Chapter Eleven: Find Out Why
Arwen became a wolf in her dream. And when she ran through the moonlit woods she discovered that she was answering the call of her pack's leader, a great black wolf with eyes that glowed like red fire. The two of them raced to the top of a black, jagged peak, and she felt shivering terror mixed with fearful anticipation. And then . . .
"Wake up, lazybones. Wake up! We have a lot of things to do today."
"Nanny Rattlebones?" Arwen was astonished to find that she was back in her own bedchamber, in her proper elven form, and that golden sunlight was spilling across the bed. She was so sure she had transformed into a wolf! "Is it morning?" the lovely elf-maiden asked, sitting up among rumpled pillows and rubbing her sleepy blue eyes.
"Is it morning, she asks," The great big nursemaid replied, laughing in a way that made her jiggle from head to toe. She was carrying a breakfast tray, which she set down across Arwen's lap, teasing and scolding and fussing the entire time. "More like afternoon, I should think. You've slept away the morning, elf-child. Of course, you've got good reason to sleep late this morning after the excitement of the feast last night. But you don't see that gorgeous golden-haired prince of ours lying around in bed. He was up and dressed hours ago. Here, little lazybones, eat a few bites from this tray while I run you a nice hot bath. And then we'll set about squeezing you into a proper new gown, a grown-up gown that will really show off that eye-popping figure of yours to full advantage. This afternoon you will appear in proper garb at a number of guild halls and merchant councils as the intended bride of Rann the Golden!"
"Oh." Arwen couldn't seem to feel very excited about her upcoming marriage to the golden-haired prince, even though Rann was both sweet and fun, and terribly good-looking. While she lay back in bed and chewed on a soft roll dripping with honey and butter, she found herself thinking of the great black wolf she's seen in her dream. Funny how she could picture him now as a man, dark and menacing and almost frightening in a way, yet somehow very attractive. The beast had been trying to tell her something . . .
"Nanny, is everyone quite sure that Rann's twin brother Brann is dead?" Arwen gobbled up the rest of her roll in a hurry as the nursemaid reentered her sunny chamber.
"Is he dead? Is he dead, she asks? How could the filthy brute not be dead after being carried off by an entire pack of wolves? And it served him right, believe me. Now into the bath, my inquisitive little elf-maid, and let's see if we can make you look even prettier than you looked last night!"
Arwen would have enjoyed the bath a lot more if she had been left to soak on her own for a while. But instead of allowing her to close her eyes and prop her feet up on the rim of the tub, Nanny Rattlebones was full of brisk instructions. "Sit up so I can scrub your back, elf-child. Now let me shampoo your hair! Black as soot, and it reaches down to your waist, doesn't it? But no fear, we'll make it as glossy as silk once we untangle these curls and snags. What's this? A twig! Anyone would think you'd been running through the woods last night! Nay, it's just a figure of speech - why do you look so frightened?"
"I'm not frightened," Arwen insisted. She had to keep a lid on her feelings, because she didn't want the nursemaid to think she was totally out of her mind. She had been running through the woods last night. She was certain of it! Ever since that awful night, the elf-maid felt she had somehow gained the power to become a wolf.
Now all she had to do was find out why.