by Bianca Mckay
"She told me not to worry, that I would never hear the voices or have the hallucinations after I drank a potion she brewed. It was black, thicker than grease, and nastier than eating sprouts for every meal. The instant the potion settled in my stomach, I knew I had made a grave mistake. The pain took over, contorting my body into unnatural angles, crippling me from the inside, and radiating throughout my entire body. I turned into a wolf twenty minutes later, and the witch patted me on the head, smiling like she was so proud of me. Proud of the monster she had just created."
"I don't see what any of this has to do with Aribelle," Thame said slowly when Wren had stopped and looked at him expectantly.
"The witch turned me for Aribelle," Wren said like he was stupid and definitely should have realized that by now.
"So, Aribelle ordered you to be turned into a wolf?" Thame asked to clarify.
"Well, no, but she is worse than Agatha in many ways," Wren said, cutting Thame off when he went to speak again. "There was another pack before Aribelle, but most of them died. I'm not sure how, but it is unimportant. Agatha wanted Aribelle to have an army of wolves at her disposal, so she went around making deals with people who were not happy or thriving in their lands. Then Aribelle trains them or has one of her lieutenants do it. We are all required to know how to control our wolves and be trained in combat. I refused to fight anyone, and Aribelle wanted to kill me. Told me to go back to Olthaire or fight."
Thame was unconvinced of Aribelle's crimes more than ever after Wren's story. His dubiousness must have shown on his face because Wren scoffed loudly, folding her arms across her chest in a defensive manner.
"You don't believe me?" She asked crossly.
Thame looked at her shrewdly, wondering if she really had so much guilt for leaving her family that she could not see the truth.
"I believe you," Thame said with a nod. "I also believe that you are so laden with guilt that you've placed all of the blame on Aribelle, making her out to be the villain here. She did not make you abandon your family, nor is she the one who made empty promises to you. She is not even the one who turned you into a wolf without your expressed consent. What you are telling me is that Aribelle offered to train you to learn how to control your wolf so that you would not be a danger to yourself or others, and that she offers training in combat so that you may defend yourself if the need arises. When you refused to partake in those lessons, she dissolved you of your duties and gave you the option to return to your homeland. None of that screams 'evil' to me."
"You think she would allow me to return home? I would be hunted and slaughtered the minute I turned my back on these people," Wren snapped.
"She stabbed me and punched me in the face," Dru grouched from where he lay on the ground. "If that does not tell you she is unstable and dangerously violent, then you should just rut her so that you may think clearly."
Thame glared at his brother, wishing he was still unconscious.
"Since when do you not need proof? You spend all of your time at home, relying on facts, history, and the sciences, but for her, you make assumptions. Hell, you spent two weeks complaining about how we were going to be breaking the heart of a woman! You refused even to call her a beast. At what point did she become guilty and not innocent?" Thame bit out between clenched teeth.
"Around the time we became her prisoners." Dru snarled.
"Gods above, you are acting like such a child," Thame growled, rubbing his temples in aggravation. "These people are different, and their customs differ greatly from our own. I understand that it may make you uncomfortable or scared, but condemning them to whatever fate father has planned for them may not be fair or deserved."
"These creatures are monsters, beasts, Thame," Dru said as he sat up and leaned against the tree behind him. "They are abominations that should never have been created! But if you want to continue to ogle the pretty woman with, may I remind you, fangs, then be my guest. I do not need you. I can do what needs to be done all on my own."
"Oh, yes, of course. What with all the help you will be getting from the...what was it you called her? Right, the abomination at your side. I wonder how well you two will work together after you just declared her your enemy. Or is it only Aribelle who is your enemy? You'll need to sort that out, brother, but please do not bother speaking to me whilst you do so," Thame replied.
Thame closed his eyes, torn between being loyal to his brother and his growing feelings for Aribelle. Dru and Wren were wrong; he could feel it in his gut. Aribelle may very well be a cold-hearted bitch, but truly evil she was not. A villain to those who cross her, absolutely, but a just leader, he was sure. Dru wanted to continue with their mission to slip Aribelle the love potion, but Thame could not bear the thought of her being tricked and played. Gods, she would end up hating him if he were to allow their plan to progress. On the other hand, pursuing Aribelle could cause an irreparable rift in his relationship with Dru.
If there was one thing that Thame knew for certain, it was that the bond between him and his brother was strong, but lately, it seemed far more fragile than he once assumed it was. He did not know if abandoning their mission would cause their bond to break. His bond with Aribelle was new, still forming, and thus far more fragile in its strength. She would despise him, perhaps even kill him if he were to enchant her with the magic they brought to ensnare her. He was not adequately prepared to deal with the truth. There was no easy way to tell his brother that he had begun to fall for the enemy or to tell the enemy that she owned a piece of his heart already, even though he was sent to trap her with magic.
"Wren does not want to live her life by killing people and taking over kingdoms, which is exactly what your conquest is plotting to do," Dru said in Wren's defense.
Thame remained silent, lost in his own thoughts. He could not whole-heartedly believe that Aribelle killed for fun, or that she tortured people for pleasure. When she wasn't a hell-raising ball of fury, she was playful and flirtatious and...vulnerable. Thame too had tortured people who had been convicted of spying on their kingdom and infiltrating their courts. Thame had witnessed dozens of executions and agreed with the sentencing of each one of them. That did not make him evil or beastly. Dru had always looked at their laws as absolute, unbending. Never had Dru disagreed with punishment or declared his distaste for such tactics for getting information. Yet, even without all of the facts that were usually so precious to him, Dru remained unyielding in his stance against Aribelle.
"You are a stranger in this place, Thame," Dru said with disgust. "You will allow a beast masquerading as a woman to come between us?"
"This is not Aribelle's doing," Thame said tiredly. "I am in the way of our mission. You are in the way of me being with Aribelle. This is a mess of epic proportions, brother. At the end of the day, I still love you and would die for you."
"Why do I feel like there's an unsaid 'but' in there?" Dru asked, exasperated.
"Because the truth is that I am beginning to think at the end of the day, I would die for her too," Thame said quietly, hiding the pain that those words caused.
Thame screwed his eyes shut tightly, knowing with those words he just opened a chasm between him and Dru that he may never be able to mend. Ruthless as he may be, Thame was also honorable and would not allow his father's power-hungry plan to proceed and destroy thousands of innocent lives. He would do what he could to get through to both Wren and Dru, all whilst hoping they saw the truth before they did something stupid because he had no desire to betray his brother to save Aribelle's people, but would do it nonetheless.
"I do not blame either of you," Thame said. "I ask that you search for the truth, undeniable evidence that Aribelle is plotting against our kingdom before you throw these people at our father's feet, at his mercy. Wren, consider all that Aribelle has done for you and separate her actions from those of Agatha. I heard evil in your story, I heard wrongdoings and cowardice, but it was not Aribelle's."
Thame laid down on the grass, allowing the rays of
sunlight to warm the coldness that invaded his soul at the look of disdain on Dru's face. Bees buzzed overhead, butterflies fluttered, and bunnies frolicked. The sky above the canopy of leaves was a clear, cloudless blue, and yet the beauty Thame saw was in the form of the brown wolf that was prowling towards the trio it left behind.
Twelve: A Game
“Momma, can I go play ball with the other kids?”
“No, my beauty, there has been another trespasser. I will need you to come with me.”
Hours later, as the sun reached its peak in the sky, Aribelle trotted through the woods, still in her wolf form. Thame walked directly behind her, followed by Wren and Dru, who walked side-by-side. Every few minutes, she could hear Dru whine loudly about his feet hurting, or his profuse sweating, or his dry mouth; until she began praying to the Goddess that his mouth would miraculously be sewn shut. She growled her frustration at the young prince's incessant whining, knowing they would have to stop soon to make camp before she snapped and bit his head off--literally.
With every paw she put forward, she told herself to remain calm, huffing out deep breaths as she worked to keep her increasing anger under control. Did he expect to be a comforted guest after sneaking onto her lands to do Goddess knows what? If he wanted cushioned carriages and an obliging chauffeur, he should have stayed in Vildaheim. If he would have stayed in his palace, he could very well be sitting by the fire with his nose in a book, eating confections until he was fit to burst. Yet, here he was, being dramatic like he would die if he had to take another step, the spoiled brat.
Aribelle growled a loud warning as Dru continued on whimpering about his blasted feet.
"Dru, do us all a favor and shut up," Thame grouched.
"But it's hot, and I am tired! We are not beasts that can just prance around all day without sustenance and rest," Dru said with a nasty look pointed towards Aribelle.
Aribelle shifted back into her human form, her own body achy and exhausted.
"Listen here, you petulant little bitch of a man," Aribelle growled. "We are all tired. This is not about you, like at all. If you wanted to be blanketed in lavish comfort, you should have stayed your uppity ass in your own kingdom. On the list of things that I want to be doing right this second, listening to your ceaseless whiny drivel is about five spots down from shaving Zeus' sweaty balls. So just shut the fuck up, and, in exchange for your silence, we will make camp so that you may rest your precious aching feet."
"If it wasn't for you--" Dru started to say.
Aribelle was in front of him before he could blink. Grabbing Dru by his throat, Aribelle picked him up with one hand, slamming him against a tree and snarling in his face.
"For someone who thinks so little of me and claims me to be a cruel, heartless monster, you sure like to argue with me," Aribelle breathed in his ear. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to provoke me."
Dru's eyes briefly went to Thame, before coming back to rest on her with a faux terrified expression.
"Ah," She said, realizing the truth. "You are trying to provoke me, but why, for your brother's benefit? Do you really wish to give him the gift of watching me tear out your throat for your insolence? I mean, the winter solstice is coming up, and it really is the thought that counts. Really, you'd be giving four gifts in one, which is efficient of you. I'd get the pleasure of silencing you and would get a meal out of it, and your brother wouldn't have to listen to you whine or look out for you anymore. So, in all actuality, killing you would be like the gift that keeps on giving."
"Belle, please, put him down," Thame pleaded calmly from behind her. "He cannot breathe."
"That doesn't sound like my problem," Aribelle said, squeezing Dru's throat for emphasis.
"He'll pass out if you keep it up," Thame said.
"Well, I thought I would switch it up," Aribelle said nonchalantly.
"Belle," Thame said simply.
With a putout sigh, Aribelle released Dru, allowing him to fall to a heap on the ground.
"Get the firewood, Druas, and do so quietly," She ordered, then added as an afterthought, "Go with him, Wren."
Aribelle went to work, unraveling the tents and pounding stakes into the ground with her fists. She did her best to ignore Thame's presence as he helped her erect the tents without a spoken word. He hadn't thanked her for releasing his brother, but he didn't ask her why she was always so quick to anger either, so she let it go. Thame set Wren's tent far from her own, for which she was thankful, but she said nothing. She was thinking of trying to start a conversation in a way that wouldn't be awkward when Thame spoke.
"I'll go set some traps for dinner."
"I-I could go hunt, you know, in my wolf form. It would be quicker, and I could take something down much larger than a rabbit," Aribelle replied.
"Or we could go together, and I'll set traps while you hunt," Thame said. "We could have the rabbit as a midday snack on our journey tomorrow."
Aribelle cocked her head as she looked at Thame. She was curious as to why he acted like everything was normal around him. Why was he not breaking down like his brother? He should be terrified of her, as her own people were. Yet, he stood gazing at her without trepidation or fear, just a weird sort of acceptance of this other strange way of life.
"What is it?" Thame asked, concerned, looking behind him.
Aribelle laughed lightly, shaking her head as he peered around at nothing.
"I was looking at you, debating on whether or not to ask you my burning question," Aribelle confessed.
"Oh," Thame said, looking oddly relieved. "Let's have a game then."
"Alright," Aribelle said as they wandered between the trees to hunt.
Aribelle did not let on that she rarely ever played a game, or that she was nervous about playing anything with him.
"We will take turns asking each other questions, but the other one can pass if they don't want to answer," Thame said as he moved protruding limbs out of her way, clearing the path ahead of them so she wouldn't get scraped and poked by the brush.
It was a sweet gesture, one that Aribelle was not accustomed to, which made her wonder why he chose to do such niceties. Was it possible to be both ruthless and sweet? She wondered. Other than his understanding and admittance that he would torture intruders the same as she had, Aribelle would never use the word ruthless in describing him.
"Why do they call you 'the ruthless heir'?" She blurted.
That wasn't what her burning question had been, but she found that she had a million of them. She was eager to soak in any knowledge she could learn about Thame, no matter how mundane or simple. Dozens of questions popped to the forefront of her mind. He was intriguing and genuine, but also a mystery and mischievous.
"I am the commander of the imperial army and have been known to show little to no mercy for those charged with treason or crimes against women and children," Thame said. "My turn. What is your favorite season?"
Aribelle's brows lowered in confusion. She asked a personal question, and he answered without pause, even though his answer gave her more knowledge of him and his standing with his father. Not only was he the prince, heir apparent to the crown, but also the commander of his father's army. His question, however, would gain him no knowledge if he had a hidden agenda.
"Winter. I like the way the roses frost over in my gardens. The fires my people sit around and sing and dance. I love the laughter I can hear from my window while children skate on the lake or toss balls of snow at each other. I love the feasts, and the desserts are divine. Basically, it's revelry all season long. Even the hunts are exciting, challenging," Aribelle said as they walked farther, looking for tracks in the mud.
"Here we go," Thame said excitedly.
Aribelle followed his gaze and nodded. There were four small prints making a slightly hooked pattern, several sets of them side-by-side. Thame immediately started making the traps with twigs and a ball of twine he found in one of the packs.
"It's your turn," He re
minded her gently.
"Oh. Uh...Why are you so calm about being here, and your brother has gone borderline insane?" She asked bluntly.
Thame laughed, letting her know he was not offended at all by her question. He stood from his squatting position, done setting the first trap.
"Dru was born into the wrong life," Thame said, cringing after the words left his mouth. "I do not mean this in a vicious way — quite the contrary. Dru is a gentle soul, but he is also naïve and innocent, untainted by the ways of the courts. He has not experienced evil, or backstabbing, or anything akin to those things. He spends most of his time ready dusty old tomes from the library and writing journals about ways we could help the poor people he has never even met, let alone seen with his own eyes. This is the first time in Dru's life that he has been without a slew of armored guards surrounding him. But Dru has never cared for the guards, with their weapons and hostile stares, so whenever he does venture outside the palace walls, it is to where our mother used to have her gardens.
"As for myself, I am intrigued and utterly enraptured by everything about you and your people. I find my own life back home boring and dull, nothing like the life you lead here. I find myself envious of your peoples' freedom to run amongst the wildness of the forest, to become something else entirely. I've grown jealous in such a short time of your large family, your kingdom cut off from the rest of the world, your privacy. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am calm mostly because if I had the choice, I think my home would be here."
Aribelle nodded along, her heart skipping a beat at the knowledge that he found her and her people beguiling. She wanted to tell him the same, that she often found herself lost in thoughts of him. He too enchanted her with his easy smile and soothing touch. She wanted to tell him she felt for him too, but she didn't dare. What if she found out that all of this was a ruse to learn the inner workings of her kingdom? What if he and his brother sneaked into Jurot to test her border's defense? There were too many what-ifs for her to trust him wholly, but her heart was still pulling her in his direction.