by Sky Winters
“There we go,” he said, stepping back to look at her appreciatively.
Alice felt completely humiliated, naked and chained from a wall, awaiting what was about to happen to her. She watched as he began to strip down naked, standing before her with his inadequate erection. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about him doing damage with that thing. She closed her eyes and braced herself. Much to her surprise, she instead heard a loud growl as he shifted back into bear form. Her heart pounded with fear as she opened her eyes and looked at him again.
Chapter Nine
“Where is my son?” the Evil Queen demanded of her guards.
“He has gone to the tower to do your bidding, Your Majesty,” one of the guards replied.
“With wolves at our gates?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the guard replied.
“Stupid boy!” she said angrily, rising from her throne and rushing out haughtily toward the tower where Alice was being kept.
Making her way up the long flight of spiral stairs, she finally arrived at the tower room only to find a horrible sight unfolding. No, this would not do! She took quick action to remedy the situation.
“Stop this instant, on the Queen’s command!” she barked, but her order went unheard. She chastised herself for not having brought her guard with her to intervene, but she had not expected to find anything more than her son awkwardly trying to consummate his match with the blonde bitch.
Alice shrank closely to the wall, still chained and naked. In front of her, The Bear Prince was tangled in a brutal fight with The Wolf Huntsman. They tore viciously at one another’s fur as they tangled in the small space of the round room. Both Alice and the Queen looked on in horror for a moment, but then she saw the Queen’s shape begin to change. She was shifting into a small animal, creeping in through the bars and across the floor around the edge of the wall. Alice watched as the ferret-like creature she had become scaled up the wall and chewed at the restraints, freeing her.
Seeing her chance, Alice attempted to run, but the Queen quickly shifted again into a large armored knight, dragging her out of the room and toward the stairs. Alice struggled against her, but found she was no match for the strength of whatever creature had shifted into the armored thing that held her.
“Alice, left!” The Huntsman yelled and Alice instinctively twisted to the left and flattened herself against the wall.
She watched as he shifted back into a white wolf mid-air, coming down on top of the metal creature that had held her. They went rolling down the stairwell, metal crashing and clanging against the steps as it fell away to reveal what Alice could only describe as a clone of an old late night television personality known as the Crypt Keeper. It was quite possibly death itself and the thought of that horrified her.
Her attention was redirected for a moment as the sound of Prince Oswald groaning came from the small room in which he had been left. She watched as he came stumbling toward her, no longer in bear form, but very obviously wounded.
“You bitch!” he spat at her, lumbered toward her despite his injuries.
Alice waited until he was close enough and took advantage of his wounded state by jumping back up to the top of the stairs, shoving him down them with all her might. He fell head over feet downward, landing on the next landing down, not far from where the Queen and The Huntsman were still fighting. His upper torso stuck out at a very odd angle to his legs and his eyes were open, unfocused. He was definitely dead.
Oswald wasn’t moving and it didn’t take long for that to distract the Queen from her own fight. In the mere seconds it took her to observe his condition, The Huntsman sank his teeth into her bony neck. A loud cracking noise resounded up the steps as her horrible face went slack and she dropped down atop her son. The Huntsman shifted back to human form and made his way up the steps to meet Alice, helping her down and past the bodies that lay there. He yanked down a nearby drape to cover her naked body with as they made their way out of the castle.
“Attention, everyone,” he said loudly as they stepped out the large front doors and amid the crowds that had gathered. “The Queen and Prince are dead. They are no longer in control of this castle. You have a choice. You can leave this place immediately, you can pledge allegiance to the new regime or you can die here today.”
One by one, the fights began to cease. Dozens of men fled through the outer gates, along with some of the women. Even some of the Queen’s knights ran out in full armor. Fights continued here and there until those that had been abandoned mid-tryst joined in to help their comrades, finishing them off. Those who remained and chose not to fight took to their knees as a sign of resignation, tossing their weapons in a large heap not far in front of where they gathered. Once things finished dying out, The Huntsman stepped forth and addressed those who remained.
“I am Bolstoy Leviton. As the conqueror of this kingdom, I hereby appoint myself as the rightful king of my people and anyone who chooses to live among us peacefully. As many of you may know, my people and I are wolf shifters. Some of you are bear shifters and some of you may be something else. All are welcome here as long as they do their part to support themselves and the masses that dwell within these walls. A new day is about to dawn and you all will be a part of it.”
“What new day is that?” one of the former Queen’s guards shouted.
“You will all know soon enough. For now, I need everyone to report to the throne one by one to pledge loyalty and receive their assigned place in the kingdom. Tomorrow, we will have a great celebration and begin to build our new kingdom together.”
The Huntsman nodded toward some of his kinsmen and they began leading those who had elected to stay into the great hall where the throne sat, instructing one of the female members of his clan to find Alice a place to get cleaned up and something to wear while he tended to the masses. Alice looked at him uncertainly, but he leaned down and kissed her cheek, assuring her that it would be fine.
While Alice got a bath and put on a dress given to her by one of the young maidens who had resided in the castle, The Huntsman met various members of the kingdom and staff, asking each what position they currently held in the kingdom and assigning them appropriate posts based on skill and desire. Content people were loyal people and he wanted everyone to be happy with the place they were given within the realm.
Afterwards, he called for Alice, sending everyone else away while he talked with her. She could see that he was exhausted from the events of the day and longed to just hold him and kiss him, but didn’t dare as he was now a king and she was merely a visitor from a foreign land. She was grateful when he dismissed all protocol and kissed her feverishly.
“I was so worried when I found you gone, Alice. How did he get to you?”
“He didn’t. The Queen took me. I thought she was you. She looked and sounded like you, but acted a bit odd. By the time I realized it, she had me outside the village and shackled up in a carriage on my way to here. She intended to mate me with Prince Oswald so that the new shifter leader would possess their bloodline.”
“I have heard stories of her shifting abilities, that she could shift into almost anything. Unusual to find a female shifter here, but there are a few. I understand that it is how she took power in the first place. The King was the first great shifter leader. He would have been your ancestor, a grandfather many generations back in your lineage. She tricked him into believing she was someone he desired, someone she had sent away. She lived in that form for years until he died. Many speculate that his death was not an accident and it wouldn’t surprise me at all.”
“You mean that I was kin to the Queen?”
“No, not at all. The woman who bore your line was the woman who the Queen impersonated. That woman, it is said, was driven far away using some sort of black magic. I expect that is how your ancestors ended up in another land, the one you came from. It is said that she was with child when she left. That would have been the first child to which the compass w
as handed down.”
“How long ago was all this?”
“I can’t say for sure. If the stories are true, hundreds of years.”
“That doesn’t make sense. The Queen couldn’t be hundreds of years old!”
“Shifters aren’t like humans. They carry a different gene makeup. It is lost if they do not possess the shifter gene, so your ancestors past the former King would have lived normal lives, but if you bear a son, then that son will live for a very long time to come and rule this kingdom and all the others for centuries to come.”
“You say that as if I anticipate having a son or any child, for that matter,” Alice laughed nervously.
“I don’t think you have much of a choice now, Alice,” he replied.
“Of course I have a choice. I plan to leave this crazy place as soon as I can find a way back home. I found out that my grandmother was here. She knew this place existed and never told me.”
“Would you have believed her if she had?”
“Probably not. I don’t know. I can’t imagine that anyone will believe me if I try to tell them what I have seen here once I’ve gone home. They will all think I’ve gone off my rocker and need to be committed. I just can’t see how anyone who hasn’t seen it firsthand could possibly imagine its existence.”
“And me? You would leave me, Alice?”
Alice felt incredibly sad for a moment, but what choice did she have? This was not her home, and she didn’t belong here. People at home would be looking for her. Well, Margaret would. She realized that, other than her, there was really no one left in her world to which she truly mattered.
“I have to go home. There are those who expect me to be there,” she said, despite the fact that she knew it was limited as to who would miss her at this point.
“Alice, sit down. Sit down and listen to me.”
Alice took a seat on the steps that led up to the throne from which he had risen to greet her when she had arrived in the room. He sat down beside her and took her hands in his, looking her in the eyes. Her heart raced with excitement and ached with melancholy, all at the same time.
“When your grandmother gave you the compass, what did she tell you?”
“She told me that it would help me find my way to love.”
“And what were you doing when you fell down the hole that brought you here?”
“I was following the way the compass pointed.”
“When you got here, where has the compass always pointed you?”
“It pointed me to different places. It even landed me in the forest where that filthy prince attacked me.”
“Yes, but what did you find there in the end?”
“I don’t follow.”
“Who was there to save you from him? Where did the compass actually take you? Was it to him or was it to the place where it knew you would find love?”
Alice’s eyes widened as the events of the past days suddenly became clear. Every time the compass had pointed her somewhere, it had always led her to him in one way or another. It had been leading her to love the entire time without her even realizing what was happening. Was it really possible that she had come to love him in such a short period of time? Maybe so. It was hard to say. She was very drawn to him and the idea of leaving him behind tugged at her heart in places that hurt, but love? How could she be sure?
“I have loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you, Alice. I knew that you were meant for me, that you somehow had been sent here for me. I didn’t expect everything that has happened, but I can’t say that I am not damned happy that you are still here with me. I want to marry you.”
“Marry me? I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes, you ninny!” a tiny voice squeaked from her shoulder. Alice looked down to see the ladybug perched there, her oversized smile covering most of her face.
“You would be a queen . . . my queen. Can you be a queen in your world?”
“No, but I can’t say that being queen is something I’ve ever aspired to be.”
“Perhaps not, but surely you could be happy with a man who loves you beyond what you ever thought someone capable of? I promise you that I would love you and only you until the end of my days.”
Alice felt like she was melting. She wanted him more than anything, but was it enough to give up her life in her own world? Could she just disappear and become a part of this extraordinarily odd place in which she had fallen? It was a lot to ask. Then again, wasn’t this the sort of love she had always envied in other people? Hadn’t she always wanted to love someone so much that she was willing to give up everything for them and know that they would do the same for her? He had already proven his willingness to die for her if need be in only a matter of days.
“I wish I was big enough to slap some sense into you. Stop pussy footing around and answer the man!” the ladybug urged. Alice laughed and shooed her away from her shoulder, watching as she flew off in a huff.
“I think you will find that the ladybugs here are very intelligent and intuitive creatures,” The Huntsman said, having overheard the conversation.
Alice smiled at him and leaned forward, kissing him softly on the lips. She started to pull away, but he pulled her in again, kissing her in that way that always made her ache all the way down to her toes. She was completely breathless as she pulled away and tried to compose herself.
“I, um, wow. I just . . . my god. I love you, too. Yes, I will stay here with you. I will marry you.”
Somewhere nearby she heard the tiniest shriek of excitement from wherever the ladybug had flown off to lurk. Both she and The Huntsman laughed as they resumed their kiss. They were so involved with one another that they were completely oblivious to the approach of one of the other wolf shifters.
“Excuse me, Your Highness, but I need to know what you want me to do with the men tonight.”
“Everyone will stay in the castle tonight. Find the kitchen staff that have not abandoned ship and have them prepare a grand feast. We will celebrate tonight, and tomorrow we will bring all of those who wish to relocate from our village to the kingdom and find them a place.”
“Very good,” the man said, hurrying back out to take care of things for his king.
“I’ve not been to a party in ages. I will enjoy kicking back with a few glasses of wine and some decadent snacks.”
“Oh, Alice, there is one more thing I need to talk to you about. I wasn’t sure how to tell you this without upsetting you. I was hoping to know how you truly felt about me before I broke the news to you. You won’t be able to drink any alcohol at the party,” The Huntsman said.
“What? Is that some sort of protocol for a future queen? We aren’t allowed to drink because it is deemed improper or some such nonsense?”
“No, my love. That isn’t it at all. I would never be so presumptuous as to attempt to dictate to you as if you are one of my subjects. There is another problem.”
“And what might that be?”
“I’m afraid that you are carrying our child.”
“What? That’s impossible. I’m on protection and even if I wasn’t, there is no way you could tell that so soon.”
“Your protection is of no use against the seed of a shifter and I do know. In fact, I suspect that you do, as well.”
Alice thought for a moment. She did know. All of the symptoms had added up and it had been the reason for her calm in the face of Prince Oswald’s assault. Even if he had been successful in forcing himself upon her, she had known there was no way he could have impregnated her as she could already feel a child growing inside of her. There was only one man who could have put it there. In the aftermath of all that had happened, she had tried to convince herself it was just her imagination, but now, she knew it was not.
“Yes, I do know.”
“Then you should also be prepared to give birth in only a few weeks. This baby will grow incredibly strong, very fast if it is a boy. If it is a girl, we will know very soon by the slowed rate of your pregna
ncy to the normal nine months.”
“I believe you will find that it is a boy,” she replied, reaching for the buttons on her dress and pulling it open at her swollen belly. Already, she was beginning to show just a bit. No way was this a normal gestation.
The Huntsman smiled broadly, putting his hand on her abdomen and cupping it in his large hands. He suddenly dropped to his knees and kissed her growing womb, whispering quietly to their unborn child.
“My son. I am looking so forward to meeting you and teaching you so much. I know that you will be an amazing man and a wonderful leader, the ultimate king of the realm. You are our gift to this world. A gift made of love between me and your incredible mother. We are going to fill you with love and let you spread it to every corner of the land.”
Chapter Nine
That night, the entire kingdom came out in celebration of their new king, but they received much more exciting news than they had bargained for as King Leviton delivered the exciting news of his pending marriage to his future queen and mother of the new leader of the shifters. There was great joy throughout the kingdom as word spread far and wide. People continued to celebrate in the streets even as the new royal couple took up residence in their chambers at the end of a very long day.
“I don’t understand why they are all so excited about a child that is not their own,” Alice confessed as they undressed for bed.
“This world is very different than yours, Alice. The various shifters have been at war with one another for a very long time. My taking over the kingdom from the Evil Queen is only a small step in bringing the people together. Our son will possess powers and diplomacy that will end the wars and allow the lands to finally exist in peace. Not only will he command the shifters, but he will also put an end to the violence perpetrated by awful things like the Queen’s bioengineered mosquitoes and giant flowers. He will stop the deeds of the Dust Trolls.”
“How? I don’t see how that is possible for only one man.”
“You will see. You and I will be here to witness it all. It will be the most beautiful place again, like it once was when both of our ancestors lived here, in the days before the Evil Queen.”