The black wolf stopped, looking with her single amber eye at the
spellbound faces before her. She shook her head, gold loops jangling from
her pricked ears, breaking the enchantment she had so skilfully woven over
her audience.
Virginia looked up at the life-sized portrait behind the villainous creature, 'So that was her?'
'Yes, the painting that Snow White had done upon her wedding day.' She turned to Wendell, 'Do you remember her now, Your Majesty?'
The glimmer of recognition that had occurred about halfway through the story had turned into an inferno, 'Of course I do. She was one of my best friends when I was young. When my parents died it was her that I cried for. When she didn't come I felt betrayed and shut her out.'
Virginia noticed Wolf staring at the painting with something like regret in his eyes, but something else still bothered her, 'How do you know all this?'
'That's easy, Luna was my Mama.'
The black wolf's iniquitous features softened into sentiment, it's single golden eye remarkably striking amongst the jet-black fur that was completely devoid of any other shade.
'Then your name is Miran.'
'No, she was my older sister. I was not born here, but there is one in this room that was delivered by an Ice Dragon.'
'Wolf...But that's impossible, you're too old, surely?'
'Wolves age a lot faster than humans, my love. But you should have known, hasn't he even told you his name?'
Wolf looked at his feet sheepishly, unable to meet the gaze of his mate or his sister.
'Why did you keep your name from me?' Virginia was hurt as much as anything else by the fact that he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her his real name.
'Because I left my name behind with my old life.'
'When he left his soul behind. When he tried to forget who he was.'
'Raven, you know that's not true!'
'All I know is how much of a liar you are!' The black wolf was angry now, her eye flashing dangerously and her hackles raised, 'You left me behind to burn while you got your comfy cell in the Mem. Oh yes, Swift the Great, who couldn't even dare to be a wolf, who repeated the tragedies and triumphs of his mother and who still tried to fool himself into believing that he could deny his own blood. You can't hide from the moon, brother.'
Wolf had grown equally angry during the tirade, 'I know I can't, no matter how hard I try, the evil moon always finds me!'
Virginia and Wendell watched in absolute helplessness the internecine feud that had been raging for years and showed no promise of abating.
'Evil moon?' Raven's words were slow and measured, yet infinitely more dangerous, 'Have you even thought that it wasn't the moon but yourself? The moon watches over wolves and does all in Her great power to stop them coming to harm – she punishes those who have wicked intentions lurking inside. Our mother once walked that treacherous path, but she came out the other side. Will you? Why do you think Mama always took us out to watch the moon when we were young? Because she knew what would happen if we were led astray – and who better to teach us than the Shadow of the Moon herself?'
Virginia couldn't help remembering her first full moon with Wolf, all the things he'd said about his mother taking him out to watch the moon and what fate had befallen his parents... No. She shook her head in disbelief, it couldn't have happened to those wolves, could it? Suddenly the spectre became much more ugly when she thought of how Wolf's parents had died – by being burnt to death by some villagers. The wolves that they'd killed had saved Snow White's life and had already suffered so much. She felt the pain again of when her mother had died, but her mother had almost destroyed the Kingdoms, not saved them.
The wolves stood eye to glowing eye. Looking at them like this it was absurdly obvious how similar they were. They were about as close as man and beast could possibly be, especially with Wolf's hackles raised and his tail beginning to peek from out of his trousers. Yet this fact alone scared Virginia, that Wolf could have a sister so, so... wolflike! How much wolf blood would their baby have? Would it turn out like Wolf's sister? There was something more than that wolf's appearance that frightened her.
The black wolf broke the stalemate, looking anxiously around the room and declaring: 'Excuse me, I've got some business to attend to, and enclosed spaces make me edgy.' With that she dropped onto all fours and bounded away, her tail swinging high above her.
'Raven, wait! Raven!' From his look of loss and the tone of desperation in his voice she knew he loved his sister deeply and it pained him to lose her again.
'Go after her, Wolf,' Virginia said to him softly, understanding how hard it was to lose someone you loved. Only he didn't have to.
With barely a backward glance he went running after her, calling out her name as he went, 'Raven, Raven, wait!'
He caught up with her near an old, abandoned part of the castle grounds as he thought she meant him to. 'Raven, wait, don't go.'
She turned to face him, her single eye sad and bereft, 'Why should I stay, there's nothing here for me. You have your mate and soon a little one. Don't let him grow up hating his wolf side like you did, will you?'
She sounded almost desperate, pleading. A tear carved its own channel through her thick black fur. Wolf had never seen his sister so vulnerable. He pulled her close and hugged her tight, 'I never hated you, Raven, how could I? If he ever does I'll make sure his Auntie Raven shows him a better way than me.'
'Lu, do you know what this place is?'
Wolf looked round at the twisted and rusted metal and saw it as it must once have been, 'This was our Mama's prison, where I was conceived.'
'Where Mama learned she didn't want to be a human, she wanted to be a wolf because that's what she was.'
'I take it that there's a message for me there somewhere.'
'You decide. I've missed you, Lu.'
'And I've missed you too. Why don't you stay? I'm sure Wendell won't mind.'
'He'd mind if he knew he were harbouring an escaped convict.'
'That doesn't matter. Wendell pardoned all the wolves!'
'Not where I was.'
Wolf dreaded the answer to the question he was about to ask, 'Where were you?'
Instead of speaking Raven removed a tattered scarf, the only clothing she wore, that hung over her right shoulder. What it revealed made Wolf recoil in horror – the perfect shape of a rams head had been branded into the living flesh.
'You got Ramsbard?'
Ramsbard Prison was the most feared in all the Nine Kingdoms. The cruelty of its warders was renowned, but not half as much as the inmates – only the most feared and dangerous were sent there – lives that didn't matter. Even the Evil Queen had been too high profile to send there.
'I'm not proud of what we did to get out of there. Even the lowliest murderers didn't deserve Ramsbard. You've got to understand, Lu, I got sent down for multiple murder with no hope of parole. You just got a few years for theft and the cons we pulled. You can't imagine it unless you've been there. It was a place that created murderers, not cured them.'
This time Wolf didn't ask, this time he really didn't want to know. Instead he asked: 'So where will you go now?'
'I'm going to the mountain.'
Wolf already knew which mountain – the Dragon Mountain – he could see it reflected in her eyes. She began to buckle on a sling from where she's stashed it under a rambling rose bush, watched over by the beady eyes of the black bird that was her namesake. It housed a viciously shaped knife and a leather quiver full of black-flighted arrows. She examined the string on a yew longbow as she spoke.
'It's where my destiny's been leading me all my life. I'm going to stand by the mighty bones of Behemoth and call my brothers home. I will sing them back to the lands from which they fled.'
'You think it'll work?'
'It must, I feel it. The dragons have been gone from these parts for far too long. They are the source of the magic in this land, you know that. The dwarves stole their home and now we will win it back.
'If you ever need a hunting partner on the hunters moon sing for me and I shall come. I have watched over you these many years and will continue to do so. Luck and the Lady of the Moon be with you, Arc-Luath.'
As he watched her melt into the shadows, a large raven perched upon her shoulder, he felt like he had not been talking to his sister but his mother. With a hint of sadness he turned away to dream of the mountain for he too felt the pull of an ancient promise.
'Luck and the Lady of the Moon be with you too, Raven, Shadow of the Moon.'
* * * * *
Ok, I know this wasn't the ending most people had anticipated and I'm sorry for what happened to Luna and Tamm, but I'm currently working on a story to explain why the hell this happened, and what happens to Raven, Wolf and Virginia.
Virginia looked up at the life-sized portrait behind the villainous creature, 'So that was her?'
'Yes, the painting that Snow White had done upon her wedding day.' She turned to Wendell, 'Do you remember her now, Your Majesty?'
The glimmer of recognition that had occurred about halfway through the story had turned into an inferno, 'Of course I do. She was one of my best friends when I was young. When my parents died it was her that I cried for. When she didn't come I felt betrayed and shut her out.'
Virginia noticed Wolf staring at the painting with something like regret in his eyes, but something else still bothered her, 'How do you know all this?'
'That's easy, Luna was my Mama.'
The black wolf's iniquitous features softened into sentiment, it's single golden eye remarkably striking amongst the jet-black fur that was completely devoid of any other shade.
'Then your name is Miran.'
'No, she was my older sister. I was not born here, but there is one in this room that was delivered by an Ice Dragon.'
'Wolf...But that's impossible, you're too old, surely?'
'Wolves age a lot faster than humans, my love. But you should have known, hasn't he even told you his name?'
Wolf looked at his feet sheepishly, unable to meet the gaze of his mate or his sister.
'Why did you keep your name from me?' Virginia was hurt as much as anything else by the fact that he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her his real name.
'Because I left my name behind with my old life.'
'When he left his soul behind. When he tried to forget who he was.'
'Raven, you know that's not true!'
'All I know is how much of a liar you are!' The black wolf was angry now, her eye flashing dangerously and her hackles raised, 'You left me behind to burn while you got your comfy cell in the Mem. Oh yes, Swift the Great, who couldn't even dare to be a wolf, who repeated the tragedies and triumphs of his mother and who still tried to fool himself into believing that he could deny his own blood. You can't hide from the moon, brother.'
Wolf had grown equally angry during the tirade, 'I know I can't, no matter how hard I try, the evil moon always finds me!'
Virginia and Wendell watched in absolute helplessness the internecine feud that had been raging for years and showed no promise of abating.
'Evil moon?' Raven's words were slow and measured, yet infinitely more dangerous, 'Have you even thought that it wasn't the moon but yourself? The moon watches over wolves and does all in Her great power to stop them coming to harm – she punishes those who have wicked intentions lurking inside. Our mother once walked that treacherous path, but she came out the other side. Will you? Why do you think Mama always took us out to watch the moon when we were young? Because she knew what would happen if we were led astray – and who better to teach us than the Shadow of the Moon herself?'
Virginia couldn't help remembering her first full moon with Wolf, all the things he'd said about his mother taking him out to watch the moon and what fate had befallen his parents... No. She shook her head in disbelief, it couldn't have happened to those wolves, could it? Suddenly the spectre became much more ugly when she thought of how Wolf's parents had died – by being burnt to death by some villagers. The wolves that they'd killed had saved Snow White's life and had already suffered so much. She felt the pain again of when her mother had died, but her mother had almost destroyed the Kingdoms, not saved them.
The wolves stood eye to glowing eye. Looking at them like this it was absurdly obvious how similar they were. They were about as close as man and beast could possibly be, especially with Wolf's hackles raised and his tail beginning to peek from out of his trousers. Yet this fact alone scared Virginia, that Wolf could have a sister so, so... wolflike! How much wolf blood would their baby have? Would it turn out like Wolf's sister? There was something more than that wolf's appearance that frightened her.
The black wolf broke the stalemate, looking anxiously around the room and declaring: 'Excuse me, I've got some business to attend to, and enclosed spaces make me edgy.' With that she dropped onto all fours and bounded away, her tail swinging high above her.
'Raven, wait! Raven!' From his look of loss and the tone of desperation in his voice she knew he loved his sister deeply and it pained him to lose her again.
'Go after her, Wolf,' Virginia said to him softly, understanding how hard it was to lose someone you loved. Only he didn't have to.
With barely a backward glance he went running after her, calling out her name as he went, 'Raven, Raven, wait!'
He caught up with her near an old, abandoned part of the castle grounds as he thought she meant him to. 'Raven, wait, don't go.'
She turned to face him, her single eye sad and bereft, 'Why should I stay, there's nothing here for me. You have your mate and soon a little one. Don't let him grow up hating his wolf side like you did, will you?'
She sounded almost desperate, pleading. A tear carved its own channel through her thick black fur. Wolf had never seen his sister so vulnerable. He pulled her close and hugged her tight, 'I never hated you, Raven, how could I? If he ever does I'll make sure his Auntie Raven shows him a better way than me.'
'Lu, do you know what this place is?'
Wolf looked round at the twisted and rusted metal and saw it as it must once have been, 'This was our Mama's prison, where I was conceived.'
'Where Mama learned she didn't want to be a human, she wanted to be a wolf because that's what she was.'
'I take it that there's a message for me there somewhere.'
'You decide. I've missed you, Lu.'
'And I've missed you too. Why don't you stay? I'm sure Wendell won't mind.'
'He'd mind if he knew he were harbouring an escaped convict.'
'That doesn't matter. Wendell pardoned all the wolves!'
'Not where I was.'
Wolf dreaded the answer to the question he was about to ask, 'Where were you?'
Instead of speaking Raven removed a tattered scarf, the only clothing she wore, that hung over her right shoulder. What it revealed made Wolf recoil in horror – the perfect shape of a rams head had been branded into the living flesh.
'You got Ramsbard?'
Ramsbard Prison was the most feared in all the Nine Kingdoms. The cruelty of its warders was renowned, but not half as much as the inmates – only the most feared and dangerous were sent there – lives that didn't matter. Even the Evil Queen had been too high profile to send there.
'I'm not proud of what we did to get out of there. Even the lowliest murderers didn't deserve Ramsbard. You've got to understand, Lu, I got sent down for multiple murder with no hope of parole. You just got a few years for theft and the cons we pulled. You can't imagine it unless you've been there. It was a place that created murderers, not cured them.'
This time Wolf didn't ask, this time he really didn't want to know. Instead he asked: 'So where will you go now?'
'I'm going to the mountain.'
Wolf already knew which mountain – the Dragon Mountain – he could see it reflected in her eyes. She began to buckle on a sling from where she's stashed it under a rambling rose bush, watched over by the beady eyes of the black bird that was her namesake. It housed a viciously shaped knife and a leather quiver full of black-flighted arrows. She examined the string on a yew longbow as she spoke.
'It's where my destiny's been leading me all my life. I'm going to stand by the mighty bones of Behemoth and call my brothers home. I will sing them back to the lands from which they fled.'
'You think it'll work?'
'It must, I feel it. The dragons have been gone from these parts for far too long. They are the source of the magic in this land, you know that. The dwarves stole their home and now we will win it back.
'If you ever need a hunting partner on the hunters moon sing for me and I shall come. I have watched over you these many years and will continue to do so. Luck and the Lady of the Moon be with you, Arc-Luath.'
As he watched her melt into the shadows, a large raven perched upon her shoulder, he felt like he had not been talking to his sister but his mother. With a hint of sadness he turned away to dream of the mountain for he too felt the pull of an ancient promise.
'Luck and the Lady of the Moon be with you too, Raven, Shadow of the Moon.'
* * * * *
Ok, I know this wasn't the ending most people had anticipated and I'm sorry for what happened to Luna and Tamm, but I'm currently working on a story to explain why the hell this happened, and what happens to Raven, Wolf and Virginia.
