As a commoner with not a lot of money or possessions to my name I was often overlooked, even in our tiny village. I spent my days since the announcement wandering parts of the forest I had never been to. I liked being in the woods, the sound of the wind and the absence of others made me feel unbeatable while my world was falling apart. The screams of my Mother when she found my Fathers charred body in their bed had was burned into my mind. Everytime I thought about it my ears started ringing so loud I felt they were going to explode. Soon after they took my Dad, they took my Mom. Then it was always quiet at home. Sometimes I wished I could hear my mother scream again, just to drown out the deafening silence.
Occasionally, I would feel a little lonely roaming the woods. Those times I would be delighted whenever I crossed paths with one of the hunters near the river. Mal was his name. He was one of the younger men in Bärwald, once known for his bubbly, light demeanor. But like most of us, werewolves orphaned him and took all his joy with them.
At first it was hard to find things to talk about. There wasn't much to even talk about, besides who got killed the night before and that was all anybody ever talked about, so silence was preferable. With time each of us would start pointing out things on our walks along the river. A bird we had not seen before or even an interesting stone we found in the soil below. Sometimes this even sparked long conversations about the Mushrooms we wanted to try and spices from the villages beyond the horizon, we could only ever dream of visiting. Our walks quickly became the highlight of my day. I got so excited to escape from all of the blood and tears and screams every day, even if just for a litte while. Mal made me feel safe. His deep brown eyes had a warm inviting glow to them whenever he spoke about what made him happy that day. His fine hair danced with the wind and glimmered in the sunlight as he listened to me intently. It didn't matter what either of us were really talking about, we could not keep our eyes off each other. At times it felt like we were two magnets, strongly drawn to each other.
Every day the town's population shrunk, but the atmosphere in the Town hall slowly started growing more hopeful. Two days after the mayor demanded to kill all suspects, the townsfolk agreed that the Blacksmith was the werewolf on account of her always wearing gloves while handling silver, a metal lethal to werewolves. The smell of smoke also lingered on her skin like an invisible tattoo. Like the day before, the suspect was violently grabbed by the guards. Zelle, the Blacksmith, started struggling, kicking and screaming, trying desperately to break free from the strong grasp she was held in. To no avail. A guard pierced her abdomen with a long silver spear. The sizzle of her skin echoed through the room. Her screams and wolflike howls were drowned out by the cheers of the townsfolk finally getting justice for all the pain caused by her wretched kind. I however had to force a smile, I didnt enjoy seeing this woman die. I saw her body convulse and grow as she slowly shifted into a large hairy beast. Coarse dark hair covered her body and the smell of smoke filled the room. I felt terrible. Not for Zelle, but terrified, unsafe. This feeling lingered, even on the Afternoon walk with Mal. He was overjoyed and could not stop talking about the events of that morning. He spoke of relief and hope, but i didn't feel the same way. I made up an excuse about having to clean my kitchen and headed back home. While I was only a couple meters away from him he yelled "Now we can start making plans for our future! The Wolf is gone, hurray!". My heart fluttered at the thought of one day having a future with him. I had never even thought about that. I turned back to him and smiled for a second before disappearing into the woods.
But the wolf was not gone. Tonight a little girl, no older than three got attacked by the wolf. Sally was her name, a lively but sweet child. The citizens were out for blood in the meeting that morning. Multiple fights broke out and countless accusations got thrown around. Some with merit, but most of them were baseless. That morning the town carpenter, Tom was executed. His hairy lifeless corpse on the floor sent a shiver down my spine. I felt i was in great danger. I felt i needed to hide. I didn't see Mal that afternoon. I spent the rest of the day in my bedroom with the curtains drawn. Then came a rather violent knock on the door.
Two guards burst into the front door, visible from my bed where I was sitting. "VILLAGE SEARCH", yelled the shorter one, while the taller one started rummaging through my living room. I tried interfering but the short guard swiftly pulled out a sword and held it to my neck. "Do not try to stop us this was ordered by the mayor." I put my hands up and fell back one step. The guard explained, that the Mayor wanted to find any evidence of another werewolf and have them executed by sunset. I was overwhelmed with fear, but i couldnt tell why. The sword near my face suddenly felt very hot and i started sweating. "I got what I need. Take her in.", the tall guard said and gave me a disgusted look. The short guard threw me onto the bed and put handcuffs around my wrists. The metal cuffs burned against my skin as I was dragged to the town hall.
