Cold, vale orbs

I did not count anything into it until recently, maybe it was really the answer I needed― the answer to what I was. Yet how true could that be, how possible. .?

͞

                        WAYNE’S POV

     My stomach reminded me that all I had to eat yesterday was the supposed breakfast that I ended up having as dinner due to my loss of appetite. I got out of bed and stood on my feet. My ankles tingled and my knees ached, but I walked to the door anyway.

     Opening my door and looking at the two sides of the hallway, I noted how empty it was, which made me realize it could be one to three hours past midnight. Well I had in mind to get a meal from the kitchen, but with my experience just now and the calmness of the castle, I think I should just remain right in my room and endure the hunger. It is not even as if I will eat much if the meal is before me anyway.

     I locked the door and returned to the comfort of my bed. I did not know what to do, sleep had gone far from me and even if I still felt sleepy, I am not sure I would be able to shut my two eyes. A thought urged me to find my way to Lucerne's garden, maybe I could get the answers to the so many questions I had in the windy midst of the fragrant flowers.

     Another thought however asked me not to and I obeyed. By now, the cold air of predawn flushed my skin and sent chills down my spine. I rubbed my palms together and placed them against my cheeks to warm myself up. The candles were not doing much as lighting the room, or did the heated fireplace warm up the room either, maybe a change of clothes would do better. 

     I got out of bed and made my way to the wooden, smooth wardrobe. Despite being a prince, I did my best to avoid gatherings where I will have to stand beside my father and brother. Therefore, I preferred lowly places like the ranch, farm, and all other similar places. Relating to this, all my clothes were also simple, lowly clothes that most certainly made strangers to the shore regard me as a royal servant, instead of a prince.

     I riffled through the— gray robe, violet robe, fine wine cloak, feathery slacks, green shirt … thick brown, woolen long-sleeved shirt; this should do. I became a bit better after I wore a pair of gloves and warm thick slacks with the shirt.

     As I strode back to the bed, my eyes caught the view of steady fire from the hearth. A line I had vaguely seen in a book while I hurriedly riffled through its pages popped into my head - ‘burning as the flames of the furnace, triggering an absurd color of the skin; a tickling effect in the layers of the flesh, popping the veins out― demons-bane’.

     I immediately moved to my bedside table after I recalled promising myself to find out more about this terrible poison. However, none of the books on the table seemed to be the book I searched for. I scarcely even knew what title or color it had. I looked around my room and a groan escaped my lips. It was a mess, there was no was no way I was going to find the book when literally all my books littered the floor.

     Anyhow, I flopped down to the floor, my hands rummaging the pile of hard books scattered here and there. There were several colors and sizes, and I tried to recall which color was the precise one I read, but I could not.

                                                                                                                       

     After searching for minutes, I still did not find it. Fuck! My stomach grumbled for the umpteenth time as I arranged the books into a neat pile and placed them on my study table.

     My legs then carried me to the window; I opened it and leaned on the sides, my hands resting on the sill. I locked my eyes on the half-moon that still shone so brightly; it was only a matter of an hour before it would begin to disappear from the sky. 

     There was something about it, which however baffled me. It was not only today; it had been from the very start that whenever I stared at the moon, it seemed like it called to me. I always felt propelled to dive into the sky and reach out to it. I did not count anything into it until recently. Maybe it was really the answer I needed― the answer to what I was. Yet how true could that be, how possible. .?

     Never in my life did I ever imagine I would be a Wolf. I grew up surrounded by demons all the while and I have been learning to foster my might in the wrong way. Maybe this was the reason I was never able to transform in the way Mother taught me. Maybe this was also the reason the witch used the death of Father as a warning to what would come if I do not find my way to the waterfalls.

     I blinked at the moon, forcefully tearing my eyes from it. I did not want this feeling to continue. Whatever was true, I am a demon and I should accept that! My eyes drifted to a gray book that lay on the stool beside the window— at the bottom of my bed. Its roughly worn out hardcover carried the words inscribed in threadbare golden stitches, which simply stated, ‘U-turn from Myths’.

      Until today, I still did not understand how the title related to the book as it told about myths, legends, and folktales instead of stating why one should ‘U-turn from Myths’. Maybe the writer had in mind to deviate the readers’ thoughts about the book at first glance.

     I lazily stretched my hand to pick the book, finally recalling, when I opened the first page, that it was literally the book I had been searching for. How did I not realize it was actually the last book I have read so far? I flipped through the pages, searching the actual chapter I read about poisons that I had once regarded as unreal.

     My index finger traced the sentence of a page, which stated that the victims of demons bane could not die if having taken the poison once alone, unless mixed with another lethal poison or taken for the second time. The only effect when they take it for the first time without any mixture is that they will lose more than half of their powers. Wow! Their bodies also turn black and red when dying and they become stiff and unable to move. Their veins pop out after mortality. 

     Not wanting to read more about the poison, I tossed the book back to the stool and walked to the door as my stomach laid a complaint once again― the last straw that broke the Camel's back.

     Thankfully, guards and handmaids were already trooping out from their tents when the moon disappeared from the sky. I made my way to the kitchen and luckily met a few maidens who processed my request and helped me take back the delicious rib soup and roast fish, which I could not help but fall for, to my room.

     “Thank you,” I acknowledged the handmaid who kept the tray on the stool, bowed and calmly left. Now it was for me to devour the food before me. By the time I was done, the light of the day had peeked into the room and my feathered friends sang their morning sweet songs, perching lightly on trees as the parrots poked their beaks on the windowpane.

     A knock, “Come in,” I said between a low belch as I dropped the glass of water, which I drank.

     “Good morning, my Lord,” Anastasia curtsied and I smiled. She left for the bathroom, probably to fix my bath, which I think I will not be having anytime soon. “Do you need any other services, my Lord?” Anastasia asked when she came out and I shook my head.

     She then picked the tray and left the room. As the door cracked close, I changed from the thick pair of clothing into a light, baggy pair of gray slacks and a loose shirt to match with it.

     I sat on the bed and helped my feet into the pair of black boots that were laid out for it, and then I neatly brushed my hair into a low ponytail and headed for the door. Only that this time I was not joining the Castle workers in their duties, I was going out to try my shape shifting again. It had been a long time since I thought of trying, one more time, to do so, but now that it came to me, I needed to do it again. I just hope it does not turn out as another failed attempt.

     The air in the sandy shore this morning was something else and I loved it, though not as much as my freely thrashing hair did.

     My eyes darted to the sea and locked in it— the Coral Sea, clear as crystal and blue as the sky. Just beyond these silent waters was the waterfall cave. From here, I could see the mountains of the cave that surrounded the werewolf territory, as well as the mist that shaded most parts of the mountain from sight, and the dark clouds hovering above it.

     I sighed, pinning my toes to the ground and diverting my attention from the sea, my head facing down, and my eyes shutting tight. I did not know which I would turn out to be— demon, wolf. I just hope I find my might and master it; this was the sole purpose of my living. A weak being was like nothing in the sight of anyone and it was only a matter of time before even the servants of the Shore began to look down on me.

     However, despite shutting off my hearing sense from the noises around me, I was not so preoccupied that I did not hear the sharp sound of hurled steel coming behind me. It came from a distance, yet it sounded so close to me.

     Like a flash, I changed the position of my left leg, swiftly spinning myself to face my other side as my right hand rose to catch the speedy object in a blink. The cold feeling of steel kissed my skin and I realized it was literally a dart. I was surprised at my own speed, yet I was more surprised at the fact that Damien had to play such a joke; throwing a dart at me, really, what if I was not quick enough to catch it?

     “I did expect such speed, Wolf,” A voice said, seeming to approach before me. Only that it was not Damien's, nor was it that of a male. The voice rang a bell in my ears as the feeling of déjà vu invaded me. I knew I had heard it before… somewhere, somehow. Nevertheless, my eyes snapped open and I found myself staring back at a pair of cold, vale orbs.