Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Soul Calibur
Chapter Seven: Kiss Under the Great Willow
Siegfried woke up in his bed when he first came to the Kingdom of Mordrivale. He had to admit that the bed was a lot more comfortable than sleeping on the floor in the cavern where he was held captive for almost three weeks. But him being there felt odd. Surely, it was nice sleeping in a real bed and all but things just didn't seem right. Why was he there? He was sleeping peacefully on his hay bed in Ookami's cavern just an hour ago.
He got out of his bed and put on his armor. Once he finished, he exited his room and walked down the lifeless hallways to the throne room. He must talk with Althalos, the ruler of Mordrivale. Siegfried was sure that the king would want to hear about his experience with the girl and her animal spirits. He also wanted to tell the king that the spirits were not bad; they were just trying to protect their home. As Siegfried made his way to the throne room, he felt odd. He was guessing that since he hasn't been around other humans for a while he was still getting us to them.
He stood in front of the throne room's doors. He froze up right when he was reaching for the door's handle. This doesn't feel right, Siegfried thought. He gulped down the spit in the back of his throat and took the handle into his hand. Siegfried pulled the door, thus opening it. When he entered the room, he saw two things that shocked him.
The first thing was that it wasn't Althalos in the throne. The new face in the throne was the commander of the army, Fendrel.
The second thing shocked and scared him more than the first thing ever would. It was his beloved, Ookami, on her knees with a chain around her neck looking at the floor. Her clothes were ripped and she was bleeding from several cuts on her body. When Siegfried gasped her name, she looked up at him. Her red eyes were dull and swollen, as if she was crying.
"Siegfried..." She could barely say. "Go...back..."
"Ookami!" He cried out. Siegfried began running towards the injured girl. Then, chains shot up from the ground and wrapped around his arms. He couldn't move anymore.
Fendrel had a content smirk on his face. "Well....look who decided to join us."
"Bastard!" Siegfried lashed out. The young knight was glaring at Fendrel with all the hate in his body. "Where is Althalos? What are you doing in his throne?"
"Typical boy," Fendrel said shaking his head. "I wouldn't be worried about him. I'd be more worried about her."
Fendrel looked down at Ookami. With strong hands, he brought her to her feet. She let out a small yelping noise as he did that. Fendrel wrapped his arms around her. Ookami was too injured and tired to defend herself. Siegfried was furious and struggling to get free of his shackles.
"If you hurt her, I will kill you!" Siegfried spat.
Fendrel let out a cold laugh and placed his hand on Ookami's head. With the hand, he was combing through her red locks. Siegfried could see how tense and afraid Ookami looked.
"I would never hurt your little friend here. She's far too cute for me to do that to her.
"Leave her alone!"
"Oh...does this make you angry?" Fendrel asked. He pulled Ookami closer and brought her cheek up to his lips. Siegfried was about to lose his mind. How dare he hurt his beloved like this?!
Then, Fendrel began licking her face. Siegfried struggled more to break free and save Ookami. Ookami winced and was whimpering as Fendrel licked her face.
"Ookami!" Siegfried called out.
Siegfried's eyes shot open and he quickly sat up. He was shaking and sweating. His breathing was fast.
"Siegfried," He heard a gentle voice call out. "Are you alright?"
Siegfried turned around and saw the forest queen, Keita staring at him. The fox was on her belly and her nine tails were curled elegantly in front of her paws. Her white pelt glowed in the cave, making the cavern brighter. Siegfried was happy to be surrounded by her sweet scent.
"Yeah...I fine," he answered.
Keita cocked her head. "You don't seem like it. You had a nightmare. Please tell me."
Siegfried sighed and told the fox about the dream. At the end, Keita let out a sigh. "That's a scary one, that's for sure."
"You have no idea..." Siegfried added grimly.
Keita looked at him with her red eyes. "You must really care about Ookami."
Siegfried looked at her with wide eyes. "You tried to save her in your dream, no?" she continued. "Do you...love her?"
Siegfried hesitated. It was true...he loved Ookami more than anything. He stood up and looked deeply into the fox's eyes. "Yes...I love her more than anything."
A smile came across the fox's lips. "I knew it. I couldn't ask for a better person to love my daughter."
"Daughter?"
"Yes. Ookami is my daughter. Although she looks nothing like me, she is my daughter."
Siegfried couldn't believe it. Ookami's mother was the queen of the forest, or Alana. But that would also mean that she is a princess. Siegfried suddenly felt disappointment stab his heart. There was no way now that she would love him.
Keita got up and head butted him gently in the chest.
"Go to her, boy," She said quietly. "Wake up Teranika and head to the Great Willow along the river. Every full moon since my death, she has ventured there. Go now!"
Siegfried looked at the fox and bowed his head respectfully. Keita began to vanish; the light was growing dim.
"Good luck, Siegfried," Keita said.
Then, she was gone, but her scent still lingered in the air. Siegfried nodded and went to Teranika's den. He stood in her den's mouth. The wolf was curled into a ball, sleeping peacefully.
Siegfried walked cautiously over to her and touched Teranika's back. The wolf slowly brought her head up and looked at Siegfried with droopy eyes.
"Oh...Siegfried," She yawned. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine," Siegfried answered. "Is it okay if you can bring me to the Great Willow tree along the river?"
Teranika looked at him suspiciously. Then, her eyes widened in understanding and stood up. Her shook the moss out of her and she trotted out of the cave. Siegfried smiled and went after her.
The two went to the cavern's mouth. The full moon was out, making everything brighter than it usually was. Siegfried jumped onto the wolf's back. Then, once Teranika knew he was settled on her back, she began her run to the Great Willow.
Siegfried was use to riding on the back of a horse, but being on the back of a wolf was different. Teranika's run was very smooth and not choppy at all. Siegfried held onto the wolf's white fur.
In no time at all, the wolf came to the river. Teranika followed the river up until she saw where Siegfried wanted to go. Siegfried looked over the wolf's head and his jaw dropped. In front of him, several yards away, was a huge weeping willow tree on an island in the middle of the river. On the branches of the tree were candles. The candles were lit, lighting up the interior of the tree. Siegfried could see a figure inside the tree, moving about. He jumped off of Teranika and thanked her.
"Mind you," She said. "Don't do any dumb. I'll leave a path for you to get back."
"Alright, thank you."
Teranika nodded her head and ran back into the forest. Siegfried looked at the Great Willow and walked to the water's edge. He walked into the water and swam to the little island the giant tree was on. The roots were huge and extended out into the water. As Siegfried got closer, he could here some singing coming from inside the tree's hanging leaves. Siegfried crawled onto a root and tried to find Ookami. Then he found her, sitting on a root singing a song.
Siegfried was hypnotized by her lovely voice. He was also thankful to see her uninjured and her usual self.
In his own world, he walked closer to her. When he was close to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him, her eyes wide. Then, her expressions soften.
"Oh, hello Siegfried," She said politely. "Are you okay?"
"Yes I am. Are you busy?"
"No I'm not. Please have a seat next to me."
She moved over on the root, giving Siegfried some room. He smiled at her and sat next to her.
"So...why are you here," Siegfried asked, even though he already knew the answer why.
"Because, I'm honoring my mother's spirit," She answered. She tilted her head to the sky. "This was my mother's favorite spot. Every full moon, she would come here and rejuvenate and purify the land. When she died a few years ago, I've been coming here. Even though I can't purify the land, I still continue my mother's task. It was also her dying wish that the forest be just the way she left it."
So that's why this place is so beautiful, Siegfried thought. It was because of Keita's love for home and nature this place was able to stand.
"Your mother must've been a powerful spirit," Siegfried muttered.
"She was...." Ookami sighed. "I wish I had the power to protect this place, just like she did."
Siegfried placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her. She looked back at him.
"I'm sure you are just as powerful as your mother," He reassured her.
She placed a hand over his hand that was on her and smiled. Her hand was cold.
"Thank you Siegfried," She said to him. She took his hand off her shoulder and placed it on her lap. Siegfried blushed as she traced the lines on his hand with her finger. "Your hands are big."
Siegfried took his hand back and looked at her. She chuckled at his reaction.
Siegfried looked at her and smiled.
"Um...Ookami," Siegfried began. "There is something I want to say to you."
"Yes…what is it?" Ookami asked, cocking her head to the side.
Siegfried scooted closer to her and looked into her red eyes. Oh, how they glow in the candle's light. Siegfried was nervous, his palms shaking and sweating. Thankfully, Ookami didn't notice and just looked at him.
"H-have you ever cared about someone…so much t-that you are willing to give your life for them?" He asked. Every word he said felt shaky and hard to say to the striking spirit.
Siegfried looked away from her. Ookami's eyes widened as her cheeks turned pink. Was this human…saying he loves a spirit? Wasn't that against the rules of nature?
Ookami smiled at Siegfried and placed a hand on his hand. Siegfried looked up at her.
"Yes…I have felt that way about a person before," Ookami answered. "The man I love and if willing to give my immortal life for is a strong, powerful man who is kind, devoted and caring.
Siegfried felt his heart sank. He knew that she was probably talking about someone else.
"And that person…" Ookami brought her face closer to his and she lowered it to a soft whisper. "Is you…"
Siegfried's eyes grew wide and he backed his face away from the girl's.
"M-me?" Siegfried asked, his voice quivering.
Ookami smiled at him and nodded her head. "You may be a human, and this may be against the laws of nature…but I…I love you!"
Siegfried felt his heart flutter in his chest. She actually loves him!
The young knight took the girl's hand into his own and they brought their faces closer to each other. Siegfried was taking in her sweet scent and her calming breath.
Then, their lips came in contact. Siegfried wrapped his arms around her; one around her waist, the other running through her soft red hair. Ookami's arms were around Siegfried's neck. Their tongues met and began doing the forbidden dance of human and spirit coming together. Siegfried could hear Ookami's soft moans. The young knight's hand traced down her spine to her lower back as the other continued to move through her hair. Ookami's soft hands went to touch his face.
The kiss seemed to last forever. It didn't matter now. The two seemed fine if it did last that long.
Then, the two parted, breathing heavily and looking deep into each other's eyes. Siegfried felt warm and calm as he gazed into Ookami's red eyes. Ookami felt happy and energized as she looked into Siegfried's emerald green eyes. A small smile came on both of their lips. Ookami pulled herself closer to Siegfried and embraced him. She felt warm now, instead of cold.
Siegfried looked straight ahead and saw Keita, a content smile on her face. Her sweet scent intertwined with Ookami's. Siegfried smiled back at the fox.
"Take good care of her, Siegfried," She said gently. Siegfried blinked and the fox was gone.
Ookami pulled back and she kissed Siegfried on the cheek.
"Come on…let's go home."
Siegfried nodded and the two stood up. They walked over to the water and swam to the other side. After they dried off, the two lovers, human and spirit, walked hand in hand back to the cavern.