Disclaimer: I do not own the Fable universe. Characters you do not recognize were created by me for the purposes of this story. Changes have been made to the region of Silverpines. The area is larger and buildings have been added. I have added my own details about balverines, so do not be surprised if you read a detail or two that the game does not cover. Please note that this story will be quite dark at times.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story, any and all feedback is appreciated! - Fallon.
Chapter Five
"Howl! 7 days to the wolves, where will we be when they come? 7 days to the poison and a place in heaven, time drawing near as they come to take us..." - "7 Days to the Wolves" by Nightwish
A rather annoying man by the name of Barry Hatch came for Maya. His voice made Maya`s ears bleed, she would take pleasure in silencing it for good.
Hatch led the procession down the hall, while the two heavily armed guards led Maya along. It was not the most dignified position, each grabbed one of her arms and literally dragged her backward down the hall, but she supposed it could have been worse – at least they were keeping their hands to themselves.
The procession went through a large iron gate and Maya was unceremoniously dropped on her posterior. "Balls!" She cursed as the impact rattled her head.
"How very uncouth for a princess..."
She got to her feet and looked behind her, Reaver was standing on a balcony with a dozen nobles. "Go to hell, Reaver!"
"Oh my dear, if I had a coin for every time I heard that -"
She glared at him, "Don't worry, I'll say it for free."
"Shame," he said with a pout, "to think of all the fun we could have had..."
"...makes me want to throw up." Maya offered, happy to finish his sentence for him.
He laughed, throwing his head back in amusement, "Oh my dear, I do love your witty tongue!"
"Too bad I love nothing about you."
Reaver soured, "Now I have been more than hospitable -"
"I would disagree," she bowed, "but continue your rant, oh psychotic one!"
"Hmm, no I think I will let my pets speak for me..." There was a wicked smile on his lips.
Maya wasn't sure what he was planning, but she knew it wouldn't be good.
"And when they render your head from your shoulder," Reaver had a maniacal gleam in his dark eyes, "I will personally deliver it to your brother!"
Maya rolled her eyes, he clearly had ego issues.
Her sword was thrown down to her and she sauntered over it to, grinning as Reaver growled.
"Your confidence will be the death of you." Reaver warned.
She pointed her sword to him, "And my blade will be the death of you."
He laughed, and Barry and the nobles joined in.
"I hope you enjoyed my pistol, Reaver." She shouted to him.
"Enjoyed it?" He pushed aside his jacket, "I still have it!"
Maya grinned, "Not for long."
"We shall see, Princess." Reaver hissed as he followed Maya with his eyes.
"Yes," Maya said coolly, "you will."
Gates opened on either side of her and hobbes rushed out, only to meet a swift death by her blade. After three rounds, there were nearly fifty of the smelly creatures laying dead around her.
Reaver leaned over to Barry, "Better cut the nonsense and send in the balverines."
Von was alive, though he had no idea how or why.
Reaver`s guards had taken Maya from their cell, but he was far too weak to stand let alone defend her. Not that she was worthy of such an act, but he knew in his heart no one, not even the cold and hate-filled princess, was deserving of Reaver`s special sort of justice.
Von squirmed, trying desperately to get to his feet, but it just wasn't going to happen.
Whatever Reaver had planned for Maya, Von would bet money on her surviving it. Whether or not she would come back for him on her way to freedom...well, that was a little more up in the air.
He gave up trying to stand, and instead tried to stop the bleeding from his abdomen. It had slowed, but dark red blood was still oozing from the bullet hole just above his hip.
Trying to move as quickly as he could, he tore off a length of fabric from his trousers, leaving a long slit down the side. He tied some pine shavings from the floor in a knot in the fabric, pressing that knot to the wound.
He groaned at the pressure but kept going.
He forced himself to lean forward and tied it firmly around his waist. It wasn't perfect by any means, and the dirty shavings could leave him with a nasty infection, but it was better than nothing.
The lashes on his back stung, and were definitely the worst lashes he had ever received, but they didn't hurt nearly as much as the pain in his gut.
He felt his teeth shift between those of a human and those of a balverine. It took a considerable amount of strength to remain in human form, and his body was giving up that hold in order to preserve his life. He would switch to the easier to maintain balverine whether he liked it or not.
Through his half-lidded eyes, he saw something shine from the filthy shavings.
He stretched across the floor and snatched it up.
He smiled weakly, it was a very small, tarnished silver bullet. It was old, but the power of the silver did not deteriorate with age.
Von clenched it in his hand and tried to focus on the power pulsing from it. Used offensively, silver was very dangerous for a balverine in his wolf form. But in human form, silver kept the balverine form from springing forth.
It was a handy tool he had often used to calm his rage and keep the wolf at bay, but it only worked if it touched his skin, for some reason it's pulsing was deafened by even a slip of fabric.
It dug into the palm of his hand but he didn't relent.
If he passed into his balverine form in such a weakened state, he would remain in balverine form when he died - and his pelt would be up for grabs.
Von choked on a sob, that was what happened to his father. Unable to endure any more torture, Mathias had slipped into his most natural form - that of a wolf. Weakened by Reaver, the switch had come upon his father without warning. As soon as the transformation was complete, Reaver finished him...like...like he was a damned animal!
Von growled.
He could not allow Reaver to live, his honor and duty to his Family did not allow it.
His father's pelt was taken using torture, not in a honourable fight, and for that, Reaver would suffer his wrath. The silver bullet fell to the floor and Von struggled to stand.
Yes, he thought, Reaver will suffer.
Maya sprinted down the corridor Barry and the guards had led her down earlier.
The Dragonstomper was back in it's rightful place and Reaver was undoubtedly still reeling from it's loss - for a time, he had had a perfect pair.
Her pistol back, all that was left was fetching wolf-boy and that damned fur of his.
Rounding the corner, she slid to a halt, her boots finding little grip on the polished stone floor.
The gate to the cell she had shared with Von was open.
Well, open was a relative term – the bars of the cell had been pushed side to create an exit, right beside the still locked cell door.
Maya glanced inside and saw the rather large pool of blood in the pine shavings. A trail of blood led to the hole in the bars and continued further down the hall. She supposed she should thank him when she found him, she had never had a path so clearly laid out for her.
She walked slowly down the hall, calmly reloading her pistol.
The trail led her to a large banquet hall but stopped there, the blood blending it perfectly with the crimson rugs and the other curious looking stains it held.
There were at least four corridors that branched off from the banquet hall, and Maya glanced down each, not certain which one she needed to take.
A scream tore through the air, cutting the silence in two and deciding for her.
She sprinted down the hall to her left, her Dragonstomper clasped firmly in her hand.
At the end of the hall was a pair of double doors violently torn off their hinges. Maya spun around the corner and gasped.
Von, or the wolf-thing she suspected was Von, was crouched over a terrified young girl in a servants uniform.
Patches of charcoal-black fur were splotched over his body and he was completely nude, his clothes having been ripped from his body during his transformation. His black mohawk had grown down his back and his waist had narrowed, allowing his abdominal muscles to bulge against his tightening skin, which had darkened to a smokey grey.
Just about his hip, she saw the gun shot wound, confirming that it was indeed Von. Her eyes drifted lower and she swallowed hard at the sight of him fully bare.
He was caught between two forms, she realized, and seemed rabid.
He snarled and his jaw broke with a sharp snap, allowing for his nose and mouth to be stretched out into a primitive muzzle.
The servant girl begged for Maya to help her, but the Princess's feet were frozen in place.
Maya had never seen such a terrifying, yet awe-inspiring sight. "Please..." She whimpered.
Von tilted his head toward her as he held the servant in his clawed hands. His pale blue eyes hadn't changed.
"Let her go..." Maya said in a whisper.
Von stared at her and quickly dropped the girl, who landed on the pelt of Mathias Kaiser and scurried out of the room.
Maya knew she should raise the Dragonstomper, but her arm felt like lead. Von crawled off the bed, ignoring his father's pelt, and stared at her. He took a step, his leg breaking and stretching out to take on its balverine look. Maya cringed as his other leg broke and did the same thing.
He was tall, slim, furry and muscular – but still stuck between two identities.
Her mind was drunk with panic and memories of the last time a balverine had made her feel such terror. Just like before, her legs refused to move and her eyes refused to blink. It was an all consuming fear, one that she never expected to feel again.
Worse than that was the extreme vulnerability she felt. More than the fear, she wished that would go away so she could feel whole again.
Von stopped, leaving hardly any room between the two of them.
Maya`s eyes rose from Von`s chest to his face. She tried to forget that he was naked and silently told herself to show no weakness.
"You need to snap out of this before I make you, wolf-boy." She warned, her grip on Dragonstomper tightening.
He exhaled heavily, blowing her hair back.
Maya took a step back and pressed her pistol to his chest. He was a balverine, and she would usually think nothing of finishing him or any of his kind off...but he had come with her to Reaver`s manor, and even though he was ordered to, there was still a part of her that saw him as a companion – an ally. She was determined to leave with him.
Honor before hatred, she told herself.
"Wolf-boy..." She said questioningly, not sure what he was thinking or feeling.
Von stared at her, his blue eyes fixed on her dark ones like there was nothing else in the room.
"I don't want to pull the trigger." She said truthfully.
He gave a growl, but it faded out into a whimper. Maya couldn't help but think it was sort of cute – sort of.
Von`s jaw broke, followed by his cheek bones and his face softened, taking on its handsome human features. His hair receded back into its normal length and style, and his skin lightened.
Still, there was patches of fur covering much of his body.
Maya slipped past him and fetched a sheet, hurriedly returning to Von and wrapping it around his waist. He groaned in pain.
Maya tied the sheet so it covered and applied pressure to the gun shot near his hip, but still he groaned. "Are you hurt elsewhere?" She asked softly, aware he was still between forms.
He nodded, cringing slightly as his neck cracked.
She looked over his chest and arms and saw nothing, "Where?"
Von clenched his teeth and Maya saw they were still incredibly sharp.
"Where does it hurt?" She prompted, feeling a little bit like a mother with a sobbing child who could not say why he was sobbing.
"E-Everywhere..." He said through his teeth.
Maya was surprised, but nodded slowly, "Does...this switch, thing hurt?"
He nodded abruptly.
"Every time?"
His hissed but managed a nod.
She tried to urge him out of the room, but he held firm. "P-Pelt..."
Maya had him lean against the doorway as she fetched his father's pelt from Reaver`s bed. She returned to his side, the pelt tucked safely under her arm.
Von followed her slowly, each step feeling like a bolt of lightning was shooting up his leg. He was truly surprised she had come back for him but, then again, she could have simply been looking for the pelt.
He stumbled and Maya stopped, "Are you going to be able to make it, wolf-boy?"
His skin had lightened, but some of the grey tinge remained, leaving him looking rather sickly. He was also covered in a thin sheen of sweat, though Maya suspected that was because of the gun shot more than anything else.
"Why, t-thinking of l-leaving me behind?" He forced himself to smirk even though the muscles of his face felt like they were on fire.
She shook her head, "That would be the easy way out, and I hardly take that path."