in front of them had a white beard and he smirked back at us. “Oh? I remember you too.” Rieka didn’t say anything more, as I felt her wonder if he was her father and if he was, why would he do something like this. To be honest, I was glad she was thinking again, having quietened down from her crazy laughing, I was worried she would just fade away or something. “You are such a good girl, providing your maternal pack with such a blessing.” “Unwillingly.” Yes, very unwillingly! I agreed with the silly girl! “Nonetheless, it is muchly appreciated, let us start! Alpha…Luna…” “Elder.” The Alpha said, standing up with his Luna and walking towards us. I cringed, knowing about the incoming future. I’ll take it all! Don’t worry! I stopped…That damned silly child! She never wanted to give me any pain, she never…She… Suddenly I wanted to cry. She had accepted that I had awakened late, not being upset with me as much as I thought she would be. She had learnt to be strong, when I told to be stronger, even though I should have helped her more! She didn’t want me to carry the burden of pain, taking as much of it as she could, crawling up in pain in front of my very own eyes! She talked to me like I had great ideas or that we were always friends, even though I had mocked her and called her stupid…Even though her thoughts weren’t always that nice about me, she never said them to me directly and didn’t disrespect me at all! Even though I shook my head to her silly antics on how to entertain herself, I…I can’t help but think…They were the best years of my existence! I knew she had been put into this type of fate, to be this type of person, and she…Still wants to do well by me, by taking all of the pain! That…Damned, silly child!   After the shackles had been placed, the ceremony started and Rieka felt protective of me. I told her not to worry about it and to share the burden, but she was not letting me have the chance to feel any part of it. When the Alpha and Luna simultaneously bit into our wrists, Rieka stayed as calm and indifferent as possible, not letting me feel a thing. It looked like it didn’t even hurt by seeing her face, but…I knew that it did hurt, I just couldn’t take it away from her. We weren’t in sync, we weren’t completely connected, I couldn’t accomplish much without using the wolf powers that I had stored. But…Luckily, this time, no wolfsbane had been used. I wondered why for a short moment, but I was interrupted by Rieka showing no emotion to them cutting her long, white hair. I suppose it wasn’t painful to cut the hair…But, I knew, just how much time was needed for it to have gotten that long…I knew that, with hair that was now cut to her shoulders, it would be too cold for us to stay in our home to the north…We would probably freeze to death… Up north, in the cold, where we had the most freedom…Perhaps we should have done everything within our power to stay there…In the cold north…That we can no longer stay in…   Honestly, even if we survive here now, will Rieka be okay? She always wanted to stop herself from getting hurt, she said she had a cold or frozen heart, but I knew what she had…Fear…And I don’t blame her! She was tough, but…Through the experiences that she had seen and been in…I could feel her fear again now, just like the other times… Fear of being abandoned again, fear of being outcasted and bullied, fear of being used and hurt… I couldn’t help but be scared as well…Scared of the present, scared of the future…Scared of both of our life’s… Scared that…Our mate doesn’t even know that we are in terrible trouble… I could send out a message…But again, it would take away what I may need for us to potentially survive this. It…Ha, it was great timing, I suppose…We hadn’t connected to the pack, so we didn’t have a link with anyone, and…We still hadn’t been marked, which, I’m sure, would have helped us with the connection between our mate and us. But…It wasn’t like that, and I had to accept that our mate may…Never know…What happens here today… I promise, little one, that we will both be ok again one day. I promise! …Don’t worry about it…Again, I wanted to cry. She didn’t blame me at all, she was also looking at this with a different kind of thought…That perhaps she was ready to die… Was she giving up? Was she accepting this fate? Telling me not to worry because it was the end anyway? Then…The knife came towards us, both the Alpha and Luna holding it, and I became completely serious and prepared myself. Even if she had given up, I haven’t! As I expected, after the knife, we were removed from the silver shackles and neck collar…Then we were thrown down the large cliff, again by both the Alpha and Luna… The complete sacrifice…To apparently give a complete blessing to a bond…The fall of the sacrifice, suggests something about luck, and pushing it away…But…I can’t completely…Remember… …I could no longer feel Rieka, yet, our faulty connection let me use what I could, already healing her rapidly before being thrown off the cliff…Upon finally hitting the bottom… My promise!   Focus! Focus! Focus!   Regenerate…Please, Rieka, little one, come back!   I could only see the dark, since being pushed off the cliff. Being only spiritual, I was unable to get the dagger out of our body, until I forcefully regenerated from the tip of the blade outwards. I hated to say this, but I felt like I hadn’t the power I needed! As time went on, I still had bones to reconnect and her head to clear! The regeneration rate might not be good enough or fast enough! I can’t stop now! For years and years, this is what I was doing! No way can I stop! I pushed myself to the limit, to regenerate as much as I could, and as fast as I could! Even though I had started to regenerate straight away, with the wolf powers of nine or so years behind me, I was still feeling like I was dearly overwhelmed with too much work! Even though the knife was gone, and the heart was mended, I surged onward, unable to stop myself from thinking of the worst circumstance… The water wasn’t far away, as little waves came up onto the beach and I blinked back my tears, knowing that I had died before this place once before. Never again! The little one doesn’t deserve it! The little one may be weird and strange, but she has a beautiful personality! If I hadn’t had interrupted her with my memories, when she shifted into a wolf before, she probably would have fought off a lot of those shifters too! She was strong! I will tell everyone how strong she is! And they call lone wolves, rogues! The rogues are The Misty Ice Pack! Blinking back another tear, I focused once again!   For what felt like an eternity, the brain was restored, and our chest was mostly recovered, through regeneration. Then, I focused on her spinal cord and tried to pump up the heart, hoping it hadn’t been too long… But…Had it been too long!? God! How long had it been!? If I had taken too long, then what was the point!? Is there a chance!? I promised! Dammit, come back! As our heart didn’t seem to beat on its own, I focused the wolf powers there even more. Pump, pump, pump… Come on! I dearly wished that I wasn’t just a spiritual wolf using the wolf powers, so that I could pump her heart myself. Upon this realization, I forcefully and painfully swapped places with her, her body turning into my wolf and I breathed in, my lungs hurting like hell! Straight away, not only the pain, but even the slight breeze could be felt, upon a lot less furry coat. I was unable to stop a slight shiver…That will most likely not go away for a long time… After many more shivers from the cold, I was still laying there, breathing as best as I could. And it was the hardest thing I had ever done before! How the hell can something so involuntary, be something so hard to do! I nearly wanted to stop breathing because it hurt so much! I had taken over…And…The pain was so immense that I had forgotten to focus on anything else besides breathing! I wanted to cry, as Rieka had held this all away from me! She had indeed taken it all! This pain is unbearable, and I couldn’t believe I had been able to focus as hard as I had…If I had known or taken some of it… This silly girl was… A tear fell down my wolf’s face and I found even more resolve to make things right for her…For…If I had taken too much of this pain, I probably would have failed! I felt her, she was where I was supposed to be, not that we hadn’t done this before…But, she was still laying there in a heap, as she had been here outside…It just sucked that we spent so much extra effort for us to change spots, because our connection was really bad… It’s ok little one, take a rest…I…I will look after you now!   By the time the full moon left the night sky…I had run out of all the wolf powers that I had stored all these years. But…I was still quite unable to move. Nothing else mattered, even the rumbling that echoes a lot more now across the sky and earth…Just surviving…That was all that mattered… Now…It was only my natural regeneration powers that could help and that would take longer to heal this broken body… I was really glad that I had stored so much, having thought beyond being stabbed. The impact of falling down the cliff was what took everything out of me. Bones, and even organs, had been broken to a point that I had thought that they wouldn’t be able to be fixed. …Nine years, nine years of saving up wolf powers so that I could regenerate what needed to be regenerated…And it still had not been enough… I, having been able to see the damage, am not surprised…This body had been a mess and I felt like it was a miracle that we were still alive! Time… There was nothing else but time…And I was completely exhausted…Even if we can move, at first, it will be to move into a safe place near the cliff side…Anywhere else, we wouldn’t have the energy for… Seeing that the little one could only move as much as I could, it was still something that made me happy. I had saved her! My mission…Was now complete…Yet, if it happened again, there would be no survival…So then…What will we do little one? We won’t be able to go north…Will you want to go back to our mate? Can we? Can…We go back…To our most precious, beloved blanket… And that seemed enough to have me black out into a deep sleep.   (To all those wanting to see a scene of the two from the prologue...Yep...It's next! Let's see what they are doing in the next chapter! With all the rumbling...I wonder if their game of chess is truly under way!)

On the other Continent...   It was a few days prior to the near death of Rieka, that Xavior was starting to get bored… Both he and Elementress had set out on their separate ways to start this chess game, but nothing big has happened as of yet. When he had lazily sat at one of the human’s tables, to state that he would help with the war, he had not thought that even days later, there was no difference in the information that they had received about the Shifters. The Shifters on this continent had all banned together once again, just like the humans, but their whereabouts was still scattered, moving around from place to place. With this same news, yet no reason indicating why the Shifters hadn’t banned together in only one pack, the humans had been indecisive upon using this time to start the official war. It might be easier, to take them while they are not all together, but it was like the Shifters knew that doing this would confuse the humans. It was also a matter of if the humans headed out, beyond the safety of their town and safety precautions, would it be worthwhile? If they head out towards the Shifters, yet to find them not there and get attacked instead from behind, who could they blame for that? It really was a predicament as the humans no longer traveled outside of the cities, because it was not safe for them, so they had no idea upon the way that the Shifters were patrolling outside of the towns…Making the humans a bit scared to leave their safety measures to venture out there… Having lost quite a number of airplanes, helicopters and jets, due to a very strong, unexplainable wind, it was rare now for them to use that type of procedure to try and get the Shifters that way…And the humans hated this very much! They had this advantage over them but was unable to use it!   Considering that Xavior was mostly there to counter Elementress and really didn’t care about putting more effort into helping the human’s win this war, Xavior had come up with a great idea to pass the time. He had not made a treasure map for his lover for a long time. Well, she hadn’t made one either… The last time she had made a map for him to find treasure, it had only taken him a couple of days to find the treasure! Elementress had just not put much thought into it and Xavior could only let it pass and do better for when he does a map for her instead. The last time he had done a treasure map, she had taken a few years to find the treasure…Well, she did get distracted a few times…But to see her so excited like that… Since it’s been another few years since then, Xavior had already come up with the idea of the treasure map, which was going to be a picture of a tree, near a cliff…But this tree was picked for a reason to be the ‘map’, because there were three very similar trees within this world and Elementress wasn’t the best at remembering these precise details. What he knew, is that she could find the tree much easier with her earth powers, if she really thought about it, but…She had learnt a long time ago that using her powers when there was no need and perhaps in a form of cheating, actually completely diminishes her excitement over things like this.   …So, Xavior was certain that this treasure finding should take a while for her to figure out because it depended upon which tree this map was referring too, and it would be simply because she will refrain from using her elemental energy. The treasure finding didn’t end there either, as another map would be where the right tree would be. He had placed magic inside the second map and if she were to figure it out, the magic would connect to the magic of the first map and become instead some words, which was the next step to finding the treasure…So, in other words, the second map, if not merged with the first, was a decoy… The new words on the first map was for her to figure out a solution to the picture, and when she figures out the problem, the magic would then change from words, to yet another picture. Xavior’s provocative was to make his lover search high and low and from one continent to another. He wanted her to use her powers and head, and also that of perhaps getting into a feud with her allies, in which were the Shifters. It was a bit harsh, but Elementress wouldn’t care. With all the years of them existing, they were bored, and this would be something that would put a smile on her face! And that was the main idea! That smiling face of hers just brightened up his day, no matter how bored he was!   Magically making up this map, it came before him in a 3d setting and linked itself to the paper. It was the last step now for the treasure to be looked for, as he had accomplished the other steps within the last few months whenever he had felt like it. Folding up the paper, Xavior was then thinking of going to go to his lover and see if she would want to do this instead, but first, he should go check out what was going on…For…If she has finally started to play chess, then he would gladly comply! It was only in the process of a few hours that he had gone missing, to do this on his own, but in those few hours he found that the war had finally started! Putting the map safely inside of his universal bag, Xavior teleported to the main base of the human’s and was completely stunned to the way they were acting… So…What did my lover do? Within moments, Xavior found out that the Shifters had completely done something unforeseen…They had not come to the main base, instead, they had gone to another human town and put the town on fire and enclosed it into a huge earth wall! On this continent, there were several human towns that went from the north to the south and the main human base was in the south…And it was evident on what the Shifters were probably doing…They were stopping the human’s from getting help from elsewhere… Having already started at the next biggest town from them, the Shifters then looked like they would work towards the north and each town was probably under the same fate as the first…Fire and an earth wall.   Xavior saw that two towns were already destroyed and unable to come out to help them if they needed it, and also knowing that, it was only going to get worse. Many humans came here to the main base, at Worrendale, but it didn’t mean that they had completely evacuated everybody! And even if they wanted to, they couldn’t because the Shifters owned the land outside of the towns and even the air! Every town had communications, they had people on the lookout at all times and normal people that were doing their everyday routine. Some towns had goods that could be used, some had good food being grown or animals…Then…Some towns had doctors that they could have used… This was very sudden and Xavior had to give it to his lover! She was great! …She was nearly on the verge of checkmate! Smirking, Xavior clicked his fingers and a shield started to form around the whole of Worrendale. The shield could be seen by the naked eye, looking somewhat seen through but held sparks within it, that sparkled every now and again. After the shield was done, Xavior did not stop, he blinked away and back again, saving the humans from other towns, especially doctors, before they were to be killed. He really didn’t want to use magic to heal, why should he when doctors existed? Besides, it wasn’t like he and the humans were best of friends or anything…He was just playing chess…That’s all…   The human’s around him were trying to talk to him all this time, but Xavior simply ignored them as he continued to try and stop his lover from winning this game! For days, nothing had been said, no new information…How could it be that the towns were completely destroyed so easily? They don’t even know if Shifters were involved at all or not…And they had no way of finding out either! As a few hours went by, Xavior saved more and more people and tried to think of how he should act in return…Especially since it looked like he was in the losing end… …He could go to the other towns and fight her there, when she went there to destroy one of them… The Shifters ‘King’ was Elementress, and obviously, she was doing most of the work! If he could just counter her, then the war would go back to being between only the humans and Shifters. Just that idea made him smile, many times he had been able to make her lose focus, dragging her away from whatever she was doing… Excitement ran through him as he pondered if this should be his next move.   They had previously talked about this chess game and he had thought that Elementress was mostly keen on just being around the Shifters, instead of coming out in full force like this! If he knew this was going to happen, he might have slapped his magic hand upon each and every pack out there, destroying everything it touches! Sighing…He really didn’t have it in him…He wanted Elementress to try hard and do her best! He wanted to see her strong powers and sexy figure look charming at him, like she was the winner! So…He did not make the first move…Simply because he wanted her too! The problem was…Her first move was quite extensive… This was why he had not acted earlier either…Well, he had not cared too much anyway, as it wasn’t like it was important. But…Xavior had gotten into this now! He was psyched! He wanted to beat her! Rubbing his hands together, he strengthened the shield around Worrendale and decided to send out his own little spy! It was time to see how excited his lover was! Well, that and to see what she was planning and where she currently was! But just as he started to focus, to try and follow her raw elemental energy to where it was casted from, he felt the earth beneath him rumble!   As the earth shook, people fell over and even trees and buildings were threatening to tumble over as well, Xavior’s eyes sparkled! No wonder he loved this woman! She’d most likely made this trap before he put up his shield! She had planned upon his normal reaction of putting up a shield, thinking of using it herself! It would be no surprise if Shifters would come now…Isn’t that right, lovely? Seeing that the earth rumbled the most where he was, Xavior smirked and connected his magic to those nearby and teleported them away from the area…Then, seeing the main base in the distance, tumble as the earth split up underneath it, Xavior clapped his hands…Well Done! But…It was now time for him to gain the upper hand through this!   …Seeing Shifters race out of the opened earth, where the main base used to be, Xavior strengthened the shield and turned to the humans, “It’s the time to fight! They are trapped! Get your silver and wolfsbane ready!” They were now at a smaller area that had already had defences up, but the humans were absolutely flabbergasted to the damage that had been created! At least a few aches of the town had been completely ruined, due to the earth coming up out of nowhere, and now…Shifters were there, in seeing distance, already taking lives of those who had not been teleported out of the area and had fallen in amongst the rubble! Not only that, but some had not stopped to kill any live humans and directly made their way over towards the rest of them here! After speaking for the humans to attack, Xavior dedicated his focus on making his shield smaller, to slowly entrap just the Shifters inside it and then let the shield change into allowing incoming objects! What are you going to do now, lovely? You did well in getting rid of the communication and taking us by surprise, but now your wolves are trapped!   Before he could tell the humans to fire at will towards the Shifters, he felt a strange ominous feeling overcome him and moments after, he heard a noise that was slowly getting bigger and bigger… Looking behind him, he saw a volcano coming out of the ground and magma already falling from it’s opening…Heading straight towards them! Magnificent! His heart was full of love as he saw yet another trap! Ah, she was so amazing! Releasing his magic all around him, he started to glow and then he pushed his hands out as his magic flew towards the rising volcano, to stop the magma! “Fire at will towards the Shifters!” Xavior yelled at the dumbfounded humans, that were just standing there in a daze. “Now!” To Xavior, they moved in slow motion and it started to really piss him off! Elementress was thinking just like him and knew that it was most likely because they were the two most powerful figures that they had ever seen. But this was forgotten quickly as she fought her man and his powers!   She knew that if she didn’t get him to fight with her, then the Shifters would be at a loss and die very easily! It had taken her these years to come up with this strategy and it had gotten better with the help of the Shifters, but…They were still stuck now, and it could be bad, as she heard that the humans could shoot at them! She had only one card left to play, and that was letting the Shifters that stayed on top of the earth, to go after the humans that are no longer in the shield…Should she let them go? This was precisely a part of the plan that the Shifters had helped her with! They had brought up the obvious idea that their kin going out of the earth tunnel, could bring a lot of damage, and Elementress could only nod in agreement to this. So, they had told her that they will keep half of their fighters out, just in case…Well, they had their doubts already back then, for who could really make a tunnel right under the humans? It might be a great plan but was it doable? So, to a certain degree, their doubts helped them save lives… Breathing heavily, to the huge amount of energy that she had released in so little time, Elementress pushed herself more, so that the volcano would continue to erupt and keep her man busy! Her hair had lost its strangeness now and was blowing around her wildly as she claimed her reserved powers from it. The colours had almost disappeared to show her original light brown hair, also her dreadlocks were nearly completely unravelled… She was really…Just about ready to faint into exhaustion! But…In the end, she didn’t have to say a word and the rest of the Shifters, as they raced towards the humans to save their kin! If only they could save her now, as she was just about out of elemental power! She will have to spend a good year to obtain all this nature energy that she had lost here in one day!   Xavior smiled hopelessly as he continued to stop the magma from reaching them and keeping the shield up behind him, to stop the Shifters from escaping. The humans had started to fire their guns, but just as they had started the turkey shoot of the captured Shifters, they had to switch targets to the oncoming Shifters that were outside of the shield and coming directly towards them! Life after Life was taken away and it looked like a great loss on both sides. Quite a number of the Shifters inside the shield had been shot and killed but a lot of the mercenary human’s had also been able to be taken down as well. Shifters that were shot outside of the shield howled before taking their last breath and both Xavior and Elementress saw the pure dedication in each Shifter that was still alive. Wanting to do the same for the humans moral, Xavior yelled out, “Keep shooting and wait a bit longer to use the gas! Wait as long as possible!” That’s right, lovely, bring your pawns over here!   It was really a let down that his lover had overtaken the main base as she had, making them have less of everything! But, knowing that this town would be attacked, they did have provisions where they were now too! He had not told her about the human’s new invention, wanting to use this gas as last-ditch effort to call ‘checkmate’ upon her! The problem with the gas, was that the Shifters had to be relatively close for it to do the affects that it was made for. And it was specifically made to not hurt humans but to hurt Shifters…So…The humans were doing their job well, as bait! …As Xavior and Elementress continued to push and push each other, the volcano started to look very strange, as it started to become a small arc towards them. The sparkling magic that was stopping this volcano made everything look pretty and amazing, making both Shifters and humans lose their focus upon the war at hand for a short time! They had never known how powerful their new allies where until this day! Seeing the volcano go so high, that they could hurt their necks looking at it, was really overwhelming to each and every one of them! …What was even stranger, was that Xavior was smiling so happily! And just like that, seconds and minutes ticked by. Deaths happened on both sides and a volcano was leaning even more strangely into an arc… It was…A massacre amongst beauty…

Asuna POV   I watched as Rieka continued to walk as she was told to…She was spaced out and I didn’t like it. Her thoughts continued to be as her weird self, like that of why was she in human form and stumbling so much…That having her blanket around had stopped her from stumbling…Honestly, I was quite annoyed that she had no reaction to the rumble that we heard just moments ago. I was really sure that it was something important...Something that we should worry about... I had heard from being here, about some of what is happening outside and felt like this was the entirely the reason I had come back from the dead. My whole second existence was making sure that I was ready for what may very well happen to me a second time! The Misty Ice Pack! Again! They wanted my life once again, one that is thought of as purity and told that it can bless that of a relationship…It was all bullshit! Someone had made it up! But in the end, I had still been killed for an Alpha and his Luna! Seeing that we weren’t on our way west, I was still going to stay on my guard from now on. This silly child didn’t have a clue though and I had no idea on how to tame her so that she would understand and would do as I asked. Would she really run if I told her too? I see her look back for a third time, to the way our mate went, and I let out a sigh. I was finally able to meet my mate…It really was like feeling complete, like a free type of happiness…The wolf inside of Alarick was very sweet and had even admitted to ‘feeling’ us, even in our deepest of troubles. He had wanted to help us as early as eight or so years ago, but the best he could do was understand what he ‘felt’ by disagreeing to having three main meals a day. I felt really special, because I could see, sense and feel that he was completely loyal to us and that he was absolutely happy to have found his beloved mate. His name was Mingan and to be honest…I liked him better then Alarick…   I knew our bond was weak, and I knew that our mate had all rights to reject us…But they were now both completely dedicated to us and I was already feeling the loss of not being close to them. They had given both Rieka and I warmth and happiness when we needed it and I already loved them so much because of all of this… I didn’t disagree to the silly child’s thoughts of wanting to take her feet to where her feet wanted to go. She was still stupidly thinking that this was a dream and that she should just do whatever she wanted. I know I called her stupid, because she thought this way, and honestly, being with Mingan was sort of like a dream come true, but…I knew better… Seeing her stop walking, as she honestly felt like she wanted to go to him, I followed her vision, when someone called out ‘Luna’ to her…To see that person get attacked from behind and fall to the ground unconscious. Honestly, wasn’t it The Misty Ice Pack that I should worry about… As I see her vision see that her other two protectors had also fallen to the ground unconscious, I started to panic. Right! How could I forget!? They could be here too!   As it was, when I had perished the last time, The Misty Ice Pack was starting to take over other packs! They would put in their own people into other packs and slowly take them over, which is what happened to the pack I had come from…When I had been taken, there was already two Alpha’s and two Beta’s there and I had heard what was going to happen, from the people who had forcefully taken us…That they were just biding their time to take over the pack entirely, but look like the pack was another’s! I’m not sure what happened afterwards, but since the pack name was still the same now in the future, I guessed the only thing that changed was the allegiance…As the name might be different…But the pack was still under the orders of The Misty Ice Pack… Now that I remembered this, and had seen Alarick’s pack, I was sure that we just needed to go back there, as it seemed that The Misty Ice Pack hadn’t taken it yet. At least…They were safer there…For now… You idiot! Shift and run back! I yelled out to Rieka, worried as all hell!   But she was such the idiot and too slow, that there was no time before she too fell unconscious. I sighed, as I knew she wouldn’t be all that great in human form. As it was, she was already stumbling while walking here, and not having really fought in human form before, she was probably not able to think of any kind of strategy… “Ah! Bastard! Kill him!” A voice and smell that would be familiar to quite a few Shifters from Alarick’s pack would know, came over me in my blackened-out state. “No! Get outta here, quick, I’ll stall this bastard…No, you are staying here! I’ve been hired specifically…For you!” I couldn’t see, but I could hear in the distance a shift and then some growls, wondering who had come out from somewhere else to protect us. I was pretty sure it wasn’t our mate, but then…Who was it? Mingan hadn’t been able to tell me too much in the time that we have been together, so I guessed this extra protector was what he had wanted to tell me when we had been interrupted that time when we had stopped running the boundary the day before…I had to admit, we were still pretty glad and happy to just be with each other and hadn’t been able to seriously think through some important details yet… My dearest Mingan…   The feeling of being dropped and kicked, then I heard a car door close and then an engine going, as I felt us being tied up… “Faster, he’s nasty, killed two of our men! We need to get back to the border of The Misty Ice Pack before he comes back after us!” “Calm down! We’ll be safer the closer we get! Besides, our man back there loves this! He could hardly wait to see if there was anyone there worthy of him to make him fight!” The Misty Ice Pack! “…Your right…Phew! You can’t blame me though, that guy was quick and…Oh, luckily we had our people in The Striker’s Den…” “It seemed to have worked out fine uh!? The Strikers Den must nearly be all under The Misty Ice Pack’s control now! Haha! The Snowvalley Pack Alpha had no idea!” “…Her hair…” “What about her hair?” “It’s white…Like they said…It’s weird.” “So what! Just don’t be the pervert you are and touch her!” “Hey!” Wanting to take over, but knowing I needed to save everything I stored up since being reborn, I could only pace and keep my anger at bay. When I had lived my first life, it had been a lot easier to take control…But…With Rieka, it takes quite a lot more out of me… All the wolf powers I had collected for nine years, I had used a small amount to stabilize and strengthen the connection between us and our mate for a short period of time when we had gotten shot…But…I hoped, that I still had enough to save us! Because it seemed…That time may very well come now!   If they had used wolfsbane, I wouldn’t be able to do anything right now, and that was what happened last time. But…It looked like that they had just made her unconscious for now…So, it still might happen… I couldn’t help it, it was like I was revisiting a nightmare! I had kept the little one in the dark all this time, about me being reborn and what I was doing. I know I was somewhat cruel by not being completely upfront and honest with her, but if I had told her what happened to me…She may have done something stupid to make us stand out even more then we already do! To be honest though…Us being in the north, had been quite a good idea! We blended into the snow and we were alone often…Until now… In my previous life, we had been knocked unconscious just like this, and they would ‘sacrifice’ me at a cliff. That was why I knew it was The Misty Ice Pack, that was why I knew I had a small amount of time! Time wasn’t to run away, as I’m sure they wouldn’t allow us to escape…Oh no…They would never let such a ‘blessing’ get away! Time…Was so that I could keep calm and prepare myself! So, I calmed myself down, seeing no reaction out of the silly child and hoped that I had the power to have us survive this nightmare! Wait…No…That’s right…It’s full moon…We were supposed to be initiated tonight at full moon…But, they think they need to do the ‘blessing’ on a full moon too! …As I originally thought, we really don’t have much time! They might even do it as soon as we get to the cliff! We had been held captive for two days before it happened last time, but the wolfsbane had stopped us from making any kind of escape…Which led me to think that this time too! If it was anything like last time, they will have many there to stop us from escaping… Had they really prepared this so quickly to do it tonight!? Was it all going to happen in just a couple of hours!? No! I didn’t slumber and starve this poor girl of wolf powers for nine years, and even sometimes in later years, to not survive this! We will be fine…Just stay calm! It doesn’t matter…If they do it this full moon or the next, I will be prepared!   “Another hour…Yes, Alpha…Then I will contact you when we are there.” I might not be able to see, but I was able to hear…So…We had already traveled a couple of hours… Trying hard to control myself, I thought it would be safer if she couldn’t feel me, so that she stays asleep. If I lost control, I could also loss what chance I had to overcome this nightmare… Stay calm! Asuna? Her soft, innocent voice worried me straight away, Shh, child, don’t wake up. But I’m not tired anymore… Please, just act like you are sleeping! Why did she wake up now! What if she does something stupid! Why? Please! Have I ever asked you to do anything for me!? Listen to me child! Now is the time to be smart and not be silly! So just please, until I say otherwise, pretend that you are a bear and you are sleeping through the winter, okay? I felt a strange sense of happiness flow through me from her and I heard her happy voice, Okay! I’m a bear! Roar! You can’t wake me until the snow is gone! Oh…Ah…Asuna, I don’t want to put dirt up my butt… I shook my head to the urgency of the matter and her strange sense of not understanding anything…She hasn’t changed…She doesn’t think!   I widened my eyes, to the grunt I hear her do, to express a bear sleeping, and I could not believe that the men taking this girl, didn’t seem to do anything. I felt like I was on thin ice and the silly girl was playing! How did I end up with her!? I knew it though! From ages ago, that we had not been connected properly! I had thought it was something I would have to face against all this life, until we had met our mate. After we had met him…Our connection felt like it could be saved… Not wanting to use my saved-up wolf powers to completely restore our connection on my own, I had kept this in mind, until I knew that the silly girl was going to her den and lay down after getting shot! What was the point of saving up all the wolf powers if she had died!? I did what I had to, and it had brought our mate to us, but, I hadn’t wanted to use most of what I had saved up to complete the connection, just in case the nightmare would return…In which it has! Another grunt was heard, and I could cry to how stupid she was! Yet, how else was I to get her to do nothing!?   Feeling our body get thrown onto a hard ground, I saw that the silly girl wanted to open her eyes! No! Close your eyes! Now! I heard her grunt, but she closed her eyes and I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack… The Alpha’s daughter had so much more potential then this silly, little girl! I really did miss her! As voices and steps were heard, I constantly told the silly girl to just act as though she was sleeping. While I tried to stay calm, I was remembering what I had wanted to prevent from the very first moment of finding myself reborn once again, and knowing that I was once again a pure, white wolf…Which, of course, had not been surprising…It seemed to be my sad fate… “How long? She might wake up soon?” “The Alpha is on his way here with our Luna now. The ceremony should be ready in ten minutes, to start in about half an hour or less. I was told to dress her appropriately. Nothing else but white!” “I can dress her?” “She must be pure, Mutley! You cannot take her innocence!” “I told you not to call me that!” “Just do it, nothing but white!”   I felt proud of the silly child, as she was desperately wanting to open her eyes, but didn’t because I told her not too. She was strong in aspects, I give her that, but…I needed her complete attention now, while it counts, for me to express my pride and thanks to her about it later. It was nearly time, all this time I had harnessed the wolf powers to reverse whatever was going to happen in half an hour. That’s right, all this time…All this time I had stolen nearly every part of it, just to survive. I knew the cruelty of what was going to happen, I was even sure that there was more to it after I had perished the last time, so I had to do this! First, two bites are made, one on each wrist, which apparently, that indicated the bond between the couple… Second, they will cut off a lot of the hair, halving it between the male and female couple, and they will burn it, apparently this signifies how long and deep their bond will be. Third, a knife is held with both of them and they are to stab the sacrifice directly into the heart, apparently providing health and love to their children and children’s children. After this, I was gone…But…I hoped, beyond hoped, that I had enough to help us out of more than this! Please, please… “Tie her up! It’s starting in five minutes!”

Rieka POV   The sound of steps interrupted my fun and I smelt the blanket smell in front of my nose. Wagging my tail to finding the source of such a fantastic smell, I tried to move and get up…But I was stuck… Having woken to my blanket smell, I had rolled around in amongst the sheets and found myself unable to stop myself. So many pleasurable sighs, so many groans of happiness. My icy, cold heart was melting with just a smell! “Having fun?” Sniffing towards the voice, I knew it was my mate…But…Another enticing smell came to me as well…Food! Suddenly, I was starving! I saw him bend down towards the bed, through the holy sheets that were over my head, and then heard his voice. “If you want to eat, you have to shift!” I stopped moving then, my tail falling to the bed. I stared at my blanket, watching him go silent and even…Pout. He looked like one of the kids back at the orphanage, when they had wanted dessert, but couldn’t have it… “And!” He continued, “You have to tell me your name!” I sighed, then shifted. It had been so long since I’d had been in my human form…I could hardly remember what I looked like. I was glad I was surrounded with the sheets, even though I had cut through some of it with my claws. I wasn’t sure if I wanted others to see my body…Wouldn’t it be ugly? Would he still want me after he’d seen it? Wait! I’m dreaming! So…It doesn’t matter if he wants it or not! Reaching out my hands, I finally found the ending of the sheets and pulled them down.   Upon seeing my blanket, he widened his eyes and gently touched my face. “Finally.” My eyes were full of innocence, as I looked from the tops of my eyes, upside down at him. “Food.” Laughing, he went to his desk and brought the food over to me. “Name?” My eyes were bulging out at the food and I distractedly said, “Rieka.” Trying to get out of the sheets, I was finally able to bring the tray of food over to my lap, when I sat up. Now, I could feel the stinging of the neck collar, as its spokes were on my neck and had been hurting me to my foolishness of rubbing into the blanket smell… I sighed, I just couldn’t help it! I woke up, smelled heaven and wanted it all over me! Strangely, I already smelt like a blanket, but the sheets on the bed were like another blanket, and I…Thought I could have two blankets… Asuna didn’t seem to mind me rolling around, so I honestly thought it was cool nonetheless and have somewhat thought that I was still dreaming…Except, in this dream, I was able to feel pain. Yet, Asuna being happy, only gave me more determination of knowing that it was very much a dream! She never talked to me, but when I look at her now, she’s like high on life! She’s waging her tail like a happy little vegemite! If the dream only lasted five days, I’m ganna have five days of fun! So, I tried not to think of the stupid neck collar that I was still attached to…Because if I thought about it too much, wouldn’t my dream disappear? Can't have that!   My blanket scooted behind me, to help keep me sitting up, as I was at the foot part of the bed, making it easier for me to fall off. I wasn't ganna move, I liked it here! So, having the extra help was appreciated! Taking my waist into his hands, I heard my blanket sigh, what was wrong with him? Did my waist make him do that? Was there something wrong with it? Nah... I shrugged and continued eating, but I heard another sigh and a hand gave me a fork, then he showed me how to use it. I...Remember! I'm not stupid you know! I forcefully take the fork away from him and then use it myself, plunging it down into an egg, hitting the plate under it... "Broken." I stated. It was normal right, whatever I use and whatnot, would always break. "It's fine! Don't worry about it." My blanket said quietly and huskily into my ear...Making me squirm a tiny bit and feel goosebumps over my skin. I figured it didn't matter, that I broke a plate in my dream, so I just continued to eat...Dreams are magical...So I automatically assumed it would become 'unbroken' when it leaves my sight. I didn’t think much beyond that, as I moaned quietly to every mouthful of this delicious meal…Ah, human food!   After I finished, I plopped the broken plate, that was on a tray, onto the floor, and saw that he was staring at me. "What?" "Beautiful!" Shock...I was in utter shock! "Me?" What about my scars!? Perhaps I should show him...Wait! If I show him, he might change his mind! "Yes! You, my lovely mate!" My blanket stated, tightening his hand around me. Hey, this was a bloody good dream! I felt...Great! I nodded with enthusiasm, my blanket was really good! I heard him chuckle and come closer to me, I innocently looked back at him, not knowing what to say. I mean...What do I say? Really? Tell me please! I've never been in this position before, and I do mean position! I was in holy sheets, in between a man's legs and his eyes looked like he wanted to eat me...What the hell does someone say in this kind of position!? He licked my chin, and I felt...Funny...Isn't this what wolves do? Should I shift? "You have food on you, it's delicious!" He said, then continued to lick around my mouth. Fair enough, clean me please. I closed my eyes and waited, but I started to get carried away with the faint tingles going through me. I shivered and smiled at the same time. I felt like I wanted more, yet...I've run out of food to put on my face! Oh, what if I put it on my leg, would he lick my leg? I let out a noise and then I heard a low growl and my blanket put his lips on mine... I've seen this before! I had a fair idea what kissing was! Wasn't it funny though, I knew about kissing but didn't know what pie meant...   Isn't pie just meat? What's that got to do with numbers? I don't get it! I found my thoughts becoming blurry, as he moved his mouth on mine. I laid into him and bent my neck, feeling strength begin to get snuffed outta me… Oh! This was…Really…Quite…Nice… I should have kissed much earlier! When he put his tongue in my mouth, I was surprised! Do I bite it? Eat it? I felt full…And when I used my tongue to push his out, I felt my tongue get played with and more tingles appeared… Wow… I found myself pushing away, because I felt faint and was breathing heavily… He really was snuffing my life force! Not just my energy but my air as well! Was he evil? I looked at him strangely, while I tried to calm my breathing and noticed Asuna was purring in her little hole. Oh…Was this normal? My blanket kissed my cheeks and closer to my ear and dam! It was like…I didn’t own my skin, even though it was on me…My blanket seemed to own it… Ahh… …Tingles raced through me and I felt spectacular!   Feeling his hands travel over the holy sheets across my body, I didn’t feel worse…I just felt like…Well, it was my first time feeling this and should I be scared? Being scared in a dream, meant it turned into a nightmare, right? Ok…Ok, I’m not scared…I don’t want this to turn into a nightmare! I let him roam my body and continue to kiss me, but I felt like it was too much. I felt like I was falling down a huge, steep mountain…Falling, falling! I held onto him for dear life, as warmth spread through me. “Mmm, Rieka…Tell me I can mark you. Please…” My blanket mumbled. Mark me? Ah…Oh right, that’s what wolves do! Ha! My blanket put a hand to my face and took my mouth once again and I felt a little uncomfortable, so I started to turn around. I had a bit of trouble, because of the holy sheets, so I had only half turned, and he had me in his arms. Ah! That’s a little better… He stopped kissing me and looked at me, straight in my eyes… So…Pretty. I stared back at him, putting a hand up and poking his eyes. He jerked for a quick moment but didn’t move anything but his head. I guess he doesn’t like that…   Ah! I was so warm, I really liked it here! My blanket’s arms were like my desire, warming me up and holding me tight. I didn’t have the want to leave whatsoever! “Please!” I heard my blanket plead. Hearing him do this, I felt the need to want to make him happy, so I gave him a short nod. “Oh…Your neck…” His very upset voice made me upset too… That’s right…I still had a neck collar on… I let out a giggle! My blanket is funny!   “As soon as it comes off, I’m marking you, my love!” He stated to me. My…My love!? I felt funny good inside and I happily smiled back at him. “Tell me, tell me why you are a lone wolf. Why are you alone?” I was surprised that my blanket asked me this…Was he really interested? He tightened his arms around me, and I happily snuggled into him. “I…” I really tried to tell him everything, but I didn’t get far because I wasn’t very good at talking. By the time we were interrupted, I’d only told him about the human orphanage…I couldn’t believe how hard it was just to talk! Why hadn’t I talked for so long!? Not only that, but having his undivided attention, seemed to interrupt me as well. I loved it! I loved my blanket and his attention! I felt funny good inside all over again! He was so patient as well, hugging and even helping me say words very softly. So sweet! Funny good feelings everywhere! Ah!   “Boss, you’re not running today?” I looked up at the noise, but didn’t see anyone… “Is it that time?” My blanket asked. “Yeah, boss.” “Run?” I asked… I could run, and jump and hide… “You want to go for a run?” He asked me. I nodded back, clearly interested. He smiled at me and…The funny good stuff inside me went nuts once again, putting me into shock! “We’ll be out soon, how long until the person from The Misty Ice Pack comes?” My blanket asked… I shrugged, not knowing. “We haven’t any word yet, boss. It will be at least a couple of hours still.” I looked up at him and he looked at me and smiled, “Do you still want to run with the neck collar on?” I nodded, not really phased by the neck collar. Besides, it was a dream, maybe it’ll just suddenly disappear…Poof!

Rieka POV   The Cold breeze blows past me, moving my fur and making my ears slightly twitch. It went into my lungs, attempting to cool my body more than it already was. It doesn’t bother me, as I closed my eyes, enjoying this breeze. The small amount of snow beneath my feet also did nothing to cool me down more. How could it? I felt like the world had already frozen over, that heat was something of a myth, that it was just a story that people read about. Summer…Spring…What was that? I was always in the depths of winter…It was like…I belonged here…   ***   I licked my chops once again, still digesting my last meal. I had gotten used to raw meat a long time ago and it didn’t bother me anymore. I had no intention to shifting back to being a human, as I was just lazily and leisurely just wasting my time here as a wolf, in the most northern, most coldest parts of the continent… My fur rustled slightly to more cold breezes and I shook my wolf head and let out a big yawn. I never did much after eating, as any strenuous exercise would actually hurt me. I had unintentionally swallowed silver once, back in the day, and now I have to let my food settle if I don’t want to deal with the pain for a short time. I guess, now, I just got used to it…It’s something that I probably couldn’t change, so what else am I to do? Besides the fact that this situation always reminds me of my past, it can be easily dismissed afterwards, now that time has moved on. My life wasn’t about the past, nor was it about the future…I was living in the now and trying to make the best of it. Picking up my paw, I continued to remove the blood off it, as my pretty, white fur had some red on it from my amazing kill! I liked to think I’ve become a hundred percent wolf…Yet, I know that I haven’t. How could I? My wolf inside me was not playing much of a part in my life at all, so, to a certain decree, I was a human, just not in human form. It was strange, yet, something I got over. I tried to have things not get to me anymore…If I thought too much about things, I get sad…And who wants that? Through the small amount of times that my wolf does actually talk to me, she had said I’ve gone a little eccentric or crazy, but honestly, once I thought it through, I was just trying to be happy. I mean what’s the point of wanting to wallow in self-pity, right? So what, if I make the simplest of things become something that could make me jump around and put a strange looking smile on my wolfy face. So what, if my imagination had just grown so much that I could spend so much time alone without getting bored and dream days away in a fairy-tale. Wasn’t this a good thing? Sigh…It was much better to be…Laid back and take the least amount of seriousness about anything. It was just the way I had become…   I knew many other Shifters went into their human forms often, and kids would be able to shift when they were two years old. Hell, I learnt this from Humans, so it seems to be quite common knowledge I suppose. I learnt that I was different pretty quick. Much of my life, till two, was a blur, but I remember two things quite clearly. That they called me an albino and called me a waste…Probably other names too… I was abandoned and dismissed from whatever that pack was called, and on my own, when I was only three. As a human, my hair hadn’t been very long, and my blue eyes had freaked them out. Actually, they weren’t the only ones…When I got picked up and went to a normal, human orphanage, they were freaked out too! So, perhaps having so much little time with others, has given me this strange personality… Obviously, I hadn’t known different back then. I think I thought that what I went through was normal… What a naive child I was though…Never thinking much about what was different about me, instead, I had wondered why they treated me as such. I wanted mum, I wanted dad…Yeah, like that’s ganna do something you idiot, younger me, they are the ones that had abandoned you! I’m sure I had other memories of them at one stage, but now…My memories of the past mostly hold all the bad stuff. From being a part of a family, to losing that at such a young age, I have completely forgotten if it meant anything at all. Is having a family a good thing? Is it worth it?   For a long time, my little self hadn’t been able to figure it out. I had not been able to connect with the wolf inside of me, nor did I shift to become a wolf, so I really thought that I was a normal child. So, I really did try at the orphanage…Pfft. Idiot, younger self is stupid! Being called names…Why did I cry and wonder why? My white hair was uncommon, especially in with the humans. To a certain degree, I didn’t know how common it was with packs…But either way, it was like the button that everyone wanted to press to give them the right to want to bully me. I was sometimes even hit by other kids at the orphanage, and that was the start of not trusting humans…Just the start…But, I guess I mastered the art of hiding through being at the orphanage. I found that, if they didn’t find me, they couldn’t hurt me. Most of the time it worked, just for the times it didn’t, I had gotten all sad and upset again…   Really, the only good thing about that part of my life, was going to school. Because I was able to have more space to hide… It helped that I was relatively small, to hide that is, as I would still look like a six-year-old, when I had really been eight. Actually, I was still like this now, looking younger then I am…The only thing big about me was my wolf, she said something in mumbles earlier on about alpha blood, but I don’t care to elaborate…Well, to be honest, it’s because I’ve forgotten what she’s said… Of course, the bad times overcame school and I could hardly remember it now…I didn’t learn much, only attending it for about two years, but it still sucks when my wolf, Asuna, calls me stupid… So what, I’ve learnt the invaluable knowledge that bullying someone can hurt another’s feelings and that it doesn’t matter what’s inside, and that if you have white hair and blue eyes, people look at you funny! Valuable knowledge that I had learnt, was that when I spoke, it wasn’t worth it…No one wanted to listen to me anyway. And then, I had to rely on myself, because no one else wanted to be my friend. My knowledge to me was grand, superb…Yet, apparently, I still lack. I looked up ignorance once, when Asuna said that word, and I agreed with her and moved on. She must have thought that I wanted to open up, border my horizons and realise my ignorance, because she had been stunned that I continued on my merry way…Hell, I totally understood! I understood that ignorance, was bliss! If I knew about something, then I might want to do something about it…Or whatever…Who knows! …Besides, it’s not like I knew nothing…Sigh… I guessed, back when I was a pipsqueak, that being bullied was how everyone seemed to became stronger, how everyone lived their lives, that it was normal, yet…I only saw one or two others get bullied as much as I…Then everyone else seemed to contain something I didn’t. They were able to laugh and smile, talk and happily play with each other. To this, I was confused. I was also jealous… On the rare occasion that I had enough courage to try and play with them, I would end up being the one that had to chase everyone and would search for them for hours…Then, only to find them having all forget about me chasing after them, as they were just playing elsewhere and laughing without me…And, that was probably the start of becoming my own crazy best friend. Really, I’m a hoot to hang out with! Much better then those…Meanies!   When I had turned nine, on a night of a full moon, I had shifted for the first time and it scared the living daylights out of me! I had the vague memories of wolves and shifting, but I was never taught much at all about them. Being tossed out at three and hanging out with humans since, I had no idea why it had happened like this! I really started to think my so-called family had tossed me out because I was a normal person… Through my scared and painful state, I had hidden. A little white-haired kid, with blue eyes, went missing that day, yet, if they had looked hard enough, I was in the cupboard…Well, not my cupboard…But, oh well… So, at that time, I had to accept that I wasn’t Human, I was a Shifter. Fancy that… With the small detail about Shifters that I did actually know, but being nine and with no teacher to guide me, I had been truly frightened… I would rummage into bins to get food and steal from a house cat’s bowl. Sleep in backyards, in parks and freak out because of the dark at night-time… I guess my first experience of being alone in the world wasn’t that great, but at least I was able to continue to depend on myself as I had been already. And having me inside myself, as my new best friend, really helped. Well, it wasn’t like I was going to run away from me…Anyway…   Not thinking that I could return to the orphanage, because I was unable to shift back to being human, I ended up roaming the streets, wanting to whine my heart out. A sulk here and there… Poor, little, idiot, younger me was lonely…I guess. I had already felt lonely as it was, but when I was by myself, it was a whole new chapter on my life. I never thought that getting my own food and water would be so hard. And, not having any particular idea on what I should do in that situation, I could only wander around…I may have been lost in that city, but I was also lost in my soul. I remembered the school teacher telling us kids that we had to work hard to get a good job and to look after your family. Yet, what do I work hard to do? My nine-year-old brain, which was only just starting to realise that being independent was hard, was starting to fry… After a few days of this, I was just about to go into the bush, because of all the yelps and scares that seemed to happen around me, when someone had picked me up and threw me into a car. My size at that time wasn’t too small, my fur wasn’t as it was now. It’s thick and long now…But back then, it was thin and only a centimetre or two long, at most…To a certain decree, I would have probably called myself ugly… So, I was taken…Again…And I was thrown into a dog fights…Many times. That’s right, I was put into a cage and I had no idea upon what I was supposed to do. Upon the first fight, I probably could have only handled two more attacks before death, when my wolf finally linked to me! While I freaked out over some strange bond that I never knew I had, my wolf took over and we survived the fight. It had been the very first time that she had done anything! I hadn’t heard her speak, hadn’t seen her move…Honestly, I was thinking that this was normal…That she had never existed… Again, that was just me being naive…   My wolf was probably everything…I wasn’t…So, for the poor, idiot, younger me, she became my idol…She was big, her fur a lot nicer than mine but sadly…She sounded like she had better things to do… Trying for days and days, wanting to express my thanks and good will, she ignored me. It really was a let down for me, as I hadn’t come across anyone being nice to me yet back then. I suppose I had really thought that she had no other choice but to be my friend…Guess I just didn’t like that fact that I had been wrong… I was somewhat certain that Shifters were supposed to get on with their wolf’s. But I wasn’t sure… She only stated one thing, and that was to do it on my own. Well, I’ve been doing everything on my own! I learnt to fight and continued to survive on my own, having it become so easy that a growl would scare them off! My own will power and dependence on myself had definitely turned towards being able to become aggressive, when I had to be. I strived to survive and not get hurt, because…Well, it was painful when they hurt me…And well, my wolf had gone back into some kind of slumber, so I no longer relied on her…I should say talk, but nope, I don’t talk to her at all! I mean, she was strong and…And…She was in my head…And I don’t need to talk to her…Sigh. It was like I was always reminded that I was on my own, when I saw her in my mind. With the words that she had spoken to me, I got stronger and stranger. Doing anything I needed…On my own! Never, ever, wanting to admit that I was actually really upset and unhappy that we couldn’t get on. Never…   But what made fighting more difficult, was when I had eaten the silver, mixed into my daily meal, and fighting became harder. My wolf told me then, that I just had to become stronger! My idol! Yeah, and look at you know! No more ideas? I don’t blame my wolf now, we had gone through enough together…Even though she woke up late…Even though she abandoned me. I felt like she was just a tag along, that I really did own this life. So, why should I blame her? If I did, wouldn’t that mean I depended on her too much? As far as I’m aware, I’m very happy just depending on myself. She can just sit there and sleep for all I care. Sighing…I knew though, she did help me a little…That’s just another reason why I don’t blame her.   After they used silver on me and even put silver on the dog’s claws, things went for a turn for the worse. I had healed my wounds easily prior to these fights, but when silver was clawed over my skin, I started to obtain scars. That’s when I started to become afraid…Of what I would look like when I would shift back to a human…If it was ever going to happen, I mean seriously, at this time I was a wolf nonstop for at least a couple of years! Did it bother me, yes and no…I was more bothered over Asuna not talking to me then being able to change. Yet, I wasn’t bothered because I had to be a wolf to win, right!? If I was human…Well, let’s just say I was glad I was a wolf when I went to fight another dog! Not long after, when I was about twelve…Give or take a year or two…They had even wanted to strengthen me or watch an interesting match and put me into an arena with another wolf… I had won, having about three years of battle experience…But the other wolf was in fact another Shifter, like myself. I had felt wrong…Everything was going wrong. Upon seeing that mangled body after the Shifter went human to glare back at me, just before death, I was practically paralysed. Killing a dog seemed ok, especially since it was for survival, yet, for some reason I was unable to accept killing another like myself at the time. I hadn’t come into contact with another Shifter, since my family had abandoned me…Pretty sure at that age, that I was indeed part of a pack, but still unsure which one. But, really, I’d prefer to talk to them, you know. Why the hell would I wanna kill someone who I’d wanna try and befriend!? Why the hell did they want me to do this? I was really upset with the glare the other Shifter gave me, it was full of anger and rage, yet, I was innocently apologetic and wanted to help them! Hey, can you tell me how to shift back? That would be a great question! When I had heard that this was going to become my life from then on…I had to leave! I didn’t want to kill anymore wolfs! Even if they weren’t Shifters. As it so happened, I was still somewhat stuck as a wolf…So, there was nothing else but to try and live as one… Honestly, I ate like one, slept like one, fought like one…I am wolf…I am wolf! My wolf had said, all you have to do is ask. Yeah, I remember, you bitch! Why didn’t she just teach me…But no…Let’s make it hard for the pup who got abandoned uh!? Honestly, why don’t you think I didn’t ask? She ignored me, then was opened with me, ignored me, then helped me! She confused me! Sorry, I take that back, she has always, until this day, confuses the hell out of me! She’s got some kind of aura though, that holds me back from yelling at her. Like some experienced and leadership type of aura that makes me go silent and just nod my head in submission…So annoying. All I can do is pretend I beat her up in my mind! I closed my eyes, trying to blank out my mind once again. My life held more problems but as it was, being reminded of this was…Depressing…Yeah, let’s not…

Alarick POV   I had to check the boundaries later, so I decided that I’ll take a wander off our land and get some more fresh meat, as we did a lot more hunting for ourselves now. Normally I didn’t put too much effort into hunting myself, as others did it instead, and we did have a farm and vegetables growing, but I wanted to do this for once. The thrill of it already excited up my wolf and there was no way I could undo this idea now! “Boss!” “Yeah.” I said. Gundulf was my lead enforcer, staying behind when I left to do patrol. “Tonight?” He asked. Between routine, it’s easy to understand what he meant. I nod, “I’ll be off for a few hours, slept?” “Yeah, good to go, you can even go now.” Gundulf said. He was a keen fighter, my best, always wanting to shoo me off so that he could take on any kind of rogues that wanted to come here while I was away…There was only one thing that stopped him from doing this. Of course, I still didn’t quite understand the mating crap, but hey, it’s only common sense to keep ya mate happy if she’s in heat…Right? I was a little jealous of my buddy Gundulf, he already had two pups, unable to keep it in his pants…It’s hard to believe his words when he stats that those couple of hours are the best ones in his life…Yeah, whatever, I’ll find out later, I suppose. Honestly, it is a bit of a worry, I knew female Shifters seemed to have it harder to conceive when they are older, even if they do go on heat…And here I am at 25, nearly 26…Perhaps I waited too long…Nah, I’ll just hope for some sweet, young thing to give me my pups! Problem solved! Really though, I wanted like five pups, or some extreme number hey! I wanted to watch five of them following me, making me feel like a huge thing, while they would be tiny and cute following me around…Yeah…   “…Where’s Radolph?” I asked, thinking of going now for a run wasn’t such a bad idea, but just now, remembered of my Beta, who follows me just about anywhere. Going now was probably perfect, as the pack will eat soon and by the time that I’d be hungry, it will be dinner time. I always tried to keep myself busy, even if it was just watching the pack. And most of the time, I always missed a meal because of it. But, I knew, that it had been years now, and wasn’t busy all the time, but it was the excuse that I was sticking too. I was a strapping teenager eating normally, three meals a day had hardly filled me…Yet, one day, it all changed. Two meals were fine but the third…Forget it! My stomach felt sick thinking about it till this day! Over time, people had to accept it, seeing my sickened face and the way I showed that I wanted to vomit. I would get into trouble, but I seemed to never falter and continued to do this. I always wondered why and when I had finally asked one of the healers about it, they could only come up with that I just wasn’t hungry or that my destined mate, whom I had yet to meet, was suffering. I couldn’t believe that the so-called mate that I’m so supposed to meet, would have such a thing on me, so I was certain it was because I wasn’t hungry. Besides, who’d wants such a weak mate? Why would my other half want to make me suffer? It was utter bullshit! Honestly, I was really disgusted with that idea, again, making me more certain that I did not want to meet her... “He’s playing with the pups, didn’t you see?” Gundulf said, sighing. I looked up and saw the big, red rustic wolf, playing with the little ones and remembered. I didn’t care much for looking at the big lad these days and probably just disregarded him… He was getting on my nerves! “Radolph! We’re leaving!” Uh!? What about lunch! Even if you don’t eat, it doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t have too! Hearing his voice in my head vexed me. Sometimes, I did like the idea with humans…Rarely though. As shifters, we are able to go straight into each other’s minds while we are in our wolf forms. As humans…I understood why phones were good, as shifters…It can be somewhat annoying! I always kept my mind relatively free, so that any wolf in my pack could connect with me at any time. I suppose it was an Alpha thing, as others couldn’t hear the wolfs unless they shifted to their wolf as well, but I could even hear them as I was in my human form. But I had learnt how to block off people when they went on and on about mates too much…So, I dealt with it all, accepting this part of me, knowing that it was also an asset. “Leaving!” I said, pulling off my clothes and shifted into wolf form, running off. Radolph could only grumble and follow his leader, catching up to me shortly afterwards.   Boss, Radolph called, it’s getting close! What’s getting close!? I asked, quite distracted at checking my surroundings. Your 26th birthday! Finally, we won’t be bachelors anymore! I let out a huff, while I ran a bit faster, knowing Radolph had been waiting for his mate just as long as I have. Now that I remembered, he was going to have the female that would come second in the spars. I already knew…I just forgot! Yeah, yeah, keep an eye out, will ya! I state while I continued to run towards the northern boundary from the south. Our land had grown in the last year, so that was another reason we had unwelcomed, or unhappy rogue Shifters and pack hunters come close by…But, I needed it! That’s all I got, so they just gotta deal with it! Radolph had been with me for ages, but over the time from when I had been 22, I had slowly detached myself from him. He was so big on finding his mate at first and was always bringing it up! It had gotten so annoying, that I would oversee him and ignore him more than anyone else! I mean, I still loved him like my pal, but I couldn’t wait until he was finally mated! I knew I was waiting to bed my future partner, but this guy…He was a lot hornier… Radolph had wanted pups ages ago, sometimes even blaming me that he hadn’t a family yet! So annoying! I could only sigh to the nature that was him, but my wolf knew exactly how he felt… As a grey wolf and a red wolf ran along the boundary, I told him that I was hunting today. It wasn’t a surprise to Radolph and he followed along, getting excited himself.   ***   An hour quickly passed, as we had rushed through the forest beyond our boundary. Both the grey and red wolves wanted to get a nice big catch, that could only reside further away from their pack. Search to ya right! I state, while I turn a bit to the left. Yes, boss! I heard him say through the link and we went our separate ways. I had been here a few times now, knowing it was relatively safe, twice I had seen a lone wolf, but mostly it was just too cold for a Shifter to stay here permanently. I wasn’t worried about the safety of Radolph at all and continued... Seeing a deer, not too far away, I sigh. It was hardly worth a growl, yet alone a look. My ego just wouldn’t allow me to get something so bloody small! As I went further up the mountain, in amongst the trees, I smelt the scent of a fresh kill, and I went closer towards it. Sharply looking around from the dead elk, I immediately thought straight away, that there was a lone wolf around. Looking down at the carcass, I see it was at least half eaten and was pretty big. A male, lone wolf! Snapping my head around, I went to investigate the area nearby discretely. Radolph, keep an eye out for a lone wolf!   When I saw the clearing in front of me, I thought that I shouldn’t go further…But, I smelt it then. A dazzling, sweet smell that drove me and my wolf to a complete halt. I felt like I was running at a huge speed, just by smelling this fresh, cool breeze. It was like a sense of freedom had washed over me, practically knocking us out! Then, beyond my already crazed feelings, I smelt yet another scent…I absolutely wanted to fuckin drool my heart out. I wasn’t sure what exactly I felt like, I just knew, that I smelt something so brilliantly pure, that I stopped breathing for a moment. Just my nose, was taking me to heaven… Then…I heard a strange noise, from higher up upon a rock face, that came out of the tree line. Oh my god! I stared in utter astonishment at the wolf in front of me. She…Was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! The word beautiful wasn’t even giving her the slight amount of justice! In all animals, humans or objects, she was so fantastically beautiful, that I stopped breathing yet again. Gasping, after a moment, I couldn’t tear my eyes away…An intense feeling went through me as to tackle her then and there, wanting to make her mine!   Unknowingly, because I had taken a step closer to her, I found her look down at me. I strangely wanted to scold myself from my paw moving without my consent. But I couldn’t think beyond that, as I felt yet another surge going through me… My wolf enthusiastically jumped like crazy and howled! I couldn’t believe that this wolf not only had the most beautiful scent and was the most beautiful creature, but she had such pretty, blue eyes, that seemed to touch my soul. That she was the one… The force was stronger than I had anticipated, it was beyond the world…A weak connection seemed to flow through me and entice any kind of feeling I had, making my wants and needs beforehand seemed to have become less important… The figure before me seemed to become the most important part of my life, whether I had wanted it to happen or not… The want to mark this creature was natural instinct and I felt it so badly that I was breathing slightly heavier. For a moment, I wanted to laugh at himself. I was such a huge fuckin idiot for ever thinking that I should never had wanted to experience this! As I watched this beautiful wolf yawn and then shake her head, I felt like I was swimming in honey. My wolf was also longingly looking at her too. Both of us were completely taken! Her stomp on the ground looked absolutely adorable! I was…Besotted! Again, I unknowingly took another step towards her, and that’s when the earth shattered beneath me… Her growl disgruntled both my wolf and I and I immediately found myself sobering up. I might have acted differently if she hadn’t done this, but having her growl at me, in the way of decline and unacceptance as she did… I growled back at her, remembering of my thoughts over all these years. Before I started to regret growling at her…She had run away… Again, my earth trembled, and I heard my wolf whimper and want to eagerly chase after her. Go after her!   I couldn’t possibly believe it…I know that I hadn’t really wanted to find my mate to happen, but to have her run off like this! My ego was completely shattered! If someone was to run away, it should have been me! Go after her! No! I yelled back. Whining, my wolf then glared at me. I was dead set, yet, I was still there pathetically looking in the direction she had disappeared to…What am I doing? My earth seemed to cry out to her, yearn for her, like I never yearned for anything before. Still staring, I was stock still, unable to walk away, yet unable to chase after her. My own convictions were in complete chaos! I still couldn’t fuckin believe it! She growled at me! Me! I’m a bloody Alpha! I’m strong and… My mood deflated completely… I didn’t understand how she was so eager to decline our mate bond…Now that I thought about it, our mate bond was very weak. I couldn’t believe I had felt what I had felt, with something so weak! I didn’t understand why I knew this, but I just knew it! Her wolf is weak, they aren’t fully connected, let’s go after them! My wolf’s words did give me want to chase…The desire was so great, I nearly did it! God dammit, I turned and felt my heart break, but I decided to walk back the way I had come. My breathing got harder and I felt a huge weight fall upon me, but I kept going. All my life…All my life, I had been waiting…For this? No! I determine my life, it’s done! I stopped for a short moment, even closing my eyes…Even… I took a deep breath. Even if we don’t meet again…I will never forget this day… Shaking my head, I continued to go further away from what my everything desired. And with my wolf completely angry with me!   Boss… I stopped, shaking my head and finally spoke to the person that reminded me of his existence, let’s go! I know what happened, Boss I breathed out sharply, I don’t want to talk about it! Feeling him close by, having caught up enough, I started to run again. I didn’t want to stay…Or I might go running back to her! My life was all set…I didn’t need it… Silence filled the rest of the trip back, but my thoughts were all of one beautiful wolf. The further and further away I went, I struggled more and more. I could just break it… The weak, tiny link between us would not even be enough to find her exact location! I know it would probably be painful, but… Just a couple of words…But I could not say them…For the life of me I couldn’t even remember what they were! I… Feeling helpless, I just couldn’t bring myself to close it off and totally distinguish it. Which brought me to thinking that she hadn’t either! The only thing that somehow gave me and my wolf some rise in spirits was indeed that fact. She hadn’t completely broken it! Yet…She growled! My head was going around in circles! How fuckin troublesome!   ***   Two days and I couldn’t last longer than that…I’d gone from a manly Alpha to a cheesy, little girl with a crush! For the life of me, I tried to make the best of the situation. I had worked and worked… It really was…Completely out of my hands… I was lovin and hatin my so-called destined mate! After a day, I started to question things more, knowing she just wouldn’t leave my head. Why was our link weak? Why did she growl and want to decline our bond? My wolf seemed happy that I was distracted and still wanting our mate, so he let me be. I honestly couldn’t even believe that I started dreaming about her, even though I had only seen her as a wolf. I would nudge her or play with her, wanting her complete attention! I’d lick her beautiful fur and chase her around… Upon waking and seeing myself so excited, I was completely defeated! I tried to make excuses for nearly everything, remembering my previous thoughts before meeting her, but my god! The challenge ahead of me was the hardest one I’d ever crossed! My dad, the corruption in the pack, my mother’s unjust death… My past experiences were all very important to me, I knew this, but this so-called destined mate was a whole new level!   Over the two days, my wolf had already called her our mate several times, but I had not accepted it. Not completely. Not harmonically at all! I was at loggerheads with myself so much that it was becoming disturbing to others and Radolph told me that if I didn’t want anyone else to know, then I needed to pull my head in! I could only sigh and nod, then try to pay more attention…Or look like I paid attention… Actually, Radolph and I had finally come back to our previous best friend relationship, just because of this…He was the only one I could confide in! The first day of returning, that night, I made him drink with me alone, no one else invited, and he listened to me whine about my problems… How fuckin retarded! The Alpha drinking his sorrows away like this! As much as I hated it, I couldn’t help it! My whole world had done a complete one eighty! What the hell was I thinking when I thought I wouldn’t succumb to this!? Thinking that it would be nothing! I was nuts! What a fuckin moron! …The land seemed to be fine, at the moment, and I was not really in my right mind. So, having gone a little strange wasn’t like it was bad timing. After a day and a half, a strange sense of pull seemed to have gotten larger and larger…The weak bond we shared, was it calling us? My wolf was pacing backwards and forwards, already had wanting to leave to find his mate, yet… Upon spending 48 hours away from her, there was just no way out for me, I had to go. I had to find her!   ***   Not taking anyone with me this time, as Radolph only travelled just beyond the border, to only pretend that he was with the Alpha, I raced straight towards the clearing. My paws felt like they were flying, practically taking me there themselves. I raced through the forest and was panting when I finally made it, feeling a little better, compared to the last two days. She isn’t here! I looked around, panting, and sighed with my wolf. Both of us seemed to have no want to do anything else right now, this was where we saw her last, this was where we wanted to see her again. I closed my eyes and hoped to find her through the weak, bond link that we had but could not track her down. It was just there, letting me know that she was still somewhere and alive. Even though I was not happy with her not being here, I was still glad that she was safe. A strange sense of relief flew over me and I felt a little better. Had I…Been worried about her? I really wanted to growl out my frustrations, but the relief was strong. I was pretty sure that she was a lone wolf, and I knew that they could get into big troubles. She was alone, all by herself… A huge amount of want and need flowed through me to bring her back…Bring her where she belongs! I shook my big grey, wolf head and couldn’t believe myself…Sigh.   ***   Unable to leave, I sat here for three hours, waiting. I even pictured her coming up to me, wanting it to secretly happen. But, as time went by, and six hours had come up, I suddenly started to get frustrated. Where was she!? Still unable to pick up where she was, I got up on all four of my legs and just ran into the opposite forest. I kept my ears and eyes focused on any possible thing that could be related to her but couldn’t find anything. The forest went south and a bit to the north, and I thought that she would go south, as it would be even colder near the mountain full of snow. But I never found anything except animals and even a lone wolf that fled when I growled angrily at him. I was getting more and more frustrated and felt like giving up once again. No! Don’t go until you find her! My wolf yelled at me. I shook my head, I’ll go…And give her one more chance…Then this will be complete! My voice slightly shook but I did not take back my words. As much as I yearned for her, it wasn’t like it would solve everything, even if we did find her. Thinking about her joining my pack, my family, and having to learn about everything and even learn about me…Become accepted, even though she seemed to be a lone wolf… I was sick of this! This is bullshit! I ran off, not stopping until I reached the boundary of my pack and felt a bit more relaxed. It had been easier this time… Not responding to the sadness overwhelming me, I got into my work. Strangely able to focus this time…

Alarick POV   “Boss.” I heard through my light sleeping. I was only half gone, because I was just so damned comfortable…But, it really wasn’t my bed time yet! I hardly wanted to sleep until this neck collar was off, but…By seeing the sun almost set now, it may not even happen till tomorrow. I had written a letter earlier and had it sent, so this might be the response for it. Trying not to wake my lovely mate up, I slowly got out of her embrace and shifted to my human form. Quickly putting on some shorts, I take one last look at my beautiful wolf and walk out, “Radolph.” “Boss, there’s no response to the letter, but they had written one to you beforehand.” I scratched my head, right, yeah, they might not have my letter yet. The travel time to get there and back wouldn’t be now, so, this letter of theirs was written and sent, before mine was delivered to them. Taking it into my hands, I opened it and read, ‘Bring her to us.’ What the hell does that mean? It wasn’t often we had pack members with silver neck collars, but they would always send someone out to us, instead of us going to them. But…Why now, why do they want us to go to them… I had to admit…This was strange. “Radolph, tell me again. How have they acted.” Walking over towards the elder den, I was filled in with the same information as before. That they acted somewhat normal…Until they knew this wolf was white. Now, not only are they ‘thinking’ about things, they want the Shifter to go all the way to them… Why doesn’t this add up?   Taking another piece of paper, I wrote yet another letter. The first letter only stated the need for help, yet, now it was somewhat void because they would ask for the same thing, that my mate would have to go to them. I wrote for the possibility that they are to come here instead, as she was going to be initiated into the pack the next day and become a Luna. That if they weren’t to change their minds, then I wanted a damned good reason why she would have to travel all that way! Honestly, I hated the idea, yet…How else could I get the silver neck collar off her!? Especially since I wanted to mark her so desperately! This predicament was really shitty! I wished now that I had brought her back the first time I’d seen her, not only wouldn’t she have gotten shot, but she wouldn’t have that bloody collar on her! Putting my hands through my hair, I dropped the pen and sighed. I couldn’t help but have a strange, bad feeling about this…The Misty Ice Pack were already questionable, with no evidence, now they wanted a pure, white wolf to go to them, when they had never asked of this beforehand…Why!? I decided then and there, that I wasn’t going to send her if I didn’t have to. After getting a scout to send the letter that I had written, with my obvious blood as evidence to seal it, to show that I had written it, I then sent two other scouts out to nearby packs to see if anyone else can come and take away a silver neck collar.   Putting my feet on the table, I grumbled, it felt like fate was playing with me. I couldn’t mark her, so she was still unmated, still basically free for the taking. And with just that going through my mind, I didn’t want to send her to get her collar off…But, I needed her neck collar off, so I could mark her! I get someone to grab me a beer and I try and take my mind of the matter, as I tend to two other new things. One was the sudden disappearance of one of the pack members and another was a confirmation from The Strikers Den, stating that both an Alpha and a Beta will be coming for my birthday and staying for a night. Getting someone to set up a place for them, I then looked into who had suddenly disappeared, and found that it was someone that had been initiated about four or five years ago. Trying to remember when they had been added, I shrugged, I can’t remember everything! But…What was strange…Was that their connection to this pack has not vanished and I could still feel him. Closing my eyes, to pin point on where he was, I could only feel that he was outside of our boundary and closer to the border of The Misty Ice Clan. …Was he there… Looking down, to see the disappearance as of the day before, with no confirmations that they were leaving and had not shown up to tend to the farm… Why was this looking so damned suspicious!   I couldn't help it...I was getting very suspicious and went as far as asking Sabassa about a pure, white wolf and was hoping that she would know anything about its history. Surely, she was old enough to know something! It wasn't like a white wolf was completely unheard of, it was probably more so that Rieka was completely, a hundred percent, white...And now, that I saw The Misty Ice Pack acting like this, I had to see if there was something that I should bloody know about! You know…Because she’s my mate and all! And that in itself gave me enough right to find out any bullshit about a pure, white wolf! …Sabassa was very quiet at first, and I was getting edgy at watching a play of emotions on her face...Was there really something about the pure, white wolf? "...Mmm." Her response irritated the hell out of me! Why can't she just say whatever she’s thinking to make me feel better!? I'm not a bloody mind reader! “Come on! Spill it!” I said, showing my irritation to the continued silence. “Now that I think of it, a pure white wolf does have a history, but that information was hidden as swiftly as news had gotten out.” Sabassa said. “What did you hear?” I asked, pulling myself into a more seated position. Sabassa looked at me in conflict, “At the time I was in the south, I heard that a child of an alpha had been taken and went missing. She had white hair…” “White hair…” I repeated, thinking immediately of Rieka. She had the obvious white hair! “Is that all? Can’t you remember anything else?” Sabassa sighed and said, “I was young, this was a long time ago Alarick. It happened in the north of the continent, while I was in the south, I can’t explain much more.”   All I could think, is that of the obvious. They wanted her because of being a pure, white wolf…That in the past, someone with white hair had gone missing… I did not see anything good out of letting my mate leave my side and I felt like I had already made my decision. She was not going to The Misty Ice Pack! If she was to leave and never return, it would be entirely my fault! Especially when I know this much! Hell, even if nothing went wrong and she came back with no neck collar…I felt like I couldn’t give it the chance! Something was most definitely going on and as long as she stayed here…She should be safe! “She won’t be going there then!” I said, voicing my thoughts. “Then…How are we to get off the neck collar?” Sabassa asked the obvious question. I looked at her and said, “I sent out scouts to find another that can do it, hopefully someone else will come.” After that, silence overcome us while we were both in thought, I wondered if Sabassa was trying to remember the past, perhaps to help me to prevent something that might happen in the future.   ***   For the next twelve hours, nothing happened because I didn’t want to let my mate leave and The Misty Ice Pack sent no one to come and help take off her collar. A scout came back, and they had news that someone could take the neck collar off at the border of the boundary to the south. The person was from The Strikers Den and that taking off neck collars wasn’t their specialty. When I heard that, I was displeased, thinking that it was an amateur and that I shouldn’t bother with them…But, it wasn’t as I thought, when the scout continued and admitted that this person’s specialty was bordering the inhuman type of specialties and even asked for a lot of money for him to do his job, I changed my mind. I knew about people like him, hell Harou was my own assassin, so I couldn’t totally dismiss him…But he was the only other choice I had. Going to the border was better then making my mate leave my territory altogether and not only that, the person that was going to do it blandly stated his job and honestly asked for money. I had thought about it for awhile and figured that The Misty Ice Pack was scarier than this guy. I knew what I would get with this guy and would send protectors, with myself included, and that should be enough…With The Misty Ice Pack, my protectors probably wouldn’t be able to freely go onto their land to follow my mate. My decision was made, I sent someone to tell this person to meet at the boundary an hour before the initiation, as the day had progressed further then I had thought. To be honest, I had started to think that she will have the neck collar on while being initiated and so I was a little happy to hear that it should be taken off by then! It was great news and I couldn’t wait! Straight after initiation I would mark her as mine and she would already be Luna of the pack! Sometime within the month…We will be fully mated and there shouldn’t be anything else to fear after that!   Just as we were about to leave, knowing that the meeting was going to take place, The Misty Ice Pack’s Beta had come all the way to our border and wanted to talk to me. Having a Beta come all this way, was obviously very important. You could nearly say that the Alpha was coming, if the Beta personally went to your boundary. I sighed and really did think it was bad timing. After I declined, and we were already half way down to the meeting point, Radolph came personally to get me. I was pissed! My beautiful girl was looking at me like I was her only trustworthy ally and here I had to leave? Why couldn’t they wait the hour I had told them to wait!? “He said it’s very important…” Radolph said. “He is unwilling to speak to me in place of you.” I let out a huge sigh and look at my mate. She had three protectors and a hidden one, if I left…Would that be enough? Making her stop, I pull her into my arms and take in her sweet scent. Freedom washed over me, even though I felt shackles from having to go to the west of our borders, while she will be here, south of our border… “Blanket?” Her question was filled with curiosity, but…Blanket? Is she…Calling me a blanket? Putting a hand to her cheek, I couldn’t help but smile, “I will go for a short time, but, tonight, you will become our Luna. When you get back, if you get back before me, one of the girls will help you look pretty and give you something to eat ok.” “Mmm, pretty food…” I sighed, leaning in to kiss her, that tingled touch running over me and making it even more difficult to leave her side… Fuck…I’m whipped! “...Boss…” Letting go of her, I stepped back and smiled, “I’ll see you soon!” Then I shifted, after quickly undressing, so that I could get to this ‘Beta’ faster and be able to get back to my mate faster…

Alarick POV   (A few days prior) Getting back to my normal self, I finally caught up on some work. The pack hadn’t come to any big trouble while I had been gone for those few hours, and there was a meeting coming up with the elders. I had a pretty good idea on what it was about, not only the look for future Luna, but the invitations to other packs to celebrate my birthday. The closest pack from us was The Misty Ice Pack, that lived south of Vanin to the west. We had always had trouble to come to complete alliance with them, to which, I could only blame my own father…Well, that was my best guess. To the south east of us was The Striker Den, which seemed more like a black market and gambling place for Shifters. They had two Alphas there and a two beta’s, which always had me in confusion. We were friends with the Clan further to the south, whom have also been invited to see if they want their unmated females to participate in the spar at my birthday do. That clan is called The Oasis Clan, and they only became friends when I had fully cleansed my pack. They were the second most impenetrable pack on the continent, even though they were in the middle of the continent. Their clan was a lot bigger than mine…Their Alpha also had a bigger reputation then me... Otherwise, I didn't speak to the other two packs south of the continent, we used to have relations but when I had awoken the Alpha within me and changed the pack around, we had lost contact. Since, I still was quite busy, so I hadn't sent someone down. I didn't want the extra work right now...   The best-known pack on the continent, though, was The Misty Ice Pack, whom have been around for a very long time. But, again, I’ve always had trouble with them. But what confused me about them, was the fact that they were always so close to the humans. I've heard some rumours about a few incidents...I hoped that they weren't true... I knew that it didn't matter if they were my allies or not, as I couldn't really offer their pack anything. They were bigger, having closer to five hundred in their pack, and they didn't seem to want for anything else. Their Alpha's, now and in the past, were pretty strict and had quite a few under them to help look after those five hundred...I had always been worried that they would wipe us out, when we had been at our weakest, but I felt happy that they didn't. I respected that a lot and really did want to offer peace and stay on their good side. But then, one question made me continue to be wary of them...And that was...Why was their population staying the same? They hadn't been at war with Shifters, that I knew, but I hadn't seen any kind of thing happen between them and Humans either. It really did make one ponder, after so many years, that they had not exceeded much beyond five hundred, it didn't make any sense! With that in mind, I didn't want to completely trust them, and I had already told myself to never rely on them because of this. That the peace I offer will most likely just for us to live simply and not involve them in any issue, I also don't particularly like any idea of sending any of my pack members over there...Just in case... I sighed, at the moment there wasn't any issue with them, and now no issue with The Oasis Clan...It was The Striker Den, that was the next closest to us, that was the problem... The Oasis Clan was strong and naturally easy to figure out, The Misty Ice Pack seemed to prefer solitude and known as large and strong...But...The Striker Den was confusing and hard to figure out. Two Alphas together, why? How can a pack have two Alpha's? It didn't make any sense! And, for me to try and understand them more, I have to make some kind of move first, and since my birthday is coming up... I decided then, that I wanted to invite at least one person from each of them. Whether it be an Alpha or Beta, I didn’t particularly care. I'll take this opportunity to figure them out! Of course, they had to bloody show up first! Sigh…   ***   I continued with my routine that day, personally checking the boundaries and then working late. The next day, I went to the meeting with the elders to help them confirm everything, silently clenching my hands upon thinking of the beautiful wolf in my dreams, as I was living my life without her. After leaving the meeting, I was pretty determined to stop the mate link, even against my wolf’s utter rage! I know I had decided to see her one last time, but I didn’t want to change my mind anymore. Coming back from the snowy, northern most part of the continent this time, seemed to be a lot better, and I became stubborn with my decision. Yet, as I sat in my office, looking out of the window in a daze, I hadn’t done it yet. I mean it’s only a few words and feelings of rejection… My thoughts instead traveled to that of my sister, whom was still alive but locked up in our dungeons. Prior to meeting my destined mate, I had never understood my sister. She had been totally corrupted and was supposed to die, due to putting the whole pack at risk. Yet, she knew of information that I had wanted to fully cleanse the pack. For two months, she had been confined in the dungeons, when she had suddenly changed her mind, all those years ago. And what changed her mind!? Back then, I was incredulously freaked out…She became a huge rat, just because she had finally found her mate… I didn’t fuckin understand it! She had been nearly thirty and lived at least half of those years under the wing of our father. Yet, two months and she had completely changed her mind! Thinking of it now, I wondered if I would have done the same… I had a sudden want to speak with her, my sister, but I didn’t stand up and go.   My sister was partially part of our mother’s death, and I had not forgiven her. I had originally wanted to end her life, but she had pleaded with me to keep her life, even if it was in live the rest of her life in a dungeon. I couldn’t bloody believe it! I still don’t! But she seemed happy, as she gets to see her mate on the outside of the cells every day, then once a month he is able to see her for half an hour inside the room. He was a lot younger than her, finding her at eighteen, and I couldn't help but think it was perfect timing. It was what I needed to get information, but not only that, my sister seemed to be ready as well. This, gave me an interesting understanding upon the mate bond, not only did I think that it was a crazy, with the insane want to always be with your mate, but they came when needed...Or something like that... Then...Did my destined mate come exactly when I needed her? Was it no coincidence that we had met? Is the person she is, the exact person I need at this exact moment in my life? I sighed, I felt like there was no control over this whatsoever! When I thought about her, my feelings were of indulgence and want...Even need. Was that what it was like for my sister? Seeing my sister and brother in law so happy, even for this, really disgusted me at first…But now…How do I feel? I felt…Lonely…I wanted…Her by my side… Yet, I was conflicted and knew of my previous thoughts and still believed in some of them…My inner war…Was with my choice… Once I break the link…It’s gone…There’s no going back! And…I just couldn’t break it…My destined mate and I… My sister, her mate, still happy to see each other like this…And here I was away from my…From her… Suddenly I let out a laugh, to remembering my niece. I hadn’t known that one time my brother in law had gone in to see my sister, she had been in heat… Shaking my head, I had thought to have stopped them when I found out two years ago. But now… I sighed, as I also knew that my sister wouldn’t probably have more pups anyway, and…They were just so fuckin happy! It just sucked how it had all worked out uh…She being held in the dungeons, still able to meet her mate, hell, I didn’t even know that she had been marked till it was already done! Actually, my younger brother in law worked pretty damned impressively fast on that bitch! Even I was completely stunned! The want to mark that beautiful wolf, was still quite fresh, and that was just marking her…I couldn’t possibly believe how it would be like, to go all the way…Did she look beautiful in her human form? Would she be as adorable as her wolf form? I started to picture a woman with no face…Thinking of it as her… A gasp left me, and I raced towards the shower.   ***   The next day, was fine…Until I suddenly collapsed into a helpless heap on the ground and yelled out to a sudden pain that went through me… Gasping and closing my eyes tight, I felt like I was hanging onto life by a thread, that everything, even laying down, was the hardest thing in the world to do… Shifters came rushing over to me, but I never heard any of it while I balled myself up, unable to find any kind of comfort anywhere. My wolf screamed out his grievances and was able to start taking my pain away, stating, It’s our mate! Run to her! Huffing and panting, I felt myself able to stretch out and shakily stand up. So that was her? So much pain… I couldn’t think, all I felt was pure torture upon thinking of the potential death of my mate! Without saying a word, I shifted, and bolted! Radolph got some quick words from me, but I was out of our pack’s boundary within moments. As I ran as fast as I could, the bond link that had grown really strong, had suddenly started to weaken once again. Quick, find out where they are! I located where the bond link between us would lead and found myself upset. Instead of south, the way I had gone when I last searched for her, she had been north… As I got closer and closer, the link got weaker and weaker. My wolf was desperate and yelling me to urge on and I couldn’t help but become more and more worried. This big, troublesome, problem…Dammit… I must go faster!   ***   Upon finding a small kind of cave, I smelt the weaker, luscious fragrance of her…And blood! Racing inside, my wolf went crazier, save her! Quick! I shifted and ran towards her, my hands were shaking in terror as I searched for where her injury was. My mate! I cringed as I found it and knew now why she was in such a bad state. Silver! A huge amount of anger went through me, as I realized she had been shot! Taking a deep breath, I plunged into her skin and retrieved the silver bullet. I hissed as it burnt me, and I quickly threw it away. Quick! Shifting once again, I licked her injury. To my displeasure, I found that silver speaks were inside of her, as they burnt my tongue as well. I hadn’t seen this type of bullet before…Where it wasn’t just one piece, that it seemed to shatter upon impact… For the life of me, I licked until my tongue was numb! I could only offer so much of my healing upon my mate, giving her wolf some help. When I felt her tremble, I hadn’t worried too much at first…But now, it was getting worse! Quick! Her wound was healed by half, but now, she became as cold as ice! Dammit! I wanted to give her warmth, but my wolf was angry when I wanted to scoot in between her legs… Watch for her injury! I could only take the next best option of covering her back. I was bigger then her, so she should still be able to gain quite a bit of warmth, even if I was behind her. Her wolf didn’t seem to have alpha blood, yet I felt some kind of strange alpha about her. She was…And she wasn’t…Shaking my head, I tried to focus. Getting as close as I could, I put my big paw against her white beautiful fur and suddenly went into a daze…   She was right here, next to me. She felt so good, her beautiful fur. I wanted to rub myself all over her. I felt my protectiveness and possessiveness, as I wanted my scent all over her. I put my head to her neck and suddenly felt myself hurting once again…I had seen it earlier, but it had totally left my mind. This neck collar poised a problem. Not only to get it off, but because it was there in the first place! Rage went through me once again, at my mate being hurt like this… I wanted to help heal her neck too and went to lick, but my wolf told me not to bother. Her injury and staying warm is more important, save your licks for that. It’s not like I could help too much with her neck anyway, so I somewhat agreed to saving my saliva and tried to focus once again. I whined and snuggled more into her, even putting a back leg over her. She was still so cold and shivering, like a new born pup. I suddenly felt extremely glad that she was in her wolf form, it might have been harder for her to keep warm here in her human form. I placed my tail over hers and whined again at how much she trembled. Really, it was driving me insane! She wasn’t healing, and she was so cold…If I hadn’t of come… Whining again, I tried to cover her more, wishing for her to warm up! Demanding it even!

Alarick POV   Before I knew it, while dazed into oblivion, a day had passed, and it seemed my pack had moved to The Misty Ice Pack. Vaguely, I had watched a lot, seeing how my pack did as they were told and did not question Mingan’s authority at all. They had an understanding that I was going through something big and some of them even knew that it was most likely because of losing my mate but never said anything about it to me. I saw some of their looks, as they pitied me, and I felt more alone then I had ever been in my life… Seeing all the mated couples in my pack, only made me more depressed and I continued to let Mingan led the entirety of the pack all the way to The Misty Ice Pack, while I flounder away my sorrows. Before I had met my mate, I had been fine and happy to have a chosen mate, to watch as they fight for me…Now, I couldn’t dream of that type of future at all… Since I knew and met my mate, I had not ever thought of a life without her in it…   We were going to be together and that was it! Never…Never did I ever imagine that I will be living a life without her… I felt like death had taken me, as I didn’t feel right anymore. My life felt ruined, even though I knew I was still a proud and strong Alpha…It was not as important…My whole existence was on the brink of complete devastation and I now understood what it was like for those who had lost their mates. …It was unbearable! Being told that time will heal the wounds does not help at all! Being told that I will find another, makes me angry! My heart had become full of only her without me noticing, how could I have another!? As it was, I hardly knew her and look at what she had done to me! We were perfect for each other! We were destined to be! I knew those words were only to try and bring me out of my depression, but they did the opposite and only made me want to cringe back and cry like a little baby! I wanted her back…I wanted her back so much that I felt like that this proud, strong Alpha would cry himself silly! …Rieka…     Finally able to think properly after this day, but still feeling lingering pain come over me, I was able to shift back into human and take back over Mingan. Seeing my family safe and sound helped me concentrate, yet it was all so difficult to keep my mind off the missing link that could no longer be found. “Boss, Recco returned.” Radolph stated, coming up to me half naked…It seemed he had just gone over everyone in the pack again, linking himself to others to get them organized in this new place. “Recco?” Oh, that’s right, that…His link was to the south of this place when… Frowning, now that I thought about it, why had he been there!? For so long Recco had been acting differently, but he’d been with the pack for nearly ten years now and was out often, so I had not taken his actions into account. He was a bit like Harou, a spy or an assassin, so I thought that was just a part of who he was, but why…Why had he been to the south of The Misty Ice Pack that day!?   “Alpha Alarick!” Turning, I found the Alpha of The Misty Ice Pack and his Luna come towards us and I stood straight, “Alpha Avan.” “Speaking to your wolf kept me on edge good friend, it seems that you have come back now though, what happened?” Staring at him, I found him acting strange…Like he was probing me… Swallowing, trying not to think of the desolate empty place inside my heart, I then said, “It seems more pressing matters…” I was interrupted, which made me angry, “It isn’t a secret, as you might think. Some know it well, Alpha Alarick, what you had gone through must have been…” Looking away from him, I tried to hold back from thinking of my mate, the pain and suffering…So what…Who cares that you know, then why bring it up and make me want to cry out for her!? …I didn’t like him! “I apologize, Alpha. I didn’t bring it up last time because your wolf was very professional and business like, I just wanted to state that if you need anything, let me know.” I want my mate back! I want to find her! Can you help me with that!? I looked back at the Alpha, asking these questions in my eyes and saw him flinch. Uh? Frowning, I just felt like something was completely off with this Alpha!   As Alpha Avan and I had a strange stare going on, the earth suddenly moved and we were all knocked off our feet, falling to the ground. “Ah, well, it seems more then one pack is here already. Great!” Different types of reactions took place to the new being that came out of the ground and walked to be in front of us. We were in a huge shed type place now, with another pack on the other side of the shed and now this new being was in the middle, putting the earth back into place after she had spoken. “Who are you?” I heard Alpha Avan ask. “I’m Elementress, I’ve come to help you win the war against the humans. Sadly though, I am not at my strongest…” Silence went throughout the big shed and since we felt that the new being in front of us wasn’t a Shifter, we all unconsciously moved closer to her to entrap her. For the first time, I felt us different packs move as one and realized that this was a good idea… It seemed possible for Shifters to once again reunite as one, yet…So much more work needed to be done first beforehand. As it still stood, we were not in the same pack yet as my wolf had not let it happen because his demands had not been met… But…It seems like it could happen, seeing all us Shifters band together in front of this unknown, new being!   When the new being finally looked around, with a very excited look upon her face, she then stopped on one particular Shifter…That Shifter being the Alpha of The Misty Ice Pack… “I don’t like you!” She stated firmly, then mumbled something and played with her thumb rings. Suddenly, earth came up and detained the body of Alpha Avan in one shot, making him unable to move. “What are you doing!?” Alpha Avan yelled. Beta Carlos went to be in front of his Alpha, and stuttered, “…We…We have no quarrel with you, why are you doing this to my Alpha?” Clearly it wasn’t just him that didn’t understand what was going on…The rest of us were looking wide eyed upon what happened with the earth! Never had anyone seen this power before! Elementress humphed, then said, “He hurt my creation. If I had not had to spent time searching for her, I would have come earlier!” I was caught completely off guard to this new being’s emotions! She really sounded upset, yet…I swear she wasn’t one of us! Earth rose close to me then and I suddenly saw a pure white wolf within it, “…Rieka!?” …Could it be? I swallowed and breathed out quickly and hoped beyond hope that this white, very familiar looking wolf, was my dearest mate… …Could it really be her? Quickly, I went to her side and found that I could touch her! The wolf was real! She was real! But…I also saw that she was really hurt!   “Blame him and his stupid elder! They think she would do some kind of cleansing and so they used her life for it!” Elementress easily stated, walking over to the white wolf and pat her head, after bending down. “Poor thing, I wasn’t even able to pay attention when it happened! Xavior really took a lot of work to hold back in that fight!” I didn’t hear her next words, but I don’t think they sounded very happy…I was just thrilled at having my mate back in front of me once again! She was here! She was right here and…Alive! …She was here! Touching her made me unconsciously smile and I breathed a huge breath of relief! Thank god! Who ever this new being was, thank you! I nearly cried then, having to work hard at not losing myself, I bit my lip and breathed out a large breath. I wasn’t going to lose my cool right now! No…Having my mate here and alive gave me a new hope, a new strength and be damned if I wasn’t going to use it!   I widened my eyes when I finally remembered what the new being said about why my mate was like this, and took my hand away, knowing how angry I was becoming right now. Having seen Elementress point to the very Alpha who had just brought up my own mate, like he knew nothing about what had happened, I glared at him, fisting my trembling hands together. Both me and my wolf raged inside, hardly keeping our shifting at bay! How dare he touch her! How dare he bring her up! How dare he use her! My alpha aura leaked out of me, making many around me bare their necks or turn submissive in any other way… “Wait!” Alpha Avan weak response, to the earth going against his neck, didn’t halt my action of standing up and slowly walking towards him, “You…You sacrificed my mate!?” I felt myself start to tremble very violently and before I knew it, I had shifted into my wolf, unable to hold myself back! How dare anyone do this! How dare they lay a hand on my mate!

Elementress got up out of the king-sized bed and slowly walked away from her man, Xavior. Xavior put out his hand and magical essence flew out to his beloved and appeared as a sexy outfit to cover her naked body. It showed his lusty desire, as it was practically see through, yet having a glamorous effect of making her curvy body look extremely satisfying. There was no one else with them, as they had gotten over having people serve them a long time ago, so whatever he placed on her, was for his eyes only. Now, they had spent centuries alone, deep within a castle that hovered over the land of Altervale, and they found ways to entertain themselves. “What you doing, lovely?” Xavior asks, as he sat up slowly. Elementress turned back and smiled, “I just remembered about my new idea!” Rubbing his face, his small stubble disappeared, and he smirked back at her. “Which one?” The amount of times she had said this…Countless! “The reincarnated wolf. It’s been a while, so I thought I’d check on her.” She said, taking a few steps up the luxurious room and saw a map of Altervale in front of her. Taping her thumb rings to her index finger rings, she muttered a few words. Dirt from the side of the alter lifted and became two earth totems, wind flew by her strange hair and a storm started to brew around their hiding castle in the sky. Xavior appeared beside her and took her in his arms, “I can’t even remember you thinking about that new idea…” She laughed, charmingly, “It’s been about two years…We got a bit carried away with the new game afterwards…Then got carried away again…” For an Immortal, time flowed differently. They could hardly remember their days as humans, where death was something that was going to happen. To them, now, they relaxed and never rushed into anything…What was the point of rushing, when they could live beyond a hundred years…A thousand? Ten thousand? Xavior let out another laugh, remembering, “Mmm, let’s do that again!”   Elementress was an Immortal Shaman, whom had come from a completely different galaxy. As she had grown in her talent of becoming a shaman, her hair, like a few other shamans, had changed to that of being different colours and types...She had a few dread locks, then some really curly, then some was dead straight. Brown, red, blue, white and a few other colours mixed themselves permanently to her hair. The white wavy hair she has, she had gotten when she had learnt how to call upon the power of wind, and she received the brown dread locks when she had learnt to call the power of earth. Her two rings represented her two talents of the shaman, that of the elements and spirits. Of course, a lot of time had been taken to learn all this as she was still not as strong as two of her late masters... Xavior, who was an Immortal Wizard, was in that same galaxy, but from a different planet. He had worked hard as well, as immortality as his prize. He had been able to accomplish beyond his cheap, first master, and then his second...Yet, the late most famous and powerful wizard had been still beyond his power now. Both Xavior and Elementress weren't able to continue to grow with knowledge from others, as, for quite some time, they were alone, trying to learn things on their own without any other alternative.   Currently, they were runaways…Hard to believe. Yet, that’s what they were. A certain galaxy had waited and waited, and like a frog in water that goes hotter and hotter, even the two of them were surprised! Instead of a black hole, something else appeared in the middle of the galaxy…It seemed to suck out immortality and both Xavior and Elementress had been extremely lucky to exit the invisible barrier out of the galaxy, to finally come here. They are unsure, till this day on how else to explain what happened, but all they knew is that the most powerful wizard and shaman had been taken into it and everyone had screamed in disbelief to the loss of them. How would they overcome it, when their master's couldn't? Fleeing was all they could do, yet, many began to notice...That there were all boxed in, jailed...Trapped! The planets closest to the edge of this barrier were filled with others like themselves, running from the inevitable pull of their immortality! The strange thing was, the humans were unharmed, they lived like there was nothing wrong and they were quite freaked out to all the strong people with immortality that were running around like headless chickens. How could they be afraid? It didn't make sense...Yet, even when they heard that they were running away from this, some of the humans believed and some didn't...The mess... Having met each other, Elementress and Xavior both combined their powers in a last ditched effort to leave the galaxy and escape... They weren’t sure how much time had passed, but they had been happily living here since, just watching how these…Humans work, or how they exist. Upon the Humans on this planet of Altervale coming to an amazing halt and travelling backwards, because of fighting each other, Elementress had Xavior help her to include a new species. This new species happened to be called Shifters, after some time of wondering what to call them, and it was of the spirit of wolves and humans being together and that they could shift from one and into the other. Xavior didn’t particularly care too much, but it seemed to make his woman happy, so he had no objection into helping her. Elementress, on the other hand, really adored the Shifters. She had chosen well, with the wolves, as being the spirit inside of another’s body and she had been pretty happy with what she had learnt about this new species.   Just like when there were only humans, and they would implant some interesting new thing that they could watch the reaction of, Elementress had done something different this time. Instead of reincarnating a Human, or Shifter, she had reincarnated the spirit of a wolf, that resided inside of a Shifter. “So compassionate, my dear.” Xavior said, kissing her neck, knowing that there was most definitely a reason she had chosen that specific wolf spirit. He had no idea what it was, but it might have been something that had made her cry. He hadn’t any other wish, just to be by her side. He had fought and learnt enough for a long time to come, before he had to run away. There were no regrets, as he had met his other half that way and even though their immortal life was a little boring sometimes, being with her was all worth it. “Mmm, she’s just sleeping…I was worried that I had done it wrong, but they are still together.” “What do you mean?” Xavior asked, distracted… “Must have been two years ago I forcefully implanted her into that child, but she seemed to have not budged…Wait a second…” Elementress mumbled and zoned further in at the spirit of the reincarnated wolf. “Ha! Would you believe it! She’s focusing on building up the Shifter’s powers! What an interesting one!” “Mmm.” Was all Xavior said, hearing…Yet, not hearing her words. Lightly pulling away the beautiful, see through cloak from her shoulder, he kissed her creamy skin. Elementress knew what he was like and didn’t worry about him not paying the subject much attention. It was irritating sometimes, but what was she to do!? Suddenly stopping, Xavior remember something and put out his hand on the map and flashing red dots appeared. “My dear, war is already breaking out again on the other continent and the one your wolf is on is manufacturing silver bullets, want me to stop them?” Elementress looked down upon the wolf spirit, seeing quite a few red dots close to her, as these red dots meant silver. “Mmm, not right now. It’s not like I can’t do it again anyway. Just wait and see.” Xavior smirked at her, pushing her closer, “Are we still going to do as you suggest and add ourselves into the fray?” To a certain regard, he was looking forward to it. He would help the Human’s and she would help the Shifters. It’d be like playing chess! Elementress sighed and moved her head, her strange hair following suit, “Mmm.” Xavior, excited, he takes her mouth with his own and pushed the magical clothing off her and it turns into nothing upon falling to the floor. Sighing to the pleasure, Elementress put back her head and put a hand through his hair, forgetting all about her new idea…

Rieka POV   I was watching the pups play, while in a trance…Thinking that they were lucky, little things, being able to shift as early as two…And so cute! When I had changed, I was already a medium sized wolf, not the small paws, fluffy furred type of wolf that the little pups were. I heard that these little ones were making too much mischief with their other pup mates, which apparently happens a lot. The older ones are trying to learn diligently from teachers, for three nonstop hours a day, and those three hours did extend if there were too much interruptions. But I was conflicted on where I’d prefer to be right now. I could play with the iddy, biddy, sweet, cute, little pups or I could go learn something and become smarter! After I got out of my trance, I believed that it didn’t matter what I did, because I was dreaming. If I learnt something…Wouldn't I just forget it? So, just as I made a decision to play with the little sack of fur balls, my blanket stood in front of me and got my attention. “My lovely mate, come back and try this on. Luckily it only needed to be restitched on the bottom, otherwise it’s ready for you to see if it fits!” I looked at the pretty dress and had the strangest urge to wear it…It would make me look very pretty! Not seeing my blanket check to see if I was following, I followed the dress back to where we were before we went for a run.   I felt it, ah, his eyes roamed all over me, while I changed into the pretty, white dress. It made me feel strange…I felt heat rush up to my head and I was wondering once again if I was going to get sick. Sickness didn’t go too well with me, I hated it! I was always so miserable and didn’t have any energy at all! I quickly finished, with help as I had trouble, and looked at him step away to have a good look at me. I didn’t know what to do… “My love, are you upset?” My blanket asked. I blinked innocently and shook my head. He came back to me and I loved his face, it was sweet, like I was the most…Special? Me!? I loved this dream so much I never wanted to wake up! He took me into his arms and I heard him sigh once again…Maybe I was getting sick because he was, and I caught it from him… The neck collar was really a hindrance, as he pulled back from getting touched by it, “I really hate that thing!” I bowed my head and remembered it as well. The lingering, dim pain that continued as it touched me…I’d rather to continue to forget that it’s there…   I felt my hand get touched and I looked up to see my blanket in front of me again, then he put my hand up and made me do a spin. Did he just…Mind control me? How did he know that I would do that!? Did he mean to!? I smiled, as it was still fun, so I did it again and heard my blanket laugh. The world spinning like this, was close to when I was dicking around and going around in circles prior to meeting him…And after I met him… Ah! That’s right! He growled at me! “You, growled!” I said pouting. I felt his arms go around me, “Yes, but then again, my love, so did you! Actually, you growled first! Shouldn’t I be angry!?” I bit my lip and trying to remember, but dearly couldn’t, so it didn’t happen! “I not remember! You growled first!” I state stubbornly. I met his eyes and fell silent, feeling like I was getting sucked in towards a vacuum cleaner… Touching my cheek, and then moving his lips slowly towards mine, he kissed me…And it was just like the first time he did this! Will it be like this every time!? I take his head in my hands and push him slightly closer to me, wanting more of the tingled, hot, tasty touch…   Until I could no longer breath, he pushed away, and I took in some deep breaths, wondering where all the air had went! Honestly, this blanket, was he trying to kill me? Then I heard his husky voice, as he put a hand on my bum, “I was severely mistaken.” “Uh?” I asked…Yeah, I don’t understand what he said…At all! Squeezing my bum cheek, I let out a little yelp and he chuckled. “I want that neck collar off…Right now!” I didn’t understand his urgency, but I agreed, it was annoying. But…I then did what he did to me, by squeezing his bum cheek and saw his reaction. “Hey!” He said, after taking a small step away from my touchy hand. I laughed loudly. It was so funny! No wonder he laughed when he did it to me! “Funny! Come…I do it again!” I said, trying to get him again. But he ran away, and I couldn’t get my blanket's bum cheek anymore… For ten minutes, we chased each other around and I had gotten to a point that I wanted to get upset! He made it look so easy yet, when I try and touch it, he’d scoot away! My blanket was being naughty! “No play no more!” I said, putting my arms crossed up to my chest in annoyance. My blanket came over to me and tackled me to the bed, “Are you upset? Don’t be upset…” So…I took his bum cheek and squeezed it, making him want to squirm away from me, but I held my other hand around him, so he won’t suddenly disappear. I laughed and suddenly stopped, as I felt him kiss me once again…And totally forgot what I was doing beforehand.   As an hour slipt passed, I found out, that I loved him touching me. It felt good, no great! The tingles weren’t a bad thing, they were good, no great! And it felt like my blanket liked it too! I watched his expression when I touched him everywhere and he would change from looks to even giving out sighs or grunts… There was something in the middle area of him that seemed to invite such grunts and had grown like magic! I knew it was part of the male…Something…It was a male thing. But…Seeing him so happy when I touched it, made me want to continue! For some reason, I really liked it when he was happy! It made me happy too! It was like a strange way to be happy…I was normally used to jumping around like a deer and playing in the snow to give myself a smile, but this happiness felt like I was full…Full of what? I have no idea! But, after some time, the male thing seemed to explode, and I let go in a hurry. “Sorry!” Did I just break it!? Was I going to stop dreaming now? Stepping back in small steps, I felt myself start to tremble in my unhappiness. “Wait! Rieka! Dammit, it’s fine!” I heard my blanket say, but I was already backed up against the wall. I saw him rush to me and quickly take off the white dress before I shifted back into my wolf. Curling up into a ball, I guess I was waiting to wake up now. The dream had to be over…Right?   I felt licking over my fur and nudging into my side, but I still stayed how I was, waiting… Even when the licking made my ear ticklish, all I did was snuff out and continue to hide…And wait… When was it going to happen! I felt my blanket go between my legs and rest his head over my wolf body and I took my head out to see his golden eyes staring at me. Then his tongue came out and licked me straight on the nose and I snuffed out once again. Grunting, I turned to be in a more comfortable position and he seemed to do the same. Letting out a deep breath I felt myself start to relax and droop off, thinking that I will probably wake up in the snow, in my den…Or somewhere completely different, like that of shifter heaven. I really didn't want this dream to stop! It was...Well, it was practically like my life meant nothing before meeting this blanket! How could that be possible when I had spent years without it! Being only with him in my dream for about two days or so, felt like the world had completely changed! I started to lick the big wolf, hearing his grunts in response and I couldn't stop. Yes, I loved smelling like a blanket, but now...I wanted to make some sort of sign on him as well. I wanted him to be mine, and mine alone! …For whatever is left of this dream, this blanket was going to be mine!

Alarick POV   Two hours later, I felt better. She had finally stopped shaking and was warmer. Her breathing was even better, making me unconsciously smile. I took myself away from her and then heard a noise, looking at her, she seemed so adorable, that I wanted to bundle her up and take her away! Right now! Unable to hold back, I shift and then pat her on the head, feeling her luscious fur through my fingers. When she made another noise, I could only sigh in defeat, as I knew I was desperate for her to wake up and be with me. So troublesome… She seemed to have gone back into sleep and I slowly crawled up and put my forehead against hers. My hands patted her fur on her head and I kissed her furry forehead. I didn’t even know what she looks like…I don’t know what she’s been through… Shaking my head, I again sighed, as I did a minute ago. Completely defeated. Like I’ve never wanted anything before…I wanted her! Was the mate bond a futuristic feeling? Telling me that what I’m feeling now is how I would feel in the future? Hell, even though I don’t even know her, and that she was a lone wolf, I felt so addicted to her already… Seeing that she might not be able to move herself, I decided to go and get her something to eat and left the small cave, which I began to think of as her den.   I hadn’t exactly finished getting everything I needed, to make her an easy meal, when I needed to check on her. With our weak link between us, I was filled with worry… I had already checked her once, but now this would be a second time…I couldn’t bloody help it! Racing back to her, I found her snuffing and acting strange. What’s wrong with her? Touching her, she seemed to calm down a bit and my hand started to rub her fur on its own…It was like that with everything. My eyes, my hands, my everything, just wanted her everything! Suddenly, she let out a small howl and I wondered if she was in a nightmare. Worried, I said, “Wake up!” Seeing the wolf shift to sit quickly like that, I was a little perplexed… Upon seeing blood coming out of her wound, I nearly freaked out, “Ah…You moved too quickly.” Shifting, I automatically started licking her wound. Thoughts didn’t really cross my mind at all, it was all just instinct… I felt her eyes on me and I shivered, my wolf excitingly jumping a bit on his front paws. She was letting me lick her, even holding her adorable paw up. It was easier this time because of that, which astonished me and made me happy at the same time. She’s watching me! I felt exhilarated to have all of her attention, it was like all my dreams coming into real life!   Nearly getting carried away with thinking of her eyes were on me, I realized her wound was getting better. I knew silver seemed to be in there still but what had gone into one of her lungs, had probably been healed to the best of its ability now. It was just her skin that was still slashed opened, that needed more help. She had been so still all this time, that I suddenly looked up to see those absolutely beautiful, blue eyes. Transfixed, I could only stand there dazedly looking back at her. I wanted to mark her…Now! Upon seeing her neck, and how it was hurt, instinctively, I went to lick it, wanting to help her. Her growl stunned me, and I moved away from her. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, thinking if I shifted, I could also talk to her. Seeing her reaction to me going to my human form, I found it very amusing. I tried to hold back my laughter at her innocence and couldn’t help but want her even more! “…Does…Does this bother you?” I asked her, my voice husky to my thoughts. I got a little angry with myself, because right now, she needed to get better! I can’t let my mind wonder off like that while she’s in pain! …Perhaps Radolph and I were more similar then I thought… Remembering that I had something for her to eat, I quickly said, “I’ll finish getting something that you can eat, I’ll be back in a bit.” And quickly I ran off.   I was very serious when I made her something to eat, trying to keep my cool. My wolf seemed to smirk at me, not saying a word, only making me want to sigh. The food I had gotten…Looked like mush…But, I had put more then a hundred percent into it! I was a goner! Having decided to make her mine, I was already thinking of taking her back with me to my pack. I knew they might not like the idea of her being my mate, but my god, I could not leave her here! But I couldn’t stay away from my pack too much longer either… For some reason, these issues didn’t matter, I was just too eager! That’s it…Eager to have her with me from now on… And hence the sigh…I was a goner! Completely defeated by the most beautiful wolf in the world…   When I had walked in, I watched her cover her eyes again and chuckled. My heart was racing over the small, cute, little things she was doing already… I put down the crudely made bowl for her, “Eat.” Sitting down and watching her, I felt strange under her eyes…Feeling nervous! Clearing my throat, I repeated myself, “Eat!” Seeing her not shift and just stare at what I made for her, I was getting worried…What if she didn’t like it? “It will be easier to digest…Ah, are you going to shift?” To my disappointment on wanting to see her human form, she tried to gobble up the bowl, while she was still a wolf! “Why don’t you shift?” Seriously, woman! She huffed! She huffed! At me! …So troublesome! Actually, while I watched her finish her bowl, I was gaining my courage. Geez, why did I feel like I was only half a man when it came to her! I couldn't cook a proper meal for her, I couldn't just tug her away to a place to get her healed, she growled and huffed at me...Woman, you're driving me bloody nuts! Taking that as my momentum, I let out the question, “Will you be strong enough to travel?” …Woman! Why look at me like u haven’t a clue! I wanted to sigh out, but then remembered I had the perfect reason to take her with me! That’s right, you have no way out my mate! Your coming home with me! I cleared my throat, “I’ll take you to get that silver, neck collar off and make sure that you get better.” Better, being the words described as my mate, never leaving my side, better.   A whole minute went by, and I started to feel strange…Could my mate possibly be a normal wolf? Nah…Dam, though! I just couldn’t take it anymore! She had no other option, she was mine, so her answer was obviously yes! I got up then and just went to pick her up. I was very gentle, I couldn’t even think of hurting her in the slightest…It was a whole new law that I had never known about, until now… After the big, white wolf was in my hands…The whole world seemed brighter to me! I was in my glory, so was my wolf…We just wanted to stay like this! But! With her slow, short movements on wanting to escape, I decided it was time to go! When she didn’t move after a while, I chuckled, at seeing her wolfie face. I didn’t really need her to tell me what she was thinking…What I saw…Was total innocence, like she had never been in this position before. To have her act like the way she smelt, I unconsciously smiled to both fantastic things that I seemed to already enjoy very much. I wanted to laugh again, when she tried to hide her big head, but instead, I held her tighter, quickly moving her head to my neck, beside my shoulder. Heaven… I sighed to my happiness of just having her in my arms and so close to me. Since I was already on my way back home, I wanted to suddenly dawdle…I was just so happy holding her like this! Feeling her relax, I figured she had fallen asleep once again and I couldn’t help but soften my walking, to not disturb her sleep.   Upon my walk back, my mate…Yes…My mate…Didn’t seem to budge at all. I knew her breathing seemed ok and that she was warm, but I was still too worried and sped up my pace. After two hours, I was getting closer to the border and I called out to Radolph. Within a few minutes, I got some clothes, to help with my mate’s shyness, and carefully picked her up again. Radolph wanted to chat to me, but I told him to be quiet…Which only led to us having a conversation in our heads. She’s the one? Our Luna? Mmm, honestly, I was still accepting it myself. Don’t get me wrong, I was over the moon with her, just…I had practically nearly let her go and I was worried about who will accept her, how she would go with being my mate… I never thought a man like me could worry so much about one troublesome, lone wolf… I had absolutely underestimated the mate bond…Totally! Hell, I was already smitten, I was already wanting to initiate her into the pack with no one knowing any wiser! I can totally understand my brother in law now! Hell, I wanted to mark her and make her mine, this very instant! Why is she hurt? His question did make me upset…Hell, I still had no idea! It was all just driving me fuckin crazy! I sighed. I could see my future being one hell of a ride from here on in!   A healer had already been prepared upon my arrival and he looked at…My mate… Having to take more silver out of her wound, the healer had woken her up, even upsetting me. I heard the white wolf whine and the healer said, “It’ll be much easier if you shift, my dear.” I started to get excited, I really wanted to see how beautiful she was as her human form. But, to my utter astonishment…She was as stubborn as hell! She just covered her eyes with her paw and laid back down! Even though I wanted her to be healed, I found this aspect of her completely adorable! No wonder I had trouble finding my mate, she must have caused so much trouble with everyone! Suddenly, I was extremely excited about finding out more about her. I wanted to know where she has been, why she was a lone wolf… Questions started to full my mind and I didn’t hear the healer talk to me. “Alpha?” I snapped out of my thoughts, “Uh?” “She won’t shift…” Oh, yeah…For me, I was starting to get used to it… Using my Alpha tone upon my mate sounded…Wrong…So they will just have to endure! “Just heal her like that then.” So troublesome!   A scout went out to get someone from The Misty Ice Pack, to get off the silver neck collar and I just stayed with her. Patting her fur, I looked at the now covered wound on her and bent down to lightly kiss it. The healer stated that it should heal a lot faster now, taking out most of the lingering small bits of silver. Having the healer unable to do much about the neck collar, I let him go. I had felt relief when they had all left and I continued to pat her. “Hungry? Thirsty?” Hearing a grumble at my questions, I went closer to her head and asked, teasingly, “Which one, hungry or thirsty?” A huff came out, making me laugh. She moved her head away from me and looked away. I had put her on my own personal bed, not feeling the least bit upset to the sudden guest in my own room. On the contrary, I was so excited, that I moved to the other side of her. I felt like she belonged on my bed, that to a strange regard, some of it now already belonged to her! But even though I had lost some of my bed, I wasn’t mad or upset. Not at all! This troublesome mate of mine…Sigh. Showing her my face in front of hers again, I even went to pat her ears, but she moved her head in another direction, letting out a huff again…   I shook my head and sighed. Putting my hands all around her wolf head, I snuggled into her ear. A strange noise entered my ears and I smiled in amongst her fur. Over the space of half an hour, I could see that she wasn’t as aggressive as she was when I first met her and gained more and more courage. At first, I had just cuddled her ear and patted her head, but I ended up putting my hands down her silky, furry body and she laid into me. I smiled at her, patting her stomach carefully and she snuffed…Which confused me. Did she like it or not!? Was it painful? I knew it then, that I just could not wait to see her human form. She was teasing me so much! Troublesome! I don’t even know her name! Just as I was going to shift into my wolf form, I was interrupted by the patrols Boss! It’s the same pack as last time, they say that we should move our border back to where it was before, or there might be a real fight on our hands! I went into wolf form and responded, tell them we will move our borders back by a few acres for now. ...Boss? Only in the south east, move it back, I know we lose a hot spring but do it! I knew I had given the impression that I hadn’t cared about taking more land, considering that it wasn’t theirs either, but at the moment, I wasn’t in the mood to fight with The Striker’s Den. Looking over at my mate, I was taking a step back for the time being. They accepted boss. They are…Already happy… I raised my eyebrows at the random personalities of The Strikers Den and was actually happy with what I had done. I had made the right choice then! Not changing out of my wolf form, I started to lick my mate, around the wound first, then…Everywhere else! A few grunts and snuffs later seemed to satisfy her into another sleep and I felt proud now. She had my scent all over her!

Rieka POV   I was on a really good spot! If I cared to look at the moon and howl, wouldn’t it be a pretty picture, uh!? I didn’t care much for it though, howling at the moon was not what I was thinking! Nope, no sorry, nope, not going there! I didn’t long for anything and…I wasn’t restless! Didn’t need guidance or fulfilment. So, why should I howl uh!? To be honest, for the most part, I hardly knew what those words meant, so, if I never knew, how would I want them? Although…One time, I howled because I longed for a blanket…Because I was cold… This was a spot that looked over the area under the mountain. It was a snowy clearing, that had a forest of trees on either side. On one side, it led to the town Brolly and on the other side, it led to the town Vanin. I was pretty much right in the middle of them! I put my paw up and pretended to squash the land in the distance, acting like I had the power to do anything! But…One whole town was not even able to be seen from here, and the other town was small, considering how far away it was. I’ve been here now for nearly five years, or is it five years? Honestly, I’ve lost track of time. I was free here and hardly burdened by anything, including things that breathed! After I had turned eighteen, I had experienced a strange sensation twice, that makes me feel intolerably hot and yucky. My wolf explained a few things that I didn’t quite understand, but what I got…If I could remember correctly, was that it was me going in heat to find a potential mate. Something along the lines of, I might not be good enough for my real, destined mate, but still good enough for any other bastard…Uh…Maybe that was wrong…I simply had to reword some things that she has said…And that was my rewording…That’s how I understood it to be…   But, otherwise, I would run around, play, pretend to be a dominant ruler and teach my subjects some neat tricks… I was a princess, a queen, a king, a prince, then I was some unfortunate old maid and then a supreme teacher! I’d get excited over crickets and jump with the deer’s…Except they kept running away from me. I’ve even attempted to climb trees, for something new and different, but that was extremely embarrassing…Words from Asuna herself. I made pictures in the snow and dug out my own den. I had searched my surroundings a few times but never marked them, only marking my own small den. Actually, I find it strange to lift my leg and pee on things…I mean, if I mark it mine…What if the plant dies? For some strange reason, even though I instinctively felt like I should mark things, I went against it. I didn’t want to not look after something accidently and have it die! What if an ant went into my territory! Mice! Nah, I forgo the extra responsibility entirely when I had thought through all this. So, I can not be blamed whatsoever about things not being looked after! …Being right near the snow, I was glad that I was able to stay as a wolf all the time, as I was sure being in human form, I’d probably freeze to death…But that wasn’t the only reason. I still didn’t like the idea of having scars over my body, even if Asuna said that my scars would heal over time, I did not believe it.   There was a boundary to a pack that was towards Brolly, but I didn’t wander anywhere close to it. I had pretty much been shown…That I don’t belong to either wolf nor human…So, why go there and get into unnecessary trouble? I was…Neither. I was a human, who posed as a wolf, and did practically very little. Don’t get me wrong, this lone wolf…Human…Whatever I am, is strong and would kick some butt, but who would want to bother meeting up with either of them…What would be so good about that? I honestly had no idea what I could gain from going into the human or wolf world. Here, I had whatever I wanted, and I was free…I mean, what’s better than that!? I was better company by far! My time with the humans was terrible and my time with the packs was just as bad! The real question was…Which was worse!? Haha! I gave out a strange noise that would represent a wolf laughing. Yeah, I’m good, right here, this is my spot! Twenty years, and I was… A really overwhelming fragrance went through me, making me want to drool… Uh? I rapidly moved my head to the side, seeing a big, grey wolf looking at me with gorgeous golden eyes, and dam! Surging in my head, my blood, my skin…Yeah, just about everywhere went nuts, even my wolf! What the hell! The invisible barrier I’d put my wolf in was being knocked against by her paws and head… My wolf and I hadn’t gotten along very great in the last few years, so our link wasn’t strong at all, not that it ever was in the first place…We were practically two entities now…Strangely, she was going nuts, trying to make her presence stronger and stronger, wanting to break this wall between us. Mate! she yelled at me, yet it only came out as a small whisper…   Blanking out, I stare at the big grey wolf and couldn’t deny what was going through me…It had to be that mate bond whatever thing… I knew a bit about it, but…I mean, it was a reason I stayed away from others…I was better off not worrying about someone else, they didn’t fit in my leisurely lifestyle! I had simply thought that I would never met him if I never see anyone…What the hell was he doing all the way up here? Seriously, there’s a huge continent, why come here where I am!? Shaking my head rapidly, I stomped on my thoughts and ground, blanking myself out. I didn’t want to feel, I didn’t want to care…My heart is fine remaining a huge icicle…Lesser worries is good! I yawned, ignoring the big, grey wolf’s presence and shook my head to keep awake. Honestly, it wasn’t easy looking like this didn’t get to me. I was having a huge war inside of me, my eyes wanted to search his, my ears were waiting to hear his movement, my skin was growing slightly hot and I smelt the different, delicious aroma in the air. A few scents were mixed in, like the grey wolf had been rolling around with his peers, but…I smelt a better fragrance…Like the blanket in the carer’s room at the orphanage, warm and cosy. Just smelling it made me shiver to the cold breeze the flowed over me. I wanted that blanket! All the other things can go, but the blanket can stay! I could already see myself pulling it everywhere to keep me warm!   Meeting your destined mate was a lot different to what I had expected…I was originally thinking that I could just decline the bond and move on, you know…But, how the heck can I decline all these! I pointed an invisible finger to each and every one of my crazy problems and told them, ‘No!’ But, it hardly helped at all! By now, my head was strangely moved to the side, as I was conflicted, and I suddenly heard the big, grey wolf move a step closer. Snapping my head up, I immediately growled my displeasure. I did the works! Besides my growl, I lowered my head and bared my teeth, showing every ounce of my decline! The big, grey wolf stared at me, I guess I shocked him out of his wits! But then he growled at me in return! His growl was a bit scary, but he’s just one wolf, and I had gone against more then that. I had been a lone wolf for at least five years, buster! You don’t scare me! But at the same time, I knew I felt a strange, different emotion run through me… After a short moment of my wolf becoming extremely upset and even my own self going into an uncontrollable depressive state, I took that moment to run off!   As the strange feelings of disappointment ran through me, I waited. I wasn’t stupid…He had declined our bond just as I did… He seemed strong too, giving me more of a reason to not indulge in these absolutely stupid feelings. My wolf was really upset and sad after the meeting and I let her be. Her hopes were dashed into the dirt and she laid there and closed her eyes, feeling very painful…How could I help her when I somewhat felt the same way? To be honest, it scared the hell out of me. It was stronger than I thought, and I felt a strange sense of not caring about anything else. Just to be with him, would be enough to change my whole life… Stop right there! This is ridiculous! Our mate bond, whatever link, seemed to be faltering already, making me think that it might disappear over time. So, was it me or is this broken as well? My link with my wolf hadn’t arrived until I was nine, I had been broken and abandoned when I was three…Why is it…That everything is broken!? I gave out sad, little whimper. Perhaps, for me, this was normal… The broken, lone wolf…Stepping, on snow…Ready to sleep. I crawled into my home-made den, in amongst trees and snow, and laid down. Just…Continue. I was so cold, wrapping my tail around me and curling up into a big, white, fluffy ball…So cold. Yet…I still felt that weak link between the so-called mate and I…I guess I still wanted that blanket…

The planet’s name was Altervale and it was normal to know of Shifters and Humans living together. At first, they had fought together and lived together as one. But the Humans were always scared of the Shifters, as they were obviously stronger, faster and able to heal faster and more. The Humans thought they were able to rid the planet of Shifters and went against them, even becoming friends with their own human enemies, to have more help to get rid of them all. The easiest way to kill the Shifters for them, was silver and the hard to find wolfsbane. Yet, the Humans didn’t win, and the Shifters lost as well. The surprise of the attack had the most damage upon the Shifters, yet with the Shifters fast and unique way of able to talk to each other, they were able to sync their attacks and gain the upper hand a few times. Luckily, just as the Humans had gotten on the same side, the Shifters had merged together as well. Upon the war finishing, both the Humans and Shifters disbanded, from the lose of so many, and only wanting to live the remainder of their lives without war… The world went on for a long time, but stories were heard in the generations that the Human’s and Shifters were not friends. They were enemies at heart but knew they were not strong enough to defeat the other through either fear of losing loved ones or fear of the huge wolves ripping your face right of your body! Both sides have a few spies or kidnappers to discreetly lower the population of the other, or to have a prisoner to bully, but war had not come to pass again. The Shifters are very protective and would happily just like to play with they pack, and just like the humans, they were all now scattered around the planet. Some Shifters concealed themselves within the human cities, giving themselves human names and houses, others didn’t and used the wolf names that they were born with. For the most part, the Shifters were in their human form, especially those hiding within the cities, but obviously their inner wolves would make them shift and run out, wanting to feel the wind in their faces and the awesome feeling of freedom beneath their feet.   ***   The planet was made up of two large continents and a small island, and all land consisted of the usual areas of forest, hills, rivers, desert, tundra and plains. It was in the northern part of Altervale, that The Snowvalley Pack was situated, being led by a large, Alpha, grey wolf with stunning, golden eyes. His name was Alarick, and he had a past of being used and having to clean up a mess within his own pack. The Snowvalley Pack had nearly come to an end, but Alarick had stopped that and finally were able to fix the corruption and make the pack stronger once again. It wasn’t easy, as years had gone by, but now they were seeing other packs take caution before thinking of them as weak…And finally, they were no longer fighting amongst themselves.   ***   A lone wolf was even further north, having travelled half of the large continent that they were on, and took residence within the snow. Her name was Rieka and she had a brilliant, white fur coat and dazzling, blue eyes. If anyone knew that she had been abandoned and thought of as an albino when young, they probably would have fainted seeing her now…As she was no albino. A pure white wolf could be seen as a curse or a blessing, giving her spirit wolf, Asuna, a sad past that helped her want to stay by herself in the north with her Shifter human master. So far, Asuna was still waiting, waiting for the possibility of saving the little one’s life, and hers…Yet, that time had not arrived, and she had to always concentrate to keep what she had been doing all these years at bay. While she was like this though, she had spent very little time communicating with Rieka. But there were no regrets…What she always questions though, is why they were so different…Normally, both the human and the spirit of the wolf inside, think as one, as they are one…Yet, her and the little one, were so different. Two different beings…Something must have gone desperately wrong somewhere! Over the years, Rieka had become strong, able to handle being a lone wolf, a rogue. She considers freedom an asset, as she had lived with humans and tried to be a part of a pack, yet that had not worked out…   ***   Then comes, a meeting of the two…A grey wolf, meets a white wolf.