It was almost dark when the mismatched quartet found their path over the short distance from the circus camp to the benighted castle. Snow White and her grandson led the way while Arc and the wolf who had once been Luna followed at a slower pace.

The dragon could see that a vicious wound above her ankle had opened again and was weeping with infection. It was probably caused by one of those gruesome traps that men used to catch all kinds of animals, but especially wolves, mink and foxes. The wolf was limping badly, but hardly seemed to notice any more. There was a dreamy look in her dull eyes as she gazed at the rising crescent moon. Always ready catch her should she fall, Arc walked beside her, noting with sorrow that she neither looked nor cared where she was going. The only glimmer of hope was that she showed such an interest in the heavens, that she had not forgotten to be a wolf.

As if to prove the point, Luna stopped. The flicker of a distant memory sparkled in her eyes before she closed them, tipped back her head and howled. The dragon felt the desire to join in and roared with her, creating a powerful and yet beautiful union of calls of the two most feared and maligned species in the Nine Kingdoms that made everyone who heard it shudder.

Exhausted from the effort when the lament ended Luna sank to the floor, unable to stir a step or even rise to her feet. Arc lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the waiting royalty.

'What did she say, Arc?' asked Wendell, tugging on the dragon's tail.

'She didn't say anything, little prince, but she meant a lot. She knows that she is a wolf and that is a start. She needs rest now.'

'So do you, young man. It's far past your bedtime. Look, Mummy's come out to greet us.'

The young woman was standing by the open door. She was so much like her mother with skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony and lips as red as blood. She embraced her son warmly; 'Did you enjoy the circus?'

'It was fun. There were funny clowns and pretty horses and fierce bears and acrobats and lots of dogs and Gran'ma bought a tame wolf from them!'

'That's wonderful, darling. Daddy's waiting for you inside. I'll be up to kiss you goodnight in a minute.' She ruffled her son's hair and pushed him gently inside. She looked over at her mother with a mock-stern expression. 'Bought a performing wolf, eh?'

'What could I do? Look at her, Jasmine.'

Jasmine gasped when she saw the limp form of Luna nestled in Arc's claws, fast asleep. 'What a dear little thing! Oh, she's so beautiful.'

'She's very badly hurt with a sorely wounded heart. We just have to see what we can do for her. Arc, could you put her in the largest cage we have with a thick bed of straw, please?'

'She's really taken a shine to Arc.'

'I think it's more the other way round.'

The white dragon tenderly carried his burden to the menagerie and laid her in a cage while he went to collect great armfuls of straw. After fluffing them up he placed Luna on it, she barely stirred. Tucking straw around her, he stroked her head fondly. 'Sleep well, little friend. From one cage to another in the name of human entertainment. I hope in this one you'll learn again who you are. I will do my best for you, as tradition demands. Don't let your fire go out.'

With one last look of regret, Arc locked the door. Instead of going to the comfortably furnished outbuilding that was his home, he chose to sit under the canopy of an ancient yew tree and watched the stars move across the sky and wondered what would become of the young wolf whose heart had been torn asunder by humans whose only thought was for their own profit.

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Luna's fevered eyes opened to a strange place. The smell of straw was sweet unlike the reek of urine that usually attacked her nostrils, but the wolf could hardly notice. Her body was an all-consuming fire. She couldn't remember how she got here, only the embrace of someone cool and comforting. Now she was only vaguely aware that people were standing watching her. Perhaps the moonlit walk last night had all been a dream. Her senses felt like they were wrapped in gauze, all hazy and distorted.

'Well, what do you think of her?' The Queen was there, along with her physician, the head keeper of her menagerie and two of his assistants.

'Beautiful, I think,' said the Head Keeper, his voice betraying his doubt.

'I won't lie to you, Milady, she's very sick. That wound on her ankle has gone untreated for far too long and has festered, poisoning her blood and causing this fever. Even with my help I don't know if she'll survive, but I will try. Beck, I might need the help of you and your assistants as I don't know how far-gone it is.'

Unlocking the cage, the four entered the domain of the wolf. They lifted the semi-comatose Luna onto the stone floor. The Physician examined Luna's ankle closely. Taking a bottle of lotion, he poured it on the wound and began to swab it over. The tenderness of the area was unpredicted as Luna let out a cry of agony as the pain cut through he stupor like a flaming knife through butter.

'Hold her down! Hold her down!'

The three menagerie keepers literally sat on the writhing wolf. From between her teeth emitted small whines as the Physician worked on removing the dead flesh and cleaning up the wound. He eventually wrapped a herb compress tightly on the injury before announcing the difficult part of the task.

'We've got to get her to drink a composite of echinacea, vervain, wild oat and beanstalk flower. It's not the best tasting brew in the world, which is what's going to make our job a hard one. If she's to stand a chance we have to get it all down her.'

He ground up and mixed the various ingredients with water, it turned a strange purple-green colour to indicate that it was ready. Beck prised open Luna's jaws with a short rod as the Physician tipped the liquid down her throat. She coughed and spluttered in protest but was overpowered by the four men.

Beck whispered the last orders and the final drops of the potion dripped onto the wolf's tongue. 'On my count we all get off and move, quickly. We don't know what she's going to do. Right, one, two, three. Now!'

Of all the reactions they had envisaged, the one that they never expected happened - nothing. Luna simply laid where she was and didn't move as the cage door slammed behind her. Suddenly the dark place in her soul seemed so much more inviting than the world outside; it was a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.

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Luna would never know how long it was until the fever broke. Days and nights passed in an unbroken stream of confusion, sometimes an entire turn of the celestial bodies feeling only like minutes. Every time she looked it seemed the compress had changed. The only thing she remembered of the whole experience was the storm.

It rumbled up out of nowhere, dark and threatening, sending down great streaks of lightning coupled with huge rolls of thunder interspersed with vast sheets of rain blotting out everything on the horizon.

Luna watched its approach without fear or even awe. She saw it as simply another obstacle put in her path. She did not seek shelter and let the torrent wash over her and cleanse her with its healing deluge.

The thunder carried with it the echoes of voices, voices that she knew. Her family had come to visit through the storm and though she could not see them she could hear them, most inquiring about her health as family was wont to do. She caught the sound of Mira sobbing about how she had let her sister and her pack down. Luna wanted to reach out and hold her to tell her that everything would turn out all right and that she mustn't blame herself.

Other voices broke through, those of the most vile of men, the Ringmaster, the villagers, the Queen and a gentle voice she could not place but which said, "Sleep well, little friend. Don't let your fire go out," and other things which she could not quite hear.

But one voice drowned them all out, a voice that she remembered with great fondness, these words being said one stormy night like the one that resounded all around her by the light of a fire, "You are greater than you will ever know in both heart and soul. Though darkness will cover you, you must never give up. Learn from it and become strong."

'Yes, Grandpa.'

Luna bowed her head to the storm and let its waters wash all her pain away.

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The first clap of thunder had awoken Snow White. She reached out to the other side of the bed, but it was cold, as it had been for two years since her husband, King Charming II, had died. She had never liked storms and now they just made her feel all the more alone.

The room was hot and stuffy, almost suffocatingly so. Throwing on a robe, her feet slapping against the warm white marble floor, she made her way over to the glass doors and opened them wide, instantly getting a splatter of cool rain on her face. She walked out onto the balcony savouring every gust of wind, which playfully tugged at her silk robe.

Holding onto the rail she looked down where the lightning lit up the castle grounds, in particular the menagerie. Of all the animals kept there only one was out in the rain, the wolf. The pitiful creature was resting her head against the bars of the ornate cage that was her home letting the water soak her fur black.

She had often watched as one of the junior keepers had spooned water and liquefied meat into the wolf to keep her alive and it made her wonder if she had done the right thing in bringing her back.

A white spectre landed on the railing next to her, making her jump back in fright. Its great wings folded away as he jumped down onto the balcony.

'Arc!'

'Sorry for frightening you, Milady. I thought you might need some company.'

'You know me better than I know myself.'

Small chips of ice fell off Arc's body, the rain having frozen when it touched the dragon's wintry skin. He took hold of Snow White's arm and led her back into her chambers, 'She'll be fine, you know.'

'What do you...?'

'The wolf. This storm is the best thing for her, for it cleanses and purifies. It's helping her to start to claw her way out of the deep dark pit in which she's fallen even as we speak.'

'You've really taken to her, haven't you?'

'It's an old custom. Wolves and dragons always look out for each other. We formed an alliance when times were at their worst.'

'Do you think she'll survive?'

'Oh yes, she'll come through. Her heart will mend more slowly, but it'll happen. By tomorrow I think you'll see a great improvement. The healer of wolves will be here tomorrow, but it is best to keep out of the way. Wolves are rather unpredictable when the full moon is up, give her plenty of fresh meat and stay out of the way of her teeth.'

'Thank you, Arc. I think I'll be all right now.'

Arc smiled, 'I'm not just a pretty face,' he opened his wings on reaching the open door, but remembered something he'd forgotten and turned around, 'Oh, and Majesty...'

'What is it, my friend?'

'Be careful with the wolf. Her heart is fragile, betray it and you might find yourself in deep water.'

'Arc...'

But the dragon had already glided off to his residence leaving Snow White to think over his last remark.

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The storm raged over the countryside near the Little Lamb Village. A small family in a little stone shack huddled around a fire comforting each other against the tempest both outside and in their hearts.

Two almost wolves sat at the centre of the semi-circle with a less pure wolf on either side. When he noticed the sandy wolf look out at the turbulent sky the darker wolf rested a paw on his mothers'.

'I'm sure they're fine, Mother.'

The wooden door was flung open by the unrelenting gusts as a cloaked and huddled figure staggered into the room. He shed his coverings to reveal the storm-battered form of Polaris.

Ara's head was immediately filled with questions. She had come back days ago to look after the remnants of her family. 'Did you find anything out? Are they taking her away?'

Polaris hung his dripping cloak by the fire and sat between his mate and wolfish son, Draco. 'No. Queen Snow White saw our Luna and bought her. She has her now.'

The hotheaded young Sirius spat into the flames, 'They bought and sold her like a common animal, just typical of them!'

Ara laid a paw on her brash son's bent knee, 'Calm down, Sirius. At least we know where she is and that she is safe, for now.'

Ever since the accident Mira's eyes had held a haunted look, 'What does the Queen want Luna for?'

'They want to put her in a menagerie where they can look at her,' the older wolf sighed heavily.

The stick with which Sirius had been poking the fire was forcefully thrust into the hungry blaze, 'So they're going to stick her in a cage for the rest of her life. That's what they would have done in town!'

'She won't be tortured in the palace, brother. In the village she would have been mocked and goaded for the rest of her life where as in the castle she will be saved all that. It is a small mercy but at least it is something to be thankful for.' Once again it was Draco's soft voice that was that of reason, but Sirius was not one to give up an argument that easily.

'Kept on her own, what crueller punishment is there for a wolf?'

'Listen to Draco, he is right.'

'And we'll have a better chance of getting her out of a menagerie. It's unlikely that anyone will be guarding her, where as in the village we'd always be in great danger.'

'We'll always be in great danger, but I agree with Mira.'

Their parents had neglected to tell them about the horrors of the circus in which their sister had been needlessly persecuted and abused. There was no need for them to know the true cruelty of those places unless Luna herself told them, enough of their youth had been stolen by this misadventure. Mira especially did not need that extra weight added to her conscience."

The storm had abated, leaving only a drizzling rain in its wake. The brothers exchanged a look of common purpose. Sirius put tongue to their thoughts; 'Draco and I will go and see if we can rescue her. We'll leave tonight.'

'The journey will take many nights. Be careful, my sons,' Ara's voice was edged with pride.

Polaris gave one last word of advice, 'Watch out for the dragon. I believe he honours the ancient oath, but he also serves the Queen. I don't know where his loyalties lie strongest. If it is to us he will be a valuable ally - he is a white Ice dragon - you can't miss him.'