Undead

WOLF

It was supposed to just be another night sleeping in the White Tent Sea, but then again, I guess fate just didn't have that in store for me when my brother, Dove, woke me up at midnight.

I was sleeping soundly in our tent and was fast asleep when Dove shook my shoulder. "Wolf! Wake up!" he whispers in my ear.

"Five more minutes," I grumble, lazily pushing away his arm.

"No, seriously, get up," he says.

"Five more minutes?" I slowly kick away the blankets and get to my feet.

"Now listen carefully to me, ok?"

"Is there a reason why you woke me up at midnight? 'Cuz if not, I'm going back to sleep," I ask as I pull back the flaps to our tent and peer into the night. The sky is an inky black, and stars shine brightly. I can make out a few constellations; Draco and Cygnus are my personal favorites, but there are others too like Corona Borealis.

"Yeah, there is. And keep your voice down; we don't need the Guard and Soldiers coming after us."

"I know, I know." The Guard and Soldiers are the army of King Garonda XIV, the King of our island, Ragdon.

"I need you to retrieve something for me. Can you please do this?" Dove's grey eyes hold a bit of tightness.

"If I do, can I go back to sleep after?"

"Yeah. It's a pewter pendant, and it's beneath the Earth Tree. Please get it for me, alright?"

"Why can't you get it?" I frown.

"Could you please get it, Wolf?" Dove ignores my question. I sigh.

"Fine. I'm going back to sleep after this, though."

"Of course. Go quickly. I'll be right here when you return." Dove watches me go, and I can just make out a faint hint of sadness in his eyes.

I adjust my scratchy, dirty clothes as I run across the dusty paths of the White Tent Sea. My shirt used to be white; everyone's clothes used to be white, but it has gone brown from years of wear and a lack of washing. The night is silent, and the full moon casts a silvery glow across the trees. 

"So you were really there when they put those worms in his drink?" That's the voice of one of the Guard! Hide!

I dart behind a tree and try to remain as still as possible. The two Guard stroll by, hopefully oblivious to my existence behind the tree, and continue chatting.

"Yeah! It was absolutely hilarious! So did you ever figure out what My Sovereign, His Excellency, His Honor, His Highest of all Highnesses, King Garonda XIV was going to do about that collapse on the castle expansion?" The Guard stop in the middle of the path, and I hold my breath, acutely aware of my racing heart.

"No, but I heard My Sovereign, His Excellency, His Honor, His Highest of all Highnesses, King Garonda XIV was going to have a few executions because it was deemed to be that a few of the workers were at fault."

"Do you know when they're scheduled? I don't want to miss it."

"I'm fairly certain it's for tomorrow, but don't quote me on that."

"Wait. I think I hear something over there." The Guard draw their short swords from their sheaths. The only sound they make as they move on comes from the metal buckles holding together their leather armor.

I allow myself to take a breather for a few seconds. That was a bit too close for comfort. People were talking about the collapse yesterday. Gossip goes around when your King forces everyone older than eight to work from dawn until dusk. It's the only thing that makes work a tad bit more fun.

The dusty ground muffles my footsteps, allowing me to travel faster as I weave through the identical tents. Years from living in the White Tent Sea have helped me memorize all the fastest ways to get around and evade Guard and Soldiers if needed. Soon the Earth Tree comes into view. It's hundreds of years old, and its bark is worn mostly smooth from the wind and grit. The huge branches of the tree stretch tall to the side, and the trunk is as wide as one of the family tents meant to house four to six people. The smallest root is as big around as one of my legs.

I pause next to one of the tents. There's a clearing around the Earth Tree, and I'll be out in the open as soon as I go any further. The world is silent save for the sounds of a few insects chirping and the occasional hoot of an owl. It's that deafening silence that just about drives me crazy.

When no Guard or Soldiers show up, I dart forwards, sprinting as silently as possible until I reach the massive roots of the Earth Tree.

Dove said he wanted me to get a pewter pendant. Where is it? I scan the branches. Maybe I have to climb? That would be pretty mean since the lowest branch is well out of reach of even the tallest person on Ragdon Island. I'd hope it's located somewhere in the roots.

I make my way around the trunk of the Earth Tree, looking for the pewter pendant. Every sound makes me jump a mile in the air; it could be one of the Guard or Soldiers.

A flash of grey makes me take a step back and take a second look at the root system. Is that? There!

Hiding beneath one of the smaller roots is a little piece of metal. It's shaped like a pointy wolf's head, though it's covered in lines and doesn't have any eyes except for a small round indent where one of its eyes would be. A thin leather cord loops around a small hook between its two ears.

The pewter pendant.

I crouch down and reach for it. When my fingers just barely brush the cool metal, I kneel on the dusty ground to lengthen my reach. My cheek is pressed against the ground by the time I manage to wrap my fingers around the pendant.

Just as I pull my arm back, I feel something on my forearm. Well, more like eight somethings. I jerk my arm back, nearly dropping the pendant, though I somehow manage to hang on to it, and I hold back my yelp of alarm as I find myself face-to-face with a wolf spider. Its beady eyes glint in the moonlight. The hairy bristles brush across my skin as it climbs up my arm until it reaches the crook of my elbow. I'm frozen in fear; I'm trembling, my breaths are shaky, and it's all I can do to keep from screaming.

Then, after a few moments that felt like an eternity, the wolf spider sinks its fangs into my elbow. Pain sparks and burns up and down my arm. I bite down on my fist to muffle my screech. The wolf spider hops off my arm onto a root and crawls back under the Earth Tree.

My legs give out a moment later, and I fall to the ground, gasping for breath. The tents surrounding me sway, going blurry and getting distorted. A sheen of sweat coats my skin.

Wait. Get back to the tent- Dove's waiting for you!

My thoughts are muddled, but I get to my feet and start towards our tent. The ground beneath me is constantly tilting, and I almost fall several times.

Dove is waiting for me when I return. I stumble, falling onto the bed before I drop the pewter pendant into his hand.

"Y-you'll never believe... What happened..." I murmur. My vision goes fuzzy before coming back into focus.

"What happened?" Dove's voice holds an edge of panic.

"Th-there was this-this spider-."

"FOLLOW THE PAW PRINTS!" Someone shouts from outside. Dove curses.

"Wolf, we gotta go." He starts shoving clothes into a backpack. I sit up, scratching my head, and immediately regret it as the tent rocks violently. My eyelids flutter as I hold back a wave of nausea. My elbow feels like someone is repeatedly stabbing it.

"Can you walk?" Dove asks, slinging the backpack over his shoulders.

I never even told him what happened. The thought crosses my mind, but I don't quite fully process it.

"Huh?" I look up. My mind feels like a cloud. Clouds... I think... I think I'm just a little bit out of it. 

"Yeah, you're not walking." Dove picks me up into his arms before sprinting out of the tent.

Guard and Soldiers follow us, trailing behind us just out of sight, though I can see their blazing torches. I close my eyes and doze against Dove's shoulder as he runs through the forest. His feet are nearly silent against the dirt. The trees tilt and sway in a sort of dance. Dove loses his footing for a moment, stumbling, and I grit my teeth as a dagger of pain slices through my elbow along with another wave of dizziness that washes over me. I slip into a dreamless sleep as branches crack behind us- the sound that the Guard and Soldiers are close behind.

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I awake a while later to a cry of alarm. Dove is pacing back and forth and pulling at his hair. "It wasn't supposed to happen this early. It should've been at least another few days. Minimum," he grumbles.

Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying The King's Remorse so far, even though this is the third time I've updated this story. 

What does Dove talking about?

Why were the Guard and Soldiers shouting to follow the paw prints?

Why did Dove send Wolf out to find the pewter pendant?

-Werewolf14-