Circle Of Sisters

10. Edge Of The Forest

Elias let the natural swaying motions of the horse calm his mind as the party travelled at any easy pace down the wide and well kept roads. On both sides of the packed dirt roads lay open and ordered farmland with neat hedges or stone brick walls bissecting the fields. If he allowed himself a moment of forgetfulness, Elias could almost imagine he rode though any small European countryside. Stout brick farm houses with thatched roofs, yards with chickens and pigs browsing, paddocks of fat lambs and goats. The order and regularity of the landscape soothed his darting thoughts. If he could only blot out those very obvious features of the land that told him in no uncertain terms that he was definately not in his own world. The sparkle of wings high in the sky as as group of elves passed over them, hearing their bell like voices as they sang. The fluttering movements of fairies in the hedgerows. The fox that crossed their path, gazing upon them with all too knowing eyes. The long gray tail of a half-wolf hanging out of trousers to annoy the horse in front of his own. Wolf had obviously decided that saddles had not been designed with half-wolf's in mind, so he had quickly pulled his tail out of his breeches. It hung now down the side of his black mount and Elias could see the angry swishing of the horse's tail as it tried to swat the irritating thing away.

Almost as if he knew he was being observed, Wolf turned around in his saddle now to peer back down the road. Elias saw his eyes narrow as his gaze roved over himself, but he was careful to keep his own expression decidedly neutral. Once Wolf had returned his attention back to the road ahead, Elias once more watched Virginia as she rode. She was a competent rider, guiding the horse with ease. She sat with straight back and shoulders, having shaken off the tears shed when she'd had to leave her child behind. It had distrurbed Elias, to see those tears and know the level of sadness he had dealt her then. The King, standing back as they had departed, had given him a cold stare, and so had the baby and the woman who held him. Everyone was against him it seemed. He could understand their enmity, but it only contributed to his rising anger. Why couldn't they see that he was as much a victim as they were? Lock him up in a dungeon, was that the only response possible?

Only the sweet Virginia had defended him. She knew all about what he was feeling, because she alone had the unique perspective of being what he was. What they were. He watched as she turned her head at some distant sound and felt her as she marvelled quietly at her new skills. The strange thing was, Wolf, riding close behind his mate, also nodded as if in recognition, like he was pleased. So, he was not repulsed by his new Virginia. Elias wondered if he'd told her this. For such a close couple, they sure kept things to themselves sometimes. Wolf had not the slightest idea that they were even now following a clue trail given them by Hera, whom Elias knew that Wolf regarded as evil and dangerous. Elias toyed with the idea of telling Wolf all about it, just to see the friction it would cause. But he had given his word to Virginia. Besides, Elias himself didn't have the faintest idea about where they were going. No one had bothered to explain to him, and he hadn't heard any of the conversation between Virginia and Hera in the crypt, only that Virginia had emerged unscathed with Wolf in tow. Virginia had a certain air of hope about her that day and she had been quite firm in her words to Wolf. We go to Little Lamb Village. Elias hadn't missed the uncomfortable expression on Wolf's face when he'd heard that. Little Lamb Village certainly didn't sound too scary a place, but then things were often deceptive in this land.

The group of riders came to a crossroad as the afternoon sun began to slant over the fields. Virginia chose to turn right and Elias realised that they would be passing through the massive disenchanted forest. Wolf's domain. He was it's Warden, it's guardian and spokesperson. Elias felt a moments unease. Virginia might be able to keep Wolf from hurting him, but what about the multitude of wolf-friends that dwelt within the forest? Well, it seemed he would find out tomorrow, because Virginia was guiding her horse off the road and towards a stand of trees.

"This looks like a nice spot to camp, do you think?" she asked aloud, mostly to herself as she dismounted. Elias slid off the back of his weary horse and reached to unbuckle the bridle and other tack. Wendell had supplied the party with small tents and other camping supplies, as well as several bags with various foodstuffs that would probably be considered luxurious by anyones standards. Willem came forward to take the horses to water at a nearby pool. As the others unpacked he tethered them to graze close by and gave them grain in nosebags. Elias grinned in spite of his worries to see the halting awkwardness of everyone's movements. Being a good rider didn't mean that one escaped that particular sensation of having spent a day in the saddle. He stretched his back, hearing the ligaments pop and crackle. He winced slightly at the pulling in his shoulder from the axe wound. Virginia noticed his discomfort and waved him over to where she and Wolf had pitched their tent.

"How do you feel Elias? It's been a long day in the saddle, and probably longer tomorrow. You were wounded also, and I haven't even asked you if you were fit to ride" she asked, her blue eyes troubled. Elias almost wept at the warmth in her voice.

"I'm well enough. Don't trouble yourself Virginia. We heal well, and swiftly, as you must have figured out by now. Besides, it's been remiss of me not enquire after your own health. I don't even know the extent of what the werewolf did to you, or what happened after"

"No, of course you wouldn't know, but to tell you the truth, I remember little of it myself. Wolf and Willem, they were there the whole time, they'll be able to describe it better than I"

"Oh, I don't think they'd want to speak that much with me now..." Elias trailed off, seeing Wolf approaching with a bundle of wood under his arm. The half-wolf scowled at seeing Elias so near Virginia, but she put up a hand to forestall his rising anger.

"Wolf love, later tonight will you tell Elias what happened that night, after he left me? He needs to know" Virginia asked him calmly, taking the wood and adding it to the pile Willem had already collected. Elias saw that Wolf visibly restrained himself and marvelled at Virginia's control of him. Wolf smiled, a brittle thing, but a smile nonetheless. He nodded curtly before drawing her away to whisper in her ear.

"Collect wood? With you, right now? Well, of course..." Virginia whispered back with a stifled giggle as she darted away towards the outlying stands of trees that bordered the forest. They were gone for quite a while, and it was fully dark before they returned to the campfire. Willem had caught and cooked several rabbits to add to the pile of delicacies that Wendell had provided. There was little small talk as they ate. Afterwards, Virginia curled up beside Wolf to lay her head on his lap. Elias was almost mesmerized by the gentle touch of Wolf as he stroked her hair idly. Soft brown hair that would be replaced by the coarse hair of the beast wolf under the next new moon. Elias had no doubts that she would transform at that time, as would he. The rising moon on this night was a few nights from full, but his blood did not sing with it's waxing power as it had always done. He shivered and hunched closer to the fire.

"Cold, Elias?" It was Wolf speaking now, his hands still moving back and forth through Virginia's hair.

"No, not that sort of cold"

"Virginia, she was, so cold that night. When I first came upon her, I was sure she was dead..." Wolf continued, his gaze unfocussed as he stared into the hot coals. Elias sat as still as death, listening with a growing sense of both horror, and awe, as Wolf told the story of what he had done to save his mate's life. He felt the blood drain from his face as Wolf described in vivid detail the great wound, the blood all over the floor, the silent cub under the table, his mad dash through the streets of New York to find the doctor who could do what no-one in the Kingdoms would even try. The hours later when Virginia's life hung by the slenderest of threads, finding James' broken body in the ditch, all of it Wolf spilled out, his voice sometimes quavering with fear, sometimes anger, then obvious pride at her survival. Elias was struck silent by the recount. He had known some facts, like James' death, but to hear it all put together and told by someone who had been so caught up in the fear and grief of the event made him quail within his own skin. So close, so close to death she had come. His raging, ravening beast had done all this. No, not you. Oh yes, it was. He put his hands up to his temples, trying to blot out the endless repetition. Across the fire he saw Virginia rub absently at her own forehead, as if she heard his very thoughts.

"I've said this before Elias, but I don't blame you for what happened. No-one who knows you, who has spent time with you, hunted with you, can say they blame you" Virginia said finally and Elias realised that she was speaking for Wolf's benefit as well as his own. "But we're in this together, and we have to work together, as friends with a common problem will. I don't want any fighting behind my back to worry about. I need to concentrate on the road ahead. This is a challenge, for me, for us all. I don't know why I've been singled out again, but I'm not going to sit around trying to avoid it, not like I did last time"

"But it all worked out in the end Virginia, just like it was meant to. Even your mother's death. You're acting any sooner, or later, might have changed events enormously, and maybe not for the better" Wolf said, stroking her cheek. Virginia sighed and reached to put an arm around his back.

"But how can we ever know what was intended? How I can know if maybe this becoming a werewolf was meant to happen to me?"

"No, beloved. You knew, even as your mother lay dying, that you'd done the right thing, and so did all the world. It's what good does, it vanquishes evil, at whatever cost to itself"

"But I cannot see the werewolf as an evil thing. I just can't. It has no motive, no self awareness. It just is. And yet my heart tells me that it wasn't meant for me"

"Just as your heart knew that your mother really did love you" Wolf replied quietly. Virginia frowned but lay silent, thinking. Elias stirred as the fire threw out a small ember in his direction. Overhead, the moon swung, peering down on them with it's silvery rays.

"Virginia, where do we go tomorrow?" he asked.

"To Little Lamb Village, which is much like any other village in this part of the world, except for one particular Well, a Well which we accidently helped restore, by the way. I wish to visit the Well, and speak to whoever dwells there"

"And toss in a coin or two?" Willem cut in with one of his wide grins. Virginia smiled back broadly at him.

"Ah, no. I have a feeling that only a personal visit will suffice. It's no small thing we ask for, after all!" she replied. Elias was pleased that some of her earlier upbeat attitude had returned. But Wolf's brow crinkled as he tried to make sense of what she meant.

"Virginia honey, how do you know if this will work? I mean, what made you think of trying the Well at all? I can't see how the magic in those waters will be any more successful than that worked by the witch. I don't mean to put doubts in your mind, but there are many such wells scattered over the Kingdoms and not all of them work as well as their 'wishers' would like. Your problem is a lot more complex than turning out pink sheep on request" he said. Elias saw that he was trying to keep his comments light, but Virginia still paused long enough for it to appear she was giving his ideas some thought.

"You're right. I don't know for sure. Maybe the Well is only the starting point" Virginia replied eventually, yawning widely. "I'm going to turn in. Hopefully we can get an early start and arrive in the village by late afternoon". Wolf stood and reached down to lift her into his arms. Despite his new found understanding and tacit truce with Wolf, Elias still felt a twinge of jealously as he watched the two of them enter their tent together. A part of him, deeply hidden still, wanted to rip the tent to shreds and claim her for his own. My own kind. He sighed and turned to settle into his bedroll, noting that Willem had set up his own space quite a way from everyone else, out of earshot of the soft sounds of passion coming from the lover's tent. Elias closed his eyes, but it was a long time before he slept that night.

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The pennants hung limp in the night air. Wendell could see them if he leaned out far enough from his window. He was very tempted all of a sudden to see if he could reach the high battlements, following the secret pathway of ledges and cracked shingles like he had as a small boy. He'd given his ever present nursemaids the slip on many occasions doing just that. Well, all except for her. Nanny Christine had slept with one eye open at all hours of the night, he had soon learned. Now, a grown man and King, he no longer needed servants to bunk down in his room. His royal suite was guarded at night, of course, but only his own breaths and heartbeat disturbed his sleep. Like tonight.

He stared off into the distance. Everything was a night blurred black, white and grey. A small movement in the shrubbery below his window caught his attention. Wendell swung the multipaned glass outwards, leaning over to peer down. The hedge below parted and a small head appeared. From above, Wendell could make out the dark messy hair and striped pyjamas. The little figure swung it's head back and forth as if snuffing the air. Wendell smiled and whistled a low tone, causing the garden interloper to freeze. Wendell turned and gathered up his terribly fashionable nightrobe, belting it about himself as he scurried down the palace corridors, two sleepy guards in his wake. Out in the gardens, he was able to locate his window. The little visitor, obviously knowing itself to be discovered, was still where he had last seen it. Caelum squeaked in contrition (and a touch of annoyance, thought Wendell) when he was lifted up and out of the hedge. The baby dangled from his pyjama straps as Wendell fixed him with his most cross expression, which, when he practised it in the mirror, wasn't all that menacing to see.

"You shouldn't be out wandering at this time of night, Caelum. What are you doing anyway?" he said firmly. He had no idea of whether the cub could understand him or not, but evidently the boy knew the gist of his questions. He lifted one pudgy finger and pointed out over the fields towards the disenchanted forest.

"Mama, dadda, home". The boy's voice was garbled, but Wendell heard the sentiment in them. He drew the cub in close, smoothing back his curls.

"No, Caelum, they're not at home. They've gone away" he said in the boy's ear, feeling a sudden pang of discontent himself. Caelum whined and sniffled and Wendell felt like joining him. But it wouldn't do to have the King of the Realm standing about weeping in his nightshirt. He was lonely, he realised. He'd never really noticed it before today. Not until his friends, who had none of the endless humdrum of responsibilty had ridden off on another adventure. But then he corrected himself slightly, looking at the small boy pining for his parents. They had the most important responsibility of all, right here. And yet they had left it behind. It must be a terribly important mission to cause them to leave their child. Wendell had not missed the pain on Virginia's face. There had been something different about her though. Wendell had never felt intimidated by Virginia before, yet her presence in the state room today had been formidable. Part of him had recoiled from it. Worst of all was the fact that Virginia had not the slightest notion that she had had that influence on him. All she'd asked for was a couple of horses, yet Wendell had the uncomfortable feeling that if she'd only extended it to ask for his whole Kingdom and Castle, he'd have been hard pressed not to give it to her. It reminded him of how his new step-mother had once manipulated her way into complete power.

The air had suddenly grown chill around him. He toted the cub back up the stairs, handing him over to a very relieved looking Elsie who had obviously just woken and found the boy missing. Returning to his now cold bed, he stared at the ceiling for a long time. Virginia had come into some power. It had shone out of her face and form like a beacon. The man Elias had something to do with what had happened to her. Maybe tomorrow, he would try and find a moment to talk to Tony about it.