Introducing a Different World

Wolves

Morgana---------------->

I sat on the ledge of the window, looking out into the night. My parents and my sister lay on the bed only a few feet behind me, sleeping soundly. The overwhelming smell of horse and hay filled my nostrils as i sighed. Our living quarters were above our barn, in the loft, since we didn't have enough money to have our own house. My father had prayed for sons, but he got me and my sister instead, and my sister was only ten years old and i was sixteen with no prospects of a husband. Our town was a conservative one, which meant that if anyone was different, their life was pretty much over.

That was me. 

I had deep red hair that hung in slight curls down my back and dark gray eyes. I wasn't born to my parents, but found in the woods when i was just born. They took me in and from that day, i've been shunned. No one wanted to get to know me, except for the occasional person my age. I hadn't been able to go to school with my age group, having to learn what i could from my parents, which wasn't a lot. My sister went to school now, but she wasn't learning a lot because they were afraid of me getting a hold of them. 

I sighed as i stood up from my position and moved to the ladder. I never slept at night while my family slept, only in the early hours of the morning did i finally slip off to sleep, only to get up to help my dad with the work, I wandered the woods at night, even though the nights were cold as of late. I silently pulled on my long sleeves and pulled my skirt on, followed by the cloth corset that i wore. Black and a dark blue were the colors i wore, and my parents thought they didn't work on me, but i knew better. 

I stepped lightly on the hay, moving towards my horse. When i was seven, i had found a pure black colt in the forest, looking as though he had just been born in to this world. I brought him home and he's been mine ever since that day. He was a night horse, always ready to run when i was. 

"Jink, let's go," I said, hoisting myself up on his back. I didn't even both with the saddle, since i had been riding him since we were both young. He waited to run until we were far enough from the barn, and then he was soaring. "Yes!" I let out a tiny scream of pleasure as we ran, his black mane flowing in the wind, almost long enough to mix with my own. The freedom of the run always made me feel better when things seemed down and at this point, everything seemed down. "Come on Jink!" He made his laughing sound and he began to go faster. I giggled and flung my arms out, letting the air bounce off of me, like i was a bird flying in the sky.

Jink began to slow and all my happiness vanished. He slowed to a trot and that's when i knew something was out there, and Jink knew it too. I held my breath, listening to the noises around us, trying to figure out what was out there. I was about to turn Jink around, but he bolted in the direction we had been going. 

"Jink!" I cried, turning to look behind us, and that's when i saw them: The wolves. "Keep going!" 

The wolves were known by everyone in our town. They were ruthless and always hungry. That's why were weren't supposed to be out after dark, but sometimes we just couldn't help it, and in my case, i was always out. Did we really go out far enough to come in contact with the fated wolves? It was said that the wolves came about when i came to the town, which was why people didn't like me as well. I couldn't help but wonder though if they were right, did i bring them?

A man stepped in front of Jink, who reared, almost throwing me. I shot a glance over my shoulder, but the wolves were gone, no where to be seen. I turned forward, but the man was gone, leaving absolute silence around us. Jink neighed unsettled and i was worried. I didn't know how far we were from our barn, and something strange was going on. 

"Your life is not what it seems."

My head snapped to the side where i saw the man, and his eyes were locked on me. I knew the voice had come from him, even though he looked like nothing but an apparition. He had what looked like silver hair and eyes as dark as mine, but almost black, though it could have looked that way due to the darkness of the night.

"Who are you?" I hadn't realized i was talking until Jink moved uneasily.

"Someone you knew long ago." Even though i could hear the words, it didn't appear that he had spoken. "Morgana, you have grown, but you have much more to learn."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, but he turned and began to walk away. "Wait!" I swung off of Jink's back, landing lightly and racing after the man, but it was like he had disappeared. "Who are you?" I stopped running and spun around, my red hair flying around my body. He was no where to be seen, almost like he had just vanished into thin air. 

A howl pierced the air and my breath caught. I turned on my heel and raced back to Jink, but heavy breathing made me glance over my shoulder. Two wolves were chasing after me, they're eyes red, but they weren't hungry, they were angry. I turned back forward and picked up my speed, trying with all my might to keep going. I saw Jink still standing there, and a woman was at his head, stroking his nose. She had deep red hair like my own, but her face was hidden by a hood. 

I glanced over my shoulder and stopped; the wolves were gone. I looked back at Jink and the woman, who was still stoking him. I took a step forward and Jink looked at me, neighing, but it wasn't a worried one. "Who are you?" I seemed to be asking that question a lot tonight.

"My name is Ana," she said, and her voice was that of a very mature woman. "You and i knew each other once, Morgana."

"How do you know my name?" I stepped closer to Jink, putting my hand on his back.

"Like i said, you and i knew each other once, but it was sixteen years ago," she said, moving back. "We will see each other again, Morgana." She was gone, just like that. I rubbed my eyes and looked at Jink who was getting antsy again. 

"Let's get home before we run into anything else," I whispered, hoisting myself up on his back. "Come on." Jink shot forward, going home, and i suddenly felt empty. 

I shook my head as the trees flew by, no longer feeling the joy of my late night ride. I glanced up at the sky, finding that it was no longer late night, but early morning. I groaned, running my hands through my hair, trying to right it before i got home and had to face my father.

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"How many times have we told you not to go out at night?" Dad hissed, trying to keep his voice low so he wouldn't wake Mom and Sara. "The wolves could have gotten to you."

"They almost did," I murmured and he spun to stare at me. 

"What?!"

"Dad, it was so strange," I said, trying to cover. "They were chasing me and then they disappeared. It was like magic." 

"Don't say that word," he growled and i shrunk back into Jink. I had never heard Dad talk like that. He was old, i knew that much due to the speckled gray in his light brown hair. His face was raged from fighting in the wars and becoming a poor farmer. He was still strong, but i was sure i had caused a lot of the stress lines in his face. He sighed, and turned away from me. "Morgana, there are things in this world that you don't know about. Just get ready for a day of work."

"Yes sir," I said, watching his walk wearily towards the ladder. "Dad?"

"Yes?" He turned and looked at me, but i saw a scared look in them.

"Do you think it's possible that i have a sister?" I watched his face, and saw the utter confusion in them. 

"Well, we found you in the woods with no parents, so i guess it might be possible that they had another daughter," he said, shrugging. He put his foot on the ladder, but looked at me. "Let's keep this between you and i; we don't need to tell your mother about this, not with Sara's birthday coming up."

"Alright," I said, and he disappeared up into the loft. I turned to look at Jink. "Something's not right here, Jink. Ana wasn't just a woman, her hair was like mine." He whined and looked at me with those big brown eyes of his. "We'll figure it out, Jink, tonight. We're going back out there."