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"Even the faintest whispers are carried by the wind. Listen, for the wind has many secrets."
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[SHADE SHADOWS]

The slaves whispered amongst themselves as I walked in. As usual, eyes ventured my way accompanied by light scoffs.

My gaze traveled to my sisters whose eyes rested on me momentarily sending me a discreet nod, before returning to the conversation whispered amongst the group of slaves.

I made my way to my secluded area knowing I would remain unbothered.

Sitting by the ledge of the window where the cold wind blew in, under the gentle moonlight, Glancing around, I carefully took out the map. My eyes trailed over it, my feeble fingers trembling, before tucking it back into my sleeve.

I was lucky today.

From finding the map to Barnabas' mysterious turnaround. I had no reason to trust the drunk, he could turn us in for all I know and get a reward.

It was simply not wise to rely on him.

Sure, it would be easier to travel to Yulis with a castle worker successfully covering the stench of a rogue's scent, but it remained quite plain that he could not be trusted. In this equation, I could only trust my sister and she could only trust me.

I could not risk or rely our freedom on anyone else.

Nevertheless, Barnabas was a good source of information and if indeed he wanted to help, I could get some more information from him. He was a worker that ventured freely out of the Night Court. He knew other ways I was sure.

I simply had to be careful. I could not confess all my plans.

Even if I was a fool for freedom I could not be that foolish.

"Slaves!" a guard suddenly barked causing all of us to look at the two guards standing in the doorway.

"Blow out your candles! The Night was meant for sleep," he growled.

My gaze traveled from the guard barking orders, to the silent one standing behind him. Blue eyes stared back at me and my eyebrows arched.

I had seen those eyes before, somewhere.

The candles went out and so did my vision of those eyes, darkness encircling us.

It took a while for me to maneuver around the now-settled wolves, bumping into a few who growled back at me in a string of colorful curses.

Had I had a wolf, vision in the night would have been easier for me. Instead, I was as blind as a bat until I got to my reed mat.

I laid across the rough surface staring at the stone roof. Blinking for a moment.  Memories from the day drained through me, of Diane-that mysterious bird, and something even more mysterious.

Of the master who was not afraid to be friends with a Keffer.

My eyebrows arched in the darkness. He was very coarse and— blunt I dare say. He was certainly arrogant and had no feelings of selflessness. No- not altruistic in the least. However, there was something -–kind in his eyes?

No- I almost scoffed aloud--kindness wasn't the word.

My lips pursed in the darkness. Something innocent? I shook my head, turning around restlessly on the reed mat.

No- there was something dark in his eyes, but that darkness only hid another emotion that was at his core-

I could not put my finger on it.

It was something curious, something of innocence but not innocent. I rolled my eyes in the darkness. I would damage my head if I kept thinking like this.

I rolled onto my back, staring back at the roof. His words were so blunt, it was certainly annoying. Perhaps what annoyed me most was the truth in them.

Many times I had thought of my history. Of my parents, who they were. If they had been Keffers too. But AMA said it is quite unlikely.

Keffers are born randomly. Even an Arc could have a keffer for a son. I scoffed at this.

Wouldn't that be something?

I let the silence consume me for a moment, my eyes closing.

Sometimes I pictured them in my mind. In my head, my father's skin was as dark as mine. And my mother's wolf had fur the shade of shadows, and they loved me- my fingers shook slightly as I let out a shaky breath.

Despite all the stories I heard of abandonment. I dreamed they wanted me. Perhaps, I only wished it so, but I feel no hate towards them. Living or dead, they are my parents. As their daughter was it wrong I hoped they cherished me?

Perhaps I should live a minute more in my nightmares. Maybe I would see them, even once...

It is a fair price to pay.

I yawned softly in the darkness my eyelids closing shut.

A price I would certainly pay, gratefully.

—————
Screams and the sound of Horses neighing like haunting echoes through the branches of the trees in the darkened forest sounded. The sounds of their steady hooves drew closer and closer with each thud against the leaf-covered ground.

I could hardly see with the heavy fog in the air, the moon was barely visible against the blackened sky.

I coughed, dropping forward, my hands covered in ash. It was only then I realized this was no fog, it was smoke.

Thick and merciless, choking like a lasso on the neck.
My eyes were watery and my knees stung from my fall.

"Up! This is no time to fall!" a desperate breathless voice urged above me, grabbing my arm and causing me to stumble forward to my little feet once more.

I could not see the woman's face beside me, draped in a veil, a shadow across her face as we pushed forward. Her hands clasped mine tightly as we run through the trees' smoke trailing behind us.

The howl of wolves began to ring behind us and I dared a peek seeing nothing but shadows and shapes racing towards us in the mask of thick smoke, ashes falling from the sky-

"Do not look behind! Eyes ahead, flower!" She cautioned, gripping me tighter.

I feared my legs would give out and yet there was a pounding in my head full of fear giving me the adrenaline to push forward.

Low bushes grazed the back of my legs and the roots of trees tripped me from time to time but we pushed on until a large wolf suddenly bounded before us, blocking our way.

We froze in the midst of the burning forest, petrified at the sight of it.

The wolf's fur was gray ash, bigger than the average wolf, his teeth snarling at us.

The woman placed a hand in front of me protectively, pushing me behind her where I was hidden by her wide skirt.

"Stay behind me," she whispered lowly as we moved backward into the smoke, eyes never leaving the beast who stalked toward us like prey.

The crunch of leaves beneath his paws was heavy and fear paralyzed me.

"You cannot have her!" the woman was fierce in her statement, but the response was fiercer.

I turned away just as the beast pounced, fearing this was my death, but nothing came, instead the sound of growls filled the air.

I looked and the woman was no longer beside me. Two wolves fought with claws and teeth viciously in the surrounding ash, one gray, the other the color of the earth.

The battle was mighty, the brown wolf was smaller but it was not weak and the gray wolf was bigger and deadlier, but the skill driven by the brown was its downfall.

Blood spilled into the earth as the gray wolf breathed its last.

I run over to the brown wolf as it twisted back into its form, a naked heap on the ground.

Tears filled my eyes when I realized the woman had blood seeping from a wound she tried to hide from me, her body weak and the shadow still on her face, her skin the echo of mine-

She was the winner but it had come with a price. I wept over her body as life faded from her, her fingers bloody and ashy reaching for my skin, pulling my jaw up to face hers,  "Go my little flower," she gasped--

"Go find your alpha."

I did not wish to leave her, but with her command, she breathed her last.

The sound of wolves and hooves of horses only drew closer and now even the sound of voices. My heart grieved within me as I ran, beating faster with each howl, closer and deadlier than the first-

"Shade!"

I glanced behind me as I run-

"Shade, wake up!"

I gasped, as I sat upright, darkness filling my eyes. Vale let out a loose breath, sitting back on her heels, as she knelt beside me. I could only blink as she pushed a loose strand of her thin blond hair behind her ear, gaze looking me over-

"Another nightmare." She stated.

It was then I found a breath, shaking my head, pulling my knees up to my chest.

"It's the first you've had in nearly two weeks," she murmured.

My eyebrows arched, trying to remember my dream, "it was different this time—stranger," I managed to say, gaze lifting to her.

Her eyes searched mine for a moment, eyebrows arching, before they suddenly cleared, "you will have to say another time, we can not stay here." She huffed getting to her feet.

"It's morning."

My gaze immediately traveled to the window where the darkness loomed. My heart fell,

"a dark day."

Vale nodded, "you're lucky it was too dark for madam to see you still asleep. The others went to the bathhouse. We should do the same before a guard finds us."

I nodded at this as she gave me a hand up. We took our jackets and headed to the pump.

"There you are keffer!" Haven gleamed when she spotted me, "I was afraid you were dead and I would have to pump."

The girls chuckled at her remark as I made my way into their midst, beginning my usual routine. Working off my arms before I even started a day's work.

The lever seemed heavier today, and I was slower. Perhaps it was because my head was wrapped in thoughts of my dreams, of the strange woman I believed was my mother if my dreams were truly memories of my history.

It was her voice I heard in my nightmares. Yes, I was sure. And if my dreams were truly memories then she was not alive, and hence sadness dawned, and for the first time I relished a dark day so that even Vale could not see the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes as I pumped.

I could only pray that the master was wrong and that my dreams were only dreams and nothing more.

When most of the buckets were done, and only Vale and I remained, I pumped for her mindlessly- and she stood beside me lighting the endless night with a torch in her hand.

"Shade I can do it-"

"You can not keep staying behind," I breathed, glancing at the bathhouse, "they will know what we are if you keep this up," I warned.

"How else will I talk with you? Where else?" She huffed, "you do not say a word anywhere else," she argued.

"We can not talk every day, you know that," I whispered back, pumping more water into her bucket.

"True, but you wish to not say a word at all."

"I am alright, and I'm working on the plan. That is all you need to know. If anything else arises, I will inform you," I stressed, finally looking at her.

"I do not believe you."

I let out a loose breath, gaze trailing to the bucket which I was filling, "believe this. I have found a map for us, a route to take up after we find a way to escape the forest."

She took a step closer, eyes wide, her voice low, "Are you mad Shade? You still wish to venture into the Night Wolf's forest?"

"It is the only way." I reminded her.

"Look at your feet and your hands." She urged.

My eyebrows arched at the absurd statement, looking at her instead as she spoke-

"Go on then, look," she urged once more.

I glanced at them and then back at her.

"Do you know why they do not slap chains around our hands and feet whilst we stand in the Night Court? Because they know that even the most insane of our kind could not possibly try to escape."

I rolled my eyes at this, my gaze snapping up instead, eyes meeting that of the guard that was perched a distance away, his blue gaze lingering in mine.

"He's been missing," I stated.

"Who- what-?" Vale asked confused before following my gaze to the guard. Her eyes quickly found the ground, staring at me, "do not hold eye contact, shade" she hissed.

At her warning, my gaze fell back to the pump-

"He hasn't been there these past 2 days." I urged."it's been another."

"They have shifts and how does that concern us? Are you changing the subject?" Vale gasped, placing her hands on her hips.

Her bucket overflowed with water and I took a sneak peek at the guard again and noticed his eyes never left mine.  What Vale failed to see is that it was important we understood the shift cycle if we planned to escape. We had to find the perfect time to begin.

I studied the guard. He was the guard that looked away when I was being bullied, not that I expected him to care, and the very guard that had come to our quarters yesterday.

"Shifts are hourly, aren't they?"

"Perhaps he fell ill then. Shade, you can not change the topic," Vale retorted.

My gaze snapped to her. "It's the forest. It's the only way if we wish to get out of here," I whispered lowly. "The only way."

Her gaze met mine, studying me intently for a moment, "We have to find another."

"There is no other Vale!" I grunted-

"At least promise me you'll try to look for another!" she stressed, her hand gripping my arm, "there must be another way."

I glanced at the action for a moment, then glanced at her nodding, "if you promise me to think about this one first."

Her hand dropped, pursing her lips, "fine."

I nodded, turning back to the pump, "You should go now, your bucket is full." I stated.

She stared at me for a moment before glancing down at the bucket. She perched the torch nearby and picked it up, a debate in her eyes as if she desired to speak more before deciding against it to my relief.

She squeezed my arm and escaped in the direction of the bathhouse.

I let out a loose breath at this as I watched her for a bit, placing my bucket beneath the pump. Pumping my gaze shifted back to the guard.

He was still staring intently at me against the firelight.
I swung my torch away, grabbed my full bucket, and made my way to the bathhouse.

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Enjoying the story? Read Advanced Chapter 21 to 24 on Patreon! Please vote and leave a comment if you're enjoying the story! Want to ask an in depth question or start a discussion on MTTNW. Join my discord community we're I'm always available for questions/discussions. Link in bio!
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