Divided

“This is not fitting for a dinner at the palace,” Catherine said, stopping me before I could leave.

I looked down. I was in the same clothes I was wearing earlier.

“What’s wrong with it?” I asked defensively.

“You should wear a gown,” she said. “Not trousers.”

I shrugged. “My last one got torn thanks to Josiah and his gang.”

Catherine sighed. “Speaking of which, I’ll wait for you at the border. I don’t want you walking back on your own at night.”

I sighed. “All right,” I grumbled. I waved. “I’ll see you later.”

“Have fun! Make sure you have lots of saliva prepared!”

I groaned and hid my face in my hands as I walked. Leave it to Catherine to embarrass me just as I was about to have dinner with the prince and his family. I pulled on my white cotton shirt. I was incredibly nervous. Sure I was going to talk about dragons and gods, but the look on his face and his demeanor told me he was interested in me. At least, that’s how it is for humans. How did elves and vampires show affection?

Guards stopped me before I walked in.

“Name?” one demanded.

“Tetra,” I answered.

“Reason for coming?” the other asked and I frowned.

“We’ve never had to have a reason before,” I said.

“You’re a wolf,” the first one said and I blanched.

“Excuse me,” I began but a man came up behind the two guards and grabbed one’s head and knocked it with the other.

The two crumpled to the ground, rubbing their heads and groaning. The man that helped me looked at them, shaking his head.

“I have tried to rid these two of their prejudice,” he said. “Please don’t let their behavior affect your view on our race.”

“Uh… it’s okay?” I asked. “Thanks for helping me.”

He nodded and held out his left hand. I blinked and shook it.

“I am Elder Donne,” he said.

“Oh,” I said with a gasp. “You’re the one who-”

I clamped my mouth shut but he smiled kindly, leading me into the palace. I had heard about what happened to the vampire elder. I never met him and it was interesting to see him up close. He seemed like a kind vampire, all things considered.

“We are most excited you have come,” he said as we entered the palace. “It’s been a while since our prince has shown interest in befriending someone outside of our staff.”

I didn’t know what to say so I remained silent. When I entered the dining room, everyone stood and grinned. I felt uncomfortable, not used to so many people seeing me and being so kind. I was seated across from Prince Jacob who beamed and I returned it shyly.

“I see Icefire still insists on sitting on your head,” I said once the silence killed me.

He looked up and rolled his eyes. “Yes, she has been there all day.” He cleared his throat. “So, this is my father, King Roan, and my mother, Queen Lillian Greentree.”

I smiled, rubbing my right eyebrow. “Er… is that what they do with the elves? Keep their last names and announce themselves like that?”

“No,” she said and glanced at her husband. “Roan has been… adamant about me being introduced that way. Please just call me Lillian.”

“Okay,” I said.

“And these are my grandparents: Roland and Faith.”

“We are both very excited to meet you,” Roland beamed. Faith made a strange gesture with her hands. “Faith says she likes your clothing. It reminds her of her home.”

I blinked. “She cannot speak?”

“No,” he said simply as plates were put in front of me.

I took the hint and bowed my head, praying. When I looked up, they were all staring at me. Faith was grinning. She made a motion to Roland.

“She asks if you were a human before you became a werewolf.”

I stared for a few seconds before I recovered. “Yes. How did you know?”

“She worships God as well,” he answered. “She was a human before she received the bite.”

“Forgive me, but why did you take the bite?”

“We are the result of the union between the vampires and humans,” he explained. “When she fell in love with me, she requested I turn her.”

I grinned. “That’s so romantic!”

“What about you?” King Roan asked. “Why did you agree to be a werewolf?”

“Er… perhaps we should-” Prince Jacob said but I answered anyway.

“I didn’t,” I said and they all stared. “I was attacked by a werewolf.”

King Roan groaned. “That explains so much,” he said and I blushed.

“What do you mean?”

“We have not heard of a clan with your physical attributes,” Queen Lillian said.

I cleared my throat. “Yes well…. I guess you could say I am my own clan….”

“Why do you not live with the humans still?”

I sighed. “My parents forced me out of the house and no one in my village would take me in.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw Faith’s hands shoot to her mouth. “So, I went to live with the wolves. By the laws, I cannot join a clan but I have some friends who help me out now and then.”

Faith started to cry and hid her face in her hands.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, dropping my fork. “I didn’t mean to upset her.”

“It wasn’t you,” Roland said quickly. “Faith was shunned as well for being a mute. She is sympathizing with you.”

I finished my meal in silence and rubbed my eyebrow. This wasn’t exactly how I imagined my time with the vampires to go. Finally, Prince Jacob cleared his throat.

“We’re going to the library,” he said and I jumped to my feet.

“Have a good time,” Queen Lillian said.

I followed him out and he sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I tried to explain it before you came. They didn’t expect it to be as….”

“Depressing?” I said when he trailed off. He smiled apologetically. “It’s okay. I had a hunch they were going to ask but sometimes it’s just difficult to talk about.”

“Your parents are very understanding,” I said as he led me up the stairs.

“Yes. They went through a lot when their marriage was arranged. I don’t know all of the details but it cost Elder Donne his right arm and my mother’s first child.”

“That’s awful,” I whispered. “How did she lose it?”

“I don’t know,” he shook his head, opening a door. “They won’t tell me.”

I nodded thoughtfully and we sat down at a desk where he already had some books laid out. He passed me one that said Gods of Our Times.

“That has all the different gods that we’ve had since the creation of our world,” he explained. “Some worshipped other ones but they never made direct contact.” He tilted his head. “Have you seen God?”

“Not directly,” I said, flipping through the book. “When we worship God, it’s based more on faith than physical representations.”

“Really?” he asked, sounding surprised and I nodded.

“Who are your gods?”

“For the vampires, Caricus,” he said and flipped the pages, pointing at a picture of a black and blue void. “The only physical representation here is a black candle.” He flipped the pages some more. “This is Adelpha. She is the goddess for the elves. She sounds a lot like your God.”

I looked at her. She was pretty. She had long hair with the tips of her ears poking out. Her robe went all the way down and her arms were open as if she were ready to embrace someone.

I bit my lip and flipped through until I found Bardawulf.

“Oh my,” I breathed.

When I thought of the werewolf god, I imagined an ugly, snarling beast. What I saw definitely was not that. There were two depictions: the first of a massive black wolf. The wolf inside me made a strange stir and I closed my eyes tightly.

“Tetra?” Prince Jacob asked. “Tetra, are you all right?” He took the book from me and swore. “No. Don’t look at this.”

“I feel strange,” I mumbled and stood to my feet.

Before I got far, I fainted.