The Royal Wolf

Cayenne for Curses

Arianna quickly put on her shoes and hat and gathered her gloves and basket before stepping out into the village. People bustled about, farmers steering their cattle and woman chasing their half naked children around to dress them after their morning wash. She giggles quietly to herself and makes her way out to the edge of the thicket, crossing a small field.

She can see her best friend Sol picking vegetables and he looks up and waves "Good morning Arianna, off to the village garden?" he asks wiping his dirty hand across his forehead.

 Arianna smiles and nods.

"Give me a moment and I'll come with you; you shouldn't travel in there yourself" He says dusting his dirty hands on his overalls.

"Sure, I could use the company" she says turning away and rolling her eyes a little disappointed, she wanted a bit of time to herself this morning before she had to go to the palace. Sols smile brightens and he lifts his basket filled with a mixture of vegetables and throws it over his shoulder. He packs it tightly in to the cart next to his father and waves goodbye to him.

Sol was very handsome and just slightly older than Arianna he had short brown hair and the greenest eyes she had ever seen; they had grown up together in the village. His parents and her grandmother were awfully close, his mother also worked in the palace kitchens with them every day and Sol would help his father in the fields.

Sol comes up beside Arianna and smiles again as they make their way through the dense thicket towards the forest.

"So.." said Sol stammering "the banquet is being held at the palace" he awkwardly runs his hand down the back of his neck, a light flush appearing on his cheeks. He rummages through his basket of vegetables almost looking for something.

Arianna laughs heartily and nudges him "Yes I know, I'm working with grandmother to get it ready for when the visitors come" she stops to gather some blackberries and Sol looks at her a bit disappointed. As they continue along the small path, her arm brushes against Sol. He stiffens almost instantly, and Arianna stops to observe his odd behavior.

"What is it?" She asks him with a knowing smile. Sol stops to pick up some nuts scattered on the ground, no doubt from greedy squirrels, and drops them into the basket with the blackberries, shrugging his shoulders.

"Being your best friend, I thought it right to ask if you would like to go with me" he says almost confidently. Arianna's smile falters and she shakes her head dropping her eyes to the ground.

"I have to attend to the visitors" she said looking back up at him, she could see the disappointment in his eyes. "But I shall save a dance for you" she finished, and the smile returned to his face.

"Now come along before grandmother finds out I've been dallying; she will think I'm a bad influence on you!" they both chuckle and carry on their way to the gardens.

After a little while of comfortable silence Arianna speaks up.

"I will need to get some strewing for the cottage" she said, Sol nods and continues down the path before they see an arch shaped of vines and beautiful yellow flowers. Some villagers helped to plant gardens for strewing and vegetables, everyone in the village helps to maintain it.

As they stepped through the gate many aromas struck their senses. Arianna breathed in deeply, she loved being in the gardens, it made her think of the fond memories with her grandmother as a child.

She bent down to the garden and began picking some basil, next she would take some lavender and by special request from her grandmother some cayenne. After a small while her basket was brimming with fragrances and she smiled, content with her choices.

As she stood up and brushed her hands off on her apron, she realized she was all alone, Sol was nowhere to be seen. Her smile faded and her heart began to race. "Sol?" she mumbled "where are you?" she looked around, panic starting to rise in her throat.

Arianna picked up her basket and began circling the garden looking through the dense bushes, but she could not see anything. As she made her way back to the path, she heard a rustling in the nearby blackberry bush. Her eyes went wide, and her heart started to race. "Sol, is that you in there?" she said taking small steps towards the bush. She put her basket down and willed her heart to calm down so she could hear herself think, her heart beat thumped loud in her ears.

Instinctively she touched the black moonstone that hung around her neck loosely, it was a gift from her grandmother on her thirteenth birthday and she had said if ever she felt frightened or if she was lost to hold it tightly. Her grandmother had said it was given to Ariannas' mother at the same age, but her mother died while giving birth, her heart clenched at the thought.

The bushes rustle again bringing Arianna out of her thoughts and she stepped forward. With new found courage she picked up a stick and waived it about "I have a stick and I'm not afraid to use it!" she squealed, her cheeks now hot with embarrassment and she stepped forward again now in the firing range of whatever was hiding in the bush.

She huffed and was about to turn away when a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, roughly pulling her into the bush. She screamed and began to thrash about hoping to hit the culprit with any one of her flailing body parts. A hand came over her mouth to stop her screaming and she took that moment to bite down hard. A gruff male voice swore and removed his hand quickly, Arianna turned around ready to fight some more when she realized it was Sol.

"How dare-"she started but Sols hand came back to cover her mouth. His eyes were wild and his breath was shaky, his other hand came up to motion to her to be quiet and nodded towards the garden. Confused she nodded as if to say she would not make a noise. When she turned around, she could see a wolf prowling around the garden, its snout to the ground it must have been searching for food. Ariannas' breath hitched; she had never seen such a beautiful creature in all her life. Its grey coat was clean and fluffy, the wolfs ears perked up and she held her breath not wanting to be heard or seen. Sol nudged her and raised his hand again to his mouth and shook his head. When the wolf looked up it stared right into the bush they were currently sitting in.

Arianna looked back to Sol eyes wide, they both knew the wolf would have either heard them or sensed their fear. Sweat rolled down Sols forehead but he dare not swipe it away.

The wolf stalks closer and closer, Arianna can clearly see the eye color of the beast in front of her –  blue and hungry. The adrenaline that was running through her veins ceased and a sense of calm came over her, the moonstone tight in her grasp now, her heartbeat but a whisper in her ears.

Just as Arianna goes to lift her hand to reach out, the beast growls and whirls around, some of the villagers come running through the path with long sticks and baskets, brandishing them in the air to scare off the wolf. With one last look at the bush the wolf quickly slinks away.

If they hadn't of come when they did, they would probably dead by now.

The breath Sol was holding in comes out in a puff and he goes limp, Arianna turns around to her friend and sees that he has passed out. The other villagers walk around calling their name.

"Over here!" she yells waving her hands and stepping out of the bush, they run over with wild eyes.

"Have you been in there the whole time?" Tuncer asks his bright hazel eyes wide with concern. Arianna nods and she points to Sol.

"Hes passed out, can you please take him back to his cottage?" She asks her eyes pleading. Tuncer smiles and turns to the other village men that chased off the wolf and whistles, they come racing over and help pick up Sol.

Arianna thanks them as they make their way back to the village down the narrow path with a very limp Sol in their arms and waves them off. As she turns back to pick up her basket the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she can feel eyes on her, she turns slowly and looks around. Nothing.