Diego I woke up with a cloudy mind. The sun rays from the hut I was lying in penetrated through the wooden small holes in the ceiling. I was on the wooden bed rather than the floor just has always been happening throughout the years. After I become my werewolf’s skin, I would see myself waking up on the floor and don’t remember anything that transpired. But now, I even remember what happened last night. I was walking through the Dark Forest, being able to watch the beautiful full moon and not killing anyone. I could not even taste anything that I could have eaten from the forest. It only means that I did not hunt. My head turned to where I have been --- the pasture where I saw Elizabeth lying on the ground. I would have helped her, but then, I remembered the numerous steps of someone else who was nearing and calling her name out. And then… now… I am waking up remembering the beautiful night! Everyone said that I was a cursed werewolf. My father was the primary source of what every

Elizabeth“Oh, really? I can use this cocktail dress, Nikita?”Nikita giggled and gave me a casual thumbs up. “Of course! Come on! Wear it!” she urged me.Because she was encouraging me to wear the dress she makes me borrow, I ran enthusiastically to the privy beside her room.“I’ll wait here!” she said from her room when I went inside the privy.Currently, after doing the house chores, I went to her house just like we talked about when I was picking up water from the well. She is making me raid her wardrobe to get dresses I could borrow for the fiesta and bonfire show tonight.Whatever is going inside my head, it is the fire dance a masked female dancer will be doing. It is the most awaited event in our village since it is the day the village was baptized as where the first queen was born in this world. And it was believed that the queen had the power of fire.When the cocktail fit, I went outside of the privy while pulling the upper part of the cocktail that had beautiful intricate

ElizabethOh, my goodness!“W-Wait!”I exclaimed and even stupidly reached out my hand so I could chase him. He was so fast at his strides that running towards him felt so slow. I could see his white shirt and ripped shorts with worn-out boots on his back.“Diego, you can’t-““Elizabeth?”“Mom!” It was too late when the door of our house opened and I met my mother on the threshold. She was in her brown cardigan and wool dress. I gulped and fixed my scarf on my neck when her eyes fixated on it.She has been warning me not to let anyone see it. It would be too dangerous since mortals despised the werewolves. The war between them is cold yet still ongoing. The gap should be visible and people should be aware about the beasts. Being marked by one of them would be mean to be executed. And I don’t want that to happen.“Why did you only come home? The dinner will be served any minute,” my mother said.“I’m sorry, mother. I just got home from dressing up for bonfire night,” I reasoned out a

Elizabeth“Elizabeth!”My eyes went to who called me. It was Prince Ronald. He was wearing casual clothes and he did not have horsemen behind him. Different from the usual, he was also not mounted on a horse.Grinning ear to ear, he waved his hand while going toward me. I smiled at the prince and bowed a little bit for him. I even almost forgot Diego’s presence beside me.“Your Highness, good evening,” I greeted him and gave him a polite smile after I bowed down. “May I ask what are you doing here in the village?”“Oh, I went here to watch the bonfire event,” he said, and using his head, he pointed to the village’s huge circle.I parted my lips. “You watch the bonfire event?”“Of course. I watch it every year,” he said. “Do you also watch it, my lady?”“Well, yes, since I was a kid. I love the story told of the fire queen, so I would never miss an indispensable event like this,” I said.“Hmmm, you could be a fire queen yourself,” he said and surveyed his eyes from my head to foot. “Yo

When I saw Prince Ronald from the public market, I immediately hid from a hay that was near a horse’s stable and peeked out to see him from afar. He was not with the princes, but he was with the horsemen. Talking with the head chief while smiling, I cringed and got so silently pissed off by him.How could he still easily smile after killing a man and almost killing me like we were just an ant? It would only mean that it was not his first time to kill people. And because of what, power?His words lingered in my mind the whole night. I could not sleep a wink because my skin would crawl just by remembering how he sharply twisted the dagger inside me. If I had not woken up and healed myself using my powers, the gods might have been taking care of my soul. “Thank you for always visiting our stable, Prince Ronald. Your father would always be proud of you,” I heard the head chief say and placed his arm on Prince Ronald’s shoulder. “Your kindness is appreciated in the village.”The prince c