Episode 16: Winter is coming

Part 1

It has been many countless days since Loveday and the animals of Farthing Wood had arrived.

White Deer Park would never be the same place since these strange new animals had started to live differently on Farthing Land, bringing along with them change and diversity.

Unlike all the unfriendly park animals, they took care of one another or helped each other out no matter what the differences between their species were. Carnivore, omnivore or herbivore.

Though what was strange was having a teenage girl now living deep within the park since the animals were the only occupants, that is if you count out the warden who was the human keeper and caretaker of the wildlife sanctuary.

Aside from all that terror and turmoil from fitting in, the farthing animals had been settling rather well, everyone was now getting use to the ways of life in the park. Loveday of course was the one who found it harder to fit in the most, although the great white stag and his herd welcomed her and Fox and Vixen were always checking on her to see if she was doing ok, she felt a bit lonely sometimes, but she had firmly made up her mind not to go back to the human world ever.

For a while, Loveday had spent her days struggling to finish her newly furnished burrow hidden behind the door in a willow tree, she'd been using old rusty tools to make extra shelves and even a bed to sleep on with a mossy mattress and that took her ages. She filled all the old glass jars and clay pottery with harvested nuts and berries she picked to eat which were hard to find. She had painted colourful patterns on the furniture with her small box of paints that she'd been saving. And now the whole place was looking better than before, with a small fire all lit it felt warm and cosy for the first time that Loveday had felt in ages.

While in her wooden chair with her feet warming up against the dying flames, she sighed leisurely to herself.

"It may not be a house, but it is a home" she thought, looking from corner to corner at all her belongings she'd arranged everywhere in the one space. Yes, it was all in one room. No kitchen, no bathroom, no living room just a hole in the ground but a cute one that suited all her bare necessities. As Loveday carried on watching the yellow flames in the firepit start to drowse her eyes. She thought she had closed them at some point for a while and had awoken to see the place dimming to sudden darkness.

"I must've fallen asleep…maybe I have? Oh well I should probably get something to eat. I must be feeling low on strength after working all day on this place" after stepping out of her chair she slips on her hoodie and checks to make sure her small pocketknife was all sharp and pointy. One of the first few rules she learnt about hunting with Fox was to always have a weapon to help catch whatever you eat or else you'll go another day on an empty stomach. Being born without sharp teeth or claws Loveday knew she needed to adapt with either that or her powers.

Climbing towards the door at the end of the passage hallway. Loveday didn't notice that the fire blew out in one strong puff behind her. Casting the damp smelling tunnel into a black void with only ripples of light stabbing out of the doors outline.

"That's odd. No, the fire shouldn't have died so quicky by now" with her face looking back suspiciously, she pushes open the wooden door in front.

"What!" Loveday's feet nearly collapsed. Where was the wilderness? What had become of the grass and plants? The ground was sharp stone, and the sky flashed all ghostly with thunder and lightning. The forest didn't appear right it looked miserable and dead. No colour, no light just darkness. The tress had scary demonic faces and the wind was moving their long bony branches shaped like arms and fingers

"What's happening!" Loveday freaked out, afraid to even move a single muscle. When she worriedly turned back to retreat for safety.

The door wasn't there! It had vanished leaving no way to escape.

"No! where's the door?" she tried hammering all over the tree to see if she'd missed it anywhere. Sadly, it didn't exist anymore.

"My house! Its gone!" Loveday did not like what was happening. Her animal ears soon captured the sound of something lurking in the spooky forest that imprisoned her helplessly like a bird in a cage. The wild pulsing of her heart echoed the atmosphere as she looked down to suddenly discover that her clothing had been abducted along with her shoes. She was standing there entirely alone in short dirty, damaged rags. Frozen cold and afraid for her life.

The teenager swore this was not the real world, or was it? Somehow it all felt real for the ground was now shaking tremulously almost knocking the dead trees down. she soon realised the vibrations were gettering larger. The earthquake wasn't naturally occurring it was something worse. There was no sign showing where it was coming from, but it was sure to be crumbling its way towards the girl.

At a loss for words, Loveday scanned around with her shaking eyes. There from a distance were hints of burning orange dots. These were not a friendly hoard of fireflies, approaching closer and closer they revealed themselves to be blazing eyes attached to a pack of blue silvery foxes.

The blue furred foxes were the size of horses stampeding up to Loveday in mighty speed. Snarling back at her with evil growls, teeth displaying like broken glass.

"There she is…get her!" The leading Fox with a scar across his eye barked.

Very shakily, Loveday began to run away. This was not farthing land she was seeing herself running in, it was hell. When she heard that leaders dark voice, she knew they intended to kill her. There was nothing she could do but run for her life.

"Help me! Someone help!" Loveday shouted. Looking right ahead she finally saw somewhere familiar. Rolling hills flashing against the thunder with stones at the very top.

"The stone circle! the stag can help me!" Loveday overjoyed. Bolstering her legs up the hill, avoiding the painful scratches on her feet. With an endless trail of blood leaking out from behind.

"You may think you can escape from me...ha well you we're wrong!" the leading Fox sneered. As he and the blue foxes closed in on poor Loveday.

Finally reaching up the very top of the snow-covered hill, Loveday climbed herself onto the stag's rock falsely hoping to beat them eventually.

"Help! Great white stag! Fox! Anybody!" Loveday shouts, looking around.

"You've been warned!". Jumping from fright Loveday was soon surround. The blue foxes leaped and stood everywhere, blocking all the possible exits from her. Her heart beated frantically with all the cackling foxes now appearing below and above the rocks around her, like a trapped princess in a dragon's cavern.

"Oh no" Loveday shivered.

"Looking for someone? girl your all alone now, with only us here to protect you as your most loyal servants" The lead Fox laughed. Stepping forwards to her on the stone platform. Loveday tried shakingly to move herself away from him. This sinister creature was stalking up at her lustfully.

Loveday couldn't find the courage to make herself do anything to fight back, her body began to weaken painfully from experiencing this hellhole, with only her voice as a weapon she muttered threateningly "Stay back or I'll…".

"Or you'll what? zap me with your powers. Go ahead" he challenged with a satisfying smirk.

Ignoring the fact that he knew her powers. Loveday defenced herself by pulsing all her telepathy with her arms stretched out to him, pulling up all her brute force, screaming herself in warrior agony.

"How pathetic, she's no even trying…call yourself a feral psychic, your nothing but a poor defenceless human being and that's all you'll ever be" the lead fox mocked while all his followers laughed at the teenager, who was failing to even move anything with her mind. Looking very sorry and embarrassed with herself.

"No! what's happened to me, my powers are not working" Loveday cried, feeling horrible with the memories of her saving her friends every time with her powers that were now lost somewhere in her empty soul, this made her feel even more scared as the blue fox came closer "What have you done to me? What have you done to my powers!".

"Excuses, excuses! Why do you humans always make them"

"Stop playing games with me!"

"I will if you starting behaving yourself, now you'll either come with us the easy way or the hard way?"

"Never! I'm not going anywhere with you; my friends will be along any moment to rescue me and then you'll be sorry"

The foxes laughed even louder this time, Loveday didn't get what all of this was about, Fox and the others were bound to appear at any moment like they always did for her in the past.

"Friends?"

"Yes…they are the most heroic animals to ever walk on this earth and I was with them the whole way. They are more than just friends to me; they are my family"

"Let me tell you something girl there is no such thing in this world as friends, everybody's only out for themselves, love and peace will never rule world only hate and wrath will and there's nothing you can do about it"

"That's a lie!""

"Hahaha! Tough luck for someone who'll never be accepted into the animal kingdom"

"Shut up!" Loveday shouted as the foxes carried on laughing evilly. Tears were now building on her face.

"You are forgotten"

"No!"

"You are a disgrace"

"Fox!"

"You are one of us, you belong to us, and You'll never escape from us"

"I'd rather die!"

Oh, but you can't, just when you're about to be married?" the blue fox smiled.

"What?" Loveday froze, her rags suddenly transformed into a gown. A pretty alluring, lacey and medieval looking one that reveals most of her bare body. Its stunning beauty could not brainwash the poor teenager. She didn't believe this was all happening to her.

"What is this?" she gripped the new fabric in her shaking hands. As matching veil with a silver tiara grew on her head.

"The alpha will be pleased to see you now, as his mate and queen of the park"

"Who? No!" as Loveday tried to run away, a tug pulled her foot down along with the rest of her body, ending up in a heap on the rock.

"AHH!" Loveday screamed in horror. She turned to find that her left foot was all chained up and that someone was pulling her back to the leading blue fox, walking around to her face.

"With you as his queen and all the farthing animals dead, no one shall ever destroy or hunt us, your powers are now in his possessions, he has everything he needs to rule White Deer Park for all eternity" the blue fox teased, right in front of her. Out of nowhere the terrible sound of guns could be heard shooting from a distance.

Loveday lifted her head up to see, men out on the hills firing their hunters' guns. Everywhere there was dirty bone carcasses sprinkled on snowy grounds as blood highlighted against the white.

Loveday tried to scream as she regretfully saw this happening, the bones with antlers she made out were the skeletons of the white deer who used to rule the park were now all dead and gone. Her voice had gone silent for nothing came out from her throat.

"The Alpha will take good care of you, once you have made your wedding vows. He's been waiting for your return and after all these centuries you and him shall be together in holy matrimony. Ahh and here he is" the blue fox looked behind Loveday. Gradually she too turned to see what she wished she hadn't made herself saw.

Clearing separate ways into a spaced-out path, Loveday saw the foxes all turned their heads to see a large running object, coming all the way up the hill to her. The large shadowy canine with red glowing eyes was nearing as the stormy sky starting to fall in, collapsing down to the stone circle.

"My lord your bride awaits you" The lead Fox says, staring back at Loveday with a sneer.

Loveday gasps as her eyes focused straight on the evil beast who wanted to marry her, for his own uprising. She described it with the appearance of a wolf with eyes of a serpent, stripes of a tiger, fangs of a lion and features of a dragon.

Before the monstrous beast ran up the centre platform, he paused to lick his lips with the sight of his beautiful bride imprisoned up on the alter, Loveday tried tugging the chain loose to no avail.

"No! I'll never be your bride or queen" Loveday thought. Violently pulling the chain as hard as she could until her bones could break. With the growl tickling her ear she finally began to panic as the alpha crawls up to her feet. With one swipe of his front leg, he struck Loveday before pinning her down. With his paws squeezing her breast tightly, Loveday tried beating him off, but he was as tuff as lead.

"The Alpha now has his bride and now he shall become the king which he is fated to be! And it's all thanks to her" the lead fox announced. The foxes all chanted as the darkness swallowed the entire park with Loveday still held abusively down by the evil breast.

Webbing bells pealed as whatever the ceremony was started. The foxes released their howls and barks in celebration to winning their queen.

Loveday cried loudly as the beast brought his snout slowly down, with his eyes mirroring the teenagers forlorn face.

Loveday was lost to defeat with this deadly place. Is this how she was supposed to live in the future? Will she lose her powers and be unable to save her friends and the park from the evil clutches of the blues foxes or whoever these servants to the alpha were. Then be forced to become a queen to an evil demon creature forever. Nothing but overthrowing thoughts played repeatedly in her mind. The blues foxes were right she was vulnerable without her powers, now she was nothing but an unprotected prize.

Turning back to confront her unwanted groom, Loveday stared back into him with that one look translated to say the only thing anyone would try to comprehend helplessly if they were trapped by anything as powerful as the alpha.

"Why?" she said with tears pouring out. The alpha stopped and gave a modelling manly smile.

"Because I love you my queen" his deep growling voice answered. Loveday gave in to him as he lowered to touch her mouth into a holy wedlock kiss.

Author's Notes:

Hello everyone yes its finally me, I'm so sorry for the long wait but things in my life have changed and my job prevents me from continuing this story daily but I'm not giving up, i had time to upload this first part and i feel proud of myself for writing this nightmare world, i hope you all enjoyed it so please feel free to comment me. and do let me know if anything needs twinkling.

I hope you all are doing well and still reading fanfiction.

Although i hope for all our sakes the world will start listening to the climate change scientists before the heat becomes too unliveable, i hope you all feel the same.

Anyways, enjoy the rest of your summer.