“What makes you think the General wants to hear what you have to say?” he asked.
“Because he wants to win this war,” I answered. I raised an eyebrow. The three looked between them. The woman nodded once. The alpha sighed.
“Come on then,” the old man said. I stood still for a moment. Would they truly help me? “Come sit with us while the fire is hot.”
I walked to the other side of the campfire. Where the wind brought soot into my lungs. I sat on my knees, right next to it. Warming my hands. Almost touching it. The scent reminded me of him. Brought me home. I looked up to see the Werewolves still eying me up. But I was taken by the fire. Frost slowly exiting my limbs. I let out a sigh of relief that we would live to see another day.
Seeing the General again
The days that followed were the perfect culmination of the surreal adventure I had been on. My three companions were even more foreign to me than the werewolves of the castle. The morning after I warmed myself by their fire, I was the last to rise. They were already taking down their tents when the rising sun woke me. I was offered a piece of unidentified meat for breakfast. I gladly took it without asking what it was. I learned from Hald, the old man, that they were on their way to Kanna, following in the footsteps of the rest of their pack.
“We lived in these parts,” Hald said. “Roaming around, settling where there was good hunting.”
I never met nomads before. I tore off a piece of meat with my teeth. It was tough and hard to get through without pronounced canines, but I was grateful, nonetheless. I sat with Hald near the remnants of the fire while the others, Jas and his mate Mabel, started loading up their horses.
“My son fought at the forest edge to defend our land from the humans. Mabel and I couldn’t leave for Kanna before knowing he was safe.”
“You don’t want to stay here?” I asked. Hald shook his head.
“Too much bloodshed. The land is tainted. We were saying our last goodbyes to the tundra when you found us.”
I tugged at the fur I was given. It was wrapped around me snugly. The scent wasn’t quite right, but yesterday’s soot had seeped into the fabric, reminding me of him. “Have you heard word from the city yet? About the General maybe?” I asked.
“We have had little contact. All we know is that the battle was won, and no humans have been here since. You were the one to let us know that the battle reached the castle.”
We sat off not long after sunrise. Mabel and Jas on horseback, Hald and I on a cart in the midst of their supplies. One day on horseback from the castle to the forest edge, I had been told. Our pace was slow, however. We trudged along on horses that were running on less fuel than we were.
My stomach burned with a new combination of sensations. Dread and excitement wrapped up in one. Exhaustion, hunger, thirst. The road was uneven and littered with rocks. We never stopped. Even when the sun was setting, we went on. As the sun disappeared under the horizon, we took a right turn through the mountain pass.
I held my breath. I could see it then. The slope that housed the city. The castle, the pinnacle of the city, up so high that it was farther from us than the clouds. I would see him. Two weeks it had been. Just a little longer. I hoped he recovered well. That I had done enough to prevent permanent damage to his health. That he would be glad to see not only me, but to hear of the news.
With each wobble of the cart, we got a step closer to our goal.
My heart was full and I was jittery. “Go around the city. Go to the castle gates. The General will provide you with whatever you need to start your new life.”
Hald laughed at me.
“Our General is a good man, but he will not be able to help everyone that took refuge in the city, son,” he said.
“I never said anything about helping everyone. I said he would helpyou,” I said. Hald didn’t respond. “Go to the castle. Trust me.”
He called out to his son to set course up the hill, on the road around the city. Right towards the castle gates.
The closer we got, the more remnants of the battle came into view. Abandoned arrows colouring the landscape. Burned shrubbery. A chill in the air.
But no bodies. All bodies were gone. It brought me some peace, that I would not have to see them again. The charred and crisped up imperial soldiers. Werewolves that fell before the General delivered the final blow. I saw them often enough already in my dreams.
My heart was pounding in my chest. In front of me stood the stone that framed the tall gate to the castle. The gate itself was rubble. Gone. As was much of the castle walls. But we arrived. Alphas manned the open gate. Many more than when I first arrived at this castle.
I got up from the cart. Wrapped in a fur blanket. My curls greasy and unkempt. Barely any shoes to speak of. I all but ran towards the guards.
“Let us in,” I said. “Let me see General Axel.”
The guards remained still. The one I approached, eyes wide. “I have no time for this. I have a message for the General. Let me in!”
The alpha took in my sorry state. When he looked at my hair, I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes. Red curls. Unmistakable. We locked eyes. A vibrant green, glowing with magic. Unheard of in the Oaklands.
“You heard him! Let them in!” The guard shouted. The others were not quick to comply. We stood there for a moment.I looked back at Hald. The deep wrinkles in his forehead were even more pronounced when he was frowning. I smirked at him, as if saying‘I told you so.’