Aurora

Night had fallen over the hushed forest as Adrian and I lay on a pile of furs settled right in front of a warm fire. We'd taken the opportunity to stay the night with Charon. He'd been adamant that we stay in his bed and he sleep on the furs in front of the fire in his meager living area, however, Adrian told him with a fierce eye that Charon had done quite enough for us already and we would be happy to sleep on the floor. So there we were, Adrian laying on his back, face turned towards the fire and myself, on the other end of him, propped up on my elbow. We didn't speak much, but I kept catching a glimpse of the golden tattoo on his wrist. Every time I did I would look down at my own with barely concealed wonder.

"Why did you think the wolves were in league with the Liche Queen?" came Adrian's voice quite suddenly. He lifted his head to meet mine and I saw the fire dancing in his eyes. My breath caught for a moment before I turned to gaze at the merry flames. Closing my eyes, I could recall, with perfect clarity, Delphine sitting us down in one of the cozy common rooms and telling us the story of the Moon Queen and why our purpose was to hunt the wolves. When she told the story her face was full of life, as if telling us what we were meant to do was the one thing that gave her joy in her life. It made me proud to have her as a mother; proud and very, very sad. She'd never cared about me the way she did about saving the Moon Queen.

"Shall I tell you the story?" Adrian nodded once. I smiled with nostalgia and recalled the very words she'd told me, many years ago. My face turned towards the fire and as soon as I spoke, my words became something not from my chest, but from Delphine's."When the world was new, much of the Earth was covered by a dense forest filled with ancient evergreens that had been tall as long and old since the very beginning. The woods were filled with creatures - some mortal, some not - that danced and played and celebrated. They were strange and magnificent creatures; spirits and gods of the tiniest creek or the loveliest meadow or the smoothest stone on the beach. The most beautiful of these creatures was the Queen of the Moon, for her body was here on earth but her soul floated high above the sky, giving light through the cold winter darkness. Her body was small and lithe, her skin was as pale as winter's cream and her long hair was as silver as the light her soul gave off, her eyes were the deepest blue of all the oceans and seas, and when she spoke, all stopped to listen.

"As time passed and humans came into existence, many of the wood left to be with their souls for they knew not what humans might do to them if they were left unattended. Still the creatures in the wood danced and played and were ruled by the King of the Land, a fearsome and mighty man with dark, guarded eyes. The Lords and Ladies of the wood laughed behind masks still and reveled with spice-scented smoke that filled the night sky where a spilling of stars fell into an empty eternal forever. The soul of the Moon Queen watched over them all, shining to remind them of the beauty of Earth.

"But deep within the caverns across the wood, a tall skeleton of a woman stood with her silver bowl, the bowl that held the tears of the world. She was called the Liche Queen, the Queen of the Dead and death walked with her at her blackened heels. She watched in the cold fog while the rest of the creatures danced in firelight and with her filmy eyes she saw the beauty of the Moon Queen. So jealous was she that she snatched the Moon Queen from where she slept and trapped her high above in a tower that watched the world. The creatures of the wood mourned and let their tears fall into the grass and dirt, let their sorrows flood into the Earth's fingers. The moon itself, hanging on a clear wire in the black blanket of night, disappeared. The soul of the Queen of the Moon was trapped just as she was.

"The Liche Queen called upon her army, her army of wolves, to protect her from anyone who might try to free the Queen of the Moon and let her soul free into the sky. For years, no one dared to go against the wolves for they were mighty and ferocious spirits who ate anyone who crossed them - they were wolves who could become feral human warriors, they had the strength of twenty men and the hearts of a mighty beast. The wolves killed anyone who dared to save the Queen of the Moon in her ivory tower where tendrils of ivy grew and ensnared.

"And there she sits, her eyes skyward, waiting for the one who will kill the wolves and set her free. There she sits, dreaming of the creatures who dance and sing and whisper in front of orange-red bonfires deep in a cold, frozen forest. There she stays, waiting for the huntresses who will kill the wolves, defeat the Liche Queen and save her. There she is, waiting for the huntresses who will save her from snarling jaws with a sailing, silver arrow."

When I looked back at him, Adrian's face had turned to stone. "The strength of twenty men and the hearts of a mighty beast?" His words were soft in tone but hard in their tenor. "Is that what you think of us? That we are beasts? That we are...what did you call us? Feral humans?" He stared at me for some time, and I dared not to break his gaze. I closed my face against his and refused him to frighten and hurt me. Refused to let him see that my hands were trembling. I wished to cry out and tell him No, no, that hadn't been what she meant, no! I didn't. After some time, a soft laugh escaped Adrian. "You are right. That is what we are. Feral. We do not walk in the world of the humans and yet we do not walk in the world of the creatures. We alone stand between. We are not like them and we are not like you. We cannot be innocent and wise like those of the forest and yet we cannot share the depth of human emotion. We do not cry as you do, we do not laugh as you do." He looked at me, a terrified expression on his face. "We cannot even love as you do."

"How can you be so sure?" The emotion in my voice surprised us both.

Adrian turned his eyes away from me, as if he were embarrassed. "Because what the Keeper said about me was true. I am a coward and I am a liar and I should not have agreed to come with you because..." he sighed and ran his hand through his long, dark hair. "Because...oh, this is idiocy."

I would not let him close himself against me so easily. I lifted my chin. "What is?" I questioned. "I can be trusted, Adrian."

"I know. It's me who cannot be trusted." We were quiet for a long time after that. He laughed again. "I don't wish to be like this. So...awful to you. It's not fair to you. Please, let us forget we ever had this discussion. It's stupid." His body was tense and his eyes were hard, still, I could tell that he truly did not wish to quarrel any longer.

Pulling my legs up to my body, I set my chin atop my knees. "I never thought the wolves were feral humans, I never thought they were beasts. I never thought you were a beast. It was just the story my mother used to tell us. I don't know why she thought the wolves were allianced with the Liche Queen. Delphine is strangely mundane. She must have heard of the story of the Moon Queen, saw the wolves who changed to men and insantly believed all the old legends about men who changed into hideous beasts and killed innocent people. It was an honest mistake that killed too many wolves and one of our own. And yet you never fought back, not really." Adrian sat up and pulled one knee up to his own chest. "I remember the first time I went out into the woods and saw the wolves. I thought they were the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. I..." I swallowed and licked my lips. "I wanted to be one." Now Adrian's full attention was on me. "I don't know why. I just remember standing at the edge of the forest, closing my eyes and pretending I could change into a wolf. I would pretend I could run after you and be a part of your family. You looked after one another. You stood up for one another." I stared at him. "If that was not love, then I do not know what is. It was more love than my own mother ever showed me."

A flush came to Adrian's face and I wasn't sure if it was because of what I'd said or if it was due to the warmth of the fire. He did not respond to my comment; I didn't expect him to. "Do you recall that morning when we met in the forest?" His voice was abrupt. I nodded without words. I did remember that day. I could not forget it. The day I'd met a wolf and had chosen not to kill it. The day I realized I never would kill a wolf. It seemed too much like killing my own family. "When I saw you I was afraid for a moment. And then I looked at your eyes and realized you would not hurt me."

My mouth turned up at the corners and leaned over my knees. "I couldn't." The Prince of Wolves leaned over his knees too and I realized then just how close we were. I dropped my eyes, feeling my body grow warm. I felt something brush my fingers - his hand. I lifted my head and the way he looked at me made me almost wanted to laugh - he looked confused, as if something simply didn't make sense. Like someone had asked him a question he didn't know the answer to. I would have probably laughed if I had been able to breathe. I could feel my heart pound in my ears and I wondered if he could hear it too. I didn't know what it was about him that made my heart beat so quickly, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I felt almost sick with nerves - what was this alien feeling? What were these aching pains at the pit of my stomach? What was this pulsing heat radiating in waves off of me? I didn't know who moved next, maybe it was him, but I thought it was me. My chin turned just a little towards him, daring him to come closer, daring him to kiss me.

And then, as soft as a breeze, it was gone. "We should sleep. We have long days ahead of us." Adrian's voice was so quiet I wasn't sure I'd heard him. Except then he laid back and turned over onto his side so I could not see his face. I sat, still as stone, for a moment, trying to catch my breath; it felt too shallow in my chest, it felt like something was crushing me, like I would never make it past this alive. But then I inhaled deep into my lungs and pushed it out as a shudder. Then I laid back, closed my eyes and willed sleep to consume me, willed myself into a shadow land.

I dreamed of a crushing darkness and I dreamed of drowning. All around me were the strange shadow creatures from the lake, their webbed hands coming to me, clawing at me, trying to take my skin from my body. They sang in my ears, calling for me to close my eyes, calling for me to let go. And even in the water the Liche Queen visited me, as I blinked I saw her cataract-covered eyes blinking and smiling at me as if she knew my time was coming. And each time I opened my eyes there were more creatures around me, their voices louder and louder. And then, I blinked once more and they were gone. Adrian floated before me. I swam to him, my head dizzy. He came to me and our lips met with such ferocity that it killed something inside me stone dead. I couldn't breathe or live or move but it mattered not at all because his mouth was against my own and his hands were clutching at my body and I felt alive although I was half dead. Then the singing started again and the claws came back and they pulled me away from Adrian and they pulled Adrian away from me - except now he wasn't Adrian, he was someone different, someone shining with shorter black hair and pale skin, someone I knew but could not place - and I opened my mouth and screamed for his name but nothing came out.

When I awoke, a horrible fear pressed down on me but I could remember nothing of what I'd dreamed. When I blinked, I saw Lourdes of the Wolves behind my eyelids for some reason, a vision that sent a jolt of surprise down my back. I closed my eyes for a few moments more and then opened them. Sunlight was filtering in through Charon's dirty windows. The fire was only a pile of embers. Adrian was nowhere to be seen.

Jerking myself up, I smoothed down my clothes, strapped my bow and quivers to my back and pulled my hair up into a ponytail at the nape of my neck.

"Good morning," I heard from behind me. When I turned, I saw Adrian standing in the doorway, a few logs of wood in his arms. I nodded in response, nervousness spreading through my body for some reason. Adrian scooted around me and went to the hearth to build up the fire. "Charon still sleeps and I don't wish to disturb him. I hope building up his fire will suffice in a thank you, for I have nothing to give to him."

I sat at a small desk shoved into the corner of his second home. On the table lay scraps of parchment, a tiny bottle of ink and three quills - two of which were broken. Still, I managed to write a brief thank you, thanking him for his guidance, his shelter and his food. I apologized for not having anything to give him in return and told him that I would pay him a visit as soon as I could. Then, I left the scrap of parchment on his kitchen table, took a hunk of bread that Adrian passed me. We left his home quietly and the small teeth of guilt gnawed at my stomach. Still, I knew we could not tarry too long at one place. We must continue forward, who knew what would happen if we took too long.

And that was the way it was for days. Adrian and I stayed mostly quiet, talking only when necessary. The snow and harsh chill of the forest made talking uncomfortable anyway - mostly we bundled up and walked fast to keep warm. We traversed the forest by day, checking the map to make sure we stayed on track and did not wander. At night we would go around knocking on trees to see which ones would open and which ones would not. Many times, Adrian explained, a creature might live beneath a tree and not grant us entrance. Many times, however, they did. And many times we would find an empty space beneath a tree that held no one, or maybe the remnants of something that had lived there long ago. The days begin to blur by, and it might have been a week or even two or three before we saw something that gave us cause to pause.

Sitting in the woods was the smallest castle I'd ever seen. It's turrets didn't even graze the tops of the trees, the flags atop the turrets were torn and faded with time. The castle itself was made with the same grey brick of Adrian's palace and listed to one side; in a way that made it seem like it might fall over if one was not careful. I turned an eye on my companion. "Much of the castle itself is probably underground. That is the way of many forest creatures." A side of his mouth twitched up in a grin. "I haven't seen anything quite like this before," he added and I nodded, realizing this was the most he'd said to me in days, if not weeks.

"Should we stop and see if anyone inhabits it or should we move on?" I questioned. Adrian looked up at the sky and I turned my gaze upward. Today was clear and cloudless - my least favorite weather. The sky was always bright and yet the sun was never warm. Then Adrian's face turned to the ground and once again my eyes trailed after his. He gazed at our shadows, thinking.

"Our shadows are long and the sun is sinking quickly. If there is someone living in this castle, they are sure to be an important spirit or god. I am sure they will not be too upset to see me. Many of the Noble Spirits are not, for the wolves generally sympathize with them. It is the lesser spirits who feel that we are not capable to run the wood and all the land." His words made sense to me. "We should go and see who lives here. Maybe it is no one and we will be able to sleep in real beds tonight."

"Do not get your hopes up, prince," I grinned to him. He shook his head at me in faux annoyance but could not hide his smile. Glad to have things relatively normal once again between us, I trudged after my loyal wolf. The wood on the door was peeling and the brass door knockers were tarnished, their cherubian faces twisted in green malice. Adrian grabbed one and slammed it against the door, shaking the door and - to my utter amazement - the entire castle. We waited for some time before Adrian tried again. "If no one answers, we should look for a way in. Maybe there is an old window that can be broken or another door that is not locked properly. I'd like to stay somewhere tonight where I can light a fire and not worry about tending it all night." Building a fire in the small spaces under the trees was always a precarious affair. Sometimes, in the bigger homes, we did not have to worry, but many times the space beneath the tree was small and any rogue flame could send our shelter up in smoke.

As I was about to answer Adrian to agree with him, the door opened and standing in front of me was, perhaps, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen - but not in any of the ways I'd expect. She was not beautiful the way Rosalyn or Magdalena were beautiful - and as I thought about them, a stab of sadness went through me - but instead, she looked as if the sun had been bottled up. Her features were bright, golden and glowing. She was small but the shape of her body hinted at secrets I would never know. Her face shone brilliantly at us. "You must be here for the ball!" Her voice warmed me, as if I'd just stepped into a warm bath. Adrian must have noticed it as well, because he jerked as if he'd caught a chill.

"No, madam," I said, curtsying. "I am Aurora of the Forest and this is my companion, Adrian, Prince of Wolves. We are on a journey to free the Moon Queen from her tower."

The woman did not seem to care who we were. She ushered inside. The inside of the castle seemed cavernous compared to the outside. It was completely gilded and shining with paintings of angels and cherubs and at the very center was a large, detailed painting of a man and a woman...turning my face away, I flushed. Neither Magdalena nor Rosalyn had ever hidden their face from anything like this, but I was embarrassed by it for reasons unknown to me. "Yes and you shall continue your journey tomorrow, but tonight you dance! And you dine!"

"Thank you, that is quite kind," Adrian said. His cheeks too, were bright. He must have noticed the painting. "To whom can we direct our sincere gratitude?"

The woman smiled and curtsied herself. "I am Lady Joy and Happiness. You may simply call me Lady Joy if you'd like. I am honored to be in your presence, Your Highness, of course! Our guests will all be so pleased to here that we have the future King of the Land in our presence." She pulled away from us then. "But your manner of dress, it is so drab! You cannot go to a ball in those clothes. Come, Your Highness, come, Young Miss. We shall get you settled."

I flashed a look to Adrian as we started up a long, curved set of marble stairs. Had the castle even had room for a second floor? This certainly was the most bizzare palace I'd ever seen. "Lady Joy," I started, and the woman turned back to me with her perpetual smile on her face. "It is so kind of you to invite us to your ball, however, I think it's best if we simply go to sleep and leave quietly tomorrow morning. We do not wish to intrude."

"Intrude? Stuff and nonsense! You're not intruding. In fact, I was sure that I sent an invitation to the King. Yes, yes I remember now, he declined because it was too far away and he needed to keep watch on that dreadful human castle, that dowdy Lunarenstein building with all the plain human girls. He mentioned The General of the Army planning some sort of defensive thinga-mah-jig. Who knows! Who cares! It is good that you are come and you shall drink and dance the night away and tomorrow, when you awake, you can be on your way. You cannot say no - surely you have been traveling a long awhile and you are weary. Tonight you will forget your weariness!"

Still, despite Lady Joy's exclamations, I only heard what she said about The General of the Army planning a defensive...defensive what? I turned to Adrian for an explanation, but he had none. In all honesty, he seemed to be avoiding my gaze. Screwing up my mouth, I turned away. He would explain it to me. He could not escape me forever. I didn't even mind that Lady Joy had called Lunarenstein dowdy and all the girls in it plain. All I wanted to know was what the Wolves were planning against my family...no, no, they were not my family any longer. Still, I couldn't just forget about them so easily. At the top of the stairs stood a man with a glowing, brilliant face, much like Lady Joy's. "Ah! Dear, darling wife! You have two more guests for our ball tonight? Good news!" When Lady Joy met her husband at the top of the stairs, they embraced intimately. I flushed once more and turned away, catching Adrian's eye. He seemed just as embarrassed as I. When they were finished, the man turned to us. "I am Lord Affection and Love. You may call me Lord Love. And you...you must be Adrian, Prince of Wolves. Prince of the Forest."

Adrian visibly winced at the title of Prince of the Forest, still, he flashed a meager smile. "Yes, yes that is me. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." With that, Lord Love whisked Adrian away down one hall, muttering something in his ear. I was left at the top of the stairs with Lady Joy. I turned to the shining woman.

"I shall have my attendings bathe you and get you ready for our ball. All of our guests are already gathered in the grand ballroom. They will all be glad to meet you." She tugged me down the other hall. When I turned back, Adrian was nowhere in sight. My stomach shifted. How did I know we were even safe here? Dog had told me that some things in the forest would not hesitate to kill me. What if Lady Joy and Lord Love were one of these things? No, Adrian would have felt it. He would have pulled me away. I had to believe that. "Now, where did you say you were from? Are you a wolf, like Adrian? No...no...you don't smell like a wolf. What are you?"

I was about to say human, but when I opened my mouth to tell her, the words became lodged in my throat. "I...don't know really. My origins are fuzzy. I am of the forest, however. That is all I know."

Lady Joy patted my hand. "You are probably the spirit of a rock or a stream. If the stream dries up, the spirit forgets who they are. Sometimes they wander off, never be seen or heard from again. Sometimes they even die and disappear. You seem to be in good spirits, however. I am glad to see you are all right. What draws you to the Noble Quest?" After a moment, I realized that the Noble Quest meant our journey to save the Moon Queen.

"She does. She called to me. She told me to find her."

"Then maybe you are more significant than you know," Lady Joy concluded. Beyond us, I heard faint laughter and music. When my face turned from Lady Joy, I saw four fresh-faced women in neat gowns. "I must get back to my guests. My attendings will bathe you and dress you in one of our gowns. Then you shall join my husband and your prince in the ballroom with all the other guests." She turned away to leave and then turned back to me, her face puzzled almost. "I am sure of it - I am sure you are not what you think. I saw something just then, as I turned...you glittered like a star. And..." it was then that she noticed the flowers on my head. I touched them to make sure they were all there. They were - perfectly intact as ever. "Aurora, did you say?"

"Yes."

"You are meant for great things, Aurora of the Forest. Great things indeed."