The Wolf's Loyalty

Chapter Four: Amora

 Amora was lost. Lost in her own thoughts, lost in the deep black reality that the Alpha of Varg was going to have her. Those wolves were ruthless, cunning, killing beasts with no mercy. She shuddered at the thought that they might saw off her wings. Her eyes misted and she tried to push it away, but being stuck in a lonely cell with nothing but the screams of tortured people bursting through her ears, it was hard to think of anything that wouldn't make her break down.

Twelve years. Twelve years in this place. She knew that even if she did somehow get out, she wouldn't know where to go, who to talk to who wouldn't immediately report her. She took her finger and attempted to shakily write her name in the dirt. The only thing she knew how to write or read.

She remembered being excited about school and wanting to get up early. She would still give up anything to go back to the day her parents died and stop it somehow. She could have gone to school, she could have grown up normally, she could have fallen in love, she could have done all the normal things that life holds.

"C'mon." a guard muttered and unlocked the cell. He grabbed Amora's arm, dragging her up off of the ground. She hesitated for a second, trying to think of a reason that she would be taken out of the cell other than to have her wings clipped, and that had just been done a week ago.

"W-What's happening?" she stuttered out. The guard didn't answer. He lead her through the winding passages of the palace. Amora caught a glimpse of the overcast clouds outside the kingdom. She was taken to the throne room where the queen was waiting on her white throne. Her white wings were tucked behind her. The dress she wore was crystal colored and complimented her dark complexion.

"Ah, little Amora," the queen whispered as Amora was forced to her knees in front of her. Amora stayed still and quiet. Like a good little prisoner. "Well. I'm sure you've heard that the king of Varg is interested in you. He's supposed to be sending a guard to get you." the queen continued. Amora looked down to the ground and tried to keep herself from crying. She hummed The Phoenix lullaby to herself.

"Is there anything that should be done to prepare for the guard's arrival?" the guard with light blonde hair that stood next to the queen asked. He was the nicest guard Amora had met in the palace. He had been there when she had first come to this place. He had tried to talk the queen out of keeping her here, but nothing worked. He even said he would adopt Amora and raise her. His name was Levi.

He was the only one who showed any sort of sympathy to Amora. She looked up at his eyes and he gave her a light smile. She tried to return it, but she couldn't muster a smile in a time like this. It was almost like she had forgotten how to smile.

"Take her to the bathing room and have her clean herself off," the queen paused, standing up and taking a few steps towards Amora. She grabbed Amora's right wing and stretched it out. Amora flinched, her wings still not fully healed from the clipping. The queen analyzed her wing carefully and strategically. "Freshly clipped. Perfect." the queen said.

"And her clothes, Your Highness?" Levi asked, his gaze wandering to Amora's distressed and torn brown dress that hung off her body. The queen looked back to Amora and scowled.

"Her clothes are none of my concern." the queen said. She turned around, the cape of her dress almost flying over Amora's head. The queen sat upon her throne again and motioned for the guards to take Amora away. Amora didn't fight this time. She just stared off in the direction she was being taken. She was excited to get to bathe, but at what cost?

Going and slaving away at the Alpha of Varg's palace? She shuddered again at the thought of having to be face to face with him. They reached the bathing house and Amora was pushed inside. There were no other women there at the time, which Amora was grateful for. Her bathing time that came so rarely was really the only time she could truly be alone, with no guards walking by, no screams of other prisoners being tortured and starved, and her normal paranoid and panicked thoughts would always vanish once she entered the bath. She cleaned herself quickly and effectively, but she couldn't stop herself from floating on her back, closing her eyes, and enjoying the sound of the water lapping onto the edge of the huge bath.

Phoenix, Phoenix, take my soul, bring the fire, bring the flames. Little Phoenix, full of light, full of joy, melt the cold and bring my soul to you, she sang. She finally managed to pull herself out of the bath, but not until after her wet, weighed down wings tried to pull her back into the water. She dried herself off using one of the soft towels on a rack in the corner of the room and slipped on her oversized, baggy, dirt crusted brown dress. She saw a pair of shoes right next to her clothes. She slipped on the socks they had left her and put on the shoes, struggling with the laces. Her long light brown hair swooped down to the middle of her back, just below where her wings were attached to her.

She wished she had just a shard of glass to cut off her hair, but the guards would never let her get close to something that she could even remotely hurt herself or others with. She'd pondered trying to strangle herself with her own hair once or twice, but she somehow always denied the idea and pushed it away. She was taken back to her cell, but this time it was Levi walking her back.

"Thank you," Amora mumbled. Levi looked to her, confused. "For trying to get me out of here."

"I was you at one point. An orphan, lost, panic filled," Levi replied. Amora looked up at him, waiting for him to say more. "I suppose, when I saw you, I related to you," he said. He kept pausing as if he was trying to find the right words. Amora couldn't respond. She couldn't even think at that point, so they walked in silence back to her cell. Levi hesitated before opening the cell door. It screeched open and Amora covered her ears.

She walked into the cell and looked at her, tears threatening to fill her eyes. She was about to go straight to the corner where she spent most of her time, but she turned around and went to Levi, throwing her arms around him.

"I hope that one day we'll meet again." she managed to choke out.

"C'mon, little one. Don't make me cry." Levi said, gently pushing her away. He waved with a small smile on his face before closing the door to her cell. The following week passed by slowly and drawn out. Amora spent her time drawing things in the dirt and humming things to herself in a cracked voice. One day she saw a guard around the corner and she knew today was the day that the guard had arrived.