The night was cold. Snow and heavy winds ripped across the grounds of the kingdom of Fenrir, foreshadowing the great winter that was soon coming. On a mountain, a castle stood. Made of great stone bricks and at least two centuries old, the castle housed the main royal family as well as others from different lineages from different areas of the kingdom. Often, those other families visited and stayed there to be protected from the harsh winter.

The great hall of the castle bustled with life, torches lighted, feasting and drinking taking place. Most of the military men lived in the city below, though they and some of their families too resided in the stronghold.

The king of Fenrir sat on his throne in his great hall, waiting for his son to return with his quarry. The king was a white wolf, as was his wife, while his adoptive son was a German Shepard, a breed that most in his kingdom would consider not the highest of social rank, but a close second or third. Wolves were considered of the highest social standing, and held the most power, as many considered them the most pure in terms of genes. Not that a Shepherd was considered any lesser by the king, unlike the mutts and mix-breeds of his kingdom. They were the scum, forgetting their ancestors and tainting their blood lines. Many of them were peasants and beggars, and even that might be too good for them.

He sat in thought, thinking about what might happen to his kingdom when he died. He had but one son now, the others dead from disease and battle. His thoughts were interrupted, however, when the doors of the great hall were flung open, snow and cold winter winds drafting in, and revealing his son, Chase, standing with his quarry.

His adopted son began to walk in, his face solid as stone, no emotion showing. Not unlike him, as he had always been this way since he had set his mind upon being a soldier and taking command of the army. What brought it on, he had no idea, but non the less he supported him. His adoptive mother vehemently opposed it, stating that he could get killed and that she could not give birth anymore due the same disease, though a less fatal strain, that killed his other sons, but the king had disagreed, respectfully, with his wife. A good king, in his mind, must understand all aspects of his kingdom, his military, his slums, all of it. Might as well get him started young, he had stated. Plus, knowing his army will help him better command it.

Chase had finished the long walk to his fathers throne, now being met by cheers of congratulations and wolf whistles toward the captured canine. A beautiful Husky, bound and gagged. Her fur had lavender tones in it, and the daughter of one of the royal families, she had served as the personal servant to the queen after said family had dared betray the king. No-one, except the king and a select few soldiers, knew what had really happened.

Chase dropped to one knee, bowing his head and waiting for his father to speak. The king chuckled. "Rise, my son." His voice echoed slightly as the hall respectfully fell silent.

His son rose. "Father, I've captured the traitor. What shall we do with her?" Chase's voice was slightly higher than most, but that didn't make much of a difference to him. He could best just about anyone in a duel if they challenged him. His height made his voice seem trivial, and his cold brown eyes made the German Shepherd all the more menacing.

The king leaned forward, looking at the female and thought for a moment. He hadn't actually thought about a punishment for what she had attempted, though usually if anyone else had tried it meant death.

Chase looked like he was about to speak once again, but the queen spoke up before he could. "Kill her!" Her voice sounded like metal nails grating on a chalkboard. One of the downsides of marrying her, he thought. Everyone visibly winced, even Chase. "She tried to kill me first!" She shrieked. The Husky gave her a death stare, though her head was quickly shoved back down toward the floor.

The king held up his hand, signalling silence from his wife. Mistakes had been made by his father, that was for sure. Not that he didn't love her, but she was often impulsive. Arranged marriages, he found, were rather stupid. However, she spoke the truth about the crime. He guessed that husky had found out, and rather than kill him, she decided to kill his wife. She wasn't stupid, that was for sure. Plus, she had easier access to her. But she hadn't cut deep enough. Disappointingly.

He thought for another moment, and then smiled once again. "Chase, my son. Would you be willing to carry out her punishment?" Chase nodded, and once again he went to speak, but his wife spoke up.

"And what will her punishment be, my husband? A servant to Chase? Perhaps his whore? May I remind you, SHE TRIED TO SLIT MY THROAT! I WILL NOT HAVE HER IN MY CASTLE SO LONG AS I LIVE!" The king, Chase, and everyone in the hall had to cover their ears from the noise.

"Actually, you are right, my wife. I thought she could become his whore. A lifetime of humiliation for a failed attempt on my whore's life, yes?" The hall erupted into laughter, though it was quickly stifled after a look from their matriarch. The husky's eyes widened in panic, and she started struggling to no avail.

Chase seemed to smile for a minute, then recomposed himself. "Will that be her punishment, Father?" He kept his voice even, though his excitement was obvious. Once again, the king chuckled. While Chase may try to display that he had no emotions, the thought of getting to do whatever he wanted to this gorgeous, though traitorous, husky was filling his mind.

"Yes, Chase. That will be the punishment." He leaned back, pleased with himself. He turned to his mate. "Is this satisfactory?"

"Other than you calling me a whore in front of everyone, I suppose so."

"But my love, how could I lie to them?" Once again, the hall erupted into hearty laughter, and even the queen joined in after a minute.

Chase turned to two of the guards in the midst of this. "Take her to my chambers. I'll be there shortly." The guards nodded and grabbed the ropes of the prisoner, dragging her along behind them. She struggled uselessly as she was carried away. Chase then turned toward his father, and announced loudly so he could hear him, "I'll be retiring now, Father. I find myself to be rather tired."

The king waved him off, still laughing. A shadow in the rafters observed, and then disappeared.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Everest was thrown onto the bed of the prince. Her guards went and stood by the door, waiting and not looking at her. She managed to get herself upright, and look around. The room was brightly lit with lanterns and candles, and they illuminated the place wonderfully. She had been thrown onto a four poster bed, lined with only the best silk sheets in the land.

"Well, at least I'll be in comfort while I'm being raped." She silently chuckled when she thought this, and let another tear roll down her face. She had one opportunity, and she had failed. "Damnit!"

She looked around some more. A line of windows in the wall to her left, paintings and portraits on the right wall. Many of them depicted some great battles or former leaders from past times. There was even a portrait of the prince himself. "Arrogant prick," Everest thought. Not that she cared much. Her main concern was figuring out how to get out of this stronghold. More specifically, without dying.

The door to the room opened and in walked the prince, dismissing the guards were promptly dismissed with a wave of a hand. He paused for a moment, then sighed as he walked over to the bed, stopping in front of Everest. She looked up at him, giving him a death stare. The prince responded with his own gaze, unflinching as he did so. Silence filled the room as the two had their stare down.

As he stared her down, Chase found himself thinking, "What caused this? We've treated her with nothing but kindness, and yet she tried to kill my mother. Why?"

Everest was thinking too. "Is he just going to stand there or get this over with? I don't have all day, your Highness."

They continued to stare each other down. The tension of the room was suffocatingly thick. The only noise was the sound of their breathing and the distant laughter and bustle of the great hall below.

After another five minutes of silence that felt like an eternity, Chase moved. He drew his dagger swiftly, and bent down to the Husky's face. She panicked and started to squirm. He grabbed her throat, causing her to cease moving out of pure fear.

Chase paused, eyeing her throat for a moment, considering cutting it open and being done with it.

He brought the blade up.

Everest had her eyes closed shut tightly, expecting the cold steel to be drawn across her jugular. Surprise came to her when the ropes gagging her fell from her face and wrints. She gasped and her hands, almost involuntarily, ran across her throat, thinking that maybe she somehow hadn't felt the slice that would lead to the slow death of bleeding out.

Chase growled and stormed away a few feet from the bed, angry with himself. Sheathing his dagger, he ran his hands through his fur, stressed. "Why?" The word slipped out, but the question still itched at his brain.

Everest looked at him, a face full of disdain and scornfulness. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Your Highness."

The blinding speed of Chase caught her off guard as he dashed straight to her in under a second. Grabbing her by the throat, he brought her face close to his. "You know what I mean, you traitorous whore! I've known you since we were children, and yet here you are, at my mercy, having tried to kill my mother! We've shown you nothing but love, care, and respect. So I ask again, why?" His voice was practically dripping with venom.

Everest struggled to breath from the iron grip of Chase. Her hands tried to pry him off, only to meet failure. Chase let go of her, and she gasped, unable to speak.

Chase waited impatiently, immediately starting to pace when he released her. Everest rubbed her hands across her throat. She looked like she was about to start screaming at him.

Suddenly, all of the windows in the room blasted open. Both of the canines in the room jumped up, Chase drawing his dagger again and going for his sword. A white figure then jumped through the middle one, a wolf with gleaming ice blue eyes. He was crouched, a longsword and a dagger drawn. Leather armor was fitted around his body, and a cloak was draped behind him. He looked up at them, and smiled. "Look up."

Before Chase could react, another figure dropped from the ceiling, hitting him on the back of the head as they landed, knocking him out. Everest began to yell, but the wolf who had come in through the window had somehow managed to traverse the entire half of the room in a half second, covering her mouth with his hand. Everest's scream died in her throat.

The wolf looked at the cat, nodding his head toward the window from which he had entered. The cat responded with her own nod. She proceeded to pick up the now knocked out prince, struggling a bit under his weight. The wolf turned back toward Everest.

"Try anything to alert the guards, I'll make sure that you'll regret it. Understand?" His voice was even and cool, thickly accented, and the threat came across clearly. Everest rapidly nodded. The wolf's hands unclasped from her face and he backed away slowly. Everest made no attempt to alert the guards.

"Ethan, little help?" A high voice came from across the room. The feline was now visibly struggling to lift Chase. The wolf, now known as Ethan, walked over to his companion and took the limp body of the prince, lifting him easily and walking over to the window. He hefted him for a second, then tossed him out the window.

Everest gasped and ran over to the window, expecting the prince to die from the fall. Luckily, there was yet another figure at the bottom of the fall. A large brown bear, also wearing leather armor and a cloak, caught the prince. Or more like he stopped the fall by sticking out his arms and letting the body fall the rest of the way. There was a sound of ribs cracking. Everest winced, while the bear just shrugged after failing to catch Chase.

The next thing that Everest knew, she too was being picked up. "Hey!" She struggled as she yelled. A sudden look of panic came across both Ethan and the cat. Ethan quickly, though more carefully, threw Everest out the window. She screamed as she fell, promptly alerting a few of the guards on the wall.

She fell, expecting to land hard on the snow, but instead she was met by a hefty pair of arms impacting her bottom and lower back. She looked around in a panicked frenzy, then up toward the bear that had caught her. He chuckled. "Don't worry, I didn't see anything I shouldn't have." His voice was soft, almost like a feather pillow. He too had a thick accent from some kingdom or region that Everest didn't recognize. And his laugh almost felt like a warm hug, inviting and soothing.

His small black eyes quickly looked up, tracking something. The feline had also jumped from the window, using her claws to slow her descent on the wall. She landed softly and rapidly raised her bow and loosed an arrow toward a wall guard. He caught it in the shoulder.

"We need to get moving, now!" Ethan called out as alarms started ringing. Somehow, they had been spotted. "I didn't even see him jump, how'd he get down here?" Everest wondered. She didn't have time to ask, as she was dropped on the ground. A hand reached down and grabbed hers, pulling her up and almost yanking her arm out of its socket. Ethan's ice blue eyes meet hers.

He suddenly threw her behind him, and a wall of ice came out of the ground, catching a dozen or so arrows in it. Ethan growled.

Everest's arm was grabbed by. She turned to see the cat, which she also now realized was a gray tabby, was now dragging her along and following the bear. She struggled, managing to wrangle her arm back. The feline looked annoyed when she turned her head.

"Where are you taking us?" Everest demanded. Before getting an answer, however, she was grabbed again, this time by Ethan. He had an apologetic smile on his face and he shrugged. "Sorry, lovely."

Everest was hit on the back of the head and was knocked out.