Origins

Alyssa- part 3

James wakes me from the nightmare and shows me where to get some food. Everyone here is so nice and humorous. The man, Peter, is always making fun and jokes. I find it hard to believe that these men are criminals. Maybe they're not. They take me in and feed me and let me reside here for about a week.
"Full moon tonight miss." Peter tells me slyly in attempt to frighten me.
"The monsters come out then, right?"I ask to prove I am not scared.
"Yes, but I'll protect you miss." He tells me and puts his hands on his sides and puffs out his chest.
I laugh. "I feel terribly safe now."
"As you should. I am mighty terrifying to them beasties."
"True, you are very frightening Peter." Harry comes to me.
"James is looking for you madam."
"Thanks you, I'll be there in a moment." He nods and throws something to peter and he strings it around his neck.
I walk to James' room and he wraps me in a hug. He sits me on his bed and sits next to me.
"As I'm sure you've heard, it's the full moon tonight."
"Yes, I'm aware. Why?"
"Well, you told me you were attacked by a wolf."
"Also true." I reply warily.
"There is a possibility that it was a lycanthrope."
"Excuse me, a what?"
"A werewolf. A beast that turns into a wolf on the full moon."
"But that's just a story. Besides, I was attacked when there was just a crescent moon." I scoff.
He shakes his head with his eyes closed. "It doesn't matter. It still could have been one."
"Well, how will we know?"
"If you are one, you will turn into a wolf tonight."
"I don't understand. What can we do about it?"
"Please forgive me, but I must do what I have to to protect my brothers." As he says it, he pulls a cloth from his satchel and puts it to my mouth.
I foolishly breathe it in. Immediately I feel woozy and fall back into James' arms. They wrap around me and I my vision goes black.
I wake up with chains wrapped around my arms and legs. I try to pull them free, but to no avail.
"James!" I scream loudly.
"James!"
I see the door slide open and James comes in.
"I'm really truly sorry. I couldn't risk you attacking any of my men."
"Let me out." I say, filled with rage.
"I cannot."
"I command you to release me."
"Command? You can't command me." I regain my composure. I lost it. I can't let him know I'm the princess.
"Never mind, will you please release me?"
"I will tomorrow."
He shuts the door and I scream in anguish. As the night grows older, I feel a sharp pain in my back. I must just simply have hit something. I cannot be turning. I will not. Another jab to my side and I double over in pain. My vision starts to blur. No. "No!" I scream, beginning to comprehend what is going on. After what seemed like hours and hours of the searing pain of my bones snapping apart, I lie still on the floor as a wolf. I acquire the desire, no, absolute need, to escape. I stand up on all fours and walk to one of the chains binding me in the room. I claw and tear and bite at the wood around it until it pulls free. I get the other one loose and pull it from the wall. I run out of the room and I see a few men sitting by the fire. I run at them and bite a man on the neck. He stops moving and a man pulls something from around his neck and points it at me. It burns me from the distance and I back away a bit. The men back across the rope bridge to another tree and the one man with the talisman stays. He sets it on the ground by the entrance of the bridge and crosses it himself.
I try to get past it, but it burns my eyes and the smell is vulgar. I grab a branch from the ground in my mouth and push the thing off the tree. I hear something from behind me before I can get past and I turn. A tall man tackles me and tries to restrain me. I try to kick him off and resort to biting his leg. He lets out a cry of pain and releases me. By the time I am free of him, the rope bridge has been severed from the tree and I have no way to get across. The moon is beginning to go fade and the sun is beginning to rise. I scout around the tree to see if there is another way across. The man needs to pay for harming me. I start to feel a similar pain to when I first changed and run into the room. Wait, I was human. I'm not a wolf. I begin to change back and I writhe on the floor. After I have changed back, I'm in the tattered remains of my dress. James enters the room with a severely wounded leg. "Oh my, what happened?"
"Alyssa, you turned."
"I- I did, didn't I." I cannot fathom what made me hurt him.
"Did anyone else get hurt?" I ask, not looking at him.
"William is dead. "
I cover my mouth and my eyes start to water.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."
"I know."
"I'm sorry for biting you."
"It's already done. I'm going to turn next full moon.We need to leave."
"We?"
"Yes, I'm going to come with you. We can't further endanger my men."
"Okay."
"Let's pack up and find somewhere to stay." I nod and we go. I meet up with Peter before and give him a hug. "I'm so sorry!" I cry. "Alyssa, you're fine. You didn't know what you were doing. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too."
"Be safe."
I nod and say goodbye to the rest of the men.
We take two horses and travel through the thieve's forest. Once we hit the road that passes through the forest, we slowly go toward my kingdom. "I thought I'd better tell you now, I know you're the princess." His comment surprises me.
"How?"
"I can't remember when I first discovered it. But would you like me to take you to the palace?"
I think for a moment. "Yes. But only because I have some business to take care of. After that, I wish to go somewhere with you."
He nods and takes me home. Once I arrive, my maids fuss over me and how they thought I was dead. I get cleaned up and meet with my father.
"I wish to go see the king of the other kingdom."
I met up with him the next day.
"Princess, you are alive!" The king rushes over to me and kisses my hand.
"Of course, I couldn't bare to leave you, my king." He smiles viciously at this and takes my arm.
"Release me." I command.
"No, you were to be married to me last week, I'm taking what is mine."
"Of course." I smile and play along.
We enter his room and he locks it. I try hard to turn into a wolf and it works. The king turns toward me and backs away in fear. "Monster!" He shouts and I pounce on him.
I exit the room as a woman and leave the castle.
I meet up with James and he asks what I had to do.
"I had to take care of a man who was foolish and cruel."
"Okay."

We traveled for many days until we found a pack of other lycanthropes that helped us learn how to use our abilities. James and I became very close and we eventually left the pack to make our own life. I helped out an old frail woman and she turned out to be a witch. She gave me long life and James died 7 years later from hunters.