Aurelia lay on the ground with her eyes wide open, trying to process what she had just witnessed. There was a crazy old lady said to live in Bavaria who would often speak of magic deep within the forest. She was rumored to be a witch, but Aurelia believed that she was just lonely and imaginative. The old woman would speak of decent creatures like fairies and cherubs, but she would warn most about the evil, shape shifting creatures. She said these beings were once humans but had been cursed by an evil witch in the mountains to transform at night into ferocious beasts.
It seemed that no one in the kingdom believed her, but Aurelia was always curious to learn more. She tried speaking with the old woman when she was still a child, but her father would say that she was full of nonsense and made Aurelia swear not to seek out any wild tales from her ever again. “Sometimes when you grow old, your mind becomes corrupted so she believes these things that are not true,” he would tell her.
Aurelia would often argue back, “but what about her speak of fairies and their healing powers, and mischievous woodland creatures that play jokes on one another with magic. That sounds fabulous!”
But Lord Dante would remind Aurelia that there were no other accounts verifying any magic within the forest and to keep her head out of the clouds if she wanted to be a great queen one day. “You think anyone will want to marry a crazy princess talking about babies with wings and werewolves?” he would joke with his daughter.
“It sounds like more fun that most of the royals I have met,” she would sass back.
After her father went missing, Aurelia grew more intrigued with the idea that he was safe in the forest somewhere but held hostage under either a spell or a capture. After witnessing that heinous animal, she was certain that the answer to her father’s disappearance was deep within this mountain, and she vowed to not stop searching for him as long as she was still alive (which, for the first time in her life, she feared might not be much longer). Daylight was nearing, and Aurelia had not shut her eyes for hours. She decided that if she was to find her father, she would need all the energy she could get and forced herself to sleep.
Aurelia awoke only a few hours later to the sound of birds and small, four-legged creatures scavenging the remains of man from the night before. She decided she needed to start her day properly with some fresh food and water. She found a perfect tree for climbing and one of the tallest in sight. She made her way to the tree and began climbing up its thin, yet surprisingly sturdy branches one limb at a time. Before she knew it, she was 20 feet in the air and could easily look over most of the forest. She decided to stop briefly and take it all in. Aurelia loved being in the air, though she was quite afraid of heights. She believed it was the fear, the sound and feeling of her heart racing that made her love it so much. The tiny amount of danger laced with adrenaline and thrill. These were the moments she believed made life worth living.
What had worried her most about her potential marriage to Prince Olric was that she would never feel this way again. Everything with him was so safe and secure. She never wanted to be someone who merely existed in life. She wanted adventure, passion, risk, true love and even heartbreak.
As she overlooked the forest from above, she felt very inspired and driven to succeed in her mission. If death were to come from such a venture, she would embrace it willingly, knowing that she was living to her full potential right up until her last breath.
Once a person accepts their eternal fate, something forever changes within that person. Life all of a sudden has more meaning. That person learns to compromise less and seeks happiness and fulfillment at all times. Aurelia did not know this, but in that moment she was preparing to become a very brave and courageous warrior.
Aurelia must have climbed at least 50 feet by now. It was very windy and cold at the top of the tree, but luckily the sky was fairly clear so she could see miles out into the distance in every direction. She noticed a stream just two miles north and began calculating her time frame and route. As she took one last glance out into the distance, something rather peculiar caught her eye. She saw purple smoke coming from a dense patch of woods a ways up the mountain. She figured it might be just regular smoke catching the light of the sun, manipulating her perception; but as she continued to watch the smoke, she noticed that it started changing hues. The purple smoke started turning into a crimson red, then shifting to vermilion orange, and onto different hues of yellow, green and blue until it finally faded to white. She slowly began descending the tree, moving very carefully with lots of attention..She was almost close enough to the forest floor to jump down until she grabbed for a branch without looking and pierced her hand on a sharp, protruding piece of wood. She started bleeding onto the branch, and almost lost her footing due to shock but quickly wrapped her legs around the tree and grabbed for another branch with her free arm to ensure her safety.
A sharp pain went through her right arm, and as she watched more blood drip from her palm onto the branch, she witnessed her blood being absorbed into the tree like water into a sponge. She could see that as the tree took in more blood, the branch became more youthful and strong. The bark grew a bit thicker and a more vibrant color started spreading throughout the branch. She realized that she was feeding this tree. With her free arm, she reached for her handkerchief tucked in her blouse and wrapped it around her palm to cover the wound. She then made her final few climbs down and found herself safely on the ground. She grabbed her bag and started trekking towards the stream.
CHAPTER TWO
As Aurelia passed different plants and wildlife, she wondered what else she could heal with her blood: flowers, animals, other humans? She finally reached the stream, but made sure to observe the scene before approaching the water since she was supposed to be in hiding. Once verified, she began fastening an arrow head she brought with her to a fallen branch and approached a narrow pathway in the water were she could easily trap and spear salmon. One, two and three; she caught a fish at every attempt, and before she knew it was enjoying them over the fire. She devoured the first two, and as she began attacking the third, she heard a voice in the distance.
“Hey! Hey, lady? What are you doing out here? Are you alone?” yelled a pleasant voice. Aurelia jumped back from the fire and grabbed her spear. She looked around but saw no one. “Do you need any help?” the voice yelled again.
Aurelia got to her feet and yelled, “No, I do not need your help, stranger. Where are you? How have you seen me?”
She heard laughter coming from across the stream and the voice yelled back, “Well, the smoke is kind of a dead giveaway, and I don’t normally see others around here, let alone beautiful women.” Aurelia could now make out the figure of a man on the other side of the stream. He was tall and very well built. She could see every muscle indent in his upper body because he was not wearing a shirt.
She was mesmerized for a second and then yelled, “Do not be fooled. I am a very dangerous person and am not afraid to defend myself.” The man laughed even harder as he started crossing the stream. Aurelia pointed the spear in his direction and said, “I am not jesting, stranger. Come any closer and I will end you.” The man, now standing in the middle of the stream, put his hands up, surrendering his control to Aurelia.
After his initial shock, a smile returned to his face as he said, “Wow. I think I’m in love.”
Aurelia fought back, “This is not a joke. What’s your name, stranger?”
With his hands still up, he interlaced his fingers and rested his hands over his head in a playful yet submissive manner and answered, “Afonso, my lady. May I ask what yours is?”
Aurelia pursed her lips and said, “I am not your lady, and no you may not, Afonso. Now I’m going to need you to turn around, walk away, and forget that you saw me here. Do I make myself clear?”
Afonso chimed back with, “Crystal clear, Madame. But I’m going to say one thing before I go. You’re not going to kill me. Not because you can’t. If this is how you handled most encounters, I wouldn’t be
surprised to learn that homicide is some sort of passion of yours. No, you will not kill me because you think I’m cute.”
Aurelia felt sick. “I want to kill you even more for just saying that,” she bit back.
“I also want to say that from the looks of it, you’re running from something or someone within the kingdom; a place I have no association with. So if that makes me a little less harmful in your eyes, I’ll take it,” Afonso said.
Aurelia snapped back with, “That’s two things.”
Afonso continued to make his point, “I’ve never been that great at math. It’s pretty lonely here in the mountains and I think you’ll soon find that extra company is pretty desirable, princess.”
Aurelia approached Afonso with spear held right up to his neck. “Who sent you here? Was it Prince Olric? Who else are you working with?” Aurelia jumped at him.
Afonso’s eyes widened and the smile was instantly gone from his face. “Whoa! I’m not working for anyone. I live here in the mountain. How on earth would I know Prince Olric?”
Aurelia shrugged her shoulders and asked, “How did you know I was a princess?”
Afonso’s eyes widened. “You’re a what? Oh, this has definitely been the greatest day of my life. Unless I’m dreaming, which I’m sure is the case,” he said.
Aurelia slapped him across the face so hard that it echoed throughout the forest.
“Son of an owl’s nest! What was that for?” Afonso shouted.
Aurelia chuckled back, “That’s what you do to someone to prove that they are not sleeping. You slap them. But seriously, how did you know I was a princess?”
Afonso rolled his eyes and returned with, “I didn’t! Calling a girl a princess is something normal people do to joke. No one expects to actually say it to a real princess, in the forest, with a spear. Shit, maybe this is the worst day of my life.”
Aurelia, slowly started lowering the spear. “Oh, sorry. Um, so tell me about yourself, then,” she said.
Within minutes of speaking, Aurelia learned that Afonso lived in the mountains with his brother, Nico. They were born from a secret romance between their father, a servant to the king, and a townswoman. Their birth had to be hidden or they would be forced into slavery like their father was. Due to complications and massive blood loss, Afonso and Nico’s mother tragically died just moments after they were born. Their father was heartbroken, but needed to stay focused and search for someone to take care of the boys. Desperate and with little time, he took the newborns to the old woman who lived at the edge of town. She agreed to take the boys in and raise them as her own as long as their father agreed to some guidelines.
It was very difficult to do, but after realizing that he had no other options, their father signed a blood oath to allow the old woman to raise his sons in secret as long as she could expose them to her enchanted ways in whatever manner she saw fit. The twins were raised like any normal boys until their teens. At this point, the forest was beginning to change. An evil witch had taken over the mountain, slowly manipulating the enchanted creatures within the forest into dark magic. The old woman knew that she would have to utilize the boys to preserve her mountain. Once they turned seventeen, she bestowed a shape-shifting curse on them that would allow them to turn into vicious werebears in the moonlight and rid the mountain of harmful entities. Their transformations differed from folklore werebears who transformed only once a month on the full moon. Instead, the brothers transformed every time the moon cast its light. They also retained their ability to decipher when to attack. Unlike most shape shifters, they had the ability to remember their attacks; and since they transformed so frequently, they began strengthening their perception while in bear form.
Aurelia was shocked! “Wait, was that you that I saw last night?” she asked him.
“Yes. I picked up your scent behind the rocks. That’s how I found you today, too. I was intrigued as to why you were in the forest, alone at night but more importantly, worried for your safety. I wanted to find you in the daylight and propose an offer to protect you,” Afonso said.
Aurelia was speechless. How could that monster that she saw last night be the same man that was standing in front of her now?
Afonso could tell that Aurelia was struggling to find words so he added, “I understand that must have been a terrible sight to witness, but I promise you that my heart is true. You will be safe here with me,” he said.
After a long pause, Aurelia looked at Afonso and said, “I knew there was magic in these forests!”
Afonso laughed and followed with, “Right. You townsfolk didn’t know that. Sorry, it’s been a part of every aspect of my life. I was so concerned about the idea of horrifying you that I did not consider the fact that you may not even believe the words coming out of my mouth. So, yes, magic. It exists. Um, questions?”
With a straight face, Aurelia answered, “who was that man, last night?”
“That was no man,” he said as he turned his back to Aurelia and started pacing to the nearest tree and back. “He was also a shape shifter, but an evil one. He’s a werewolf… was a werewolf.”
Aurelia was very captivated but did not want to show it. “What’s the difference between a werebear and a werewolf, if I may ask?” she posed.
Afonso was still grimacing and without making eye contact he said, “Werewolves are actual monsters. They have no control once transformed. They are used only for hunting. Cold-blooded murderers, they are. They service the dark witch at the top of the mountain. In the same way that we were transformed to protect our land, they are created to destroy it and poison others with their toxic venom. They have power in numbers like a rat colony. We despise them.”
Aurelia could see how upset Afonso was, so she decided to soften her approach. “I’m sorry, Afonso. How did you know that man was a werewolf if he was in human form?”
“He reeked,” Afonso said.
Aurelia laughed, but then stopped immediately when she noticed that Afonso was not humored.
“Sorry,” she said. “Let’s start over. Hi, Afonso! My name is Aurelia and I am a princess who is hiding from my fiancé and searching for my missing father.”
Afonso smiled and responded, “Nice to meet you, Aurelia.”
Afonso led Aurelia to the cabin where he lived with his brother, Nico. It was nestled on the side of the mountain, which served as a defense tactic so that intruders could not easily get access without being seen.
When they arrived, Nico was not home. “He must be out hunting,” Afonso said.
“Hunting!” Aurelia gasped. “So early? It is just past noon! There’s no sign of the moon. How can he transform in the middle of the day?”
Afonso chuckled a little under his breath. “I guess I meant normal hunting: weapons, traps, patience, the whole shebang. We have to eat just like everyone else.”
Aurelia was puzzled. “But don’t you technically eat when you are doing, you know, the other kind of hunting?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, “but that’s just one meal. There are some nights, too, when we do not catch any victims. Oddly enough, we try to eat as little meat as possible to survive.”
Aurelia shot him a look of disbelief. “I’m serious,” he said, “in the summer, we can almost survive entirely on fruits and vegetables. The winters are just too harsh. We have to rely on carnage more than we’d like to.”
“Is that a moral guideline or purely physical preference?” Aurelia asked.
Afonso had left the room briefly to grab some extra layers, and when he returned he now had on a burlap coat.
Aurelia was a little disappointed that he was no longer bare chested, but of course, did not let this show on her face.
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