Heroine

Thirteen- Close Encounter

She felt like She had been lifted, lifted away from the harsh world,
Like She had just been simply drowning in nothingness when it was time to come around.

And when She did?
The sleep-like nothingness seemed like a heaven compared to the agony that encased her small body.

The thumping of her heart could be heard in her ears and She shook her head to get rid of the blurriness,
There was shouting, but mainly screaming, crying and howls of pain,
The scent of death was strong, as was the scent of blood.
She tried to sit up but something was constricting her ribcage, they all felt cracked to her anyway.
She reached out with her hands and felt dead bodies to the sides,
A few gunshots went off and all the shouting around her ceased.
With her a still blurry vision she could barely make out Logan with her rifle,

"There's more coming let's get her out" came the voice of Matthew panting hard from running about with supplies from her training room, the same one that She previously found Logan in.
All at once I felt the large chandelier being pulled off me and She could feel the pressure of it leave,
She didn't even need to try and get up since all her attempts were stopped by her being pulled into Logan's arms bridal style.

He carries her out of the castle and into her garage where the car is,

"Wait!" She just about got out,
"My paintings."  She cries

"All of them?" Matthew sighs in exasperation and She is placed into the back of the boys car,

"Send a van for the stuff, I'll put in what I can fit in the car." Matthew calls from the house as Logan slams the car door and they drive away.
After a few moments and an awkward silence, all that can be heard is the manic tapping of the steering wheel from Logan's thumbs and she saw his jaw tense before he lets out a growl making her cringe,

"What was that? Hm? Some kind of heroic suicide? A martyr?" He barks out.

"I did the right thing by my people didn't I?" She answered back,

"That is the job of the queen." She reminded him.

"What? To go and get yourself killed? How would that help your people? They would be leaderless?"
He then launches into a rant as she drifted into a sleep filled with nightmares.

Memories, from a past foreign to her flood her brain, of herself and this black wolf before she became queen,

Age eight, running through a forest screaming for her mama and papa, who are lying slaughtered in the clearing,
She calls out for him, for her brother,

"Jon!" Her little voice howls ,
But the only sounds she hears in return are the pounding of paws from the black wolf as it chases after her,

Then another memory, of her mother crying because their son didn't want to transform into a wolf in front of them.

And then the final piece, a dream she had never seen before,

She was sitting out on the porch in her mothers lap playing with her mothers hair, the growling of the black wolf as it leaps from her brother's window tearing her father to shreds, his screams of agony are drowned out by the wailing of her mother as she pulls Aramine from her lap and holds her daughter behind her back, swaddling her in kisses and her embrace, she turns and shoves the young Aramine towards the forest screaming for her to run,

She watches the wolf for a moment until it starts attacking her mother,

"You are the heir Aramine, run!"her mother howls out, using her final breath as a warning until a snapping noise comes from her torn, limp body.

Then without hesitation the young Aramine runs into the forestry, weeping and calling out for her mama and papa.
And for him, for her brother Jon.

Her brother who wrote her cards every birthday and Christmas,

The brother, who at that time was only seven.

The brother who she never saw again.

When she came around again she was well rested on top a mattress, her aching bones and wheezy lungs contributing to her inability to breathe and discomfort.

She managed to haul herself out of bed, still in her crumpled floor length green satin dress, blood soaked the material by her chest and ribs.

Her previously crushed wrist was wrapped tightly in a bloody bandage.

She clambered over to her flat green pumps and slid them over her feet,
Heading out of the room she heard the familiar voices of Logan, Matthew and then a stranger, a girl about the same age as her.

"Edith let her sleep, it must be stressful being queen." Came the aggravated voice of Matthew.

"I wish to speak to her." Snapped back Edith.

With that announcement Aramine opened the door to the strange room and found herself in a small living room with a sofa facing away from her which sat Logan with legs crossed and arms spread on the back of the sofa, behind him was Matthew facing the girl who Aramine assumed was Edith standing with her hands on her hips.

Aramine stood in the corner of the room, she was desperate for answers but she was queen, they would tell her.

Matthew, Logan and Edith all shared a look as Matthew sighed and ran a hand through his hair before slumping on the sofa.

"Aramine....  those paintings of the wolf..." Matthew says

"Edith saw them and says they are the part of memories," he continues as an unrecognisable expression flashes over Logan's face.

"I'm sorry but who gave you permission to look at them, where am I , and who are you " She snapped to Matthew and Edith.

"My name is Edith Vajer, I am an oracle, I can sense that there is a story behind all your paintings which may help you beat the rogues." She clarifies.

"I see." Is her only response before She perched herself on the leather black sofa across from the boys next to the fireplace,

An oracle was a witch of sorts who were often causing mischief and disobeying werewolf leaders.

After a moment Edith leaves only to reappear only moments later with the paintings of the wolves,

"This wolf you saw is a moon ranger, From the age they are born werewolves can shift, but this particular wolf will be adult sizes as soon as it transforms because it is not controlled by the moon, the wolf controls all, this wolf is incredibly dangerous,

How you survived I have no clue," she sighs

"I am also curious as to how you ruled the kingdom at age nine with no guidance when you only got coronated last year." Matthew buts in.

"So the main question you want to be asking is....." Continues Edith,

"Who saved me from the wolf?" Aramine asks

"No..." Logan buts in, with a shake of his head.

He turns to face me and smiles,
"who was the wolf"