The King's Love

“Mommy, could you tell me about The Legend of Rune again?” I asked as I got into my bed to go to sleep. “Of course I can, as long as you go to sleep right after.” Says my mom, giving me a sweet smile before pulling the covers over me. “Once upon a time, there was a young werewolf named Rune. He was the first of our kind and the beginning of our royalty. During his journey across the lands, he stumbled upon a crimson-haired princess named Lily, who was a human. Rune’s wolf spirit went wild in his mind at the sight of the princess and pushed Rune to approach her. As he got closer he could smell the sweet scent of cherries and see the sparkle of her emerald green eyes. He began to feel the pull of their bond and no longer could resist the want to be near her. Princess Lily gives Rune a job as her guard. One night Lily cannot sleep and finds Rune has disappeared from his post outside of her bedroom door. She looks for him and finds him in the garden. She watches as a huge black wolf replaces Rune where he once stood and couldn’t help the scared gasp pass her lips. The wolf turns to look at Lily and she stumbles back as he stalks toward her. The huge wolf stands over Lily, but never shows any aggression toward her. He stares into her emerald eyes, then nuzzles the side of her face with his head. Lily accepts his show of affection, promising to not tell anyone his secret. After that night Lily would sneak out of her room to watch Rune enjoy himself under the light of the Moon Goddess and keep watch so no one would find them. A few months later Lily is told she will be married off to the King from their neighboring kingdom. She couldn’t say no and had to accept the proposal, but only if Rune could go with her. To the dismay of her soon-to-be husband, he allowed it. As Lily and Rune spend more and more time together, they begin to fall in love with each other, to the point Lily ignores the king she married. The King notices Lily’s love for Rune and it angers him and he starts to treat her poorly. Not long after, Lily asked Rune to turn her into one of us and Rune was happy to do that for the one he loved. Soon enough they were sneaking out together to run through the forest, but one night they were caught by a guard The King had sent to spy on Lily and Rune. The King was so angry at them that he locked Lily away and ordered for Rune to be sent away. So many nights passed and Rune had to hear Lily’s lonesome howls and wished he could save her from her cage. Lily’s cries hurt Rune so bad that he begged The Moon Goddess to give him the strength to free her. The next night was a full moon and Rune could feel the power of The Moon Goddess locked away inside his wolf spirit, coarse through him. That night he was determined to free his princess and stop the King from ever hurting her again. Rune took down every person that stood in between him and Lily until he got to the King. Rune wanted the king to suffer just as he made Lily suffer, so he turned him into one of us, leaving him to fend for himself. By the end of the night, Rune freed Lily from her cage, getting as far away as they could from the kingdom, starting their pack. They lived a very long happy life together, never leaving each other’s side and shaped what we have today.” I feel my mom kiss me, then hear her footsteps get closer to my bedroom door. The flick of the light switch told me she turned out the light, “goodnight Charlee.” She says before I hear my bedroom door shut and silence follows right after. The Legend of Rune always puts me to sleep with ease and never fails. I dream of my fairytale every time I hear it, I always hope my prince will love me the same way.