Chronicles of the Sword in the Stone (remastered and continued)

Chapter 6: No Meal, No Luck, All Pain

It had taken far too long of a journey, but at last the wolf was certain that he was on the right track. That stupid squirrel that had made a fool of him all those months ago had certainly gone this way, and soon vengeance, not to mention a decent meal, would at last be his.

His lengthy search had brought him out of the woods and into the outskirts of a human village. On average, he chose to avoid places where humans resided, on account that he had nearly been killed on several occasions by their sharp, shiny sticks. However, he was too angry and too hungry to care at this point. As long as he stayed hidden, he would be perfectly fine. Therefore, he began to silently creep across the ground, sticking to the shadows and alleyways to avoid detection from the humans as they went about their daily routine.

As he peeked around a corner, his face welled up into a look of joy. There she was! She and three other human women were going in and out of different buildings, and sometimes they came out with more than they had come in with. But what she and the women were doing didn't concern him. All he wanted was the squirrel, and he had finally found her. His joy rose significantly when he saw that she had broken away from the other women and went into a building by herself, which meant now was the time to strike. Snickering to himself, he snuck his way into the little shop, and he began his stealthy crawl towards his unsuspecting victim.

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Hazel was once again confused. After her usual morning chores, some of the women had volunteered her to, as they put it, help them gather some things from the town. However, it was more like she got the things while they stood around and chattered like a flock of sparrows or flirted with the town guard. Now, she understood the reason for going out. Getting more food was a necessity, and people needed clothing to stay warm since cloth didn't grow back like hair. What confused her, however, were the strange pieces of metal she was to givev to exchange for what she needed. They were small, no bigger than the palm of her hand, and they were very light. According to the women, these little trinkets held value, though she couldn't quite understand how. On that note, why did she have to exchange things for other things anyway? Couldn't people just go and get what they need from the forest? Why barter with total strangers with these shiny pieces of metal? She shrugged and shook her head. Yet even more human things she was just going to have to understand in the future. She was starting to get a headache from it all.

She had just finished with the butcher shop, and she was all but ready to leave after having to stand near so many dead animals. Now all that was left was to retrieve Arthur's new robe from the tailor across the street. As she made her way to the tailor's shop, she was unaware of the thin shadow that followed her, or the malicious intent it planned for her. The local tailor was a skinny fellow dressed in a white shirt, brown trousers, and a tiny pair of spectacles on the end of his nose similar to Merlin's. He had a pair of sewing needles held tightly in his teeth as he was putting the finishing touches on a tunic he was stitching up. He looked up when he heard someone enter, and he smiled at Hazel.

"'Ello 'Ello, what can I do you for, little miss?"

Hazel produced a parchment that the women had given her and handed it to the tailor. The man accepted it and read it thoroughly before grinning.

"Ah, here for the king's new robe, eh? Well, just one moment."

Hazel stood patiently as the man went to the back of the shop. All the while, the wolf was closing in on his target. His mouth was already watering at the prospect of a good meal for a change, and he snickered quietly as he slinked beneath a table. He was just mere inches away from her leg. He sniffed out her ankle before licking his chops. He then opened his massive jaws and stretched out his neck for one tremendous bite. And then...