Prologue

…

"Uh oh," Granny stopped wiping the counter down. "I know that look, and it means trouble."

The wolf who sat on the bar stool did not look up. Her furry forehead was wrinkled, and she growled, low and steady. The bowl of beer needed to be refilled and she was staring at the empty dish, thinking hard about something else entirely. It was clearly making her upset.

This wolf could not swim like a mermaid, nor dig holes like a white rabbit, nor harvest beans like a giant and right now—she desperately wanted to travel between realms.

But the Queen had united the realms and the doors to other Lands of Story were closed, all of them.

She sighed and laid her narrow canine head on the bar at Granny's Diner, looking as miserable as she felt. It was not as if she had any major complaints, but Storybrooke had lost its charm. Not only was there no longer a slew of new characters to meet, but she could no longer speak.

The thing about losing a magical voice that you had become so accustomed to in the past was that it could be quite lonely when its gone, she thought.

Living in the same place was also wearing thin. Rayne possessed that wanderlust that wolves were famous for; her kind thrived living openly in the wilds and roaming when it pleased them. And right now, where she wanted to go was across realms.

With another heavy sigh, she sniffed at her empty bowl and licked the remnants. Exhaustion was starting to get to her, she was drifting off when Granny spoke up again, "Hey wolf?"

Blinking away at sleepy eyes, she lifted her furry head. Yes?

How odd. Granny was looking at her rather curiously. "You told my Red about how you ended up in our town, but I never did hear the story." She cocked head and had a hand on hip. "Any chance you could share it now?"

The wolf eyed the old woman wryly. You're just trying to distract me, aren't you?

Granny chuckled. "Maybe. But I am honestly curious." She set down her rag and leaned over the counter. "Didn't I hear something about a mermaid made of gold?"

It was a Golden Mermaid. She smiled at a memory and settled back to do a bit of storytelling. First, I met a prince, well actually I ate his horse, and then we met a golden mermaid—hang on. She nudged her the bowl forward with her snout. A refill please, and then I'll start from the beginning…

Answering the Call

…

Most wolves in fairytale stories are faster, smarter, or stronger. Or maybe they're smaller, weaker, outcasts and misfits. Not me. Back then, I was just a plain ordinary average wolf.

I did not run at the back of the pack, nor did I try to ambitiously outrun the leaders. No, I was quite content to wander on my own merit. I had no appointed position to take in the pack. I just was another wolf. Invisible. Largely unimportant.

And I liked it that way.

What I really preferred was solitude, ranging the pack's territory by myself. It gave me a sense of freedom. Of course, I joined in the communal hunts and howls whenever I had to, but I preferred to do both by myself. My eagerness to be alone puzzled the others. Wolves do not relish a lone life. It is usually a death sentence. Ours is a community of cooperation necessary for survival.

Even when I walked amongst the others, it was always as if I was separate. My mind was elsewhere. Labeled aloof and snobby I was equally stubborn, not even considering changing my ways to be more social.

I liked to stray to the edge of the pack territory, and I would inveigle herself further and further, step by step, until I stopped and contemplated. The streams, the hidden lairs, the adventures. They were calling to me, and I wanted to go...

Like I did every morning, I whined pleadingly, gazing into the unknown.

Into the unknown, I repeated it in my head like a mantra. Into the unknown. I scurried playfully in the underbrush, chasing a stray leaf, and did a little bounce over a log. I was not a puppy anymore, but still loved to play. Another one of my oddities. Then I heard the call to assemble; I turned and trotted back. My attachment to the pack was still strong.

But it was bad news. More humans had been spotted on our borders and we were ordered to be alert.

Kiche was furious that it had come to this. "They are not satisfied with their own dumb animals that they restrain with clubs and rope, now they are coming into our lands!"

Everyone exchanged looks. We all knew our leader had an intense hatred of humans. She had lived with them as a pet for years. It had initially been her decision; she left the Enchanted Forest at the time of famine. In exchanged for freedom she had the security of regular meals, but she'd come to regret her decision. Even now, when her pelt was silver and her eyes clouding white, her hatred burned strong. She had lost her beloved son to that life, and she was not about to lose anyone else.

She rounded on all of us, bristling. "My order is clear! No interactions. Understood?"

There was a healthy round of affirmative grunts, but then all eyes turned to me as the questions slipped from my mouth: "What kind of humans? What do they look like?"

The leader glared at me. I was not hard to spot, my tawny umber fur did tend to stick out. I wilted under her gaze.

"Just stay away from them!" Kiche's mate, Old One-Eye, answered for her. "Mind your manners and speak only when spoken to."

I backed up but couldn't stay quiet. "Not all humans are bad. Remember that sled dog who came to live with the pack long ago? He had met good humans, one had even saved his life."

One-Eye shook his head at my statement. "That human saved his life from other humans. He still had the scars from where he had been beaten. That dog was more sensible than most; he left the humans to find a proper family to live with."

I opened my mouth to say something but then closed it. One-Eye was very astute. Best to not say too much before he became suspicious about why I knew so much about humans.

I lowered my body, ears down and tail firmly tucked between my legs, a sign of acquiescence.

Later, the pack had communal wrestling and play fights. As usual, I was off to the side watching the others, especially Kiche and Old One-Eye. The older couple were deep in discussion. Likely about the humans.

Most of the pack had seen humans before, but only from a distance. Wolves run away whenever they entered the Enchanted Forest. Our elders had always reiterated the dangers, but they were not the only ones who'd encountered humans. My own experience had not been bad. I had enjoyed my time with Allerleirauh. I thought about the girl I met when I'd stumbled into that cave, my leg badly broken from a hunter's trap, half-crazy from the pain and thirst.

The girl wearing a coat made of many animal skins had saved my life. Cared for me. Over time I had come to know of her world and call her my friend. When I returned, I had told no one; they would not understand. Even now, I still felt I could not explain it. I wondered at all of it, sitting there, watching the rest play.

Restless for the next week, I spent more and more time by myself. Away from the busy pack I was thinking hard but nothing seemed to come of it. Maybe I should try and find the humans, I thought. Maybe I could meet some new friends and see new people instead of the same of everything. Then I shook my head. But that'd be too crazy, even for me.

But sometimes—weird things happen.

It was weird, and random too I suppose. I was close to my usual stopping point while thinking these thoughts to myself, and something moved suddenly in the brush just up the trail. It rustled through the thick foliage, sounding very big and making a lot of noise. I stiffened, my back hair stood on end, and growled. This was still the pack's territory but that didn't mean a rogue interloper could not wander in.

Suddenly, a bird burst through the screen of thick tree growth right in front of me! But this was not like any bird I had ever seen. Its beak was long, its neck longer, and the legs longer still. And that was not the oddest part of it. It was a bizarre color. From the soft down of its head to its long, graceful wings, every feather sparkled like the sun and was as radiant as one of its rays. It towered over me and I cowered, whimpering. The bird glared down at me and then took to its wing. It flew towards the setting sun.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Now that was odd, I reflected while catching my breath. A bird the color of the sun.

Trying to head home I was so distracted thinking about the bird that I got lost. As it grew darker, I sat down in the shadow of a birch and moaned softly.

There was a strong smell of something foreign that mingled with the subtle wood fragrances in the air; had I been more attentive I might have noticed. I finally found the path home and trotted unhappily back, then back towards the unknown, then back again. I paused occasionally to sit down and whimper and listen to the sounds of the Enchanted Forest. Something felt wrong.

It was my third round of back and forth when I finally heard it.

From somewhere behind the trees came a moan that sent shivers down my furry spine. I tiptoed over a small hillock and peeked downward.

A dark shape lay in the shelter of a few boulders, lying flat and lifeless. The smells of leather and grease triggered a memory from the time I had been with Allerleirauh. It was a horse.

Beside the horse sat a very unusual-looking creature. Its body was covered with some sort of soft-tanned leather and it's head was hooded. Eyelashes and cheeks seemed to be coated with crystals from a frozen breath so that the face was not quite discernible. But I knew the smell.

It was a human alright.

I drifted silently downwards to the trees bordering the man's camp. He sat before a small fire, head bowed, his back towards me.

He extended his hands towards the fire, warming them. He glanced up but his gaze did not linger on the trees, it went further. He was looking at the stars.

I also looked up. What was he looking at?

"Help me."

I almost jumped out of my fur. Was he talking to me? No, it seemed he was…talking to the sky?

"I need help," he repeated. "I thought I could do it, I thought I could do this adventure alone, but I need help." He sighed and glanced at the old horse. Wearily, he reached out and stroked the velvety nose. "Oh my old friend, your energy is spent. You can travel no more."

The horse whickered weakly, it seemed to be agreeing with him.

"Three days now and still no sign. My father's golden tree will be stripped bare by the time we find the thief." His eyes became distant. "My brothers, the advisors, even my father…everyone said I would fail. And I have."

I knew I should leave, this did not concern me, but I found herself caught up in his dilemma. I focused on the man's words, with as much attention as if he were a storyteller.

"A golden bird stealing from a golden tree–who knew!" he laughed to himself.

Golden. Golden? That word sounded familiar. Hadn't Kiche said that her son had been forced to fight for 'golden' or 'gold' for his human master? I focused on the memory. Kiche said the 'gold' was something of value to the humans; it was the color of the sun and it came from under the ground.

"I must find this Golden Bird, but how?" the man echoed his thoughts to the sky.

How odd, a bird that comes from the ground? I thought. I know that trees come from the ground but a golden bird–then another thought burst through, a powerful epiphany. The bird! The one I had seen earlier–could that be what he was looking for?

I turned back listening to the man, eager to hear more. He was looking at the horse again.

"I know you're suffering, and I should finish you off but I can't. I can't kill you," he said gently to the dying animal. "If I can't do that, how am I going to find this Golden Bird?" He glanced up at the stars again. "I wanted this adventure so badly, but now—I don't even know what the next right thing to do is."

Something about the way he spoke of his adventuring made me inch towards him, daring my paws forward just one more step, and then another, and then another. My curiosity was overwhelming I really wanted a closer look at him. I was just at the perimeter of his fire light when I stopped, baffled. Now what?

I hesitated too long because he suddenly turned his head and looked right at me. He blinked, looking surprised, but not frightened.

He probably thought I was a dog because he smiled and reached out to pet me. Then he quickly withdrew his hand back.

"Hello there," he tried to sound calm but he was clearly nervous.

I just stood there, not sure how to respond, and he continued talking. "What is it? What do you want?"

Now that I was closer, I studied him. He had pushed back his hood back and I could see him properly. The face was very pleasant, his teeth flashing brightly against deep sepia skin. I was puzzled by the stubble on his chin that matched the coarse dark hair on his head.

While I examined him, he turned to one side. I stiffened, suddenly wary. Perhaps he was drawing a weapon? But no, he just lifted a loaf of bread and some cheese out of a side bag. He reached over and set them both down on the ground, pushing them towards me with his foot.

"Here. You can have these. Just don't eat me."

I was astonished. He was giving me food?

I dropped my nose and took a whiff. Truthfully, I was starving. Hunting had been very bad, meals stretched very thin. But the bread and cheese looked dry and unappetizing. I eyed the man up and down, considering his lean girth. Then I shook my head. Eating humans was taboo for wolves. But maybe–

I walked over to the dying horse; the animal was so far gone it didn't seem to register my presence. I glanced down at the exposed neck and then back over the man's fire, a question in my eyes.

He cocked his head. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Deliberately, I gestured at the horse again, then up at him again.

"What? What about my horse?" He suddenly looked offended. "I did not ride him if that's what you're accusing me of. It would only cause him suffering. I know my family expects me to fail and that is why they gave me a horse that was on his last days of life, but—"

I snorted; I really didn't care. I looked at the horse again, opened my mouth and snapped in the air, then looked back at the man. A moment passed before he spoke again.

"What are you trying to say? I wish you would just—"

Suddenly, I lost my patience. Swiftly, silently, I launched myself at the animal, my teeth severing an artery in its thin neck. The old nag bled out peacefully.

The man let out a shout, springing to his feet as he drew a sword and pointed it right at me. He was ready to attack but I snarled a warning at him, and we squared off. It was a few very tense moments while we stared each other down. When he saw that his horse was dead, oddly enough, he seemed to calm down.

"I could not finish him off myself; I should have. I should have ended his suffering," he looked up at me. "Thank you."

Wow. He was very odd. I had just killed his horse, and he was thanking me? Killing the horse had not been an act of mercy. To me, it was now food.

The hunger reared up in me, and I went wild with it. Forgetting the human completely I sunk my teeth into the horse hide. Meat! I opened the belly and gorged. Meat! There is no one to snatch the best bits away. No one to make me watch while they ate all the rich protein. I took the whole liver in one bite, then the heart, then I stripped the skin and gulped down the thin muscle. Oh, I felt so much better now!

I turned an appreciative eye to the man but was puzzled by the look of horror on his face.

My long tongue licks the blood dripping down my muzzle as I cock my head. What?

He was still gripping his sword. "I…I know you are right in your actions but—" he looked sick and then turned away completely.

I shrugged my shoulders and kept on gorging herself.

Later, meat drunk, I lay down and licked the last of the warm blood from my paws.

The man settled down once I did, sheathing his weapon and squatting on the other side of the fire, keeping his distance from me. How odd. After gorging with food there was always great joy in the pack. Howling. Wrestling. Kissing. Playing tag. And when the celebration was done, we would all lie together, bodies overlapping, the scent of family in the air. I didn't usually like that because I wanted to be alone.

But this human did not seem to want to come near me at all and I was curious about him.

I raised up and walked over to him.

He grabbed the handle of his sword but did not draw it. "Careful wolf. I don't want to hurt you."

And I won't hurt you. I licked at my chops again. I wasn't even going to hurt you before you gave me this lovely meal. But I understood his need for distance, so I went back to the other side of the fire.

A thought made me pause at the sight of the remains of the horse: he had no one, I had eaten his companion. I leaned over and sniffed the remaining meat. An idea was forming in my mind.

I snorted. No, it's a terrible idea. I ate another bite. But maybe…just for a little while anyways—

After all, it was only right that I went along with him, just a short distance. I told myself it was because I owed him for the free meal but, deep down, I knew it was because of the adventure. Besides, he seemed like he did not know what he was doing and was likely to get himself killed. He obviously needed me.

I then settled on the ground with my head in my paws. Away enough so that we could both feel relatively safe but close enough that he would know I intended to stay. I slept like the dead.

…

Now it was morning, and I was ready to go! The human took forever to wake up and when he did, he took even longer to get ready. While waiting I shook herself from head to tail, squared my shoulders and beat my front paws to the ground to test my strength and flexibility. It gave me some courage and made me pretend for a moment that I was a big strong, brave wolf. Like the kind in stories.

He finally shouldered his pack, checked his weapons, and turned to me. "Well, goodbye wolf."

He started along a forest path but then stopped. I blocked his path. The sun was telling me the golden bird had flown in the opposite direction; I trotted that way, paused, and turned around when I realized he was not following. I waited for him to catch up, but he just stood there, looking at me with a puzzled expression. I got impatient and ran back to him. I reached out, set my teeth to the edge of his cloak, and pulled. The man slid a foot or so forward. I released him, then trotted down the path again. Opposite to where he was going.

The man smiled at me. "What are you doing?"

Impatient to make him understand, I lunged, caught his cloak again and pulled. With a few tugs he walked forward again. I walked a little down the path then looked back at him, whining expectedly. The meaning was clear.

"You want to come with me? That's crazy! You can't come." Then he looked up at the path. "And you want us to go that way? Towards the Emperor's castle? That is dangerous enough without having you around." He suddenly chuckled and shook his head. "And I'm standing here, in the middle of the Enchanted Forest, explaining myself to a wolf."

I jerked my head in a 'let's go' gesture.

He shrugged and came towards me. "Maybe you're right. It might be better to do this together."

I made a high-pitched whine of agreement.

And so we walked together for a time. Eating his horse seems a strange way for a quest to begin but here we are now, I thought

"So…wolf," the man spoke up, interrupting my thoughts. "If we're going to be companions, you should at least know my name is Lukas." He rubbed the back of his head, as if nervous.

That is a nice-sounding name, I commented. I'm Rayne. Of course he did not understand me.

We walked into a town, and I was immediately taken in by the sights, the sounds, and most of all the smells. So many new things to smell and taste. It was not just the piles of food that the human merchants sold along the street but the odd combinations of leather, metal, and stone. Houses and shops scattered about. Clinging and clanging as more and more humans scurried about with their wares.

I quickly stepped faster, wanting to see and smell it all but then remember we had a mission. How exactly did one go about finding a golden bird?

I glanced up at Lukas and he seemed to be looking at the groups of soldiers standing in clusters around the town. I looked more closely and saw more soldiers wandering amongst the crowds. I did not care for their smell, or their crossbows. I knew what crossbows could do. But I did notice something that made me pause.

Every one of the soldiers had a golden bird emblem stitched onto the front of their leather uniforms!

Your bird! Your bird is here somewhere! I practically pranced up and down with excitement.

Lukas eyed the soldiers. "I need to ask them about the bird, you stay here."

As Lukas stepped closer to one of the clusters of men, I sat down and swiveled my head, looking around. Past the groups of soldiers was a line of stands and carts displaying various foodstuffs like vegetables, bread, fruits, and cheese. I was enticed by the smells and wandered over. Humans haggled and shouted over prices, barely giving me a glance.

And then there was a butcher's block…with hunks of meat hanging there, just for the taking!

I eagerly scampered over and was ready to start stuffing my face when I paused. Though a wild animal, I was not ignorant of the rules, and I knew that in the human world you could not just take things without an exchange. Kiche had explained that humans had something called 'monies' and that to get things like food one had to have it. Her son White Fang had been forced to fight other dogs so that his cruel master could have more of this 'monies' stuff. Allerleirauh had worked hard as a servant for monies. I did not have monies but the meat smelled so good.

Lukas might have monies, I thought. I'll just take one of these—I stepped forward and selected a nice piece of tenderloin—and show him—I turned away—and he will bring back monies.

The loin was juicy and tender; I was tempted to gobble it up then and there, but I restrained herself. Turning away with my selection in my mouth I scanned the busy marketplace for Lukas.

"Hey you!" there came a shout. The hawk-eyes of the butcher had seen me.

I didn't react right away; I just stood there, unsure what was wrong. I am going to get you monies I said as best I could with my mouth full. I realized what the problem was right away; he didn't understand me.

The butcher raised a bloody, sharp-edged cleaver and came after me. "Thief! Thief!"

I made an elegant twirl on my legs and ran, searching for Lukas. Maybe monies are the only thing that will stop him! I was not afraid of the human chasing me; he was corpulent, and I was much faster, but I did not want to cause trouble.

I ran to where Lukas was, ducked underneath his legs, came up into the circle of soldiers he was talking to, and looked right up at him expectedly. This man wants monies, I gestured calmly with the meat still in my mouth. Please give it to him so he will stop chasing me.

Lukas of course did not understand. "Hey girl, where did you get that?" he asked. He turned and saw the man with a bloody apron and a raised cleaver coming at them, quickly concluding what had happened. "Oh no."

There was much fuss afterwards; the butcher kept shouting and waving his bloody cleaver around. At one point, one of the younger inexperienced soldiers pointed a crossbow at me and I growled menacingly, warning him not to make a move. Finally, the monies were exchanged and only then did I gulp down the loin.

I licked my lips appreciatively. Delicious!

The butcher looked down at me with contempt. "You're crazy to keep a wolf at your side. I thought it was a dog; otherwise, I'd 'ave gutted the thing right when I saw it."

I snorted audibly. As if you could!

Everyone suddenly looked at me. I fidgeted uncomfortably underneath all the attention.

"Did that thing understand you?" asked one of the soldiers.

Lukas quickly stepped forward. "No! No of course not," he said quickly. "Whoever heard of such a thing? She usually is a very obedient animal, and I don't know what got into her."

I rolled my eyes at that. Now that the excitement was over, I was ready to resume the adventure, so I walked away. I heard a whistle and looked back. Lukas was looking at my expectedly, patting the side of his right leg with his hand. I cocked my head. It was clear he wanted me to approach him, but I stayed put. It was not in my nature to go where I did not want to and, right now, I wanted to put distance between me and that group of soldiers. He whistled again, using his eyes to indicate the gawkers around him.

Come here and show them, he said with his eyes.

I sat down on the pavement and yawned.

The onlookers all laughed, including the butcher.

"That animal is waiting for you," said one.

Lukas looked mortally embarrassed as he came towards me. We both continued, keeping our heads down until we had put enough distance between the onlookers and themselves.

The humiliation emanated from Lukas so much that even I could pick up on it. I had not really considered how my actions could cause him so much trouble. For once, I cared about what another thought of me.

Lukas sighed. "I know you are not one of my hunting dogs, but could you at least have done that for me? I'm having a hard enough time getting my father and brothers to take me seriously, let alone a bunch of foot soldiers from this kingdom."

I stiffened at that, growling. I am not your dog.

That night he took a room at what Lukas called an 'inn'. It was a moldy, smelly, creaky old structure filled with a great many humans. I hated it but stuck it out for Lukas. I wanted to make up for embarrassing him earlier. While I sat under a table Lukas took a meal and talked amongst the characters. After a few rounds of beverages, the talk steered towards something interesting.

"A big-ass bird."

My ears perked up and I lean upwards to hear more.

A man was speaking. "Of course. There is talk of such a creature in the palace of the Emperor. Thing flies around at night like some sort of a patrol in the sky. Gives me the creeps."

There came a grunt and another voice followed. "Ay, the Emperor lets it have free reign. Damn thing helps itself to my crop of peaches every year and I can't even beat it away!"

"You're telling me this Emperor of yours lets some bird steal your crops?"

That was Lukas. I peeked upward. He seemed to be very interested in what these men were saying to him.

"Oh it's not just any bird mate…it's a Golden bird!"

At that, I let out an excited whine and stepped out from under the table. I tried to ignore the ambush of foul smells, loud noises, and bright lights as I came closer to hear better.

"The thing is precious as a first-born son to that Emperor, so it is usually kept locked up in the South Towner face." The man leaned forward over his drink. "But—and you didn't hear this from me—the thing escapes every night to do its raiding and returns each morning before dawn." He chuckled and raised his tankard. "I'd hate to be there when the Emperor finds out his precious pet has been escaping its cage each night." He downed his drink.

I cocked my head at Lukas. He glanced down at my and gave me a knowing smile. I got this he seemed to say.

He raised his hand, ordered another round, then looked back at his table companions. "Where did you say this bird comes from? I think I can help you with this flying thief—"