[Half/Time 01] Half Upon a Time

by James Riley

  The prince shook his head. “It ran as I came up, not that I had much to hit it with. I could barely follow you as it is. If I had not been able to see the light of your sword …”

  Phillip glanced down at the sword lying on the ground, then back up at Jack, and Jack could see it in his eyes: Phillip knew what the sword was. He had to know. “Are you hurt?” the prince asked. If he did suspect about the sword, apparently he was keeping it to himself.

  Jack shook his head and got back to his feet. The forest swam in front of him for a brief moment, and he found himself leaning against the prince for support, but the dizziness soon passed. Jack pushed himself away from the prince a bit too hard, then led the way after the thing that had attacked him, slicing with his sword in every direction as he pushed through the brambles and branches.

  The sword cut through the growth as easily as it swung through air, a fact that Jack hadn’t really noticed during his mad dash through the woods, but both of them noticed it now.

  “You curse us all, using that thing,” Phillip said quietly from behind Jack, but Jack ignored him. Right now, they needed to find May.

  Every so often, Phillip would stop Jack, look around, then point them in a new direction. Jack had no idea how the prince could possibly be tracking the monster or the princess, but that didn’t matter as long as the prince knew what he was doing.

  The slashing quickly grew tedious, taking all of Jack’s attention just to clear their way, and he soon lost track of how far they had come. His world narrowed down to cutting the branches away, moving forward, then cutting again; that was all he could think about. His sword cut this way and that, taking out a gnarled limb here, a large branch there …

  And suddenly a pair of red eyes floated in the darkness directly in front of him. Jack heard the same growl as before, except this time, the growl came from behind teeth of pure white that glowed eerily in the light of the sword, each as big as one of Jack’s fingers.

  With a great roar that shook the forest, the teeth came flying right toward Jack’s throat.

  Chapter 20

  Just before the monster bit into him, something yanked Jack backward. The teeth, head, and entire body of a gargantuan wolf passed within an inch of Jack’s face as Phillip pulled both himself and Jack to the ground and out of harm’s way.

  Even before Jack hit the ground, Phillip had bounded back to his feet, almost faster than Jack could see. Jack followed suit as soon as he could, standing with much less grace than the prince had, though at least he had his sword ready.

  The wolf creature, if that’s really what it was, stood almost completely still in front of them, the only movement coming from its chest as the creature breathed. The wolf was enormous, its size so unnatural that the creature couldn’t possibly be anything but magical.

  The wolf’s head came up to Jack’s chest, and its body was at least as long as Jack was tall. Yet the creature had moved silently, without even a whisper of wind. Its fur almost glowed in the light of the sword, black as a starless night. In fact, the only color on the wolf were its eyes, which burned a fiery red as they stared at Jack’s sword. For some reason, the wolf actually seemed to shy away from the sword’s light, baring its teeth as its eyes locked on Jack’s weapon.

  “You have that sword,” the animal growled, its voice like gravel scraping over rock. “And you kidnap the princess! Betrayers! Villains! Neither of you will live to boast of your deeds!”

  Jack glanced in surprise at Phillip, who looked at least as confused as Jack felt. A talking wolf? Hadn’t all the intelligent animals been put to death in the Black Forest decades ago? But even more odd was what it had said.

  “Kidnappers?” Jack asked, keeping the sword between him and the wolf at all times. “Us? You’re the one who stole the princess.”

  The wolf growled again, his voice even lower. “You took the girl from her home. Little did you know that this child is under my protection!” It took a step toward them, forcing Jack to swing the sword in a large arc, just to remind the creature of the weapon. The wolf still seemed wary of it, though less so than it had been; the monster’s anger was giving it courage.

  That wasn’t good. It looked like they didn’t have long before it attacked, sword or not.

  “You wish to protect her?” Phillip asked. “But how do you know her?”

  “I do not explain myself to such as you,” the wolf snarled. “Do not seek to confuse me. You must know me from my time with the Snow Queen. That should tell you that I mean to protect this girl with my life!”

  Phillip gasped. “So that is who you are!” he said. “The Wolf King!”

  The wolf’s only response was a growl.

  “The Wolf King?” Jack said, looking from Phillip to the wolf and back again. “Are you sure?”

  “How many other intelligent wolves survived the purge?” Phillip said. “It must be him. And the time he served with the Snow Queen … I mean, Snow White …”

  Jack took another quick look in Phillip’s direction. “I don’t hear him confirming it.”

  “The fact that you can hear him at all should confirm it,” Phillip said. “Is the Wolf King not the last of the animals gifted with speech?”

  The wolf growled again, and they quickly turned back to him.

  “We don’t want to hurt you, Mr. Wolf King, sir,” Jack said slowly. “You know, despite the fact you already tried to eat me.”

  “You are foul betrayers!” the wolf roared. “And you were foolish enough to bring the princess here to the Black Forest! No human may depart this place alive, not without my say. The forest will not allow it! Your deaths shall be a lesson to any who dare—”

  “We’re not kidnapping May!” Jack shouted. “We’re trying to unkidnap … rescue her grandmother! You know, the Snow Queen?” Jack waved the sword around to emphasize his point. “May and her grandmother, Snow White? Her grandmother told the princess to come here for help….” Suddenly, everything clicked into place for Jack, and his eyes went wide. “She must have meant for us to find you here! That explains why … forget it. Either way, we need your help! Snow White’s been taken by the Wicked Queen, and we’re rescuing her!”

  Jack noticed Phillip staring at him with a stunned look, and it occurred to Jack that neither he nor May had ever really explained to the prince who May’s grandmother actually was. Still, that could wait. The wolf had stopped growling during Jack’s explanation and was now staring thoughtfully into space.

  “Snow White,” the wolf said slowly, “was taken by the Wicked Queen? And this girl, and her grandmother …” It slowly padded toward them. “The girl’s grandmother was taken?” The wolf eyed Jack closely, as if watching for Jack’s reaction. “If what you say is true,” he growled, “then I can help you. Then I will help you.”

  “First,” Jack said, “we need to know where the princess is.”

  “She is safe,” the wolf responded as he sat back on his haunches, his eyes twinkling. For some reason, when the wolf spoke now, it almost seemed to be smiling, probably due to the curve of its jaw. “You will see her when I’ve become satisfied with the truth of your tale.”

  “And how shall you do that, exactly?” the prince asked, shaking off his shock over the revelation about May’s grandmother.

  The wolf licked his lips. “Blood never lies,” he growled.

  Jack wanted to laugh at the sheer insanity of what the wolf was suggesting. Unfortunately, the animal looked completely serious. “You want to bite us?” Jack asked incredulously. “Are you kidding?!”

  “A bite isn’t necessary,” the wolf said. “I only need to taste your blood. Cut yourself, if you prefer. Or I will do it. I care not.”

  “He is kidding, right?” Jack said to Phillip, looking for a voice of sanity.

  Unfortunately, the prince let him down yet again. “Shall we use your sword, then?” Phillip asked calmly.

  Jack sighed. “Really, Phillip? This sounds like a good idea to you?”

  “If that’s th
e only way to gain his trust,” Phillip said, “then I shall do it. The princess”—he paused, then swallowed—“and her grandmother, Snow White, require our help. For them, I would gladly give my life.”

  Jack rolled his eyes. “You know, May’s not here. You can tone down the whole noble prince thing. Besides, you’re probably a bit more useful to them alive than dead.”

  The prince smiled. “I didn’t realize you considered me to be of help.”

  Jack grimaced. “Don’t let it go to your head. Either way, we don’t have to use my sword. Hold on.” He reached into his grandfather’s bag and produced the knife he and May had discovered back at the witch’s cottage, then handed it to Phillip. “You first.”

  “Ready, wolf?” Phillip said, grasping the knife in his palm.

  The Wolf King licked his lips and nodded.

  The prince closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then yanked the knife through his hand. He let out the breath explosively, then opened his hand.

  There wasn’t a scratch on it.

  Chapter 21

  The prince blinked at his uncut hand. “How curious!” he said.

  “You must have done it wrong,” Jack said. “Gimme your hand. I’ll do it.”

  “Oh, no,” the prince said, backing away. “The last thing I will do is give you a knife along with permission to cut me.”

  Jack grinned. “You seem to forget I’ve been carrying around a sword since I met you,” he said.

  “Yes, but you have not been trying to draw my blood with it,” Phillip said, then paused. “At least not that I know of.”

  Jack sighed. “Just give me the knife back; I’ll do my hand first.” The prince handed over the knife, and Jack held it steady in his right hand while grasping the blade with his left. He jerked his left hand over the blade with a grunt, then opened his palm.

  No blood.

  “What’s wrong with this thing?” Jack said, shaking the knife.

  “Let me have it again,” Phillip said, and ran it along his inner arm. Again, nothing happened. “I believe it is defective,” he said, then thrust it at a nearby tree.

  The blade sank into the dead tree up to the hilt.

  Jack and Phillip both swallowed hard, while the wolf smiled slightly, saying nothing, watching everything. “Looks like it works,” Jack said, his voice wavering just a bit. They’d been so quick to cut themselves with it … he was suddenly very glad they stopped experimenting when they had.

  “It must be magical,” the prince replied, his voice a tad shaky as well. “Perhaps it is charmed against cutting flesh.”

  Jack stepped over to the tree and pulled the knife out. It slid free with no resistance. Experimenting, he ran the blade along the tree, and sure enough, the barest cut separated the wood like it was slicing bread. He shivered. “I guess I should have known that it’d be charmed,” Jack said. “We did find it in a witch’s cottage.”

  “You what?!” Phillip said.

  Jack grinned at him. “Why do you think I let you go first?”

  The prince narrowed his eyes, but let it drop. “Either way, we still need blood,” he said.

  The two of them looked at each other, then down at the sword Jack had laid on the ground. It wasn’t until just now that Jack realized that the wolf was closer to the sword than they were. Fortunately, the animal didn’t seem to care. “The princess awaits,” the wolf growled, still almost smiling. “Surely you can provide a few drops of blood without my help?”

  That was enough to get them moving. “Right,” Jack said, grabbing the sword from the ground. He held the blade out to the prince. “Ready?”

  Phillip nodded. He repeated the process he’d tried with the knife, and with a quick jerk followed by a flinch, they finally had blood. Jack pushed the sword into the dirt a bit to support it, then cut himself in the same manner as Phillip had.

  “If you please?” the wolf said, padding over. He opened his mouth to release a red tongue about the size of Jack’s hand.

  First Phillip, then Jack, squeezed a drop of blood onto the wolf’s waiting tongue. The animal swallowed both with a smile, then went still for a moment, his eyes half-closing. Finally, he turned back to Jack and Phillip.

  “You speak the truth,” the wolf confirmed. “Therefore, I will take you to the princess.”

  “Thank you,” Phillip said, using Jack’s knife to cut a bit of his cape off to bandage his hand, then did the same for Jack.

  As it turned out, May wasn’t much farther down the trail. When they found her, she was lying on the ground a few feet off the path, her eyes closed. The fairy in her hair was asleep as well, though that wasn’t exactly new.

  As soon as they spotted the princess, Jack and Phillip ran to her, and both gently tried to wake her, but nothing worked. The wolf waited patiently for them to exhaust their efforts, then said, “I placed a simple spell on her. If you allow me a moment, I shall wake her.”

  Jack stared at the Wolf King. “But why?”

  “She did not know me,” he replied, padding over to the sleeping princess but keeping his red eyes locked on Jack. “And she screamed. I could not let her reveal our position to her kidnappers.” The wolf managed to look a bit sheepish, which must have been difficult for him. “I did not yet realize that you were her servants.”

  “Servants?!” Jack repeated indignantly to Phillip, who didn’t look thrilled with the label either.

  The wolf meanwhile moved up alongside May, then stopped and closed his eyes. As Jack watched, the air around the animal seemed to shimmer, wavering in the light of the sword. Beneath the shimmer, something was happening. Something unnatural.

  The wolf’s hind legs stretched out grotesquely while his front legs shortened. His front paws unfolded into hands while his back paws pushed out, narrowing as they went. The wolf’s snout shortened as they watched, shrinking back into his face, while the black fur all over his body receded, disappearing entirely in places. The shimmering abruptly stopped, and where the wolf had stood, now knelt a human.

  A shaken Jack glanced over at Phillip, who just nodded. Apparently the prince wasn’t surprised that the Wolf King could take human form.

  As the wolf—no, man—stood up, the remaining fur on his back fell loose almost to the ground, covering most of the man as a cloak. Underneath the cloak were a black tunic, trousers, and boots—all the same color as the fur had been. The man’s face was covered in hair, from a very shaggy head to a full beard. Though his eyes were sunken into his head, Jack noticed that the man’s pupils were the same fiery red as the wolf’s eyes had been.

  The man knelt at May’s side, then waved his hands over the princess’s face. And just like that, the princess woke up.

  “Help, Phillip!” May screamed as she came to, apparently not realizing that time had passed. As the princess sat up the slumbering fairy tumbled from her hair to the ground, where she woke up as well, only a lot less scared and a lot more irritated.

  The princess started to scream again, then noticed the hairy man kneeling at her side. She stopped abruptly and took a look around, then caught sight of the prince, mostly because Jack had taken a few steps backward.

  “Phillip?” May said, confused. “What happened? The last thing I remember is some gigantic animal attacking me! And who’s this?” she asked, nodding at the large, hairy man at her side. She started to say something else, then saw Jack.

  Instantly, she was on her feet, her mouth open in surprise. She took a step toward Jack, but the wolf’s spell must not have fully worn off, as her legs didn’t support her. She fell forward, but Jack was there, throwing his arms under her shoulders to catch her.

  “Jack!” she whispered, a huge smile on her face. Jack noticed a bit uncomfortably that their faces were just inches from each other.

  “Um, right,” he said, looking down. “I, uh, came back.”

  Instantly, the princess’s eyes iced over. “Um, right,” she mimicked. “You, uh, came back. You came back after abandoning us to go into this frea
king possessed forest alone—” She stopped abruptly and swayed a bit. “Why am I so dizzy?” Jack and Phillip both reached for her, but May made a point of ignoring Jack’s arm to take Phillip’s.

  “Do you remember the Wolf King I mentioned in my story?” Jack asked her, trying to ignore the look she was giving him. He nodded at the huge, hairy man behind her. “This is him.”

  May turned around and looked the man up and down, then turned to Jack. “I don’t know how to break this to you, but I’m pretty sure that being hairy doesn’t make him a wolf.”

  The man bowed low. “I am the King of the Wolves, Princess,” he said with a smile. “I’ve learned a few tricks in my years, turning human being but one of them. It made carrying you quite a bit easier than it might have been.”

  Jack stepped back while Phillip explained what had happened to the confused princess. She took it all remarkably in stride, even going so far as to try to cut herself with the knife. “Huh!” she said when it slid off her palm.

  “I also learned the identity of your grandmother,” Phillip said slowly. “I do not know what to say.”

  May shrugged. “You learn to live with it. Trust me, I have less reason to believe it than you people, but with everything that’s happened, it’s the best explanation we’ve got.”

  The wolf smiled, showing far too many teeth. “I served your grandmother for many years, and she trusts me implicitly. For this reason, she directed you to me. After all this time, she knew I could be trusted with your safety, and with her own. If she is in danger, we must rescue her with all possible haste.”

  “The thing is,” May said, “we don’t exactly know where she is.”

  “That should not be a problem,” the wolf said. “I can track anything once I have its scent, and I know your grandmother’s scent by heart. However, if she were anywhere in these kingdoms, either east or west, I would have sensed it already.”

  “Wait, what?!” May said.

  Jack tended to agree with that sentiment. This was not good news. “Well, where is she, then?” he asked.