The night was as dark as black ink; now it was twilight. The lucky few who wake up early as can be are said to be the most fortunate beings on the planet. They can witness a time when the world is beautiful. Namely, the gods of the Forest. Moro, the wolf godess, lifted her majestic head to the purple-blue sky, that sparkled like shimmering water, and almost was able to forgive the humans. After all, that which is eternal and unending is nature—they may have caused great damage to the trees and caused the Forest Spirit to sacrifice himself, but no sort of destruction or hatred can ever rid time—time when the sky reflects all which is good and pure, the kodama, little tree spirits, come out of their solitude to rattle their heads about in joyous celebration.

The wolf stretched and stood up, shaking the slumber out of her majestic white fur. Her keen eyes took in her surroundings automatically, making sure there were no demons nearby, or worse yet, ingrateful, snivelling humans. She left her mossy bed to check up on her cubs, who were sprawled under the clearing of a tree. Her two boy cubs were sleeping soundly; it was her daughter she was worried about. San, the Wolf Princess, was curled up in a ball next to her younger brother. She was covered in human skin, not animal fur, so she was sandwiched between the two wolfs to get maximum warmth. Moro tenderly licked the scratches and cuts on her face she'd gotten from the previous war with the humans. San almost never smiled; her face was usually twisted into a fierce snarl to imitate her mother. But in sleep, the scowl was gone. She seemed like a baby—there was even a soft smile on her lips as she breathed softly in her sleep and snuggled closer to her brothers.

Moro nuzzled her children to wake them—San's dark green eyes shot open immediately and she sat up in a frenzied panic. Her brothers took more time waking up, yawning with their wide jaws and blinking crust from their eyes blearily.

"Be calm, child," Moro purred to her daughter. San immediately slumped against her mother. Her battle reflexes weren't gone yet; she still constantly felt like she was in the midst of war.

"Look, the sun has almost risen. We have slumbered too long. Come, children. We must go to the village."

San jumped to her feet, agile and swift. She pulled down her red mask, bounded on her brother's back and the wolf family sped off.

The goddess Moro ran along with San's brothers to speak with San.

"Do not become too attached to the human, Ashitaka," the wolf warned San. "He has done good things for us, but you can never entirely trust a human. It seems he has feelings for you, but you cannot fall for him. You must obey me, daughter."

San nodded, fixing her sights on the ever approaching horizons. For some reason, she felt a bit like crying. They were nearing the village. Soon, she would see Ashitaka. She hadn't seen his face in months—had it changed? Had he changed? She wanted to know. She wanted to know more than just the warrior Ashitaka. She wanted to get to know her friend Ashitaka, who she loved almost as much as her wolf mother and brothers and forest friends. But her mother had warned against becoming too close to him—a tear slipped out of San's eyes but no one noticed it, as she was wearing her red mask.

It was around morning when Ashitaka woke up to hear the village people shouting and creating quite a ruckus outside his tent. Ashitaka quickly slipped on his pants, shirt, and mocassin shoes. He put on his red cap, and sword, and went out to see what all the commotion was about.

In the months after the war, his hair had grown back to past his shoulders. He kept it in a loose bun on top of his head, just like back when he was the Prince of the Emishi tribe. Other than these physical appearance changes, he was still the same boy. Except now he was a man—the war had made him wiser, stronger, and left him with mingled bittersweet feelings.

Every morning, he woke up and helped work in the mines with the men; at night, he joined the ladies in their labour and gave them a helping hand. He was popular among the ladies; they were past prostitutes and, after all, old habits die hard. Many women covertly revealed more of their breasts when the dashing young warriro walked by. Many more shamelessly teased and flirted with him—even those with husbands. But it was all harmless fun; Ashitaka was fond of the people in Iron Town. After all, Lady Eboshi had changed her ways to respect the wishes of the forest spirit and animals.

Ashitaka emerged out of his tent to find people in a frenzy, rushing past him to the main gates.

"What's going on?" he shouted over the din, but no one paid him any heed.

At the main gate, there was a huge gathering of people, all crowding around the main gate, which, it seemed, was being pushed open by no less than 10 men. The women were all at the back, complaining loudly of being deprived the entertainment. Ashitaka turned to the nearest one.

"Toki, what's happening?"

Toki turned and grinned at him. "Hey handsome," she said flirtatiously. "You might want to go up and see for yourself. They probably need you after all, the stupid oafs. It's been 30 minutes and the gate's not even half open."

"Excuse me," Ashitaka said gently. Immediately, the people parted and made a clear path for him. Many of the men held their breaths as Ashitaka walked steadily on. Though his curse had been cured of long ago, he was still slightly feared by people.

Lady Eboshi, cool and collected as usual, was standing by the men, watching on. Her hair was smooth and black, her rouge perfectly applied, giving her lips a crimson red color. Gonza, red-faced and furious as usual, was standing by her side, struggling not to yell at the men's slowness. When Lady Eboshi spotted Ashitaka, her eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

"Ashitaka, would you mind giving these men a lending hand? I'm sure you will facilitate the process."

Ashitaka obligingly helped. He gave a mightly shove and the gate suddenly lurched forward an inch. The towns people gasped in awe. The curse had given him supernatural powers that allowed him to kill men with ease, but the war had left him with strength that could be used for good. "Would you mind telling me why we're pushing the gate open?" he asked Lady Eboshi politely.

Lady Eboshi laughed her tinkling laugh. "Why, certainly," she said. "You see, some of the women were on night shift and report that they spotted the wolf family running down the trail to our town. They must have something to say. We must welcome them with hospitality. The last time they came to visit, Princess Mononoke had to climb our highest wall and jump down 30 feet."

Ashitaka's hand slipped. "San?" he said, not daring to believe it. "She's coming?"

Lady Eboshi gave him a knowing look. "I know you must be excited to see your girlfriend." Her eyes glinted with humour.

Ashitaka looked down, trying not to smile. But he felt jubilant. In the weeks of the raging war and his suppressed misery as he fought to rid himself of Nago's curse and stop the horrible hatred between the humans and spirits, somehow, one way or another, he'd fallen in love with the wolf princess. He always thought about her on an unconscious level. She was beautiful—the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. She was also the strongest and bravest girl he knew.

In around 10 minutes, with Ashitaka's strength, they managed to heave the gate open. Everyone was talking loudly to each other with mixed excitement and trepidation. There was a hushed silence when they saw who was there.

It was Moro, the wolf goddess, with her two cubs, and… San.

"It's Princess Mononoke," someone in the crowd whispered. The whisper seemed to carry out with the wind.

Ashitaka, for once, was frozen in shock. He couldn't stop staring at San. Even though she still had her mask on and he couldn't see her face, he thought she looked amazing. She sat upright on her brother's back, looking mysterious and important. They were quite a picture: the fierce wolves, and the human girl.

Lady Eboshi stepped out into the clearing and spoke in a clear, confident voice.

"Moro, goddess of the spirits, mother of all wolves, what business have you in Iron Town?"

Moro smiled grotesquely, her mouth rippling back to reveal her sharp set of teeth. When she spoke, it was a low, raspy rumble that most of the villagers couldn't understand.

"We have left our home to see whether or not you have kept your promise of building from other resources, other than those stolen from our forest. Indeed, we have not experienced any disturbances but we find it necessary to see what really is happening behind your closed off walls."

There was a short silence. Some of the towns people shuffled their feet nervously. To them, Moro's low growls sounded menacing and ominous. Lady Eboshi's plastered smile faded to a thoughtful expression.

"You don't trust us," she said. It was a fact.

Moro growled softly. "Humans are deceitful and vain. There may be peace now, but it is an uneasy peace. We spirits are wise in age. We can resist temptation from the centuries of experience. But a human is so fragile. Your life is at stake right this instance. Therefore, we will come often to monitor your progress."

Lady Eboshi had fixed her challenging smile on the wolf goddess now. Ashitaka wondered uneasily if she would deny the wolf access. But—

"Very well," she conceded. "Please come in."

She turned to the townspeople, all of whom were staring in confusion.

"Get back to work, all of you," she said. When no one moved, she shouted, "Go!" People dispersed and scattered.

"Come with me," she told Moro. The wolf mother and her children walked behind Eboshi closely. Ashitaka followed. He thought his heart might burst from happiness.

"San," he said to the princess. But she completely ignored him.

The wolves picked up their pace, leaving Ashitaka behind.

"Wait!" he called. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach; why was San ignoring him?

He caught up to them and gently touched San on the arm. "San, it's me. Ashitaka."

Moro gave a low growl and glanced at her daughter. "Go away," San told him fiercely.

Ashitaka stopped in his tracks, bewildered and heartbroken. Those were the words she had said when they first saw each other.

At around midnight, the people of the Emishi tribe in the village were all asleep after a long day of hard toil. The only person awake was the wise woman of the tribe; she was looking into the fate of their lost prince, Ashitaka, who had left on a dangerous journey many full moons ago. Stones rolled across the chalk marked wooden floor of the hut.

The wise woman breathed in relief; their prince was alive, and his curse had been cured. Now they only had to wait for his return, and he would be forever known as the Legend of Ashitaka, the warrior who defeated hatred.

To be continued…