Chapter 20 – Romulus

To say Ruby was shocked was an understatement. She thought she'd heard it all after Belmordan's little tale back at the Dark Palace about his uncle talking to dragons. Apparently not. As if that were not enough freakishness in one trip, she was now in the presence of an honest-to-God talking wolf. It was so surreal an experience that she almost shifted back to two legs just to pinch herself and ensure she wasn't hallucinating.

"I assure you, you are not imagining this," Romulus stated, his lupine lips curving with amusement.

Ruby eyes bulged wide in disbelief. Could he read her mind too? "And to answer the next question: no, I cannot read your mind. I can however, read your body language as I'm sure you could mine. I recognized your unease, which was to be expected. Our kind are used to such reactions, though it has been decades since an outsider has visited our Valley, thanks in large part to Queen Regina, who to our great surprise honored our agreement."

Wanting to speak to the wolf but unwilling to shift just yet, Ruby gave a bark, which prompted a chuckle from Romulus.

"I see you have not been taught to speak in your bestial form." His tone and expression shifted with profound disappointment. "It pains me to see that your kind has fallen so far. Even so, I would not be offended if you wish to commune on two legs rather than four."

In a move meant to put Ruby more at ease, Romulus then lowered his muzzle in recognition that she was his superior. The gesture was not necessary since he had her at a disadvantage. As perplexed as she was, he could have easily used the opening to strike. Instead he had chosen to submit himself to her, a total stranger, when it was obvious she knew nothing of his kind.

Also, alpha or no, Ruby felt she had yet to earn such deference. Among normal wolves her own superiority wouldn't be a question or a concern, but Romulus was a sentient creature with thoughts, feelings, and a free will, far from ordinary for her to be assuming herself to be his better. Nonetheless the unanticipated act of conciliation had an instant effect in disarming her previous reluctance to extend an initial modicum of trust.

Ruby huffed out a sigh as she felt her muscles relax. Focusing her energy inward, she gathered the ancient magic that powered her ability to shift. Once returned to a human form, she took a moment to get her bearings while maintaining a semi-defensive stance. As vulnerable as she had been while the wolf, she was even more so while a woman. Strong as she was with arms and legs, she was no match for the obvious strength of the beast before her. It was a great risk to expose herself in such a way, which Romulus had obviously recognized as he remained in a submissive posture.

"Great One," he again greeted.

"Hello," she replied, ignoring the deferential honorific. "My name is Ruby Mills, and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Romulus." At times like this, Ruby was thankful for a decade of being in a relationship with Regina. Some of the former Queen's sense of decorum had managed to rub off on her over the years, rounding out her more boorish mannerisms. "I have to admit, you have me at a loss. I've been around a lot of wolves in the Enchanted Forest and none could talk."

Romulus nodded sadly. "Once it was not so, but several factors such as a growing mistrust of magic and the miscreant behavior rampant among your kind drove us into hiding. Our numbers had long ago dwindled to the point of mere sustenance rather than prosperity, so we had no choice but to retreat within our protected ancestral sanctuaries such as this, one of three that still exist in this world. Here we have dwelt for centuries in relative obscurity."

Ducking her head, Ruby had the grace to blush on behalf of her kind. She knew exactly what Romulus was referring to because her own mother had been such a hedonistic werewolf, and the alpha of entire pack of them at that. Ruby was still ashamed to think about the way her mother and her followers had behaved, as if all rules governing civilized behavior no longer applied to them. It was, to her, a disgusting way to live. Granny had raised her to be better than that, which made Ruby question (though she never asked out of respect for the woman who sacrificed everything for her) whether Anita's liberal view of werewolf behavior was responsible for the irreconcilable rift between Granny and her only child.

That didn't mean Ruby was ungrateful for being taught how to control the wolf, though. She was very thankful to her mother for that. Besides giving birth to her, control was the only gift Anita ever gave her worth cherishing. Still, she'd rejected outright all the other nonsense Anita and her pack had espoused. They wanted to live like animals when they were, in reality, people first. It was sad that they had so easily cast aside their humanity to shirk all responsibility, and if what Romulus had said was true, it sounded like Anita's pack was not the first to have such radical views.

"I'm sorry for whatever those other werewolves did," she said, eyes apologetic. "Not all of us are so...feral."

The bright amber color of Romulus' eyes softened, his canid features expressing an evident gratitude for Ruby's unprompted apology on behalf of her race. "I am aware of that, Great One. And I thank you for your apology. But while the behavior of lycantrhopes was abysmal, they were not alone in the blame for our plight. In fact, humanity in general is mostly culpable for our decline. As people who wielded magic increasingly served their own selfish interests, humans began to lose their belief that it could be utilized with benevolence. They reacted accordingly as humans are wont to do, with fear and hatred.

"Many other creatures of our sort were persecuted wholesale in the decades that followed. It was not just the Dires who became endangered by the frenzy sweeping over the land, but Unicorns, Centaurs, Cyclops, Gryphons, Dryads, Selkies, and others as well. Many species were driven to extinction. Thankfully, we were protected by our blessed sanctuaries and even by various monarchs who were privy to the old ways, such as Queen Regina."

Though the list of creatures that apparently existed was amazing and worth investing time into researching at a later date, Ruby was more interested in what dealings the Dires had with Regina.

"You knew Queen Regina?" she asked, feeling him out.

"I did."

Ruby bit her lip tentatively. "Out of curiosity: what's your opinion of her?

Romulus grinned knowingly. "There is no need for subterfuge. I am aware why you ask."

Ruby arched her brows with surprise. "You are?"

"Yes," he said, still grinning. "You ask because it is of direct concern to you. The Queen is your mate."

Ruby stepped back, stunned. "H-how do you know that?"

If it were possible for a wolf to shrug, that is what Romulus did by slightly rolling his powerful shoulders. It was strange body language to witness on an animal, even a magical one like Romulus, but that was what it was just the same. Ruby thought that this entire situation just kept getting, as Alice would say, curiouser and curiouser.

"I can smell her on you," was Romulus' simple reply, which elicited a faint blush from Ruby.

It was hard for her to imagine how that was possible, though. She'd not touched Regina in days and had trekked around the Enchanted Forest, sweating buckets. All scents but her own should have been suppressed by now. Hell, she'd even bathed in the Crystal Lake just one day previous. Regina's scent should have long since dissipated. Even with her heightened senses, Ruby could not smell her wife on her person anymore, although she longed to desperately.

"You smell her on me?" she prompted, hoping to draw out an explanation. She was genuinely curious.

"Yes," Romulus nodded sharply. "It is not so much her actual odor as it her magic. When the Queen came to us to broker her agreement, I made careful note of her distinctive magic. It has always been my assertion that such a powerful individual as the Queen should always be remembered in every way possible: by sight, sound, and smell. Thus, I recognized the scent of her magic instantly upon your approach, for it is inside you and all around you, as if a part of your very essence." Pausing, he fixed Ruby with a thoughtful gaze, almost wondrous in nature if not also terribly intrigued. "The bond you formed with Queen Regina must be incredibly strong, for I have never encountered such an incidence in which the essences of two people became so entangled, even within True Love pairs."

Ruby ducked her head as her blush spread down her neck and into her chest. Whenever she thought about the intense, almost intrinsically essential connection she and Regina had built, it made her feel so warm, so whole, and so effervescently happy that she was almost consumed by the sensations. And although it was kind of embarrassing to have such a reaction in public, it happened to her often enough that she should be used to it by now. But, she supposed, there was no getting used to feeling that strongly about someone. The depth of her love for Regina was a source of perpetual awe.

"We are very close, yes," she said, not quite sure how to elucidate the complex nature of her relationship with her wife. Words were just not adequate to describe a bond that seemingly permeated into the very core essence of her being.

Ruby's deflection only increased Romulus' intrigue. His entire demeanor thrummed with interest. "Forgive my curiosity, but do you share True Love?"

Ruby nibbled at her lip as she nodded. "We do."

Narrowing his eyes, Romulus studied Ruby closely. "I feel as if there is more to it than that. True Love is very rare and the way you smell of the Queen's essence leads me to believe something singularly extraordinary exists between you. I recognize that we have just become acquainted, and while I don't want to press you beyond comfort or propriety, I confess I am completely captivated by this phenomenon. I would genuinely appreciate elaboration if you're amenable."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Ruby said after thinking it over, then added with a wave of her hand, "in the interest of building trust between us."

Romulus smiled his agreement. "Trust is earned most quickly through sharing, a valued tenet of our kind."

"As it should be," Ruby commented, and then shoved her hands into her pockets. Rocking onto her heels, she began, "Well, it's a long story, but to make it short, something horrible happened to us a few years ago. I...died and Regina brought me back to life with True Love." Her brow furrowed deeply. "I still don't know how. She refuses to tell me how she did it, and I haven't wanted to make an issue of it just to get to the truth because in the end, it doesn't really mean that much to me. All I know – all I need to know – is that she saved me. Also, around the same time we found that we..."

Ruby trailed off, not quite convinced that she should share such sensitive personal information with a relative stranger. But there was something about Romulus that made her want to trust him. Whether it was his conciliating actions, warm voice, or his kind and thoughtful eyes, she wasn't sure. What she was sure of, however, was that Romulus was not her enemy. She felt it deep down in her bones. And considering that her gut rarely let her down, she decided to take a chance.

After a steadying breath, just blurted it out. "We got each other pregnant. With True Love. At the same time."

Romulus stood stock still, dumbfounded, his eyes wide as saucers. Such a momentous occurrence had never transpired before to his knowledge. While it would be natural for him to doubt this information, he could not fathom any motivation for the Great One to construct so fantastic a lie. Her very posture was screaming at him that her words were sincere. That said, logic made the scenario seem outlandish if not outright impossible.

As Romulus himself was a very old and well-learned magical creature, he was well aware of the exacting nature of magic and of the price that must be paid to wield it. Magic was a harsh and intractable lender, demanding satisfaction regardless of the cost. The greater the act, the higher the price. Creating life was the greatest feat magic could perform, and as such required the greatest sacrifice: the taking of another life in return.

While it was possible for children to be born out of True Love (there were many such instances), those created by True Love were fated from conception to never see the light of the moon. The price of such immensely powerful magic would claim the mother's life before their child could even be born. No other life could satisfy the demand for cosmic balance. While that seemed cruel, magic was not an entity capable of compassion or love or pity, but was a force only concerned with maintaining the fragile balance of the universe. Thus it did not care that two lives would be snuffed out in the process. Collateral damage was of no concern to such an impersonal power.

Yet per the Great One, this was ostensibly no longer true. She and her mate had supposedly created life through their True Love and survived to birth their pups into the world. This news, if legitimate, was perhaps the greatest miracle Romulus had heard tale of in centuries. Had he not already recognized Ruby Mills as the Great One spoken of in ages past, he would have known her to be such now.

His heart leapt in his breast as he recalled the words of the prophecy which had just been confirmed. It was coming to pass. The day was at hand. How he wished to be able to read the lost Book of Ambrosious, if only to fill in the gaps left blank in the ancient oral tradition of the Dire Wolves. Within the mysterious pages of the book, a part of the prophecy that was spoken by Diana and unknown to the Dires was recorded. For a reason Romulus was not privy to, neither the book nor the oral tradition wholly recounted the prophecy, rather each contained only part. All he knew was that his ancestors had been instructed by Emrys himself to keep their portion secret, which they had done for nearly a thousand years.

That oral tradition had been preserved through the generations from Alpha to Alpha, beginning with the greatfather Lycaon, the first of the Dires, and finally being entrusted to Romulus. In it, it is explicitly stated that the Great One will have tasted death and that her beloved would be a person of royal blood whose light was entangled with the shadows of darkness. For years, Romulus had wondered what the prophecy meant, but in the face of meeting Ruby, it suddenly made sense. By her own admission, Ruby had tasted death, and her mate, the infamous Evil Queen, had once been a kindhearted woman who loved more fervently than any other but whose light had been swallowed up in darkness through great tragedy.

Of course, there was more to the prophecy than that, but those words awaited a future that was not yet secured. For now, all Romulus was concerned about was guiding the Great One toward her ultimate destiny. To do that, he had to secure her trust, which dictated his actions of submission.

He had not made such a gesture out of fear, though he knew that she could have overcome him easily enough had she perceived him as a threat. Her power was as undeniable as her imposing size. It wafted from her pores in waves that pummeled his senses. Ruby Mills was, he thought, the greatest of her kind he had ever encountered. As the longest lived of his race, he had met many werewolves of great strength and renown, yet all paled in comparison to the statuesque glory of the Great One.

As she had approached him for the first time, her sheer stature had made Romulus want to roll over on his back to show her his belly. No other wolf had ever caused such a beta response in him. As the Prime Alpha, Romulus humbled himself for no one, certainly not for a werewolf. Yet once glance at Ruby's wolf had his tail itching to be tucked between his legs. Romulus was certain that he could never prevail against such a creature in battle, though part of him wanted very much to witness her prowess in combat. It would be marvelous indeed to be granted the privilege of observing the Great One tear through a legion of her enemies, ripping them apart in a glorious dance of death.

Such wishes were trivial, however, when his primary directive was to secure a better life for his kind. Only the Great One could realize that long unfulfilled dream. If it was necessary to do battle to see that day come, he was more than willing to fight beside so awesome a creature as Ruby Mills. It would be an honor. For now though, his job was clear.

"Forgive me," he eventually stated, recovering from his shocked stupor. "I was merely stunned. You must understand how incredibly impossible what you just stated is."

"Yeah, I know," Ruby said, wearing a crooked grin. "We were told several times. The price of magic and all that jazz. As I said, it was terrible what happened. Technically both of us died, but thankfully we live in a world where technology can sometimes bring people back from death, which it did for Regina. As for how I'm alive, I have no idea. I'm just grateful I am and that our girls are healthy and happy."

"I imagine so," Romulus agreed, having a hard time comprehending how relieved she must have felt after enduring what she had implied to be horrific events. Coming out for the better on the other end of the tunnel was a rare blessing. Life was not often so kind after being cruel. "In any case, you have satisfied my curiosity for now. I thank you for your indulgence."

Ruby inclined her head with a wide, toothy grin that reached all the way up to her eyes. Their jade depths shimmered in the prevailing sunlight. "You're welcome."

Unable to keep from staring, Romulus was struck in that moment by the beauty of the woman before him, now on full display. For a human, Ruby was as handsome as any Romulus had ever beheld, which went a long way toward explaining her parallel magnificence while in her fur. It was her innate kindness and willingness to trust, though, which shined most brightly, and it was so intense that it drowned out her superficial comeliness.

This was a woman who had been through untold hardships in her life yet did not allow them to break her, a woman whose heart was tried and true, full of love and hope, despite the pain and suffering she had endured. In the few minutes Romulus had spent in Ruby's presence, he could already tell she was the kind of person who passed her hopefulness and kindness on to others, encouraging them to rise above their own circumstances as she had – the kind of person who inspired loyalty without having to ask, which was evident by the golden-crowned companion who had crossed over into the world alongside her.

Yes, he had been aware of their arrival. The night before the Great One arrived, the moon had stirred him in a way it hadn't in many years, indicating something momentous was afoot. He barely slept at all, energized and alert for most of the night. As dawn arrived, he had felt the tug of the portal calling to him and went to investigate. Instantly recognizing Ruby as someone special, he had watched over her and her companion from an undetectable distance, following their progress as they journeyed.

It was only when they approached the Dark Palace that he abandoned his reconnoitering. Belmordan was someone to neither be trifled with nor trusted. Still, tracking Ruby and her friend had allowed him to observe the selfless devotion the flaxen-haired woman held for Ruby, an early affirmation of his belief that she was the one his people had been waiting on for so long.

Turning back toward the gates in the near distance, he indicated with a quick motion of his head. "Would you like to enter our sanctuary and greet your distant kin?"

Ruby looked hesitant at the invitation. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"I am most certain," Romulus said. "You are more than welcome among us, Great One."

Sighing, Ruby shook her head as if slightly exasperated. "I wish you'd stop calling me that."

"What would you prefer then?" Romulus asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Ruby is fine. And yes, I would like to visit with your pack. That's what I came here for actually."

"Very well, Ruby. Please, follow me." And with that Romulus began forward toward the familiar confines of his ancestral home.

"Wait!" she called out, preventing him from moving more than ten yards. Romulus quirked a questioning brow at her, prompting her to continue. "Can I ask a silly question?"

"You may," he said, more than willing to indulge her.

"Do all of your kind talk? I mean, with words?" Ruby rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. "Told you, silly question. I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize," Romulus said firmly. "You're not the first to ask such a question. And to answer, yes we do speak. With words." At the last part, he grinned teasingly.

Ruby chuckled at his attempt at humor. "Well, that's neat I suppose. A little weird but neat. Anyway, lead the way."

His grin fading, Romulus nodded, and then started a steady lope toward the gates. Ruby followed along in his wake. And as they crossed through the threshold and passed into the Sanctuary, Romulus felt a surge of energy course through him. His blood began to sing and his bones to vibrate with elation. Destiny, he knew, was upon them, and he could hardly wait to watch it unfold.