Ryhenna found herself deep within a cool evergreen forest. The moist smell of the soil and fallen pine needles wafted to the she-wolf's nose. The trees' vast branches created a shadowy, mystical pattern upon the forest floor. Ryhenna felt totally at peace, and had not realized that she had been walking until the sound of trickling water drifted into her sensitive ears. Suddenly, a small pool of shimmering water lay before the she-wolf, and when she looked into its depths she found no reflection staring up at her. Growing concerned, Ryhenna waded into the pool, searching for her reflection. She began to panic when still no reflection could be found.
"Be calm."
The wolf looked up and found herself in the eyes of a huge Lion reclining on the opposite edge of the pool. Light seemed to emanate from His huge golden mane, and His terrible, beautiful eyes struck fear and an odd sense of peacefulness simultaneously into the she-wolf.
"Remember yourself..."
"WOLF! WOLF!"
Ryhenna woke with a start and instinctively leapt to her paws, accidentally displacing a rudely awakened Cal.
"WOOOOOOLF!"
The copper she-wolf growled in the back of her throat. She had a name! Whoever was calling for her better have a good reason for being so rude!
"Look!" Cal pointed at a small brown blur heading toward the pair, and upon further inspection Ryhenna determined that it was a hare just as it collapsed at her paws.
Annoyed, Ryhenna turned to Cal. "Retrieve some powdered ginseng and water for our weary guest." The faun nodded once and took off at a brisk jog. The she-wolf turned back to the now quivering hare. "Now what seems to be the problem?"
With a gasp, the hare raised its head off the ground a few inches and searched the area with wide bug-eyes. "Wolf… in the camp ground…" The hare panted. "Black… heading for… tents… Not good!"
Ryhenna furrowed her brow, and then felt her hackles begin to rise. "Stay here!" She growled to the exhausted hare (who had absolutely no intention of moving) before jumping over his body and sprinting to the medical tents.
As the tents came into view, Ryhenna caught glimpses of a black wolf snapping at the heels of other healers and the recovering wounded. The two wolves locked eyes, and with a manic laugh the black wolf darted into one of the nearby tents. Ryhenna reached the tent just as the other wolf's scruffy tail was disappearing behind the opening flap. With a surge of protective rage, Ryhenna opened her jaws wide and snapped them like a steel trap upon the black wolf's unprotected tail.
There was a loud yelp and the other wolf was suddenly snapping at Ryhenna's face, causing her to frantically stumble backward in order to avoid the other's slashing teeth. Once the two wolves were out in the open, the black wolf stopped its attack and began panting heavily, allowing Ryhenna to put some distance between them. The black wolf started to cackle uncontrollably, unable to keep herself from drooling out the side of her bared jaws. "Don't you remember your dear sister?"
Ryhenna showed her teeth for the first time in years. "Lillagreth."
"So you do recognize me!" the other she-wolf taunted. "You know, I was beginning to think you wouldn't even come looking for me, after eating the same food and drinking the same water as these cowardly Narnian scum!" The black wolf punctuated the last word with a vicious snarl.
A fire flared up inside Ryhenna, and the copper she-wolf lunged at her maniac sibling. But Lillagreth proved faster and pinned her inexperienced younger sister by the scruff of her neck, growling, "I've been watching you, baby sister. You think that by saving lives with your funny little potions and knowing which mushrooms are safe to eat will get you into the popular crowd! Well, I've got news for you; once that terrible Beast of theirs sees the ugly rat they've allowed into their ranks, they'll skin you alive!"
"No! NO!" Ryhenna twisted and snarled beneath the stronger wolf, and suddenly she was loose. She twisted around to take a chunk out of the darker she-wolf, but Lillagreth was running in the direction of the forest. Ignoring the Narnians that had run to her aid and were now telling her to stay put, Ryhenna chased after the black wolf with reckless abandon. Memories of the torture Lillagreth and the others put Ryhenna through surged to the front of the she-wolf's mind, replacing reason with a thirst for revenge.
Suddenly Ryhenna was surrounded by the forest from her dream, only now she received no such calm or peace. Her blood accelerated through her veins with each hot breath until finally Lillagreth came to a stop in the middle of a small clearing.
The black she-wolf was breathing just as hard as her sister. They were facing each other with tongues hanging and legs quivering from the long run. Lillagreth was the first to speak, "I knew you would follow. All that time spent living under the rule of those pathetic humans still couldn't suppress the wolf inside you. Father lives on in ways you couldn't imagine."
Snarling, Ryhenna lunged at the black wolf, only to be shoved aside by her more skilled sister. Her eyes squinted into slits as she spat, "Do not forget the White Witch was human as well! You and mother worshipped her like a god, yet she was as human as the two Kings and Queens of Narnia!"
"Don't you speak of the True Queen in such a way!" Lillagreth snapped. She began pacing a slow circle around the copper Ryhenna and spoke in a softer tone. "Mother is dead, you know. It's just me now, and two of our brothers. You remember Siccoro and Avarit? We are the last of your kin."
"I AM NOT YOUR KIN!" Ryhenna threw herself at the older she-wolf, copper jaws finally meeting flesh. Lillagreth snarled in pain as teeth cut open her unprotected shoulder. The black she-wolf snapped at her sister's face but slipped on pine needles and unintentionally exposed her vulnerable throat. Ryhenna prepared for the killing bite-
Be calm.
She paused. The younger she-wolf felt a soft wind caress her face. Remember yourself.
Something rammed into Ryhenna's side, sending her rolling across the forest floor and leaving her breathless. A paw rested upon her head, then pushed Ryhenna's muzzle into the upturned dirt.
"Are you alright, sister?" The voice, soft and snake-like, came from the wolf standing on Ryhenna's head.
"Siccoro, you idiot! One second slower and I would have been dead!" the black she-wolf rasped as she got to her feet. "Where is Avarit?"
A low bark rang out, "I am here, sister."
"Good. I see you've brought the rest of the pack with you." Ryhenna could hear and smell several newcomers. Some of them were whimpering. "She's proving… difficult to speak with."
"Let me speak to her." A shadow fell across Ryhenna and when she looked up, it was into the face of a large, muscular male wolf. His voice was a low baritone, and Ryhenna recognized him as her older brother, Avarit. "Let her up, brother."
The weight lifted from Ryhenna's head and she sat upright, strangely calm even though she appeared to be surrounded by eight other wolves.
"Sister, we are willing to look past your treachery against the White Witch by giving you a choice." The large male wolf spoke without emotion, and it was then that Ryhenna noticed how skinny the other wolves were. Their coats did not shine as hers did, and their eyes betrayed tired spirits weary from lack of food. They needed her. They were desperate for help, even if it meant kidnapping their outcast sister. Avarit continued, "You can choose to join us, to be with your family again," the hairs on the back of Ryhenna's neck rose at the word family, "or you can continue to be a struggle, and eventually we will kill you."
Ryhenna growled. "You are no family of mine. I'd rather die."
"Then so be it!" shrieked Lillagreth. The black she-wolf prepared to lunge, but a loud rumbling caught her attention. She turned around and fear spread across her features as a large dark blue centaur crashed through the trees.
"Astrum!" Ryhenna barked with relief.
Siccoro shot off into the trees with a whimper and his tail tucked between his legs, followed by three other wolves. Avarit looked after him with disgust and then turned to face the huge centaur with a vicious snarl on his face, and Lillagreth followed suit. The centaur reared high up into the air, his hooves thrashing wildly in the space above the two wolves' heads until Lillagreth lost confidence and ran swiftly through the trees after her younger brother.
Astrum thundered back to all fours. "Give it up, wolf. Even your own pack has turned on you!" Avarit glanced to the side to see that the two wolves who stayed behind had now rounded on him with hackles raised and teeth bared.
Snarling, the large male wolf backed away into the forest. "The True Queen of Narnia will greatly reward those who have never strayed from her glory, but for all who oppose her Highness, death will seem merciful." Avarit then turned and chased after his remaining relatives.
The blue-roan centaur glared after the wolf, his black tail swishing angrily. When he deemed the area to be safe once more, Astrum turned to his friend. "Are you injured?"
Now that he mentioned injuries, Ryhenna's body suddenly burned with pains, but none were serious. "I have naught but a few cuts and bruises. I'll live to see yet another morning." She smiled at the centaur, whose attention was now on the two remaining wolves. Ryhenna saw that one of them was really just a pup, and the other a young male.
"P-p-please…" the older wolf began fearfully, "please believe us when I say that we wanted nothing to do with the Witch. They took us prisoner and forced us to follow them… Honest!"
Ryhenna glanced at Astrum, who looked dubious. He raised an eyebrow, and she responded, "I believe them. Come, let us return to camp. We should warn the High King Peter of the possibility of a regrouping of the White Witch's followers."
A/N: Thanks for reading! There's one more chapter, which I'll post Sunday! Please review and tell me what you thought! Don't be shy :)