Charlie was certain that in that moment his heart stopped dead.

Part of him knew that this should have been expected, that he knew they were coming and that was inevitable. But never in a thousand years would he have guessed it would be so soon, and in such huge numbers.

For a moment he didn't move, not knowing what to do or what to say. Everyone he knew and loved was in that castle, and they were now facing a terrible fate.

As terrifying as it was to look at, he knew that he had to do something.

But he didn't have a clue what there was to do.

So he did the first and dumbest thing that came into his head.

He stepped from the shadows and into the light, for all to see.

No one seemed to notice for a short while, it appeared that everyone had expected defence and danger to come from within the palace, and not at its walls. For this reason, Charlie stood in the sunlight alone for a few moments. Left by himself, looking like a fool.

Just as he was about to speak out, to make his presence known. A shout came from a member of the circle which was protecting the foot of the cliff. Now there wasn't a pair of eyes in a five mile radius which weren't on him.

Before he had the chance to prepare himself, the strangers were on him like hawks. They had him surrounded within minutes and Charlie had to force himself to not cower under their glaring eyes.

They're fast too. Charlie acknowledged in his head, shifting from one paw to the other, prepared to fight, regardless of what would face him.

"Hello," Charlie said as calmly as he could manage. Careful to make eye contact with every man and woman there, making a point of doing so. It was his way of trying to seem as though he was as strong as they were.

Even if he had every possible doubt that the truth was the opposite.

One spoke up from the small crowd which had now gathered around him. An amused look on his face, though there was an air of caution to everyone else. It surprised Charlie, he didn't think anything could have scared them.

"Enchanted," the sarcasm dripped from the stranger's voice like venom from the tongue of a viper. He left it at that, as though nothing further needed to be said. There was a strange calmness to his voice, and it put Charlie on edge.

As though they were two strangers making pleasantries as they waited for the bus to arrive, fully intending to never need to speak again. Not like Charlie was terrified of what would come, and his fate rested on the shoulders of this strange man.

And Charlie pretended like he wasn't currently contemplating tearing out the stranger's throat.

"Who do you think you are?" A voice broke the silence at last, this one noticeably less calm.

Shifting from uncomfortably, he tried to act cool, despite every instinct screaming at him to run.

Regarding the stranger who had spoken with a flicker of his eyes. A purposeful move, as to show disrespect to the leader of this strange group. It was one of few power plays he was currently capable of making.

"My name is Charlie Augustus," he spoke simply. Those two words told everything they needed to know.

By now, almost everyone in the kingdom was aware of the importance of that name.

Every pair of eyes narrowed at this knowledge.

No one said anything further for a moment, though Charlie noted that the head stranger now regarded him with an air of heightened caution. Charlie took this as a victory, it may be the only one he would have for a while.

"Kill him," the order came quicker then Charlie had expected, which meant he had to think even faster.

He forced his tail not to dart between his legs at these words, keeping his head high despite the fear. Charlie forced his voice to come out as calmly as he could make it, and looked the man from which the order had come directly in the eye.

"Are you going to kill my friends? The people still in the palace?" He asked, gesturing to the cliff top with his chin. His eyes darkening a shade with the first time he said that out loud, the idea his friends may be hurt was worse then anything they could have done to him.

This was apparently not the question they had been expecting to be asked, as most of them looked at him with surprise as the words left his lips.

Charlie had never been the type to beg for his life. When it came to the lives of the ones he loved, that was another matter entirely. He regarded them with boredom, keeping himself as calm as he could.

On any other day he would have fought them to the death then and there, even if it was more likely then not to end in any favour but his. But right now he had to do everything he could to ensure he stayed alive.

At last the stranger replied calmly, "Of course we are, they're a threat." It was devastatingly simple. The words took most of the hope that Charlie had left, which in honesty had not been a great deal.

"You can say what you want, nothing is going to change that." A second person spoke this time. The laughter all but lighting her tone as she spoke, she cared little for the pain it was causing the wolf at the centre of their circle. "You're all going to hell."

The words had barely left the woman's mouth, when the man who seemed to be leader gestured and her neck had been snapped in half. Charlie recoiled at the sight, he had not expected it.

It appeared that every leader he had ever known, cared incredibly little about those who followed them.

"Don't jump to conclusions," the man said, as though the woman the words were directed at was in any place to hear him any more. Then he returned his attention to Charlie, his eyes were bored.

Charlie regarded the man now, on edge but curious as to what would come next. If not also terrified. His ears flicked forward, looking over to where the body now lay in the grass nearby. This stranger meant business.

He said nothing.

"You are the man who allowed us to do all of this, you helped our creation, to gain our powers."

Now with a fair idea of what was coming next, Charlie stiffened. For the first time showing on the outside as to how scared he was by what would come next. He let out a low growl, tensing where he stood. Where is he going with this?

Yet the stranger paused, as though for dramatic effect, knowing at he had the full attention of everyone in his little audience. He inhaled deeply, this time not looking Charlie directly in the eye. Before he at last spoke.

"For this reason, I offer to you the option to join us." He finished at last, but he wasn't done.

"And to choose just one of your loved ones to join you."

Those words alone were enough to put the fear of god in Charlie.

In that moment, a thousand thoughts ran through Charlie's head. They raced through his mind, making it hard for him to think straight. His eyes danced around the circle a second time, trying to pick up on any hint that this was a lie.

He wasn't able to find any.

And to his horror, he found himself trying to think of who he would choose if he had to.

First his brain went to Arthur, his brother who now lay in a hospital bed crippled for the rest of his life due to his own actions. Yet now with hope that he could walk again as a result of the witch, Charlie wondered if this would gain him the forgiveness he longed.

If not, his brain went to Robert. Part of him wondered if he would be able to gain penance for the young prince, as well as his wife. In that moment, he remembered the daughter he had yet been unable to meet that his brother had mentioned.

However, he knew his brother better then to think he would ever leave his armies to gain survival for himself. It was never going to happen, and Evie would never have agreed to it in a thousand years.

It would be a waste of the chance to save someone he loved, and he would never have been able to live with the regret of not choosing someone else.

Briar? The voice spoke in the back of his head, and his mind went instantly to the witch he had grown feelings for that he had never thought possible. And guilt sparked inside him almost immediately.

He had played his hand in dragging her into this, even if it was only a small one.

She too was far too proud to agree to save her own life at the cost of everyone else's.

What would she think of me for even contemplating it?

"Go to hell," Charlie said simply. His fangs flashing beneath his lips, a snarl echoing from his throat.

"Very well," the leader didn't sound too heartbroken at having to say this, though his expression suggested otherwise. "Kill him," he repeated as though he couldn't have cared less that he had just given a man the death sentence.

As a number of people stepped closer, prepared to snap his neck in two as they had done to one of their own. With almost no care in the world, Charlie spoke up suddenly. The words tumbling from his throat in one.

"If what you say is true, and you do in fact owe me something, do one favour." Go to hell, Charlie added in his head, but he wasn't stupid enough to say this out loud.

Once again he was regarded with a bored look, like a cat who had grown bored of playing with the mouse and was looking for another game to play. But putting the mouse out of it's misery had become a chore. "And what would that be?"

A painful sigh drew from Charlie's throat, everything hurt from days of torment and fear. But now he was faced with the end, he didn't want to have to give it all up. He wanted to keep on fighting, but he didn't see a way of being able to.

So he went for the next best thing, to die with dignity beside the people he cared the most about.

"Don't kill me here," he spoke after a moment of trying to figure out how to say it. "Allow me to say my goodbyes, and die beside the people I love the most." His honesty was simple, and tone was desperate. The fear apparent in his voice for anyone to hear.

"Why on earth would we let you do that?" Another spoke, without fear of the same repercussions that his friend had met mere moments before. "We owe you nothing, you're ours to do what we will with."

"You are in no place to be making demands of us." The leader agreed calmly, not reprimanding the man for speaking out of place. Part of Charlie wondered why, but he was hardly in the place to be asking questions.

Charlie's heart dropped, thinking that they were going to refuse him this last request and kill him on the spot, be he continued in spite of this.

"I'm not a threat," for once, he added in his head, it was a very new feeling. "Let me die with the people I love, what cost will it have for you. You'll still get everything you want," whatever that might be.

He realised he had no idea as to why they were doing any of this, but again he didn't ask.

Looking back at Charlie, the stranger drew his gaze up and down the form of the younger wolf. Something seemed to flicker in his eyes, exactly what Charlie wasn't certain, but he had seen it regardless.

With a sigh, the man conceded.

"Very well," and he gestured with a flicker of his hand. "Shift, I don't want you killing any of my men on your way up."

You've killed just as many of your men as I have since I've met you, Charlie growled pinning his ears, but complying all the same and shifted into his two legged form. Stumbling at the pain as the fresh wounds were reopened, ruining what work had been put into healing them so far.

And Charlie was gagged and bound where he stood.