The exiled prince

The kick came harder and faster than I had expected. Jesters foot collided with my ribs and sent me flying to the floor. I tucked and rolled out of his reach just in time to see him stomp right where my head had just been. "Hey!" I yelped. "You where the one who wanted a challenge," Jester teased. He didn't give me time to catch my breath, but just kicked my shoulder which made me land flat on my bag. I was tired, my muscles ached and sweat dripped down my neck and pooled at my lower bag. Jester, however, looked like he just stepped into the boxing ring five minutes ago, and not two hours ago. He was a werewolf, and I was not. He was strong, fast and had amazing stamina whereas I did not. "Tired already?" Jester teased and tried to get to me through my pride. The worst part was that it was working. "You wish!" I replied and got to my feet. Jester eyed me, his gaze trailing down my body. I tightened my muscles and jumped forward. It was a basic attack, and Jester saw it coming with his heightened senses, and he blocked my blow easily. He grinned, which made it so much easier for me to dig my fingers into his muscular arms and pull. Before Jester could counteract my move, I step forward, forcing my leg in between his. Jester jolted in surprise, which made him step back losing his balance for a fraction of a second, but it was enough for me to sweep his legs out from under him. Jester hit the floor with a loud plop, that made the air around us ripple. It was a cheap, dirty trick that only reminded me of my own shortcomings. I was human, I was weak and I would never be able to win with strength or speed alone. I had to use unfair tricks - a cowards defence. "That was new." Jester pointed out from the floor, "a little on the nose, if you don't mind me saying." "It worked on you," I snorted and kicked Jesters foot. He got up way to easy, considering the fall he just had. I was gasping for air, but Jester looked like he was ready for a 10 mile sprint. "Again!" I demanded and hid away the anger I felt when I thought about how weak I was in comparison to Jester. Even in his human form. It made me sick to my stomach and all I could do to prevent my self from screaming was to throw myself into another fight I was domed to lose. Jester tackled me three times before he called it quits. "No! I can still fight," I said with blood running from my nose. Jester had hit me in the face with his elbow, forgetting for a split second that I didn't have super fast healing. "You are bleeding Ivy," he argued and put a hand on my cheek, removing the drying blood. "So, I can still fight you with my eyes closed," I lied. Jester looked at my with indulgence. "We're done Ivy. You did good today. You are getting stronger." I snarled. Not fast enough. I was showing some progress, but it was hopelessly pathetic in comparison to the other wolfs in our pack. He knew damn well that I was never gonna be as great as any of them, not even him, not even the lowest ranking member of our pack. "Thanks," I replied between grinned teeth. I swung my backpack onto my bag. It was heavy. Heavier that it should be. I had filled every pocket and crease with weapons. I had small pods of wolfsbane, a flower poisonous to werewolves silver chains, which could burn werewolves by touch and a crystalline candle that emitted a flash bright enough to temporarily blind a werewolf. Jester had hated me for weeks when I had tested my theory out. For that was what all of this was, theories, halfway solutions that all served one purpose; give me enough the to flee and save my life. "So...," Jester said with a crooked smile, and I felt my stomach drop by the tone of his voice. "Have you thought about who you are gonna go with to the Luna ball?" I rolled my eyes. We both knew that I had not received any invitations from anybody. Ever. "I'm probably not even gonna go. I have a bunch of bad TV I need to catch up on," I said jokingly, knowing full well that the Alfa would have my head for such an act of open insubordination. I might not be a wolf, but I was a part of this pack, and I would oblige by its laws, whether I liked it or not. "Well then Ivy Lovett, do you want to do me the honour of escorting you to the ball?" Jester was joking as he bowed formally to me, but behind the laughter and the giggles layed a pool of real emotions. I tried to ignore it as I took his hand. It was a boundary we had never crossed. Even though we had been to the stupid ball together every year, it was always as friends. I didn't know when that had changed for him, when he had begun to se me as something other than the packs dumb human girl. Jester was nice, he was warm, he was my light in the dark and I would not have survived without him. To be honest I thought about us more often than I'd like to admit. It would be so easy. So easy to just reach out and touch him. But I didn't do it. I didn't dare to. Jester was a werewolf, which meant that he would eventually find his mate, and we both knew that it could never be me, no mater how bad we both wanted it to be. I cold never be his, not really. If I took the step, closed the distance between us, allowed him to put his hands on my hips and kiss me, it would only be a matter of time before he would find his mate and discard me like a used tissue. No, I wouldn't let that happen. So once again, I choose the cowards route; I jerked my hand away and took a big step back. "Yes, yes I will be your emergency date to that stupid ball!" Jester looked hurt for a second, but then a smile rose to the surface. "You are not my emergency date. I will have you know that I have asked several available ladies." I couldn't help but laugh, even though it was a sad statement that only proved how lonely we both were. "Well now I feel really special!" I said and headed for the door. "You should!" Jester said with a voice full of something I didn't recognise. I stopped infront of the fullbody mirror to assess the damages to my face. Jester had removed the most of the blood from my face, but I could still see a bruise appearing on my right cheek. For a moment I studied myself in the mirror. My red hair was a messed up bunch of curls, and I gave up trying to comb out the knotts. My eyes were a light shade of blue, and in the reflection I saw a tired worn out girl. Jester came up behind me. He towered over me, making me feel even more puny. Wolves weren't just strong and great, they also looked flawless in anything they did. My blood was pumping, making my cheeks flush with red, sweat was dripping from my forehead and I smelled worse than a stable. Jester however looked like a swimsuit model. His abnormal muscles bulged underneath his T-shirt, his eyes were clear and the smoothest colour of brown that matched his blonde hair perfectly. He flashed my a perfect grin that consisted of straight white teeth. He raised a hand and put it on my shoulder. As we stood in there, we looked remarkably like a couple. Jester opened his mouth like he was gonna say something, but I interrupted him abruptly. "Same time tomorrow?" I said, an attempt to avoided any real talk, fearing that it was exactly what Jester was trying to start. "Sure! But you better being your A game, cause I'm not falling for that trick two times!" I rolled my eyes, but on the inside I was trembling. I had no A game. I only had my weak, frail human body and I didn't have a 6th gear that all the other wolfs, including Jester, seemed to have.