Far Sighted Ch 10: Betrothed

Chapter 10

Betrothed

         It wasn’t long before Charles made his appearance.  I took note of Sir William‘s absence, though I had a feeling he lay just beyond sight.  Turning my eyes back to Charles I took a tentative step forward.

         “Is it true, what you said?”

         Charles didn’t look angry or upset.  He didn’t look uncomfortable or unsure.  He didn’t look anything.  His eyes were cold, almost dead.

         “Charles?”

         “It’s true.”

         There was an uncomfortable silence while I tried to think of which question I should ask, where I wanted to take this conversation.

         Charles saved me the trouble, slowly stepping toward me.  He reached out a reluctant hand, then withdrew it.  “The betrothal is no longer in effect.  William has seen to that.  It seems fate has favored him this time.”

         I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I let it go.  “Why?”

         He knew I wanted to know why he had let me go.  “If he has not seen fit to explain it to you then I will not question his decision.”

         “His decision?  What about my choice?  Don’t I deserve to know if it involves me, which obviously it does?  I am my own person.  I belong to no one, not you and not him.”

         A humorous smile brightened his features.  He traced a single finger across my left cheek.  “My little Kira has grown up.”

         “Kira?”  I mirrored his smile.

         “That’s what I used to call you when you were little.  But it’s still not my place to tell you; it’s William’s.  If you want to know you’ll have to take it up with him.”

         “And here I thought all the secrets were out in the open.”

         As Charles laughed I knew the rift between us had been repaired.  I only hoped it would heal as quickly for him and his brother.



         Charles walked me back to the canyon, arm in arm.  He was sure to release me before we encountered Sir William, not wanting the tensions to escalate. 

         “Ah, milady.  We’re pleased ye have returned.”

         “Ty,” I acknowledged.

         He boldly stepped forward, took my hand and planted a gentle kiss on my palm.

         Charles apparently didn’t like this.  He stepped between Ty and me.  “I think that’s quite enough from you.”

         “What?”  Ty looked at Charles, eyes wide and innocent.  “You aren’t mated are you?”

         Mated?  I blushed a deep scarlet, a noise of protest escaping my mouth.

         “I take that as a no,” Ty smiled.  His golden eyes turned to me.  “If I may--”

         “No you may not,” Charles interrupted.  “She may not yet be mated, but she is spoken for.”

         “By you?”

         Charles’ face was stern and impassive.

         “Ah, the brother then.  William.  What claim does he have on her?”

         “It’s really none of your business.”  Sir William stood ten feet behind us, his arms crossed.

         Ty raised both hands in defeat.  “Alright, alright.  No need to get testy, friend.”  Ty left with the excuse of checking on the pack.

         Charles turned to Sir William and held out a hand.  “I’d like to apologize, brother.  I was out of line.”

         “I apologize as well.  It was wrong of me to treat you so harshly.”

         “I understand, really.  You were protecting her.”  The two strode off together, leaving me bewildered at their sudden forgiving attitude.

         “Just don’t let me see you do that again.”  Sir William was teasing Charles, as I quietly trailed behind.

         “You can’t coddle her Will.  She won’t learn if you’re too soft on her.”

         “Excuse me?”  I’d had enough of this talk.  I strode up and separated the two brothers, walking between them.  “If you had simply told me everything instead of hiding it, we wouldn’t have to argue about who’s too soft and who’s too rough.”

         “If we had told you straight off, you never would have believed us.  You would have thrown our words back in our faces unless we proved it all true, then you would have freaked out as much as you did today.”  Charles ruffled my hair playfully.

         I hated that he was right.



         “We are creatures of the night.  Darkness enfolds us, hiding our movements from others and allowing us to move without detection.”

         The full moon was high in the sky, the stars shimmering dimly beside it’s incandescent beauty.  Sir William was introducing me to the ways of the wolfen.  We sat against the canyon wall, staring into the endless night sky.

         He followed the direction of my gaze and smiled.  “She’s beautiful, the moon.”

         “She?”

         “The lady of the skies.” 

         I turned when Charles appeared, sitting on my other side.  “It is said the moon once roamed the skies alone, searching.  She never new exactly what it was she was looking for, but she continued on for eons.  There was a part of her that wished to give up and die in her solitude.  Then one day she felt something tug at her mind.  She followed it and came upon the sun in all his glory.  She was immediately attracted to his radiance and moved ever closer.  Before long she felt the sting of his rays, but she couldn’t stop, she was inexorably entranced.”

         Sir William continued the story in a reverent tone.  “There was another--another who had seen the moon, her beauty, her kindness, and her sorrow.  He loved her and despaired that she had been caught in the web of Sun’s lustrous rays.  Refusing to allow her death, he attempted to rescue the moon.  But she couldn’t see him against the sun’s brilliance.  Calling upon his friends, the wolfen, he asked them to call to her, to bring her back.  Just as the sun was about to consume the moon, she heard the desperate howls of the wolfen and turned back to see the earth waiting just beyond the sun’s deadly rays.  The earth could not speak, the wolfen spoke for him.  They sang tales of the earth’s love for the moon and begged her to return.”

         I could feel the sting of tears building and sniffed them away.  “And she came.”

         Charles smiled softly.  “Yes, she came.  But the sun would not release his prize.  He pulled even harder, unwilling to give her up to another.  The earth had no choice but to get closer and take the moon for himself for she could not escape the sun.  Earth had enough strength to keep the moon from the sun, but not enough to escape.  They are forever trapped in the sun’s jealous grasp, barely eluding his reach.  It is a constant battle of wills.  The sun pulls on the moon, but the only weapon the earth has to combat him is the wolfen.  So every night you can hear the cry of the wolfen to the moon to remain, to resist.”

         “So it is wolfen I hear, not wolves?”  I wondered that there could be so many wolfen when they were only known in legend and myth.

         “No,” Sir William explained.  “Wolves are our cousins.  They are the descendants of wolfen who forsook their human form.  They cry to the moon, though they do not know why.”

         “It’s a sad tale.”

         “So it is, but the lesson is powerful.”

         Sir William stood, brushing the dust from his pants.  “I promised Ty a hunt tonight.”

         “A hunt?”  I stood, curious about the hunt.  Charles had explained enough to grab my attention and the memory of the taste of fresh blood was in the forefront of my mind.

         “One you are not old enough to attend,” Sir William pushed me back to a sitting position.  “You cannot yet control your shifts and you know far too little to hunt what we will hunt tonight.”

         Charles laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.  “Don’t worry, I’ll stay and keep you company.  I never promised to go on this hunt and I’m not a big fan of wild boar anyway.  Far too tough for my taste.”

         “Wild boar?”  I couldn’t explain my lack of fear.  Had I been my normal self, I would have been trembling at the thought of hunting such dangerous prey.  But my body and mind raced at the idea of such a challenge.

         Sir William must have sensed my growing excitement and stared me down.  “You’re not going.”  He turned to his brother.  “Charles you keep her here.”

         “I’m not a dolt, Will.  I know she’s too young to hunt boar.”

         “I still wouldn’t put it past you to decide to give her a few private lessons on hunting.”

         Charles let his mouth drop open and his eyes grow wide with mock insult.  “I would never.”

         “Oh yes you would.  Now be good, the both of you.”  He pointed a finger to emphasize his point before turning and leaving Charles and I alone.

         “Would you really give me hunting lessons?”  I turned expectantly to Charles, hoping for some insane reason that he would agree.

         “Probably…if you could shift at will.  I think we should attempt to hone that skill before we try anything rash.”

         “Okay, what do we do first?” 

         Something about what I had said surprised Charles and it showed. 

         “Why the sudden change of heart?  Earlier today you would have been terrified at the thought of shifting.”

         I shrugged my shoulders, unsure myself.  What had changed?

         Charles imitated the motion and held a hand out to help me to my feet.

         “First thing is to completely relax and concentrate.  Picture yourself in the shape you wish to be.  It is the same whether you wish to shift to human or wolf form.”

         I followed his instruction, closing my eyes to block out any needless sensation.  I pictured a wolf in my head.  On impulse I wondered what exactly I looked like in wolf form.  I’d have to remember to ask Sir William about that.

         Berating myself for losing focus I started over, forming the image of a wolf in my mind.  I slowed my breathing and forced my muscles to relax.

         A familiar pain radiated from my skull.  I dropped to my hands and knees as it intensified.  I opened my eyes to see Charles’ boots a few inches from where I knelt in pain.

         Charles stood above me, hands on hips.  “Stand up and try again.”

         My breath was coming in heavy gasps and the lingering pain in my head made me want to slap him across the face.  He was being unnecessarily cruel.

         “You wanted to learn, no?  Get up.”

         I screwed up my face in concentration, getting to my feet with some effort.

         “Try again.”

         I did it again, and again, and again, until I was exhausted and my legs could no longer bear my weight.

         All my energy drained, Charles was forced to practically carry me back to the cave.

         “You did well, Adanna.”

         I started.  He was praising me?  But I hadn’t even managed to shift, not once.  What surprised me even more were his lightning fast mood swings.  One minute he was happy go lucky then he was as stern as a military commander, the next he was smiling.  What was up with this man?  I was too tired and irritated to ask so I let it go.

         “The pain will lesson when you become accustomed to the shifts.  Don’t be too worried that you couldn’t get it on your first try.  It took me almost a month to learn to shift at will.  Will tells me it took him three weeks, so don’t beat yourself up over it.

         Charles helped me to the back of the cave, where my sleeping furs were laid out.  He tucked me in, patted my head and left.  I yawned and quickly fell asleep.

         Whether it was a dream or I woke up sometime during the night I wasn’t sure, but I remember Sir William and Charles speaking softly just outside the opening.

         “You didn’t have to push her so hard, Charles.”

         “She wanted to learn Will.  This is a hard life, a painful life.  It is best she learn that soon.”

         “You still didn’t have to be so tough on her.”

         “Will, you have to stop coddling the girl.  I understand you’re bonded and that you feel everything she feels, but it’s keeping you from pushing her.  She won’t be able to improve herself if you don’t push.”

         It went silent after that and I found myself falling into blissful darkness one more.



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