Prince Damian's POV

I had never been more impatient than I was at that moment. My father was in an important meeting with some nobles, and I was left pacing outside of the consultation room. Finally, the door flew open; I looked up at my father with a smile as he dismissed the two noblemen.

"Good morning, father. May I speak with you?" I asked

"Of course, come in and shut the door." He replied. "How did the ball go? Your mother and I retired early last night, so we missed most of it."

"It went as well as could be expected." I said with a teasing hint of mock arrogance.

He chuckled, "What is it that you want to talk to me about?"

I could not stop the grin that spread across my face, "You see, last night I met a girl. She was intelligent, beautiful, funny, humble… She was… perfect." I tried not to sound like a lovesick puppy, but I am sure I failed.

Father gawked at me in disbelief, "Who is she?" His tone was urgent; as if he was afraid I would change my mind.

"All I know is that her name is Brietta, and her mother was an Eldemarian. We talked for hours, but I do not know anything else about her." I said regretfully.

"What is it that you talked about then?" He asked.

I paused, "I am not really sure." I could not remember one specific thing we had talked about.

Father sighed, "It is almost impossible to find someone in this kingdom with that small of a description."

"But father, we have to find her! I refuse to be forced into an arranged marriage with someone I hate." I paused to let my words sink in, "I would rather marry for love. Like you did with mother." I said desperately.

"This arranged marriage you speak of could possibly save our kingdom." He reprimanded, "Would this 'Brietta' be able to stop an ongoing war between two enemy kingdoms? Could she mend the hate between two feuding kings?" He rubbed his temples with a tired sigh, "All I am trying to say is that you need to consider that if another war started between Eldemari and Rhenia hundreds of thousands of lives; both from our side and theirs, could be ruined."

"I am sorry father." I had not thought about it that way.

He nodded, "Now, what does this girl look like? I need a more detailed description if I am going to search for her."

I went on to describe the beauty of the mysterious girl.

When I finished I went to my room to get my cloak and bow then to the stables to get Thunder, my horse. I rode around the outskirts of town, until I got to my entrance to the forest. The woods had been my favorite place since I was six.

I rode down the trail that I had worn down over the years. Then I swerved off the main path and into the thick brush.

I walked a few yards, searching for my favorite spot, then I finally pushed one last branch out of the way, and I paused to take in the beauty; it was a small gap in the tree pattern, just big enough for a horse and three men, but small enough to be extremely hard to find. The trees overhead tangled and knotted together to form a green canopy of leaves. I dismounted, and sat down in the waving grass.

I sat for a few minutes, then suddenly my hunting senses told me something was off, I listened, when I did not hear anything I swung my bow off my back, it was usually buzzing with animal life around here. I went back to the trail; even the trees seemed to be holding their breath.

I glanced down at the dirt and mud path, and froze in my steps. There was a large fresh paw print not two feet away, leading towards the kingdom. I looked around me, and realized that there was a whole pack of prints that had not been there when I had passed by only minutes ago.

"They walked right by me." I whispered in shock.

I mounted Thunder, my bow still loaded and ready to shoot anything that moved.

The wolves were a threat to the livestock, and I knew that if they got bold they would start attacking people.

I galloped back to the castle, not seeing any more signs of the pack.

I met my father on the way to breakfast, and told him of my findings, He confirmed my thoughts about the animals. "Those men I was meeting with this morning, their districts have been raided by wolves. It seems they lost a good amount of cattle and a few pet dogs that tried to defend their territory are dead as well."

We both agreed that he should send out a hunting party before the wolves got any closer to the core of the kingdom.

*~~H~~*

Brietta's POV

We were preparing for another day when there was a knock on the front door; I opened it to find a uniformed soldier.

He looked down at a scroll, "Is there a 'Wesley Anderson' here?" He asked in a formal tone.

I heard Wess coming down the stairs behind me, "That is me, what can I do for you sir?" He asked.

"The king has issued a hunting party for some overly audacious wolves, you are on the list. You will be accompanied by these men." He handed Wess the scroll in his hand. "Do you have any objections?" He asked when he saw Wesley's frown.

"No, it is just that I do not know why I was chosen."

The soldier smirked, "Congratulations, you are one of best archers in the kingdom. The king himself drew up this list."

Wesley's expression was one of extreme surprise.

He glanced at me and almost cracked up but smoothly covered his laugh with a cough. He knew that I was better than him in archery, and I would be on that list too… However, it was an unspoken rule that women do not practice such arts.

The soldier listed off some of the things Wess would need for the hunt, and they spoke of a few more details before the man departed.

Wess turned to me

"He said that they have not hurt any humans yet, but it is a large pack and it is inevitable that they will injure or kill someone." He told me this in hushed tones, so he would not frighten the younger kids. "He said we will be leaving in two days time."

I nodded, "We best get you ready then."