One of Runts

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: The Castle

        I sprint beside Azrael as we follow the pack through the forest. Somehow, it has become our thing to run beside one another even though we only met yesterday.

        I must admit that it is nice to have someone to talk to, though. We have mainly been talking about things in the forest and the rogue problem.

        He thinks that someone is planning a rebellion and is turning pack wolves and nomads into rogues. I agreed with him, telling him that someone must not be happy with our current ruler.

        "Do you think that this may be happening in the other kingdoms?" I ask him, the thought popping into my mind.

        I peek at Azrael as he doesn't immediately respond to me. His brows are pulled forwards and I can tell he's actually taking the thought into consideration.

         The werewolf kingdom isn't the only kingdom in our world. To our left is the witch kingdom and to our front or right in front of us is the human kingdom. Diagonally across from us is the vampire kingdom. Above all of our kingdoms, however, lays the Land of the Elders.

        The Elders look after and basically control important things that happen in the kingdoms under them. If they think something's fishy, they'll stick their nose in it and visit that kingdom.

        They usually leave the kingdoms alone unless a new King or Queen is being crowned or they think something is unjust. I wonder if the Elders are looking into the rogue problem?

         Azrael sends suspicion down the bond as he speaks to me. "I've heard that the witch kingdom is having troubles with rogues, and not just rogue witches."

        I share my shocked emotions with him. "You are telling me that there are rogue vampires, humans, and wolves in their kingdom?" Some may think that the humans aren't strong and have nothing against us, but that was the way of the old.

        Many of them came from witch blood, meaning that the whole population has some powers. I've heard that they all possess different gifts and can even wield magic. Though, they mostly specialize in runes and verbal enchantments.

        Witches also don't need to speak their spells aloud after a small amount of training.

         "What I'm telling you is true," Azrael states. "I've heard from my uncle that many of the rogues are spotted together and even going as far as to kill some."

         "They must have a death wish," I tell him. "Witches excel greatly in offensive spells and can easily kill another being. I wonder why the rogues still attack..." My mind-voice trails off as we think about what the rogues must want.

         I dash around a few trees, Azrael falling behind me, trusting me to lead him to areas where he can fit through. I speed up as I can sense that we are close to the kingdom.

         I fall behind Azrael as he knows this land better than I. He sprints closer to the pack and towards the Alpha King. Hesitation slows me down, but after an encouraging nod from Azrael, I speed up beside him.

        I run beside him, though a few inches behind as I let him take the lead. The trees grow sparse and Azrael follows a mental path that leads away from the group. I take a glance at him and see that he is mind-linking someone. Most likely the Alpha King.

        Trees block the view of what must be the castle, though I resist the urge to take a glance at it, trusting Azrael. We start to sprint up an incline and I pin my ears to my skull, knowing that we are traveling further away from the castle.

         I send confusion and suspicion down the bond as I continue to follow beside Azrael. He takes a glance down at me and sends an emotion of mischief and amusement, also a bit of apprehension. I twitch my ear at the emotion but decide to ignore it for now.

         I look around me at the various pine trees covered in a light layer of snow. I can see a few tiny purple flowers peeking through the snow. I lift my snout in the air and take a deep breath.

         I let out a small purr at the scent of evergreens, earth, and fresh snow. The scents of clover and dandelions tickle my sense as well and add to the overall earthy scent of the land.

         "Not farther now," Azrael tells me, picking up speed. I race after him.

        A few minutes later, he comes to a swift stop, making me dig my sharp claws into the hard cold ground in order to stop. I pin my ears to my skull in slight irritation. "You could have warned me, you know," I tell him as he glances back at me.

         He ignores my irritated mutter and wags his tail. "Okay, I want you to slowly walk forward." I stare at him for a few seconds, my suspicion growing.

         "You're not going to push me off the cliff, are you?" I ask him, standing still.

         He rolls his eyes and snorts as he stamps his paw on the ground. "Just do what I said. I promise that you'll like it."

        I squint my eyes at him for a few seconds but do as he says. I walk through the tall grass that was blocking my view but end up stopping in awed surprise.

        Before me is the view of the King's castle on a large hill, surrounded by various trees. It's standing on the highest point, it's dark gray stone covered in bits of ice, making it gleam.

         Down the hill is a large city of stone, many of the buildings very old looking. Many of the buildings are either made of the wood around us or the same dark gray stone of the castle. The buildings are large and share similarities with the castle. It shares the ancient, but expensive look. Showing that this is a King's pack.

A large wall surrounds the city, a few hundred houses outside of it with fields of produce.

         My tail slowly wags as I take in the awe-inspiring view. "It looks so old..." I say, sending my emotions down the bond.

        I feel Azrael step beside me and stare at the view as well. It all gleams in the midday light, no clouds in the sky to block it.

        To the very right of the hill outside of the wall, I spot a large lake. It's so large that I can't see the end of it. I can see a lot of log cabins beside it.

        I follow the line of houses and see that the expensive-looking buildings also trail up the mountain-like hillside and some on another small mountain-like hiss, the main road in the center, a bridge connecting the two hills together.

        "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Azrael rhetorically asks me.

         "It's amazing," I tell him, taking a glance at him, my eyes glittering in awe.

         We stare at the view for a few minutes longer before I follow him to the large stone brick road leading up to the castle.