Red's Wolves

Chapter Twenty-One

Once alone, Alera gave herself a moment to catch her breath before she started getting ready for her journey home.

Home... it was such an arbitrary, subjective word.

Was Palazia truly home to her anymore? It may have been once. When she was younger and far more naive than she was now. When she thought she could teach people to love her like they did others, when there was still a chance that she'd be a princess people wanted rather than one they feared.

That she'd be as loved as her mother was, especially by her father...

But why would she consider a place home when she was so ready to leave it all behind?

There was nothing waiting for her there, not in the sense she wanted anyway.

Her father and her people were innocents caught in the web of treachery that started the moment she left. She never intended for any harm to come to anyone— she was only looking out to ensure no harm came to her. If she had any indication of what would have happened she would have swallowed the little pride she had left and accepted her father's arrangement.

But now...

Now she understood the cry of the wolves that night. Did they know what would happen to her if she stayed? When she left?

She couldn't allow rhetorical and hypothetical questions to plague her any longer.

Now was a time for action. And she was no longer alone.

Dressing in the hunting leathers she had acquired from her time with the forest fae, she hooked her newly-gifted red cloak around her shoulders and strapped her bow and arrows around her back. Lastly she sheathed the magical dagger received from her mother at her hip and give herself one final assessment. When there was nothing left to buckle or tie, she let out a small sigh and retreated from the hut to begin her journey back toward the castle.

Jere was waiting for her once she emerged. He too was dressed in hunting gear with a cloak of a dark blue— a sign of the healers. On his belt hung a sword but also compartments for potions of all shapes and sizes.

"For healing and ailments we may encounter along the way," he explained, almost bashfully once she approached with a questioning glance. "Someone has to make sure you stay upright."

They left the horses with Palo— they would be too much of a hindrance in the thick overgrowth of the first, and leaving them in the former stablemaster's care would be one less distraction for them while they needed to focus on carrying on to save the people of Palazia. But Alera made sure to say thank you to the wild horse that had been there for them through their journey, even before they arrived. Searching through her pack she pulled out a small back and handed it to Palo.

"What's this?" The old stable master asked while he looked it over. He only needed a moment before he opened it and the twinkle of the music box began to play.

She gave him a smile. "If the horse needs to regain focus or calm, play that. It will help. I promise," she assured him with a wink.

Once they were finished with their goodbyes, together with Jere, Alera and her wolves set out on foot, making their way slowly and cautiously to the forest's edge.

The remnants of the past battle remained, despite the efforts made to clear away the debris and whatever else remained after Nicholas and his army attacked the forest. So much greenery had been charred to black, it made Alera's heart ache. She knew it would be what would happen to her if she remained in the castle and didn't once try to save herself, she just wished that her choice hadn't carried over to such a result.

Jere held her hand while the wolves ran ahead. "You can't blame yourself," he whispered to her, as if knowing well the thoughts that were rushing through her head. "We are going to make this right, so that it never happens again.

She squeezed his hand tight. "Together," she promised. And was about to lean in for a gentle kiss when the sounds of barking and snarling carried back to them from the wooded path ahead.

One glance and they both readied themselves— Jere with his sword and Alera with her bow. One careful step at a time they continued on along the path where the wolves led the way, only to stop as she watched the four wolves circling and clawing at the trunk of a large tree.

Following the wolves' attention up, up up the trunk, Alera gasped when she discovered the source of their distress.

There, high in a tree, she saw Brigette, her former maid and traitor to her father's kingdom, hanging from the neck by one of Nicholas's slimy black vines.

The maid was still alive, though her fingers scratched at the noose. Barely breathing, Brigette's feet struggled to find purchase on the branches beneath her in a feeble attempt to from hanging.

"Alera," she wheezed. "Help me."

The princess hesitated.

"Alera," Jere warned.

"He said I cost him what he wanted the most— you and the magic you possess," Brigette continued quickly, as if speaking faster would save her quicker. "He left me behind to be a warning of the danger to come if you do not do as he bids. But please, Alera... please..."

Alera clenched her fists at her sides, and the leaves in the trees above began to rustle with an unnatural gust of wind.

"We have to move," Jere said to her in warning, his attention on the canopy above their heads, sword raised as if expecting another attention. But Alera was not scared.

She was pissed off.

That he would use Brigette to prove a point, using Alera's heart to dissuade her, as if kindness and mercy were a weakness, but still Alera would not stand by out of fear or her own personal well-being to allow her father to perish. She would not allow anyone else to be hurt by Nicholas, either. Not her people, not the forest fae... especially not a traitor such as Brigette.

She would allow justice to determine her fate, and no one else.

As a flash of anger hit her, she clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms and drew blood. With it came mental images of her father hanging in that tree, or the innocents of her kingdom dangling from the other branches, or Jere...

She let out a scream and the unseen wind answered. With one final powerful gust, the leaves above them descended from the trees around her, covering the forest floor with a sudden blanket of greenery, leaving Alera, Jere, and the wolves standing there in silent awe.

But she was not finished.

"Lower her."

As if summoned, the branch that Brigette was hanging from moves, lowering her to the thick branch beneath her, allowing her to stand and save herself from strangling. Hurriedly she pulled the vine from her neck, gasping for air as she clung to the branch.

"I am in your debt, princess. Anything you need, I will do it—"

"Leave it," Alera snarled, watching only long enough to ensure the maid would not die by Nicholas' doing. But she would not linger to offer her any further assistance. She didn't want to hear any excuses. Perhaps she had already done too much, she realized as she picked up the bow and arrow that had fallen from her grip in her fury.

"What are we going to do with her?" Jere asked once she stood and began walking away to follow the wolves who had already sensed her intentions.

"Nothing," she said to him, glancing back at Brigette who was rubbing her neck. "She can make her own choice as to what she does next, but it will not stop either of us from what we now need to do."

Alera turned back towards the path and picked up her pace.

"We've already wasted enough time on her. If we don't keep moving, we may be too late.

Jere didn't challenge her decision as they both ran to catch up with the wolves who raced towards the castle.